A different Kingdom...
| For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, 18 because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by people. (Romans14:17-18) |
This was the gospel of which he was "not ashamed" because it was the "power of God for salvation" (1:16). He has excited because "a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known"(3:21), because "at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly" (5:6) and "while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (5:8). He could triumphantly proclaim "you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of heir-ship."
This gospel, this Kingdom, is not like earthly kingdoms...
Earthly Kingdoms are about power, wealth and greed. When it comes to earthly kingdoms, Darwin's survival of the fittest becomes the survival of the fattest! In earthly kingdoms greed, self-enrichment, abuse of power and self-aggrandisement are the order of the day.
But if God's kingdom is not about power, wealth, appetite or greed, then what is it about?
- It is about lives changed by the transforming power of the Holy Spirit.
- Jesus' righteousness imputed on us.
- Peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ
- Joy - because our names are in the Book of life - It's about serving Christ and not ourselves or anyone else.
It's not our church or our denomination. It is about Him! - It's about doing things God's way (pleasing Him), and, in so doing, impacting our communities (being approved by people). (Think of the Church in Acts 2 "praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people").
A missional church is a kingdom community and this is what you and I are called to...
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