The Lord will enlarge Your kingdom beyond Jerusalem, and You will rule over Your enemies. Your people will join You on Your day of battle. You have been dressed in holiness since birth. You have the freshness of a child. (Verses 2-3)
"My kingdom is not of this world." Jesus to Pilate John 18
That's the problem, isn't it? We still think in terms of this world. I read an article this morning revealing a popular political view emerging more and more in our society that church life should be kept inside the walls of the church. No meandering out in public with our love for Jesus. No infringing upon the political correctness of American lifestyle and politics with our understanding of morality or compassion. Keep religion in the church! That is an impossibility even if we, in our daunting position, decide to comply. Jesus isn't about this government, anyway. His realm is far more vast than the tiny globe we inhabit. He rules over more than puny people who raise their silly fists in His face. Jesus spoke the stars into being and still tells them where to go. Lord of heaven and earth, the Son is in charge of the future we think we control. No one comes to power if He didn't say so. The agenda of the Trinity is set. Battle grounds have been designated. And the Victor, streaming down from heaven on a glistening white stallion, accompanied by the armies of God, also astride white horses, will demolish the great kings of the earth(Revelation 19). No more Idi Amin. No more starvation in Africa. No more genocide in Rwanda. The One called "The Word of God" with King of Kings and Lord of Lords written on His robe and on His thigh, lest we miss it is Jesus come to conquer, will rule over His enemies. And we will see it. In heaven, right now, in the moment I write this, Jesus already rules over His enemies. They can do nothing He doesn't allow. History is set. It's a chess game God will win. But this isn't His kingdom.
We are. Jesus understands how hard it is to live for His spiritual kingdom in the physical world. In His prayer the night of His arrest, Jesus prayed over us when He spoke to the Father about His disciples. "I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. All Mine are Yours and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to You...I do not ask that You take them out of this world, but that You keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth. Your Word is truth. As You sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world." (John 17, italics, mine). Those of us who know Christ understand our enemy isn't the state. It's not the rulers of this earth. It is the evil one. The unseen kingdom of darkness ruled by principalities and powers we can't see. Our battle ground is cosmic in scope and not limited to the Hitlers of this age. We fight against the spirit of this age. Against the demons who control mere men. Against the lies and agenda of the devil. And our weapons aren't handguns or tanks. The weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ
(2 Corinthians 10).
The two realms separated for us when we were "born again." Not of the water of the wombs of our mothers, but born of the Spirit of God. A spiritual other life. That must necessarily affect our minds, bodies and spirits. No more can we keep our faith out of the market places and cities of this world than we can cloister our bodies inside the walls of the local Baptist church. We are to live like Christians everywhere. If it doesn't affect our way of life, it isn't valid. And that is what the world doesn't understand. They see our faith as a code of ethics. A set of stringent rules to be obeyed. And they don't want those rules enforced upon them. And they shouldn't. They don't even have the power to obey a bunch of commandments. And neither did we. Before we became new creatures in Him. We make the world uncomfortable. We feel squeezed into trying to be like them.
So what do we do as we are "in the world" as believers? How do we live, then, knowing our kingdom is a spiritual one that changes our view of the physical one? We follow Christ. We live authentically, compassionately, intentionally with our weapons of warfare aimed at the true enemy of our faith. In prayer, taking down strongholds and battling the lies the enemy uses to destroy souls. Remembering it was the uber-religious who killed Christ. Not the world. Pilate saw no fault in Him. Was troubled by the kingdom of which Jesus spoke. Declared Him to be King of the Jews. The point for them was the laws of their religion. The point for us is the love for our Savior. One motivates for punishment. The other, for redemption. I want to walk out into the streets of my world today armed for battle against evil and clothed in love for the lost. Compassion oozes out despite ourselves. Religion is best kept locked away in the four walls of any establishment that sees only right and wrong. That can be argued. Let's fight the fight on our knees and live the life in His light. We are holy from our new birth. Came as a child to Jesus. Have been adopted by that birth into a new family. With fresh joy I want to be the aroma of life today as I walk hand in hand with my God on battlefield Earth.
