Safely in His Kingdom 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18, Genesis 4:1-15, Luke 18:9-17

 

Grace, mercy and peace to you, from God our Father, and our Lord Jesus, who bring us safely home.

 

In the first part of our message today, we’re going to talk about how God keeps our soul safe, even when our bodies are in danger, and brings us at last to His Heavenly Kingdom. 

 

And in the last part of our message, we’ll talk about how God keeps our body and life safe in this kingdom on earth, although the world may hurt us at times.

 

Our theme is, Safely in His Kingdom, taken from our Epistle, verse 18:  18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom.

 

That’s good news for God’s children, because we need a lot rescuing in this conflicted, fallen world.

 

It didn’t take long for the conflict to begin when man first fell into sin. Adam and Eve became instant adversaries of God, and of each other. 

 

Adam showed this by blaming Eve, and Eve showed it by blaming the serpent, and they both blamed God for having made the serpent, who was really the devil.

 

But it wasn’t God’s fault that the devil became evil, and that Adam and Eve chose to trust him, evil, instead of God, good.

 

It was their own fault, just as our own sin and wrong doing is our own fault.

 

God confronted Adam and Eve with their disobedience, and the dire consequences of it. 

But He also confronted them with a promise; He presented to them a plan of rescue: their descendant, His Son, would someday save them and all who believe.

 

Martin Luther comments on how, when their first child was born, a son, Eve, and probably Adam too, thought the baby was the promised Messiah. 

 

But as they found out, he was no Savior; nor would their second, Abel, end up being the Messiah, because, their first-born, Cain, killed, their second-born, Abel. 

 

How heart-breaking that must have been for them. 

 

It didn’t take long for the conflict that had come into the world through sin, to escalate into violence, even murder.

 

In the same way, in our fallen world today, we see how fast conflict can escalate into violence. 

 

It’s a dangerous world, and we have no one to blame for it but our own sinful selves; we’ve all contributed to the conflict and disorder and dysfunction with our sin. 

 

But there was One who never contributed any sin or evil to the world, yet all the sin, all the evil, all the violence, all the conflict and dysfunction, all that is wrong with the world, it was all directed toward Him and placed upon Him; and He suffered for it all, until He could bear no more, and He bowed His head, and gave us His spirit.

 

But in the greatest of ironies, He used His suffering to bring us healing; He used the violence done against Him, to bring us peace; by His punishment, came our forgiveness; and by His death, He won life for us. 

 

On the appointed day, Jesus rose, and He disarmed all had killed Him -- He crushed the power of evil over us. 

 

Never again will God’s Son be harmed in any way. He’s forever safe in His Father’s Kingdom, ruling with all power.

 

He lives and rules so that He might bring us safely there, to be well and safe with Him forever.

 

So indeed, 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and will bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom.

 

But that doesn’t mean we won’t have some suffering and pain in this life. 

 

It means that, being faithful and remaining in Christ, no evil in this fallen, violent world, no amount of harm to your body and mind, no trouble of any kind, can keep you from the Kingdom God’s Son has won for you.

 

Believing this and knowing that the end of His journey on earth was near, the apostle Paul, with no regrets for the sacrifices he had made, and the persecution he had endured for following Christ, made, by the power and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, this great confession of faith.

 

7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I’ve kept the faith. 8 Now there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but to all who have longed for his appearing.

 

In a couple weeks, we’ll celebrate All Saints Sunday. We’ll give thanks to God for the crown of glory that’s been awarded to our faithful, departed loved ones. 

 

And we’ll be strengthened in the assurance that there’s a prize waiting for us, a righteousness and glory that we’ll be crowned with for all eternity. 

 

Until then live in the promise that the Lord will rescue you from every evil deed and bring you safely into His heavenly kingdom.

Paul and the apostles ministered and proclaimed the Gospel in a dangerous world; our Lord lived and ministered in a dangerous world; and we serve and follow Him in a dangerous, conflicted world.

 

Sometimes it’s our own sin and selfishness causing the violence and conflict, and sometimes, as followers of Christ, it’s the fallen world opposing the truth we share, and the life we proclaim. 

 

We can be harmed in many ways, but thanks be to God, as we trust and serve Him in this dangerous world, He keeps our soul safe for its eternal reward.

 

Still, in ways that we are able, in ways that don’t compromise His Word and truth, God calls us to be peacemakers in this world. 

 

Blessed are the peace-makers, Jesus said, for they shall be called the sons of God.

 

In our world and in our nation, with discord and conflict increasing, it seems; with wars and blood-shed continuing; with crime on the rise, and innocent people, not looking for trouble, are being singled out and assaulted, let us pray for, and work toward, and speak up for order and peace.

 

While it’s true that we must endure some harm in this world, God still cares about His children and their well-being. So He sends His angels to guard us.

 

Just imagine all the harm that would befall us if not for God’s angels watching over us; all the harm the devil, and the fallen angels and the fallen world would do to us. Thanks be to God sending His angels to watch over us.

 

God also gives us earthly things and means to help keep us and others safe: laws for our protection and for good order, and law enforcement to serve and protect us, and military forces and other earthly powers meant for our 

good and our protection.

 

These powers can be abused and misused in this imperfect world filled with imperfect people, so God calls for accountability. 

 

When laws are just, and authorities are rightly enforcing them, then God calls us to receive and respect those laws, and support the authorities God has placed over us. 

 

As Paul says In Romans 13:1, Let everyone respect the governing authorities. 

 

When they execute just laws in a just way, they’re a blessing to us, helping and watching out for us. 

 

And so in this way God guards and protects us, and keeps us safe in this kingdom on earth.

 

But again, even with all the protections in place, bad things sometimes happen to us in this fallen world.  

 

When harm and evil happens, God calls us to comfort and help those who’ve been hurt. 

 

But most of all, to minister to and serve others with the Gospel promise, that in Christ, there’s a safe and happy life waiting for us in God’s eternal Kingdom.

 

So as a faithful, baptized child of God, be comforted and confident in knowing that, as our text promises, the Lord will rescue you… and in the end, He will bring you safely into his heavenly kingdom.

 

To Him be our praise, and to you be His peace, which passes understanding, and guards our hearts and minds, in Christ Jesus, our Lord, who will bring us safely home at last. Amen.