Living in the Kingdom XXII

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Kingdom_livingSunday 02/21/16 

Series: Living in the Kingdom XXII

Message –  Unified in Purpose XIII

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Living in the Kingdom

 

For weeks now we’ve been talking about our Unity with God and recently in particular, being unified in PURPOSE with Him.

We’ve seen several ways in which this is lived out and.

  1. Praying with fervency
  2. Pray with sincerity
  3. Praying with respect to God and His will
  4. Exercising faith in God w/ patience
  5. Being Persistence in Hope
  6. Being filled with JOY!

We’ve illustrated these points as they were lived out in the lives of others like David, Jacob, Elisha and in the life and prayers of Jesus.

 

We are on the last statement made in Christ’s prayer this week

For Yours is the Kingdom, power & glory forever….Let it be!

But what proceeded this statement? What is the word “FOR”…there for?

Christ had just asked the Father … “In Your power, don’t allow us to be made subject to your enemy but deliver us from his power that it’s greater than our own and from his kingdom of darkness into Your Kingdom.”

WHY did Christ pray this?

 Because…Yours is the Kingdom, power & glory forever….Let it be!

Jesus clearly focused His prayer on two things…

  1. The Name of God
  2. The Kingdom of God.

Remember that ANY PRAYER that is not focused upon the name of God or the Kingdom of God is NO PRAYER AT ALL!

Jesus clarifies that the CENTER focus of prayer is God’s Name and His Kingdom. Remember whoever comes to God MUST come in faith – believing that He exists and that He will reward you if your search is diligent and FOR HIM (as opposed to “stuff”).

Faith obviously plays a MAJOR role in ANY prayer that is to be answered, but faith begins where God’s will is revealed.

We used to say here at the church that Faith begins where God’s will in known and while that is not a bad statement it can be misleading. Faith actually begins where God’s will is REVEALED. “Faith comes by hearing and what has been heard must be BY the Word God reveals to you.”

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1Jn 5:13-15,  “(13) These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.  (14)  Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.  (15)  And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.”

 

Our faith is in HIM. If we begin to look at faith as trust this become more intuitive. We only place trust into objects themselves when the object is the source from which we are seeking to receive. For example: When we place our trust in a chair – we are seeking to obtain a safe place to support our weight so that we can sit down. In this case, the chair is the source of our rest and we are placing our trust into it. However, ultimately, it isn’t the chair we are truly trusting – we are trusting in the craftsmanship of the manufacturer and the trustworthiness of the one who supplied the chair for us to sit in. I have had friends who for a good laugh might place out a chair to sit in, that would not for a moment support anyone’s weight. These friends I routinely double check anything they eagerly offer me. If someone else had offered the same chair I would not have thought twice about sitting in it – you see, the trust was not in the chair specifically. I only go through the tediousness of this example to show what is typically understood naturally. Trust is inherently relational and you cannot have relationship with “things”. Our trust is IN GOD, not FOR things.

What is the result of placing our trust into God – the salvation of our souls…a great reward indeed!

1Pet. 1:6-9,  “(6) In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials,  (7)  that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,  (8)  whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,  (9)  receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.”

So, Jesus ends His prayer with… [paraphrased for emphasis] “don’t let us be tempted beyond our ability to resist, but deliver us from evil (not the evil one) BECAUSE, Yours is the Kingdom, power & glory forever….Let it be!”

 

We looked at the Kingdom a little before closing last week. We considered three things…

  1. God has changed us and our condition from the power of darkness into the kingdom of Christ.
    1. Mat 4:16-17, “(16) The people who live in darkness have seen a great light, and for those living in the shadowland of death, light has dawned. (17) From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near!”
  2. The Kingdom was the focus of all gospel preaching and ministry for Christ and the early church.
  3. Satan came against the kingdom specifically when tempting Christ in the wilderness.

 

This week let’s turn to Acts 14…

Acts 14:19-23,  “(19) Then Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there; and having persuaded the multitudes, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead.  (20)  However, when the disciples gathered around him, he rose up and went into the city. And the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe.  (21)  And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch,  (22)  strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.”  (23)  So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.”

