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Building in the Kingdom

May 16, 2019 / / 0 Comments

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First the Kingdom 18, Building in the Kingdom

In a well-known passage of scripture Jesus said that He would build His church, and in that context He also spoke of the keys to the kingdom. It is being said today that only Jesus can build His church and His kingdom. But is that true? Are we simply passive spectators, watching the rise and fall of worldly kingdoms while we wait for that glorious day in the future when Christ finally comes to set up His Kingdom?

Maybe the ancient philosophers were right. Maybe God is like the two great powers, Fate or Fortune who control everyone’s lives. Or maybe the Eastern Guru’s could teach us how to passively accept the way things are — their path to inner peace?

The apostles of Christ and the First Century Church evidently did not have this information. They took risks every day as they carried out His directions. Some were beaten and killed. others were driven out of their homes because they were driving back the very gates of hell! All of these troubles could have been avoided if they had simply stayed to themselves and quietly meditated in private.

Of course we must always remember, Jesus said without Him we can do nothing. Absolutely nothing! I cannot take my next breath without Him! However He also said that all things are possible with God! With God. In Christ. Through Christ. These words describe the reality wherein believers in Him have power. The earliest believers were said to have God working with them! They are also described as being filled with God the Holy Spirit!

There are times to be passive as we await the Spirit’s direction. There are also times when we know what to do and that is nothing! This should not define the overall mindset or mode for those following Christ. The accounts we have of the lives of men and women in the Bible are there for a reason. It is not always that we should copy their actions precisely, but we can certainly learn from them. We can easily see that God often moved them to actions which impacted situations in the world around them. When they moved with Him, He moved with them.

Prayer to God was always the undergirding force. They were people who knew their God. Some of them were educated and intelligent. Some were simple people. Some were important figures in the world, others were virtually unknown. The important thing was that God wanted to use them, and that they responded to His call.

There are many instances in the Bible where God used people instead of His direct intervention. I am convinced that He is still working for the being He created in Genesis to reflect His image, and to care for His creation. Our participation is required in that process. One does not become responsible overnight. As a child my mother did everything for me. Gradually I learned to feed and to dress myself. Amazingly I can still remember being taught to tie my shoes. That was a rewarding experience! I was growing up, and I felt the satisfaction of that simple accomplishment!

God knows His children are not ready to command the wind and the waves, and to rule over creation under His authority. He only gives us greater responsibilities as we are able to shoulder them.

Sadly, many people are denied the privilege of growing in both their natural and spiritual responsibilities and the satisfaction this growth brings. They are being tricked by the same snake in the garden that fooled Adam and Eve into relinquishing their rightful place in the universe to him. The same desire for physical pleasure and foolish pride keeps people today from finding the greatest pleasure and fulfillment of them all, the glory of God!

Jesus proved without doubt that human beings were here for greater things. He demonstrated the dominion and power that was available to those who return to the simplicity of living in and loving the One Who designed us for that very purpose. We were never intended to be subservient to the powers of nature. Jesus revealed the future He has in mind for the creation. As God’s people grow unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ, when they are finally revealed to be who they really are in Him, the groaning of the creation will end. As we fully find our place in his plan, and as we demonstrate that we are free from the results of the fall, so will creation be set free. Then will this planet be ruled and cared for by the nature of God revealed in humanity!

But we have to start now, by assuming the responsibilities God gives us little by little, day by day. He has brought those who have repented and placed their trust in Him into a special place. We are in His Kingdom now! We are learning to be faithful in small things so He can allow us to be in charge of greater things later. Having a view of the goal is important, but taking steps toward that goal is even more so.

People who believe that it is not yet the time for God’s Kingdom to come, for God’s will to be done in the earth now are constrained by false limitations. They put off important Kingdom activities to a future time when Christ Himself will do it all. They see these efforts as doomed from the start. I admit that the mission Christ has given looks more like the Mission Impossible, or the Impossible Dream of Don Quixote sometimes. And yet He often surprises us through simple people who are naive enough to believe Him! Jesus said some amazing things to those who believed in Him. He announced that from them would rivers of living water, and that they would do greater works than He had done!

Jesus also said He would build His Church and that the gates of hell would not prevail against it. Why then do we see ourselves as weak and unable to obey Him? It was Paul who called himself a wise master builder and a fellow worker with God. I submit that the proper perspective is that we are helpless without Him, but also more than conquerors though Him! Our mission is not doomed to failure, but only because it is God’s desire and plan. He cannot fail. Next time we will look in detail to see how each of us has a different part in His plan to transform this world.

Coming in Power!

May 9, 2019 / / 0 Comments

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First the Kingdom part 17, Coming in Power.

