09/13/2024
CHURCH EXISTS FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD, NOT THE KINGDOM OF GOD EXISTS FOR THE CHURCH. (This is the message to the leaders at the training on Aug. 26 in Nepal.)
Pastor Amos and you leaders have been planting 10 churches this year, so total of 28 churches has been born through Kingdom Proclamation evangelism. This wonderful expansion of the Kingdom of God ministry started 4 years ago from one church. Isn’t it Amazing that 4000 yearlong Hindu country, furthermore this incredible church multiplication started with a 2-year pandemic lockdown.
However, this is a time when we need to be very careful not to reverse our priorities.
Jesus didn't plant any churches during his three years of earthly ministry. Even when he sent his disciples out into the world, he didn't tell them to start churches. Everywhere the disciples went, they were healing the sick and casting out demons, drawing crowds with their miracles, which was a great opportunity to start a church, but they didn't.
Jesus' job was to proclaim the kingdom of God in every neighborhood, and his reason for sending the disciples was also to proclaim the kingdom of God.
Kingdom of God is the first thing to seek for. The Gospels record only two references to Jesus' teaching on church, but over 100 references to the kingdom of God.
We need to recognize the priorities here. It's not that the kingdom of God exists for the sake of the church, but that the church exists for the sake of the kingdom of God.
If you look at the hierarchy in 1 Corinthians 11, the head of the woman is the man, the head of the man is Christ, and the head of Christ is God.
The church is the body of Christ, the bride, the support staff for the work of Christ, the head and husband. In other words, the church does not exist or work for itself, but labors so that the kingdom of God can come according to Jesus' purpose and be presented to God at the end of time.
The Lord's Prayer makes no mention of the church but refers to the kingdom of God at the beginning and end of the prayer.
The church has not realized this for 2000 years and has made many mistakes. The church itself is the most precious substitute for Christ in the world, and so much energy has been devoted to the building, the work, and the church itself that the kingdom of God has been forgotten or relegated to something far away in heaven or after death.
Church buildings are necessary for the congregation to gather, but God is pleased to see His kingdom manifested on earth, not the buildings.
What is happening to the magnificent church architecture of the two thousand years of Christianity in Europe today?
The church is not responsible for its birth or growth. Even Jesus himself did nothing to build the church.
It came into being because Jesus died.
Adam did nothing to create Eve. God did it when he fell into a deep sleep.
If the church does not proclaim the kingdom of God according to the will of the bridegroom, Christ, but the church works for its own growth, the church is bound to become seriously ill and decline, and the church cannot blame God for its declining and disappearing.
The kingdom of God or the kingdom of heaven is a kingdom that comes down from above, not a kingdom that is made on earth and built up toward heaven and exalted.
It is a kingdom of the most holy and glorious, not something that cannot be exchanged or mixed with anything else of value on earth.
Matthew 9:16 No one puts a new piece of cloth on an old garment. If you do, the new piece of cloth will pull at it and tear it worse.
Deuteronomy 22:11 Do not wear a garment woven from a mixture of wool and cheesecloth.
The world is full of advances in science and culture that combine different things to create better things. There are hybrid cars that use electricity and gasoline fuel, new flavors of music by mixing classical, modern, and native music from different countries, and there are many creative products by mixing and fusing all kinds of technology. products, food, art, and other fields.
But all the material combinations in the world are in God's creation, so they can be better and nothing wrong with it. but the kingdom of God that Jesus brought should not be mixed with anything in the world.
As I've been reading Colossians lately, I've been thinking about Pastor Amos and you churched in Nepal. Paul has been preaching the kingdom of God daily in Ephesus, and many churches have been established in Asia, there is no record of him ever visiting them. While he rejoices in the news from the Colossian church, whom he had never seen face-to-face because he was imprisoned in Rome, he gives them an important warning.
He warns them of the dangers of something to be mixed with gospel in the church.
Legalism and mysticism and a philosophy that departs from the gospel and is based on the human wisdom.
While we are very excited and thankful for the progress of the gospel AND MANY NEW CHURCHES PLANTED in Nepal, we also need to heed the warnings and clear instructions about the errors and failures that have already been experienced by the Church OF THE WORLD for 2000 years. That KEY WORD OF THE teaching can be summarized WITH one word: “in”. If we have received the kingdom of God, we must be in it. ABIDE IN
WALK IN
REMAIN IN
CONTINUE IN
Paul writes in several places about how we are to abide in it. Count how many times the word “in” appears in Colossians 1 and 2 alone. If you collect the items, organize them, print them out, and keep AND APPLY them TO your life, you and the church will indeed grow as to the beloved bride of Christ.
Here are a few that come to MY mind
In Christ,
In the Word,
in the knowledge,
in grace,
in the Holy Spirit,
in love,
in faith,
in the gospel,
in the light,
in God,
All the Scriptures tell us how great it is to abide in it. On the other hand, when you leave it, no matter how close you are to it, you see all the works of Satan's hell.
There is also a defensive reason to remain in it, given the destructive practices that are tolerated and even advocated in Christendom in the name of Christianity, such as legalism, which looks very pious but is devoid of life and power; humanism, which is very touching; socialism, communism, and materialism, which seems to be promising justice and happiness; mysticism, which has gone beyond the bounds of humanity; abortion, which has gone beyond the bounds of humanity; open sexuality; high divorce rates; homosexuality; and transgenderism. God's purpose is for the fullness of the divine nature to fill His body, the church, and through the church to fill the whole world. For this to happen, WE must abide in it and not be mixed with anything else.
We believe that there is a special providence of God for the Church in Nepal to be filled with Christ to fulfill the mission of the bride of Christ to show the kingdom of God to the world and to save the world.
Thank you for your listening, your love for God, your passion for the cause of the Kingdom of God on earth, and devotion for the ministry. God bless you and your family.
GOD BLESS NEPAL!