by RobertCummins | Mar 11, 2015 | 10. Prayer
Is Jim Peterson, author of Good to Great, being proved right in the realm of religion as well as business? Has the good which is culturally embedded in western evangelical thought become the enemy of the best?
While most of us evangelicals have come proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ we should take note that Jesus himself came proclaiming the Kingdom of God. The gospel of Jesus Christ has focused on getting men to heaven some day. This is good. The kingdom is focused on getting heaven to earth now through men. This is great. The gospel zeroes in on Jesus as the savior/facilitator of life beyond the grave. This is good. The kingdom of God focuses on Jesus, the very essence of God becoming our abundant Life on this side of the grave. This is stunning! Our partial-gospel honors Jesus as our Savior making (what we think of as salvation) as an end in of itself. This is what we have called the good news. The kingdom would say that salvation was the beginning and honors Jesus as Lord and King of a new domain that is present on earth now in the hearts of those who are making room for him in that capacity. This is truly great, even revolutionary news!
The western evangelical gospel presents salvation as a singular one-off event while the kingdom gospel presents salvation as the beginnings of an ongoing process where we progressively and experientially work out our salvation and come to know Christ, in that process, as our all in all, expanding the kingdom in our hearts and in the world as we live out our daily lives. This is how he anticipated us becoming the, stategically located, highly visible community of the redeemed, the salt and transformational light of the world.
We could anticipate that everything Jesus said and prayed was done in order to reinforce his kingdom objectives. We hear it in the prayer he teaches his disciples; “Thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.” We also hear it clearly in his Gethsemane prayers. The following is that passage in its entirety from The Message. I have taken the liberty to reorganize it under five subheadings and convert Jesus third-person references to himself to first-person.
OPENING Father, it’s time. Display my bright splendor so that I in turn may show your bright splendor. You put me in charge of everything human so that I might give real and eternal life to all in my charge. I glorified you on earth by completing, down to the last detail, what you assigned me to do.
JESUS MISSION I spelled out your character in detail to the men and women you gave me. For the same message you gave me, I gave them. I pray for them; not the God-rejecting world but for those you gave me, for they are yours by right. I have known you, and these disciples know that you sent me on this mission. I have made your very being known to them— who you are and what you do—
JESUS’ ACCOUNT OF HIS MISSION In the same way that you gave me a mission in the world, I give them a mission in the world. They were yours in the first place; then you gave them to me, and they have now done what you said. They know now, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that everything you gave me is firsthand from you and they took it, and were convinced that I came from you. They believed that you sent me. As long as I was with them, I guarded them in the pursuit of the life you gave through me. I even posted a night watch and not one of them got away, except for the rebel bent on destruction. I gave them your word. The godless world hated them because of it, because they didn’t join the world’s ways, just as I didn’t join the world’s ways.
And this is the real and eternal life: that they know you, the one and only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you sent so they can be one heart and mind as we are one heart and mind. The kingdom goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind— just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, so they might be one heart and mind with us. Then the world might believe that you, in fact, sent me. The same glory you gave me, I gave them, so they’ll be as unified and together as we are— I in them and you in me. Then they’ll be mature in this oneness, and then give the godless world evidence that you’ve sent me and loved them in the same way you’ve loved me.
OUR MISSION Father, I want those you gave me to be with me, right where I am, so they can see my glory, the splendor you gave me, having loved me. I’m praying that not only for them but also for those who will believe in me because of them and their witness about me so that your love for me might be in them exactly as I am in them. I’m consecrating myself for their sakes so they’ll be truth-consecrated in their mission. I’m saying these things in the world’s hearing so my people can experience my joy completed in them. They are no more defined by the world than I am defined by the world. And continue to make your very being known to them , so that your love for me might be in them exactly as I am in them.
And now, Father, glorify me with your very own splendor, the very splendor I had in your presence before there was a world. Everything mine is yours, and yours mine, And my life is on display in them. for I’m no longer going to be visible in the world; they’ll continue in the world while I return to you. Holy Father, guard them as they pursue this life that you conferred as a gift through me.
CLOSING Now I’m returning to you. I’m saying these things in the world’s hearing so my people can experience my joy completed in them. I’m not asking that you take them out of the world but that you guard them from the Evil One. Make them holy—consecrated—with the truth; Your word is consecrating truth. I’m consecrating myself for their sakes so they’ll be truth-consecrated in their mission. Having loved me long before there ever was a world. Righteous Father, the world has never known you,but I have known you, and these disciples know that you sent me on this mission.
