EKG: Empowering Kingdom Growth: The Heartbeat of God

people.

SECTION 1

A King

and His People

Chapter 1

KINGDOM MOMENTS

Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the vicinity of the Jordan

were flocking to him.

MATTHEW 3:5

IF YOU'RE ONE OF THOSE who thinks God could certainly find someone more qualified than you are to do his work … if you're not sure you have the right style of dress or the right words to say … if you don't feel impressive or talented enough to represent Christ very well … I need to hook you back up with an old friend of yours.

John.

John the Baptist, you remember, appears unexpectedly on the biblical scene, wearing his garment of camel hair tucked in by a leather belt around his waist. The only other noticeable aspect about him was his eating habits. His appetite for wild honey doesn't sound all that bad, but his preference for locusts doesn't leave much to the imagination. I know our modern germ-fighting culture is a far cry from the cleanliness and hygiene of the average first-century citizen, but I have a feeling John was revolting even by the standards of his own generation.

Yet something was drawing the crowds to him, and I seriously doubt it was the camel hair robe! Matthew 3:5 tells us that Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the vicinity of the Jordan were flocking to him.

Certainly not everyone in a crowd of this size was coming out of sheer curiosity. Perhaps some were. Neither were they coming to hear a polished orator. In fact, much of what he had to say was harsh and offensive, especially to those who were the most certain they already had their religious act together.

No, John wasn't afraid to speak his mind. But he basically had just this one message: Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near! (Matt. 3:2).

The Bible reader is given no prelude to this kingdom of heaven terminology, no elaborate explanation to help us understand what John meant by this seemingly cryptic message. Nowhere in the Old Testament will you find the kingdom of heaven or the kingdom of God written in precisely these words.

Yet many in John's audience apparently had some level of understanding about this—enough of an idea, at least, to know that the kingdom of heaven was worth repenting of their sins. Plenty of people were doing repenting, coming to be baptized, wanting to prepare themselves for the coming of this kingdom, for the coming of this King.

This was a kingdom moment. And John was right in the middle of it.

Now God could have used anybody to make this announcement. We'd expect he might have chosen someone with a little more gentility and sophistication, someone who'd more naturally appeal to the masses, someone more appropriate to herald such earth-shattering news. But God had his eye on a tough-bearded wilderness man, someone he knew would embrace his mission, embody his name, and obey his Word.

Locusts and all, John still had all the makings of a kingdom person.

So can we.

ANOTHER KINGDOM MOMENT

The kingdom arrived in full display, of course, when Jesus stepped to the waters of the Jordan to be baptized by John. Pointing him out to the crowd, John said, This is the One I told you about: ‘After me comes a man who has surpassed me, because He existed before me' (John 1:30).

It was clear that this man, Jesus, was the one who had come to inaugurate the kingdom—a kingdom that had always been but was now being personified in the face of Christ. His kingdom would hold reward for many—to those who would respond to his message, to those whom he would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire and gather like wheat into the barn. Yet because the kingdom of God would come with a call for human response, not all would be included in the blessing of his reign. Indeed there would be a great number to be burned in a fire that never goes out (Matt. 3:11–12).

This kingdom would have an impact on everyone, whether they wanted it to or not! Indeed, it has always sparked a battle.

One of the biggest, in fact, happened right off the bat.

Immediately after Jesus’ baptism the Spirit led him into the wilderness to be tested by the devil, to reveal under heavy assault the power and authority of the Son of God. To claim his kingdom.

The devil, the arch adversary of God, took Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time—a height and depth of authority, the devil said, which had been given over to me, and I can give it to anyone I want (Luke 4:5–6).

Much was at stake here. Satan had indeed been bestowed temporary dominion over the earth. Jesus himself would later refer to him as the ruler of this world, even though in the same breath he would pronounce Satan's soon and certain defeat (John 12:31).

With so much riding on Jesus’ entrance into the world to redeem lost humanity, Satan went for the jugular, offering Jesus the easy way to world dominion. No cross. No blood. No crown of thorns or a lash across the back. Just worship me! This one time!

This one time!

