HOW IS THE KINGDOM PRACTICED?

FOR AUDIO VERSION CLICK HERE.

NOTE the progression from yesterday. FIRST-pattern yourself after the teachings and principles of Jesus. See what Jesus does and says and do and say the same things. SECOND-practice the Kingdom principles of life and embrace them as a lifestyle. The Kingdom is practiced anywhere and everywhere, because it's a movement. BUT how is the Kingdom practiced?

The Kingdom is practiced by participation in a community of followers of Jesus. As is deeply founded in the Godhead relationship we are to live our lives in relationship with Jesus and in fellowship with one another.

Practicing the presence of the Kingdom requires fellowship. The term fellowship is widely known, but even more widely misunderstood. It's more than a pot-luck dinner. It's not a room called the "fellowship" hall. It's more than a group of friends watching football or hunting together. The fellowship may be the most important concept you will ever learn. However, this concept is not just to be learned; it must be lived! I call it FELLOWSHIP IS A VERB.

Jesus' strategic approach to spreading His Good News message throughout the world never involved "putting up another church", but practicing their relationship with Jesus and with one another in the Kingdom. This is what the fellowship is all about!

The fellowship is the answer to becoming the genuine salt and light that Jesus intended His followers to be. My friend who challenged me to be more strategic with my life also painted a couple of vivid pictures that are now etched in my mind indelibly. He urged me to be a fountain. "You don't take the fountain to people; the people come to the fountain" he said. "In the same way, you are to be a light that attracts. Bugs are attracted to a physical light. People are attracted to a spiritual light of truth. So be a light! Be a fountain! If Jesus is lifted up, He will draw all men unto Him." The fellowship operates on the principle of attraction, not promotion. This goes against the grain of most every religious program in our world.

The fellowship is not an organization, an institution or a denomination. Fellowship is a verb that, when properly activated, has the power to change the world-one person at a time! In order to use the fellowship as a verb you must learn the fellowship principle.

The primary term for fellowship in the New Testament is koinonia. The word has the idea of communion or sharing in common with another. It's the perfect word to describe the relationship we are to have with God and with one another-a partnership. This partnership is to be entered into-to join one's self to an associate or associates in order to become a sharer.

The designated partners within the fellowship include Jesus, Jesus' followers and you. The fellowship is with God Himself (Father, His Son Jesus and the His Spirit) and with His people. The fellowship principle is the full application of this dynamic partnership between God and His people.

There are two dimensions of the fellowship principle. We'll deal with one today and the second tomorrow. The first dimension is to share in life as in being partners in life. This is more of the spiritual dimension of having a genuine partnership-a blood-brother friendship. You were created to have this kind of partnership, rather than trying to live your life alone. It's knowing that someone gives a rip whether you live or die. This kind of partnership involves the many "one anothers" taught in the Scriptures-weeping with those who weep, rejoicing with those who rejoice, praying for one another, confessing your faults to one another, encouraging and admonishing one another, loving one another, etc. This dimension may be best described by the proverb "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another" (Proverbs 27:17).

There are, at least, four specific ways to practice this dimension of the fellowship principle. When you come together, be sure to share what you are learning and experiencing in your walk. This will emerge out of your personal study of the Scriptures and your daily walk with Jesus.

When you come together, be sure to share yourself. Share your sins and failures-your vulnerabilities and your need for God. Share your blessings and your joys. You have been created to be dependent upon God. Share how easily you can be distracted away from God's intent and become dependent upon something else in its place.

When you come together, be sure to share accountability. You need a support system of people who are going the same direction, live for the same reasons you live and care enough to hold your hand through the good and the bad. You want people in your life like Jesus, who know you and love you anyway.

When you come together, be sure to share your prayer needs. There is no greater bond on earth than when a group bows down in the name of Jesus (the Higher Power), seeking to follow a Higher Calling.

Paul must have been a southerner, because he used what I call "the y'all principle" throughout most of his writing. Take a look: "Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you (among y'all), with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God" (Colossians 3:16). Or, "I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you (in y'all)" (Galatians 4:19). Or, "Christ in you (in y'all), the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27).

Paul is commanding believers everywhere to allow Jesus to make His dwelling place (make Himself at home) as you come together into the fellowship. The dynamite (power) of the gospel will be present in the midst of a few who are gathered together in Jesus' name. The y'all principle is the fellowship principle and the practice of the presence of the Kingdom. Making covenants to one another galvanizes a community of followers of Jesus. It is amazing how simple agreements and commitments to one another provide a bonding power among the participants. These covenants may be agreements to pray for certain things for a certain time period, going on a mission trip together, producing an event, or agreements to go through a study together. This is the fellowship principle!

