The Kingdom of God

We have been learning a lot the past couple of weeks about the Kingdom of God. I am surprised at how much Jesus talked about it and how little I understand or have studied it. It seems the church as a whole has taken a bunker mentality In our mandate to preach the Kingdom. We don't really believe it is like yeast, or a mustard seed and will influence and radically change the atmosphere and structure of any area or society it is introduced. Our message has been to make sure you are saved, free yourself from any major sins and then hang on until he returns. The reality of Gods plan for creation, and his commitment to seeing It fulfilled is radical, amazing and fills me with awe for our creator. One of the foundational truths about the Kingdom, Don Stephens communicated very effectively by showing a series of popular pictures depicting God. He then asked what was most inaccurate about the pictures. I had no Idea, but one of our classmates got it. God was alone in all the pictures. Relationship and community are central to the three in one God we serve. It is at the core of who He is and why we were created. (John17) I have heard babies left untouched will die, I can assume this is true for all of us. In the Kingdom God is establishing, material things have no value whatsoever except in being used to serve others. In fact He tells us that until we learn to serve with the little things we have been given (material possessions) we will not be given things that do matter (Spiritual Gifts) (Luke 16) The Kingdom of God is good news for the poor, hurting, and persecuted of this world. I can almost hear the excitement in Jesus voice as he got to proclaim the Kingdom to the least of these for the first time(Mathew 5) Gods kingdom is scandalously inclusive. He gave a mandate to go and proclaim his kingdom to all nations years before it was even understood that he was messiah to the whole world and not just the Jews. He sought out the poor, broken, hurting and outcast wherever he went to tell them the good news (Mathew 28:19,20) The kingdom of God is in each one of us, and we have been created for it. This is why Gods glory can be seen and experienced in many things created by man even without a relationship with their creator. Art, music architecture, clothing design, writing, and any expression of mans soul will carry the fingerprint of our creator (Colossians 1:16-Rev 4:11-Romans 11:36-Proverbs 16:4) . One call to action that is stirring in me was made by Trey Sheppard. He said that as believers we have the answer to many of the problems we experience in society. As Christs body we need to recognize that all the problems we read about in the daily news are a direct result of our inaction. He challenged us to go meet with leaders of our local government, ask them what their five biggest problems are and then ask God for the kingdom solution. Working together in unity we could have a big impact on bringing the kingdom to our towns which will result in praise and glory to our King (Isaiah 9:6) The Kingdom of God is within you and is not subject to geography or population. Jesus told his disciples that some of them would not taste death before they see the kingdom of God in all its glory (Luke 9:27) Will you?