The sermon outline which follows was part of my message at Hope Assembly of God a Ghanaian congregation in Aurora Colorado on December 16th of 2007.
I am posting it as an introduction to a study which I will be doing in the days ahead on:
The King and His Kingdom-
What it Means to be a part of the Kingdom of God Today.
There is need of a fresh look in the Bible to examine how this concept, which seems so far from our current understanding of being a Christian or a disciple and follower of Jesus Christ, is meaningful today. I will also be reposting a few earlier articles about the Kingdom of God.
Christmas-The Coming of the King and His Kingdom
Introduction:
In a little more than a week we will celebrate the birth of Jesus our Savior and Messiah.
In order for us to be well prepared to celebrate the birth of Jesus we need to look once again into God’s Word of God and be reminded of who this Jesus is whose birth we celebrate.
He is not simply the reason for the season, but He is:
*Immanuel-God is with us.
*The Bright and Morning Star
*The Captain of the Lord's host
*The Alpha and Omega
*The Bread of Life
I. The Coming of the King and His Kingdom
A. The Coming of the King was not what we might have expected.
He Humbled Himself
1. Born as a child in a small town in a humble family.
2. He was born as a son to Joseph of Nazareth. Born in a manger, not a palace.
3. He emptied Himself of His divine authority and power. Php 2:5-8
4. He lived according to the Father’s authority and will Jn 17:1-26
5. He did His mighty miracles by the power of the Spirit Jn 1:32-34
B. The Coming of the Kingdom was not what others had expected.
hat Jesus began to do and teach
1. Repent the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Mt 3:2
2. He is the Son of David and he came to fulfill the law and the prophets MT 1. and Jn 1:45
3. He came to seek and save that which was lost Lk 19:10
4. He came to set the captives free and proclaim the time of restoration and Good news Lk 4:18
Once we have celebrated the Birth of Jesus we must look ahead to the coming year of 2008 and Seek to do all that Jesus Began to do and Teach.
II. Living Life in His Kingdom According to the King’s Plan
A. Living Life as the King would have us to Live it.
1. Seek First the Kingdom of God Mt 6:33
2. Do all that Jesus began to do and teach Acts 1:1
3. Remember you are In the world but not of it Jn 17:11-17
4. Jesus teaches us to pray the Kingdom prayer MT 6:9-14
B. Living Life as a member of the Kingdom
1. Empowered by His Spirit to be His witnesses Acts 1:2, 8
Without getting sidetracked about dates and times.
2. Doing the Work of the ministry Eph 4:12
Those things Jesus began to do and teach
With humility as Jesus did, by the Father’s authority, by the Spirit’s Power
3. Building up one another Eph 4:12
In brotherly love, honoring others before yourself, as the household of God.
4. Becoming mature, to the measure of the stature of Christ.
Through constantly submitting ourselves to Him and those God has placed over us.
By worship, prayer, the study of God’s Word, service to one another, giving of our time
and resources. Living life to please him above all others. Eph 4:12
If we will do these things Then We Will Hear Him say, Well Done my Good and faithful servant!
Copyright © 2007 Wayne Newcomb
Artwork: Manifold Majesty by Graham Braddock.
http://www.majesticartworks.com/
The Kingdom Vision Taste Test
Ps 34:8 taste and see that the Lord [our God] is good! Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is the man who trusts and takes refuge in Him
AMP
We talk a lot about Vision in the Church, in business and in politics today. When you are around people with a Kingdom vision they have the qualities of the King and that is why they are appealing to people.
People with a Kingdom Vision are focused on the giver of the Vision, they are full of faith that the Vision given by Him will come to pass, they have hope even when things do not look the way they had thought they would be, they have a positive influence on those around them that the King's Vision is within reach and as a result others believe in, and become a part of making the vision reality.
This comes not just from vision casting or sharing the King's vision but from the fruit or impact the Vision has on the vision bearer. When the Vision is fresh and alive it brings freshness and life. When the Vision is dim, contrived or is lacking in the vitality of the King it is hard for someone to follow it or the person bearing it. I have noticed that hope springs from vision and vision from faith or belief that what is not yet is what can be Hebrews 11:6.