Father, your prayers make it clear that our destiny is far greater than we have been led to believe because our identity, in you is far greater than any of us have dared to believe as kin to fallen Adam. Make us new wineskins who can contain a vision so rich in glory and splendor. To discover that our great commission is actually to experience and to display your life (your very being) to the world around us is grand and revolutionary news.
Father may we glorify you on earth by completing, down to the last detail, what you have assigned us to do. By way of our love and joy and our unity, leave no shadow of a doubt that you sent Jesus and that he himself is our real and eternal life. Thank you that you have not taken us out of the world but instead left us to continue making your very being known through our lives as you live your life through us. Leave no doubt to this godless world that, with you in us and us in-Christ, we are right where you are, seated at the right hand of the Father. Teach us to watch over our hearts with all diligence that we might guard this gift of life that you have conferred upon us in Christ. May your kingdom vision, growing in our hearts, overcome our earthly divisions. Show the surpassing majesty and splendor of your name as we unify under the kingdom’s banner.
by RobertCummins | Mar 10, 2015 | 10. Prayer
At the gym where I exercise I will occasionally see someone who has really lost weight and has toned up. Curious as to the source of their transformation I inquire as to their secret. It is common to hear them say, “Oh man, its definitely this Atomic-Turbo Protein Supplement that I’m now a dealer of!” “Really? Did you change anything else in your routine?”, I ask. “Oh yes”, they respond. “I have been running 20 miles a week and have cut all sugar from my diet. You want to buy a gallon of my A-TPS?” Gratefully I say, “Perhaps another time. But thank you for the insight.”
A few years ago I thought that something had spiritually changed in me. I felt lighter, less preoccupied and much more peaceful. I knew something had changed when people started coming up to me and asking me why I was joking and smiling so much. They wanted to know the secret of my transformation. I found myself frequently saying, “Oh man, it was definitely the time I spent with that counselor.” They might follow with, “Was there anything else going on in your life?” I would respond, “Oh yes, there is the time I regularly spend alone with God.”
At this point it is not uncommon to catch a fleeting, despondent look along with an admission that the whole prayer and time alone with God-thing has never really worked for them. Neither is it uncommon for folks to just want to change the topic. Its no surprise. We’ve all wrestled with prayer. Its a mystery and many approaches to it requires time. The fruit of prayer grows slowly and only those who persevere will enjoy its taste. Sadly many have figured out ways to get by without meaningful time alone with God.
However, to invite us back into the mystery of prayer, here is Jesus telling us….
Here’s what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace. Matthew 6:6 MSG
Here is what Jim Branch (in his Introduction to the Blue Book devotional) tells us…..
“Find a place that is set aside for you and God alone; a place that helps you be attentive to him, a place that will not be full of distractions or noise….Also pick a time when you are at your best, fully wake and alert. As your time unfolds each day try not to keep an eye on your watch; just allow your time to happen…Let the Spirit of God be your guide. The key is to be consistent. Over time you will begin to notice that God is near… “
Here is the advise of another who persevered and learned to meld prayer as an attitude even into the reading of scripture;
Take in fully, gently, and carefully what you are reading. Taste it and digest it as you read. Use the passage to sense the presence of the Lord and stay with the passage until you have sensed the very heart of what you have read…your purpose is to take everything from the passage that unveils the Lord to you. Jeanne Guyon (1648-1717)
Those who have lingured long enough to taste and see that the Lord is present know that crowds, noise and busyness are three main enemies of the spiritual life so they have retaliated by finding the time and the place to regularly and privately explore the mystical union between themselves and God.
And it is mystery isn’t it? Even though our Father knows what we need before we ask him, he still insists that we ask. He even instructs us how in The Lord’s Prayer…
Our Father in heaven, reveal who you are. Set the world right; do what’s best— as above, so below (from the MSG) for Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever (NAS)
Is it possible that the global revival that we had entrusted to Billy Graham and others to spark was always intended to start in our own hearts? Is it conceiveable that the radical thing that God has always intended for the earth was the kingdom of God and that, astonishingly, it has been in the hearts of his children all along? Won’t it be a surprise to discover that God intended Christ in us – the life of God, and the hope of glory, to be the final catalyst in the consummation of the ages?
