The Gospel of the Kingdom
** Disclaimer: we may not be in agreement with everything taught on the web sites of those we are linked with **
AN INTRODUCTION TO 'THE KINGDOM OF GOD'
(italics, capital letters, etc. in verses below are mine)
Many of us have been raised up in Christian traditions where we prayed the Lord's prayer, even in our secular schools, and frequently read the verse about 'seeking first the Kingdom of God'...
But did we really understand what the Kingdom of God was/is? Did we realize what we were praying when we prayed 'YOUR KINGDOM COME, YOUR WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN'?
Did we/do we understand what it means to SEEK FIRST HIS KINGDOM? (Matthew 6:33 - "...But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well..." Matthew 6:10 "...your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." (from NIV)
Personally, over the years I have had many growing questions and struggles about what the Kingdom of God is, and about what the GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM was/is that Jesus focused on in His preaching/teaching and which He focused on DEMONSTRATING. And if we are to WALK AS JESUS DID (1 John 2:6 "...Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did..." and 1 John 3:8 "...The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work..."), I wondered why we were not seeing Jesus's disciples in the current generation preaching/teaching about these things and generally not proclaiming/demonstrating the Kingdom - except for what we heard about in missionary stories from overseas...and increasingly in charistmatic circles over the past couple of decades or so.
I have also had many questions about what the GOOD NEWS of the Gospel of the Kingdom is!
There are, of course, biblical references to the kingdom of darkness as opposed to the kingdom of Light. We in the West tended, for many years, not to even believe much (if at all) in the supernatural world and even for Christians, Christianity often seemed to be more of an intellectual faith than a heartfelt faith, relationship and lifestyle, which is what the Bible talks about. Even the non-Christian world was seemingly increasingly more attuned to the supernatural world and has dived into it with such vigor that that is almost all we see around us these days! Since we (largely) have not been preaching/teaching/proclaiming and demonstrating the Kingdom of God, that void has been filled by the prowling lion who seeks to devour the myriads around us.
Peoples of other countries, such as Africa, India, etc. that are steeped in the supernatural - in paganism, withcraft, the occult, etc., understand the significance of the KINGDOM of light and the kingdom of darkness, and when these kingdoms confront each other and they see that the Kingdom of God is more powerful, many readily transfer their loyalties to the King of the Kingdom of Light! We in the West tend not to grasp this kingdom reality, yet, but with the darkness quickly coming upon us more and more, I think we are beginning to become increasingly aware of the reality of these two kingdoms and are need to understand and begin to increasingly live in the reality of the Kingdom of God!
I often wondered what we were missing when the Bible said that before the end would come, the GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM would be preached throughout the earth; yet it seemed that we as the Church knew very little about what the GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM was - I don't think I ever heard a sermon on it. I had often heard the GOSPEL of salvation, but not the GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM...and yet this is what Jesus commanded us to preach/teach/proclam and demonstrate!!
I felt that the understanding I grew up with, of basically the sum of my spiritual life being wrapped up in my initial salvation experience, and with more understanding over the years including my need to grow in my relationship with Jesus, that there was still something MAJOR that I was/we as the Church at large? were missing about the Kingdom of God...but what was it?
So my search continued as I searched the Scriptures and asked God to reveal more to my heart about this...
Over the years I began to be reminded of how we were not only called to 'become Christians' and DISCIPLE others (the next step), but we were called to DISCIPLE THE NATIONS! Matthew 28:19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations..." (NIV)
What did THIS mean? It seemed to me that in my experience and observation of modern Christendom over the years, the Church (generally) was struggling with even discipling individuals or families in a long-lasting, effective way - as Jesus and His disciples did - let alone seeing cities or NATIONS discipled! It seemed to me that our modern ways of 'discipleship' were very different than biblical 'discipleship' - and much less effective, though sincerely well-intentioned!
