Watchman Radio Hour

David Schültz: Welcome to the Watchman Radio hour. Coming to you from Portland, Oregon, here in the beautiful Northwest. This is David Schültz, your announcer. The Watchman Radio hour is a production of Watchman Radio Ministries International, an evangelistic ministry reaching out to the peoples of the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. And now here's our speaker, Alex Dodson, to bring you this week's message from God's word.

Alex Dodson: For our scripture reading today, let us turn to the Gospel of John, chapter 18, and we begin reading in verse 33. Let us hear the word of God. Pilot then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus, and asked him, Are you the king of the Jews? Is that your own idea? Jesus asked, or did others talk to you about me? Do you think I am a Jew? Pilot replied, It was your people and your chief priests who handed you over to me. What is it you have done? Jesus said, My kingdom is not of this world.

If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place. You are a king then, said Pilot. Jesus answered, You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world to testify to the truth. And everyone on the side of truth listens to me. Our Father in heaven, we thank you for the Bible that you have given to us. We thank you that it's your infallible word and that we can put our full confidence in everything that it says.

And now, oh Father, as we come to study your word, we pray that you will send forth your Holy Spirit in great convicting power in Christ's name we pray. Amen. When Jesus came into this world, he did not come as a military leader or world conqueror. He came in a very gentle way and introduced a kingdom that was spiritual in nature and would be in the hearts of men. Pilot asked him if he was the king of the Jews as he was being accused of being. Jesus replied that he was a king, but not of this world.

Jesus came to die on the cross for sinners and to set up a kingdom that would be spiritual, ruling in the hearts and minds of men. And yet it would be a real kingdom, and he was a real king. That kingdom was prophesied in the Old Testament to overcome all other kingdoms. The angel Gabriel said to Mary concerning the son she would bear in Luke 1 32 and 33, He said, He will be great and will be called the son of the most high. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will never end.

Unlike the kingdoms that have their origin in this world, the kingdom of Jesus would never fall and would last forever. Today it would seem at times that the kingdom of Satan is winning in this world. Yet we must remember that the kingdom of God or the kingdom of Christ is an everlasting kingdom that will endure and last forever. It will overcome the kingdom of Satan completely. Jesus told Peter in Matthew 16 18, I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not overcome it.

Jesus came and introduced a spiritual kingdom, which is made up of all those who follow him as Lord and master. This kingdom, which is manifested in the church, will not be defeated by Satan and will yet be a glorious church in this world, radiating its influence to the whole earth. In referring to the future glory of Zion in Isaiah 61 through 3 it says, Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth, and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you, and his glory appears over you.

Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. This future glory of Zion will affect many nations as its light shines upon them. Even now as the gospel goes forth and people from many nations come to Christ, the glory of Zion begins to come to the world. Jesus came to establish a true kingdom, but it would be spiritual. It would not come by military conquest, but by the preaching of the gospel and teaching of the word of God by the power of the Holy Spirit. Our text for today is John 18 in verse 36, which says, Jesus said, My kingdom is not of this world.

If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place. The reign of Christ is spiritual. Satan and his forces will not be defeated by military power, but by a spiritual power that they cannot overcome. Christ's kingdom by the power of the Holy Spirit will deal a death blow to Satan's influence in this world. Today we must not become too discouraged when we see Satan and his forces raging all around us. We must look ahead with great vision and optimism and know by faith that God's kingdom will be victorious in this world.

As Martin Luther's great hymn says, Though this world with devils filled should threaten to undo us, we will not fear, for God hath willed his truth to triumph through us. The prince of darkness grim, we tremble not for him. His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure. One little word shall fell him. Today we need to go forth in the mighty power of the Holy Spirit to preach the word of God, and Satan's kingdom will fall, and Christ's kingdom will prevail. Now let us see in the first place that Christ's kingdom is not from this world.

