I've been really thinking about Jesus' ministry and comments in Matthew Chapters 8-11. Jesus primary message is that the Kingdom of God is here (near). For the people in Israel - a new Kingdom meant a new king, new rules, new laws and ultimately a new life experience. They had been under multiple kings, and nations, and the proclamation of a new Kingdom, God's Kingdom surely fell on attentive ears.
The question I've been thinking about is how Jesus and His disciples demonstrated the reality of this new Kingdom? They didn't have an army, tax collectors, a uniform or any other occupying presence. What they had was what Jesus demonstrated - healing every disease, curing blindness, the deaf and lame, cleansing lepers, raising the dead and deliverance from demons. He called his workers to demonstrate these (Matt:10:1) as the way to demonstrate this new kingdom was real!
In the same way, these are supposed to be the evidence in our day of the fact that Jesus is Risen, He Reigns as King, His Kingdom is alive and well in this day, and the Church is His Body on earth. This is how we are to know this is all real. Anything else is less than convincing.
When I go to work for a company, they give me shirts with their logo, business cards with their logo, tools to work with their equipment, and training so I know about their equipment. These are my calling cards - proof that I represent this company. In the same way healing, miracles, and deliverance are supposed to be our calling cards, proof that we serve the King, and His Kingdom with its new rules and new reality is indeed true.
I don't have to ask for these calling cards from my new company, they know that without them I can't effectively represent them. In the same way, I believe the Lord wants us all to be able to demonstrate the reality of His kingdom - we don't have to beg, or hope, or work for years to attain these proofs, because without them our representation of the Kingdom is less believable.
Lord, help us to fully grasp this reality and become better representatives of Your Kingdom to all those around us!
Great stuff, Sam! Thanks for sharing and inspiring us to represent our King with those things.
ReplyDeleteWay to go bro, really good food for thought, and food for action! Let us be men of action who take HIs word literally, and are not afraid to step out in any and every opportunity. BLessings. Scott
ReplyDeleteThis really spoke to me today Sam. Thanks for your thoughts.
ReplyDelete