I struggled with the fact that although the church has been around, especially in N. America/Europe, etc. for generations, although there has been fruit and there have been times of revival here and there, our overall effectiveness has been much less than we had expected! Not only less than expected, but the darkness has been increasingly growing, rather than vice versa!! If we had been doing what we had been called to, should not the opposite have been happening instead? Should we not have been seeing some cities and nations discipled after so many years of modern Christianity? This caused many more questions to arise in my heart!
As I kept praying for answers, I felt that this aspect of DISCIPLING THE NATIONS was another part of the puzzle. The more I sought the Lord on it, the more clarity He seemed to begin to bring, and the more hope I received as I began to realize that God indeed DID have FAR MORE in mind than we had often thought - which seemed to be that about the most we could hope for was individuals, families and perhaps large crowds at crusades to become believers and then eventually go to heaven.
But even the latter was something I really struggled with as I kept hearing how so few of those that become believers at crusades, etc., actually remain believers, let alone become DISCIPLES who disciple others! Even many/most? becoming believers through our churches have fallen away before too long...I often wondered WHY, if our many programs were as effective as we seemed to think they were.
I wondered - what, after all, is a DISCIPLE? Is it just someone who says the salvation prayer and attends church regularly, prays, and lives a fairly moral life?, etc., or, as I looked through the Bible, is it someone who is in the process of becoming a whole-hearted, total-life worshipper of Jesus Christ - someone who is seeking to love Him with all their heart, soul, mind and strength and to love their neighbour as themself? ...Someone who expresses their love for Him by obeying His commands? ...someone who is continuing to be conformed into His likeness? ...Someone who is walking as Jesus did (1 John 2:6 Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.), living by the power of His Holy Spirit, and increasingly saying and doing only the things that the Holy Spirit is leading them to say/do...like Jesus did as He did and said only the things His Father did/said.
To think of the possibility of the impact of believers around the globe who were not only believers but DISCIPLES, and DISCIPLES WHO DISCIPLED OTHERS, began to enlarge my faith in what God could and wanted to do!
And then to think of the possibility of even cities and NATIONS being discipled in a biblical way took my breath away and made me even more aware of the incredible greatness, glory and power of our awesome God!!!!!
....I prayed and sought the Lord about this and thrilled about this with Him for some years as He revealed to my heart more about this in the Scriptures! YET I felt there was even MORE to it than this...and that even the DISCIPLING OF NATIONS was a step toward the EVEN LARGER context and God's vision and passion for the
KINGDOM OF GOD!!!
I increasingly wondered WHY, if Jesus' focus was to establish and teach about the GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM, did I rarely, if ever, hear any teaching about that? Surely if that was Jesus' focus which He also trained His disciples to focus on, and which we were commanded to SEEK FIRST, we as the Church should have an understanding about what THE KINGDOM OF GOD is all about!... But I felt at a major loss about what the Kingdom of God was all about!
My understanding from growing up was that when we became a believer/follower of Jesus and said the sinner's prayer, we were now in the Kingdom of God...a citizen of heaven. (Phil 3:20) ...an 'alien' on the earth....a sojourner - passing through...We were to get baptized, pray, go to church regulary, tithe, perhaps become involved in ministry, love God, be nice to others, and generally had a list of do's and don'ts to follow...and that's about as far as it went (according to my understanding), other than the fact that we were to evangelize others and have then say the sinner's prayer, become believers and so on...
Over the past couple decades, though, there seems to have also been a growing understanding that that was not enough...but that one needed to also develop a RELATIONSHIP with Jesus, and begin to see our relationship with Him begin to further affect other areas of our lives in a deeper way than only observing 'rules'. Our actions were to come as an overflow of love for Him instead of as a way to 'earn' His favour!
But even with that, and the growing understanding of the need for increasing intimacy with Him, and responding to God's love by obeying Him rather than observing the rules out of a sense of trying to earn His favour - which we can't earn because it has been given to us through His grace - I still felt that I was missing out on some major 'secret' or 'mystery' that was right in front of my face but which I wasn't 'getting', yet, regarding the Gospel of the Kingdom! ...So I kept praying and searching/studying other things the Lord brought to my attention.
