Remember, the Earth is the Lord's and in His power, His children are going to take it back. The Lord Jesus prayed not for their rescue but for their protection from the influence and attacks of the "evil one". I am speaking of Satan, the pretender, who will not yield passively to this incursion of Heaven into "his" domain. Remember, as Kingdom Citizens, we are in this world, but not of it. The King made this statement: "I have given them Your Word; and the world hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world".
We live in one culture but are identified with another culture that should make us a distinctive presence in the world. There is one reason why Christ's "ekklesia" has not made more of an impact in this world. That is because they call themselves "Christians" and have accommodated and adapted to this world's culture. They have failed to rightly identify themselves as citizens of the Kingdom, and to embrace the culture of our kingdom. We have neglected our "gardens" and allowed them to become overgrown with weeds. In essence, we failed to maintain the culture of our home government. Remember, there are two kinds of individuals in this world: those who are children of the Kingdom of Heaven, and those who are not. Christ Himself made this distinction clear in a teaching story He told about a farmer who planted good seed in his field. Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”
When Jesus asked them about the meaning of the story, He explained this way: He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
Jesus here used a garden-like analogy to speak about the Kingdom of Heaven. Remember, our lives should leave absolutely no doubt as to which culture we live under. As Kingdom citizens, the world's culture is not our culture. If we allow the "weeds" of the world to invade our "garden", it won't be long before no one can tell the difference, just like it has with those who call themselves Christians.
John 17:14 Matthew 13:24-30 Matthew 13:37-43a
~~W.R. Luchie
We live in one culture but are identified with another culture that should make us a distinctive presence in the world. There is one reason why Christ's "ekklesia" has not made more of an impact in this world. That is because they call themselves "Christians" and have accommodated and adapted to this world's culture. They have failed to rightly identify themselves as citizens of the Kingdom, and to embrace the culture of our kingdom. We have neglected our "gardens" and allowed them to become overgrown with weeds. In essence, we failed to maintain the culture of our home government. Remember, there are two kinds of individuals in this world: those who are children of the Kingdom of Heaven, and those who are not. Christ Himself made this distinction clear in a teaching story He told about a farmer who planted good seed in his field. Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”
When Jesus asked them about the meaning of the story, He explained this way: He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
Jesus here used a garden-like analogy to speak about the Kingdom of Heaven. Remember, our lives should leave absolutely no doubt as to which culture we live under. As Kingdom citizens, the world's culture is not our culture. If we allow the "weeds" of the world to invade our "garden", it won't be long before no one can tell the difference, just like it has with those who call themselves Christians.
John 17:14 Matthew 13:24-30 Matthew 13:37-43a
~~W.R. Luchie
