growinggodskingdomdotlive

In one version of the story of the mouse and the lion, the lion is rolling around in agony because there’s a thorn stuck deep into his foot.  He cannot see the thorn that’s been stuck there for a while and doesn’t know what’s wrong with him.

The mouse approaches the lion and asks what the problem is and if he can help.  The proud lion is reluctant and in disbelief that the mouse can help at all.

“What can you do to help?” asked the lion.  “You’re so small and I’m in such great pain for some reason.”

The mouse, seeing from his vantage point exactly what the problem was, said, “I know I can help, but only if you want me to.”

The lion relented and allowed the mouse to approach him and reach under his great big paw and yank out the sharp thorn.

The lion was grateful and humbled that something so small and insignificant was able to be of help to him and relieve the pain that kept him from living normally.

For me, God’s kingdom is like that.  In ministry work and in “everyday life”, I see so many people who are sometimes overwhelmed with issues, problems, pain or maybe even just struggling with the boredom of the normal flow of events in life and they don’t know what to do or how to get help.

In our pride, I think we are reluctant to accept help or guidance from anyone because we think we’ve already got things figured out.  We think if people would just “get it together” and follow our plan, do what’s right, use common sense, etc., then everything would come together.

But a lot of times it doesn’t.  And we get stuck.  It’s in those moments that we finally are in so much pain, like the lion rolling around in agony, God whispers to us…if we’re listening.

His Spirit asks if he can help.  Initially, we’re reluctant to believe that this “church guy” God/Spirit-person, that we go to worship in a building occasionally, can offer any help for every day, real-life concerns.

“Well, what can you do to help?” we ask.  “This isn’t a church thing.  This is a real-life issue.”  But the Lord, seeing from his vantage point, knows exactly what our problem is and says, “I know I can help, but only if you want me to.”

If we relent and say, “Okay. Fine. Please help me”, the Lord can come into our lives and do some pretty amazing things.

But he’s the kind of king, the kind of helper who never forces his way on us.  He goes where he’s invited. When asked to teach his disciples how to pray, one of the things he taught them was to pray, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

The Lord invites us to invite him into our lives and into our world.  Sure, he’s always at work all around us, all the time, but we often don’t see him at work until we ask for it and invite him to show us what he has done and is doing.

God is ready to move into and through our lives as individuals and as a church, but only if we want him to.

Why not ask him today?

Wade Poe

When asked by the Pharisees in Luke 17 when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God is already among you.”

How do we know that? Is it measurable? Can we see it?

Sometimes the kingdom of God is tangible in your life. Sometimes it’s not as much as you would like it to be. Below are 4 evidences that the kingdom of God rules in your life.

1. Your life doesn’t make sense to the outsider

Many times the way of the cross and the life of the Christian seems foolish to those not belonging to the faith. Relying only on worldly wisdom, they don’t understand many foundational principles that our faith stands on.

And can you blame them? I think it’s safe to say most people want life to be easy; however, the things Jesus asks us to value in our lives usually don’t come easy. It’s not easy to forgive people who don’t deserve it, to love your enemy, to tithe regularly, or to care for people who can’t care for themselves. But even though the outsider might not understand our ways, we know that following Jesus’ commands leads to true life and kingdom growth.

2. Your prayers are Christ-like

Your prayer life is a window into your soul; it shows you what you truly value. The things at the top of your prayer list are the things that are most important in your life.

As far as we can tell, prayers for safety, happiness, comfort, better things, or better jobs didn’t consume Jesus’ prayer list. He prayed for unity in the church (John 17), for God’s will to be done here on earth (Matthew 6) and for God to send people out into the “harvest field” (Matthew 9). Jesus’ prayers were, at their core, about the kingdom and about others. What do you pray about?

3. You trust God’s care more than people’s advice

If the kingdom of God rules in your heart, you will be prompted to risk much in order to advance it— even if your financial advisor, bank, boss, or your own family/friends advise against it. Jesus regularly asked people to sell everything they had and follow him. Talk about taking a risk!

But we can be risky people because we trust that God will ultimately provide for us and care for us. Do you believe that? What have you risked for the sake of the kingdom?