While we are devouring christian literature (even the bible), cramming our brains with more information, our spirits are likely starving for the birthright of our intimacy with God that is only discovered experientially and privately. The Father didn’t say “If” we pray, he said “when” we pray.
Without the new testament cannon a handful of people filled with the holy spirit became the early Church – an unparalleled agent of change in human history . The men and women of that movement had been profoundly influenced by one primary thing, which even the high priests noticed.
Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus. Acts 4:13 NAS
I do believe that with Jesus’ simple instructions to come to the Father, he has handed us a major key to his kingdom as well as our personal invitation to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. If we are busy and decline to respond as he has instructed then I fear we may be virgins at risk of not having our lamps full when they are most needed.
So let us know, let us press on to know the Lord. His going forth is as certain as the dawn; and He will come to us like the rain, like the spring rain watering the earth. Come, let us return to the Lord. Hosea 6:1-3 NAS
Don’t become so well-adjusted to (the pace of) your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Romans 12:2 MSG (emphasis mine)
Important Disclaimer I have tasted of something that is allowing me to enjoy my relationship with God more than ever. But, I don’t trace what transformation I have experienced back to a patented devotional formula or book. I view my devotional life as an effect (or outcome) not a cause. Legitimate change can only come from Christ in me (a great mystery with which I grapple with words most mornings). The kingdom of God is present now wherever Christ is reigning. My new smile is best accounted for by the simple truth that he has become Lord in practice over some additional domain in my heart.
Some debilitating lies were dismantled in my heart with the help of a counselor, it is true. But, the main work is simply God’s Spirit, in the normal course of life, restoring my birthright as his son and his friend. With this as my identity, devotional times have been transformed from obligation to opportunity, from correspondence to communion.
In false humility, I started to say that I haven’t arrived yet, but that is not true. I have. For years, in my insecurity, I sought God with what I thought was all my heart but in retrospect, I think it was actually all (or mostly) my flesh (which, by the way, is religion). I thought if I could just repent deeply enough or acquire that missing piece of information, that just around the corner I would discover the abundant and intimate life I believed existed but that had always eluded me.
My heart was a religious hamster wheel. To my unspeakable joy and delight, after I had spent all my energy, I discovered that it had all been unnecessary. For me to press on to know the Lord meant to acknowledge that in Christ, I had arrived! There was absolutely nothing that I could add that would alter God’s existing affection and devotion to me. I didn’t realize his grip on me until I relaxed my grip on him! Honestly, it was like being born again, again. This is my story and I love to tell it.
Father, by the power that is in us in-Christ, help us to break free of the pull of this earth’s spiritual gravity. Help us to see that by letting go and by celebrating what already is, we are lighter creatures who can soar even today as eagles on the updrafts of your love and affection. This time around, help us to cherish and act upon the invitation as it is extended to us once again. Help us to learn how to just simply and honestly be with you. And Lord, please birth your kingdom in our hearts. Amen.
by RobertCummins | Mar 9, 2014 | 10. Prayer
And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has had regard for the humble state of His bond slave; for behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed. “For the Mighty One has done great things for me; and holy is His name. “And His mercy is upon generation after generation toward those who fear Him. “He has done mighty deeds with His arm; he has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart. He has brought down rulers from their thrones, and has exalted those who were humble. “He has filled the hungry with good things; and sent away the rich empty-handed. “He has given help to Israel His servant, in remembrance of His mercy, as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and his descendants forever.” And Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her home.
When I saw this morning’s passage I thought, “Uh oh, I’m up against it today. How am I to relate to the mother of God!” I am not a woman. I’m not from the same race of people. I’m not under the Law of Moses. And, I am two millennium removed from that era. However, as I take some time with the passage, as is almost always the case, something alive begins to stand out. This is typically my invitation to proceed.
My initial thoughts were, “Mary is rejoicing… as well she should! I guess I would too if I had…… ….. , then I was stopped in my tracks. I didn’t get to the balance of that thought, ” if I had God in my womb”, because His Spirit, reminded me that He was in my heart. I have Christ in me. This passage is known in Latin as the Magnificat meaning, “my soul magnifies”. The NAS has interpreted the original greek to say, “my spirit rejoiced”. My soul too magnifies the Lord as this reality is dawning afresh in me.
