Tag: kingdom

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5 Ways to Develop a Friendship with Jesus

Recently, I was traveling through rural Indiana and stopped at a McDonald’s for breakfast. There was a group of older men talking and laughing. They were clearly from the community, knew each other well, and met there all the time. It’s meetings like those day after day, week after week, and month after month that develop those deep, deep friendships. Unfortunately, we cannot meet Jesus at McDonald’s tomorrow morning, so, how do we form a deep, deep friendship with Him?

Fortunately, Jesus’ disciples faced the same problem, and Jesus gave them a solution. They had been with Him more than those men were together at McDonald’s. They generally ate breakfast, lunch, and supper together and travelled together all over Israel. Jesus told them that He was going to go away, into the very presence of His heavenly Father, but that wasn’t going to be the end of their friendship. Understanding what Jesus told His disciples about continuing their friendship can help us understand what it means to have and develop a deep, deep friendship with Jesus in our day.

Let me highlight five ways they would continue developing their friendship with Jesus. For more context, see my previous post, “Five Lessons on Friendship from the Life of Jesus.”

First, they would continue to fellowship with Him through His presence, even if it was not the physical presence of His human nature. The Holy Spirit, the third person of Trinity, would connect them to the eternal Son. “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you” (John 14:16–17). In this way, He said, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you” (v. 18). So, we can still enjoy the presence of Jesus. We can enjoy it whenever we want to. We just have to be aware of it and live in it.

Second, they would continue to fellowship with Him by listening to what He said. He describes abiding in Him as “abiding in His word” (15:7). He told them that He had already told them what He was doing, “I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you” (15:15). We can fellowship with Jesus by continuing to listen to what He wants us to do.

Third, they would continue to fellowship with Him by doing what He told them to do. Part of friendship is doing things together. We learn what Jesus is doing by listening to His Word, and we engage in it when we obey that word. That’s why He said, “You are my friends if you do what I command you” (15:14). I don’t think Jesus is saying, “Do what I tell you, and then you will be my friend.” Rather, He is saying, “If you are interested in the things I am and are engaged in them, then we will have a friendship.”

What does this mean concretely? Jesus is interested in culture, family, politics, honest labor, etc. When we engage in these things, we are engaged in activities He cares about. Similarly, when we care about the people around us, espeically those who are most vulnerable, we are working on Jesus’ agenda and engaged with Him as friends. It is especially when we are enagaged in the work of connecting people to God that we live out a friendship with Jesus because that’s what He is most interested in. That’s what His coming into this world, death, and resurrection are all about. A friendship arises when we share and work at Jesus’ interest in connecting people to God.

Fourth, they would continue to fellowship with Him by talking to Jesus. We often call this prayer, but prayer is really just interacting with Jesus by listening to Him and then telling Him what is on our hearts. Jesus said He had chosen them so that they would ask things of Him and the Father, “so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you” (John 15:16). We can continue to interact with Jesus through prayer. We can and should share with Him what is on our hearts.

Fifth, they would continue to fellowship with Him by connnecting with His friends. Jesus concludes His talk on friendship with them by saying, “These things I command you, so that you will love one another” (John 15:17). Just as the Father loved the Son so that the Son might love us, so the Son loves us so that we might love one another. Whatever we do for the least of Jesus’ disciples, we do for Him. We interact with Jesus by interacting with His people.

Let me try to put all this together. We can live as friends of Jesus. We do that when we are aware of His presence with us. But we need to do more than just be aware. We need to listen to Him and talk to Him in conversation. Friendship is not primarily about talk, though. It is about doing. When we take an interest in what Jesus is interested in and engage in it, we will develop a friendship with Jesus. This is not just about “me and Jesus.” This is something we do together with Jesus’ other friends.

Sure. This is different than living with someone physically, but we actually can have a friendship with Jesus that is much closer and more intimate and life-giving than what we have with any of our friends. That’s the blessing Jesus offers us. If we are interested in that relationship, Jesus is more than happy to “call us friends.”

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Photo by Alexis Brown on Unsplash

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Hope Beyond the Headlines

In times of extremely dangerous threats, it can be hard to see hope.