As I looked around at the Church at large (generalization), I, like many in the world, did not see that the Church seemed to be the 'container' of much GOOD NEWS in it's present state!
So many believers I saw were bored, tired out, looking sad, feeling like victims, feeling estranged from God and others, feeling loaded down with guilt and condemnation, not experiencing the FREEDOM or the ABUNDANT LIFE that the Bible talks about in ways which make our mouths water and our hearts long for! - ie. Galatians 5:1 (NIV) "1It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." John 10:10 "...I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."
I wondered, have we really understood the GOOD NEWS??? What IS the GOOD NEWS??? Did we only understand a bit about the Good News? Was there more that God wanted to reveal to us as His Church about that??
Yes, we had salvation and forgiveness, and we knew Jesus
was living in our hearts, and we had passed from death into life, all of which
are absolutely INCREDIBLE and ESSENTIAL and MIND-BOGGLING GOOD NEWS, but if
this was everything there was, why were we so often so downcast and despairing?
Why were we so reluctant to share with others the GOOD NEWS?? Did we really
BELIEVE WE had GOOD NEWS???
I asked God about this many times...what IS the GOOD NEWS??? What am I/what are we missing?? What is the GOOD NEWS of the GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM??
And in reading Matthew 24:14 (NIV) "...And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come....", I also figured that I/we needed a deeper understanding of the KINGDOM OF GOD - the GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM, if this was to be preached in the whole world before the end would come!
I often have the sense that much of the way we have (generalization) lived out our relationship with the Kingdom of God as believers is something like this:
Picture an old castle (kingdom) with the castle wall around it. When we have became a believer, we have come in through THE DOOR (Jesus) through the Kingdom wall and into the Kingdom courtyard. We became a Kingdom citizen and became a part of the Kingdom of God and the Royal Family, but for the most part it seems we have been living out our Christian lives just inside the door of the Kingdom walls...like spiritual wall-flowers...bored, largely uninvolved, waiting for something to happen, not experiencing much of the LIFE and Presence of Jesus; not really knowing the King; not really knowing/experiencing the other Kingdom citizens/family we are a part of, and not being a part of Kingdom/Family business and experiencing the fulfillment and blessings, abundance, joys or responsibilities of Kingdom life/relationships/citizenship and business.
We have tended to think that 'salvation'
meant, for the most part, forgiveness from sins, heaven, etc. - the things
mentioned earlier on, but our understanding of SALVATION has often been a
far cry from the biblical fullness of what SALVATION includes! - to see a
bit more on this, click here,
and here are some further thoughts on that from: Salvation
http://interactive.creflodollarministries.org/bible/worddef02_t.asp
" Source Scripture: Hebrews 2:3
"How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the
first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that
heard him..."
Definition: Salvation (soteria, Greek; Yshuwah, Hebrew), "deliverance,
protection, preservation, prosperity, safety, soundness, welfare and health."
Additional scriptural references: Genesis 15:1, 6; Acts 13:39, AMP; Romans
1:17; 3:21-28; 4:3, 11-13; 6:1-2; Ephesians 2:8; James 5:16, AMP; 1 Peter
2:21-24; 1 John 2:27-29..."
It also includes our entire inheritance in Him!
Another verse which kindof gives that idea, as well, is: 3 John 1:2 (NIV) "Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well."
I believe our understanding of BIBLICAL SALVATION needs to be seen and experienced within a BIBLICAL context of the establishment of KINGDOM OF GOD! - which includes God's plans for RESTORATION which are a theme throughout the Bible!! For example:
Ephesians 1:9"...And he[d] made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ..." Ephesians 3:9 "...and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. 10His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, 11according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord..." Ephesians 1:11"...In him we were also chosen,[e] having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory..." Colossians 1:19"...For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross...."