We tend to read the scriptures and idolize characters such as Mary as those with greater callings than us. Without demeaning them, God disagrees totally with us. He has a much higher opinion of us than we do of ourselves. Jesus himself would say here…
“Are you listening to me? Really listening?….. Let me tell you what’s going on here: No one in history surpasses John the Baptizer; but in the kingdom he prepared you for, the lowliest person is ahead of him. (from Matt 11:11-15)
Jesus goes on to say..
From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force…….He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
A few friends have called my writing style; stream of consciousness. Since I don’t know the possible categories of styles; yesterday I called it expository testimonial – giving a verse by verse account of the hope that is within me. My prayer is that my writing leaves clues, especially for my friends and family as to how the Holy Spirit works in the interior of our lives where his kingdom is being birthed.
When we are commanded by Jesus to seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, what thoughts come to mind? I know that my evangelical wineskin response has been; to fulfill the great commission and all that entails (which is much). When I hear about the kingdom today something entirely different comes to mind. This morning I would like to share my account of this particular aspect of my hope.
A few years ago, after a long season of things not being well with my soul, where I was seeking any wind of revival that might be blowing, my ship hit a dead calm. I even tried rowing for a while but I soon saw the futility of that. My only resort was to ask God to let the revival I had tried to run down simply catch up with me. I prayed (you may think I am crazy), Lord, please let the next revival begin in my heart, I can’t go another step without you.” I don’t know about any slated corporate revivals but God did facilitate a personal revival in my heart. The story involves many chapters but I wanted to share one specifically; one I associate with the kingdom of God and the idea of taking it by violence.
As I was being lifted by God’s kindness out of the slough of despond, I felt new life and energy stirring in me. Since my tank had been empty, and I had been asking to be filled, I was convinced the spoon was in God’s hand. George Eldon Ladd says in his book the Gospel of the Kingdom, “The kingdom of God is an inward power which enters into the human soul and lays hold of it. It consists of a few basic religious truths of universal application.” This makes me think of Paul’s comment….
I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus………..let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained.
I felt as though something had laid hold of me and whether my response was the violence of Matthew 11:12, I do not know. I only know that something arose within me with a powerful resolve that flowed out of my birthright-identity that Christ had just restored. To best describe what was going on in me, I will refer you to a few of George C. Scott’s lines from the movie Patton….
“I’ve always felt that I was destined for some great achievement, what I don’t know. ….The last great opportunity of a lifetime – an entire world at war, and I’m left out of it? God will not permit this to happen! I will be allowed to fulfill my destiny! His will be done.”
“A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed at some indefinite time in the future.”
All I can say is that out of my restored identity there was something rising up and saying I have a great destiny – a kingdom-destiny. I am assuming this solely because Christ lives in me. I am assuming that since Christ lives in us, the emergence and expression of his vibrant life through us will be the catalyst for expansion of God’s kingdom. I have come to believe that God is saying that the Church has a corporate appointment with kingdom destiny….
And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
In the past three years, I have been converted from a worship leader-elder-teacher in a local church (whose heart was nearly comatose) to an untitled person who’s influence has expanded by acknowledging what Ladd called, a few basic religious truths of universal application. Paul may have called them standards. I have simply begun to call them kingdom values. Here are 7 that come to mind;
1. God is building a kingdom culture that will never end. Construction began with Jesus Christ. He was the corner stone.
2. We are the living stones who, in their ever increasing resemblance to their elder brother (Jesus), will comprise this kingdom.
3. The beach head for the kingdom of God on earth is the human heart where Christ dwells and aspires to rule.
4. Before significant kingdom construction can begin right-of-way must be procured. Kingdom citizens and builders are those who have ceded title over all that they are to Christ.
5. Before significant construction can begin demolition of old thought structures must be located and torn down.
6. Each of God’s children are strategically located and gifted to fulfill essential kingdom tasks.
7. Spiritual fathers will cast this vision and help identify individual gifts and kingdom assignments.
I will close with a declaration from the psalms and a prayer.
How blessed is the man whose strength is in You, in whose heart are the highways to Zion (God’s kingdom! Passing through the valley of Baca they make it a spring; the early rain also covers it with blessings. They go from strength to strength, every one of them appears before God in Zion (His kingdom). O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer; Give ear, O God of Jacob! Psalm 84:5-8 (emphasis mine)
Father, We magnify and honor your name above every name. May our hearts yearn for Zion – where your rule of love and law of liberty prevail; where your enemies are vanquished and your friends and children radiate the Life of Christ within them. May ground be broken immediately on the projects scheduled for our hearts. May love prevail as you reclaim titles and confront old and sacred wineskins. Yes Lord, we magnify you’re name. Amen.
by RobertCummins | Mar 6, 2014 | 10. Prayer
Here is an expository testimony – offering a verse by verse account of the hope that is within me….
