Category: Podcasts (Page 38 of 80)

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First the Kingdom 2, The Original Blessing

The Bible is an epic story of love, tragedy, drama, virtue, passion and purpose in the context of world-changing events. The central character is God and the central theme is His relationship with humanity. The foundation to this relationship is laid out in the opening chapters of Genesis.

When human beings are first mentioned they are depicted as the pinnacle of God’s creativity. Up until that time everything He created was seen by God as “good.” After He created mankind, He observed that His work was “very good.”

Gen 1:26-28:

Then God said,”Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them,”Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
NKJV

God’s plan for us was that we would be reflections of His character and even His authority. Our existence was not to be one of frustration and futility, sorrow and powerlessness. We were placed over the earth He created and were to glorify Him in everything we do! This was God’s good and perfect plan for all of us! At this present point in time it is difficult to comprehend how wonderful life on this planet could actually be. But we must be patient. He is in the process of revealing this very truth unto us!

From chapter 3 and onward it looks like God’s plan was disrupted by a snake in the garden and the man and woman who followed the snakes plan. In reality the rest of the Bible is actually the story of how God would restore humanity and yet fullfill His original plan, His purpose of the ages! (Ephesians 3:19).

While Adam and Eve were made in God’s image and called His children (Luke 3:38), they were not satisfied. The tempatation was to be independently wise apart from God. This independence was their downfall. They lost the ability to rule the earth in righteousness, peace and love. Paradise was lost. Instead they would experience failure, defeat and death. War would soon appear on the earth in the conflict beteen their two sons Cain and Abel. Following the murder of Abel things began to go slowly downhill.

If we did not take into account the working of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of people down through the ages, we would agree with the many prophets of doom today. They predict that a final holocost is all that awaits us. Thankfully, we do have the record of God’s working in His people and can understand His original plan has never been lost or forsaken! Oh how thankful I am for the Bible, God’s Word to encourage my heart in these days! At times my gratitude brings me to tears to think that He would even share His secrets with someone like me!

The Holy Spirit began to teach people like Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David and the prophets, about His higher destiny for their lives and for all of us! Finally, when the time was right, He sent John the Baptist to prepare the way for the long awaited Messiah, who would lead us back to our original state of holiness and freedom under God.

Sin, in the Bible is more than individual actions. It is to fall short of the glory of God as He planned for us in the beginning. The only way back is through the flaming sword at the gate, the Word of God. (Ephesians 6:17, Hebrews 4:12) By the Holy Spirit, the Word of God convicts our hearts and renews our minds to understand our need to return to that original trust and dependence upon God. We are helpless without Him, but by faith IN HIM, all things are possible unto us! (Matthew 19:26, Mark 9:23, Mark 10:27).

When Jesus proclaimed, “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand,” He proved His claim with demonstrations of power. His was the authority of one in union with the Heavenly Father, over all the power of the enemy. This authority He also shared in a measure with those who trusted in Him! (Luke 10:17-19) I am convinced that He wants to share that authority even today, with humble, submissive believers who truly love Him!

Selfish pride was found in the serpent, as well as in Adam and Eve. Pride and arrogance will always interfere with the grace that God is offering us all. Those who look only for the minimum requirements for securing their place in heaven are in danger of missing not only that, but also the wonder and beauty of an intimate relationship with God in Christ now. They might never hear the higher call of Kingdom Life, one that rises above sin and failure, and that leads others to victory in Christ!

Heavenly Father, Open our hearts and our eyes to see the grand breadth of your divine purpose for the ages. Give us a new birth, one that enables us to see the glory of Your Kingdom unfolding in our personal lives, and in your wonderful creation. By your grace we surrender our plans and desires to your greater purpose, to glorify you and to enjoy You forevermore!

