Who Are We?
Vision/Mission/Strategy all in one:
For the glory of God we will disciple the nations by being and producing radical followers of Jesus.
Radical followers of Jesus are John 15 people who abide in Christ and receive the fruit of God’s glory globally.
UP: We grow out of and remain in Christ. We have been reconciled to God in Christ and remain in him.
IN: Those in Christ are then brought into fellowship with each other.
OUT: Those in fellowship with each other impact the nations and the kingdom of darkness.
We call this Radical Life: Up – Communion with God / In – Community / Out – Collision
***The DNA that fuels this grand vision is KDSC. Kingdom/Disciple/Society/Church. This DNA will manifest itself in people who are smitten with the glory of God in discipling the nations by being a radical follower of Jesus!***
So, we will revisit our DNA and it’s manifestation in people smitten with the glory of God in discipling the nations by being radical followers of Jesus for some weeks lest we drift from who we are.
Sequence is vital
The gospel of the kingdom of Jesus makes disciples (Romans 1:16).
These disciples learn to follow Jesus by hearing and obeying Jesus (Matt 7:24-27).
Disciples function in domains of society as ambassadors of Jesus repairing and preaching good news.
From the preaching of the good news of Jesus’ kingdom disciples are made and gathered into the church as the community of the kingdom (Matt 16:18).
Kingdom
Why do we talk about the kingdom of God?
God’s Mandate: Reconciliation of All Things
He has mandated us with the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:17-19).
Therefore the mission of the church is our participation in the mission of the Triune God who created the world as an expression of his love, power and creativity.
God’s Original Purpose in Creation (Genesis 1: 26-28)
He created us as His children to represent Him on earth and to establish and implement His Kingdom in the visible realm (Matthew 25:34).
It was never God’s plan to establish a religion, but a relationship with God the Father and to extend his reign from the supernatural realm to the physical realm.
His plan was to do this through a family of spiritual children he would call His very own (Genesis 1:26-27).
Sin interrupted God’s plan, but Immediately God’s rescue plan went into effect (Genesis 3:15).
The Effects of Sin (Genesis 3:16-24)
Relationship with God was broken (v. 24)
Relationship with others was broken (v. 16)
Relationship with our environment was broken (vv. 17-18)
God’s Mission is to Reconcile All Things Lost (2 Corinthians 5:17-19)
We are called to the ministry of reconciliation.
To reconcile the world “Kosmos” means to repair the harmony of creation in order and government, world affairs, human family, and the aggregate of things earthly.
We see to restore things that were lost (Luke 19:10).
Jesus mission statement was that he came to seek and to save that which was lost.
So, we preach the really good news of Jesus’ kingdom!
Gospel of the Kingdom – What we proclaim!
“The kingdom is the renewal of the whole world through entrance of supernatural forces. As things are brought back under Christ’s rule and authority, they are restored to health, beauty and freedom.” – Tim Keller
God’s kingdom is his universal rule, his sovereignty over all the earth…The kingdom is his reign more than his realm. – George Eldon Ladd
“The kingdom of God is the reign of God. It is Jesus’ Christ, the Lord over all things in action. Wherever the will of God is being done, that’s where the kingdom is being manifested. In a very real sense Jesus is the kingdom in person.” – Bob Roberts
Let’s review some passages about the kingdom and then make some application.
Mark 1:14-15
“Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, ‘the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe the gospel.”
The equating of the gospel and the kingdom in this passage is huge because it rounds out the gospel message to is fullness in that the gospel is not merely about saving people from the wrath of God but it is about all things being brought back into the rule and headship of Jesus Christ, including men and women and children.
So, when we tell the good news we need to make sure we don’t make it merely about that person’s salvation. We need to set their salvation in the glorious framework of all of Father’s restorative work.
Matthew 4:23
“And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.”
Matthew 6:33
“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (food, drink, clothing, necessities and some amenities {all good and perfect gifts come down from the Father of lights with whom there is not shadow due to change})
If we want to see the supernatural works we read about in the bible and we hear about in the east we can’t live by the values of the fallen world system that is opposed to the kingdom of God.
Matthew 6:10
“…Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
Jesus taught us pray for the coming of the kingdom before we prayed for our supply. Why? Because only in our supply of necessities can we do the Father’s will and thus bring his kingdom and thus hallow his name.
Matthew 24:14
“And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”
What is the scope of the kingdom’s proclamation? All nations.
If every church picked one people where the good news has not been proclaimed and went then we’d be far closer to the return of the King.
Matthew 13:47-50
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
The kingdom will catch up all kinds into it’s net and there will be some bad fish in the nets, but Jesus will sort them out at the restoration of all things.
There are weeds among the wheat. We can’t make the weeds go away, but Jesus will. So we seek to be patient and obedient and careful with the harvest so we don’t root up good wheat with weeds.
Weeds don’t necessarily cause problems. Weeds are not wolves. Weeds look good on the outside but are fruitless and choke out the fruit of others.
In the kingdom, we will have weeds. Jesus will sort them out.
Matthew 13:31-32
“He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”
The kingdom is unassuming and full of power. It’s meek.