The time of Isaiah the prophet was one such time (8th century B.C.). For a long time, the kingdoms of Israel and Judah had enjoyed relative prosperity without major threat of invasion. Now, the Assyrian Empire was brutally subjugating the territories around them and menacing the nations of Israel and Judah.

As this threat arose, Isaiah called on the people to consider the state of their lives. Were they living the right way? What were they living for? Had they forgotten the needy around them? Were they living for luxury and sensual pleasure rather than finding their enjoyment in God? This was a time for introspection (see Isaiah 1).

But it was also a time in which the people needed hope. Scary times don’t seem like times to hope. They seem like times for fear and fear. It’s very easy in those times to see only the threats and not see the things that are above them and beyond them.

So, Isaiah preached hope. He preached about a time when a descendant of their kings (from the house of David, see Isaiah 11:1, 10) would rise and create a glorious, prosperous, and peaceful kingdom. Isaiah describes this kingdom using different pictures, like those of the animal world. In this kingdom, for example, the lion will lie down with the lamb. This is the emblem under which he represents the amazing peace of the kingdom of the future King.

Not only that, the nations would actually submit to this King, and this would usher in peace and justice throughout the world. “In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious” (Isaiah 11:10). It would be a glorious worldwide kingdom of peace and justice.

The Apostle Paul was a Jewish Rabbi who was nourished on those promises and looked forward to their fulfillment. He was looking for God to intervene and set up that kingdom. In Jesus, Paul saw a threat to this future kingdom. He was so upset by people following Jesus that he sought to imprison anyone who followed Jesus.

Then, all of a sudden, Paul shows up in Damascus, Syria arguing with everybody that Jesus was in fact the very King Isaiah was predicting! What in the world happened?

According to Paul, Jesus was alive, though crucified, and he met the risen Jesus on the way to Damascus. As he explains it, Jesus spoke to him in a vision so convincing that it changed his life forever. In addition, he was convinced that Jesus was not only the King for the Jews but for the entire world. He saw it as His mission to tell everybody about this risen King.

Years later, Paul wrote a letter to the followers of Jesus in the great city of Rome. As he reflected on Jews and Gentiles coming together to confess Jesus as Lord and Savior, he realized that all that Isaiah had prophesied was coming to fulfillment. He writes, “And again, Isaiah says, ‘The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; in him the Gentiles will hope'” (Rom. 15:12).

And we are still seeing it fulfilled in our day. In the past 100 years, we have seen more people from more nations become followers of Jesus and submit to His reign than ever before. In places where the name of Jesus was unknown, prayers and praises to Him ring out all over the world. There is much more to come, but Jesus is reigning now.

So, we have more reason to hope than Isaiah did. Isaiah could only see the kingdom far off. We have seen it fulfilled in Jesus who said that the kingdom of heaven was here because He was here. We have seen it fulfilled in people submitting to His reign all over the world.

It’s easy to lose sight of that hope in the midst of a dangerous threat. We need to remind ourselves and one another of the reality that Jesus is now reigning and His kingdom is expanding over all the earth. That is the hope beyond the headlines.

It’s not always easy to see and feel this hope. To see and feel it more clearly and fully, we need God’s help. That’s why the Apostle Paul told the followers of Jesus in Ephesus that he continually prayed that God would enlighten their eyes to see the greatness of Jesus’ power and reign (see Eph. 1:18–23).

The more they could see it, the more they would become what Richard Lovelace calls “a new center for the reordering of life on earth as it is in heaven” (Dynamics of Spiritual Life, 47). Jesus wants His reign to manifest itself in how we live as people of His kingdom in every sphere of life: family, business, school, state, the arts, and everywhere else.

But we don’t have to do it alone. God has given us the church to help us. One of the major purposes of the church is to equip people to make an impact on the world, living out Jesus’ reign in all of life (see my explanation of the four major purposes of the church here). How do we help each other do that?

  1. We pray for each other to see the reign of Jesus more clearly like Paul did for the church in Ephesus.
  2. We seek to make the church look more like the kingdom of God. We accept one another and “make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification” (Romans 15:7, 14:19).
  3. We help each other think through what it means for us to live out our lives, marriages, parenting, work, and play in light of Jesus’ reign.
  4. We pray for God’s leading and working in each aspect of our daily lives, not just the so-called “spiritual” parts.