4. You lose yourself in God’s grand narrative

Throughout history, God has been telling his story of how much he loves us and longs for us to be in a relationship with him. The best part is that he invites us to play a role in His story!

Kingdom-minded people lose themselves, day by day, in God’s grand narrative. How do you do this? You kill your selfish desires and align yourself with God’s will. You make sure you are in the world, but not of it (John 17). And you chisel off anything in your life that does not look like Christ through repentance.

John 3:30

In the end, the kingdom reigns in kingdom-minded people.

I think John the Baptist really understood how to put the kingdom of God first and foremost in his life. He dedicated his whole life to preparing the way for Jesus to usher in that kingdom. As people who allow the kingdom to reign in our life, our motto should sound like his:

“He must become greater; I must become less.” (John 3)

Corey Stumne

We pray for God’s kingdom to be one earth as it is in heaven where his will is done like it is in heaven. But what does that really look like down close, where we live? If you look into Matthew 6, where Jesus gave us the Lord’s Prayer he says a whole bunch about what the kingdom on earth should look like.

It’s a place where we lay up treasures in heaven instead of on earth. That sure sounds strange. What does it mean anyway? I think it means that we aren’t trying to make our heaven now. We aren’t to build our lives around what we own or what we can purchase. Our life should be built around Jesus and living for him in the world. It should show that we trust him with our life, our future and our eternity. We must not turn money and things into our God that we glory in all the time. Money makes a wonderful servant but a lousy god.

He said that we shouldn’t worry about everything if he is the king in our lives. Instead we should have faith in him about what will happen. It is difficult for most of us not to worry about all kinds of things. He mentioned worrying about where we will live, what we will wear, and how we will take care of ourselves. He said that worry about these things and anything else was a sign of a lack of faith in him. Do you suppose today he would say, worry about who is elected as the next president of the country shows a lack of faith in Him? I think he would. He wants us to trust him even in things like that. As strange as it seems to us, God has said all along that he is the one who chooses the leaders of a nation and he is the one to takes them down. He said he was the one that raised up Nebuchadnezzar as king of Babylon and he was the one who took him out with the Persian army under Cyrus. I sometimes am confused on his choices but he hasn’t asked me what I thought on the matter. His word is “Trust me.”

After this he gave the command to “Seek his kingdom and righteousness first, and he would provide the things like food and clothes and shelter that we need.” Again, the notion is if we really allow him to reign as king in our lives, we must trust him to provide for our needs. Now that doesn’t mean he doesn’t want us to work, to plan and even to save. It just means we should do all those things trusting him to take care of our future.

His final charge in this context of Matthew 6 was to stop worrying about tomorrow and live today. There is enough to keep us busy and concerned right now, so live today and don’t try to solve all of the problems of the future. Imagine the difference it would make in your life if you didn’t worry about anything that happened in your past but just asked for forgiveness of any wrongs and trusted that God fully forgave you. Then imagine not ever worrying about what will happen someday. We can’t know the future. It is out of our hands. So, stop worrying and trust God who is already there.

That is what I believe it means to have God’s kingdom on earth now.

Leon Barnes

Some of the first disciples we read about in Acts chapter 2 provided one of the best examples of a group of people who exhibited the Kingdom of God in their lives together. They formed a community, and it was clear that God was ruling and reigning in their lives through the power of the Holy Spirit and by God’s grace through Jesus. Acts 2:42-47 says this:

All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.

A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs wonders. And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity — all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved. (NLT, emphasis added)

In my context at UALR, we are trying to allow God to create a space in which his reign is evident. It is our hope that he would add to our number daily those who are being saved. With Acts 2 in mind we:

• Devote ourselves to the apostles’ teaching. We study Romans together on Wednesdays; we study Hebrews in a smaller group Thursday mornings; and we study one-on-one or individually as well. We recognized God’s Kingdom when we are saturated by his Word.
• Fellowship and share with one another. Those to whom God has given freely, freely give. The group at Genesis spends time together regularly, eating and sharing every gift we have been given in Christ.
• Pray together. We have a special prayer time Thursday mornings and Fridays at noon.
• Worshipping together. Much like Jesus says in Luke 19:40, “If they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” With no dedicated time (other than Sunday mornings) for worshipping in song, the students at Genesis began to spontaneously worship God in song together one day and they simply have not stopped since.
• Work to enjoy the goodwill of all the people.

