The Comprehensive Kingdom

Why are you Looking into the Sky part 5 – The Comprehensive Kingdom REVIEW - Worldview: Ultimate Intention (Pradeepan) - Our Responsibility: Disciple Nations – Revival is Not Enough (Pradeepan) - The Earth Cries out – (Dan) - Understanding the Kingdom (Dan) Principles of the Kingdom 1. The kingdom must work from the inside out 2. The kingdom progress – it grows 3. The kingdom is comprehensive 4. The kingdom is affected by the godly stewardship of servant leaders THE PROBLEM The basic problem of the Christians in this country in the last 80 years or so, in regard to society and in regard to government, is that they have seen things in bits and pieces instead of totals.1 -

Enlightenment philosophy – Christianity has no solutions to man’s temporal problems and is not responsible to lead or care for the Earth and its people.

IMPROPER BELIEF # 1: Those things are spiritual only that we deem spiritual. - We have wrongly defined spiritual. o Relating to the soul or spirit, usually in contrast to material things. o Relating to religious or sacred things rather than worldly things. - We categorize the spiritual from the material, the secular, the practical. o Material: substance and matter  money, business, private property, homes, musical instruments, etc. o Secular: not religious or spiritual in nature.  Secular jobs, music, o Practical: concerned with actual facts and experience, not theory. Sensible or useful, and likely to be effective. Plain, functional, and suitable for everyday use.  Skills, common knowledge, everyday activity, relevance, and use. Assumption: - We assume that we can determine what is spiritual and what is not.

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Schaeffer, Francis, “A Christian Manifesto,” p. 17. 1

Why are you Looking into the Sky part 5 – The Comprehensive Kingdom Breakdown of spiritual vs. non-spiritual SPIRITUAL - Church - Worship (Rom 12:1,2) - Prayer - The Word of God - Supernatural - Quiet times, devotion - Evangelism

NOT-SPIRITUAL - Family - Government - Business - Education - Arts and Entertainment - Media - Relationships, intimacy, sexuality - Work, money, responsibility - Recreation

Problem: - To label one part of our lives as spiritual is to imply that other parts of our lives are not spiritual. And if we wrap concepts and principles such as faith, values, worship, integrity, righteousness and many others into the category of spiritual, then we will only abide by these standards in the arenas that we deem spiritual. Which means that in the parts of our lives that are not spiritual (or that we do not recognize) then we are free to operate by different standards, namely the standards of our own souls or of society and culture. -

When we don’t have a unifying set of beliefs and standards to approach and measure these categories, we create different rules and different sets of behavior for each. Based on: pleasure, comfort, emotion, ease, etc.

PROPER BELIEF: True Spirituality covers ALL of reality. - There is a spiritual component to ALL of life. Colossians 3:17 – And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it ALL in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Romans 12:1 – Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your SPIRITUAL act of worship. WRONG BELIEF # 2: The kingdom = those things that we deem spiritual. - We have defined the kingdom as those things that we deem spiritual, which limits the rule and scope of God’s authority in the rest of life. - OR another way of saying this is – “The kingdom = the religion mountain or The kingdom = the church” - Show the difference between the kingdom and what the church has become. - Pastor Brett said this Sunday – just because it’s in the religion mountain doesn’t mean that it is producing the kingdom of God. - Why is this the wrong way of thinking and what’s the fruit of it? - We have defined the whole AS the part.

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Why are you Looking into the Sky part 5 – The Comprehensive Kingdom Assumption: - To follow this line of thinking would assume that everything that we deem not spiritual does not belong to God’s government. And if it does not belong to God’s government then it does not need His authority (wisdom, will, or ways). o Example: Music, Education, Entertainment, Business, etc. Problem: - If the kingdom of God is limited to what we deem spiritual then his authority, his government, and rule do not extend to EVERY area of our lives. - Furthermore – if His kingdom does not extend to EVERY area of our lives, then it does not extend to EVERY area of society. PROPER BELIEF #2 – THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS COMPREHENSIVE - This means that EVERYTHING on my list (and even the things that aren’t) belongs to the domain of the king. - God’s ways work for ALL of life: The principles of the kingdom (God’s will, wisdom, and ways) work in all of life. - He has a perfect will and design for all of life. o Matthew 6:10 – Let your kingdom come, your will be done, ON EARTH as it is in heaven. o God is the Creator and owner of the World, He’s the Designer, he does nothing by accident. He cares about ALL of the world. o - He has perfect wisdom for all of life o Proverbs 3:19,20 o The Word of God (Ways, Will, Wisdom) has answers to ALL of life (Personal and societal) o 2 Timothy 3:16 - He has a perfect way of doing things for all of life. o Psalm 103:7; Isaiah 55: 8,9; Daniel 4:37

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