Faith in the king and His Kingdom are the key to vision. There are a lot of people who live in fear and doubt and who are always looking for or are wandering around seeking someone or something to give them hope. They are in need of a healthy relationship with God. He is the giver of life, a life that flows continually to those who are in an ongoing relationship with Him.
Today, we are tempted to have a fast food version of our relationship with God, when what we really need is a time of restful feeding on the green grass of His Word and of drinking from the still water of His Spirit, of letting Him minister to us by talking with us and calling us by name, and of letting him rub His healing ointment into the hurts and bruises we receive from everyday life. When we do this and do it again and again we find the life, hope and vision that inspire others to see in us a glimpse of Him.
This glimpse of Him, what He is and wants to do, generates loyalty and passion for the Vision He has given us. People follow a vision when they can see hope and faith of the Kingdom alive in it, not when it is a part of the latest promotion or fashionable idea, which gets pounded endlessly into their information pathways. Proverbs 29:18 Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast of restraint, are discouraged or wander without hope. But blessed is he who keeps God’s Word.
When they see Kingdom vision which has come from faith and hope alive in someone it gives them a reason to seek God for themselves and in the building of their relationship with God they gain faith, hope and His vision for them.
The Bible uses the imagery of trees bearing fruit as an outward demonstration of His life flowing through us to produce the fruit of the Spirit, which is the true mark of His life within.
Jesus in John 15 speaks about the need for the branches to stay connected to the vine if they are to have His life which produces vision. When we have a healthy ongoing relationship with Him we make it possible for people to get a glimpse of Him. We have a choice; we can allow others to get a glimpse of the King which brings faith and leads to Kingdom vision or a glimpse of us without Him, which will lead the people to not have hope or a purpose and wander aimlessly.
Faith in the King is the key to vision. Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the assurance of the things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen,” NASB revised version.
Kingdom Vision does not cause us to be DRIVEN; instead it leads and inspires us.
True Kingdom vision makes room for all who would agree with it. It does not need someone to constantly pound it into our heads and manipulate us into sacrifice so that someone else's vision of their kingdom can be realized. People will become a part of the Kings vision and freely participate in the cost of seeing God accomplish it when it carries the sweet aroma of a living sacrifice and not the stench of self and pride.
Kingdom Visions spring forth as children of the calling of the King in our lives. The more mature and healthy in Christ we are the more the birthed vision will demonstrate the Fathers heart and not our own!
Kingdom Taste Test
When someone taste of the vision you proclaim will they taste and see that the Lord is Good, or will they taste and see that bitter and impure water has been mixed with the river of life?
Or will they see that Jesus has save the best for release in His season?
John 2:9-11
9 When the headwaiter tasted the water which had become wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom, 10 and said to him, "Every man serves the good wine first, and when the people have drunk freely, then he serves the poorer wine; but you have kept the good wine until now."
In the midst of these troubling times we need to know the King and the precepts of His Kingdom. We learn these from His Word and our walk with Him. Therefore it is important that we walk by the Spirit of God.
Gal 5:16-26
16 But I say, walk and live [habitually] in the [Holy] Spirit [responsive to and controlled and guided by the Spirit]; then you will certainly not gratify the cravings and desires of the flesh (of human nature without God).
17 For the desires of the flesh are opposed to the [Holy] Spirit, and the [desires of the] Spirit are opposed to the flesh (godless human nature); for these are antagonistic to each other [continually withstanding and in conflict with each other], so that you are not free but are prevented from doing what you desire to do.
18 But if you are guided (led) by the [Holy] Spirit, you are not subject to the Law.
19 Now the doings (practices) of the flesh are clear (obvious): they are immorality, impurity, indecency,
20 Idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger (ill temper), selfishness, divisions (dissensions), party spirit (factions, sects with peculiar opinions, heresies),
21 Envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you beforehand, just as I did previously, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit [the work which His presence within accomplishes] is love, joy (gladness), peace, patience (an even temper, forbearance), kindness, goodness (benevolence), faithfulness,
23 Gentleness (meekness, humility), self-control (self-restraint, continence). Against such things there is no law [that can bring a charge].
