Tag: Rend Collective “Build Your Kingdom Here”

Session 8: Jesus’ Model for Prayer

Did you learn the Lord’s Prayer as a child? Maybe, like me, you recited the words without understanding their meaning. Jesus taught us to pray: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” (Matthew 6:9-13, NIV) There’s much to learn from this short but powerful model for prayer. 

First, by referring to God as our Father, Jesus shows us that He is accessible, intimate, and personal. At the same time, “hallowed be your name” illustrates the importance of approaching the Lord with reverence and awe. One commentary explains, “Too often we barge into God’s presence with presumptuous ‘to-do lists’ for Him, without being mindful of His holiness, His awesomeness, and the vast chasm that separates our nature from His. That we are even allowed to come before His throne is due only to His gracious, merciful love for His own (Hebrews 4:16). We must never take that grace for granted.”1

Our Heavenly Father is sovereign and deserves to be praised just because He’s God, not because of anything He’s done for us. This provides a humbling reminder that God doesn’t exist for us, we exist for Him. Acknowledging His holiness helps us to regain perspective when our needs seem urgent.

Next, praying “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” invites God to increase His kingdom on earth right now through each of us. As followers of Jesus, we are citizens of God’s kingdom, and we carry that citizenship with us wherever we go. We’re each marked by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13). Just like a passport identifies you as a citizen of a specific country, the Holy Spirit identifies you as God’s child. So, wherever you go, you have the opportunity to let the light of God’s love shine out from you, as Jesus describes when He says, “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16, NIV)

Praying for God’s kingdom to come impacts how believers view their immediate circumstances. We recognize that God has empowered us to change the atmosphere of our surroundings and we invite Him to work in and through us. In the rest of the prayer, Jesus shows three ways we can pray personally that will expand the Lord’s rule and reign:

-Make Room for the Kingdom of God in Your Daily Life: We have the privilege of asking God to meet our needs for “daily bread.” Just as our bodies were made to need sustenance from food every day, our hearts were made to need daily connection with God. Going to Him consistently reminds us self-sufficiency is only an illusion. Everything we have, including our ability to earn a living, ultimately comes from God. Asking the Lord to meet our physical and spiritual needs daily keeps us humble, but also enables us to grow in our connection to Him and our dependence upon Him. So, commit to spending time in God’s Word and prayer consistently, even when the Extraordinary Prayer study comes to an end. Be intentional about creating space in your schedule to be quiet before the Lord. Ask your Heavenly Father to show you what distractions you can eliminate that will free you up to draw near to Him consistently. To read an expanded explanation on this portion of the prayer, see the link at the bottom.*

-Expand the Kingdom of God with Confession and Forgiveness: In the next part of the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus illustrates the importance of identifying and confessing our sins.  “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” (Matthew 6:12, NIV) We’ve become a society averse to accepting responsibility for our wrongdoing. But if we follow Jesus, we must be willing to confess when we’ve sinned and seek forgiveness from God and others we’ve hurt. Likewise, we expand God’s kingdom when we forgive others for the wrongs done to us. This is the only portion of the Lord’s Prayer that Jesus expands on further: “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matthew 6:12, 14-15, NIV) Our willingness to ask for and offer forgiveness stands out in a world bent on sidestepping sin, nursing resentment, and seeking retaliation. For a deeper dive on these two topics, see the links at the bottom.*

-Spread the Kingdom of God by Praying Against Temptation and Evil: In the final portion of the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus tells us to pray: “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” (Matthew 6:13, NIV) Our flesh and spirit battle continually; praying for the Lord not to lead us into temptation and to deliver us from evil demonstrates humble acknowledgement of this fact. It’s a request to keep sin from gaining a foothold in our lives. When we know our weaknesses and are aware of the areas where we’re likely to fall into sin, we can pray proactively, asking the Lord to guide and protect us. Relying on God’s strength to withstand temptation also encourages others who may be struggling in similar ways. Making the hard choice to uphold integrity and righteousness expands the Lord’s kingdom and inspire others to do the same. 

Increasing God’s dominion on earth starts in our hearts and minds. Let Rend Collective’s song “Build Your Kingdom Here” inspire your prayers today. 

