Kingdom Concepts (part 3)
Before contemplating further kingdom concepts there are a few loose ends that need to be gathered together.
So today I invite you to ramble through the kingdom as I consider several scriptural passages and inferences.
For instance, the term “Kingdom of heaven”, speaks of earth and heaven, of present and future, areas we may explore before the series ends. Our investigation will have to consider the internal, and the external, and implications about witnessing and evangelism.
If I were to take the time to revisit some of the passages that mention the Kingdom of heaven, we would notice that they speak in terms of action. They speak of “entering”, “receiving”, “seeing”. Furthermore, we saw the emphasis put on the hunger or depth of longing, the intensity with which we were to seek the kingdom if it were to be found. And we saw that it required an admission of our sin before a Holy God, a change of mind concerning our rightness before Him, and a confession of a heart belief that He has made all the necessary conditions, in His divine Son, to affect our salvation. Everything else flows from these truths.
Of particular concern to me today are passages that may seem unrelated, but which I think, when mixed together will help us more successfully live the Christian life, and approach the “great Commission” with confidence.
Firstly I want to direct your memory to the parables shared from the Word a few weeks ago. [Editorial comment:I had simply sat on a stool, and “read” the parables as dramatically as I could imagine Jesus must have told them to the assembled crowds]
One parable said the Kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, or as one version put it to give a modern setting, it is like a pine nut. Another parable said it is like a bit of leaven put into a batch of dough. Other references speak of seed put into the ground and left to grow.
To me these speak of the internal nature of the kingdom. Before we can talk about the earthly kingdom of heaven, or the collective “soul” of “the Church”, we have to know the kingdom within the individual. More specifically, the Kingdom within me. But at this point I have to emphasize that this is Not speaking of a New Age idea that suggests the divine spark is within me and I only have to realize I am a god to release it, etc. That is why the Scripture is so clear about the repentance and confession. It is why it speaks of the nature and work of Jesus. It is why it speaks of a definitive transforming act of being Born Again, of entering the kingdom, of being tranformed from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. ***
I need to break off here for an aside that says don’t confuse this process with a specific time or date. You may know the day and hour, but for some of you let us leave the details and be concerned only with the consequences. Most of you know the day and time of your natural birth, but can you detail the statistics about your conception? Or was the birth by Caesarian or natural? In the end, none of that matters, and yet we know you were “born”. So, with the kingdom of God. There must be the new birth, and in acknowledging that, we recognize that it was something that originated outside of ourselves. We were born agiain by the Spirit of God. But having established that we come back to meditate on the fact that this an internal happening.
It is here that I think I need to emphasize the truth that is so eloquently expressed in parabolic images of yeast, or a seed opening. Right up front I think I need to introduce a word we seem to be afraid of. Simply stated it is “Mystery”. That should bring to your mind the common meaning of mystery which is a secret, hidden or iexplicable matter; or secrecy or obscurity.
But we need also to entertain or hold the “religious” meaning that the dictionary defines as: “ A religious truth divinely revealed, especially one beyond human reason”.
Now to make another jump and pull down another thread or cord to weave in with those already assembled.
Having mentioned the need for repentence, that is, seeing the truth of our sinful state as God sees it, and agreeing it needs to be “put to death” and the need for the confession of believing that Jesus’ blood covers it all, I join to it a condition that preceeds and follows the turning point.
The one setting is in the observation made of the Pharisee and the Publican at prayer.
Remember this account?
Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax man. The Pharisee posed and prayed like this: ‘Oh, God, I thank you that I am not like other people --- robbers, crooks, adulterers, or, heaven forbid, like this tax man. I fast twice a week and tithe on all my income.’
“Meanwhile the tax man, slumped in the shadows, his face in his hands, not daring to look up, said, ‘God, give mercy. Forgive me, a sinner.’”
Jesus commented, “This tax man, not the other, went home made right with God. If you walk around with your nose in the air, you’re going to end up flat on your face, but if you’re content to be simply yourself, you will become more than yourself.”
Put along side this the Beatitudes of Matthew 5:3 and 5:6.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” And “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”
Taking these two thoughts, let me turn them into questions.
When would one stop being filled? When they stopped hungering and thirsting for righteousness. When would they not possess the kingdom of heaven? When they stopped being “poor in spirit”.
That in turn raises another question? In your own mind, materially speaking, when does a “poor person” cease to be poor? So too, I suggest to you that what the Scripture is teaching, is that as long as we are never satisfied with our “Spiritual” wealth, we will keep seeking, and we will keep finding more of the Riches which are ours in Chirst Jesus.
This then, may be my conclusion and the distilled Kingdom Concept for today. Yes the kingdom is within. Yes it is a mystery, and it is the work of God’s Spirit, who first works in us the longing and desire for More of what He offers to our impoverished Spirit, and then He supplies it.
But now the real matter comes before us. And that is the “So what?” question, the practical consequences of realizing these truths.
If it is true that the Kingdom is first of all within me, and it spreads or grows like yeast in dough, what does that mean to me as I rise in the morning and know I’m going to face trials, and testings? What does it mean if I think about “witnessing”?
If it is God’s Spirit at work, what do I have to do? But on the other hand, if I have to put off the deeds of the flesh, or put on the armour of God, what is God supposed to be doing?
