The Gospel of the Kingdom
TGIF Today God Is First Volume 2, by Os Hillman
04-03-2013
TGIF Today God Is First Volume 2, by Os Hillman
04-03-2013
"Repent,
for the kingdom of heaven is near" (Matt 3:2)
God is doing a unique work on the earth
today. There are seasons in which the Holy Spirit speaks things to the Church.
During one decade it might be a focus on evangelism. During another, it might
be a greater awareness of the Holy Spirit. During yet another, it might be a
focus on social problems in cities.
Today, God is speaking very clearly to
the Church about societal transformation. Fifteen years ago, the idea of a
community being totally transformed through the Gospel of Jesus Christ was a
foreign concept. However, according to George Otis, Jr, director of the
Sentinel Group, there are over 500 communities that are in some form of
quantifiable transformation process today.
The defining characteristic of a
community that is being transformed is that the socio-economic traits are being
positively affected. The crime rate goes down, the economy is improved, and the
number of Christians in the city increases, prayer increases, and the city
leaders become Christians. It is the manifestation of Deuteronomy 28:13,
"The LORD will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to
the commands of the LORD your God that I give you this day and carefully follow
them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom."
In order to go beyond the Gospel of
Salvation to the Gospel of the Kingdom we must exercise a different level of
faith for our communities. Jesus talked about the kingdom of God more than 70
times in the New Testament - much more often than he mentioned salvation. While
salvation is part of bringing the kingdom of God on earth, it includes much more.
When the Gospel of the Kingdom comes
into a life and a community, everything in its wake is transformed. How might
God want you to be the catalyst to bring the entire Gospel of the Kingdom into
the lives and communities you are called to influence?
Today God Is First (TGIF) devotional message, Copyright by
Os Hillman, Marketplace Leaders.