In verse 36 Jesus said, My kingdom is not of this world. It does not have its origin here. William Hendrickson writes, The kingship of Jesus is not like an earthly kingship. It does not spring from the earth. It was not given to him by any earthly power, and it is totally different in character. And thus, for example, it does not employ earthly means. If Christ's kingship had been earthly in origin and character, it would have had officers, just like the Sanhedrin for instance, which had its police force. And just like Pilot who had his Roman guards.

And these would have been fighting, so that he would not have been handed over to. Here we probably expect the Romans, but Jesus says the Jews. Far from trying to lead the Jews in revolt against the Romans, Jesus considers these Jews his opponents. Have they not delivered him up to Pilot? Had Christ's kingship been of an earthly kind, his attendance would have been fighting under his own command, so that in Gethsemane he would not have been handed over to the Jews and their wicked Sanhedrin. But instead of ordering them to fight in his defense, he had done the exact opposite.

Leon Morris writes, Jesus reply admits that there is a sense in which he has a kingdom. But he stresses that it is not a kingdom as this world understands kingdoms. It does not take its origin from the world, and it is not basically concerned with this world. To demonstrate his point, Jesus refers to the absence of all military activity on the part of his followers. Had he been interested in what this world calls a kingdom, unnecessary first step would have been to recruit soldiers. His servants would be fighting men. But now as things are, it is plain to all that he looks for no kingdom from this world.

In commenting on the words to fight, R. B. G. Tasker writes, The tense of the Greek is better rendered would now be fighting. Arrest at the hands of the Jews would have indeed put an end to Jesus's hope of exercising kingship, if that kingship had been of this world. Precisely because it was not of this world, it did not need the backing of physical force. Jesus had a kingdom, but its origin was not here in this world. His kingdom was a spiritual kingdom. And then let us see that it was different from a worldly kingdom.

The Geneva Bible note on this verse says, Christ avoucheth his spiritual kingdom, but rejected the worldly. R. B. G. Tasker writes, kingdom in this verse refers not so much to the sphere in which the reign of Jesus is exercised as to the nature of the reign itself. Kingship is therefore a better translation. His kingship is of such a character that it cannot be invalidated by his arrest at the hands of the Jews or destroyed by his death. John Calvin writes, we are also taught the nature of this kingdom. If it made us happy after the flesh and brought us riches, luxuries, and all that is to be desired for the present life, it would smack of the earth and the world.

But as it is, all the while our state is wretched in appearance, our substantial happiness remains unimpaired. We also learn who belongs to this kingdom. Those who are renewed by God's spirit and practice the heavenly life in holiness and righteousness. Yet it must be observed that it is not that it is not denied that the kingdom of Christ is in this world. For we know that it has its seat in our souls, as Christ says elsewhere, The kingdom of God is within you. But strictly speaking, although the kingdom of God dwells within us, it is a stranger to the world, since its state is completely different.

And Matthew Henry says, if he had designed an opposition to the government, he would have fought them at their own weapons and would have repelled force with force of the same nature. But he did not take this course. Jesus came not with a mighty military army to overtake the Roman Empire. He had no such. He came gently and took up the cross and died, and yet he rose from the dead and ascended back into heaven, and he sent the Holy Spirit to empower his followers. And so his was not a worldly kingdom, but a spiritual kingdom.

And then let us see in the second place that Christ's kingdom is from above. Verse 36 again says, Jesus said, My kingdom is not of this world. My kingdom is from another place. It's from another place. Jesus's kingdom came from heaven. It was a spiritual kingdom. John Calvin again writes, for Christ's kingdom, which is spiritual, must be founder on the teaching and power of the spirit. Some today teach that Jesus will return and set up his kingdom here on earth in the not too distant future. He will come as a mighty conqueror. Yet we forget that Jesus has already come and set up his kingdom long ago.

He did not come as a mighty military conqueror, but as a gentle king riding on a donkey. He set up his kingdom in the hearts and minds of his followers, and he sent them the Holy Spirit to proclaim his word with mighty power. And it's through the word proclaimed through the power of the Holy Spirit that his kingdom would advance in this world. Some seem to think that the church has failed, and Jesus will have to come back himself to establish his kingdom here on earth. We know he is coming back at the end of the age.

