The message that Jesus preached and lived has been badly distorted by the Church over the centuries. His life, death, and new life introduced the Kingdom of God and this was the good news that He preached. You would be hard pressed to find Jesus preaching a message of Salvation in the scriptures because this was only a part of what He taught.
Yet, this diluted gospel is the one that is preached everywhere. The true message of Jesus’ teaching is His Kingdom. The Good News is not merely that we are saved from hell and will live in Heaven, but that we have been given the seed of Eternal life that He wants to expand in every area of our life starting today and continuing forever. That He has made us sons and as such wants to grow us in maturity so that we can represent Him in the areas He calls us to. That life in Heaven begins now and is available for those who seek and truly follow Him. The spiritual life of the early Apostles is the life that He calls us to (John 14:12) and to be satisfied with less is stale religion.
There’s reading about something, and then there’s learning something. At Kingdom Calling, we take all of our clients through a process of review and meditation covering all the disparate areas of our council. The following are just such questions concerning the Kingdom of God.
We’d love for you to actually post your answers in the form of comments on the blog. If you do so, we’ll provide the same sort of feedback we give our in-house clientele.
- What stands out in the last few posts about the Kingdom of God?
- What kind of Gospel have you heard before? Have you ever heard anyone concentrate on the Kingdom of God in their presentation of the Gospel to you?
- What Gospel did Jesus Christ and His disciples preach? Can you give a brief presentation of it yourself here?
Questions for Meditation and Application
1. Now for some deep questions:
- Where are you from?
- Who are you?
- Why are you here?
- Where are you going?
2. Please read this verse:
Gen. 1:28 [NIV]
28God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
Can you give a brief explanation of what God means when He speaks about subduing and ruling?
3. Continue to ponder on the above verse. Do you think natural man enjoys the position and power to do what God commanded in this present age? Why or why not?
4. You have briefly dived into the concept of the Kingdom of God. How would receiving a greater revelation of this Kingdom Life impact your day-to-day living in these areas:
- My Spiritual Life
- My Life in the World
- My Life in the Body of Christ
This post is _Part 7_ in a series on the Kingdom of God. To use this as a growth tool to better understand your own calling, you might start by reading the explanation of this series and then read Pt 1, Pt 2, Pt 3, Pt 4, Pt 5 and Part 6.
Photo credit: Molholm