If we do this, we can really become a people who live in light of the hope that comes from the reign of Jesus, even in the darkest hours. This is the day of Jesus’ reign. God will help us and answer our prayer, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13).

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The Goal of the Church Is Not the Church

Why did God establish the church? To glorify God and bless the world.

The interesting thing is that the particular individuals who make up the church don’t need to be very good at all at doing that to be part of the church.

First, the church is designed to be a place where anyone, believer or unbeliever, can come, make connections, and learn about God at their own pace (see a fuller explanation of this point here).

Second, anyone who professes faith in Jesus and promises by God’s grace to seek to follow Him is accepted as a brother and sister in Jesus Christ (see “Theses on Church Membership” for more on this here).

This means the door to the church and the kingdom of God is wide open. “Whosoever will may come.”

It is important for us to see, however, that we don’t want to leave people there. We want to help people become what they were made to be. “Therefore, let us make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification” (Rom. 14:19). Edification–we keep building one another up.

Ultimately, our goal is to raise up leaders who will glorify God in the church in the world and bless themselves and others.

This doesn’t mean that everyone has to become a Pastor. We can and should be leaders where we are. This may mean that you seek to become a better parent (Eph. 6:1–4). It may mean that you find those who are in need and make clothes for them like Tabitha (Acts 9:36–39). It may mean that you reach out to someone and encourage them like Barnabas (Acts 9:26–27). It may mean you come alongside someone like Philip (Acts 8:26–40). It may mean you take a step across the aisle to love those you consider to be your enemies (Mt. 5:43–45). It may mean you start a business that will give people employment and honest labor, which in itself is glorifying to God (cf. Col. 3:22–4:1).

When you go to church this Sunday, think: everything we do in here is designed to be taken out there. We build one another up so we are better equipped to live in the world. We worship God together to be reminded that all things are for His glory. We build community in the church to make us better prepared to be a part of the larger world community.

That is the goal of the church, to glorify God and bless the world. Freely you have received. Freely give, not only to those in the church but to all (Gal. 6:9–10).

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Hardly Anybody Does This, But Everyone Should

Most people are concerned about their own interests, and it is hard for any of us to think much beyond them.

I remember one pastor had a plaque on his desk with a saying on it, “People are not against you. They are for themselves.”

As the Apostle Paul thought about the churches he had planted, he lamented, “Everyone looks out for his own interests, and not the interests of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 2:21).

Isn’t this true? How many of us are really able to think beyond our own prosperity and comfort? How many of us can sacrifice for a cause that is truly bigger than ourselves?

As a Pastor, I need to ask this, too. Would I care about the prosperity of the church I serve if I was not its Pastor? How much do I care about church in general? Do I participate in church activities when I’m not being paid?

If we’re honest, as Pastors, a lot of our interest in church is more self-interest than we realize.

Truly, everyone looks out for his own interests and not the interests of Jesus Christ.

Why are we so obsessed with our own interests? Continue reading “Hardly Anybody Does This, But Everyone Should”

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The Progress of the Church in History

What progress can the church expect to make in history? What are the prospects of the church before Christ returns?

There are several places in Scripture that indicate a progressive growth in the kingdom of God before Christ’s return. For example, Jesus compares the kingdom to a mustard seed: “Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches” (Mt. 13:32).

Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in Daniel envisions a kingdom that breaks all other kingdoms. It “became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth” (2:35).

I believe that it is very hazardous to predict the future, even with the images that the Bible gives us of the future. Most who have tried to do it in any detail have been totally wrong. It is not for us to know the times and the seasons.

That being said, I predict that Jesus will return on October 25, 2134. Just kidding. Not going to make that sort of prediction.

However, I do think that history has shown us enough for us to believe that these images of progressive progress do tell us something about the direction of history. The movement of history seems also to teach that the kingdom will continue to make progress throughout history before the consummation.

Consider the early church. It grew from a small group in Jerusalem to a multitude of congregations throughout the world.

From there, the church continued to grow until it overran the Roman Empire and displaced the pagan religions there.

After the fall of the Roman Empire, Christian missionaries went out and brought the Gospel to those who had overran the Empire. The conversion of “barbarian” tribes continued throughout the Middle Ages. Continue reading “The Progress of the Church in History”

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