Friday March 13, 2009
Read Luke 9:49-50 “Is the kingdom bigger than my church pew”
Sometimes we are unable to hear what the Lord is saying to us because our vision of his kingdom is too narrow. Here we see John informing the Lord. “Master we saw someone casting out demons in your name and we forbade him because he does not follow with us.” John had seen some “unauthorized ministry” going on in Jesus’ name and he wanted the Lord to know about it. Jesus tells him, “Don’t try to stop him, because whoever isn’t against you is for you.” To really appreciate this we need to remember the context.
Remember Jesus has been trying to tell the disciples that he is heading for the cross. A storm of trial and testing is about to strike in ways they cannot imagine. The disciples don’t understand what Jesus is saying because they can’t see beyond their own ambitions. They want to know who is the greatest among them, and Jesus shoots that down by telling them the least will be the greatest. But the search for self- importance doesn’t end there. They start to separate themselves into a closed group, the ones with the corner on God’s kingdom. They saw someone outside their group, who had obviously seen and heard Jesus’ teachings and had been changed by them. In fact, he had somehow connected the dots in Jesus’ teachings and begun to operate in his power just like the disciples were supposed to. Perhaps, as they saw him casting out demons, they remembered just a short time earlier, they had failed trying to do the same thing, and heard Jesus’ stinging rebuke; “how long will I put up with you?”. It must have been a bit humbling to see this guy out doing the work they, the “official” disciples, the trained experts in the kingdom, had not yet been able to do. Ouch! So rather than celebrate this advance of God’s kingdom they felt it best to shut him down. What they failed to understand was that while he had not yet received his degree in the school of discipleship, and joined their aspiring club, he had already received the endorsement of God because of his obedience and courageous faith in Christ. The disciples, in order to get on board with Jesus’ plans, needed what we all need, a wider view of God’s kingdom. For too many of us the kingdom of God is only large enough for people who are in our individual groups. Some preach a gospel that only includes people in their denomination. For others, the boundaries are even tighter. Yet we hear Jesus saying, if they aren’t trying to stop you, then they are for you. In another place Jesus says, “No one doing a miracle in my name will afterward be able to speak lightly of me.” You get the impression from these words, that Jesus is more interested in who he can bring into the kingdom than who he can keep out. This is a major shift in thinking for too many of us.
This is quite the opposite of what the Pharisees did. They had the idea that “the more exclusive I am the more righteous I become”. Many share this perspective today. What we have to remember is that Jesus came to save people. He wants to save lots of people. In fact, “God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” Now, to avoid falling into a godless pluralism where there are no boundaries, let us remember the boundaries Jesus set for his kingdom; “Whoever comes to me I will certainly not turn away.” (John 6:37)
In the days that are ahead I believe we will see his servants springing up from the most unlikely places. God will anoint those who trust in his son and walk in faith. They will be saved in hotel rooms, shopping centers, bars, classrooms, and chat rooms. Many will out do those of us who are more experienced in the faith, simply because they are not limited by the constraints of our traditions. They will minister outside our boundaries and do great works in Jesus’ name. In the midst of trouble we will see God at work outside the boundaries, coloring outside the lines, expanding his kingdom in awesome ways. Not only will we have to accept these out of the box apostles and prophets and evangelists, we will discover how desperately we need them. Many will arise as the true leaders of the church to come. The question is will we have the vision to recognize them, or will we be blinded by our need to be important? As we walk with our Lord today let us get a wider vision for his kingdom, and open our hearts to God’s passion to reach the nations. God is interested in seeking and saving whosoever will come. Let’s focus today on who we can bring in rather than who we can keep out.
Read Luke 9:49-50 “Is the kingdom bigger than my church pew”
Sometimes we are unable to hear what the Lord is saying to us because our vision of his kingdom is too narrow. Here we see John informing the Lord. “Master we saw someone casting out demons in your name and we forbade him because he does not follow with us.” John had seen some “unauthorized ministry” going on in Jesus’ name and he wanted the Lord to know about it. Jesus tells him, “Don’t try to stop him, because whoever isn’t against you is for you.” To really appreciate this we need to remember the context.
Remember Jesus has been trying to tell the disciples that he is heading for the cross. A storm of trial and testing is about to strike in ways they cannot imagine. The disciples don’t understand what Jesus is saying because they can’t see beyond their own ambitions. They want to know who is the greatest among them, and Jesus shoots that down by telling them the least will be the greatest. But the search for self- importance doesn’t end there. They start to separate themselves into a closed group, the ones with the corner on God’s kingdom. They saw someone outside their group, who had obviously seen and heard Jesus’ teachings and had been changed by them. In fact, he had somehow connected the dots in Jesus’ teachings and begun to operate in his power just like the disciples were supposed to. Perhaps, as they saw him casting out demons, they remembered just a short time earlier, they had failed trying to do the same thing, and heard Jesus’ stinging rebuke; “how long will I put up with you?”. It must have been a bit humbling to see this guy out doing the work they, the “official” disciples, the trained experts in the kingdom, had not yet been able to do. Ouch! So rather than celebrate this advance of God’s kingdom they felt it best to shut him down. What they failed to understand was that while he had not yet received his degree in the school of discipleship, and joined their aspiring club, he had already received the endorsement of God because of his obedience and courageous faith in Christ. The disciples, in order to get on board with Jesus’ plans, needed what we all need, a wider view of God’s kingdom. For too many of us the kingdom of God is only large enough for people who are in our individual groups. Some preach a gospel that only includes people in their denomination. For others, the boundaries are even tighter. Yet we hear Jesus saying, if they aren’t trying to stop you, then they are for you. In another place Jesus says, “No one doing a miracle in my name will afterward be able to speak lightly of me.” You get the impression from these words, that Jesus is more interested in who he can bring into the kingdom than who he can keep out. This is a major shift in thinking for too many of us.
This is quite the opposite of what the Pharisees did. They had the idea that “the more exclusive I am the more righteous I become”. Many share this perspective today. What we have to remember is that Jesus came to save people. He wants to save lots of people. In fact, “God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” Now, to avoid falling into a godless pluralism where there are no boundaries, let us remember the boundaries Jesus set for his kingdom; “Whoever comes to me I will certainly not turn away.” (John 6:37)
In the days that are ahead I believe we will see his servants springing up from the most unlikely places. God will anoint those who trust in his son and walk in faith. They will be saved in hotel rooms, shopping centers, bars, classrooms, and chat rooms. Many will out do those of us who are more experienced in the faith, simply because they are not limited by the constraints of our traditions. They will minister outside our boundaries and do great works in Jesus’ name. In the midst of trouble we will see God at work outside the boundaries, coloring outside the lines, expanding his kingdom in awesome ways. Not only will we have to accept these out of the box apostles and prophets and evangelists, we will discover how desperately we need them. Many will arise as the true leaders of the church to come. The question is will we have the vision to recognize them, or will we be blinded by our need to be important? As we walk with our Lord today let us get a wider vision for his kingdom, and open our hearts to God’s passion to reach the nations. God is interested in seeking and saving whosoever will come. Let’s focus today on who we can bring in rather than who we can keep out.
