Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:14-15)
The church is supposed to be God’s threat to the status quo, because the status quo has been wrong since the last meal in the Garden of Eden! The first act of Jesus in leaving the wilderness was to proclaim an alternative kingdom. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the announcement the best news the world has ever known has come—the kingdom of God.
The kingdom of God is a subversion of reality as we know it—it is a subversive reality that is here NOW. Jesus is preaching to the imagination of the people—he is reimagining of a new world order where He is the key player. Jesus is preaching a new world order that essentially turns our culture on its head.
It’s a subversive kingdom that says another way of life is not only possible, but is mandated and valid; that places Jesus Christ as the key player, the key figure. It is a message of a King and kingdom that is “at hand,” that is now, that is breaking into our daily lives as a living reality.
The kingdom of God is a subversion of our comfortable American way of life that speaks of a King, Jesus Christ, who challenges our old ways of thinking and leads us into a new life. I use the term “subversive” because it comes quietly and essentially “under the radar” of our lives. Jesus, elsewhere describes the kingdom of subversion this way,
The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.” Another parable He spoke to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.[1]
Jesus is essentially explaining that the kingdom of God starts off small and insignificant, but grows into a beautiful work that takes over our whole life. The kingdom of God is a way of life, not just something we believe in intellectually.
In the American Church we have this view of Christianity as a “belief system” or doctrinal statement, and don’t get me wrong, it is that for sure, but the kingdom of God, the message Jesus is preaching is so much more. The kingdom of God, the Gospel of the kingdom, is a way of life, a new world order, a worldview that will impact everything in our lives.
It all starts so very small…and then it grows and grows and grows.
It begins with faith in Christ and then it becomes a subversion of everything within us—intellectual, spiritual, emotional and social. Before we know it, we are acting different, thinking different, responding different, planning different, and talking different.
The subversive kingdom has come! Let Christ take over your life. Let Christ have everything—he already has it, but it’s time to surrender it all to him. Repent. Believe. Enjoy.
On the Road,
Steve
- The kingdom of God begins to impact your dating life, your marriage, your free time, your hobbies, your use of time
“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”
- The kingdom of God attracts all kinds of birds who come to nest in your branches
- New relationships…new opportunities…new ideas forming in your head and heart
- You start going to 40 nights of prayer!!
- You start opening up your home to people who you would never have even had a relationship with before
- You give yourself to serving, loving, helping, and praying—weird
The kingdom of God is the rule and reign of Christ and his way of life in your heart!
The kingdom of God is a subversive reality in our culture, in our city:
- In Jerusalem, little did the authorities imagine that this ragtag, outlaw group of 120, essentially hiding out in an upper room on the outskirts of the city, would begin a movement that would “turn the city upside down!”
- Little did anyone imagine that a few fisherman, a tax collector, some questionable women, and some blue collar men would rock an entire city
- Little did anyone envision that this group of misfits and malcontents would go out and preach a New World Order out in the countryside that would go worldwide
- I must be honest, I believe God is going to birth a movement The Road, right here. I believe God wants to use us to disciple a new breed of men and women who are “wholehearted disciples” who will subversively bring the kingdom of God to this city
- I believe God is going to build a movement of likeminded men and women who will plant churches all over the world
Let’s pray for our city and for the kingdom of God to be proclaimed all over El Paso County, starting within our own families and friendships
- Families and Friendships
- Work places
- Hobbies
- Etc.
Steve
On the Road
[1] The New King James Version. 1982 (Mt 13:31–33). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