'Getting saved' is just the VERY FIRST STEP!! of the adventurous journey our King has us on in growing in intimacy with Him as we become increasingly conformed into His likeness, and then seeing our lives increasingly experiencing the fullness of Kingdom Life - now and in it's fullness in the future...
The more we understand of what His Kingdom purposes are, the more our hearts will begin to understand what GOOD NEWS the GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM IS, and how everything we are/do, including life as His CHURCH, must be seen within the MUCH larger context of the KINGDOM OF GOD!
I am so grateful to God that it seems that in the past number of years more and more believers from around the planet seem to be gaining a deeper understanding of this, as well, as it seems to be a new day dawning in the Church where God is lifting off the veil of this seemingly long-veiled mystery as He is preparing us to bring the GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM to the ends of the earth as He prepares us for His soon return!!
For more helpful resources about this, please see the excerpts immediately below, as well as the resources posted on this page. I have not had a chance to read through all of them, so may not agree with everything included in them, but we are exhorted in Scripture to be like the 'Bereans', (Acts 17:11 (NIV) "Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true."), so I encourage you to consider the following with this perspective and check it out.
by Grace Wiebe, June 2005
CONTENTS
--------
The following very helpful intro is from: Being the Church Where We Live - Ron McKenzie - p155 and following
"...The Kingdom of God is the goal of history, so every Church must have a Kingdom focus. Our task is not complete when the gospel has been preached to the nations. Our commission is the Kingdom of God (Matt28:18-20) and the Church is just a means to that end..."
"...The gospels tell us that Jesus was constantly teaching about the Kingdom of God. The good news that He proclaimed was the gospel of the Kingdom. The The twelve disciples were also sent out to proclaim the same message. (Luke9:1,2). In contrast the gospels only mention the word 'church' once.
The Kingdom includes every area of life that is under the rule and authority of God. If God rules a home it is part of the Kingdom. Where a business is run on biblical principles, it is also part of the Kingdom. The Kingdom of God includes every human activity that is done according to His will.
God intends His Kingdom to expand into every area of life....
...The Kingdom of God is a much broader concept than the Church...
...The Kingdom of God expands as Christians extend the rule of God into the areas of life where they have authority...
..."The Church must never be an end in itself, but must always work to establish the Kingdom of God...
...Instead of seeking to establish the Kingdom of God, Christians have concentrated on building the church. The church has become a place of retreat for the Church....Rather than being a place of retreat, the church should be a recruiting station and training ground for the Kingdom of God..."
===
VERY HELPFUL ARTICLES in the KINGDOM OF GOD / the GOOD NEWS of the GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM
FREE!!! Small very helpful booklet about THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM
The kingdom of God is one of the great themes of the Bible.
From beginning to end it speaks of the glory of God and the greatness of his
Kingdom. The Old Testament is full of prophecies about the time when the Lord
will establish his Kingdom. One example is Habakkuk 2:14:
The earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the
sea."...see more by clicking on link
---
The
Kingdom of God and Christian Community Development
- extremely helpful article!!!!
...seek first the Kingdom of God and His JUSTICE....
----
**RECOVER: The Gospel of the Kingdom - Jeff Fountain
ARTICLES
25 Articles
on the Kingdom of God
A Sudden Change Is
Coming! Bret A. Wade
Becoming Fruitful
in the Kingdom
Building
the Kingdom in Diaspora
Derek Morphew
on the Kingdom of God
Enter the Kingdom
- Chip Brogden
Establishing and Restoring God's Shaloam
http://www.urbana.org/_articles.cfm?RecordId=236
http://www.urbana.org/_articles.cfm?RecordId=237
Forgiveness, Reconciliation
and Justice
How
the Kingdom Will Come - Rick Joyner
Jesus and the Kingdom
of God
Kingdom
Leadership in Postmodern Culture
My
Father's House and the Kingdom of God
Living
with the King - Rick Joyner
Philippians 3:20 (NIV) - "...20But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, ..."
