Let God's Kingdom Come
"Then Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house, and received all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him" (Acts 28:30-31)
Paul knew that Jesus was the true Messiah of Israel and the purpose of his life. His mission was to testify to Christ wherever he went and to "know Him, the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings" (Phil. 3:10). He was an ambassador for a kingdom that was not of this world and that operated with a different set of priorities since the way of Christ was not like the way of the world.
Paul had endured great suffering but he had already decided ahead of time that he was going to serve Christ no matter the cost and or the test. He said at an earlier point in his mission endeavors when being faced with trouble and tribulation, "But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24).
The kingdom of God is the righteous reign of Christ over all and in all. His kingdom is the ultimately the expanse of Christ on this earth. Paul knew that the kingdom of God begins in the heart that submits to God and when we are submitted to God and we resist the devil, he must flee from his.
THERE ARE TWO KINGDOMS:
The Kingdom of Light (ruled by Christ, the Son of God who is the truth)
and the Kingdom of Darkness (ruled by Satan, the devil who is the father of lies)
One the one hand, we know this…
"that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one" (1 John 5:19)
On the other hand, and more specifically in Christ’s hands, we know that…
"You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world" (1 John 4:4)
The Kingdom of Darkness is both limited and temporal, where as the Kingdom of Light is limitless and eternal. Jesus has defeated the enemy but He wants us to learn how to lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has laid hold of us.
Jesus pointed out that this kingdom cannot be seen unless a person is born again of the Spirit. Thus, we also need to remember that God opens the eyes and turns the hearts as we testify to others of the gospel of the grace of God. Christ does the work but we are His tools!
When Paul was free to speak to the Jews, he shared the Gospel and showed how Christ was the true Messiah of Israel but most did not believe so Paul said, “The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through Isaiah the prophet to our fathers, saying,
“Go to this people and say:
‘Hearing you will hear, and shall not understand;
And seeing you will see, and not perceive;
For the hearts of this people have grown dull.
Their ears are hard of hearing,
And their eyes they have closed,
Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them.” ’
Jesus and the prophets dealt with the same response from those who hardened their hearts in their day which is why Jesus began to speak in parables to the leaders of the Jews. We are not stewards of how others respond to us but rather on how we respond to God.
Today, we need to understand that we are the representation of God's kingdom on earth and we are the vessels that God is using to advance the gospel. The book of Acts is the only book in the New Testament that does not seem to have a proper ending...and perhaps the reason is that every generation of Christians is meant to pick up where Paul left off to help build Christ's church with Him.
ACTS IN ACTION CHALLENGE POINT:
Live in such a way that your life is the continuation of the book of Acts (Acts 29) for the expanse and expression of Christ and of God’s kingdom on earth!
Paul knew that Jesus was the true Messiah of Israel and the purpose of his life. His mission was to testify to Christ wherever he went and to "know Him, the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings" (Phil. 3:10). He was an ambassador for a kingdom that was not of this world and that operated with a different set of priorities since the way of Christ was not like the way of the world.
Paul had endured great suffering but he had already decided ahead of time that he was going to serve Christ no matter the cost and or the test. He said at an earlier point in his mission endeavors when being faced with trouble and tribulation, "But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24).
The kingdom of God is the righteous reign of Christ over all and in all. His kingdom is the ultimately the expanse of Christ on this earth. Paul knew that the kingdom of God begins in the heart that submits to God and when we are submitted to God and we resist the devil, he must flee from his.
THERE ARE TWO KINGDOMS:
The Kingdom of Light (ruled by Christ, the Son of God who is the truth)
and the Kingdom of Darkness (ruled by Satan, the devil who is the father of lies)
One the one hand, we know this…
"that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one" (1 John 5:19)
On the other hand, and more specifically in Christ’s hands, we know that…
"You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world" (1 John 4:4)
The Kingdom of Darkness is both limited and temporal, where as the Kingdom of Light is limitless and eternal. Jesus has defeated the enemy but He wants us to learn how to lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has laid hold of us.
- God's kingdom has power over the Devil.
- God's kingdom has power over death and disease.
- God's kingdom is shown through Christ's love among His Church.
- God's kingdom rules over all other authorities and principalities.
- God's kingdom is revealed through the preaching and witness of His ambassadors.
Jesus pointed out that this kingdom cannot be seen unless a person is born again of the Spirit. Thus, we also need to remember that God opens the eyes and turns the hearts as we testify to others of the gospel of the grace of God. Christ does the work but we are His tools!
When Paul was free to speak to the Jews, he shared the Gospel and showed how Christ was the true Messiah of Israel but most did not believe so Paul said, “The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through Isaiah the prophet to our fathers, saying,
“Go to this people and say:
‘Hearing you will hear, and shall not understand;
And seeing you will see, and not perceive;
For the hearts of this people have grown dull.
Their ears are hard of hearing,
And their eyes they have closed,
Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them.” ’
Jesus and the prophets dealt with the same response from those who hardened their hearts in their day which is why Jesus began to speak in parables to the leaders of the Jews. We are not stewards of how others respond to us but rather on how we respond to God.
Today, we need to understand that we are the representation of God's kingdom on earth and we are the vessels that God is using to advance the gospel. The book of Acts is the only book in the New Testament that does not seem to have a proper ending...and perhaps the reason is that every generation of Christians is meant to pick up where Paul left off to help build Christ's church with Him.
ACTS IN ACTION CHALLENGE POINT:
Live in such a way that your life is the continuation of the book of Acts (Acts 29) for the expanse and expression of Christ and of God’s kingdom on earth!
Recent
Archive
2024
January
February
April
May
August
Categories
no categories
No Comments