But he has not given up on the church, which he called to proclaim his gospel and through which he still works. The kingdom of God is from heaven, and it will not fail. And then let us see the kingdom is set up by God. This kingdom that Jesus brought is from God. It's God's kingdom. God set up this kingdom, and it will not fail. Matthew Henry writes, its nature is not worldly. It is a kingdom within men, set up in their hearts and consciences. It's riches spiritual. It's power spiritual. And all its glory within. God's kingdom comes as men's hearts are changed, and they live by God's word in their lives.

And then let us see in the third place, the spiritual kingdom of Christ will influence this world. It is a real kingdom set up at Christ's first coming. Matthew 1 15 I mean Mark 1 15 Jesus said, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent ye and believe the gospel. Jesus announced the coming of his kingdom. It was not a military leader coming with a great army to announce the conquering of a nation. But Jesus announced the coming of a real kingdom, but it would be a spiritual kingdom. This kingdom would be announced and proclaimed not by some military army, but by a spiritual army proclaiming the gospel.

This kingdom would rule in the hearts of men. In Luke 17 20 and 21 it says, Once having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, The kingdom of God does not come visibly, nor will people say, here it is or there it is, because the kingdom of God is within you. In Romans 14 17 it says, for the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. William Hendrickson writes, The answer which Jesus gives is threefold.

First, he shows that he realizes that back of the question, Are you the king of the Jews? There lies another still more fundamental, namely, Are you a king in any sense whatever? The answer to this question is implied in verse 36, for when Jesus now says, My kingdom or my kingship is not of this world, he implies of course that he is a king. The same answer is expressed in verse 37, You say that I am a king. Secondly, Jesus indicates that his kingship is not namely, it is not of this world. Thirdly, he shows what his kingship is, namely, it is a kingship in the hearts and lives of all those who listen to the truth.

And then Hendrickson goes on to say, My kingship, says Jesus, with emphasis on my. He is a king. And that the term means kingship, not kingdom, is clear from the fake fact that according to verse 37 it consists of Christ's rule in the hearts of those who obey him. We're dealing therefore with a spiritual dominion concept. The term in the sense of kingship rule has its root in the Old Testament. However, here in John 18, it does not have reference to God's dominion over all his creatures, but distinctly to Christ's spiritual kingship in the hearts and lives of his followers.

And so this kingship or this kingdom is in the hearts of those who know Christ as Lord and Savior. His rule in their lives is his kingdom. And then let us see that this spiritual kingdom will have a real influence on the world. Daniel spoke of a rock cut out of a mountain without human hands. In other words, it did not have its source in this world. That rock struck the statue that represented world powers or nations and completely destroyed the statue, and the rock grew into a mountain and filled the whole earth. We read in Daniel 2 verses 34 and 35.

While you were watching, a rock was cut out, not but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. And then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were broken to pieces at the same time and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth. Daniel interprets this part of Nebuchadnezzar's dream in Daniel 2 44 and 45 where he says, In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people.

It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands. A rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold to pieces. Daniel's interpretation shows us that the rock was the kingdom of God. It was cut out without human hands because it was a spiritual kingdom. And yet it conquered all the nations, not by military might, but by spiritual forces. This kingdom grew and filled the whole earth.

This kingdom influenced the world to such an extent that it eventually permeated and had dominion over all of the earth. In Matthew 13 31 through 33 it says, Jesus told them another parable. The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. And though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree. So that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches. And he told them still another parable. The kingdom of heaven is like the yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough.

In these two parables, Jesus shows how the kingdom of God will grow in the world. In the first parable, the kingdom of God starts out starts out as a very small seed. But it grows, and in the end produces a large garden plant which becomes a tree to such an extent that the birds of the air can perch in its branches. And so the kingdom of God would grow from the smallest beginnings to something very large in the end. In the second parable, the kingdom of God is depicted as something like yeast that when put into a large amount of flour, it works all through the dough.

