'God's kingdom is something we live'

 

Preaching for the Sunday, Jan. 18, Martin Luther King Jr. Day worship service at Holy Temple Church of God in Christ in Spokane, the Rev. Benjamin Watson Sr. reminded those gathered by the Spokane Minister's Fellowship that they gathered "not simply to remember a man but to remember a movement, a movement rooted in the Kingdom of God."

They were not gathered to honor a holiday but to honor a holy calling.

"We gather to remember a man, yes, but more important to remember the Kingdom that shaped him," said Benjamin, pastor of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church and executive director of Emmanuel Family Life Center.

"Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did not begin with marches or microphones. He began with a Kingdom conviction. Before he stood before presidents, he knelt before the King of Kings. Before he spoke to the nation, he listened to the voice of God. Before he dreamed of a better world, he surrendered to a better Kingdom."

Benjamin pointed out that Dr. King's life teaches what Jesus taught, that "the Kingdom of God is not just something we wait for, it's something we live."

When people live the Kingdom, seek the King and surrender to his reign, they discover that "there's a King in you."

In Luke 17-:20-21, Jesus said, "The Kingdom of God is within you."

"It's not around us, not some day, not after we die, but within us," Benjamin affirmed.

For him, that means Kingdom courage, compassion, justice, dignity and purpose are within each person.

"Dr. King believed, preached and embodied this. He understood that the Kingdom is God's reign breaking into human reality through human vessels," Benjamin continued. "That's why he could stand against hatred without becoming hateful, face violence without surrendering to violence and love his enemies without losing his identity."

Dr. King said, "Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that," because he knew that "the King lives in me."

"When we seek the Kingdom as Dr. King did, we seek justice," he said. "The only message Dr. King preached was about the Kingdom of God. He did not drive out devils. He did not ask if we were born again."

Benjamin cited Jesus' call in Matt. 6:33 to "seek first the Kingdom of God and God's righteousness," clarifying "righteousness is not just personal morality. It's a right relationship with God, neighbor and community."

Micah 6:8 says right relationship is doing justice, loving mercy and walking humbly with God.

"Dr. King didn't pursue justice because it was popular. He pursued justice because it was Kingdom," he said. "He didn't march to make a name for himself. He marched because he had already bowed his knee to the Name above every name. He didn't fight for civil rights because of politics but because of the Gospel."

He also reminded listeners that "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

Benjamin quoted: "Blessed are the peacemakers, the merciful, those who love enemies, those who do good to those who do not do good to them. It's what we do to the least of our brothers and sisters."

"Dr. King's activism was not separate from his faith. It was the fruit of his faith. He sought the King and because he sought the King, he sought the Kingdom, and because he sought the Kingdom, he sought justice."

Benjamin said, "the Kingdom heals what laws cannot heal."

2 Chron. 7:14 says there is a word from the Lord that echoes across generations.

"This is not a verse. It is a formula for national healing, a formula Dr. King understood, because there are some things we cannot legislate," he said. "Dr. King said that 'a law cannot make a man love me, but it can keep him from lynching me. I think that's pretty important.' Laws can restrain evil, but only the Kingdom can transform the heart.

"Kingdom understands that we can pass laws, but we can't legislate love into human lives," Benjamin said. "We can write resolutions but cannot write healing. We can't mandate equality without empathy.

"God says the healing of the land does not begin in Congress or city hall or the courthouse. It begins with my people, not if the politicians would, if the nation would or if the culture would, but if my people would," Benjamin said.

"If my people call my name, humble themselves, pray and turn from their wicked ways, God will forgive their sins and heal them," he continued, affirming that it is not just about individuals, but about healing the nation "in our houses, our communities, our state and our nation."

Dr. King understood this, so before he marched, he prayed. Before he spoke, he listened. Before he confronted injustice, he confronted his own heart before God.

Benjamin pointed out that the Civil Rights Movement was not a political movement, but a spiritual movement.

Dr. King understood that the formula to seek God's face, Kingdom and healing was not in another law, resolution or program, but in a church that will humble itself, a community praying and hearts turning, so "the Kingdom comes alive in us, because there's a King in you, and when the King rises, healing follows," Benjamin said.

"It takes courageous, crazy love," he said. "When Dr. King taught that 'love is the most durable power in the world,' he did not mean sentimental love but Kingdom love, the kind Jesus demonstrated on the cross.

"Kingdom love," he explained, "confronts evil without becoming evil, resists injustice without losing joy, speaks truth without losing tenderness and stands firm without becoming hard."

This love fueled the Civil Rights Movement and made Dr. King a prophet to the nation, Benjamin said, adding, "Dr. King's life shows what happens when the Kingdom comes alive in a person. He was not perfect but allowed the Kingdom to shape his convictions, compassion, courage and calling.

"He believed that the Gospel was not just about getting people to heaven, but getting heaven into people," Benjamin said. "He believed that the church was not just a place to gather but a place to launch Kingdom transformation. That's why his life speaks to us today. He let God shape his will."

Benjamin noted that God's church is often so busy that "when God calls us, we say, 'Please leave a message.'

"As Dr. King said, 'Everybody can be great because anybody can serve,' because when the Kingdom gets inside a person, when the King sits on the throne of a heart, when Jesus becomes Lord of your life, you become a vessel of change, a light in darkness, a voice of hope, a witness of love, a sign of the Kingdom and proof that there's a King in you.

"Oh, what a gift God gave us when he gave us Jesus the Christ and when God gave the nation Dr. King," said Benjamin, continuing, "When we honor Dr. King, we honor the King he served, the preacher who believed the Gospel could transform a nation, the prophet who believed justice was not a political idea but a Kingdom mandate, the dreamer who believed God's dream for humanity was bigger than America's divisions."

When Dr. King stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and declared, "I have a dream," Benjamin said he wasn't just giving a speech. He was echoing the heartbeat of the Kingdom, because the Kingdom of God has always been and is greater than the nation. God's dream is for humanity.

"Dr. King's dream was not rooted in politics," he added. "It was rooted in prophecy, Scripture and the Kingdom. That's why his dream still speaks. It wasn't just his dream. It was God's dream. It was the dream of the Kingdom of God within us.

"I dream we will be the heartbeat of the Kingdom of God to let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream," he said. "The dream of God's church is for rich and poor to stand together.

"We declare today, we will seek first God's Kingdom, walk in God's righteousness, love with God's love, stand with God's courage, serve with God's compassion and shine with God's light. We will do that because the Kingdom is within us, the King reigns over us, and the King lives through us," Benjamin said. "There is a king in you and me. Let the glory of the Lord rise in us."

For information, pbenjamin.eflc@gmail.com.