From the beginning of our discussions concerning the Kingdom of God or Kingdom of Heaven, We have tried to bring a back a balance which constitutes a major change in perspective for some. For many years I was taught that the Kingdom of God only belonged to the future. For the most part I heard about the experience believers would have in heaven with Christ after they die. In other times I was told about His eminent return to judge the world and to set up His Kingdom then. I was told nothing about the presence of the Kingdom of God in the earth now.

Please do not misunderstand me. While I have made a serious effort to show from the scriptures that Jesus Christ has already begun His reign in many, we do not discount the many passages in scripture which point to a grand and glorious future in the Kingdom. In both the old and new testaments we find many places that speak of indescribable power, glory, peace and joy to be experienced here on earth as well as in eternity. To claim all such events as in the past or present is to weaken the very force of the language and weaken the very hope that God has placed within our hearts! It is even difficult for me to understand how anyone who has truly spent any time in the presence of Christ could possibly be satisfied with the present state of humanity! We of all people must know that He would not be satisfied!

Let me tell you now that while all of the encouragement and joy I have in the present comes only from the presence of Christ in my life, much of that comes from what He has revealed to me by His Spirit about our future in the Kingdom of God! The difference in how I have come to understand it all today is that you and I have a part now in the Kingdom as that future unfolds!

Christ has come in power already many times. First He demonstrated His power over sickness, disease, and even nature. Finally He submitted to the judgment of evil men for the glory of God and to atone for our sins. In glorious power He returned from death in a resurrected body, and gathered his followers to confirm His Lordship in them.

After that He promised that they would receive power after the Holy Spirit had come upon them, and that by His power they would witness of Him throughout the world! In Luke’s record in Acts, we see that promised power in action, bringing thousands into the Kingdom of God.

The Holy Spirit has always been with us since that time, and has often expressed that same power through His church in marvelous ways throughout history. Those of us who truly know our own weaknesses also know how dependent we are upon His sweet presence and mighty power to live as effective witnesses for Him!

Like immortal words of the great entertainer, Al Jolson, who said “You ain’t heard nothing yet!” concerning the glory of Christ we can say, “You ain’t seen nothing yet!”

The Spirit of God in His prophets have given us a few small snapshots of what is in store for those who love Him. From these and the witness of the Holy Spirit in us we can actually be “caught up,” as the apostles Paul and John were to see the future even clearer!

1 Corinthians 2:9-10:

But as it is written:

“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.
NKJV

Perhaps you have seen some strange things coming from people who believe the Holy Spirit is leading them. I hope that does not cause you to shrink back from considering what the Spirit of God might teach you as it lines up with the apostles and prophets of Christ when He was certainly leading them! Consider the more abundant life that Christ said He came to give you! That is one with victory in your life today and even hope for untold millions of others on this planet! God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance!

There is a great and wondrous mystery surrounding the future coming of Christ to the world. In all honesty I cannot comprehend it! There are aspects that in the Bible seem absolutely terrifying! And yet every true believer and lover of Christ has this tremendous longing for His full and final appearing. Even today we recognize that He has appeared to us in some form, and that very appearance has changed us. From the Word of God we know that our transformation is ongoing and that we can continue to experience Him progressively. However from the Word we also know that there is a change coming that will eclipse anything that anyone in the history of the world has ever seen.

It thrills me to think about it! It also thrills me to know that we are not simply waiting for some great event in the future. We are tasting the powers of the age to come now, and we get to participate it it today! Eventually I want to talk more in detail about that participation. For now I hope we can simply revel in the knowledge that the Creator and master of every single atom and molecule in this entire universe has a wonderful purpose and destiny in mind for us all. The vision of that purpose can become brighter and brighter each day as we move toward it with each step.

At the end of the journey our Lord Jesus Christ awaits for a meeting with each of us face to face. At the end of history every eye shall see Him! His reward to those who love Him and faithfully serve Him is that final transformation. When we see Him as He is, we become like Him! When He finally and fully appears, we get to appear with Him in glory! Then the groaning of the physical creation will end. When God’s sons and daughters come to the measure of the stature of His fullness, when they are fully conformed to His image and are finally revealed, then the creation itself will be delivered from the bondage of death and corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God!

My hope is that our hearts and minds can be filled with the vision of His glory today, but also that such a vision will empower us to fulfill His will for us. Yes there is a future ahead that is beyond words to describe it. That future begins now, as we continue to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. We may not even understand all of what that means to us at the moment, but He will reveal all in His time.

For now we can cry out with our brother John in the Revelation, “Even so come Lord Jesus!”

