When Jesus Is In Charge
The hallmark of Jesus' teaching was the good news that the "kingdom of God is at hand" (Mk 1:14-15). By this, Jesus meant that since Genesis 3, other kingdoms had been at work in this world, destroying what God had created. The destructive work is especially focused on the apex of God's creation, i.e., human beings who are made in God's image.
The hallmark of Jesus' teaching was the good news that the "kingdom of God is at hand" (Mk 1:14-15). By this, Jesus meant that since Genesis 3, other kingdoms had been at work in this world, destroying what God had created. The destructive work is especially focused on the apex of God's creation, i.e., human beings who are made in God's image. The kingdoms that compete with God's kingdom are sometimes summarized as being the world, the flesh and the devil (cf, Eph 2:2-3; 1 Jn 2:16). When those competing kingdoms rule our lives, the result is brokenness. Because of them, we are broken inside personally, broken from one another relationally, broken from the rest of creation, and broken from God.
Jesus came to bring God's rule back to creation. Jesus, God's one and only eternal Son, was and is the King of the kingdom of God. He came to end the kingdoms of this world and to bring God back into the center of our lives. What He calls all people to do is to repent and believe this good news (Mk 1:15). "Repent" – we are to acknowledge our sins and allegiances to other kingdoms, ask for forgiveness, and turn from our former way of life. "Believe" – to believe is not simply to say we think something is true but to have our lives transformed by that belief. To believe in Jesus is to follow Him as our Lord and King by faith.
A church is a community of people who are all professing to follow Jesus. We have surrendered to His rule in our lives. Jesus is the head of the Church and of all true local churches (Eph 1:16-23; Col 1:18-23). When Jesus is Lord, when He is in charge, things change. But what must change when Jesus is in charge? This question gives rise to a series of messages we will inaugurate at LAC this June 2014, and return to in the future. We will begin with what I consider to be the most basic theme – RECONCILIATION. If the competing kingdoms of the world result in brokenness, then we might anticipate that the rule of God in our lives and communities will bring broken things back together, i.e., reconciliation. And, indeed, that is precisely what God's Word promises. Consider 2 Corinthians 5:17-19:
If anyone is in Christ, that person is a new creation: The old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
This is where the King of the kingdom of God begins His transforming work: He brings us back into relationship with God and then sends us to be his agents of reconciliation, calling people to restore their relationships, first to God, and then to one another. I am convinced that when we step into a broken world and seek to be peacemakers, i.e., ambassadors of God's reconciliation, we can be assured that the Wind of God's Spirit will be blowing in our direction. We can know with assurance that God is at work in us and through us, and He will be glorified.
To His Glory,
Dr. Greg Waybright
Senior Pastor