Picturing
the Kingdom of God - using parables to communicate the Kingdom
Preparing
to Take the Land - Rick Joyner
Seeking the
Kingdom of God
Teaching the Gospel of the Kingdom
The Currency
of God's Kingdom
The Emerging
Beautiful Mess & the Kingdom of God
The Entrance
of the King
The
Entrance to the Kingdom - Rick Joyner
The Foundation of the Kingdom - Rick Joyner
The Gospel of the
Kingdom and Christian Community Development
The Intangibles
of Community & Kingdom
The Kingdom of God -
helpful!
The
Kingdom of God - Scott Freeman - helpful!
**The Kingdom of
God and Christian Community Development - John Perkins
The Keys of the Kingdom
The Kingdom
The Kingdom Economy
The Kingdom
of God - Blumhardt book online
The Kingdom of God in
America - syllabus
The
Kingdom of God Described in Scripture
The Kingdom
of Joy is Coming to the Earth
The Kingdom the Power
and the Glory - Chip Brogden
The
Life in the Kingdom
The Kingdom
The Kingdom of God
**The Kingdom of
God and Christian Community Development
The Kingdom of God in
America
The Kingdom's
Progress
The
Language of the Kingdom
The Old Testament Template
- Relearning to Disciple The Nations God's Way
The
Prevailing Heart - Rick Joyner
The Wars
of the Lord
#1
This Gospel of the Kingdom
Till We All Come to Unity
of the Faith - Chip Brogden
Understanding the Will
of God and His Kingdom
Watchmen on the Walls - the
Message of the Kingdom
Weakened
Warriors - Rick Joyner
Ziglag
The Test of Kings
BIBLE STUDIES
Bible
Study on Jesus and the Kingdom of God
The
Kingdom of God and Heaven
God's
Kingdom Described - Scriptures about God's Kingdom
Seek
First the Kingdom of God
FREE Kingdom
of Heaven course - haven't checked it out so don't know what it's like
FREE!!! Small
very helpful booklet about THE GOSPEL
OF THE KINGDOM
A Journey in
the Wilderness - Becoming Fruitful
in
the Kingdom - Paul Weigel - excellent book!!
- ever been in the 'wilderness'? If so, this book will affirm and confirm
things that you have gone through...if you haven't been in it yet, it's still
to come...this will help to encourage you while you're going through this
painful process
Being
the Church Where We Live - Ron McKenzie - includes a great chapter on
the Kingdom of God!
Muslims,
Magic and the Kingdom of God
Thy
Kingdom Come - a Blumhardt Reader - online book
The Treasures of
God's Kingdom - online Christian Discipleship book - includes
mostly Scriptures re various aspects of the Christian life
----
Doug Weiss - Kings and Priests book
MINISTRIES
Bill & Elaine Cook -Gospel
of the Kingdom - Creston, BC
Kingdom
of God Ministries
Gospel of the Kingdom Newsletter
+ PREPARATION FOR GOD's PEOPLE IN THE CONTEXT OF ANNOUNCING,
PROCLAIMING & DEMONSTRATING THE KINGDOM OF GOD - PREPARING TO TAKE THE
LAND - excellent articles!! by Rick Joyner
http://www.morningstarministries.org/pages/word_week/2004/word_week_menu_2004.html
http://www.morningstarministries.org/pages/word_week/word_week_menu.html
SCHOOL OF THE KINGDOM
The
Story of the Kingdom
The Glory of the
Kingdom
The
Coming of the Kingdom
The
Blessed of the Kingdom
The
Mission of the Kingdom
The
United Kingdom
Kingdom
or Calamity
School
of Kingdom Economics
TAPES
The
Gospel of the Kingdom Verses the American Gospel
The
Old Testament Template - Relearning to Disciple The Nations God's Way
- audio tapes and videos
"THE FOUNDATION"
-- By Rick Joyner - Apr 20, 2002
web site address:
"Ephesians 2:20: ". . . Having been built upon
the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the
corner stone."
