The Kingdom Perspective

Transcript:

Hello, this is Pastor Don of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to The Kingdom Perspective.

How exactly do we persevere and grow in our faith? The Bible says we do this by fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.

Therefore, it is absolutely critical that we are vigilant to seek out spiritual teachers and church communities that drive us to our eternal hope in Jesus Christ.

Listen to the great leader of the early church Ignatius of Antioch, as he gives spiritual direction to Christians suffering persecution and trial.

“Turn a deaf ear to any speaker who avoids mention of Jesus Christ…”

Then, Ignatius identifies exactly the Jesus he’s talking about:

“…who was of David’s line, born of Mary, who was truly born, ate and drank; was truly persecuted under Pontius Pilate, truly crucified and died while those in heaven, on earth, and under the earth beheld it; who also was truly raised from the dead, the Father having raised him, who in like manner will raise us also who believe in him—his Father, I say, will raise us in Christ Jesus, apart from whom we have not true life.”
~Ignatius, an early bishop of Antioch in Syria (c. 110).

I love the Christ-centeredness of this statement! Jesus is the sum and substance of all biblical truth. He alone is the object of our faith and our only hope of eternal life. Cling to Him.

Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.

Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

Philip said to him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?”

~ John 14:5-9 (ESV)

Citation: Ignatius, Letter to the Trallians, in The Early Christian Fathers, ed. Henry Bettenson (London: Oxford University Press, 1956), 60-61.

Transcript:

Hello. This is Pastor Don Willeman of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to The Kingdom Perspective.

Does God want us to know Him? Is God deeply desirous that we would be in a personal relationship with Him? Well, the Apostle Paul told the philosophers in Athens that God created all people on the earth “so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out for him and find him….” In other words, God created all the nations of the earth, so that they would come to know Him. God created the world and cares for the world, in such a way, that all the different people would seek to know Him and find Him.

The same idea of knowing God is seen in God’s interaction with the Israelites of long ago. They were commanded again and again to KNOW the LORD. Likewise, all throughout the Old Testament every time God did a great and miraculous sign, such as the deliverance of the Hebrews from Egypt, God’s purpose was that His people might KNOW Him. In the words of Exodus 10:2 “…that you may know that I am the LORD.” God wants His people to know Him. He wants us to seek Him and find Him.

In John 4, Jesus gets into a very interesting—and quite personal—conversation with a Samaritan woman. Jesus tells her that God’s purpose in the world is to seek worshippers who will worship Him in Spirit and in truth.

The same is true for us today. God is seeking worshippers who will know Him and love Him. Jesus’s words and the rest of the Bible make this crystal clear.

The only question is are we returning the favor. Are you seeking to know, worship, and love Him?

Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.

“So Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, ‘Men of Athens, I see that you are very religious in all respects. For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ Therefore, what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything that is in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made by hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might feel around for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.”

~ Acts 17:22-27 (NASB)

Transcript:

Hello, this is Pastor Don Willeman of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to The Kingdom Perspective.

The Framers of our constitution knew that they were proposing something quite unique in the history of the world. They were proposing a free Republic, where people would not be ruled by the whims of a king or the dictates of a pope, but by the will of the people. It was to be as Abraham Lincoln would later say a “government of the people, by the people, and for the people”. Today, we take such notions for granted and are quite intoxicated with our “right to freedom”. We pride ourselves at being able to sniff out threats to that freedom from ten miles away.

However, the Framers were not so giddy about how easy or stable such a government ruled by the people would be. They were just as suspicious of the tyranny of the people, as they were about the tyranny of any prince.1 Because they knew history and their Bibles, they were quite aware that a system of self-government required the people to be able to govern themselves. This meant that the people must willingly restrain their baser instincts by voluntarily submitting themselves to the rule of a moral law outside themselves. Though many of them were not personally Christian, they largely saw this voluntary restraining instinct to be the function of voluntary religious practice, particularly Christian practice.

Listen to John Adams:

“We have no Government armed with Power capable of contending with human Passions unbridled from…morality and Religion. Avarice, Ambition…Revenge or Gallantry, would break the strongest Cords of our Constitution as a Whale goes through a Net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
~John Adams to the Massachusetts Militia on October 11, 1798 (sic)

Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective”.