This takes us back to the principle of the power of the few. This is the key to the mystery of "Christ in you, the hope of glory". It isn't Christ in you or me or he or she. Jesus doesn't make Himself at home in a single person. Jesus wants to dwell among His people. "Christ in you" is in the plural, not the singular. It is literally "Christ in y'all" as you gather together.

Jesus wasn't kidding when He said that He would show up where two or three are gathered together. It's when a few gather in the name of Jesus that His preeminence shows up. It's when a few gather in the name of Jesus that the presence of the King in His Kingdom is experienced.

The power of the few is really a complete paradigm shift. Jesus introduced an entirely new dynamic into the teaching process. Let's call it "table fellowship". Instead of one person teaching a class, Jesus spent lots of significant time around the table with food. The gospel of Luke records ten meals with Jesus. Eight of them are eaten in the flow of Jesus' ministry activity and two are eaten with the disciples after the resurrection.

In many of the meals Jesus broke several social and religious customs. Jesus was operating under a new paradigm where He broke down any and all boundaries between the sinners and the religious, the men and women, servants and masters, rich and poor. In other words, Jesus uses fellowship around the table to bring everyone together and to demonstrate Kingdom living at its simple, tangible best.

As these many meals with Jesus are examined closely, it's helpful to pay special attention to the settings. The settings vary from the homes of the highly religious to special friends and even in two tax-collector homes. Most of the time Jesus is invited and in the case of Zacheus Jesus invited Himself to lunch at Zach's place. The guest list is always fascinating-priests, sinners, prostitutes and a variety of broken people and those who are looking for that special touch from Jesus.

The simple program of Jesus for changing the whole world is to make each person He touches magnetic enough with love to draw others to love God and to love one another. This transformation happens within the relational community of a few. Are you in that kind of relationship?

WHERE IS THE KINGDOM PRACTECED?

FOR AUDIO VERSION CLICK HERE.

This seems to be one of the most frequently misunderstood issues of the Kingdom. The confusion centers around the distinction between the "church" and the "kingdom". Even though Jesus only mentions the "church" in two instances, today the "church" is the constant and most frequent theme for those who believe in Jesus. Why did Jesus avoid teaching about the church? Why did He spend most of His teaching about the Kingdom? The only logical answer that makes sense to me is that He intended for us to seek after the Kingdom and practice it in all of our relationships.

Most confuse the church today with the Kingdom just like most confuse "heaven" with the Kingdom of heaven or the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom is the rule of God on planet earth both personally and in community. The church is a simple gathering together. The term "church" is not a special or holy word as many believe and teach. It literally means "called out ones" and was used to describe city council meetings or any kind of assembly. It simply is a gathering of followers of Jesus. It's a movement, not an organization!

You see this plainly when you consider how Jesus and His disciples viewed and referred to the synagogue. Very rarely did any of them criticize the synagogue or suggest that other synagogues ought to be established or planted in order to have better teaching or worship or even a synagogue where Jesus' words would be taught. This is so different from what we see and hear today!

The followers of Jesus were caught up in actively following Jesus and His teachings. This is why I like to call it a movement-the Jesus movement. The Jesus movement met in homes and in the Temple courts. They went to synagogue, but they had a different relationship with the synagogue. They were caught up in this Jesus movement, so that they didn't feel the need to bash the synagogue. They orbited around it and people at the synagogue were attracted to the irresistible Jesus and the practice of the Kingdom in the dynamic of the disciples. They also orbited around their villages and businesses where friends and family were drawn in to the love of Jesus. The Jesus movement was in orbit wherever 2 or 3 followers of Jesus gathered together in fellowship. It was an orbiting movement!

In the same way today, there is no need for us to bash the synagogue (the church) or even to feel we must start new ones in order to have better teaching or worship than an already established one. There is not even anything from Jesus that urges us to build the "church". He said, "I will build my church." What He wants from us is to be it. Being the church of Jesus is patterning yourself after Jesus and His teachings and practicing the Kingdom principles within the context of a few friends-all in the name of Jesus. In that sense the church of Jesus is and can be anywhere and everywhere.

Luke describes these little gatherings and what they did in the Acts of Jesus: They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-47)

It seems to me that rather than building the Church, it would be so much more effective to practice the Kingdom. NOTE some differences between the organized church and the Kingdom: - The Church is local and limited; the Kingdom is universal and unlimited. - The Church is an earth-to-heaven connection; the Kingdom is a heaven-to-earth connection.

