"May your kingdom come, Let your will be done: on earth as it (presently) in heaven."
This is the crux of the Disciple's Prayer, the model prayer that Jesus gave His disciples after they requested, "Lord, teach us to pray!" He didn't give us a laundry list of requests to bring, although God will listen and respond to each one. He didn't tell us to cry or whine for every little request, like a parking spot, or the last teaching tape at the media center. He told us to pray for the manifestation of the Kingdom of God on earth: the rule and reign of God in the earth.
Right, rule, reign. That's what it is. And even in the midst of the strife, storms and stress in the earth, "All over the world this gospel is growing, just it had been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth." (Colossians 1:6b)
Just what will it look like when God's rule takes over every corner of the planet? Revival. It will look like revival. Revival is reformation of the esteem of Jesus, that will culminate in "The kingdom of this world (becoming) the kingdom of our Lord and and his Christ." A lot more tribulation is going to occur between now and then.
What we call revival now, it is really awakening. Awakening must happen in the church, as we shed churchianity, and press in to see the gospel operating everywhere. Jesus loves the church, and died for her, but not just for her. Jesus is not just for "us;" salvation through grace by faith is for everyone.
The enemy of our souls would like nothing more than for us to become church-centered, all about the building, or just those who are already in. We become so local that we lose sight of those in the highways and byways. Jesus is preparing a great feast, a wedding feast at the culmination of the age, and nobody wants in. So he compelled His servants to go out to the highways and the byways, and to gather all the people they could find. (Matthew 22:1f.)
Given the way our world is now, the enemy would like nothing more than for us to get so personally involved in us, in our personal struggles, in our own survival, that that becomes all we think about.
And we forget the Kingdom, woe to us! We forget to "seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness (so) these things are added to us as well. (Matthew 6:33)
There is an intentionality we must apply to this pressing in for the Kingdom: "From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of God is forcefully advancing, and forceful men have take hold of it." (Matthew 11:12) We must fight off the apathy of this generation - "To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others: 'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn."
Live out Jesus. On. Purpose.
As the days grow more and more evil, the love of most will grow cold. We must stay awake, we must stand firm until the end. (Matthew 24:12)
Heaven is coming to earth, and it is coming with increasing effectiveness right now. As we pray, "Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven," God will answer your prayer.
Let's match our actions with our prayers.
We are working at this in our new faith community, called The Connection, where we live to connect people to Jesus Christ and to His loving family. We are growing big by growing small, healthy Community Groups throughout Suffolk County (Long Island), NY and wherever else the LORD leads us. You can get updates on what's happening in our community by clicking http://www.
tinyurl.com/theconnectionLI
History belongs to those who pray.
Be blessed today.
pax Christi,
sp
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