“My son, if you receive my words
and treasure up my commandments with you,
making your ear attentive to wisdom
and inclining your heart to understanding;
yes, if you call out for insight
and raise your voice for understanding,
if you seek it like silver
and search for it as for hidden treasures,
then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.
For the Lord gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;
he stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
he is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
guarding the paths of justice
and watching over the way of his saints.
Then you will understand righteousness and justice
and equity, every good path;
for wisdom will come into your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
discretion will watch over you,
understanding will guard you,
delivering you from the way of evil,
from men of perverted speech,
who forsake the paths of uprightness
to walk in the ways of darkness,
who rejoice in doing evil
and delight in the perverseness of evil,
men whose paths are crooked,
and who are devious in their ways.
So you will be delivered from the forbidden woman,
from the adulteress with her smooth words,
who forsakes the companion of her youth
and forgets the covenant of her God;
for her house sinks down to death,
and her paths to the departed;
none who go to her come back,
nor do they regain the paths of life.
So you will walk in the way of the good
and keep to the paths of the righteous.
For the upright will inhabit the land,
and those with integrity will remain in it,
but the wicked will be cut off from the land,
and the treacherous will be rooted out of it.”

~ Proverbs 2:1-22 (ESV)

References:
1. See Federalist Papers No. 51, paragraph 6 (https://billofrightsinstitute.org/primary-sources/federalist-no-51).

Transcript:

Hello, this is Pastor Don of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to “The Kingdom Perspective”.

Philosophers speak of two different kinds of freedom. The famed thinker Isaiah Berlin (1909-1997) called these: 1) Negative Liberty/Freedom FROM and 2) Positive Liberty/Freedom TO.

“Negative Liberty” or “Freedom From” is perhaps best seen in the political freedom we enjoy in the U.S. We have the Constitutional freedom from governmental or societal coercion in certain areas of our lives. For example, I have the freedom of religion, speech, etc. without the fear of governmental or societal repercussions. In “negative freedom”, I am free to the degree that I do not experience interference from forces outside of my personal will or desire. This “negative freedom” is the bedrock of our civil rights and individual liberties in our modern Western democracies.

The second kind of freedom is “Positive Liberty” or the “Freedom To”. Such freedom is the ability to do what I am supposed to do, or to be who I am supposed to be. This kind of freedom implies design. It assumes that I am free only to the degree that I am operating according to my designed purpose. So, for the sake of illustration, a train is free to the degree that it stays on its track, for it was designed to run on tracks. The moment a train goes off the track its ceases to function according to its design and therefore is no longer free.

Now, although, “Negative Liberty” is a helpful political concept and arguably necessary to our ability of exercise our “Positive Liberty”, nonetheless, “Positive Liberty”—the freedom to be who I was designed to be—is the true and highest freedom, biblically speaking.

You were designed by God for “Positive” freedom.

Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.

“He has told you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justice, to love kindness,
And to walk humbly with your God?”

~ Micah 6:8 (NASB)

Transcript:

Hello, this is Pastor Don of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to The Kingdom Perspective.

Fear is a mutually exclusive principle. The degree to which you fear one thing is the degree to which you will not fear another. In other words, you may be fearful of being late for an important appointment, but you are more fearful of getting a ticket. And so, you don’t speed...or at least not too much. A teenage boy may be fearful of jumping off a river bride with his buddies, but he is more fearful of being perceived as a coward. And so, he jumps into the river. A college student may be fearful of getting a low grade, but she is more fearful of getting expelled from school for cheating. And so, she plays by the rules, taking the C grade instead of risking her college career to get an A. You may be fearful of a bad outcome for your child, but you are more fearful of them never learning to take responsibility for themselves. And so, you step back and let them face the consequences. Someone else may be fearful of being lonely and isolated, but they have a greater fear of engaging in public. And so, they isolate more and more until they become a total recluse. You get the point. Fear is a mutually exclusive principle.

That means that the best way to combat fear is not by stopping your fear, but by redirecting your fear to something and someone else. One fear drives out another. And the fear you fixate on the most will control the outcome of your life.

