The Gospel of the Kingdom
April 3
"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near" (Matt 3:2)
God is doing a unique work on the earth today. There are seasons in which the Holy Spirit speaks things to the Church. During one decade it might be a focus on evangelism. During another, it might be a greater awareness of the Holy Spirit. During yet another, it might be a focus on social problems in cities.
Today, God is speaking very clearly to the Church about societal transformation. Fifteen years ago, the idea of a community being totally transformed through the Gospel of Jesus Christ was a foreign concept. However, according to George Otis, Jr, director of the Sentinel Group, there are over 500 communities that are in some form of quantifiable transformation process today.
The defining characteristic of a community that is being transformed is that the socio-economic traits are being positively affected. The crime rate goes down, the economy is improved, and the number of Christians in the city increases, prayer increases, and the city leaders become Christians. It is the manifestation of Deuteronomy 28:13, "The LORD will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the LORD your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom."
In order to go beyond the Gospel of Salvation to the Gospel of the Kingdom we must exercise a different level of faith for our communities. Jesus talked about the kingdom of God more than 70 times in the New Testament - much more often than he mentioned salvation. While salvation is part of bringing the kingdom of God on earth, it includes much more.
When the Gospel of the Kingdom comes into a life and a community, everything in its wake is transformed. How might God want you to be the catalyst to bring the entire Gospel of the Kingdom into the lives and communities you are called to influence?
"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near" (Matt 3:2)
God is doing a unique work on the earth today. There are seasons in which the Holy Spirit speaks things to the Church. During one decade it might be a focus on evangelism. During another, it might be a greater awareness of the Holy Spirit. During yet another, it might be a focus on social problems in cities.
Today, God is speaking very clearly to the Church about societal transformation. Fifteen years ago, the idea of a community being totally transformed through the Gospel of Jesus Christ was a foreign concept. However, according to George Otis, Jr, director of the Sentinel Group, there are over 500 communities that are in some form of quantifiable transformation process today.
The defining characteristic of a community that is being transformed is that the socio-economic traits are being positively affected. The crime rate goes down, the economy is improved, and the number of Christians in the city increases, prayer increases, and the city leaders become Christians. It is the manifestation of Deuteronomy 28:13, "The LORD will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the LORD your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom."
In order to go beyond the Gospel of Salvation to the Gospel of the Kingdom we must exercise a different level of faith for our communities. Jesus talked about the kingdom of God more than 70 times in the New Testament - much more often than he mentioned salvation. While salvation is part of bringing the kingdom of God on earth, it includes much more.
When the Gospel of the Kingdom comes into a life and a community, everything in its wake is transformed. How might God want you to be the catalyst to bring the entire Gospel of the Kingdom into the lives and communities you are called to influence?
Speak to Your Mountain
April 2
"Have faith in God," Jesus answered. "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him (Mark 11:22-24).
I taught an all day training session at a church a few years ago. Several months later I received a letter from one of the participants sharing a testimony about the principle of using your authority to speak to your mountain in your workplace.
"I own a video company that shoots a variety of projects. One day, my editor discovered a videographer's worst nightmare - a garbled mess of video picture and little or no audio on tapes that I had shot the weekend before. Four tapes of raw footage from two separate events were ruined.
I prayed that God would restore my tapes. I got an odd sense of peace and knew God had answered my prayer. I relayed to the group that I believed God had told me that the tapes would be fine in a day. My associate challenged me to put in the tape anyway and not wait. I put a tape in the editing deck, and right before our eyes, the tape now had a perfectly clear picture and audio where there had been no sound moments before.
The next morning, I entered my editing room with great anticipation. I put in one of the remaining damaged tapes that contained footage from a wedding, but the video was still scrambled and there was no audio. My wife heard me and came in to look over my shoulder. I prayed out loud over the ruined footage and reassured my wife that God loves us and would take care of things. I kept praying as I watched the screen.
Then suddenly, before our eyes, the tape began to clear up. Just as the pastor announced how God intimately loves us, I turned to look at my wife and saw the tears streaming down her face. Apparently, God had rigged this moment to touch her deeply on issues that only the two of them knew about. Not only did God save my business, but He also ministered to my family through this crisis-fixing miracle."
What type of mountain might God want you to speak to today?