*Interested in understanding more? Take a look at this post on daily bread by clicking here, this one on confession by clicking here or this one on forgiveness by clicking here.

1. Commentary quotation from:  https://www.gotquestions.org/Lords-name-vain.html

Your Kingdom Come

Did you learn the Lord’s Prayer as a child? Maybe, like me, you recited the words without grasping their meaning. Praying the second line: “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” can be a strange and difficult concept to grasp. As I got older and learned more, I assumed this line in the prayer referred to Jesus’ second coming, described in the book of Revelation.  I didn’t realize that it also invites God to increase His kingdom on earth right now through us. The Lords’ Prayer anticipates every believer joining in this endeavor. Let’s explore what this means together.

As followers of Jesus, we are citizens of God’s kingdom, and we carry that citizenship with us at all times. Believers in Christ are marked by the Holy Spirit as God’s children (Ephesians 1:13), similar to the way our passports identify us as citizens of specific countries. Wherever we go, we have the opportunity to let the light of the Lord’s love shine out from us. Jesus describes this in the Sermon on the Mount when He says, “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16, NIV)

In the Old Testament we learn the Lord’s original plan was to use Adam and Eve and their offspring to spread His kingdom. God made man and woman in His image, gave them authority over the earth and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.” (Genesis 1:28) Tragically, when Satan succeeded in tempting Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, their choice to disobey God brought sin into the world. This gave the enemy an opening to hinder God’s kingdom from spreading on earth. His days are numbered, but he will stop at nothing to keep the world shrouded in the kingdom of darkness.

Although our planet has been tainted by sin, God’s kingdom still exists in its fullness in heaven. When we pray for the Lord’s kingdom to come, we’re pushing back the darkness and reclaiming territory held by the enemy. Author and theologian, N.T Wright, explains that we do this when we reflect God’s love, wisdom, creativity, and power to the world through the endeavors we pursue, the choices we make, and the way we treat others.

One of my favorite examples of this comes from The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom—a book about two sisters arrested for hiding Jews in Nazi-occupied Holland. In one scene, Corrie and Betsie Ten Boom arrive at Ravensbruck, a notorious women’s extermination camp in Germany during World War II. As they are ushered into their quarters, they discover a cavernous room housing four times as many women as it was designed to hold. Corrie describes the scene: “Our noses told us, first, that the place was filthy: somewhere plumbing had backed up, the bedding was soiled and rancid. Then as our eyes adjusted to the gloom, we saw that there were no individual beds at all, but great square piers stacked three high, and wedged side by side, and end to end with only an occasional narrow aisle slicing through.” (The Hiding Place p. 208)

Their first night in the barracks, the two sisters listen in distress as “among exhausted, ill-fed people, quarrels [erupt] constantly.” Betsie clasps Corrie’s hand and prays: “Lord Jesus, send Your peace into this room. There has been too little praying here. The very walls know it. But where You come Lord, the spirit of strife cannot exist.” (p. 211).

As the sisters attempt to settle into their new living situation, Corrie laments to her sister, “Betsie, how can we live in such a place?” It takes Corrie a moment to realize Betsie’s answer is a prayer: “Show us. Show us how.” (p. 208) Within moments Betsie remembers a familiar passage of Scripture and realizes it is the answer to her prayer: “Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:14-18 NKJV)

Rather than fixating on self-pity or personal survival, they choose to participate in expanding God’s kingdom in a place that would rival hell itself. The sisters begin to apply these words from Scripture and share the hope of God’s love to encourage anyone who will listen. They care for the physical, spiritual, and emotional needs of their fellow prisoners and encourage them with nightly worship services. The atmosphere in the barracks slowly changes as the Lord answers Betsie’s prayer. What a beautiful example this provides of shining light into the darkness—changing an atmosphere by bringing God’s kingdom to earth.

We can do this today through the power of the Holy Spirit, who enables us to reflect creation as it was meant to be. Seeking His will over our own spreads the Lord’s kingdom on earth. This happens when we love others, offer forgiveness, express gratitude, practice kindness, delight in creation, comfort people in their struggles, share the hope of the gospel, choose good, and reject evil. Building God’s kingdom on earth brings joy and hope in the present and prepares the world for Jesus’ eventual return. It also fulfills us in way that pursuing our personal agendas never will.