The English writer and thinker, G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936) nails this principle, as it relates our relationship with God.

“We fear men so much, because we fear God so little. One fear cures another. When man’s terror scares you, turn your thoughts to the wrath of God.” (G.K. Chesterton)

As you can see, Chesterton had a way of cutting to the heart of the matter! The fear of God doesn’t ruin your life, rather it keeps you from falling prey to a thousand little lesser fears.

Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.

“He sent redemption to his people;
he has commanded his covenant forever.
Holy and awesome is his name!
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
all those who practice it have a good understanding.
His praise endures forever!”
~ Psalm 111:9-10 (ESV)

Transcript:

Hello, this is Pastor Don of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to The Kingdom Perspective.

We tend to be fearful of difficult circumstances and trouble. It has been my experience that underneath this fear is not merely a revulsion to hard things, but a faulty belief system that equates suffering/pain with God’s lack of care or concern. Nothing could be further from the truth!

Trouble and trial in your life doesn’t mean that God does not care about you; it doesn’t mean that God is upset and is trying to punish you.

My friends, the Bible teaches almost the exact opposite. “Those whom the Lord loves, he disciplines” (Hebrews 12) or we might say “trains” or “disciples”.

Trials are not contrary to God’s love but are the means by which He works that love in us.

You have to ask yourself the question, what is the goal of life? What is God trying to produce in me? Well, God’s goal is that we might share in His character, and so, share in His joy. We are to become like Jesus, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame (Hebrews 12:2).

Thus, we are not saved from trouble in this life; we are saved through it. We are not saved from suffering; we are saved through suffering. We need only look to Jesus’s suffering for us on the cross to see that. After all, it was by His suffering that He saved us.

Jesus put it this way, “…in Me you may have peace. Here on earth, you will have trials and troubles. But take courage; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

You see, our fear makes us run from suffering. Looking at Jesus drives us to embrace it.

Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.

“In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.”

~ 1 Peter 1:6-9 (NASB)

Transcript:

Hello. This is Pastor Don Willeman of Christ Redeemer Church of Hanover, NH. Welcome to The Kingdom Perspective.

Here’s a question for you:

Is God guilty of not speaking clearly or is humanity guilty of not listening well? This may be a difficult question to answer off-the-cuff, so let’s look at some of the things God says in the Bible about our aptitude for listening to Him.

When we turn to the Bible, we find that God repeatedly chides us for the stubbornness of our hearts and the dullness of our hearing. God says of His people in Jeremiah 9:6: “Your dwelling is in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know Me” (emphasis added). In another place in Jeremiah, God notes, “…they did not listen or incline their ears, but stiffened their necks so as not to listen…” (Jeremiah 17:23). Elsewhere in the book of Romans, Paul says that people “suppress the truth [about God] by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain…because God has made it plain to them.” From these and many other passages, it seems clear enough. God is speaking, but in general we’re not listening.

It is quite impossible to speak to someone who refuses to listen and therefore impossible to have a relationship with someone who refuses to connect.

God has spoken to us clearly through His creation, through His Word (the Bible) and most importantly through His Son Jesus Christ. The only question is whether or not we are listening. How about you? Are you listening to God and His Word? When and where do you do this?

Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, being understood by what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”

~Romans 1:18-20 (NASB)

Transcript:

Hello. This is Pastor Don Willeman of Christ Redeemer Church of Hanover, NH. Welcome to The Kingdom Perspective.

An atheist once said to me, if God is real, why doesn’t He reveal Himself? Why doesn’t He say something? If He really wants us to know Him, why doesn’t He just say so? Good question, right?

Well, maybe not. Maybe there is a false assumption underlying this. For true communication to take place, you must have both a sender and a receiver. You need someone sending a clear message, but you also need someone willing to receive that message on the other end. Both are necessary.

In relationships, this is no mere academic question. Lack of listening is often at the very heart of relational breakdown in many marriages and friendships. Listening is critical!

