Category: Blog Posts (Page 72 of 91)

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Luke 17:20-21:

“Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.” NIV

When I first came across this passage in Luke forty years ago, I was astounded. I had recently come through a season of darkness and confusion, and was just beginning to see the full wonder and glory of Jesus Christ, and the abundant life that He came to give us all. This was a complete change of perspective for me. Before I had thought that every time the Bible was talking about the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven, it was referring to the place Christians go after they die.

While I still understood and do understand that Christians pass from this life and into the immediate presence of our glorious Lord, then I learned something about our present experience of His presence. Finding the words of Jesus telling that the Kingdom of God is within us only confirmed what I was already experiencing! I had discovered genuine righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost! (Romans 14:17).

Today these scriptures are commonly quoted and even taken for granted. Sometimes I think they are taken too much for granted.

Have you ever seriously considered the context of Luke 17:20-21? The people who asked Jesus about the Kingdom and the ones he answered were the infamous Pharisees. While not all Pharisees were bad guys, the picture we get from the New Testament was that many of them who came in contact with Jesus were against Him. I can understand that the Kingdom of God is in those of us who have been born again according to John 3:3-5. But how could He say that the Kingdom of God was inside of those nasty Pharisees?

In fact, some Bible students and a few translators believe what He actually said was that the Kingdom of God was “among them.” They believe that the Kingdom of God was present among them in the Person of Jesus, which is true, but let us consider another possibility. Could He really have meant that every human being has a place within them where God could actually set up His throne?

Since Jesus came two thousand years ago, preaching, teaching, healing the sick, raising the dead, dying on a cross, returning to life and ascending to the right hand of the throne of God, the world has never been the same. The greatest change took place in the hearts and lives of people from all backgrounds and stations in life. He did not ignore their sinfulness, but He also saw something else in them. He saw that place in each one of us that is reserved for God alone, that only He could fill.

Those who followed Him were instructed to pray for the whole world, that the same Kingdom reign of Christ from heaven would fill others as well, that His will would also be done on earth in them. This is where it must begin, within you and me. The same goes for everyone else. Sometimes it is hard to look at another person and see that one as a potential Kingdom citizen. But Jesus did this very thing. He insisted that nothing was too hard for God.

When I look as the state of my country and society, it gets harder all the time to see the Kingdom of God advancing forward, but that is the challenge given unto us. Many of us are regularly challenged to believe and expect a better life for ourselves, our families, and our churches. Today I would challenge us all to believe God for His will to be continually done in this whole earth, as it is in heaven! That means that as we pray the Lord’s prayer, He will open tens of thousands of hearts around this world to His Kingly reign of light and love. He reigns as King in our hearts and desires to do so in all hearts everywhere. Will we join Him in His vision for His Creation? Will we enlist in His glorious army of light, clothed with the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith, the belt of Truth, the spread of the Gospel of peace, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God?

Maybe it isn’t all about me after all. Yes, the Kingdom of God is within me, but it is also in others. Jesus wants to call that marvelous lifestyle forth from all people everywhere. Some may be satisfied to get their personal mansion in heaven, but there are others who possess a holy dissatisfaction with the state of God’s universe. They are seeing how He must continue to reign, until all His enemies are put under His feat, even death! Our prayers, intercessions and testimonies play a great part in this transformation of hearts, even to end the source of death, that carnal mind that resists Life Himself!

The King of the Kingdom came two thousand years ago. He announced that it had come and inaugurated it. It has been advancing ever since. It is active in many of us today, and many are already living under His Lordship. It will continue through cultural storms and political upheavals. It will prevail through economic downturns, riots, revolutions, and dictatorships. But perhaps even in our lifetime we will fully see “the knowledge of the glory of the Lord cover the earth, as the waters cover the sea!” (Habakkuk 2:14).

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Sometimes when people are trying to get others to believe them, they will resort to saying things like “it’s the God’s honest truth! Or “if God should strike me dead!” Growing up, we often heard this one, “honest to God!” Hopefully we all know that God certainly knows if we are witnessing to the truth or a lie.