Verse 1; “Lord, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty…. nor do I involve myself in great matters, or in things too difficult for me.”
Can you imagine standing before your fellow believers (with a straight face) and saying, “I am not a proud and arrogant person?” It has been engrained in most of us evangelicals that our hearts are essentially depraved. A vain comment such as this would be straightforward heresy. Yet here is David, the man after God’s own heart, making this outrageous boast. Or, is it? Let’s explore…..
Something about John Eldridge used to bug me. Most people know that name as the christian who went Wild at Heart. I was three books into Eldridge before I figured out what had been bothering me. He never talked about our sinful hearts! How could that be! I was deeply suspicious of him with this tenant of my theology missing from his writing. It seems ironic now that the thing that was repulsing me at one level about him was attracting me on another. Freedom is like that. It offends the elder brothers when the fatted calf is slaughtered; yet, oh how we wished we were invited to that party!
Offended with his freedom, I thought, “What gives John Eldridge the right anyway to go about life climbing mountains and fly fishing while the mission of saving souls was the real business of the great commission?!” I railed inwardly, “Come down from your high places Mr. Eldridge. The harvest, down here where the real work is going on, is white (if you haven’t forgotten). The only white you see is those snow capped peaks.” And I thought, deep inside me, “Oh my….those snow capped peaks.”
In that season as Mr. Eldridge was busy reeling me in, a book at a time, a dear friend drove into my driveway and handed me a book. They said that the Lord had encouraged them to give this to me. I knew this person’s heart. I trusted them implicitly. The book was He Loves Me by Wayne Jacobson. I thanked them and promptly read the book. It was a chapter by chapter OMG experience for me. By the time I had finished the book, I knew what someone had told me was true; I was full of religion. The truth was (as our pastor had told me), “Rob, you are hard on me and you’re hard on yourself.” But, at that time, I just didn’t get it.
God was bringing the pot to a rapid boil though. I had laid into a few people recently with an anger I can only describe as volcanic. It was white hot and came unwanted from someplace deep within. It scared me. All was not well with my soul and I knew it. What was wrong with my heart?!
A standing prayer of mine for 35 years had been, “Search me Oh Lord and know my heart and see if there be any hurtful way in me and lead me in the everlasting way.” Although I didn’t recognize it immediately, my Father in heaven was busy accomplishing his kingdom’s coming and his will being done on earth (in my heart) as it is in heaven. He was answering my prayers in a way that was exceedingly and abundantly beyond my wildest expectations.
A religious heart is a uniquely blind one. It sees where others are violating principles while oblivious to its own barrenness. It lives alternately puffed up on the days when things go right and it appears God loves them and it then goes into despair when things go south, convinced that God does not. Here is a piece of my revelation; a heart can be born again and yet still be functioning with a legalistic law -principled heart. This is the religious prison the elder-brother lives in. He’s a son alright. His heart is just boycotting the party on principle – It’s just not right to receive the father’s affection when no work has been done.
For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them.
Romans 2:14-15
After some time with a few people who knew the landscape of the heart and the ways of God in that domain, I emerged with something new yet something that I had always had. I had it in principle but not in practice. I could have taught a respectable bible study on our identity in- Christ. I could have pointed you to all the right verses but my heart would have been mostly clueless.
What I had always had was a new identity. After all, I was a new creation in Christ! I was a son of God!! I had been given a brand new nature!!! Yet, with my legalistic and insecure heart (and a ton of help from evangelical preaching), the deepest conviction I held about my life was that I was just-a-sinner saved by grace – the bible told me so. My poor track record of devotion and failure to manage my own sin regularly proved out my assumption – my heart was deceitful above all else and beyond understanding just as Jeremiah 17:9 had informed me. I kid you not, this was one of my life verses!
My heart landscape team helped me repent of all the resentment and bitterness that had accumulated in my wounded- religious heart and I was cleansed from those sinful attitudes. A religious stronghold had been torn down. After this heart-house cleaning my vision was restored to see something about myself that God had known all along – I was a beloved son whose hard kingdom labor (or lack of it) did nothing to alter his high opinion of me. It became crystal clear that the deepest truth about me was not my fallen nature. It was my new nature! I had finally opened the gift of my birthright – my identity! If you ask me who I am today, the answer is simple, “I am His.” And, astonishingly, “He is mine.”
