The Shift From Church Age to Kingdom Age — Part 2

 

The dynamics of this shift are many and the catalyst is injustices and the ability to have freedom taken away is bringing the separation required. In this hour we have many things that are coming against us. Potential loss of religious freedom, gay marriage, and other cultural issues are emerging. These are not coming against the church per say, as some of the church is embracing and entering into this, but these issues are affecting the true ecclesia that has hid itself in the Kingdom, yet we were warned. This is the leaven spoke of in Matt 13.33. Leaven is not a positive but a negative. The word means mental and moral corruption. The worlds system knows it cannot stop the kingdom, so it is trying to corrupt it. It is trying to make it like itself with the same approaches and answers to social problem. This corruption is in the church in the form of compromise and even allowing the worlds systems and culture to come inside the walls. We have come to engage in issues and resolve social issues with the same type of  programs our governmental systems and manmade ideas have established. Yet the kingdom age is still coming!

In a desire to be sustained the church age has decided to engage culture by being relevant to. Yet all relevance requires a degree of compromise and acceptance of current culture to be heard.   To be relevant means you have become part of instead of standing opposed. The word relevant means closely connected or appropriate to the matter at hand. It means to be or find significance. That to me describes the ending of the church age, the effectiveness has run its course as it has tried to find significance. Yet our significance is only found through kingdom eyes and seeing the role our life plays in it. All seemingly hard questions are found through kingdom perspectives and not through finding connecting points to culture. Looking at past history every change was like this. Starting with Christ we see he was not relevant to Judaism but was contrary to it. No one is paying much attention to what the church currently does but everyone is paying attention to those kingdom minded who bring things contrary to current culture.

 

As one age closes and another age opens it will cause a revolution in thinking and function. Awakening is such a shift in lifestyle it will form a new culture. From that culture we will not have reform but radical reform. The kingdom age that is now upon us, like all things kingdom is demanding a response. This now is also another dilemma, will the many answer this call, or will they reject it? If we are not careful as kingdom people we too will try to be relevant to those we are trying to convince and could possible delay the kingdom age manifesting. People change how they function when their believe system changes. What we need to do is give the benefits and values of the kingdom life by both words and display. This is what was attractive in the early life of the believers in Acts. The values presented was greater than the price required to be paid for it. This enabled them to stand and endure while Christianity was birthed for the opening centuries.

 

As kingdom people we must live with kingdom principles and lifestyle. We must see things and present things not through chrucdom, but through kingdom. We must understand these principles to see them in everyday life and point them out. After all, the kingdom has always been here and is still here. People are not recognizing it because they are only seeing a worldly culture and not an eternal culture emerging.

Advertisement