Will you ask God to use you to bring more of His kingdom to earth? Imagine what could happen if we did this together consistently, just as Jesus taught us to do in the Lord’s Prayer. 

Several songs have significantly impacted my understanding of spreading God’s kingdom on earth, but “Build Your Kingdom Here” by Rend Collective is my favorite. It’s become the prayer of my heart and is one I’ve posted in the past (and will probably post in the future). Let it inspire you to make the lyrics your prayer too.

Corrie Ten Boom, Elizabeth Sherrill & John Sherrill, The Hiding Place, Chosen Books, 1971.

NT Wright, Surprised by Hope, Zondervan, 2007, p. 207 & 208.

God’s Kingdom on Earth

My mom was the first person to explain the impact knowing Jesus could have on daily life. At the tender age of six, I was starting first grade at a new school in a new town. Each morning a lump would form in my throat and I’d fight back tears when it was time to leave for school. I dreaded being away from the comfort and security of my mom’s presence. My tearful departures didn’t let up until one day when she leaned down to hug me and said, “Even though I can’t be there with you, Jesus can. Just remember that He’s there holding your hand, no matter what.” Her words were such a comfort to me that my tears stopped flowing. Every day after that I’d plead, “Tell me again, mom. Tell me about Jesus holding my hand.” The angst I’d felt at the start of each day was gone. 

My mom’s reassurance of Jesus’ presence was a small but significant way that she spread God’s kingdom on earth. In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus taught us to pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:9-10) I think my mom knew that this prayer is about more than Jesus’ second coming in the future; it’s also about inviting Him into the present. Her reassurance didn’t change my circumstances, but it transformed my world. The knowledge that Jesus was right beside me gave me a sense of peace and security I hadn’t had before. My new perspective sustained me through the difficulty of our move and many other challenges in the years that followed.

God has empowered all believers to change the atmosphere on earth in this present time. Christine Caine explains, “Jesus didn’t save us to build a Christian subculture. He didn’t save us to hide from the world, avoid the world, ignore the world, fear the world, condemn the world, or judge the world. He sent us in to the world to love the world He created and loves so tenderly and fiercely… So to understand the kingdom of God we need to remember that a kingdom reflects the character of its king.” (p. 170 & 171)

Caine also explains “Through Jesus, God’s rule has already entered into our here and now, but it is not yet fully realized, as the fullness of His kingdom will not come until Jesus returns. As a result, we’re living in a period of ‘already and not yet.’” She then asks a penetrating question, “How are we to live in this time?” (p. 173)

Let me humbly offer a few suggestions for answering her question:

-Make Room for the Kingdom of God in Your Personal/ Daily Life: Commit to spending time in God’s Word and prayer daily. Be intentional about creating space in your schedule to be quiet before the Lord. If you think you’re too busy, ask God to show you what distractions you can eliminate that will free you up to draw near to Him consistently. (If you want tips for how to structure that time, see my blog “Rise to Rest.”)

-Make room for the Kingdom of God in Your Relationships: Your faith is personal, but that doesn’t mean it should stay private. Share with your family and friends about what you’re reading and learning in Scripture. Give them opportunities to ask questions. Cultivate spiritual dialogue in your close relationships so that it’s natural to talk about your faith, pray together, listen to Christian music, or offer encouragement based on biblical wisdom. (And be patient if they need time to warm up to this.)

-Spread the Kingdom of God in Your Community and Beyond: Ask the Lord to expand His kingdom through you and then be open to His prompting. Say “yes” to opportunities that allow you to rub shoulders consistently with others who haven’t heard the gospel. Purpose to flavor your surroundings with God’s love, wisdom, and grace. The efforts you make in your personal life, relationships, and community will expand the Lord’s Kingdom on Earth. You’ll be giving others a taste of His love and reflecting the character of your Heavenly Father. Author and theologian N.T. Wright explains:

“You are…accomplishing something that will become in due course part of God’s new world.  Every act of love, gratitude and kindness; every work of art or music inspired by the love of God and delight in the beauty of his creation…every act of care and nurture, of comfort and support, for one’s fellow human beings…and of course every prayer, all Spirit-led teaching, every deed that spreads the gospel, builds up the church, embraces and embodies holiness rather than corruption, and makes the name of Jesus honored in the world—all of this will find its way, through the resurrecting power of God, into the new creation that God will one day make…what we do in Christ and by the Spirit in the present is not wasted. It will last all the way into God’s new world.”  

