August 13, 2013.... Kingdom Agenda for the Church: Part II, compliments of Liliane Delva.. Kingdom Agenda for Churches (Tony Evans)-Part II A second role of the church in God’s kingdom agenda is to manifest God’s kingdom principles in the daily lives of believers Jesus taught these principles at the beginning of His great kingdom sermon, the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5: 1-12). They show us how to think, and live in God’s kingdom. The church is responsible to hold its members accountable and ensuring our lives are in accordance with kingdom values Kingdom principles or Beatitudes are the heart of the church’s kingdom agenda Beatitudes-Principles of the Kingdom 1. The Poor in Spirit (Matt 5:3) b. This principle is all about humbling ourselves, no being haughty or arrogant. c. Kingdom people are dependent on God, not on themselves. They are thankful to Him for our gifts and abilities. d. Don’t walk around haughty or prideful because of who you think you are, what you think you’ve done, and what you have e. Jesus talks about humility and how we must approach God like children do, with humble faith f. No matter what world standing we have, it does not apply and has no place in the church. You could be a CEO of a corporation, but be a spiritual babe in Christ. Your status in the world does not give you more privileges in church, and it never should g. We are privileged that God allows us to enter His church and His kingdom. h. In fact, the higher your standing in the world, the more privileged you are that God even chose you because the Bible states that” not many of the wise or mighty are chosen” (1 Cor 1: 26) i. Instead God chose the foolish and weak to shame the strong (v.27), so that no one may boast before Him (v. 29) j. Be careful that you don’t start to believe all the compliments people give you, lest you forget yourself, and forget that it is God that gives you all that you have k. True poverty of the Spirit comes when we acknowledge that without God, we are nothing. It is all a result of His goodness and grace to us l. The greatest among us is the one who is the least (Mark 10:44) 2. Those who mourn, for they shall be comforted (v.4) a. Blessed are the people who mourn over the presence of sin in their lives b. We exist in a world that celebrates and thrives in the very existence of sin, and come up with new ways to sin everyday. The sad part is that their hearts don’t mourn over it. c. It doesn’t sadden the world to see sin, or anything that disgusts God. They can’t relate. This what happened in Gen 6: 5, when God saw the evilness in man was so great that He regretted that He made man the earth, and He grieved in His heart. That’s why He flooded the earth, except for Noah, who God found righteous (v.9). d. Noah existed in a world full of sin but remained righteous. This is how Kingdom people need to be! We hate the sin our Father hates, and want it out of lives, minds, mouths, and hearts, in order to please God. e. Sin is a cancer that kills mankind. But the grace of God is the radiation that eradicates and removes the cancer, filling us with light that cleanses our holy temples and makes us clean for God’s purpose f. Don’t get me wrong. We ALL sin. But what Jesus is talking about is the attitude that people have toward sin that is the key. i. For kingdom people, sin should leave us broken and seek to change and turn from it (Read Ps 51) g. That is why the church should discipline any unrepentant or rebellious members (Matt 18:15-20; 1Co 5:1-13). If a church does not discipline its members, it will cause disorder in the body of believers 3. The Gentle: Blessed are the gentle for they shall inherit the earth (v.5) a. Gentleness or meekness is not about hanging your head, but it’s all about your ability to submit your will to the will of God b. God wants to bring our will under His authority so that when He says left, we go left/right/stop, without asking questions, grumbling or complaining. He is the master of the ship, and we just follow His commands c. We says as Jesus did before He went to the cross, “Father if You are willing, take this cup away from Me- nevertheless not My will, but Yours be done” (Luke 22:42). This is meekness. It is this attitude, this willingness to submit, is how we will inherit God’s kingdom because God knows He can trust us with it. i. If God can’t control you, don’t look for His blessing, because He knows He won’t be able to tell you what to do with what He gives you. d. God is looking for meek people that He can use, and send out to demonstrate the power of His kingdom to the world 4. The Hungry and the Thirsty: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst or righteousness for they shall be satisfied (v.6) a. In the same way that we have a physical hunger and longing for food and water, we need to have a spiritual hunger for the Word of God, and the things of God b. Too often Christians are either spiritually anorexic or bulimic. i. Anorexic: We only take in enough Word to keep us alive, but we are barely living. No energy, constantly hungry, and our light and spirit burn out fast ii. Bulimic: WE gorge on the Word so much either during Sunday, or Bible studies. But as soon as it does not please us, or we want to go back to our “worldly” ways, we throw it up. Leaving us hollow inside c. The Bible says that man must not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God (Matt 4:4). d. We should be filling ourselves with so much Word that we are so spiritually full, that if a “storm” hit us or we encountered rough times, we have enough “food” to sustain us. You won’t crumble from malnourishment or thirst. e. One thing we have to remember is that when we are truly hungry or thirsty, nothing stops us from filling that need. We have to eat or drink. It is a necessity or we will die. f. So why are we so lazy about getting fed on the Word? If we don’t have the Word, we WILL die. g. God wants us spiritually fattened so we can weather the storms, but when we keep giving God excuses (I don’t have time, or I don’t want to), then we don’t have the Word within us, and we wonder