One of the mistakes
made in the Christian walk is thinking that we are more special than other
brothers and sisters in the faith, or somehow we might have more revelations
than they do.
We might have more revelations than others, but that is a cause
for us to become even more humble as we realize that we entirely depend upon
the grace of our Lord Jesus to give us that revelation, not from our
specialness.
We are all (corporately) special
as the ecclesia when it comes to the Lord's love and favor for His sons and daughters.
Jesus died for everyone and desired that we would draw near to him with an
openness and intimacy that comes from Him knowing us, not just us knowing Him.
"He is the one who took God's wrath
against our sins upon himself and brought us into fellowship with God, and he
is the forgiveness for our sins, and not only ours but all the world's. And how
can we be sure that we belong to him? By looking within ourselves: are we
really trying to do what he wants us to? Someone may say, "I am a
Christian; I am on my way to heaven; I belong to Christ." But if he
doesn't do what Christ tells him to, he is a liar. But those who do what Christ
tells them to will learn to love God more and more. That is the way to know
whether or not you are a Christian. Anyone who says he is a Christian should
live as Christ did"
1
John 2:2-6 (TLB)
We become individually
distinctive when we receive His goodness into our inner being, which changes us
to become like Jesus. The goodness expressed through Jesus opens to us much
like a portal (or a communication line) inside of us that both
sees and hears the things that exist in the spiritual realm. It is from that
place of spiritual awareness that we begin to resonate with Jesus and desire to
be with Him more and more.
It is from this interaction
with Jesus that unity begins to take shape and is formed, that same unity is
what causes us to be connected with other people who have come into a similar
type of relationship with Jesus.
He captures the heart
and begins the change of giving us a tender heart, much like His.
"I will also put a new spirit in you to
change your way of thinking. I will take out the heart of stone from your body
and give you a tender, human heart."
Ezekiel 36:26 (ERV)
Paul tells us in
today's verse to "…embrace common people and ordinary tasks," it
is so easy to get sidetracked by thinking that we have to have a "ministry" like
standing on a platform preaching or teaching to large groups. God hasn't called
most of us to that kind of service, the majority of us have been called to live
pure lives with a heart devoted to Jesus, and to express the love of Christ to
others as the opportunity presents itself.
The days of platform ministries are
over, and on the way out, we are now moving into a new age of the personal
expression of Christ and demonstrating it among our families and neighbors.
I
thought that my "calling" was to become a pastor, spending many years
in seminary studying the scriptures and languages to be a proficient teacher or
leader. I never realized that everything that I needed to live a life of
Godliness already resided within me, I just needed to access it, and call upon
the Holy Spirit to teach me what I needed to know.
"But you have received the Holy Spirit,
and he lives within you, in your hearts, so that you don't need anyone to teach
you what is right. For he teaches you all things, and he is the Truth and no
liar, and so, just as he has said, you must live in Christ, never to depart
from him."
1 John 2:27
(TLB)
I am not condemning
anyone who feels that seminary training is a necessary option; it is always a
personal decision to make and much can be gained from the seminary experience.
I went to seminary myself for a short time, and it was rewarding for me also, but
not as rewarding as learning directly from the Holy Spirit and accessing what
He planted in me when Jesus came into my life.
I am speaking of
one-on-one time with Jesus here; there is so much to be learned from this type of
interaction with Him that it boggles the mind how much more there is to know,
so much more than seminary can ever offer.
That is the resource
we can draw from when we reach out to others who do not know Him, we see a
mosaic of who Jesus is throughout history, and we also hear the harmony of
voices throughout history who speak the same story that Jesus is Lord of all. We also understand
that we and others have an essential role in God's divine plan to be agents of
change as we are allowed to reach out to share the love of Christ to a world filled with turmoil.
This cannot happen from a church platform or podium; if the kingdom
were to come by preaching and teaching from a platform, the kingdom age would
have happened already.
This message comes
from one on one interaction when we meet with everyday people, and when we
perform our ordinary tasks as Paul mentioned.
There is nothing
spiritual about it, and it is a very natural interaction; this is how the
kingdom is coming.
How does the kingdom
age look? First, it isn't a political solution; it is unity expressed on many
levels:
- Ethnical unity expressed within the different races.
- Racial unity and equality expressed among all the different races.
- Social unity among all class divides, financial, political, ethical, religious, etc.
- Emotional unity brings affirmation that all are equally important in God's economy.
- Spiritual unity realizes that there is only one God who loves humanity and desires to unite humanity with the single purpose of loving one another as God loves us.
This type of unity is gained through God's intervention through His people. We become the agents of
change.
Satan will attempt to
copy this model, but he will fail because this model cannot be achieved in the
natural, it cannot come from the appointed government down to the people.
This type of unity only comes from God Himself, and can solely be expressed
through God's people.
I for one am excited
to see where God will take the United States in the next few years; we are a young nation who owe a lot to God for the blessings we receive, God is faithful
to bring His kingdom through us if we hear Him and obey Him, and embrace and
serve our neighbors.
Be Blessed;
Stephen Barnett
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