Jeremiah 23:1 Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture! declares the LORD. Jeremiah 13:16-17 16Give glory to the LORD your God, Before He brings darkness And before your feet stumble On the dusky mountains, And while you are hoping for light He makes it into deep darkness, And turns it into gloom. 17But if you will not listen to it, My soul will sob in secret for such pride; And my eyes will bitterly weep And flow down with tears, Because the flock of the LORD has been taken captive. Luke 19:42 and said, If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace--but now it is hidden from your eyes. Ezekiel 9:4 and said to him, Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it. 1 Peter 5:2-3 2shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; 3nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock.… Acts 20:28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. Acts 20:29 I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ God’s kingship is redemptive in its function. In the kingdom of God specific values are impressed upon and enjoined because they flow from the King’s nature. These values turn the world, again, on its head. Compassion is the value of values. In the kingdom we imitate God. We love what he loves, we do what he does. The reality of the kingdom cannot be “spiritualized” into some “heaven” or privatized as my own secret walk with God. It is the aligning of our entire life, in every way thinkable, to the redemptive will of God. We are the vessels of God’s will being done “on earth as it is in heaven.” We confess that we do not place trust in human powers of any kind. We have learned that we are easily seduced by the “dark side,” that is by the corrosive and toxic appeal of the fallen world. Creation bursts into joy because of the King is indwelling in HIS PEOPLE to put the world back together again -- and this is done through Gods cloud of witnesses who have been raised up -- no longer them that live but Christ who lives within --- Sovereign God smashes directly into the human notion of Sovereign Self. The Psalms call us to confess that the Lord is King because he is Creator of all things in heaven and earth. The Psalms call us to confess the King because he has redeemed by his own grace a people out of rebellious creation. The Psalms call us to drink deeply the faith and values of the King and live them as missional people. The Psalms call us to recognize the universal and cosmic nature of the kingdom of God and to be the people of redemption. “The King is mighty, he loves justice, you have established equity, you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob” (99.4) “He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. the LORD sets the prisoners free, the LORD gives sight to the blind, the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down, the LORD loves the righteous. The LORD watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow but he frustrates the ways of the wicked. The LORD reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the LORD.” (146.7-10)
Posted on: Mon, 02 Jun 2014 23:21:48 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015