My mom spread God’s kingdom on earth not just by sharing Jesus with me, but by discipling and mentoring many others over the years. In the past few months I’ve seen the evidence of her impact as cards and letters from many people have poured in. What a privilege it was to sit at her bedside reading them to her as she prepared to meet Jesus face to face. Looking back, I see she spent her life expanding His kingdom one person at a time. And I rejoice knowing that she’s experiencing the Lord’s kingdom in its fullness now that she’s home in heaven.

Christine Caine says, “We have been saved not only from something but for something: the work of the kingdom here on earth, the mission of the church.” (p.173) Will you commit to praying consistently for the Lord to use you to further His kingdom? Invest in your personal relationship with Him and then let it ripple out from there.

Rend Collective’s song “Build Your Kingdom Here” is one of my favorites. Listen and make it your prayer today.

As a bonus, I’m also including Natalie Grant’s song “Face to Face.” It captures my story describing walking hand in hand with Jesus until we see Him face to face.

Christine Caine, 20/20. Seen Chosen. Sent. Lifeway Press 2019.

N.T. Wright Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection and the Mission of the Church, HarperOne, 2008, page 208.

Weaving God’s Truth into Your Day

In her closing comments of Discerning the Voice of God, Priscilla Shirer urges us not to compartmentalize our faith, but to let it be woven throughout our daily lives. She says, “What you’ve read in your quiet time or heard from your pastor at church the previous Sunday is not disconnected from the happenings of a regular morning, afternoon, or evening. If you’ll consider Him throughout the day, even when it’s a busy one, He’ll weave it all together so you can know His will and ways—as long as you’re actively listening.” (p. 194)
 
One of the best ways I’ve found to keep God’s truth in the forefront of my mind throughout the day is by listening to Christian music. Priscilla comments, “As the worship music speaks of His attributes, I ponder the lyrics and allow them to lead me into personal worship. The music envelops me. I am both overwhelmed and encouraged by an awareness of His presence.”  (p. 184-285) And in the Psalms, David mentions music many times, including this prayer, “You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.” (Psalm 32:7 NIV)
                       
For me, lyrics I hear continually shape my perspective and impact how I see myself and others. They help me to maintain a vertical focus on God and to let His ways inform my attitudes, actions, and choices instead of defaulting to my sinful human nature.
 
Looking back, I see that Christian music began steadily influencing me during a season when I ached with loneliness and longed to be loved and known. It was during my first year away at college. I’d chosen a huge, secular university filled with people who had diverse ideas and life choices. As much as I enjoyed being a student at the school, I felt like a tiny guppy swimming in a vast ocean. I longed to connect with true friends who shared my love for God and who would journey with me through the challenges college held. But finding and making like-minded friends took time—especially in the beehive of activity at a major university. To soothe my aching heart, I started playing an old cassette tape I’d brought from home. It was one of the few Christian albums I owned. Each night, I’d find solace from Amy Grant singing:
 
“In a little while we’ll be with the Father, can’t you see Him smile? 
In a little while we’ll be home forever, in a while
We’re just here to learn to love Him, we’ll be home in just a little while
Days like these are just a test of our will, will we walk or will we fall?
Well, I can almost see the top of the hill, and I believe it’s worth it all.”
 
I would drift off to sleep with those words of comfort filling my mind. Throughout the day, I found reassurance remembering them—especially when I faced difficult circumstances or felt tempted to wallow in loneliness.
 
Since that time, the options for good, Christian music have expanded considerably. And, not surprisingly, I associate many songs with different seasons in my life when I needed hope, encouragement, or direction. 

