It is a time to heed to the
kingdom of God. It is true that life on the earth is temporary, fleeting, and
momentary like a vapor. Eternity comes in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye. In
eternity, we will see clearly and visibly what the kingdom of God looks like.
But we don’t have to wait till death to know the kingdom because the Law and
the Prophets have been revealing it and the nature as well. What is the kingdom
of God? It is an invisible realm where God rules. It is where our emotional
feelings come and go, our intellectual minds reason and imagine, and our wills
maneuver. Anger, jealousy, bitterness, hatred, resentment, happiness,
enjoyment, delight are a few experiences in the psychological level of life.
These invisible forces at times are manifested in the visible form of violence
and protest which often produce murder and injury. The kingdom of God is not an
imaginary tale but a genuine reality. In fact, what is seen is the
manifestation of what is unseen. Seeing and understanding the kingdom of God
keeps us from the illusion and delusion of unrealities.
Dr. Luke puts an additional
teachings of our Lord Jesus followed by the parable of the shrewd manager which
tells a truth that no one can serve two masters, God and worldly money and thus
we shall worship God only. Money is one of essential elements in human living. Many
a people, believers and non-believers alike is trapped by the powerful
allurement and seduction of worldly wealth and falls into the worship of money.
Some may say that they don’t serve God nor money. But such a thing doesn’t
exist. We must choose one, either God or money.
It is so obviously true that no
one on the face of the earth wants to be deceived and cheated. However, it is
sadly and tragically what is going on in humanity, being deceived and cheated
by the mastermind of lie, the devil. In the kingdom of God there is a forceful
being who has rebelled and defied against the Master of the heavens and the
earth. The cunning and crafty mind of devil deceived the woman who ate and
handed the forbidden tree to Adam who ate it without question. Likewise, the
devil is still searching for prey like a roaring hungry lion through the lie
that we will be like God, knowing good and evil when we listen to him. No one
lives out of the kingdom of God. Those who think so are not living truthfully
and realistically but ignorantly and unwittingly.
Our Lord Jesus came to the earth
in order to release the elect from the bondage of the lie and untruth of the
devil. It is a generous and yet urgent invitation call to come into the kingdom
of God, saying “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” This call shall
lead to the kingdom of God if answered rightly according to the promise of God.
Jesus Christ is the good news of the kingdom of God.
“The Law and the Prophets were
proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is
being preached, and everyone is forcing their way into it. It is easier for
heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of
the Law. Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits
adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.” (Luke
16:16-18)
The good news of the kingdom of
God has not come into the heart of people in random nor has been made by human.
It was precisely foretold and prophesied in the Law and the Prophets, beginning
with the Pentateuch and the Psalms till Malachi and John the Baptizer. The
gospel of Jesus Christ was proclaimed in the Book of Moses and the Prophets.
The coming of the Messiah was repeatedly prophesied from the humble birth, the
violent and bloody crucifixion on a cross, and the resurrection from the dead
on the third day. In fact, the coming of Christ was deeply and inseparably
embedded in the daily lives of the people of Israel. For example, they offered
the daily sacrifices in the evening and in the morning in the sacred tabernacle
where they could access into the presence of Holy God. They practiced the laws
and precepts given unto them through Moses every day through which they could
learn that they had to depend on the work of another to come into the throne of
grace. Without blood no one could come to the presence of God. That blood was
the symbol of the death of Christ Jesus. With the merit of the work of Christ,
they could stand before the Holy God.
“He was despised and rejected by
mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people
hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Surely he took
up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he
was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on
him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity
of us all.” (Isaiah 53:3-6)
“Know and understand this: From
the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed
One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It
will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. After the
sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to death and will have
nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the
sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and
desolations have been decreed.” (Daniel 9:25-26)
The Law and the Prophets are the
Old Testament which stretched to John the Baptizer who appeared in the
wilderness, breaking out the four hundred years of silence. He offered the
baptism of water in the Jordan River and preached the message of repentance to
prepare the hearts of the people to receive the coming promised Messiah. He was
the voice and speaker in the wilderness to proclaim the message of the coming
of the Blessed One as the forerunner of Christ. The Old Testament is in a word
the preparation of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Anointed and the
Promised. It’s been long awaited and anticipated for the coming of the Anointed
for the elect. At the close of the preparation fulfilled through John, according
to the scriptures Christ has come into the world in the likeness of man and
opened his mouth, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God to all
peoples on earth. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
“When Jesus heard that John had
been put in prison, he withdrew to Galilee. Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived
in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali—to
fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah: ‘Land of Zebulun and land of
Naphtali, the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—the
people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land
of the shadow of death a light has dawned.’ From that time on Jesus
began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’” (Matthew
4:12-17)
Jesus Christ is the door into
the kingdom of God. Who is eligible to enter into the kingdom of God? Jesus
says, “Everyone is forcing their way into it.” Why is everyone forcing their
way into the kingdom of God? Matthew also says the same in his Gospel.