So today I invite you to ramble through the kingdom as I consider several scriptural passages and inferences.
For instance, the term “Kingdom of heaven”, speaks of earth and heaven, of present and future, areas we may explore before the series ends. Our investigation will have to consider the internal, and the external, and implications about witnessing and evangelism.
If I were to take the time to revisit some of the passages that mention the Kingdom of heaven, we would notice that they speak in terms of action. They speak of “entering”, “receiving”, “seeing”. Furthermore, we saw the emphasis put on the hunger or depth of longing, the intensity with which we were to seek the kingdom if it were to be found. And we saw that it required an admission of our sin before a Holy God, a change of mind concerning our rightness before Him, and a confession of a heart belief that He has made all the necessary conditions, in His divine Son, to affect our salvation. Everything else flows from these truths.
Of particular concern to me today are passages that may seem unrelated, but which I think, when mixed together will help us more successfully live the Christian life, and approach the “great Commission” with confidence.
Firstly I want to direct your memory to the parables shared from the Word a few weeks ago. [Editorial comment:I had simply sat on a stool, and “read” the parables as dramatically as I could imagine Jesus must have told them to the assembled crowds]
One parable said the Kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, or as one version put it to give a modern setting, it is like a pine nut. Another parable said it is like a bit of leaven put into a batch of dough. Other references speak of seed put into the ground and left to grow.
To me these speak of the internal nature of the kingdom. Before we can talk about the earthly kingdom of heaven, or the collective “soul” of “the Church”, we have to know the kingdom within the individual. More specifically, the Kingdom within me. But at this point I have to emphasize that this is Not speaking of a New Age idea that suggests the divine spark is within me and I only have to realize I am a god to release it, etc. That is why the Scripture is so clear about the repentance and confession. It is why it speaks of the nature and work of Jesus. It is why it speaks of a definitive transforming act of being Born Again, of entering the kingdom, of being tranformed from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. ***
I need to break off here for an aside that says don’t confuse this process with a specific time or date. You may know the day and hour, but for some of you let us leave the details and be concerned only with the consequences. Most of you know the day and time of your natural birth, but can you detail the statistics about your conception? Or was the birth by Caesarian or natural? In the end, none of that matters, and yet we know you were “born”. So, with the kingdom of God. There must be the new birth, and in acknowledging that, we recognize that it was something that originated outside of ourselves. We were born agiain by the Spirit of God. But having established that we come back to meditate on the fact that this an internal happening.
It is here that I think I need to emphasize the truth that is so eloquently expressed in parabolic images of yeast, or a seed opening. Right up front I think I need to introduce a word we seem to be afraid of. Simply stated it is “Mystery”. That should bring to your mind the common meaning of mystery which is a secret, hidden or iexplicable matter; or secrecy or obscurity.
But we need also to entertain or hold the “religious” meaning that the dictionary defines as: “ A religious truth divinely revealed, especially one beyond human reason”.
Now to make another jump and pull down another thread or cord to weave in with those already assembled.
Having mentioned the need for repentence, that is, seeing the truth of our sinful state as God sees it, and agreeing it needs to be “put to death” and the need for the confession of believing that Jesus’ blood covers it all, I join to it a condition that preceeds and follows the turning point.
The one setting is in the observation made of the Pharisee and the Publican at prayer.
Remember this account?
Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax man. The Pharisee posed and prayed like this: ‘Oh, God, I thank you that I am not like other people --- robbers, crooks, adulterers, or, heaven forbid, like this tax man. I fast twice a week and tithe on all my income.’
“Meanwhile the tax man, slumped in the shadows, his face in his hands, not daring to look up, said, ‘God, give mercy. Forgive me, a sinner.’”
Jesus commented, “This tax man, not the other, went home made right with God. If you walk around with your nose in the air, you’re going to end up flat on your face, but if you’re content to be simply yourself, you will become more than yourself.”
Put along side this the Beatitudes of Matthew 5:3 and 5:6.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” And “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”
Taking these two thoughts, let me turn them into questions.
When would one stop being filled? When they stopped hungering and thirsting for righteousness. When would they not possess the kingdom of heaven? When they stopped being “poor in spirit”.
That in turn raises another question? In your own mind, materially speaking, when does a “poor person” cease to be poor? So too, I suggest to you that what the Scripture is teaching, is that as long as we are never satisfied with our “Spiritual” wealth, we will keep seeking, and we will keep finding more of the Riches which are ours in Chirst Jesus.
This then, may be my conclusion and the distilled Kingdom Concept for today. Yes the kingdom is within. Yes it is a mystery, and it is the work of God’s Spirit, who first works in us the longing and desire for More of what He offers to our impoverished Spirit, and then He supplies it.
But now the real matter comes before us. And that is the “So what?” question, the practical consequences of realizing these truths.
If it is true that the Kingdom is first of all within me, and it spreads or grows like yeast in dough, what does that mean to me as I rise in the morning and know I’m going to face trials, and testings? What does it mean if I think about “witnessing”?
If it is God’s Spirit at work, what do I have to do? But on the other hand, if I have to put off the deeds of the flesh, or put on the armour of God, what is God supposed to be doing?
posted by Mister A Muses | 3:16 PM
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