The Paradigm Shift

May 2, 2019 / / 0 Comments

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First the Kingdom part 16, The Paradigm Shift

The title of this podcast is a fancy word phrase used in science that is definitely not found in the bible. I find that sometimes biblical words become so worn out over time that a modern term can actually refresh their true meaning. Repentance, for example is not a word often used today in modern conversation. It is common today to think more in terms of regret or being sorrowful for our actions.

Repentance can include those emotions, but the original meaning has more to do with a change in our thinking. I like paradigm shift because it describes a major change in how we think because the very framework from which we reason has changed. A good example is in what is called the Copernican Revolution. In the sixteenth century scientists believed in the Ptolemaic system which placed the earth at the center of the universe, with the sun, moon, planets and stars revolving around it. What we know now as planets were thought to be “wandering stars” because their perceived orbit around the earth was irregular.

Then Copernicus challenged this theory and proposed that the earth was not the center, but one of several bodies that revolved around our sun. After many years his theory was accepted and everything changed about the way the universe was understood.

When Jesus came preaching the Good News of the Kingdom of Heaven, he came with a challenge to change the way we think, the way we feel, and ultimately how we live. He did not just tell everyone what to do, but He introduced the real reason for doing right. It is time to recognize the kingdom or reign of God over us all. He is the only reason we are here, and the only purpose we have for being! And that IS good news! Why? Because since we began to make up our own reasons and plans, there has been nothing but turmoil in this world. Only those who hear the Word of God and live under His authority find their true place among the sun, moon, planets and stars that He created!

Everything about this series of teachings is because of the paradigm shift, or change in our thinking that God intends for our good. From the beginning it was His plan for us to reflect His character and to rule the earth in His right ways. He has not given up on that plan, in spite of how things might look. Too often in Christianity we only look back at the fall, and then to the Cross where the sins of the fall are forgiven. It is hard for us to remember the purpose that God had before the fall, and to look for the time when that purpose is fulfilled in us and in this earth. It is of course about our need to be redeemed from the fall, but more importantly it is about satisfying God’s desire for us! He still wants to have people to bear His image and fully reflect His nature and character!

While the problem of sin should not be minimized, the solution that God provided in Jesus Christ has more than eclipsed that problem! There is a paradigm that seems to see the problem of sin and rebellion as almost too great for God to solve. Even in popular culture the outlook is becoming so pessimistic that total annihilation seems inevitable. Will God scrap His original plan and start over with a few as He did in Noah’s day? Scripture in some places seem to be saying that, but in each case the context must be considered.

One reason for my optimism is that after over 2,000 years, the Gospel continues to change lives. Jesus is no longer with us in person as a man, but He continues to melt the hardest of hearts. Faith and courage are everywhere, and even more so when resistance is met. The most powerful reason however comes from the living Word of God. His Word has burned into my heart and mind a view of His power, goodness, lordship and love that will not allow me to give up on His purpose! Once my eyes were opened, the evidence became overwhelming!

For the past 200 years a dark, depressing, pessimistic view of the future has prevailed in many churches. I believe it is more born of great and terrible events like 2 world wars, the Great Depression, and the atomic age, than from the Bible. The Bible gives us the true picture of our desperate situation, of course. It also is honest about the things we as humans bring upon ourselves. At the same time it tells of a God and Savior Who sees past the failures of humanity, and Who has sufficient love, grace and power to perform His good will towards us.

Isn’t it terrific that the universe does not revolve around me, my faults, my virtues, my abilities? Isn’t it a relief that fate of the world does not rest upon my shoulders or your shoulders? In fact the universe and the history of the world begins and ends with God who is pure and perfect love, and always sufficient in every situation.

It is my hope that the prevailing paradigm of doom and despair will be replaced with a new paradigm of hope, not only for me and my little circle of family and friends. Christ died for us all. In this hopeful view we are empowered to do great things by the power of God! Jesus Himself said that we could do even greater works than He did 2,000 years ago! Let us hear what the Holy Spirit of God is saying to us today. Let us cast aside the dark future that Satan has in mind and press forward against all odds because in Christ we are more than conquerors through Him and His love!

Listen to the words of the apostle Paul in his letter to the Romans:

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.

I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

(Romans 11:33-12:2 NASB)

My belief is that the Holy Spirit of God is in the process of drawing us nearer to Him, convincing us to offer ourselves more completely to His purpose. In this way we are empowered to be different from the unbelieving world, having minds that are renewed by His living Word! We are becoming literally transformed into His very image, to demonstrate the Kingdom of heaven here on earth, proving His good, acceptable and perfect will to all!

 

We hope this series on First the Kingdom has been helpful to you. To continue in this study with us, we invite you to “like” and “follow” https://www.facebook.com/livingtruthcom/ or subscribe to our blog on https:livingtruth.com

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