< soap box >
so here it is all laid out:
it's all in our mindset. remember my blog about perspective, well this is going to take it one step further... how we view things in the church determines how we allow God to move.
i don't know what denomination you attend or even your theology, and i don't have a desire to put down any denomination or theology, but i am convinced that the only way we can overcome our faultlines and our rifts is by having a Kingdom mindset. and what do i mean by this? i mean, seeing the world through the Kingdom's Visionary- the King Himself.
i am thoroughly convinced that all theological controversies can be rectified simply by filtering the issues through the life of Christ. after all, if He is to be our example then why aren't we living like Him?
ok, so check this out: if we determine that Jesus is the Word and He became flesh (John 1:1), and that the Word was with God and the Word was God (also John 1:1) and that He dwelt among us (John 1:14) and by seeing Him, we are witnesses of His glory (also John 1:14), and we are to be imitators of Christ (Ephesians 5:1-2), then we must take note of the things He did, even imitating them... all of them. we can't just pick and choose the things that He did that we can do. if we do, where do we begin and where does it end? if Jesus did certain things where He was more God than man, then how do we determine what it is that we can do and what is beyond our grasp?
my point is this: if we are called to be ministers of the Gospel (the good news) then we must realize what that entails. What did Jesus say the Gospel is? Everytime Jesus mentions the Gospel, it is always preceded with or followed by the words "of the kingdom." what is the Gospel of the Kingdom? the kingdom of heaven is at hand. how can this be? if heaven is a future place. how can it be at hand? how can it be relevant and attained now?
what happens in heaven does not stay in heaven
remember when the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray and Jesus gave them the teaching that's been come to be known as the Lord's prayer? "your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven..." what exactly does this mean? is it a petition for a future event or is it for that time that it is prayed?
if everywhere that Jesus went, people were healed and set free and those things accompanied the gospel of the kingdom, then what is our natural conclusion? if we were philosophy students, then our natural logical conclusion would have to be that anywhere the gospel of the kingdom goes, people will be healed of physical ailments and set free from demonic oppression.
so, then, it begs the question, does the Gospel that we preach line up with the Gospel Jesus taught? what is the central focus of our Gospel compared to Jesus' gospel?
if we are to conclude that the Gospel that we teach is superior than the one that Jesus taught, then we must wonder why? if the student is not above the master (matthew 10:24), then how is our gospel higher than that of Christ? what gives our message the pass of not having the signs and wonders that Christ's message had?
did He not commission the 12 (and then the 70) to go out and preach the gospel of the kingdom and gave them the power and authority over unclean spirits, to drive them out, and to cure all kinds of disease and all kinds of weakness and infirmity? in point of fact, did not Jesus say, "And as you go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand! Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, drive out demons. Freely (without pay) you have received, freely (without charge) give." (Matthew 10)?
chances are, if God repeats a theme, there's a reason for it. if it is recorded over and over, there's clearly something we have to grab from it. it usually means that He's trying to drive a point home. so if the gospel of the Kingdom is confirmed with signs, wonders and miracles, then it should be that if we preach the gospel of Christ, which is the gospel of the Kingdom, then it should be confirmed in the same way.
that is not to say that we will always see the results, but shouldn't we walk as though we will? yes, it puts a HUGE responsibility on us... but can we expect anything less? i mean, He entrusted us with the gospel of the kingdom, don't we owe it to people to pass out the entire gospel? shouldn't we be getting off of our blessed assurances and be out giving the gospel away?
what does it say about us as a church universal if we are more concerned with saving our christian society than we are about preaching the gospel that Jesus preached- the gospel of the Kingdom?
what about doing the works of Christ and doing greater things (John 14)?
the logical natural conclusion is that what we preach as the gospel is not what Jesus preached as the gospel. if God confirmed what Jesus preached with power; and if He confirmed what the Twelve and the 72 preached with power, then wouldn't it be in His best interest to do the same today? After all, isn't He the same yesterday, today and forever?
remember the Lord's prayer? His will for ours, on earth as it is in heaven. is there any sickness, any disease in heaven? then it must not be His will there- the conclusion? His will for ours, on earth as it is in heaven. the logical natural conclusion?
you figure it out...
< /soap box >
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