Good Day, Meetpastordan Readers… as I mentioned at the end of last week’s blog, my topic this week will be about Kingdom building. That is such a vitally important subject today, especially when we look at the state of our culture, our country, and the world. The message I feel called to present today is what I have found to be The Truth, as revealed in the Holy Bible. That Book did not get its distinction just because of the words, but because of WHO spoke those words. The author was the same source that said, “Let there be light!” (Genesis 1:3) For information to attest to the validity of the Holy Bible, feel free to visit my blog from two weeks ago, “Wisdom? What is Wisdom?? #314. (http://meetpastordan.com/wisdom-what-is-wisdom-314/)
In last week’s blog, I enumerated five reasons for Christ’s coming, one of which was to compare and contrast the ways (or teachings) of the world with Kingdom principles. Let’s take a minute and review that material. “One very important reason for Jesus’ coming was to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven. This message was intended to compare the fallen state of the world with the truth of Kingdom principles. Quite a few times in the first three Gospels of the Bible, Jesus proclaimed, “The Kingdom is at hand!”; “The Kingdom has come!”, or “Today these prophecies have been fulfilled before your very eyes!” In other words, the Kingdom of Heaven is now on earth in the person of Jesus. Everything about His behavior and His teaching represents God’s love and His standards. Let’s look at a few examples.
Take, for instance, the Beatitudes: “Blessed are the poor in spirit; they will inherit the Kingdom of Heaven”. (Hum?) Blessed are the meek; they will inherit the earth. (What??) or Forgive those who have wronged you, or Love your enemies…. (Are you kidding me?? That’s not the way of the world!) That very statement is why it was so difficult for people then, and for people now, to grasp a message wrapped in His love. Why? Because His love is “agape love”, which means self-sacrificial love, and that in itself is 180 degrees upside down from the ways of the world, which are rooted in self-aggrandizement.
Now let’s look at Jesus’ teaching. He told His disciples in John 8:32: “If you follow My teaching, you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free.” Notice that He was very specific about the teaching He was referencing. It was “My teaching”, NOT the teachings, the philosophies, or the revelations of the world. “So, what did Jesus teach”, you might ask? He taught about love, forgiveness, mercy, grace, compassion and acceptance; He taught about our Father, and He taught about being of service to our fellow man.”
I always consider myself blessed that I have the opportunity to share Biblical Truths and Scriptures with people who are struggling with life issues. Most, but not all, are Christians who grew up with false teachings; those who have let “life” get in the way of their Christian growth, or those who have fallen victim to satan’s lies, deceptions, accusations and schemes. I always ask two questions at the outset. The first is, “How has your life changed since you became a Christian?” Most often I hear something like, “Well, I thought I would have less stress in my life; I thought that my life would be easier; I thought that I would be blessed more abundantly, or I thought that I would have more joy in my life.” The misconception here is with the churchy word, “justification” or “having been justified.”
When we make that all -important decision to accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are “justified” (made right in God’s eyes.) 2 Corinthians, 5:17 explains this transformation: “You are a new creation in Christ; the old is gone (you are no longer a slave to your sin-nature), the new has come.” (the Holy Spirit.) At this point, our inheritance from being in Christ has given us everything we need for living a Godly life. But at this point, we haven’t even taken the first step in the process of “sanctification”, another churchy word meaning “growing, maturing and becoming more Christ-like.” 2 Peter nails that principle and promise: “The more we grow in our relationship with Jesus Christ, His divine nature (the Holy Spirit) gives us everything we need for living a Godly life.” In other words, “justification” has only prepared us for the process of “sanctification.” Unless we engage in that process of growing and maturing in Christ, our lives can remain stressful, can remain challenging, and can remain unfulfilled.
Romans 12:2 addresses this issue. “Do not conform to the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect His will really is.” (for you.) God’s will for you is to accept His gift of Grace (Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross for your sins.) But the second part of His will is that you begin to grow and mature in your relationship with Jesus so that He can bless your socks off as you become the person He created you to be. Ephesians 2:10 explains this process. “We are His Masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ, so that we can NOW do the good things He planned for us long ago.”
The second question I ask is, “Tell me about your God?” Almost immediately I can pick up on guilt, shame and remorse from their past, unforgiveness issues, low self-esteem issues, doubt issues or anger or abandonment issues. All of these bondages are rooted in fear, because the victim is likely viewing God through the same lenses with which they viewed their earthly fathers. In virtually every case, the person has no idea of what it means to be in Christ, nor do they know or understand the power of having Christ in them!
Growing and maturing in Christ is a process of transformation, as revealed in Romans 12:2 two paragraphs above. “…let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.” If someone is plagued with guilt, shame, unforgiveness, doubt, anger, fear, etc., those feelings (emotions) are NOT of God, but are from the pit of hell, and satan is the author! If he can keep you focused on your past failures, or your present issues or circumstances, those issues can start looking bigger and more powerful than God. At that point, he has you where he wants you…right in the palm of his hand. As he steals your joy, you drift further and further away from God.
God knows that through our own best effort, we most often come up short against the lusts of the flesh, the enticements of the world, and our battle with satan. In fact, He was so sure of that that He gave us a special gift as part of our salvation package. His gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit is intended to empower us to become the person He created us to be right here, right now in this fallen world. Galatians 5: 16-18 tells why this is so important. “So, I advise you to live according to your new life in the Holy Spirit. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The old sinful nature loves to do evil, which is just opposite from what the Holy Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite from what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, and your choices are never free from this conflict. But when you are directed by the Holy Spirit, you are no longer slaves to your sin nature.”
God’s whole plan for our salvation was/is rooted in love, which, as I pointed out last week, was implemented for our benefit at a time when we proved ourselves to be “utterly helpless” to overcome the dilemma of Sin through our own effort. His plan for our salvation was/is made possible through Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf, thus making us sin-free and eligible for eternal life. That seals our eternal destiny…but there’s more!
For those of us who are still living in this fallen world, His plan provided for us as well. The indwelling Holy Spirit is the “divine power” that allows us to live victoriously right here, right now. When we call on the Spirit to empower us with His patience, His courage, His strength, His wisdom, His perseverance – whatever it is we need to make choices that bring honor and Glory to God, we have entered into the Spiritual realm. This is called walking in the Spirit, or living in the Spirit. (And FYI…this is also when we receive abundant blessings for our faithfulness to Him.)
So, you may be asking, “How does all of this fit into Kingdom principles? The qualities found in the Beatitudes and in Jesus’ teaching are the qualities that result from the transformation (the journey) of becoming more Christ-like. Qualities of agape love, humility, forgiveness, mercy, grace, kindness, compassion, being God-centered and other-centered rather than self-centered all contribute to us fulfilling the purpose for which we were created. These qualities will define the New Jerusalem, or The Promised Land for everyone in Christ!
Our God is an Awesome God, and the final exclamation point to that statement comes from Romans 8:38: “I am convinced that nothing can separate us from His love. Death can’t, life can’t, the angels can’t, and the demons can’t. Our fears for today and our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of Hell can’t keep God’s love away…Nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord!” Amen! Amen!
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May God Bless You abundantly,
Dan Presgrave (a.k.a. Pastor Dan)
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