It would have been easy to argue that the ends might have justified the means. But the issue for the Son was not a shortcut to success but loyalty to the Father, a loyalty that has but one appropriate response: absolute obedience.

So when Jesus declared his intention to worship and serve the Lord alone, a direct quote from God's instructions to his people thousands of years before (Deut. 6:13), he was choosing the kingdom of God and the reward of the Father over the kingdoms of the world and all their flashy yet fleeting glory.

And we, his followers, face this same decision every day. Do we desire the kingdom of God or the kingdoms of this world? Will it be personal fame or the Father's glory?

So in Jesus we see another distinguishing characteristic of a kingdom person.

A CONTINUOUS KINGDOM MOMENT

When Jesus strode into the world from the wilderness of temptation, he did so with a message. This is how the Gospel writers remembered it: From then on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near' (Matt. 4:17)—a message perfectly consistent with that of John the Baptist, indeed with the entire history of God's dealing with his people.

This little phrase began to preach is so important because it indicates that this was not only Jesus’ inaugural message; it was his ongoing message. In fact, when we fast-forward to the last days and hours of Jesus’ life on earth, after his death and his resurrection, we see him with his disciples, having "presented Himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during 40 days and speaking about the kingdom of God" (Acts 1:3).

Seeing that Jesus both began and ended his earthly ministry by teaching on the same theme, we can only conclude that the kingdom was of critical importance to him and that he desired his followers then, as well as his followers of every age, to know and to share this central reality.

James Stewart, in his classic book The Life and Teaching of Jesus Christ, captured the significance of this message well.

Every new idea that has ever burst upon the world has had a watchword. Always there has been some word or phrase in which the very genius of the thing has been concentrated and focused, some word or phrase to blazon on its banners when it went marching out into the world, … something to wave like a flag, to rally the ranks, and win recruits. The greatest idea that has ever been born upon the earth is the Christian idea. And Christianity came with a watchword, magnificent and mighty and imperial; and the watchword was, The kingdom of God.¹

This one phrase, the kingdom of God, occurs more than one hundred times in the Gospels alone. And even when it is not spoken in so many words, the importance of the kingdom is implied in everything Jesus said and did.

It should be the same with us. Our awareness of God's grand mission and purpose, the advancing of his kingdom, should swallow and absorb every second of our lives. This doesn't mean we're always in church. It doesn't mean we do nothing but pray and read our Bibles. It doesn't mean we never get to watch television or go shopping or rest after a long day's work. But even in these ordinary activities of the day, our lives are at the command of Christ, our desires and affections are in his hand, and our minds are alert to whatever he wants us to see and hear and learn and do.

From first to last, from sunup to sundown, from now until the end, it is the kingdom of God—God's rule, God's reign, God's reward.

Always. All the time.

WHAT IS THE KINGDOM?

OK, now is the time to go ahead and establish an early, working definition of what we mean by the kingdom of God.

Most everyone agrees that the kingdom refers to the rule and reign of God. This is an eternal reality—a rule that has always existed, a reign that will exist forever—yet God has established his kingdom on earth, which gives it a present-tense aspect, as well. Jesus, you remember, spoke often of the future dimension of his kingdom, when many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 8:11). Yet he could also say, with equal accuracy, that if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you (Luke 11:20). This absolute, unrivaled, thorough control of God over all things, which will one day be visibly seen for the reality it is, has already invaded our day and time. And we celebrate what we cannot see by choosing to live in the predawn light of forever … right now.

God rules us. We are his. He orchestrates events and directs human history, while somehow—somehow—leaving intact our ability to make decisions and choose our own path. We walk into each day fully aware by faith that every person we see, every article we read, and every question we are asked are all coming our way by the intention of the King. Wrapped inside each of these events is an opportunity for us to embrace his mission, embody his name, and obey his Word—to live in concert with his rightful rule over our lives.

This is God's kingdom at work in our day.

This is our ongoing opportunity to walk in continual kingdom moments.

Historically, we can think of the kingdom as occurring in four unbroken time periods:

The Old Testament. Under the old covenant, Israel was to function as the people of God—the subjects of the King—used by him to display his love, mercy, and glory with the expressed purpose of reaching the nations.

