I will not be able to share on the Kingdom of Heaven/God in my blog in any way close to the depth I will be on Sundays, but I will endeavor to capture some of what God is showing me in posts over the coming weeks. It has been an eye-opening journey as I study and I hope it blesses you as much as it has me. Bear with me through these initial posts as, short of becoming book length, they will inevitably raise more questions than I can address or answer here.
It strikes me that the Kingdom message was one that we have lost in our sharing of the Gospel—and yet it was dominate in their sharing of it. John the Baptist declared it. Jesus declared it. The first verses of Acts tell us it is what Jesus taught on between His resurrection and ascension. The chapters of Acts tell us that it was dominate in what the Apostles taught. The last verses of Acts tell us that it is what Paul was teaching from his confinement in the last records of his life. Jesus even said that it was the gospel of the Kingdom that would be preached throughout the whole world, and then the end would come.
What is the Kingdom message or gospel? I'll address that in later posts, but it is, in a very short summary, the place where God reigns. A kingdom is a king's domain—where he has authority. Paul tells us, in Colossians 1:13, that God, ". . . has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son." Jesus made no bones about declaring Satan the ruler of this world, but He announced a ruler, or King, greater had come—a new and greater Kingdom was "invading" the world that was, and is, under the sway and authority (or domain) of darkness.
In some verses the Kingdom is declared to be here. In others it is still coming. And both are true. The invasion began with Jesus. Then, by His death, burial, and resurrection He "bound" the strongman—He removed Satan's basis of authority and power. What awaits is the plundering of the strongman's goods. (I am referencing His parable of the strongman which He told in multiple of the Gospels when accused of casting out demons by Satan's power.) We are in, as Peter declared in his first sermon when quoting Joel, the "last days"—plural. We are waiting for the last day—singular. It would seem that we are in that inbetween time when the Kingdom of God has broken in, where Jesus has bound the strongman, and when the strongman's goods are being plundered by those in God's Kingdom—where we are called to go out, in His name and authority, and share and demonstrate this Kingdom to a world in darkness.
Some have believed that we are to usher in the final Kingdom by social justice and working to make the world perfect. That won't happen. The Bible makes it clear the world is going to be in chaos and pain until Jesus comes back. The Kingdom is not a world Kingdom, it is God's rule in and over a person. We absolutely care for the downtrodden, and love the lost, and rebuke the demonic realm, and "plunder" that which Satan owns . . . but we do it person by person, one by one, loving them and sharing with them the good news of Jesus' death that bound Satan's hold and gave us a way to freedom and being brought back together again with God, who loves us so much.
The thing that a "Kingdom" understanding does for us is help us understand our full calling in Christ. So often we present the cross as the end or the gospel—"get saved" so you can go to heaven. We then "get saved" and then wait, or "hold on," until heaven. The "Kingdom" understanding awakens us to our tremendous calling to go, in Jesus' authority and name, letting Him live and rule in us, as our King, plundering that which He died to buy back, that which He dearly loves. Jesus has gone ahead of us to prepare a place—and the day will be here in a twinkle of the eye when He ushers us in to it!—but until then we are called to kneel before our King, to serve our King, to allow Him to be King in us, and to be His hands and feet in winning back that which He paid the dearest price for. I believe that it would be impossible for a Christian to ever truly understand this calling and Kingdom gospel and to ever be bored. I am convinced that word "bored" and the word "Christian" should never exist in the same sentence (yes, I know I just used them both in one).
The great news is that while we are warned through the New Testament to be aware of the devil as we live and serve, nowhere does it say we are to be afraid of the devil. To the contrary—to understand the Kingdom gospel is to understand that Jesus defeated him with the cross and that we are to go in Jesus' name and authority and be His Kingdom "knights"—plundering that which was the devil's, but which Jesus bought back. In fact, the New Testament encourages us and reminds us that when we resist the devil he will flee, and that greater is the One in us than the one who is in and of the world! Thanks be to God for His gift, His love, and the calling we have to be a part of His "invasion" from Heaven to earth! May His Kingdom come, and His will be done, here on earth as it is in heaven, in each area and place He has called me and you to live and walk in His name and authority, as His ambassador and soldier and bride!