Or it influences all the dough. And so the kingdom of God is introduced into the world and will eventually influence the whole world. And though it looks like Satan is winning the battle at times, and the gospel is not prevailing in the world as it we would like, yet brighter days will come, for the kingdom of God will be victorious in this world. In August of 1886 Charles Spurgeon preached a sermon in which he looked to the future and he said, At the present moment, it seems as if parts of the church had almost forgotten the gospel of the grace of God.

We hear on all hands another gospel, which is not another. But there be some that trouble you and would pervert the gospel of Christ. Worldliness is growing over the church. She is mossed with it. The visible church is honeycombed through and through with a baptized infidelity. Unholy living is following upon unbelieving thinking. And this also is my confidence that truth lives because God lives. And though truth were dead and buried, it would rise again. The day is not far distant when the old old gospel shall again command the scholarship of the age and shall direct the thoughts of men.

The fight is not over yet. The brunt of the battle is yet to come. They dreamed that the old gospel was dead more than a hundred years ago. But they dug its grave too soon. Conformist and nonconformist had alike gone over to a cold Socinianism. And in the old sanctuaries where holy men once preached with power, modern dreamers droned out their wretched philosophies. All was decorous and dead, but God would not have it so. On a sudden, a voice was heard from Oxford where the Wesleys and their compères had found a living Savior and were bound to tell of his love.

And from an inn in Gloucester there came a youth who began to preach the everlasting gospel with trumpet tongue. A new era dawned. Two schools of Methodist with fiery energy proclaimed the living word. All England was aroused. A new springtide arrived. The time of the singing of the birds had come. Life rejoiced where once death withered all things, and it will be so again. The Lord liveth, and the gospel liveth too. Today especially here in our own nation, world and it seems to have taken over, we are bowing down and worshiping all sorts of idols.

The powerful preaching of the word of God is not present as it has been in the past. Yet God is able to change things as he did in the days of the great evangelical revival in England mentioned by Spurgeon. It is for this we must pray. We must pray that the Lord will come in mighty power and bring another great awakening to this nation before it's too late. The kingdom of God will prevail in this world. Satan will be defeated. The kingdom that Christ set up is spiritual, and it cannot be stopped. Today the Lord may be speaking to your heart.

You know that you are a sinner and separated from God. You realize that on your own you cannot save yourself. Then you must repent at once and flee right now to the Savior Jesus Christ and come into his kingdom. Don't yield to the power of Satan one minute longer. Come to Christ now. Our Father in heaven, we do pray for the furtherance of the gospel all over the world. We pray that every nation will bow at the foot of Christ. We pray that people from every nation will come to know Christ and follow him as Lord and Savior.

We pray that whole nations will come to Christ. Oh Father in heaven, we pray for the furtherance of your kingdom in this world. We know that your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. We know that your kingdom is a spiritual kingdom. And we know that your kingdom will not be defeated. And so Father, we pray for the outpouring of your Holy Spirit in great and mighty power in this world. And we pray particularly for our own nation where people are bowing down and worshiping idols, where people are committing sexual immorality in all of its forms. Where the nation as a whole is rebelling against you in many ways.

We pray that you would have mercy and that you would send another great awakening like you did so many years ago. We pray that you would pour out your spirit in mighty convicting power. And we pray that the nation as a whole will come to its knees and bow before you. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. This is Alex Dodson, and I would like to invite you to write us this week. Our email address is info@watchmanradio.org. That's info@watchmanradio.org. That's w a t c h m e n radio.org. You may also text us at 503 841 9643.

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David Schültz: We hope this week's broadcast has been a blessing to you. If you have any questions about Mr. Dodson's message, please write us. You may email us at info@watchmanradio.org. Our mailing address is Watchman Radio Ministries International, Post Office Box 13251 Portland, Oregon 97213. That's Watchman Radio Ministries International, Post Office Box 13251 Portland, Oregon 97213. You may listen to this broadcast at any time on the internet at www.oneplace.com. In the list of ministries, just select the Watchman Radio hour. This week's program and previous programs are always available there for listening. Our web address is www.watchmanradio.org. That's w a t c h m e n radio.org.

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