"My kingdom is not of this world." Jesus to Pilate John 18
That's the problem, isn't it? We still think in terms of this world. I read an article this morning revealing a popular political view emerging more and more in our society that church life should be kept inside the walls of the church. No meandering out in public with our love for Jesus. No infringing upon the political correctness of American lifestyle and politics with our understanding of morality or compassion. Keep religion in the church! That is an impossibility even if we, in our daunting position, decide to comply. Jesus isn't about this government, anyway. His realm is far more vast than the tiny globe we inhabit. He rules over more than puny people who raise their silly fists in His face. Jesus spoke the stars into being and still tells them where to go. Lord of heaven and earth, the Son is in charge of the future we think we control. No one comes to power if He didn't say so. The agenda of the Trinity is set. Battle grounds have been designated. And the Victor, streaming down from heaven on a glistening white stallion, accompanied by the armies of God, also astride white horses, will demolish the great kings of the earth(Revelation 19). No more Idi Amin. No more starvation in Africa. No more genocide in Rwanda. The One called "The Word of God" with King of Kings and Lord of Lords written on His robe and on His thigh, lest we miss it is Jesus come to conquer, will rule over His enemies. And we will see it. In heaven, right now, in the moment I write this, Jesus already rules over His enemies. They can do nothing He doesn't allow. History is set. It's a chess game God will win. But this isn't His kingdom.
We are. Jesus understands how hard it is to live for His spiritual kingdom in the physical world. In His prayer the night of His arrest, Jesus prayed over us when He spoke to the Father about His disciples. "I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. All Mine are Yours and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to You...I do not ask that You take them out of this world, but that You keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth. Your Word is truth. As You sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world." (John 17, italics, mine). Those of us who know Christ understand our enemy isn't the state. It's not the rulers of this earth. It is the evil one. The unseen kingdom of darkness ruled by principalities and powers we can't see. Our battle ground is cosmic in scope and not limited to the Hitlers of this age. We fight against the spirit of this age. Against the demons who control mere men. Against the lies and agenda of the devil. And our weapons aren't handguns or tanks. The weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ
(2 Corinthians 10).
The two realms separated for us when we were "born again." Not of the water of the wombs of our mothers, but born of the Spirit of God. A spiritual other life. That must necessarily affect our minds, bodies and spirits. No more can we keep our faith out of the market places and cities of this world than we can cloister our bodies inside the walls of the local Baptist church. We are to live like Christians everywhere. If it doesn't affect our way of life, it isn't valid. And that is what the world doesn't understand. They see our faith as a code of ethics. A set of stringent rules to be obeyed. And they don't want those rules enforced upon them. And they shouldn't. They don't even have the power to obey a bunch of commandments. And neither did we. Before we became new creatures in Him. We make the world uncomfortable. We feel squeezed into trying to be like them.
So what do we do as we are "in the world" as believers? How do we live, then, knowing our kingdom is a spiritual one that changes our view of the physical one? We follow Christ. We live authentically, compassionately, intentionally with our weapons of warfare aimed at the true enemy of our faith. In prayer, taking down strongholds and battling the lies the enemy uses to destroy souls. Remembering it was the uber-religious who killed Christ. Not the world. Pilate saw no fault in Him. Was troubled by the kingdom of which Jesus spoke. Declared Him to be King of the Jews. The point for them was the laws of their religion. The point for us is the love for our Savior. One motivates for punishment. The other, for redemption. I want to walk out into the streets of my world today armed for battle against evil and clothed in love for the lost. Compassion oozes out despite ourselves. Religion is best kept locked away in the four walls of any establishment that sees only right and wrong. That can be argued. Let's fight the fight on our knees and live the life in His light. We are holy from our new birth. Came as a child to Jesus. Have been adopted by that birth into a new family. With fresh joy I want to be the aroma of life today as I walk hand in hand with my God on battlefield Earth.
No comments:
Post a Comment