What exactly was the central object of Jesus ministry? Getting people saved? Building the church? Proclaiming the good news of personal salvation? Not really. In fact the central goal of Jesus ministry was proclaiming the Kingdom of God. Matthew calls it the Kingdom of Heaven, but its the same thing. Just check out what he did and said. He was constantly telling people about the Kingdom of God, speaking in parables about it, demonstrating it, and releasing others to do the same.
One time a few years ago I was skirting through the Gospels when God highlighted the words kingdom of God on every page until I realised that I had been missing something fundamental. I and many around me had spent the last twenty years "building" or "restoring the church". We believed in the idea of the Kingdom of God, but our focus was on the church and growing the church. Our aim was to build a big church and get people saved and disciples and added to the church. Hands up if you recognise that! And how many are even still wondering what is wrong with that?
But God was highlighting something radical about Jesus' ministry which has become a touch stone of what is different about this new move of God - God is speaking about the KINGDOM.
So what is the Kingdom? Okay, this is the first thing - the kingdom of God is not a concept. That is to say, it is not an idea. It not a way of describing something, like the way we use words like "socialism" to describe a set of ideas, or practices.
I've heard lots of different ideas about what the kingdom is. Some think its helping the poor, or others that its living out "kingdom values" - such as living in an honestly, right way, doing right etc. These maybe some of the fruit or actions that come from people who live in the kingdom but its not the kingdom itself.
So what is the kingdom? It is a superior spiritual realm that governs the material world we live in. It has substance, that substance is spirit. It is the rule of heaven on earth, and it rules in a tangible and material way on the earth when it comes. Being spirit means that it is invisible, but that does not mean it isn't real and tangible.
Let me give an example of two stories told by healing evangelist, Todd Bentley, who held a crusade in Indonesia. On this occasion he declared that his crusade grounds were under God's authority and a place where God's kingdom would reign during the time of his crusade. This was a football pitch where he was having his crusade meetings. During this time demonized people were set free, sicknesses were healed and blind people saw, the lame walked. But the point of this story is best illustrated by two specific events that occurred during crusade.
There was a Muslim boy who kept passing the football pitch every day to go to his Mosque. He was deaf in one ear. He was a good Muslim boy and avoided this evangelist. One day whilst walking home he had to pass close to the foot ball pitch and his foot touched the pitch as he crossed by it. In that instant his ear popped open and he had his entire hearing restored instantaneously. He was so amazed that he came running into the crusade and went toward the stage to tell people that Jesus was real and that he had been healed. He also gave his life to Christ. He was healed because he came into contact with the realm of heaven when he touched the grounds.
In the same crusade across the city there was bar where people with no interest in God were sitting drinking. There was a man covered in large tumours. The bar owner for some reason was fed up with the music and changed the radio station and tuned in to this crusade. As the sound of the worship and preaching came in over the airwaves the atmosphere in the bar began to change and the tumours on the man literally began to melt off him in the bar. These were large tumours, that melted away as the presence and substance of God's kingdom filled the atmosphere of that bar. The guy was so amazed that he ordered a taxi and literally rushed over to the site of the crusade to tell people and he gave his life to Jesus.
Jesus came talking about the kingdom he didn't come talking about an interesting concept, he came demonstrating the reality of God's kingdom by healing people, casting out demons and raising the dead literally. He called his disciples to do the same. The only way we can do that is to live out something miraculous that comes from a higher order - the kingdom of heaven.
Bill Johnson calls it bringing heaven on earth, which is really what Jesus did. It is a new order where there is no sickness, no sin, no pain, no poverty, no suffering or oppression, where there are eternal resources, wisdom, freedom, joy and peace. It's expression on earth in relationships is love essentially. Its government is family. But I digress. The essential here is that this is a tangible spiritual reality that is something, can be felt, can be experienced and changes real stuff around us.
Here's the other thing - this kingdom is situated inside every one who is born again and a new creation in Christ. Our primary mandate is not to save lots of people and pack our churches, it is to release that Kingdom in the earth and transform society. One of the fruits of that will be that people will be saved. They will also be healed physically and emotionally, restored in relationships, enabled to live right lives again, live in peace, and joy and have a positive effect on those around them.
When Jesus came to announce the kingdom he was coming to say that there was a new order in town, that the new realm that Daniel has spoken of, the God's kingdom had come literally and was now available for all who wanted it.
This was the fulfilment of the prophecy in Daniel 7 v 13:
"As the visions during the night continued, I saw One like a son of man coming, on clouds of heaven; When he reached the Ancient One and was presented before him, He received dominion, glory, and kingship; nations and peoples of every language serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion and shall not be taken away, his kingship shall not be destroyed"
Jesus said that the kingdom is inside us. Our job is to work out how we live out of what has been put inside us and how to release this kingdom on the earth. Once we "put the kingdom first" all resources will be supplied and the growth of the church will take care of itself. If we truly learn to live and release the Kingdom we will be living in revival, not relying on our own church programmes and activities to bring people in.
If you don't live from the kingdom, from heaven, you try to run churches through good administration and organisation and cool evangelistic marketing. It is human resources not kingdom resources that we begin to rely on. This wasn't how Jesus operated or how he taught us to operate.
