Friday, March 13, 2009
I’ve been thinking about the kingdom of God this week. In my preaching text this Sunday, Jesus sends out his disciples to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick (Luke 9:2). I believe we preach with our words as well as our deeds. There is a message we proclaim and a life that we live and the two should match. People should be able to see the kingdom of God operating in our lives.
The kingdom of God is nothing like the kingdom of the world. This is one of the central truths that Jesus systematically tried to instill into his disciples thinking. The kingdom of God functions on different principles and with different purposes. In Matthew 13, Jesus told a series of parables to illustrate how the kingdom of God works. For example he said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of plants…” (Matt. 13:31-32). Again Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into flour until it worked through all the dough” (Matt.13:34). In the kingdom of the world there is a desire to make big impressions with immediate results and huge return on investment. In the kingdom of God small things turn out big. God causes things to grow and uses things unseen to make an impact (like yeast). God’s rule is extensive and thorough. God can take one person submitted to him and impact a whole neighborhood or company or school. God can take two pennies from a widow and change the way the whole world, for all ages, sacrificially gives to Him. God takes simple things and confounds the wise. These principles are very important to our own perseverance for God and His kingdom. Don’t give up if you don’t see immediate results. Don’t get discouraged because you don’t see instant success. Immediate results and instant success are the ways the world gauges a person; not God. This is difficult for many of us because we’ve been so trained to see things from the world’s perspective. God wants the world to see and know him and He uses us to accomplish that. He uses small seeds to grow big plants in his kingdom so the focus won’t be on me but on God. Missionary Hudson Taylor said, “It is always helpful to us to fix our attention on the God ward aspect of Christian work; to realize that the work of God does not mean so much man’s work for God, as God’s own work through man.” We operate with God’s principles. We proclaim God’s kingdom.
It’s instructive for me to see how the world’s kingdom operates and how God’s kingdom operates. In the world’s kingdom you should take pride in yourself. In God’s kingdom you should humble yourself. In the world’s kingdom you need to be successful. In God’s kingdom you need to be obedient. In the world’s kingdom, be professional. In God’s kingdom, be a servant. In the world’s kingdom; save your life. In God’s kingdom; lose your life. In the world’s kingdom; take up your cause. In God’s kingdom, take up your cross. This list could go on and on but I hope you get the point.
Jesus taught these things with His words and with His life. He sends us out to proclaim them so the world will see God.
Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven…
Pastor Tim
The kingdom of God is nothing like the kingdom of the world. This is one of the central truths that Jesus systematically tried to instill into his disciples thinking. The kingdom of God functions on different principles and with different purposes. In Matthew 13, Jesus told a series of parables to illustrate how the kingdom of God works. For example he said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of plants…” (Matt. 13:31-32). Again Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into flour until it worked through all the dough” (Matt.13:34). In the kingdom of the world there is a desire to make big impressions with immediate results and huge return on investment. In the kingdom of God small things turn out big. God causes things to grow and uses things unseen to make an impact (like yeast). God’s rule is extensive and thorough. God can take one person submitted to him and impact a whole neighborhood or company or school. God can take two pennies from a widow and change the way the whole world, for all ages, sacrificially gives to Him. God takes simple things and confounds the wise. These principles are very important to our own perseverance for God and His kingdom. Don’t give up if you don’t see immediate results. Don’t get discouraged because you don’t see instant success. Immediate results and instant success are the ways the world gauges a person; not God. This is difficult for many of us because we’ve been so trained to see things from the world’s perspective. God wants the world to see and know him and He uses us to accomplish that. He uses small seeds to grow big plants in his kingdom so the focus won’t be on me but on God. Missionary Hudson Taylor said, “It is always helpful to us to fix our attention on the God ward aspect of Christian work; to realize that the work of God does not mean so much man’s work for God, as God’s own work through man.” We operate with God’s principles. We proclaim God’s kingdom.
It’s instructive for me to see how the world’s kingdom operates and how God’s kingdom operates. In the world’s kingdom you should take pride in yourself. In God’s kingdom you should humble yourself. In the world’s kingdom you need to be successful. In God’s kingdom you need to be obedient. In the world’s kingdom, be professional. In God’s kingdom, be a servant. In the world’s kingdom; save your life. In God’s kingdom; lose your life. In the world’s kingdom; take up your cause. In God’s kingdom, take up your cross. This list could go on and on but I hope you get the point.
Jesus taught these things with His words and with His life. He sends us out to proclaim them so the world will see God.
Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven…
Pastor Tim
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