why we can’t handle the storms in our lives. h. If you want to develop a true hunger/thirst for the things of God, hang out where there is spiritual food. Start nibbling on it until you start getting full. i. But if you aren’t spiritually hungry and seeking Him, He can’t feed you. So seek God out so that you can get spiritually nourished and grow in His word j. Our world is dying of starving/thirsty people but we need the spiritually fed to feed the world and get them to nibble on some spiritual food. That way they can start realizing that they have a hunger and thirst for the things of God 5. The Merciful- Blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy (v.7) a. This is definitely a kingdom principle that is completely opposite to the way of the world. i. The world says treat me wrong and I will treat you wrong; give people what they deserve ii. The Word tells us not to give people what they deserve b. Why you ask? i. Because God had mercy on us. He could have given us what we deserved, every time we sinned. But He chose to have mercy on us. And because He granted us mercy, we should share that same attitude of mercy to everyone ii. All Kingdom people are here only through God’s grace, and nothing else. When we show mercy to others, we are a true reflection of the heart of God. iii. If God did not show us mercy, where would we be? iv. If you don’t show that man/woman mercy, how are you showing God you appreciate His mercy to you? 6. The Pure in Heart- Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (v.8) a. Pure in Heart simply means authentic, not perfect, b. But it does mean that when you see sin in your life, you call it what it is, and fix it. c. Your motives are pure as you can make them d. Your word is good because you say what you mean (Matt 5:37) e. We live in a world full of hypocrisy and lies. People are two faced, and we don’t expect people to be what they seem to be. f. But as a kingdom believer, you can be transparent before God and others, because your heart is pure. 7. The Peacemakers- Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God (v.9) a. Blessed are those who seek unity among the body of Christ and who reject division, gossip,, confusion, and anything that overrides the things of God b. Jesus prayed for unity among God’s people He said, “May they all be one, as You, Father, are in Me and I am in You.” (Jn 17:21). c. God understands that a fractured and divided body is detrimental to the Kingdom agenda, because it affects the advancement of His kingdom here on earth. d. Division distracts Christians and they focus on that situation rather than looking at how it affects the overall purpose of God. e. But peacemakers understand that God does not operate in disorder, but in peace, as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people (1Cor 14:33) f. The promotion of His kingdom is our first priority; and if we focus on that instead of what divides us, then division will not destroy the church, and we can overcome them as a body. i. This is why Christ says may they all be one, just like the trinity is one. The strength of the trinity is that it acts as one, with one purpose, one mission. Jesus does what His Father commands; the Holy Spirit acts in accordance to what God dictates. ii. In the same way, the church is stronger as one. Focused on One God, one mission, one agenda. Nothing on this earth can stand up to the church’s power if we all stand on one accord, and act on God’s behalf. 8. The Persecuted- Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (v.10) a. Persecution is the hatred and affliction that follows the witness and holy life of God’s people in a hostile world. i. The Greek definition of the church is ekklesia, which means to “call out.” The church’s role was never to be part of the world. But instead, its purpose was always to be called out of this world to do God’s purpose. So persecution for the church will always exist because it does not belong in this world. b. The Bible says that Christians who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness are blessed because theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Why?? i. In order to receive persecution for righteousness sake, you have to first believe in God, His kingdom, and be righteous. 1. Belief in God brings persecution because we live in a world that is against the things of God. 2. In order to subject yourself to the hate of the world, your belief in God must be so strong that it overrides your “common sense,” the sense that tells you that to stand up to the world is crazy. To do this you have to operate in the Spirit and trust it to guide you. ii. In 1Thess 1: 6, Paul says that the people, despite severe persecution, welcomed the message with joy from the Holy Spirit. 1. But the following verses(v.7-10) show why the kingdom of heaven is for those who are persecuted: a. “As a result, you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. For the Lord’s message rang out from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place that your faith in God has gone out. Therefore, we don’t need to say anything, for they themselves report what kind of reception we had from you: how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead- Jesus who rescues us from the coming wrath.” b. In order for the kingdom of Heaven to be theirs, Christians receiving persecution and enduring it, understand what the Kingdom agenda is all about. It’s not about them, it’s about God. So they endure so that God’s message and His kingdom will grow in this hostile world, and ultimately change it. iii. Some Christians end up giving their life for the cause. But the Bible says in Matt 10: 39, “Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.” 1. If you value your current life over that of the life God is offering you, you will lose it in the end, because eternal life is given only through Jesus Christ. However, if you lose your life for God’s sake, you will find it in the kingdom of Heaven, where there is eternal life.
Posted on: Mon, 12 Aug 2013 23:08:57 +0000
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