Jesus’ life. The long-awaited promise of a coming King—a Messiah, a Redeemer—became a living, breathing reality through Jesus’ earthly ministry. He himself was God's kingdom in the flesh.

The church. The church is not the equivalent of the kingdom, but ever since Christ's ascension—and until he comes again—the church is God's primary instrument for kingdom advance in the world.

Christ's return. The final, unending phase of the kingdom will begin when the triumphant King returns for his bride. He will reign forever and ever! (Rev. 11:15), and His kingdom will have no end (Luke 1:33).

We are going to cover this grand sweep of God's kingdom in much more detail in the chapters ahead because I want you to see that this kingdom has been God's perpetual purpose from day one. I want you to see the size and weight and enormity of his rule and reign. I want you to get a taste of the freedom and excitement that arise from being a daily part of God's eternal plan.

I want you to be a kingdom person … in this kingdom moment.

The United States is the world's third largest nation in population with 290 million people. Only China and India have more people. Of the 290 million people in the United States, an estimated 213 million are lost. If only the lost population were considered, the United States would be the fourth largest country behind China, India, and Indonesia. (Source: NAMB)

Where do you see the kingdom of God today?

What has happened to Jesus’ message of repentance in our society?

Do you know someone you would label a kingdom person?

Chapter 2

GOD TO THE RESCUE

You have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I carried

you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Me.

EXODUS 19:4

WHERE DO WE START?

Have you ever asked yourself this question just before undertaking a daunting task—like cleaning out your attic, or planning your Thanksgiving dinner, or creating a family budget in the hopes of finding a little money left over?

Or perhaps worst of all—when packing for a move.

We recently moved from the president's home at Southwestern Baptist Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, to a lovely condominium in Hendersonville, Tennessee. As you might imagine, we had a little bit more space in our former home than we do in our new place of abode. Not everything that fit so nicely and comfortably into our previous residence found the same kind of room in our new condo.

So in the process of this move, I discovered one of the undeniable truths of life: Stuff will always expand to fill its available space. And when you challenge your stuff to squeeze into a more confining environment, there's not much choice but to let the stuff go and let the environment win.

We knew this, of course, and had prepared ourselves accordingly. We had thrown a lot of stuff away already. We had given away scads of clothes and books. We had thinned down considerably and thought we were in pretty good shape to move into our new, smaller home.

But the day after the movers had deposited the last of our belongings into our Tennessee condo—despite our best efforts at making this as simple as possible—the rooms were absolutely filled with boxes. And we found ourselves asking the same question I'm asking myself now in thinking through the material for this book:

Where am I going to put all this stuff?

In trying to articulate the scope of God's redemptive history and his purpose for his people, a writer is left with an exciting yet enormous task. This kingdom of his is huge! How does a person make it fit into their lives, much less into a single book?

So to help make this more manageable, I've applied a few other things I learned from our recent move:

Even a daunting task is made easier if you take it a little bit at a time. That's why I've decided to unpack this material slowly, delivering it to you in short chapters.

It's best to start at the beginning. Before we could even begin to unpack our boxes, we had to get the first things in place—the beds, the furniture, the major appliances. And so in this book I'm also going to start at the beginning, with the first biblical mention of the kingdom, found in a pivotal passage from Exodus 19. This is where we will begin our journey.

OUT OF EGYPT

The focal passage of this chapter—Exodus 19:1–6—begins with a time line: In the third month, on the same day of the month that the Israelites had left the land of Egypt, they entered the Wilderness of Sinai.

We all know the events that led the Israelites up to this point. God had been building and uniting his people from the beginning of time, through the entire account of Genesis and his dealings with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph; through Israel's descent into slavery in Egypt; and through the undeniable deliverance of his people from the hand of Pharaoh.

At the beginning of Exodus 19, that day of liberation was now three months past. To the day.

By this time they were in the rough, rocky, virtually uninhabited region of Sinai. I can assure you, they had not been drawn here because of the travel brochures, the golf courses, and the luxurious accommodations. They had been brought here on the wings of a promise—a promise made by God to Moses from the audible branches of the burning bush: This will be the sign to you that I have sent you: when you bring the people out of Egypt, you will all worship God at this mountain (Exod. 3:12).