- The Church is never called the Gospel or the Good News; the Kingdom is. - Jesus barely mentioned Church (twice); He taught so much about the Kingdom.

- The Church is visible; the Kingdom is invisible. - You go to Church; the Kingdom goes with you. - The Church tends to be an organization; the Kingdom, a movement.

- The Church gathers and scatters; the Kingdom is always present among you. - You enter Church by attendance or membership; enter the Kingdom by following Jesus. - The Church may or may not grow; the Kingdom is continually growing.

- Churches can be shut down; the Kingdom cannot be shut down. - The Church may have God present; the Kingdom is God's presence.

So, where is the Kingdom practiced? Anywhere and everywhere! The challenge is this. Are you patterning your life after Jesus and His teachings and practicing the Kingdom with a few or are you just attending a Church. The Church is great. The Jesus Kingdom movement is far better!

WHAT DOES THE KINGDOM LOOK LIKE?

FOR AUDIO VERSION CLICK HERE.

The Kingdom of God is primarily invisible, like the wind, but with some visible results. The Kingdom principles will move you to emphasize the internals over the externals. You will practice such invisible things as forgiving that person who has really hurt you.

- You will learn to practice such invisible Kingdom principles as dying in order to live. - You will learn to practice such invisible Kingdom principles as losing yourself to really find yourself. - You will learn to practice such invisible Kingdom principles as celebrating the act of mourning over that which keeps you from God. - You will learn to practice such invisible Kingdom principles as finding pure satisfaction from hungering and thirsting after the right things.

The invisible Kingdom principles can be summed up in the form of salt. Salt was used as a preservative to counteract the decay in meat. Salt had to touch the meat. It's very presence is the quality that is needed to be effective.

So, the salty, invisible nature of the Kingdom is to be sensed. Jesus said to His disciples: "You are the salt of the earth." As you follow Jesus and practice the Kingdom principles, your very presence will make a difference in those you touch and in meetings you attend.

The visible dimension of the Kingdom must be seen. Because of the invisible flow of the Kingdom principles, you will learn to practice some visible dimensions of the Kingdom-the dimension of light. Jesus said to His disciples: "You are the light of the world."

- You will learn that in order to lead you must serve. - You will learn that it is more blessed to give than to receive. - You will learn that little is much when God is in it. - You will learn that working with individuals is so much more effective and satisfying than working with the masses. - You will learn to bless and pray for those who curse you. - You will learn to love your enemies.

So, the Kingdom is demonstrated through your lifestyle-inside out. It's learning to embrace the preeminence of Jesus and His Kingdom as a lifestyle. You can live the Kingdom, revolutionary lifestyle right now and it will go against the grain of what the herd is doing and where the herd is going. The Kingdom doesn't need to be proved; it needs to be practiced!

This reminds of a story I heard many years ago about a young man who worked in a toll booth: "If you have ever gone through a toll booth, you know that your relationship to the person in the booth is not the most intimate you'll ever have. It is one of life's frequent non-encounters: You hand over some money; you might get change; you drive off. I have been through every one of the 17 toll booths on the Oakland-San Francisco Bay Bridge on thousands of occasions, and never had an exchange worth remembering with anybody.

Late one morning in 1984, headed for lunch in San Francisco, I drove toward one of the booths. I heard loud music. It sounded like a party, or a Michael Jackson concert. I looked around. No other cars with their windows open. No sound trucks. I looked at the toll booth. Inside it, the man was dancing. "What are you doing?" I asked.

"I'm having a party," he said.

"They're not invited."

I had a dozen other questions for him, but somebody in a big hurry to get somewhere started punching his horn behind me and I drove off. But I made a note to myself: Find this guy again. There's something in his eye that says there's magic in his toll booth. Months later I did find him again, still with the loud music, still having a party. Again I asked, "What are you doing?"

He said, "I remember you from the last time. I'm still dancing. I'm having the same party."

I said, "Look. What about the rest of the people" He said. "Stop. What do those look like to you?" He pointed down the row of toll booths.

"They look like toll booths." "Nooooo imagination!'

I said, "Okay, I give up. What do they look like to you?" He said, "Vertical coffins."

"What are you talking about?" "I can prove it. At 8:30 every morning, live people get in. Then they die for eight hours. At 4:30, like Lazarus from the dead, they reemerge and go home. For eight hours, brain is on hold, dead on the job. Going through the motions."

I was amazed. This guy had developed a philosophy, a mythology about his job. I could not help asking the next question: "Why is it different for you? You're having a good time."

He looked at me. "I knew you were going to ask that," he said. "I'm going to be a dancer someday." He pointed to the administration building. "My bosses are in there, and they're paying for my training."