24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus (the Messiah) have crucified the flesh (the godless human nature) with its passions and appetites and desires.
25 If we live by the [Holy] Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. [If by the Holy Spirit we have our life in God, let us go forward walking in line, our conduct controlled by the Spirit.]
26 Let us not become vainglorious and self-conceited, competitive and challenging and provoking and irritating to one another, envying and being jealous of one another. AMP
Artwork by Graham Braddoct's Road to the Cross http://www.christian-artprints.com/
Copyright © Wayne Newcomb 2010
Kingdom Values
I. The highest values in the Kingdom start with every believer being equipped to have a life of Passionate Participation in God. To live in a passionate pursuit of knowing, experiencing and enjoying God and in bringing others along on the adventure.
A. This can be accomplished when our goal is to have the heart of the Father, the mind of Christ and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.
Ø The heart of the Father: Learning to know Him relationally and then being a source of building up and encouraging others to have the same type of relationship. In equipping, mending, nurturing, challenging, releasing, mentoring, inspiring, motivating and encouraging the people around me.
Ø The mind of Christ: Knowing the Word both written and living so that we can lay down our lives and do the will of the Father. In servant leaders who will be responsible and accountable to the team they are a part of. In dreaming and praying big while being faithful with those who are around you. In allowing, encouraging and supporting others to follow the calling and dreams in their life. In working hard to do my part and allowing God to do His.
Ø The empowerment of the Holy Spirit: Learning to live and breathe and flow in the Spirit. Allowing Him to manifest God’s character, gifts and power through the creative unfolding of God’s direction on a continual basis. In the unfolding, creative, and fresh work of God for every group of people. In the wonder of God's endless, creative and unique style of accomplishing His will among people.
B. The second value is to encourage, seek, teach and be available to the fresh move of God in our day. To allow and encourage freedom of expression and interaction with God. To provide guidance and instruction where valuable to the individual and the group in which God is working to encourage an atmosphere of community in which a believer may grow and experience God interacting with them without fear.
C. The third value is to provide a culture in which each person may come into the fullness of Christ through mending, equipping and being released into the work of the kingdom and the building up of each other in every dimension and aspect of our society.
Most of all: That we might all one day hear Him say, well done, you who have been a good and a faithful servant.
Abba’s Glory
A Life of Passionate Participation in God
__________________________________________________________________________
An Introduction:
Isa 43:19
19 See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
NIV Have you tired of lifeless Christianity, the life God desires for us, is not dead and stale but fresh and alive with His fire, grace and mercy.
1. Jn. 17:22: God has given us and wants us to participate in His Glory through Jesus Christ
God reveals Himself to us and through us as we participate in the life that Christ gives us.
When we look at the first several chapters of Revelation and the last four chapters of Job we see the awesome God revealing Himself. Through Jesus we see God revealed in flesh. In Christ we have life we were created for and our inner being longs for.
2. Gen 1:27-31 God created us to participate in His Life and oversee His creation.
The Tree of Life was available to them from the beginning until they rebelled and sinned.
Gen 1:27-31
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
Next we will see that through Jesus that God offers the restoration of our relationship with Him that we may once again have a life of passionate participation in God.
3. John 17:1-18:1 Jesus says” I have given them the glory…
20 "My prayer is not for them alone, I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me? 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one:
A life of passionate Participation in God is His desire for us.
He wants to reveal His Glory in us and through our lives.
Eph 1:3-14
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love 5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight 9 He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him 10 with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him 11 also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, 12 to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory. 13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation — having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.
NASU
Eph 2:1-10
And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. 3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ ( by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
NASU
My prayer for you is that you will through a life of passionate participation in God experience the fullness of this prayer by Paul.
Eph 3:14-21
14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.
20 Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, 21 to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.
NASU