The kingdom is fruitful. The kingdom maximizes potential. The kingdom takes it’s two talents and multiplies them to four.
Matthew 13:33
“He told them another parable. ‘The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.’”
The kingdom is supernatural. The kingdom is kind of magical (please don’t judge me for saying that).
The kingdom works when we are not aware that the kingdom is working. The rule of the kingdom is like the gradual dawning of spring after 100 years of winter in Narnia. It’s steady and thorough.
So, we persevere and wait patiently.
Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
“He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn….Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears let him hear.”
The kingdom rule of Jesus will have fakers all over the place and those fakers may not be overt, but they are like those who cast out demons in Jesus name and don’t know Jesus. They work for Jesus but in order to earn his favor not because they’ve received a new heart of flesh in regeneration.
Ephesians 1:7-10
“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.”
The gospel is the good news of Jesus’ kingdom come and the breaking of the curse of the fall and overthrow of Satan’s little and temporary kingdom to be finally overthrown when Jesus returns.
The good news of the kingdom is more than salvation from sin. It is that, but salvation from sin is just the entry into the larger work of the kingdom!
The culture of rescue from hell as the goal of the gospel has not only short sighted the work of the church, but it has pillaged discipleship for the church.
The good news of the kingdom makes salvation possible for all who will believe and gives those who believe a mission to subvert the work of Satan through making disciples and engaging the domains of society in all nations and establishing the church as the outpost[1] and community of the kingdom by the Spirit’s power as we wait for Jesus to return, complete the kingdom’s establishment and completely bring Satan’s work to an end.
Implications of the kingdom
If the kingdom of Jesus Christ has come, and if we are wheat and sheep not weeds and goats, and if we have all wisdom and insight to know the plan of God to unite all things in Christ then there are some implications for us as the community of the kingdom.
We must be Missional
We have to be about Jesus’ mission not our mission. Everything we do must have the mission in mind. We must be about correcting the fall and bringing all things back under the rule of Jesus Christ.
We must be about taking the rule of Christ out and seeking to establish the rule of Christ in every way possible.
Missional is go and establish as well as invite to come and see.
We must be incarnational/present
Jesus came and healed. We must be agents who go and heal.
We must fill our domains of society and bring them back under the rule of Jesus Christ.
This is personal and corporate. You have a domain you operate it. Every single person in the church can’t establish a line item in the budget for their personal ministry and get everyone involved in it. Some issues can be dealt with that way. Most of them cannot.
Much of the church’s work is you and I engaging our domain with the support of our RL group behind us in prayer and personal upholding.
This is a life-long mission. This is not something you may ever see the end of. You may die trying to see the kingdom come in your domain. You may see the kingdom already in your domain. You may need to maintain and hold on in faithful maintenance. Either way, your mission is life-long.
We must be Living/Abiding/ (used to say “organic”)
The kingdom does not advance by man’s schemes. The kingdom happens as a supernatural move of the Spirit. The job of the church is not to manufacture movements but to join them.
We have to have eyes that see and ears that hear and be ready to obey.
Try this: Look for and submit to the daily rule of King Jesus (Matthew 1-2: The Lord spoke to Joseph in the moment with clear instructions for Joseph’s good and for the work of the kingdom.)
We must be Contextual
The kingdom always invades a context and brings it under the rule of Christ and takes the Constitution of the Kingdom, the bible, and makes it the rule of that context in redeeming it for Christ.
This is why the bible never prescribes a model. This is why a church should never prescribe a model. The community of the kingdom fits in and transforms from the inside out.
We must make sure we don’t fall into the trap of thinking our preference is THE model. The model is the kingdom. We must strive to outdo one another in showing honor, allow for conscience, and let the Spirit dictate the “how to”.
This requires experimentation, failure, trial and error. According to Alan Hirsh 65%-75% of American culture is completely un-engaged and in need of the church morphing into their context. Do we have that in us?
We must be Glocal
Acts 1:8
The kingdom is not isolated to the local church. The local church is a manifestation of the kingdom and the kingdom is global. The kingdom mobilizes the local and takes it global to expand the kingdom.
We must be Evolving
The kingdom is always growing and taking in more formerly held enemy territory. The community of the kingdom must be flexible enough to incorporate that kind of growth.
Example: What is it going to look like when the church is truly reaching the unreached? What is the church going to look like when it’s incorporating those who are cross-cultural in our own town?
Post-modernity is segmented by sub-cultures not a culture as a whole. Therefore, the church has to reach those subcultures somehow. They are separated from the life of God. How are we going to do that? Will attraction models work? Will we need to think about cell church or house church?
We are alive in one of the most exciting times of church history. How are we going to live out the advance of the gospel of the kingdom?
Worship
Psalm 147:1 “Praise the LORD! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting.”
[1] The implications of the church being an outpost are huge. It means that the church is launching missions to those not in the purpose of the outpost. The purpose of the outpost is to establish the rule of Jesus. This affects not only our message but our strategy. The outpost must take the form of what it is trying to reach into or risk become irrelevant to it’s target.
Theology in the Dirt 