This fifth point reminds me of a story Chris Wright tells in his book: The Mission of God’s People. It’s a story of love so great, so radical, that it demands the world’s attention.

Wright explains that around the year AD 250 we know that in the midst of poverty and sickness in Rome, the Christians there had begun to care for approximately 1500 needy people every day through food programs, orphanages, and hospitals. They cared for believers and nonbelievers alike.

Christians had become “the greatest social force in world history.” So much so that by AD 350, “Emperor Julian…became fearful that Christianity might TAKE OVER THE WORLD FOREVER by the stealth of good works” (Loc. 2903, emphasis mine).

I believe that if God begins to reign in our world, or in our city, or in our community, that the fear Emperor Julian felt so long ago would become a reality today. Radical love would urge God’s people to humble service that would forever change the world around us for the glory of God to the ends of the earth.

Morgan Hines

Here it comes

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.

I believe that God’s kingdom is close.  And while perhaps not a physical kingdom as would have natural borders and barriers, not simply one where one is either inside or outside, but rather the kingdom represents God’s fulfillment, His restoration.  We prayerfully declare this when we recite the words of Jesus from Matthew 6, “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”  One popular paraphrasing would be, “As above, so below”.

This prayer of fulfillment, then, is not simply a prayer for tomorrow, but one for today, not merely for a future kingdom, but for now…each day.  Give us our daily bread…for today.  Help us with forgiveness…today.  Deliver us from our sinful desires…today.  In so doing, God’s kingdom of fulfillment is growing through daily acts of restoration from what is not the will of God to what has been purposed by God.  “As above, so below”.

Recently, there was a verse added to one of my favorite hymns, “Just As I Am”.  The verse reads:

I come broken to be mended
I come wounded to be healed
I come desperate to be rescued
I come empty to be filled
I come guilty to be pardoned
By the blood of Christ the Lamb
And I’m welcomed with open arms
Praise God, just as I am

To me, “Growing God’s Kingdom One Person At A Time” isn’t about “adding” people to the kingdom of God, but about RESTORING them, MENDING what has been broken, HEALING what has been hurt, RESCUING those in desperation, FILLING those who feel empty, PARDONING those racked with guilt.  Praise God!

As above, so below.

Chad Tappe

My brother in Christ and former professor, Dr. Stan Granberg, was once asked, “What made you want to start a church planting network?”

With tears in his eyes he relayed his response, “Because I want to see more people in heaven.”

In Luke 15 Jesus tells a series of stories: one about a lost sheep, one about a lost coin, and one about a wayward son. We are told that the return of the single sheep, coin, and son bring the same response: A PARTY. The individuals call their friends together to celebrate and rejoice at return of the lost item. “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10, NIV).

Just a few chapters later, Jesus hammers this idea home: “…The Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost” (19:10, NASB).

So why do I want to grow God’s kingdom? Because Jesus came from heaven to earth and went through hell to redeem his people, to literally buy us back from slavery to sin and bring us into freedom through himself. EVERY individual was and is infinitely important to Christ.

But Jesus’s ministry about the kingdom of heaven was two-fold. Jesus taught his disciples to pray these words: “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10, NIV). Not only was he offering all people an eternal hope of life with him in Heaven, he was restoring that which was lost in the Garden of Eden, heaven on earth.

Everywhere Jesus went droves of people gathered around him to be healed of the physical brokenness brought on by sin. Jesus’s powerful presence restored the brokenness around him.

And Jesus taught his disciples to do the same, to minister to both spiritual AND physical needs. When he sent them out in pairs in Luke 10:9 he said, “Heal the sick, and tell them, ‘The Kingdom of God is near you now’” (NLT).

From the very beginning, when God established his people (his church) through Abraham, He said, “…Through your descendants all the nations will be blessed—all because you have obeyed me” (Gen. 22:18, NLT). The church is to be a reflection of the glory of heaven for the world to see that they might praise and glorify our God in heaven.