"Have faith in God," Jesus answered. "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him (Mark 11:22-24).
I taught an all day training session at a church a few years ago. Several months later I received a letter from one of the participants sharing a testimony about the principle of using your authority to speak to your mountain in your workplace.
"I own a video company that shoots a variety of projects. One day, my editor discovered a videographer's worst nightmare - a garbled mess of video picture and little or no audio on tapes that I had shot the weekend before. Four tapes of raw footage from two separate events were ruined.
I prayed that God would restore my tapes. I got an odd sense of peace and knew God had answered my prayer. I relayed to the group that I believed God had told me that the tapes would be fine in a day. My associate challenged me to put in the tape anyway and not wait. I put a tape in the editing deck, and right before our eyes, the tape now had a perfectly clear picture and audio where there had been no sound moments before.
The next morning, I entered my editing room with great anticipation. I put in one of the remaining damaged tapes that contained footage from a wedding, but the video was still scrambled and there was no audio. My wife heard me and came in to look over my shoulder. I prayed out loud over the ruined footage and reassured my wife that God loves us and would take care of things. I kept praying as I watched the screen.
Then suddenly, before our eyes, the tape began to clear up. Just as the pastor announced how God intimately loves us, I turned to look at my wife and saw the tears streaming down her face. Apparently, God had rigged this moment to touch her deeply on issues that only the two of them knew about. Not only did God save my business, but He also ministered to my family through this crisis-fixing miracle."
What type of mountain might God want you to speak to today?
The Spiritual Life is Caught, Not Taught
April 1
"Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah" (1 Kings 19:20).
There is a man in my life who I consider my mentor. He came into my life during a crisis period and helped me understand my situation. I have learned a great deal from him. I have rarely spent more than a few hours in his presence at any one time. However, I did not learn from him through a formal arrangement. I mostly caught what I have learned. He never took me through a Bible study. He never sent me articles or things to read. I learned by being around him.
One day I had a crisis situation arise. I remembered what my mentor did in a crisis in his life. I decided to apply the same faith principle to that issue. Amazingly, a miracle occurred because I appropriated faith, just as my mentor had, to my crisis. This is what I mean by catching the faith of another. Spiritual truth is learned through the atmosphere that surrounds us, not through intellectual reasoning.
When Elijah handpicked Elisha as his successor, Elisha immediately killed his twelve set of oxen and ran after Elijah just to be with him. No doubt he knew what a great privilege it was to be selected by the great prophet. However, it was not enough for Elisha to be handpicked. He also wanted a double portion of Elijah's anointing. It appears that God answered this prayer.
If you want to grow in your Christian life, ask God to lead you to a man or woman who is far ahead of you spiritually and simply start hanging out with them. As you walk alongside them you will begin to catch what they have. You will begin appropriating the anointing that is on their lives that will mix perfectly with your unique gifting and talents.
We need more people today who are willing to run after their "Elijahs."
"Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah" (1 Kings 19:20).
There is a man in my life who I consider my mentor. He came into my life during a crisis period and helped me understand my situation. I have learned a great deal from him. I have rarely spent more than a few hours in his presence at any one time. However, I did not learn from him through a formal arrangement. I mostly caught what I have learned. He never took me through a Bible study. He never sent me articles or things to read. I learned by being around him.
One day I had a crisis situation arise. I remembered what my mentor did in a crisis in his life. I decided to apply the same faith principle to that issue. Amazingly, a miracle occurred because I appropriated faith, just as my mentor had, to my crisis. This is what I mean by catching the faith of another. Spiritual truth is learned through the atmosphere that surrounds us, not through intellectual reasoning.
When Elijah handpicked Elisha as his successor, Elisha immediately killed his twelve set of oxen and ran after Elijah just to be with him. No doubt he knew what a great privilege it was to be selected by the great prophet. However, it was not enough for Elisha to be handpicked. He also wanted a double portion of Elijah's anointing. It appears that God answered this prayer.
If you want to grow in your Christian life, ask God to lead you to a man or woman who is far ahead of you spiritually and simply start hanging out with them. As you walk alongside them you will begin to catch what they have. You will begin appropriating the anointing that is on their lives that will mix perfectly with your unique gifting and talents.
We need more people today who are willing to run after their "Elijahs."