“From the days of John the
Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence, and
violent people have been raiding it.” (Matthew 11:12)
Why has the kingdom of heaven
been subjected to violence and have violent people been raiding it. There is
only one way to enter the kingdom of heaven that is Jesus Christ. He is the
way, the truth, and the life and no one comes to the Father except through him
(John 14:6). Christ Jesus came and died in our place in a violent and bloody crucifixion
on the cross of Calvary. There was no reason for Jesus to die for himself
because he was sinless. But he had to die for the sin of the world which must
be atoned by the blood of the Son of God for the wages of sin is death. He died
for our sins and transgressions so that we may have life in him.
What’s happened when we have believed
in Christ Jesus? What we believe is that God has sent the Promised Christ and
he is the Son of God who was crucified. Believing in him crucified means that
we died with him, were buried with him, and were raised from the dead with him
(Galatians 2:20). No death, no life. No crucifixion, no resurrection. No pain,
no gain. Everyone who is in Christ Jesus has died with him on the cross of
Calvary, the eternal symbol of violent death. Since we died with the violent
death of Christ we have been liberated and delivered from the bondage of
darkness and thus have entered into the kingdom of heaven.
This is so revolutionary that
the world cannot accept it. The wisdom of God is foolishness and nonsense to
the mind of the world. They say how it could be possible to get life through
death. That’s the wisdom of this age and of the rulers of this age. They reject
and oppose the truth that we must die first with Christ to gain eternal life. It
is God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and concealed to the world. No
mind of the world understands the mystery, says Apostle Paul.
“No, we declare God’s wisdom, a
mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time
began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they
would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” (1 Corinthians 2:7-8)
In the parable of two sons in
Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus says that the tax collectors the prostitutes are
entering the kingdom of God ahead of the Pharisees and the experts in the law.
It’s a shocking and scandalous statement to them. They must have greatly
insulted by it. But don’t forget that it’s the word uttered by none other than the
Maker of heavens and the earth. He is the way of righteousness and anyone who
believes in him crucified shall enter the kingdom of heaven. That’s why our
Lord Jesus says that anyone who wants to be his disciples must deny himself,
take up the cross, and follow him. No violent death, no life.
“What do you think? There was a
man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in
the vineyard.’ ‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and
went. Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He
answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go. ‘Which of the two did what his
father wanted?’ ‘The first,’ they answered. Jesus said to them, ‘Truly I tell
you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God
ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and
you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And
even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.” (Matthew 21:
28-32)
God is light brilliantly and
constantly shining like sun out of darkness. That’s the Law of God which is
unchanging, unbending, and unshakable. It is easier for heaven and earth to
disappear than for the least stoke of a pen to drop out of the Law (Luke
16:17). No one can be saved except through the Son Jesus Christ crucified. One
of these days, heaven and earth will be shaken and disappeared as prophesied.
But the word of God will remain forever. In fact, all things are being hold and
sustained together by his powerful word (Hebrews 1:3; Colossians 1:17).
“Immediately after the distress
of those days 'the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.'”
(Matthew 24:39)
For example, marriage is a
blessing, if not the greatest one, for humanity. It brings exquisite enjoyment
and happiness in life. All race regardless of statue and color enjoys it.
However it is also true that it is severely and greatly twisted and distorted
in understanding and knowledge about marriage. Homosexual marriage is widely
acceptable in this age, not to mention common practices of divorce and separation.
Fornication and adultery are considered as acceptable practices even among
Christians. Pornography is openly and deeply rampant across the generations and
peoples. All is wrong in the sight of God. Marriage is a mystery of God which
tells the essential and indispensable truth on humanity. Marriage between a man
and a woman is unbreakable in the sight of God except through death. It’s
designed and instituted and blessed by God. That’s the nature of God. He is the
same yesterday, today, and forever.
“Anyone who divorces his wife
and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced
woman commits adultery.” (Luke 16:18)
“That is why a man leaves his
father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.” (Genesis
2:24)
Why is God so rigid and
unbroken? Why is the Law of God so unbending and unyielding? It’s because he is
love. He is just and faithful no matter what. When Jesus said that no one can
serve two masters—God and money the religious hypocrites sneered at him. God is
uncompromising and hard-nosed in love and in truth. He is also merciful and
compassionate. What God sees is all things from beginning to end. God does all
things out of love. At times he looks like a brazen tyranny in whom there is no
mercy and compassion. But even so, he is just and faithful because he wants no
one to perish and to break through the illusion and delusion of the world. He
knows how much we can take in the midst of troubles and struggles and saves
without fail.
“No temptation has overtaken you
except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be
tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also
provide a way out so that you can endure it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13)
Prayer: Thank you Father in
heaven for your unfailing and unadulterated love for us even if it seems at
times difficult and clueless to understand why they come so differently than we
expected and anticipated. Thank you Father that you open the door for anyone to
enter the kingdom of heaven through the Son Jesus Christ who died violently and
brutally as the ransom payment for our sin. Thank you Father to teach us
honestly that there is no other way to enter the kingdom of heaven except
through the violent death of Christ. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
January 20, 2016
© 2015-2016 David Lee Ministries – All
Rights Reserved.
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