In my lifetime I have witnessed many lives changed by the Word of God and the Holy Spirit at work in the hearts of men, women and children. A real born-again experience is usually characterized by a liberating sensation. An individual suddenly realizes that God Himself has forgiven their sins and that they are truly and fully guilt free before Him!

It is not either uncommon for individuals to go through a range of emotions and doubts soon afterwards. They have an enemy at work behind the scenes, tempting them, working to discourage and confuse them. It is at this point that a solid foundation and caring leadership can make a huge difference. I happened to have been blessed with that kind of support as a young Christian, but in my Pentecostal background, I have found that all are not so fortunate.

Conversion can be a powerful emotional experience. But our emotions can easily be swayed. Often when that initial emotional high diminishes, we begin to wonder. Have I drifted away from the love of God! Have I lost something? Have I sinned? If a sin is committed, we are not sure of what to do about it. Should we respond to the next alter call? Should we offer some sort of penance? Or do we need a new spiritual experience, a new revelation?

Once I was discussing with a young Christian the fact that the Christian life is about a relationship with God. He tried to explain to me that he understood human relationships, because we physically see, hear and touch one another. Since God is a Spirit, we cannot see Him with our physical eyes, hear Him with our physical ears, or touch Him physically.

In fact, for many the first time they sense the real presence of God is at their initial conversion to faith in Christ. Often they sense His presence for days or weeks afterwards, but their necessary involvement with this life soon distracts them. It’s kind of like a young couple on their honeymoon. When they finally have to settle into life with jobs and housekeeping, a greater effort is required to keep the romantic aspect of the relationship alive.

The new Christian then learns the regular activities of the Christian life: prayer, Bible reading, church meetings, giving to the work of the Gospel etc. These activities can and should help us continue to be conscious of His Presence, but not always. What can easily happen is that we relate more to the activities themselves than in their purpose, to remind us of our relationship with our Savior and Lord.

Is it possible that we can become more focused on how to get to heaven, and what requirements must be met, than just the simple fact that we have been reconciled to God through Christ? Now that we are in Christ, how can our relationship with Him grow? How can we come to more fully know and love Him? What is it that truly pleases Him?

In recent years there is much discussion on whether or not Christians should confess their sins before God. The passage in 1 John 1:7-10 is seen as a threat to the security of the believers salvation. Nowhere does John say that a believer loses his salvation when he sins, and must confess sins to regain that salvation. Because of this wrong assumption, the passage must be twisted to mean something else.

It seems so counter to grace, unmerited favor, that some insist that these verses must be intended for unbelievers or Gnostics, those of a counterfeit faith. We are to confess only our righteousness, not our sins, they say. First of all it is His righteousness not ours that is at work in us. We are the children of God, no longer of the darkness. We all know, however, that believers can and do sin.

1 John 1:8-2:1:
“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

My little children, these things write I unto you, that you sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:”

John is writing to the believers that their joy might be full! (1 John 1:4). He knows that they are still God’s children even after they sin. They do not lose their salvation, but they will lose their joy and victory. You can say anything you want about grace and unmerited favor, I contend that God expects honesty from His children.

When my son was little, I questioned him about something he should not have done. When he denied it, I had to teach him that the act was not as bad as the lie. Mistakes happen, but we all should be learning to avoid them in time. I wanted his joy to be full. I wanted trust in our relationship. I wanted him to grow in grace to a successful adult and fruitful child of God.

Do you think our Heavenly Father cares any less for our progress in Him? He knows we need to be open and honest before Him. He already knows the situation, and He has graciously supplied the remedy. This remedy was discovered by King David of old time, a great believer who commited great sins. He humbled himself before his God, Who restored unto him the joy of his salvation! (Psalm 51). Are we looking for the restoration of David’s tabernacle? Maybe we first need the restoration of David-like humility and honesty before God!

He understood the need for “truth in the inward parts.” Unlike many religious people in the past and present, he knew that no ritual or outward good deed could take the place of an honest and humble heart.

Ps 51:17:
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart , O God, you will not despise.

Isaiah 57:15:
For thus says the high and lofty One that inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

These conditions transcend the law and the Old Covenant. They are keys to the very heart of God!