Kingdom come or kingdom go?

I might annoy one or two of you today – I hope not, but bear with me and go back to the Bible and dig for truth yourselves if you need to. What I am about to write is for all believers, but especially so for those who lead Church, whether it’s established church or small group/home based church. The truth is that we are all in this together; leaders are simply those with a different function. We are all part of the same Body. We all have the same Head, our wonderful Jesus.

Whatever we have done in the past as Church, it’s time for some changes.

For what lies ahead we need to check our priorities, check the course we have set, check our vision. What is our vision? What is God saying? What are out priorities? Where are we headed?

I was struck by a phrase that Jesus used when He was on trial and talking to Pilate. The phrase was this: “My kingdom is not of this world”. I think there has been some misunderstanding of this, by some Christians, and unless we understand properly what Jesus means, we will handicap our effectiveness in the world.

Jesus was describing the origin of His Kingdom, not it’s sphere of operation. He was saying where it originated, but He was not saying that that was where it belonged; or where it was only, or mainly, to have effect. In his ministry, He made it perfectly clear that His Kingdom was meant to grow and have increasing effect here on earth now.

Often Christians have seen themselves as part of a Kingdom which doesn’t belong on earth, and are looking forward to going to heaven after death and entering into the fullness of that Kingdom. The Church then becomes a giant lifeboat/warehouse sailing towards eternity and collecting up as many perishing people as it can to transport them safely and intact to their heavenly destination. The big mistake that follows from this notion is that the Church and the Kingdom of God are one and the same, and that both are headed for heaven. It’s as if the Kingdom is for ‘us’ – a place of safety, a place of order for us until we “go home”.

Here’s the problem. We have often been aspiring to ‘go to heaven’ and leave this corrupt world behind. (And yes, some of us have been busy rescuing people to take that journey with us). But while we’re lining up to leave earth and go to heaven, God is engaged in the process of bringing heaven to earth. We’re focussed on one direction. He is travelling the opposite direction.

The mandate given to Adam was never cancelled, although under the New Covenant it’s out-working is a little different.

So what did Jesus say about how His Kingdom would operate here?

• The Kingdom would start small like a mustard seed, but grow into a big tree so that even birds can lodge in its branches
• The Kingdom is like yeast. A tiny bit affects the whole lump of dough
• The Kingdom is like a dragnet that is pulled through the sea and catches many fish, some good and some bad!

The Kingdom is not the Church, it is the area where people can experience what it’s like to live under the influence of the Presence of Jesus, the Power of Holy Spirit and the love of the Father. Of course that should be everyday life in Church, but we are responsible to manifest that outside our buildings – wherever we go. The plan is for all mankind to be able to experience it, and some won’t like it! They are the bad fish that will be sorted out from the dragnet catch (Matthew 13 v 47).

How will the world be able to experience this if we are focussed on our own church lives, and getting out of here eventually? There is more to do than enjoy church with the occasional bit of evangelism thrown in.

Jesus’ plan is not for us to escape but to engage. Not to separate but to stratificate (I just made that word up! It means to spread through society at every layer and every level).

Psalm 115 v 16 says “The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth he has given to mankind.” It’s a bit late to say we don’t want it.

Jesus only told us to pray “Your kingdom come, on earth as in heaven” because He knew that was possible. It is possible. The known world in the first century had a taste of that. Our generation deserves more than a taste. It’s time to repeat the experiment. Where are the men and women in this nation who will allow Holy Spirit to consume them with a passion to bring heaven to earth?

What the Church in this nation needs right now is not re-organising, not new ways of meeting, not time to recover from lockdown. It needs men women and children who will say ‘Jesus, I am here for you. Do whatever you want. I will follow You wherever you want to lead me and I will do whatever you ask’.

So, Leaders, this is your immediate goal. Be one of those people and lead others to be the same. It doesn’t matter if you lead, 2 or 200. And this is not just for leaders. It’s for all of us. Let’s bring some of heaven to earth, that the world might see, and know that there is a God in heaven who loves them beyond measure.