Another verse I had claimed for my life was from Psalm 131, “I do not involve myself in great matters, or in things too difficult for me.” For good measure (it was my life after all) I tacked on
1 Thessalonians 4:11, “and make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands.” (You would just have to know the past two decades of my life to see what a good sense of humor God has and what he thinks about my right to claim verses for my life.)
Verse 2: “Surely I have composed and quieted my soul; like a weaned child rests against his mother, my soul is like a weaned child within me.”
Ah….”rest”, that condition of the heart that is secure in the love of God and in Christ. Rest is a state of grace that can only be experienced when one has been weaned from their labors to please God. Seeking God in a religious fever as if either he or ourselves is lost is nonsense and will obscure our true identities as sons and friends of God. We already have him if we have truly entrusted ourselves to Christ. He already has us. Its not a matter of finding him. Its a matter of composing our hearts in quiet, living is simple gratitude that he has found and claimed us as his own forevermore!
Verse 3; “Israel, (and the Church) hope in the Lord from this time forth and forever.”
Father, let our boast be that we are yours. If they be in disrepair, restore the foundations of this temple of yours on earth, which is our hearts. Help us to fight the balance of our days as sons instead of sinners. Let us discover our strength in our rest. Reveal the mystery further to us of Christ in us the hope of all future glory. Put your enemies to flight and establish your kingdom. We give you permission to do as you wish with our hearts. And Lord we shall hope in you forevermore. Amen.
by RobertCummins | Mar 5, 2014 | 10. Prayer
Has Jim Peterson been proved right in the realm of religion as well as business? Has the good become the enemy of the best?
While most evangelicals have come proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ we should take note that Jesus came proclaiming the Kingdom of God. The gospel has focused on getting men to heaven some day. This is good. The kingdom is focused on getting heaven to earth now through men. This is great. The gospel zeroes in on Jesus as the savior/facilitator of life beyond the grave. This is good. The kingdom of God focuses on Jesus, the very essence of God becoming our abundant Life on this side of the grave. This is stunning! The gospel honors Jesus as our Savior making (what we think of as salvation) as an end in of itself. This is what we have called the good news. The kingdom would say that salvation was the beginning and honors Jesus as Lord and King of a new domain that is present on earth now in the hearts of those who are making room for him in that capacity. This is truly grand and revolutionary news!!
The gospel has made salvation a singular event in time while the kingdom presents salvation as that plus an essential and ongoing process (called discipleship) where we progressively and experientially work out our salvation and come to know Christ in that process as our all in all, expanding the kingdom in our hearts and in the world as we live out our daily lives. This is how he anticipated us becoming the, stategically located, highly visible redemptive salt and transformational light of the world.
We could anticipate that everything Jesus said and prayed was done in order to reinforce his kingdom objectives. We hear it in the prayer he teaches to disciples; “Thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.” We can hear it clearly in Jesus’ prayer at Gethsemane as well. The following is that passage in its entirety from The Message. I have taken the liberty to reorganize it under five subheadings and converted Jesus third-person references to himself to first-person.
Father, it’s time (for your kingdom). Display my bright splendor so that I in turn may show your bright splendor. You put me in charge of everything human so that I might give real and eternal life to all in my charge. I glorified you on earth by completing, down to the last detail, what you assigned me to do. (emphasis mine) Opening
I spelled out your character in detail to the men and women you gave me. For the same message you gave me, I gave them. I pray for them; not the God-rejecting world but for those you gave me, for they are yours by right. I have known you, and these disciples know that you sent me on this mission. I have made your very being known to them— who you are and what you do—Jesus Mission
In the same way that you gave me a mission in the world, I give them a mission in the world. They were yours in the first place; then you gave them to me, and they have now done what you said. They know now, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that everything you gave me is firsthand from you and they took it, and were convinced that I came from you. They believed that you sent me. As long as I was with them, I guarded them in the pursuit of the life you gave through me. I even posted a night watch and not one of them got away, except for the rebel bent on destruction. I gave them your word. The godless world hated them because of it, because they didn’t join the world’s ways, just as I didn’t join the world’s ways. Jesus Account of His Mission
And this is the real and eternal life: that they know you, the one and only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you sent so they can be one heart and mind as we are one heart and mind. The kingdom goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind— just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, so they might be one heart and mind with us. Then the world might believe that you, in fact, sent me. The same glory you gave me, I gave them, so they’ll be as unified and together as we are— I in them and you in me. Then they’ll be mature in this oneness, and then give the godless world evidence that you’ve sent me and loved them in the same way you’ve loved me.
