The God of the Kingdom

This week we began a two part lesson on the God of the Kingdom. We discovered that unless we think rightly about God, the foundation of our religion is "out of plumb" and will collapse at the first sight of tribulation. Even more challenging is the fact that if we assume that God is other than what he has revealed himself to be in the Bible, it is idolatry. We imagine things about God and we act on them as if they are true. We have created a god after our own imaginations. God calls that idolatry. No wooden or stone statutes, but an image none the less.

So we began to look at scriptures and discovered that God is:

• intimate and involved - Psalm 139:1-18
• accepting and filled with joy and love for us - Zephaniah 3:17
• trustworthy and wants to give us a full life - Lamentations 3:22-23
• committed to our growth Romans - 8:26-29

When we read and mediated on these scriptures, the excitement level of our fellowship grew to new heights. That's the beauty of gazing in love and gratitude on the One whose image we are made. We discover more of what it means to be alive.

His Precious and Very Great Promises

This week the Lord required us to "camp" on our lesson from last week. The gifts of the kingdom of God that we have here and now require an adjustment in how we see God, ourselves and the world around us. We are transformed by these truths and at the same time each of us wondered why it has taken us so long to take hold of them. Whatever the reason we all agreed that our palate has been aroused by something that causes us to hunger and thirst for more.



As we were reading 2 Peter 1-11, before we moved too far into the passage, we discovered that the Apostle Peter in verse one shares with us that "we have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ." Often we find ourselves elevating fellow Christians for their gifting, yet the truth is that the gifts of the kingdom of God for each of us are equally precious and complete. We truly are a people who do not lack for anything. Let us begin to live this truth out for the glory of God.

Gifts Now to Enjoy

Our lesson this week was incredibly exciting, deep and challenging. Sometimes we don't have the right words to describe the impact of the study of God's Word on our hearts. That's the power of feasting on his Word. We were invited to a feast and we enjoyed fellowship with the Lord and with one another - and what a feast it was!

The Word tells us that the Kingdom of God is something to be inherited by the righteous in the Age to Come (Matthew 25:34), yet it is a gift to be received and enjoyed now. This present realm of blessings includes our salvation - of the whole person, body and soul. We also enjoy the gift of the forgiveness of all our sins; none of which will be remembered by our Heavenly Father. The gift of righteousness tells me I am in right standing with the Father because of the finished work of Jesus alone. And the guarantee and sealing of these blessings is found in the gift of the Holy Spirit (2 Cor 1:22, 5:5; Eph 1:13-14).

A gift is something voluntarily transferred from one person (in our case from our Heavenly Father) to another without compensation. The Lord looks to children often as our standard for receiving these gifts, not because their humility is a virtue that merits it, but because they receive it as a gift. Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it (Mark 10:15). Let us receive all that the Father has for us now - our lives will never be the same.

Radically Taking Hold of the Kingdom of God

Today we looked at several parables that helped us to understand the mystery of the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God has come into history but in such a way that society is not disrupted; yet, it is forcefully advancing. God has called us to respond with a radical reaction. As Dona shared with us, there is no comfortable pew. Are you willing to radically take hold of the kingdom of God? It is a treasure worth more than all other possessions.