Let’s continue
to stretch ourselves
toward a broader understanding of the PERSON and WORK of JESUS CHRIST. For the balance of this Lenten season, our
primary focus will be an in-depth examination of the mission, message and ministry
of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
The primary
message presented by Jesus throughout his 3½ year public ministry is the “Kingdom of God,” alternatively
referenced as the “Kingdom of Heaven,”
which simply means the rule and reign of God in human life and history. (Luke
6:20 – Matthew 4:17) Jesus Christ spoke of the Kingdom as both a present
and future reality. The Kingdom is embraced and entered by all believing
individuals at their precise moment of genuine repentance and acceptance of the
lordship of Christ. This is a powerful and present reality.
However, certain aspects of the Kingdom cannot be manifested or actualized
until this fallen world system is fully cleansed and restored by the King of
Kings.
And the seventh
angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world
are become the kingdoms of our Lord,
and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
The earthly
passageway into the Kingdom of Heaven is prepped by
the law, the prophets, and ultimately by John the Baptist, but it is paved concretely by the grace and
truth message of Jesus Christ. (Mark 1:3 – John 1:17) As Jesus
proclaimed, “The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time
the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it.” (Luke
16:16) Jesus highly revered his cousin, John, stating that “among those
that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist.” However, Jesus placed such high value
on Kingdom citizenship that
he added, “he that is least in
the Kingdom of God is greater than
he [John the Baptist]. (Luke 7:28) Think for one moment about that.
Christ verifies John as the greatest
prophet, but deems the very least of us, Kingdom Kids, to be greater than
he! Wow!
A clearer
understanding of this is gained as we consider the fact that although John the
Baptist was an anointed forerunner of the Kingdom of God, he was not a grace and truth member of the
Kingdom. (Luke 16:16) The former is substantiated as John initially
heralds Jesus Christ as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”
(John 1:29) The latter is demonstrated via John’s subsequent actions and
words, i.e. “he sent two of his disciples and said to Him, “Are You the Coming
One, or do we look for another?” (Matthew 11:2) Imagine that…announcing Christ, but not fully knowing Christ! Such intimate
knowledge is only made possible through the new birth, our Kingdom connection.
(John 3:3)
What does the
message of the Kingdom of God provide for us? First of all, let’s answer
this question by explaining what the Kingdom is not. The Apostle Paul wrote, “The Kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness,
and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” (Romans 14:17) As in the time of
Jesus’ earthly ministry, many contemporary Christians follow along for the
benefit the fishes and loaves. In other words, their Kingdom commitments
are conditional, i.e. solely predicated on their imagined answers to their
carnal question: ‘What’s in it for me?’
It is the sad plight of the prosperity preachers of our time, and their
unwitting victims. Let’s be perfectly clear. The Kingdom is not about ME or what benefits might
accrue to my account of currency or worldly possessions. The Kingdom is all about ushering in the
redemptive plan of God for the eternal salvation of lost
souls. We will be generously and eternally rewarded for faithful
stewardship in this Kingdom partnership. (II Corinthians 6:1 – I Corinthians
4:1-2 – I Corinthians 3:11-13 – Revelation 22:12)
Modeling a
profound sense of ministry urgency, Jesus Christ teaches us to pray, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done in
earth, as it is in Heaven.” This is our preliminary requirement, the
prerequisite to being permitted to petition our Father to “give us…our daily
bread.” (Matthew 6:11) Participation in the Kingdom of God is rigorous,
demanding and unequivocal. It summons the believer to a total surrender of self, as “a living
sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God,” which Paul aptly describes as our
“reasonable service.” (Romans 12:1) Jesus Christ prescribes a higher
righteousness than that which is presented by the law and the prophets, and
certainly higher than that which is embraced by this world system.
Allow me to
offer just one example. The Ten Commandments explicitly prohibit
adultery. (Exodus 20:14) However, the higher
righteousness of grace and truth elevates this legal
requirement. In the words of Jesus, “You have heard that it was said of
those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that
whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with
her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27-28)
The natural mind
reels and wonders at the feasibility or possibility of attaining and sustaining
such an elevated level of surrender to the Lordship of Christ. Nevertheless, this is the precise point at
which the ministerial genius of Jesus Christ becomes evident. JESUS CHRIST is THE MASTER TEACHER, who
artfully and effectively employs PARABLES to articulate hidden precepts of
wisdom pertaining to the KINGDOM OF GOD. (Matthew 13:35) These EARTHLY STORIES WITH HEAVENLY MEANING
are shared to convey, clarify and create the Kingdom of God within us. We are saved by grace through faith, but we
are sanctified (cleansed) through the continual application of and personal adherence
to The Word. (Ephesians 2:8 –
Ephesians 5:26 – Colossians 3:16)
Stay tuned…more to
come on Monday.
Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed, and please
(above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET OUR SOON COMING KING.
Maranatha!
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