Father, I want those you gave me to be with me, right where I am, so they can see my glory, the splendor you gave me, having loved me. I’m praying that not only for them but also for those who will believe in me because of them and their witness about me so that your love for me might be in them exactly as I am in them. I’m consecrating myself for their sakes so they’ll be truth-consecrated in their mission. I’m saying these things in the world’s hearing so my people can experience my joy completed in them. They are no more defined by the world than I am defined by the world. And continue to make your very being known to them , so that your love for me might be in them exactly as I am in them. Our Mission
And now, Father, glorify me with your very own splendor, the very splendor I had in your presence before there was a world. Everything mine is yours, and yours mine, And my life is on display in them. for I’m no longer going to be visible in the world; they’ll continue in the world while I return to you. Holy Father, guard them as they pursue this life that you conferred as a gift through me.
Now I’m returning to you. I’m saying these things in the world’s hearing so my people can experience my joy completed in them. I’m not asking that you take them out of the world but that you guard them from the Evil One. Make them holy—consecrated—with the truth; Your word is consecrating truth. I’m consecrating myself for their sakes so they’ll be truth-consecrated in their mission. Having loved me long before there ever was a world. Righteous Father, the world has never known you,but I have known you, and these disciples know that you sent me on this mission. Closing
Father, your prayers make it clear that our destiny is far greater than we have been led to believe because our identity, in you is far greater than any of us have dared to believe as kin to fallen Adam. Make us new wineskins who can contain a vision composed of this much glory and splendor. To discover that our great commission is actually to experience and to display your life (your very being) to the world around us is grand and revolutionary news.
Father may we glorify you on earth by completing, down to the last detail, what you have assigned us to do. By way of our love and joy and our unity, leave no shadow of a doubt that you sent Jesus and that he himself is our real and eternal life. Thank you that you have not taken us out of the world but instead left us to continue making your very being known through our lives as you live your life through us. Leave no doubt to this godless world that, with you in us and us in-Christ, we are right where you are, seated at the right hand of the Father. Teach us to watch over our hearts with all diligence that we might guard this gift of life that you have conferred upon us in Christ. May your kingdom vision growing in our hearts help us to circumvent our earthly divisions. Show the surpassing majesty and splendor of your name as we unify under the kingdom’s banner.
by RobertCummins | Mar 4, 2014 | 10. Prayer
At the gym where I exercise I will occasionally see someone who has really lost weight and has toned up. Curious as to the source of their transformation I inquire as to their secret. It is common to hear them say, “Oh man, its definitely this Atomic-Turbo Protein Supplement that I’m now a dealer of!” “Really? Did you change anything else in your routine?”, I ask. “Oh yes”, they respond. “I have been running 20 miles a week and have cut all sugar from my diet. You want to buy a gallon of my A-TPS?” Gratefully I say, “Perhaps another time. But thank you for the insight.”
A few years ago I thought that something had spiritually changed in me. I felt lighter, less preoccupied and much more peaceful. I knew something had changed when people started coming up to me and asking me why I was joking and smiling so much. They wanted to know the secret of my transformation. I found myself frequently saying, “Oh man, it was definitely the time I spent with that counselor.” They might follow with, “Was there anything else going on in your life?” I would respond, “Oh yes, there is the time I regularly spend alone with God.”
At this point it is not uncommon to catch a fleeting, despondent look along with an admission that the whole prayer and time alone with God-thing has never really worked for them. Neither is it uncommon for folks to just want to change the topic. Its no surprise. We’ve all wrestled with prayer. Its a mystery and it takes time. The fruit of prayer grows slowly and only those who persevere will enjoy its taste. Sadly many have figured out ways to get by without meaningful time alone with God.
However, to invite us back into the mystery of prayer, here is Jesus telling us….
“Here’s what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.”
Here is what Jim Branch (in his Introduction to the Blue Book devotional) tells us…..