I want to spend the rest of my life learning about this kingdom and how to release it, because releasing this kingdom is not something people have taught most of us to do over the last 25 years.
Lets do what Jesus did and put the kingdom first!
One time a few years ago I was skirting through the Gospels when God highlighted the words kingdom of God on every page until I realised that I had been missing something fundamental. I and many around me had spent the last twenty years "building" or "restoring the church". We believed in the idea of the Kingdom of God, but our focus was on the church and growing the church. Our aim was to build a big church and get people saved and disciples and added to the church. Hands up if you recognise that! And how many are even still wondering what is wrong with that?But God was highlighting something radical about Jesus' ministry which has become a touch stone of what is different about this new move of God - God is speaking about the KINGDOM.
So what is the Kingdom? Okay, this is the first thing - the kingdom of God is not a concept. That is to say, it is not an idea. It not a way of describing something, like the way we use words like "socialism" to describe a set of ideas, or practices.
I've heard lots of different ideas about what the kingdom is. Some think its helping the poor, or others that its living out "kingdom values" - such as living in an honestly, right way, doing right etc. These maybe some of the fruit or actions that come from people who live in the kingdom but its not the kingdom itself.
So what is the kingdom? It is a superior spiritual realm that governs the material world we live in. It has substance, that substance is spirit. It is the rule of heaven on earth, and it rules in a tangible and material way on the earth when it comes. Being spirit means that it is invisible, but that does not mean it isn't real and tangible.
Let me give an example of two stories told by healing evangelist, Todd Bentley, who held a crusade in Indonesia. On this occasion he declared that his crusade grounds were under God's authority and a place where God's kingdom would reign during the time of his crusade. This was a football pitch where he was having his crusade meetings. During this time demonized people were set free, sicknesses were healed and blind people saw, the lame walked. But the point of this story is best illustrated by two specific events that occurred during crusade.
There was a Muslim boy who kept passing the football pitch every day to go to his Mosque. He was deaf in one ear. He was a good Muslim boy and avoided this evangelist. One day whilst walking home he had to pass close to the foot ball pitch and his foot touched the pitch as he crossed by it. In that instant his ear popped open and he had his entire hearing restored instantaneously. He was so amazed that he came running into the crusade and went toward the stage to tell people that Jesus was real and that he had been healed. He also gave his life to Christ. He was healed because he came into contact with the realm of heaven when he touched the grounds.
In the same crusade across the city there was bar where people with no interest in God were sitting drinking. There was a man covered in large tumours. The bar owner for some reason was fed up with the music and changed the radio station and tuned in to this crusade. As the sound of the worship and preaching came in over the airwaves the atmosphere in the bar began to change and the tumours on the man literally began to melt off him in the bar. These were large tumours, that melted away as the presence and substance of God's kingdom filled the atmosphere of that bar. The guy was so amazed that he ordered a taxi and literally rushed over to the site of the crusade to tell people and he gave his life to Jesus.
Jesus came talking about the kingdom he didn't come talking about an interesting concept, he came demonstrating the reality of God's kingdom by healing people, casting out demons and raising the dead literally. He called his disciples to do the same. The only way we can do that is to live out something miraculous that comes from a higher order - the kingdom of heaven.
Bill Johnson calls it bringing heaven on earth, which is really what Jesus did. It is a new order where there is no sickness, no sin, no pain, no poverty, no suffering or oppression, where there are eternal resources, wisdom, freedom, joy and peace. It's expression on earth in relationships is love essentially. Its government is family. But I digress. The essential here is that this is a tangible spiritual reality that is something, can be felt, can be experienced and changes real stuff around us.
Here's the other thing - this kingdom is situated inside every one who is born again and a new creation in Christ. Our primary mandate is not to save lots of people and pack our churches, it is to release that Kingdom in the earth and transform society. One of the fruits of that will be that people will be saved. They will also be healed physically and emotionally, restored in relationships, enabled to live right lives again, live in peace, and joy and have a positive effect on those around them.
When Jesus came to announce the kingdom he was coming to say that there was a new order in town, that the new realm that Daniel has spoken of, the God's kingdom had come literally and was now available for all who wanted it.
This was the fulfilment of the prophecy in Daniel 7 v 13:
"As the visions during the night continued, I saw One like a son of man coming, on clouds of heaven; When he reached the Ancient One and was presented before him, He received dominion, glory, and kingship; nations and peoples of every language serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion and shall not be taken away, his kingship shall not be destroyed"
Jesus said that the kingdom is inside us. Our job is to work out how we live out of what has been put inside us and how to release this kingdom on the earth. Once we "put the kingdom first" all resources will be supplied and the growth of the church will take care of itself. If we truly learn to live and release the Kingdom we will be living in revival, not relying on our own church programmes and activities to bring people in.
If you don't live from the kingdom, from heaven, you try to run churches through good administration and organisation and cool evangelistic marketing. It is human resources not kingdom resources that we begin to rely on. This wasn't how Jesus operated or how he taught us to operate.
I want to spend the rest of my life learning about this kingdom and how to release it, because releasing this kingdom is not something people have taught most of us to do over the last 25 years.
Lets do what Jesus did and put the kingdom first!
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