Paul is not saying that the apostles and prophets are the foundation. As he
wrote in I Corinthians 3:11, Jesus Christ is the only foundation for the church.
It is the apostles and prophets who lay the foundation, which is Jesus. Jesus
is not only the Cornerstone and the FoundationHe is the whole building.
----------------------------
"HE" IS WHAT IS BEING BUILT
----------------------------
In biblical times, engineers did not have elaborate plans drawn on large sheets
of paper to work from. Instead they used the cornerstone of a building, which
was made to be a scale of its shape and dimensions. That is why the cornerstone
of the pyramids was also the capstone. During construction they would continually
refer back to the cornerstone to be sure that they were complying with the
architect's plan. In this same way, Jesus is our Cornerstone. He is what is
being built. This is what Paul summed up as the purpose of his work, and is
the essence of true apostolic and prophetic ministry, as we read in Colossians
1:28-29:
"And we proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with
all wisdom, that we may present every man complete in Christ. And for this
purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works
within me."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
PAUL WASN'T JUST TRYING TO GET PEOPLE TO CONFESS JESUS AS THEIR SAVIOR . .
.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Paul wasn't just trying to get people to confess Jesus as their Savior, though
that is certainly an important beginning. He wasn't just trying to get them
to understand Christian doctrine accurately, though that too is important.
This was also about much more than just planting churches wherever he went.
All of these were but a means to the end-- having each believer, CONFORMED
TO THE IMAGE OF CHRIST. This is the image of God that many were originally
created to bear. This begins with reconciliation to God through the atonement
of the cross. After the atonement comes the renewing of our minds, and the
conforming of our lives to His ways.
As stated previously, God does not judge the condition or quality of His church
by how good the meetings are on Sunday morning, but by how good the people
are on Monday morning. The main calling of our life is more than just knowing
the truth--it is having that truth become our life.
The main purpose of the church is more than just providing ministry to the
peopleit is laboring until each one is conformed to the image of Christ. That
is the foundation of apostolic and prophetic ministry, and what they are called
to impart to all of the ministries in the church. This is the foundation of
ministrylaboring for each one to be made complete in Christ.
---------------------------
HOW WE JUDGE OUR OWN LIVES
---------------------------
How does our ministry measure up when judged on this basis? The quality of
our ministry is determined by the quality of the people we minister to in
their daily lives. How are they at home? How are they when at work? How patient,
loving, and kind are they when shopping, or in traffic? How do they live in
secret when no one else is around to see them? Are they becoming more like
Christ? This should be how we judge our own lives. Are we more like Christ
this year than last year? Is that the fruit of our ministry in the people's
lives that we minister to?
Church history is similar to the history of Israel in Scripture. It is a continuous
cycle of revival and deliverance followed by apathy, apostasy, bondage, and
then the revival and deliverance that starts the cycle over again. The apathy
usually turned into apostasy when rituals were used to replace the truths
that they represented, or in more modern times, projects are used as a substitute
for the life of Christ in our midst.
There is nothing wrong with rituals when they are used properly, or with projects
when they are kept in their place of secondary importance. We can possibly
point to every major problem the church has had in history, and possibly in
our own individual lives, as being the result of being distracted from our
primary purposebeing conformed to the image of Christ, and our ministry purposehelping
others to conform to His image.
Isn't it time that we broke that cycle?"
------------
From: "THE ELIJAH LIST" kary@elijahlist.com THE ELIJAH LIST: www.elijahlist.com
Check out Rick Joyner/Morningstar resources at: http://theelijahlist.safeshopper.com/312/cat312.htm?770
Others may subscribe to THE ELIJAH LIST by going to: www.elijahlist.com or
by sending an email to: elijahlist3@mindspring.com Rick Joyner: http://morningstarministries.org