“Find a place that is set aside for you and God alone; a place that helps you be attentive to him, a place that will not be full of distractions or noise….Also pick a time when you are at your best, fully wake and alert. As your time unfolds each day try not to keep an eye on your watch; just allow your time to happen…….Let the Spirit of God be your guide. The key is to be consistent. Over time you will begin to notice that God is near…. “
Here is the advise of another who persevered and learned to meld prayer as an attitude even into the reading of scripture. They offer…
“Take in fully, gently, and carefully what you are reading. Taste it and digest it as you read. Use the passage to sense the presence of the Lord and stay with the passage until you have sensed the very heart of what you have read…your purpose is to take everything from the passage that unveils the Lord to you.”
Those who have lingured long enough to taste and see that the Lord is present know that crowds, noise and business are three main enemies of the spiritual life so they have retaliated by finding the time and the place to regularly and privately explore the mystical union between themselves and God.
And it is mystery isn’t it? Even though our Father knows what we need before we ask him, he still insists that we ask and, with a special prayer, he even instructs us how….
Our Father in heaven, reveal who you are. Set the world right; do what’s best— as above, so below…..for Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
Is it possible that the global revival that we had entrusted to Billy Graham and others to spark was always intended to start in our own hearts? Is it conceiveable that the radical thing that God has always intended for the earth was the kingdom of God that, astonishingly, has been in the hearts of his children all along? Wouldn’t it be a surprise if all along, God intended it to be, Christ in us, the Life of God and the hope of glory, that ends up being the ultimate catalyst releasing God’s kingdom in the earth?
While we are devouring christian literature (even the bible), cramming our brains with more information, our spirits are likely starving for the birthright of our intimacy with God that is only discovered experientially and privately. The Father didn’t say “If” we pray, he said “when” we pray.
Without the new testament cannon a handful of people filled with the holy spirit became the early Church – an unparalleled agent of change in human history . The men and women of that movement had been profoundly influenced by one primary thing, which even the high preists noticed….
…..the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.
I do believe that with Jesus’ simple instructions to come to the Father, he has handed us a major key to his kingdom as well as our personal invitation to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. If we are busy and decline to respond as he has instructed then I fear we may be virgins at risk of not having our lamps full when they are most needed.
“So let us know, let us press on to know the Lord. His going forth is as certain as the dawn; and He will come to us like the rain, like the spring rain watering the earth. Come, let us return to the Lord.” Hosea 6:1-3
“Don’t become so well-adjusted to (the pace of) your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it.” Romans 12:2 (emphasis mine)
Important Disclaimer I have tasted of something that is allowing me to enjoy my relationship with God more than ever. But, I don’t trace what transformation I have experienced back to a patented devotional formula or book. I view my devotional life as an effect (or outcome) not a cause. Legitimate change can only come from Christ in me (a great mystery with which I grapple with words most mornings). The kingdom of God is present now wherever Christ is reigning. My new smile is accounted for by the simple truth that he has become Lord in practice over some additional domain in my heart.
Some debilitating lies were dismantled in my heart with the help of a counselor, it is true. But, the main work is simply God’s Spirit, in the normal course of life, restoring my birthright as his son and his friend. With this as my identity, devotional times have been transformed from obligation to opportunity. BIG difference!
In false humility, I started to say that I haven’t arrived yet, but that is not true. I have. For years, in my insecurity, I sought God with what I thought was all my heart but in retrospect, I think it was actually all (or mostly) my flesh (which, by the way, is religion). I thought if I could just repent deeply enough or acquire that missing piece of information, that just around the corner I would discover the abundant and intimate life I believed existed but that had always eluded me.
My heart was a religious hamster wheel. To my unspeakable joy and delight, after I had spent all my energy, I discovered that it had all been unnecessary. For me to press on to know the Lord meant to acknowledge that in Christ I had arrived! There was absolutely nothing that I could add that would alter God’s existing affection and devotion to me. I didn’t realize his grip on me until I relaxed my grip on him! Honestly, it was like being born again, again. This is my story and I love to tell it.
Father, by the power that is in us in-Christ, help us to break free of the pull of this earth’s spiritual gravity. Help us to see that by letting go and by celebrating what already is we are lighter creatures who can soar even today as eagles on the updrafts of your love and affection. This time around, help us to cherish and act upon the invitation as it is extended to us once again. Help us to learn how to just simply and honestly be with you. And Lord, please birth your kingdom in our hearts. Amen.
