Questions:
1) When you hear Kingdom of God Economics, what do you think about first?
A) Cattle on a thousand hills? (Ps. 50:10)
B) A land flowing with Milk and Honey - God's Provision (Ex 3:8)
C) The Silver is Mine, the Gold is Mine (Hag 2:8)
D) The blessing and riches of Solomon (1 Kings 10)
E) The blessing of Abraham - descendants as numerous as the stars (Gen. 15:4)
I believe the correct answer is E. If we go back to Noah and the renewal of God's blessing to him and his family we see God's focus - it is on people. Genesis 9:1-3 NIV: "Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth. [2] The fear and dread of you will fall on all the beasts of the earth, and on all the birds in the sky, on every creature that moves along the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; they are given into your hands. [3] Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything."
In essence everything on the earth is to serve to bless and further the population of man. We see this same model in the Adam and Eve story, but here God gives them everything to eat and everything on the earth.
One of the reasons that Jesus was rejected by the Jews as Messiah was that they were looking for a King that would restore them to power and riches like Solomon, and Jesus came with a different agenda. One could say that the Jews were expecting a reestablishment of A through D above, looking for the greatness of God's Kingdom once again being showcased in their king, palace and riches. Jesus however came to reveal the Father and open a way to Him, and ultimately to invite the people of every nation and tribe, not just the Jews.
When Jesus gave the great commission in Matthew chapter 28, He was speaking about the expansion of the Kingdom of God, but it had nothing to do with riches, instead the focus was on people. Here are the verses - Matthew 28:18-20 NIV: "Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. [19] Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, [20] and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Jesus says all authority in heaven and on earth was given to Him, which would include control over all resources and riches, and yet His command was to go and make disciples of all nations, a very people oriented goal.
I believe that the early church was operating in exactly this 'people first' mindset and kingdom principles when they initially started meeting together, as recorded in Acts 2-4. We have some really challenging verses describing their life together - as follows:
Acts 2:44-45 NIV: "All the believers were together and had everything in common. [45] They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need."
Acts 3:6 NIV: "Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”
Acts 4:32-35 NIV: "All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. [33] With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God's grace was so powerfully at work in them all [34] that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales [35] and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need."
Looking at these verses and the economic model they represent, in the Western Church we tend to discard these verses as being not much more than initial excitement. We don't like verses that talk about giving away one's own possessions. Note - this is not socialism or communism, rather this is Kingdom economics, for it apparently wasn't the leadership that requested this giving, nor the rules of church, nor the requirements of participation, but rather it appears to have been a universally held and embraced, God inspired participation and giving. There was valuation given to people that was above the valuation and worth assigned to possessions and property, and it was inspired by God, not demanded by the leaders.
Jesus spoke about the Kingdom for the 40 days following His resurrection (Acts 1:3), and one must believe that the early church, as recorded in Acts, is a direct result of Jesus' teaching about the Kingdom. I believe that this is exactly what they were doing, taking Jesus' teachings and putting them into practice, and in the Kingdom, that which is most valuable is you and me, and all the brothers and sisters. Those who joined the church recognized this and were moved to care for one another! I always go back to Jesus' new commandment, that we love one another the way He loved us (John 13:34). Jesus didn't care about personal riches, or material things, He came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). He demonstrated that which He calls us to, radical love for one another.
In the Western Church, we don't like these ideas because they sound too much like socialism or communism. We hold up ministries that build grand buildings, and reach thousands. We judge ministries effectiveness by how much money they receive and this relates to how many people they can reach with their message, and while that seems related to what was demonstrated by the early church, it is not the same thing. The question should be whether we are replicating Jesus' Ministry in its fullness? Peter and James had an interesting answer when the lame man requested money or assistance from them, they said they didn't have any silver or gold. Instead they knew what they possessed was of far greater value, through the power of the Holy Spirit they brought Him freedom from his lameness, and restored Him to full life.
Finally, if we look at the ministry of Jesus, I believe we see the priorities of God. Jesus' primary message was the establishment of the Kingdom, so everything He did was focused on that message. Jesus spent most of His ministry proclaiming the Kingdom and then demonstrating the reality of His proclamation by healings, signs and wonders, casting our demons and raising the dead. He didn't amass a large slush-fund, or build a building for his followers to gather. He didn't work to promote His ministry, in fact he usually told those healed to go home and not tell anyone. He had times where He blessed his followers abundantly (Peter and John's fishing) and yet encouraged (My thinking) them to walk away from the riches (Luke 5:1-11). Jesus demonstrated over and over compassion and mercy, provided food for multitudes on several occasions and over and over showed us what the priorities in the Kingdom looked like. The priorities always focused on the people following Him or interacting with Him.
In summary, I believe we need to take Jesus' teaching and principles to heart. Our focus in the Church must be on people. Our goal must not be to build an edifice, nor savings account up so we can reach more people. Our goal should be reaching and restoring, empowering and encouraging, healing and bringing freedom, laying down our lives for one another. Recently Francis Chan, a well known Christian Author and former pastor of a mega-church, left his position and started a few home churches because he felt like he was missing the primary mission of the church, the raising up of people (my words not his) and allowing them to love one another and express and use the gifts they had been given. A link to the article I read is here - http://www.christianpost.com/news/francis-chan-goes-into-detail-with-facebook-employees-on-why-he-left-his-megachurch-190136/
My encouragement this morning is to reevaluate my perspective about the purpose of the Church and the Kingdom of God, and how I think it relates to me and my finances and blessing.
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