2004-01-30
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Last week, I began writing about the statement in Christ’s instructions to the seventy-two to say, “The Kingdom of God is near,” to those whom they encountered [LK 10: 9, 11]. There was still more to say about this when my message ended, so that is the subject of this message too. The Spirit led me to discuss how Christ is the fulfillment of the law [RO 10: 4] and how He is also the fulfillment of the Davidic covenant of 2 SAM 7: 13-14 which promises that a Descendant of David will rule forever. We also saw how John the Baptist instructed anyone who would listen to him to “turn away from your sins, because the Kingdom of heaven is near,” as he prepared the way for Christ to speak to them [MT 3: 2]. Christ repeated this same message at the Last Supper in MT 26: 29 as He was drinking His last cup of wine of His incarnation. The issue of Christ’s genealogy being taken up in the book of Matthew was no accident. It was to firmly establish how He fulfilled the Davidic covenant. And finally, I shared Irving Jensen’s intriguing outline of the book of Matthew dividing it into: The King’s Presentation [MT 1:1-4: 11], The King’s Proclamation [MT 4: 12-16: 20], and The King’s Passion [MT 16:21-28: 20].
The time frame on any of this needs to be mentioned, since Christ repeats John the Baptist’s words, “Turn away from your sins, because the Kingdom of heaven is near!” I truly believe that Jesus Christ is the second personality of God. Therefore, 2 PET 3: 8-9 certainly applies. “But do not forget one thing, my dear friends! There is no difference in the Lord’s sight between one day and a thousands years; to Him the two are the same. The Lord is not slow to do what He has promised, as some think. Instead, He is patient with you, because He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants all to turn away from their sins.” Does this mean that we can take our own sweet time getting rid of sin in our lives? Definitely not! His coming can be at any time, so the urgency is still in place for us to get about this business. But, we must learn to be patient in waiting for the Lord to come and keep a pipeline of study and prayer open with Him to receive His direction, correction (if necessary), wisdom, encouragement, and blessings. Christ’s message, repeated in MT 4: 17 at the beginning of his work in Galilee, that the Kingdom of God is near points out the only real relief that we have from slavery to sin is faithful obedience. JN 1: 29 is where John the Baptist saw Jesus coming to him, and said, “There is the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sings of the world!” Can we imagine that John the Baptist was the only man other than Christ Himself who understood at that time that Christ would eventually redeem us from slavery to sin with the sacrifice of His life on the cross? I’ve often wondered why God allowed him to be beheaded by Herod the Great so soon after this JN 1: 29 pronouncement. Perhaps, he had fulfilled his task on earth and was fully perfected, ready for his trip home to the Father at the time of Herod’s cruel act. Certainly, none of the other believer’s, not even Christ’s own apostles, understood the full impact of Christ’s impending death on the cross even when our Lord spoke to them about it three times beforehand or they saw Him in prayer at the Garden of Gethsemane [MT 16: 27; LK 18: 31-34; LK 22: 41-46].
John the Baptist gives us further illumination on the urgency of our need to repent from sin in MT 3: 10-12. “The ax is ready to cut down the trees at the roots; every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown in the fire. I baptize you with water to show that you have repented, but the One Who will come after Me will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. He is much greater than I am; and I am not good enough even to carry his sandals. He has His winnowing shovel with Him to thresh out all the grain. He will gather His wheat into His barn, but He will burn the chaff in a fire that never goes out.” This pictographic language describes in terms his listeners can hardly misunderstand a message which still applies to us today and always. We must ask ourselves what is coming upon us personally and corporately, the smell of the sulfur of the lake of fire or the taste the sweet life-giving water that faithful obedience to this warning gives? I raise this question, knowing that we must examine our lives to find and expunge sin both as individuals and as congregations.
We must also ask where does this Kingdom begin? From our study of the Scriptures, we know that the Kingdom of God will be established at the end of the Millennium. That is time when the new heaven and the new Jerusalem will appear. However, it is spiritually established in the heart of every believer long beforehand. That is why we can say the Kingdom of God is now. PS 145: 13 lends support to this notion. “You Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom, and Your dominion endures throughout the generations.” The same can be said for PS 93: 1-2, “The Lord is King, He is robed in majesty; the Lord is robed, He is girded with strength. He has establish the world; it shall never be moved; Your throne is established from of old; You are from everlasting.” We are challenged to take up our responsibility to be faithful and obey Him now, so that we can receive God’s blessing of eternal life.
PRAYER: O Lord, how very impoverished our spirits are without Your beautiful Spirit to dwell within us. For Your Kingdom to be established now, we must open our souls to the pouring in and taking over of Your Spirit to direct our lives. We stand before Your throne today as sinners in dire need of Your leadership in our lives, so that Your Kingdom is established now. Perhaps, we can’t make it heaven on earth, but You do give believers the power to bring Your goodness to this increasingly evil place. It is from You that we derive the life-giving faith in Your Son that we have. We acknowledge that gift to us and dedicate ourselves to using it to Your purposes. We are told Your purpose in EPH 1: 4-5, Dearest Abba, and must not forget it. “Even before the world was made, God had already chosen us to be His through our union with Christ, so that we would be holy and without fault before Him. Because of His love God had already decided that through Jesus Christ He would make us His sons-this was His pleasure and His purpose.” To be Your child is a great privilege, one that we recognize comes with a responsibility. The privilege is in receiving Your many blessings, most especially eternal life. The responsibility is in enduring in faith, trusting You, and in obeying Your direction through the Holy Spirit. We can look back at our individual lives and marvel at the difference before and after You brought us to faith and how You gave us the gift of Your Spirit. The contrast is remarkable. While we will remain sinners until that Day when You deem us to be perfected, we can face our challenges knowing that You will never desert us. After all, Dear Father, You have told us in IS 49: 16 that our names are written on the palms of Your wonderful hands. We thank and praise You for this remarkable and unparalleled accomplishment of bringing us to faith and giving Your purpose to our lives. You never ask us to do a task for You that You don’t first equip us to do it. You ask us to endure in faith and to help build faith in others. We accept this assignment with joy. We ask You for Your continuing direction and encouragement, knowing that they are what we need to carry out Your commands. You are our precious Savior and deserve nothing less that us making You our first priority in life forever. We pledge these things in Christ’s holy and strong name. Amen.
In order to have further understanding of the coming glory, I am led to look next week at the Olivet discourse found in MT 24: 29-31 and MT 25: 31-46 next week. This will help us understand “The Kingdom of God is near” even better. I have accurately been accused of being very impatient, particularly in waiting for something that is important to me. It was certainly true about the 1 ½ years that Peter and I waited while our former home was for sale. And yes, I lived up to my Jewish heritage of grumbling, complaining, and worrying. But God has told us repeatedly to wait for His perfect time. PS 27: 13-14 gives us this wise advice. “I truly believe I will live to see the Lord’s goodness. Wait for the Lord’s help. Be strong and brave, and wait for the Lord’s help,” David wrote. How I wish that I had taken that advice. Satan’s arrows and our unruly emotions get in the way of that often, as they did with me. I can offer no excuse other than a temporary weakness of faith. The results at the end of my wait have shown me how foolish all my worrying really was. While I must pray about our financial burdens, I now know that they are in God’s capable hands. Worrying about it won’t add another day to my life. I must remember God’s perspective that “The Kingdom of God is near.” God has promised in PS 37: 11, “But the meek shall inherit the land, and delight themselves in abundant prosperity.” And another promise He makes for all of us is found in PS 69: 32, “The humble shall see their God at work for them. No wonder they will be so glad! All who seek for God shall live in joy.” How can we not find comfort in our awesome God?
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn