Dear leaders,
We begin the year with an essential core value of the Vineyard movement. We value the theology and the practice of the Kingdom of God. Our belief in the Kingdom and our practice of the Kingdom is one of the most distinguishing marks of the Vineyard Community of Churches.
So we want to explore this introduction to this essential value. Please read at your own pace through the month of January. We'll plan for an evening together in early February. As you read please post your comments and questions so others can join in the conversation.
Thank you for your willingness to learn together in a community of leaders.
Hey all! I'm excited to post. I read through the whole booklet without checking references just to get an overall glimpse before going back through it at a slower pace and reading the referenced Bible passages.
ReplyDeleteThoughts so far:
1. It had been a while since I had read the Exodus story and frankly, it is baffling and powerful. It was a good reminder to see that the Lord attacked the false gods of Egypt. As for the severity of the judgement, I had to remember that for decades, maybe centuries, the Egyptians had dealt unfairly and arrogantly with the Israelites and God was simply avenging that.
***What does it look like, in our day, when God attacks our contemporary false gods? (This would include casting out demons but what about beyond that?)_
*An interesting note: When God seeks to put Moses' son to death (since he wasn't circumcised, and of course I think the act was intended for Zipporah to actually SAVE the life of the boy), I am reminded of the idea that judgement starts with God's house first. Perhaps Moses had to understand that before he could go demand the freedom of his people, his own affairs needed to be in order. Practically, this reminds me to examine and judge myself before wanting to go around telling people about the Kingdom. Feel free to comment on that.
2. I had forgotten that there were spiritual forces behind the Egyptian kingdom as evidenced by Pharaoh's magicians with their "secret arts". I have a tendency at times to only see the physical world, human governments but we are reminded that the battle really is physical which is why prayer is so essential.
***It may sound conspiratorial but what if we start praying to understand and detect the dark forces behind political events? It sounds crazy at first but maybe we're so used to just seeing things "rationally" and not "spiritually", forgetting that a spiritual, invisible world does indeed drive events on our planet.
3. Identity:
Ex. 19:5b-6; "Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation…". This is echoed by Peter in I Peter 2:9-12. It shows me a consistency in God's plan to have a people that represent Him.
4. Mercy and Inclusivity: In preparation for the passover, non-jews were allowed to be circumcised and partake in the safety, the "salvation" if you will of the Lord. (Ex 12:42-51). I haven't frequently heard individuals share on the impact the Exodus had on non-Jewish people; surrounding nations heard of it, and presumably, should have bowed to the Lord and respected the Israelites. "The same law [regarding passover and circumcision] shall apply to the native as to the stranger who sojourns among you." I see that God has always been inclusive.
Psalm 47 stands out to me. When I've read psalms like this one that declare God as a "present tense" King with present-day rule over the earth, I used to read them as if they were written as a prophecy that applied in the future, meaning, after Jesus' physical return.
ReplyDeleteNow, however, that doesn't make sense. I can see that the Lord has consistently invaded and influenced history: Abraham and Abimelech; Israel and Egypt; Nehemiah and rebuilding the walls, etc. This renewed view of God has active NOW, in our midst TODAY, inspires me to believe that He is very present, intending on ruling and influencing current events, whether they are famine, floods, unstable governments, injustice.
This view of God empowers me to pray and to watch where God is working and to EXPECT change; it may not be total change, since we're still in the battle against dark forces but it'll be better than just sitting around until Jesus comes. Didn't the Holy Spirit come? Isn't He in our midst, RIGHT NOW?
As far as we are concerned, aren't we God's people, the nobles/princes among the nations (Ps 47:9)? Don't we now have authority to live as ambassadors be used of God to proclaim His reign? Think about the implications!
Yes... To each of your questions, yes. As I think of the implications of God's rule on earth in me, in us, through me, through us, I ask what does his authority look like as we live as his ambassadors?
ReplyDeleteWe are authorized and empowered to serve not be served, to love, to overcome evil with good, to forgive, ...to become all that Jesus was to his generation to our generation.
Jesus, establish the dignity and power of your rule in us. Rule here and now. Show us what you wish to do through us on earth each and every day.
What's the assignment?
ReplyDeleteWe're commenting on "Breakthrough: The Nature of the Kingdom"; did you get the packet?
DeletePacket? No - but I hope to attend the discussion and listen intently!
DeleteHey all:
ReplyDeleteAny thoughts concerning David and Solomon's periods of reign? What about Psalm 2? I always thought it was about Jesus, specifically.
I'm having a bit of a hard time reconciling the violence and warring of David and Solomon but I should consider a few variables:
1. Genesis 15:13-16; God knew ahead of time regarding the Israelites' slavery in Egypt and that the "sin of the Amorites" (those who were living in the promised land" was not yet complete.
***Was God being patient, hoping that those inhabitants would turn to Him? By "complete" was there some "tipping point" their sin needed to reach in order to justify judging and driving out those nations via Israel's exodus?
2. What were the Promised Land nations like? Were their practices and lifestyles abhorrent? And the fame of the exodus from Egypt had spread; shouldn't they have recognized it and cooperated with Israel? Some foreign kings avoided war with David and paid tribute to him.
3. In our time, we're not supposed to be physically violent, however, we are warring in the spiritual world. Just like David and Solomon overcame and expanded in the physical, shouldn't we be overcoming and expanding in the spiritual? Jesus came to judge the prince of this world so I'm thinking we should be aggressive regarding our spiritual lives, being strong spiritual people and fighting dark spiritual forces; and winning.
God gave David success everywhere he went so I want to know God's will and be successful in carrying that out.
Without getting bogged down in details, the basic idea that I can take from David and Solomon's rule is that God intervenes in human affairs to set things right. It encourages me to look for signs of God's hand in our world. Jesus came into our world; Emmanuel, "God with us" and He's still the same.
ReplyDeleteGod has always come to humankind. He has never asked us to come up to Him. Think about those moments in history when God has come. The incarnation, Jesus, God becoming a man was an over the top, out of the usual coming. Think about where we are heading. "Look! Look! God has moved into the neighborhood, making His home with men and women!" The finale is God coming and staying with us. Until then we can pray everyday "Let your kingdom come." May the dignity and power of His rule be established here and now. Again we don't pray to go to God. We ask Him to come to us. Amazingly He comes.
ReplyDeleteThoughts:
ReplyDeleteIsaiah is loaded. I've never read the whole book, only the fragments that we had to reference for our study. The future is hopeful. My only "struggle" is that my brain wants to decipher when each exact event will unfold and I'm not sure that's possible, even for the super-scholar.
I really enjoy the picture in Daniel 2 and 7 of God's Kingdom breaking and taking over all earthly kingdoms, the certitude of the fact that His people will receive and possess the kingdom. When put in such strong and direct language, my mind finds it easier to understand why we would be willing to die or give up earthly treasures when our King has promised us an unshakeable kingdom!
***Again, these are just details but the last dreadful kingdom (Da 7:21-22) that waged war and overcame the saints until judgement was passed in the saints' favor is a bit confusing to me. Is this beast the Roman Empire? Was it overcoming the saints before the birth of Emmanuel or is it still overcoming the saints until the return of Jesus in the clouds when He appears as brighter than the sun, with blue eyes, and a sweet tattoo on His thigh? I mention this because I know that at present, we do have a certain victory, over fear, over demonic powers, over sin (all of this by the Spirit, of course). Does persecution mean that saints are being overcome? Isn't dying "gain"? It's not like a Jesus-follower loses when he/she gives up their life for the cause of the Good News of the Kingdom; if anything they prove that their love for Jesus outweighs anything else and they resist the Satan to the point of death.
Whatever the specifics, let His Kingdom come and let's act in accordance with that. No one will stop it, even if our guts are splattered all over the streets, and if that were to happen, we're still going to receive it!
Psalm 16:
9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,
10 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
nor will you let your faithful[b] one see decay.
11 You make known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
I meant to add (also), that referring to Daniel 7 and the saints, are these the Jewish saints alive BEFORE the birth of Emmanuel who were being overrun... or are we still being overrun (in a sense since persecution is alive and well everywhere, whether it's torture in the Easter hemisphere or the slow death that the Western church currently experiences due to multiple factors...)? Isn't there a way to NOT be worn-out?
DeleteOr where does Romans 8:31-38 "God is for us, who can be against us/More than conquerors"... fit in?
Thanks.