As followers of Christ we are a part of God’s church. Because of the FREE love of Jesus, we love, serve, and bless others. Because Jesus first loved us, we share our confident hope of heaven with others. Because of Jesus, we GO.
Morgan Hines

God’s kingdom is the area where He has reign or authority. By that definition, where is your kingdom? I would say that I try to maintain authority in my home, therefore the people who live in my home are under my authority and protection, in my kingdom. They will have all the benefits that come with living there, i.e., clothes, food, and shelter will be provided; they will be loved and talked with; and they will be protected from any preventable harm. Obviously, there are requirements for living happily in my kingdom. If the residents of my kingdom choose to ignore those requirements, discipline will be administered. In many ways, God’s kingdom is very similar to that description.  

Using the analogy of our home as our kingdom, why do we choose to grow that kingdom by having children or inviting others to join our family? Because there is something there that we want to share with others – something that would benefit them. It could be that we are overflowing with love and want to share that, or possibly, other resources like time and money. Whatever it is that we want to share, bringing others into our kingdom is the way to do that. Our hope is that by living in our kingdom, they will have opportunities for growth that they wouldn’t have otherwise had.

What is it about God’s kingdom that makes us want to share it? In Matthew 5-7, Jesus talks extensively about life in His kingdom and the blessings of living there. He talks about how welcome people will be (those who mourn, the meek, the merciful) even though they have been rejected by other kingdoms. He also talks about who we will become (salt and light) after we spend time in His kingdom. The opportunities afforded us because of our citizenship in His kingdom, though, are the most exciting. He says we’ll bear good fruit, that our lives will be built on a rock that can’t be washed away, and that we will spend the rest of eternity in His perfect heavenly kingdom.

Why wouldn’t we share that?! If we find a restaurant that serves delicious food, or if we see a movie that we like, we quickly tell others about it and encourage them enjoy it too. If being part of God’s kingdom truly offers us the “good life” of fulfillment and blessings, why would we not share it with anyone and everyone that we care about?!

From a parent’s perspective, the most crucial place to grow God’s kingdom is in our home. Raising our children to want to live close to God in His kingdom AND to want to bring others into that kingdom is our very most important job. We need to look for ways every day to make sure that our home (kingdom) is within the borders of God’s kingdom. Spending time with our families listening to God’s word and talking to Him through prayer will help us to know Him better and grow into a family that really is salt and light in our world.

Tammy Beck

“You’re not the boss of me!”

“No! I don’t want to!”

“I’ll do that later.”

The above are some comments I remember hearing from my kids during those rare times when they wanted to test the limits of my patience and see just much they could get away with and do what they wanted. Those were some tough times.

It’s beautiful later, after going through many of those parenting challenges, to have your children come to you with a very different attitude and ask you for help, guidance and information, with a sense of humility and with an understanding that, without you, they’d be in trouble.

We can be a fiercely independent and stubborn species. You can see it in our relationships with each other. You can see it in our history as a culture and as a country.

We don’t like being told what to do. We usually want to have THE voice in determining what we’ll do. And if we can’t have “the” voice, we at least want to be heard and have a voice, a vote.

So it goes without saying that we’re not king or kingdom kind of people.

A kingdom is a place where a king gets to decide what happens. That’s why our country doesn’t have a king. We like to decide what we want to do, when and if we’re ready to do it. We fought a war over this. It’s in our cultural DNA.

That’s probably what makes being a follower of Jesus a little tougher in our culture. In a culture of choice, as disciples we’re called to submit our choice, our voice, to someone else’s and chose to make them king – not just a consultant whose opinion I might consider or dismiss.

As a follower of Jesus, I willingly choose to make God my king and I understand that, if he is king, I submit to his decisions about what I should do in my life everyday and all the time.

When Jesus was teaching his disciples to pray in Matthew 6, he started his prayer with these familiar words – Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

As disciples, we invite God to come into our lives and reign as our king. We ask that his will be done in our presence and through our lives, just like it’s done in heaven. And he’s faithful and will lead us into growing his kingdom, his will in our life.

Sure, we’ll have days where our first response to God’s leadership is, “You’re not the boss of me”, but he’s also our very patient father and won’t give up on us.

And as time goes by, his Spirit will soften our hearts and we’ll go back to him for help and guidance with much humbler hearts, knowing that he does know best and that we can trust him to be our king.

Wade Poe