Now, allow me to propose a question. Could it be that God is sending a clear message, but for whatever reason we are not truly listening? God says of Himself in Isaiah 45:19 (emphasis added) “I have not spoken in secret, from somewhere in a land of darkness….” In Psalm 19, the poet says that the heavens are declaring the glory of God, that the whole universe is pouring forth the speech of God. In Romans 1, the Apostle Paul suggests that human beings have a bad tendency of “suppressing the truth” of God, despite God having made Himself quite evident, quite obvious!

So, is God guilty of not speaking clearly or is humanity guilty of not listening well? As for myself, I’d hate to lay the blame at the feet of God.

Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.

“For this is what the Lord says, He who created the heavens (He is the God who formed the earth and made it, He established it and did not create it as a waste place, but formed it to be inhabited):

I am the Lord, and there is no one else.

I have not spoken in secret,

In some dark land;

I did not say to the offspring of Jacob,

‘Seek Me in a wasteland’;

I, the Lord, speak righteousness,

Declaring things that are right.”

~Isaiah 45:18-19 (NASB)

Hello! This is Pastor Don of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to The Kingdom Perspective!

It is particularly important at this cultural moment for followers of Christ to live out of the reality of the kingship of Jesus, particularly in our public engagement.

Why? Well, as society has become increasingly secular, our tendency has been to make too much of the kingdoms of this world. By “secular”, I do not mean that we don’t “believe in God”. Actually, the data suggests that we are as “believing” a nation as ever. Rather, by “secular” I mean that we increasingly think our primary hope is to be found in this world. We are convinced that we must find heaven on earth. We foolishly think that God is in the business of giving us our best life now! That we are here not so much to serve but to be served.

This makes us desperate, especially if we feel things are not going our way. We become anxious that “our kingdom” is crumbling. This not only makes us irritable, but also useless for representing the kingdom of God in this world.

But the Christian is first and foremost a citizen of heaven (Philippians 3:20)—of God’s kingdom. This gives us a confident hope with which to move into the changing kingdoms of this world and to serve our neighbor. We know that the real and lasting kingdom comes not by love of power but by the power of love—not by superiority over people but by serving them. Not by the crown but by the cross.

We have but one King, to whom every knee shall bow and every tongue confess (Philippians 2). And just as that King served, so too, we are called to do the same.

Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.

 And now the Lord says,

 he who formed me from the womb to be his servant,

 to bring Jacob back to him;

 and that Israel might be gathered to him—

 for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord,

 and my God has become my strength—

  he says:

 “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant

  to raise up the tribes of Jacob

  and to bring back the preserved of Israel;

  I will make you as a light for the nations,

  that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

  Thus says the Lord,

  the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One,

  to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nation,

  the servant of rulers:

 “Kings shall see and arise;

  princes, and they shall prostrate themselves;

  because of the Lord, who is faithful,

  the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”

~ Isaiah 49:5-7 (ESV)

Transcript:

Hello. This is Pastor Don Willeman of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to The Kingdom Perspective.

Knowledge precedes action. Our beliefs drive our behavior. What we know to be true works itself out in what we do.

The Old Testament prophet Daniel tells us that in confronting forces of evil “the people who know their God will display strength and take action” (Daniel 11:23, emphasis added). This is precisely what is played out in the book of Daniel. When Daniel’s friends—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—were asked to bow down in worship to a false god, they refused to give in. Why? The answer is simple: they knew the true God. Their belief drove their behavior. What they knew to be true drove what they chose to do. Knowing the true God gave them the courage to go against the cultural pressure of their day. It allowed them to do what was right and leave the consequences with God. The fact that they really knew God pushed them to courageous action. 

Now, many observers of the church today lament its impotence. Why is the church so weak? Well, arguably the church’s impotence stems from its lack of engagement with God—its ignorance of the Almighty.

Now, what a boost it would be to the church today if it were revived in its knowledge of God! What courage it would bring in our fight to see the gospel flourish in every area of our lives and every sector of our society. How it would motivate us to take the gospel to our friends and neighbors, and even to the ends of the earth! 

What the church needs today is what it needs in every era, that is to truly know God. 

Are you seeking to know Him? Are you seeking to know Him…today?

Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.

“And by smooth words he will turn to godlessness those who act wickedly toward the covenant, but the people who know their God will be strong and take action.”

~ Daniel 11:32 (NASB)