We MUST through MANY tribulations ENTER the rule and reign of Christ. This is NOT saying that those who genuinely place their trust into Christ are not truly and completely His until His rule is 100% absolute in them – scripture does NOT allow for that interpretation. However, this verse is saying that the advancement of the Kingdom of God (His rule and reign within our hearts) is a progressive work…moving from glory to glory, even as 2 Cor. 3 says,

“Now, as for us, we all, with uncovered face, reflecting as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are haying our outward expressions changed into the same image from one degree of glory to another according as this change of expression proceeds from the Lord, the Spirit, this outward expression coming from and being truly representative of our Lord.” ~ 2Cor. 3:18 (Wuest)

Reconsider again the following verses with this in mind…

1Pet. 1:6-9,  “(6) In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials,  (7)  that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,  (8)  whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,  (9)  receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.”

&

2Pet. 1:9-11,  “(9) The person who lacks these things is blind and shortsighted, and has forgotten the cleansing from his past sins.  (10)  Therefore, brothers, make every effort to confirm your calling and election, because if you do these things you will never stumble.  (11)  For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly supplied to you.”

Therefore,

1Thess 2:11-12, “(11) As you know, like a father with his own children,  (12)  we encouraged, comforted, and implored each one of you to walk worthy of God, who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.”

 

This is where we left off this week. We will most likely resume from here next Sunday…Blessings! 

 

I hope this teaching will challenge you and encourage you to place your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

You have a special place in God’s family & kingdom. If you do not know Him, please use our ‘Contact Us‘ page and reach out so we may have the privilege of introducing you to the Lord. Attendance at our church will NOT even be mentioned nor will money.

If you have been spiritually fed by this ministry and wish to give, we truly appreciate that and you may do so here, but all outreaches of this ministry are FREE for you and anyone to enjoy at no cost.

 

Blessings!

 

Pastor Mark

View posts by Pastor Mark

Hi my name is Mark and though I am opposed to titles, I am currently the only Pastor (shepherd/elder) serving our assembly right now.

I have been Pastoring in one capacity or another for nearly 30 years now, though never quite like I am today.

Early in 2009 the Lord revealed to me that the way we had structured our assembly (church) was not scriptural in that it was out of sync with what Paul modeled for us in the New Testament. In truth, I (like many pastors I am sure) never even gave this fundamental issue of church structure the first thought. I had always assumed that church structure was largely the same everywhere and had been so from the beginning. While I knew Paul had some very stringent things to say about the local assembly of believers, the point of our gatherings together and who may or may not lead, I never even considered studying these issues but assumed we were all pretty much doing it right...safety in numbers right?! Boy, I couldn't have been more wrong!

So needless to say, my discovery that we had been doing it wrong for nearly two decades was a bit of a shock to me! Now, this "revelation" did not come about all at once but over the course of a few weeks. We were a traditional single pastor led congregation. It was a top-bottom model of ministry which is in part biblical, but not in the form of a monarchy.

The needed change did not come into focus until following 9 very intense months of study and discussions with those who were leaders in our church at the time.

We now understand and believe that the Bible teaches co-leadership with equal authority in each local assembly. Having multiple shepherds with God's heart and equal authority protects both Shepherds and sheep. Equal accountability keeps authority and doctrine in check. Multiple shepherds also provide teaching with various styles and giftings with leadership skills which are both different and complementary.

For a while we had two co-pastors (elders) (myself and one other man) who led the church with equal authority, but different giftings. We both taught in our own ways and styles, and our leadership skills were quite different, but complimentary. We were in complete submission to each other and worked side-by-side in the labor of shepherding the flock.

Our other Pastor has since moved on to other ministry which has left us with just myself. While we currently only have one Pastor/Elder, it is our desire that God, in His faithfulness and timing, may bring us more as we grow in maturity and even in numbers.

As to my home, I have been married since 1995 to my wonderful wife Terissa Woodson who is my closest friend and most trusted ally.

As far as my education goes, I grew up in a Christian home, but questioned everything I was ever taught.

I graduated from Bible college in 1990 and continued to question everything I was ever taught (I do not mention my college in order to avoid being labeled).

Perhaps my greatest preparation for ministry has been life and ministry itself. To quote an author I have come to enjoy namely Fredrick Buechner in his writing entitled, Now and Then, "If God speaks to us at all other than through such official channels as the Bible and the church, then I think that He speaks to us largely through what happens to us...if we keep our hearts open as well as our ears, if we listen with patience and hope, if we remember at all deeply and honestly, then I think we come to recognize beyond all doubt, that, however faintly we may hear Him, He is indeed speaking to us, and that, however little we may understand of it, His word to each of us is both recoverable and precious beyond telling." ~ Fredrick Buechner

Well that is about all there is of interest to tell you about me.

I hope our ministry here is a blessing to you and your family. I also hope that it is only a supplement to a local church where you are committed to other believers in a community of grace.

~God Bless!