Showing posts with label Gospel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gospel. Show all posts
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Friday, November 19, 2010
Two Sides . . .
I have been been teaching recently on "church" and what God means by that. I believe that too often we attempt to conform ourselves (or we draw our expectations from) the traditions of men, rather then the Word of God. Hence, we set up a system that we think is "proper" because others do it that way, or we have expectations unmet, or we flounder, because we are not in His way, but man's, and at that point we are in trouble. I hope to finish the series this Sunday, but you can get the mp3s of the first three by clicking HERE if you are interested. I'd love your feedback!
One of the things that has struck me in my study has been the living, intertwined nature of Christ and the church (the body of Christ). According to God's Word the body is being built up into a living building, as living stones built together, for Christ. He is the cornerstone—the foundation and anchor and starting point and measuring point of it all. Interestingly, He is also another kind of stone. He is a stumbling block.
1 Peter 2:6-8 says: For it stands in Scripture: "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame." So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, "The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone," and "A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense." They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.
So, for those who believe and obey He is the cornerstone, the foundational strength and the leveling point which we can rejoice in and always stay anchored to and supported by and kept on track with. But, to those who don't believe and who don't obey, He is another kind of stone—a stumbling block. To those who would seek any other way to God, or to a right life, He is in their path declaring, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6)
There is no way around it. He is a stumbling block to any other path to righteousness before God or even true purposeful living. But, more than that, WE (believers) are linked together with Him in such a union that we, too, take on this dual aspect (provided, I believe, that we have let the Holy Spirit fully occupy us and live through us).2 Cor 2:14-16 says: But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life.
Through us God spreads the fragrance (isn't that a beautiful picture to want to have describe our life?!) of Christ. If we are yielded and allowing, we become the very aroma of Christ among the world—and to the one we are the fragrance of life, and to the other the fragrance of death! What a picture of the union and identify we share with Christ! And what a powerful example, again, of that dual aspect of the Gospel: a cornerstone to some, a stumbling block to others; a fragrance of life to some, a fragrance of death to others.
Isn't this the way of so many things in life? Just this morning I was telling someone how I feel a little sad around December 20th when the shortest daylight day arrives because I know that the daylight is getting longer. The friend laughed and said, basically, that I am one of very few who feel that way. I recognize that—because I am blessed to do so much of my study and email and administration from my home, the cold, dark, winter days and nights and (hopefully!) rain mean to mean a crackling fire, a hot drink, and a cozy home. But, I don't have to go out every day driving in it, or working in it. To so many others that same weather is hard, brutal, and miserable.
What, I wonder, is before us in life that we can go either way with? What opportunity or situation are we in, or do we have, that we might choose to go two different ways with in how we utilize it or respond in it? For Paul, prison became a place to praise God and evangelize . . for others it was simply misery to endure. For one leper his healing became a chance to thank and praise God . . . for the others it became something entirely different and much more self focused. For David the ark arriving in Jerusalem was a time of exuberant joy . . . for his wife it was a time of mocking her husband's praise and dance. What are the situations facing you and I? How might we use them? How are we responding in them? The exact same situation can, to two different people, be two entirely different things!
Note: While I believe that God can, and does, work through all things, I do not subscribe to all things being from God at the operational, daily level of our life. I believe we have an active enemy who steals, kills, and destroys. I struggle to understand people thanking God for giving them some sickness or pain and then rushing to the doctor or medicine to try and take it away. I believe in praising God through all things, and knowing He will work in all things, but I also believe that some of the things He is "blamed" for are truly the work of an active enemy and we need to be combating those things instead of thanking God for them. I know that some don't agree with this, but I needed to clarify it because some could take what I was saying above to mean I was saying we should praise God for all things. I'd love to hear your prayerful thoughts and dialogue on it. For instance, if resisting the devil makes him flee (James 4:7), then it would seem not resisting him would mean he won't. Both options are so polar opposite of each other I don't believe both can be God's desire for a person—which would seem to me to mean that the consequences of both options can't both be God's desire for us. Thoughts? Just, as the foundation for my comments, know that I believe the Bible clearly teaches that our choices matter, and if they matter it implies different outcomes are possible by them, and if different outcomes are possible by them then I don't see how all could be His desire for us.
