The Powers and the Power of Love

The Powers and The Power of Love The Kingdom of God & The Cross Are Inseparable In the ministry of Jesus, He proclaimed the availability life in the kingdom of God now ongoing (eternal life) At the cross, He secured the kingdom of God Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” Jn.12:31-32 Who delivered us out of the authority of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love Col.1:15 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil Heb.2:14 “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin I Cor.15:55 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. Col.2:13-15 At the Resurrection, He launched the kingdom Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Jn.20:15 Jesus’ tomb was in a garden. The new creation was launched in the midst of the old creation when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. Eph.1:20-21 The Kingdom War For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Eph.6:12 The peace of God Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. Jn.14:27 “and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned….I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Jn.16:11,33 The Kingdom Weapon—The Cross "The people who are rescued by the cross and the love it reveals will then be shaped by the cross and the love it will reveal through them to the world. This is how we learn not only to tell the story of Jesus, but also to live the story of Jesus." N T Wright “We are hurt. We are angry also, but still, as the senior pastor of Zion Church Batticaloa, the whole congregation and every family affected, we say to the suicide bomber, and also to the group that sent the suicide bomber, that we love you and we forgive you, no matter what you have done to us, we love you, because we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. “Jesus Christ on the Cross, he said father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing. We also, who follow the footsteps of Jesus Christ, we say, for the Lord forgive these people.” Pastor of the Sri Lanka church Rom.8:31-39 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. II Cor.4:6 Self giving love is the power that made the world; and it is self giving love that is remaking the world. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. II Cor.5:17 What God offers us is eternal life – the availability of life in the kingdom of God -- Eternity ongoing is now ‘Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me. I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’ Acts 26:16-18 “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” Acts.14:26 for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath. I Thess.1:9-10 who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from (not out of) the present evil age Gal.1:4 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Jn. 20:19 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”Jn.20:21 The Kingdom Bringers…Mt.5:1-16 We must actively confront the idols of our world: Mammon…..money Aphrodite….sex Mars….power We must reexamine evangelism and mission Freeing the soul from prison “Socrates taught us that to “know thyself” was the key to knowledge. The ancient Greeks were convinced that our souls existed in a preincarnate state before they were imprisoned in our bodies. The point of life was to free our souls at death from the “prison house” of the physical world. As a result, Western culture focuses on the individual… According to Gallup, church membership in America is down from 70 percent in 1999 to 50 percent today. One factor is the rise of the “nones”: the number of Americans who say they have no religious affiliation has grown from 10 percent in 1998 to 23 percent today. However, the number of self-identified religious Americans with no church membership is surprising. In the year 2000, 73 percent of those with a religious preference belonged to a church, compared with 64 percent today. And church attendance is a significant issue as well. While pollsters report that 40 percent of Americans attend church on an average weekend, recent research puts the number at less than 20 percent. Only 23–25 percent of Americans attend church at least three out of eight weeks. Three ways the church can change the world However, God’s word is clear: “Let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another” (Hebrews 10:25 NLT). Why? What can Christians do together that we cannot do separately? One: Minister to the world. We are the “body of Christ” (1 Corinthians 12:27), his hands and feet, eyes and ears. None of us possesses all the spiritual gifts we need to reach our culture. How are you working with fellow believers to change lives with the kingdom of God? . Two: Serve each other. Early Christians gave what they had to each other “as any had need” (Acts 2:45). Paul pled with Christians in Rome “to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf” (Romans 15:30). How are you serving your Father’s children? Three: Offer community to the culture. God knew that “it is not good that the man should be alone” (Genesis 2:18). The proliferation of social media shows our hunger for relationships with others. The community of faith can offer grace as can no other on earth “The power of the gospel lies not in the offer of a new spirituality or religious experience, not in the threat of hellfire which can be removed only if the hearer checks this box, says this prayer, raises a hand, or whatever, but in the powerful announcement that God is God, that Jesus is Lord, that the powers of evil have been defeated, that God’s new world has begun…. Of course, once the gospel announcement is made, in whatever way, it means instantly that all people everywhere are gladly invited to come in, to join the party… to discover forgiveness for the past, and astonishing destiny in God’s future, and a vocation in the present” NT Wright It’s Time to Join the Revolution