In Jesus Name,
Amen

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Today we are introducing a new series of podcasts on Livingtruth.com entitled “First the Kingdom.” We hope that you will find it both helpful and challenging and that the time spent here will be worthwhile. The topic of the Kingdom of God has long been important to me in many ways and for many reasons. I hope it will become more important to you than previously if I can convince you that it still is very important to our Lord Jesus Christ!

In some areas the Kingdom of God is a controversial subject, in others it is given almost no consideration. However, we cannot escape the fact that the message of Jesus was centered around the Kingdom of God, or the Kingdom of Heaven as it is also called.

Jesus began His public ministry with the Good News of the Kingdom of God:

Mark 1:14-15:

And after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” 
NASB

Matthew, whose Gospel was directed more to Jews of his day, used the phrase they considered more respectful of the Name of God, the Kingdom of Heaven.

Matthew 4:17:

From that time Jesus began to preach and say, ” Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 
NASU

Even before Jesus, John the Baptist came with the same announcement, generating quite a commotion. People from Jerusalem, Judea and all around the Jordan came to hear him as the Voice of one crying out in the wilderness, “make ready the way of the Lord, make His paths straight!” (Matthew 3:1-3)

What was it about John’s preaching that drew the great crowds? There is no record of him performing miracles and yet there seemed to be a passion within him that sparked something in the hearts of the people. We know from Luke’s Gospel that he was filled with the Holy Spirit even before he was born. (Luke 1:15,41) He had a destiny to fulfill, and was sent by the God of the universe to fulfill it! (John 1:6)

The situation at the time was that the people of Israel were in the land promised to them by God, but they were not free. The government over them was set up by the Roman Emperors and was under occupation by Rome. As in many other times in history there were both resistance fighters and collaborators trying to make the best of the situation.

The coming of the Kingdom of God must have meant to many that Roman rule was coming to an end. The words of the ancient prophets kept alive for many years the hope of a golden age for Israel that was even greater than the time of King David. They were looking for the son of David to rise to the throne and reclaim the order that was set in place by God Himself. All nations would begin to desire the light of the God of Israel shining forth from this blessed nation! (Isaiah 2:1-4).

The humble of heart realized that the first step necessary for this new order was the call for personal and national repentance. Others rejected this and held fast to the confidence of their own righteousness based upon their version of adherence to the law of Moses. In fact they rejected John’s message and desired for the people to follow them instead!

Great numbers of people believed John and were baptized by him in the Jordan River as a sign of repentance in preparation of the Messiah-Savior who would soon come. Jesus Himself was baptized by John, who witnessed the Holy Spirit descending upon Him and that Jesus was truly the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29-44) In time, many of John’s followers believed in Jesus, but others were still waiting for their Messiah to come.

In the mean time, Jesus spent much of His time telling people and demonstrating to them what the Kingdom of God was truly about. He went about doing good to people of all backgrounds and lifestyles and proving the love and mercy of God toward them. Finally He proved the prophecy of John by giving His life for the sins of the world on the Cross in the hands of His enemies.

Then what of this Kingdom that was so very near? Was it a fantasy? Was it merely a call for moral reform that ended in rejection?

Fortunately the story does not end there! The Crucifixion was followed by the Resurrection and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of their Ascended Lord! After the four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, we have Luke’s record of the Acts of the Apostles. There we find that Jesus is still talking about the Kingdom of God (Acts 1:3). Throughout Acts, we find the apostles and evangelists preaching the Kingdom (Act 8:12, 14:22), and Paul near the end of his life still persuading, expounding, testifying, and preaching about things concerning the Kingdom of God (Acts 19:8, 20:25, 28:23,31).

Our great heroes of the New Testament era did not see the vision of the Kingdom of God as a lost cause. Why should we in our day, when the faith has grown from a handful of unimportant and overlooked men and women in a remote part of the world, to what it is today? It would of course be easy to despair if all we observe is what we can see with our natural eyes. But we who have been born again have the supernatural ability to SEE the Kingdom of God! (John 3:3)