Sixteen people dead on the job, and the seventeenth, in precisely the same situation, figures out a way to live. That man was having a party where you and I would probably not last three days. The boredom! He and I did have lunch later, and he said, "I don't understand why anybody would think my job is boring. I have a corner office, glass on all sides. I can see the Golden Gate, San Francisco, the Berkeley hills; half the Western world vacations here and I just stroll in every day and practice dancing.

If you are a follower of Jesus, you are a citizen of the Kingdom of God. Whatever you do for a living, you are being paid to do a certain work. However, you have a much greater calling to pattern yourself after Jesus and practice the Kingdom of God every day, all while you are being paid.

So, what does the Kingdom look like? It looks like Jesus, who can be sensed (like salt) and seen (like light) through you.

V-PEACEFUL SIMPLICITY OF JESUS PLUS NOTHING

FOR AUDIO VERSION CLICK HERE.

This week I have been working my way through five essentials that will assist us in de-Christianizing Jesus in order to get to our final destination of lifting Jesus up to where He belongs.

· The 1st essential was the Preeminence of Jesus. · The 2nd essential is the Presence of the Kingdom. · The 3rd essential is the Power of the Few. · The 4th essential is the Practice of Persuasion Over Propaganda. · The 5th essential is the Peaceful Simplicity of Jesus Plus Nothing.

Paul said, "I'm afraid as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness that your minds might be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ." This is at the heart of the de-Christianization of Jesus. We seem to be terminal in our tendency to heap up lots of add-ons to our faith. But it's the add-ons that bury Jesus and our personal relationship with Him.

This has been a tendency since the beginning of time. Remember the incident of the golden calf? After being treated to a series of miracles from God Himself, they became very impatient with Moses taking so long to meet with Jehovah. So, they took their own gold and melted it down to sculpt a visible image of their god. That must have been an interesting pledge drive!

We aren't much different today. We want to add-on as many tangibles as we can. It seems to make us more comfortable. Give me a list of activities to check off or create an atmosphere with music and crosses and altars and smoke, so that I can almost touch God. Jesus was relentless in bringing everyone back to a personal relationship with Him. In each of His I AM statements it was clear that He was making it all about Him and how we respond to Him-Jesus plus nothing.

This is why Jesus went to great lengths teaching His disciples that we are like branches connected to the vine. And without the life-flowing nourishment from this vine there is no fruitfulness. Or as He said, "Without Me you can do nothing."

Nowhere is this principle of JESUS PLUS NOTHING violated more than in the way Christians believe they own Jesus. This could either be a 6th essential or a sub-essential under this one. I call it the Perforation of Christianity's Ownership of Jesus. Jesus isn't limited to the Western Christian culture. Jesus is not exclusive about who He will relate to. He will work with any culture-religious or non-religious. And, the Jesus movement continues to be breaking out in the most amazing places.

If you have been hanging out with us, you know what I am talking about as we work with the Buddhists, Moslems, Hindus, Jews, Animists and even the non-religious. Sometimes I feel a bit alone as I share these stories of how people from a variety of cultural backgrounds are learning to follow Jesus and Jesus is transforming their lives. Yet these people aren't Christians.

My heart was thrilled, when I read the website of Dr. Ralph Winter. Dr. Winter is the Founder of the US Center for World Missions. He is one of the great men within Christianity who has a heart for the many cultures of the world. I've always appreciated his leadership and his openness to learn.

Check out what he reports: The Largest New Factor in Mission Strategy in the 21st Century is the following: "Churchless Christianity," is the title of a book compiled by a Bible-believing Missouri-Synod Lutheran missionary and theology professor. Thus, when I speak of Churchless Christianity I am referring to that book. The book contains the results of a scientific survey of the largest city in Southern India, Madras it was called, and today Chennai. It gives the evidence that masses of Hindus have a high regard for Jesus Christ, and about 25% of that city of millions of people have given up their idols and are daily Bible-reading followers of Christ. The surprise is that the majority of these followers of Christ study the Bible and worship at the home level, continue to associate within the Hindu social sphere, and do not routinely associate with the somewhat "western" Christian churches. That is why the book is entitled Churchless Christianity.

In my perspective it would be more accurate to speak of "Christianity-less churches." Why? Because we are talking about fervent, Bible-believers who at least meet in "house churches," in that they do not normally meet in existing "Christian churches." This fact is itself very reminiscent of the New Testament worshipping households, such as that of Cornelius, Lydia, Crispus. Moreover, this is not a tiny, isolated phenomenon. We are talking about millions of believers who neither call themselves Christians and nor are called Christians by their Hindu neighbors.