One of the things that has struck me in my study has been the living, intertwined nature of Christ and the church (the body of Christ). According to God's Word the body is being built up into a living building, as living stones built together, for Christ. He is the cornerstone—the foundation and anchor and starting point and measuring point of it all. Interestingly, He is also another kind of stone. He is a stumbling block.
1 Peter 2:6-8 says: For it stands in Scripture: "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame." So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, "The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone," and "A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense." They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.
So, for those who believe and obey He is the cornerstone, the foundational strength and the leveling point which we can rejoice in and always stay anchored to and supported by and kept on track with. But, to those who don't believe and who don't obey, He is another kind of stone—a stumbling block. To those who would seek any other way to God, or to a right life, He is in their path declaring, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6)
There is no way around it. He is a stumbling block to any other path to righteousness before God or even true purposeful living. But, more than that, WE (believers) are linked together with Him in such a union that we, too, take on this dual aspect (provided, I believe, that we have let the Holy Spirit fully occupy us and live through us).2 Cor 2:14-16 says: But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life.
Through us God spreads the fragrance (isn't that a beautiful picture to want to have describe our life?!) of Christ. If we are yielded and allowing, we become the very aroma of Christ among the world—and to the one we are the fragrance of life, and to the other the fragrance of death! What a picture of the union and identify we share with Christ! And what a powerful example, again, of that dual aspect of the Gospel: a cornerstone to some, a stumbling block to others; a fragrance of life to some, a fragrance of death to others.
Isn't this the way of so many things in life? Just this morning I was telling someone how I feel a little sad around December 20th when the shortest daylight day arrives because I know that the daylight is getting longer. The friend laughed and said, basically, that I am one of very few who feel that way. I recognize that—because I am blessed to do so much of my study and email and administration from my home, the cold, dark, winter days and nights and (hopefully!) rain mean to mean a crackling fire, a hot drink, and a cozy home. But, I don't have to go out every day driving in it, or working in it. To so many others that same weather is hard, brutal, and miserable.
What, I wonder, is before us in life that we can go either way with? What opportunity or situation are we in, or do we have, that we might choose to go two different ways with in how we utilize it or respond in it? For Paul, prison became a place to praise God and evangelize . . for others it was simply misery to endure. For one leper his healing became a chance to thank and praise God . . . for the others it became something entirely different and much more self focused. For David the ark arriving in Jerusalem was a time of exuberant joy . . . for his wife it was a time of mocking her husband's praise and dance. What are the situations facing you and I? How might we use them? How are we responding in them? The exact same situation can, to two different people, be two entirely different things!
Note: While I believe that God can, and does, work through all things, I do not subscribe to all things being from God at the operational, daily level of our life. I believe we have an active enemy who steals, kills, and destroys. I struggle to understand people thanking God for giving them some sickness or pain and then rushing to the doctor or medicine to try and take it away. I believe in praising God through all things, and knowing He will work in all things, but I also believe that some of the things He is "blamed" for are truly the work of an active enemy and we need to be combating those things instead of thanking God for them. I know that some don't agree with this, but I needed to clarify it because some could take what I was saying above to mean I was saying we should praise God for all things. I'd love to hear your prayerful thoughts and dialogue on it. For instance, if resisting the devil makes him flee (James 4:7), then it would seem not resisting him would mean he won't. Both options are so polar opposite of each other I don't believe both can be God's desire for a person—which would seem to me to mean that the consequences of both options can't both be God's desire for us. Thoughts? Just, as the foundation for my comments, know that I believe the Bible clearly teaches that our choices matter, and if they matter it implies different outcomes are possible by them, and if different outcomes are possible by them then I don't see how all could be His desire for us.
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