This is a text reader for the article below:

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Sunday 04/14/24

Title: Eastertide and the Kingdom of God

Message Video Player

Message Audio Player:

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:04:37 — 90.2MB)

Subscribe: Spotify | RSS

***Video is HERE***

Eastertide and the Kingdom of God

Well last week we began our 7 week journey to Pentecost for the very first time to participate in Eastertide.

If you remember I told you last week that Eastertide is a post 1st century Christian tradition of teaching about the death and resurrection of Jesus, how it affects and intersects with our lives in Him.

Last week we focused on spiritual hunger and thirst for God – using Jesus’ teaching of His body being the bread of life and His blood being drink, the participation in both of which gives eternal life.

So we see that we have been invited into union with God through our union with Jesus. Also that our union with Jesus is not merely due to a faith in Him which is mental or emotional or which is entirely academic in nature, but one which is deeply relational.

It is a trust forged through knowing Him, experiencing Him and having Him revealed to us by the person of the Holy Spirit. This experience of Him calls us to die WITH Him. To enter into His death, burial and resurrection into new and eternal life. In other words, it isn’t merely through belief alone, but that real, relational belief ALWAY draws out of us participation with Him in His suffering!

Consider the two quotes lifted from our readings last week in John 6 and 1 Corinthians 10 respectively reveal this –

“(53) So Jesus said to them, “I assure you: Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you do not have life in yourselves. (54) Anyone who EATS MY FLESH and DRINKS MY BLOOD has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day, (55) because My flesh is real food and My blood is real drink. (56) The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood lives in Me, and I in him. (57) Just as the living Father sent Me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on Me will live because of Me. (58) This is the bread that came down from heaven; it is not like the manna your fathers ate–and they died. The one who eats this bread will live forever.”

and

“(15) I am speaking as to wise people. Judge for yourselves what I say. (16) The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ? (17) Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for all of us share that one bread.”

Now this week I am introducing one more focus of Eastertide and that is a focus upon those teachings which were central to Jesus’ earthly post resurrection ministry.

You might be thinking, “I thought our record of the teachings of Jesus ended in the Gospels which largely cover those things He taught prior to His crucifixion.”

You’re RIGHT! Good job on knowing your bibles so well!

However, Luke continued his account of the ministry of Jesus Christ to Theophilus in his historical book known as “Acts” and it is in that historical account that we learn what Jesus made the center focus of His post resurrection teachings about!

Turn with me to Acts 1:1-11, it is here that we will learn our first lesson of the day.

“(1) I wrote the first narrative, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach (2) until the day He was taken up, after He had given orders through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom He had chosen.

(3) After He had suffered, He also presented Himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during 40 days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

(4) While He was together with them, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the Father’s promise.

“This,“ He said, “is what you heard from Me; (5) for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

(6) So when they had come together, they asked Him,

“Lord, at this time are You restoring the kingdom to Israel?”

(7) He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or periods that the Father has set by His own authority. (8) But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

9) After He had said this, He was taken up as they were watching, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.

(10) While He was going, they were gazing into heaven, and suddenly two men in white clothes stood by them. (11) They said,

“Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into heaven? This Jesus, Who has been taken from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you have seen Him going into heaven.”

So the first few things we already learn here is that the Gospel of the Kingdom of God was as much a focus to Jesus AFTER His resurrection as it was beforehand! This is important to keep in mind because we are living in a day where people who call themselves Christian, do not properly understand what the scriptures teach. They cherry pick partial doctrines out of their given contexts and make an entire belief system out of it.

One of those beliefs is that Jesus’ teachings throughout His ministry were all under the law and so have nothing to do with the New Covenant church. Nothing could be more wildly inaccurate than this!

Luke 16:14-16,

“(14) The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things and scoffing at Him. (15) And He told them: “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the sight of others, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly admired by people is revolting in God’s sight. (16) “The Law and the Prophets were until John; SINCE THEN, THE GOOD NEWS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD HAS BEEN PROCLAIMED, and everyone is strongly urged to enter it.”

A direct bridge connected the fact that the Kingdom of God taught by Jesus in His earthly ministry is the same gospel preached after the coming of the Holy Spirit with Power on the day of Pentecost can be found in Mark 9:1 –

“Then He said to them, “I assure you: There are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God come in power.“

Luke 4:42-43 tells us,

“(42) When it was day, He went out and made His way to a deserted place. But the crowds were searching for Him. They came to Him and tried to keep Him from leaving them. (43) But He said to them, “I must proclaim the good news about the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because I was sent for this purpose.”

Luke 8:1 says,

“Soon afterwards He was traveling from one town and village to another, preaching and telling the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with Him,”

Being born again is a clear reference to the NewCovenant and Jesus said in John 3:3 ,

“I assure you: Unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Jesus Himself spoke of the very Kingdom of God He had been preaching was about to dawn on this world. It was not a past reality but an immediate and present reality! He said in Luke 22:18,

“For I tell you, from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”

So the teachings of the Kingdom of God in Jesus’ ministry are the very same as that of His post resurrection teachings and that of the early apostles.

An exceedingly small sample of possible proofs of this being the same focus of the early apostles is found in verses like these…

Acts 8:12,

“But when they believed Philip, as he proclaimed the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized.”

Acts 14:22,

“strengthening the hearts of the disciples by encouraging them to continue in the faith, and by telling them, “It is necessary to pass through many troubles on our way into the kingdom of God.”

Acts 19:8,

“Then he entered the synagogue and spoke boldly over a period of three months, engaging in discussion and trying to persuade them about the things related to the kingdom of God.”

Acts 28:23-31,

“(23) After arranging a day with him, many came to him at his lodging. From dawn to dusk he expounded and witnessed about the kingdom of God. He persuaded them concerning Jesus from both the Law of Moses and the Prophets.

(24) Some were persuaded by what he said, but others did not believe.

(25) Disagreeing among themselves, they began to leave after Paul made one statement:

“The Holy Spirit correctly spoke through the prophet Isaiah to your forefathers (26) when He said, Go to this people and say: ‘You will listen and listen, yet never understand; and you will look and look, yet never perceive. (27) For this people’s heart has grown callous, their ears are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes; otherwise they might see with their eyes and hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and be converted–and I would heal them.’

(28) Therefore, let it be known to you that this saving work of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen!”

(29) [After he said these things, the Jews departed, while engaging in a prolonged debate among themselves.] (30) Then he stayed two whole years in his own rented house. And he welcomed all who visited him, (31) proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with full boldness and without hindrance.”

Romans 14:17,

“for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.”

Now virtually any teaching regarding the kingdom of God is directly connected to the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus and our participation with Him in the same.

We will see that as we go through some of Jesus’ parables and teachings.

Blessings!

Tri

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!