So Moses had been drawn to this place the same way a magnet draws iron filings. He wanted to experience Yahweh's presence just as he had at the burning bush. He wanted his brethren to know the life-giving presence of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

This was not just any day. This was a day so sovereignly ordered by God that it fell on the same day of the month as the day they had dragged their families, their belongings, and four hundred years of backbreaking history out of the slave pits of Egypt. Moses had only one item on his agenda this day: a meeting with God.

So while all the people were camped at the base of the mountain, Moses made his way up the rocky face and into the presence of God. And when he reached his appointed location, the Lord gave him a message for the people.

The message essentially had three parts:

1. I delivered you from the Egyptians. You'll remember that Pharaoh was not eager to release his slaves and wasn't shaken by Moses’ demand to let the people of God go free. The Egyptians had a pantheon of gods—among them, Pharaoh himself. So in a cosmic showdown, God had sent a series of plagues aimed right at the Egyptian gods—one blight and bad thing after another—up to and including the death of the firstborn children of Egypt.

The Israelites’ release, then, was in no way a grant of amnesty by the goodwill of the Egyptian government. Their release was sprung by the hand of Almighty God.

God, of course, had his reasons for doing this, even for using an unwitting instrument like Pharaoh to work his sovereign plan. Listen to his words directed at Pharaoh: "I have let you live for this purpose: to show you My power and to make My name known in all the earth (Exod. 9:16). Even at the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea, God's purpose had been to receive glory by means of Pharaoh, all his army, and his chariots and horsemen. The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I receive glory through [them]" (Exod. 14:17–18).

Don't miss this. It is vitally important.

God had delivered his people from Egypt to demonstrate his power and to give them a global impact. He had chosen them to make [his] name known in all the earth.

The Israelites had been eyewitnesses and recipients of God's redemptive power. By delivering them from bondage, he had revealed his absolute control over nature, over Egypt, and over all the Egyptian gods. Throughout the Old Testament, generation after generation of Israel would look back on this one event as the pivotal event in their salvation history.

God himself had delivered them.

2. I carried you on eagles’ wings. This imagery not only speaks of God's deliverance but also of his presence and provision. The eagle, of course, is a bird of great majesty and strength. Can't you just picture God soaring high over his people as they made their treacherous way to Sinai, guarding them from predators, spotting danger in all directions, providing them the safety of his powerful protection? And during those times when the journey became unbearable and they could hardly put one foot in front of the other, this majestic eagle would swoop down and bear them up on his wings.

This powerful image of God's provision and protection so impressed Moses that he used it as a key element in his great song of deliverance recorded in Deuteronomy 32: He watches over His nest like an eagle and hovers over His young; He spreads His wings, catches him, and lifts him up on His pinions (vv. 11–12). God had not only redeemed Israel but had personally nurtured them as they journeyed to the place where he had promised to meet with them.

3. I brought you to myself. This third phrase may be the most intimate of all. This was no distant, impersonal God speaking. He was instead a God of love who had redeemed his people and cared for their every need. More than this, he had remained with them each step of the way, permitting them to experience him through worship.

He not only wanted them safe; he wanted them with him.

It was probably difficult for the children of Israel to believe that the God of creation, the invisible God who had sustained Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and who now spoke to Moses on the mountaintop, truly desired to have a personal relationship with them.

But he did. Oh, how he did!

And oh, how he still wants a personal relationship with his people today!

THE OFFER STILL STANDS

I have the privilege of visiting many churches across America, a joy and delight I never take for granted. I have preached in their pulpits and have talked to their members. So this statement I'm about to make, as bold and dangerous as it may be to say, is not a wild idea but an in-the-trenches observation:

It is possible that the reason many church members do not have a kingdom focus is because they do not have a personal relationship with the King.

They have not been redeemed. They are still in Egypt.

Now I'm not just referring to the visitors I've seen in church at someone's invitation. I'm talking about many of those who occupy a pew every week and perhaps serve in some ongoing capacity but who have never received God's redemption for themselves or accepted his covenant offer of salvation. Far too many people still live as if church membership, decency in morals, and whatever else they bring to the table