This subject which I have labeled the "Churchless Christianity Factor" is, however, little recognized. I myself have long been unaware of it. It is so little understood that we may need to describe it more fully before commenting on it from a viewpoint of mission strategy-that is, what we can or cannot do about it.

Dr. Winter has now come to see that this is the Jesus strategy, since writing this newsletter. And, this is precisely what I've been seeing in our experience.

The mission strategy from Jesus' viewpoint is I AM. That's all that mattered to Jesus in relating to the cultures He encountered. He wasn't concerned about changing their cultures. No one from a non-Christian culture should have to convert from their own cultures in order to become a Christian. He wasn't concerned about any set of beliefs to be endorsed. He was only concerned about how each person related to Him-the I AM. After a faith encounter with Him, Jesus never stopped them to make sure they signed up for Judaism 101 or a Christian discipleship class. He never endorsed an add-on. It was the peaceful simplicity of Jesus plus nothing.

IV-PRACTICE OF PERSUASION OVER PROPAGANDA

FOR AUDIO VERSION CLICK HERE.

I am working my way through five essentials that will assist us in de-Christianizing Jesus in order to get to our final destination of lifting Jesus up where He belongs. The 1st essential was the Preeminence of Jesus. The 2nd essential is the Presence of the Kingdom. The 3rd essential is the Power of the Few. The 4th is the Practice of Persuasion Over Propaganda.

There are two primary approaches to communication of any kind-persuasion and propaganda. Persuasion is moving people to action with proper reflection, so that the audience embraces it personally. Propaganda is moving people to action without proper reflection, just to get people to think, do and say whatever the propaganda calls for.

Propaganda is the basis for much of the political communication in our world today. Facts and fairness of information are not part of the process. Propaganda tweaks the facts to fit the premise being pushed. Propaganda speaks deductively, telling people what they want them to know. Thinking is not promoted within the propaganda process.

Persuasion is inductive and people-oriented. Persuasion grapples with the needs of the audience and walks them through a process of thinking the options through to find solutions.

In I Thessalonians 2 there is a powerful illustration of how persuasion works. There are three appeals when the act of persuasion is in action-ethical appeal, emotional appeal and logical appeal. Ethical appeal answers the question: "Can I trust you?" Emotional appeal answers the question: "Do you care for me?" Logical appeal answers the question: "Do you know what you are talking about?" NOTE how these three questions are answered by Paul, Silas and Timothy with the Thessalonians.

CAN I TRUST YOU? 1 You know, brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not without results. 2 We had previously suffered and been treated outrageously in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in the face of strong opposition. 3 For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. 4 On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts. 5 You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed-God is our witness. 6 We were not looking for praise from any human being, not from you or anyone else, even though as apostles of Christ we could have asserted our prerogatives. 7 Instead, we were like young children among you.

DO YOU CARE FOR ME? Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, 8 so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well. 9 Surely you remember, brothers and sisters, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you. 10 You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. 11 For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, 12 encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.

DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT? 13 And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.

When they received the word of God, they accepted it not as a human word (just another religious experience or teaching), but as it actually is-THE WORD OF GOD-which is at work in you who believe. Because Paul, Silas and Timothy incorporated ethical and emotional appeals, those who heard from them fully accepted and welcomed the word of God as the real, authentic, and active word of God. Now, that's pure persuasion!

The de-Christianization factor here is based in the fact that persuasion's goal is to fully invest in another's life appealing to them to examine Jesus and embrace that relationship uniquely and personally. Persuasion only wants to stick to the message with great credibility, compassion and common sense. Propaganda is mostly interested in controlling the thinking of others. Persuasion is inductive with a desire to get you to think for yourself. This is why we want to introduce people to Jesus-to advance the conversation of Jesus. He will handle everything else in a person's life.

Propaganda is deductive with a desire to get you to think as they do. Persuasion assists you in developing the truth. Propaganda wants to dump the truth on you-their truth. Persuasion attracts. Propaganda promotes.

The practice of persuasion over propaganda goes a long way in de-Christianizing Jesus. You see, persuasion is people-centered and propaganda is content-centered. So when you are into propaganda, you are most comfortable with a content-centered approach that sells others on your set of beliefs-your content. When you are into persuasion, you are totally into people and therefore a personal relationship with Jesus makes more sense. Christianity tends to be mostly about doctrinal issues and a set of beliefs to buy into. Jesus is all about relationship. This is why we use the terminology that we use-JESUS PLUS NOTHING.