When our niece lost her battle cancer at the tender age of two, songs like “Your Love is Life to Me” by FFH and “Every Minute That I Breathe” by Jana Alyra helped me to trust God and to recognize that hope in Him stretches into eternity. Life on earth is only a shadow of what’s to come. And when my dad went home to heaven a few years later, it was Amy Grant’s rendition of “This Is My Father’s World” that soothed me with the reminder of God’s sovereignty:
 
“This is my Father’s world/ Oh, let me never forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong/ God is the ruler yet
This is my Father’s world/ Why should my heart be sad?
The Lord is king, let the heavens ring/ God reigns, let the earth be glad.”
 
It was Francesca Battistelli’s song “This Is the Stuff” that helped me to keep my perspective when our simple home remodel went sideways and became a source of painful, but necessary, spiritual refinement. And Matt Maher’s “Hold Us Together” prompted me to thank God for the people who rallied to support my family during that difficult season.
 
Christian music hasn’t just buoyed me in hard times, but has broadened my understanding of Scriptural truth and showed me how to apply it in my daily life. Rend Collective’s “Build Your Kingdom Here” deepened my understanding of the part of the Lord’s Prayer that says, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” I’d never fully understood that God meant for me to participate in bringing more of His kingdom to earth before hearing that song. Similarly, Jason Gray’s song “With Every Act of Love” inspired me with tangible examples of how my actions could further God’s kingdom every day. Josh Wilson’s song “Pushing Back the Dark” instilled me with the courage to shine the light of God’s love in secular environments. It also inspired me to accept the invitation to lead a Bible study for women exploring faith.
 
Listening to Christian music isn’t a replacement for reading Scripture or praying, but a way to reinforce God’s truth as we go about our days. Song lyrics playing in our minds can give us hope, encouragement, perspective, and words for our prayers. They help us to keep the right focus in a world filled with distraction and discouragement. 
 
In the book of Zephaniah, we’re reminded, “The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.” (Zephaniah 3:17, NIV ‘84) Do you let God rejoice over you with singing regularly? You’ll find it much easier to include Him in your day when you do.
 
I often include a song at the end of my blog posts– now you know why. If you’ve never taken the time to listen to one before, then today is your day! I’ve posted my current favorite: “Build My Life” sung by Pat Barrett. The lyrics have become a regular prayer for me. Why not let them do the same for you?
Priscilla Shirer, Discerning the Voice of God, Lifeway Press, 2018.


Be Fruitful and Multiply

If my kids ever decide to map out their family tree, they’ll discover that the branches aren’t balanced or symmetrical. Some of their ancestors came from enormous families and produced limbs that were laden with bountiful fruit. Some stand alone, signifying the final offspring of a branch. Until recently, I never thought about why we use the symbol of a tree when we depict our ancestry visually. Maybe it has a connection to God’s language  when He delivers His plan for humanity in the opening pages of Genesis. Moments after creating man and woman in His image, God gives them some clear instructions, usually referred to as the Cultural Mandate:

And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Genesis 1:28, ESV).

At first glance, the mandate He gives seems straightforward and practical: they need to “be fruitful and multiply” by procreating to populate the earth. Their job is to bring order and structure to His creation and to oversee it according to His plan. However, I think there is also a deeper meaning to His words. Along with multiplying the number of people in the world, God was calling Adam and Eve to advance His kingdom on earth—to rule with, wisdom, love, and justice. He wanted them to carry out His will so that others on the planet could know and love Him as they did. Unfortunately, their choice to sin complicated this plan, but it didn’t thwart it entirely.

Throughout the Old Testament we see God’s people in a continual cycle. It would start when they rejected His way and sinned, which led to their decline as a people. This would be followed by consequences allowed by God’s hand. Eventually this would lead to them to repentance, renewed obedience, and restored relationship with Him. In between failures, the Israelites fitfully furthered His kingdom at different points in history. But it isn’t until Jesus arrives on the scene that we fully recognize the magnitude of God’s plan. “From the beginning, humanity was mandated to represent God, build culture and bring shalom to His world. Although compromised by the Fall, the mandate remains in place and is in fact fulfilled in Christ, the true God and true man who will ultimately restore His creation.” (“The Cultural Mandate: Living as Divine Image-Bearers” by Subby Szterszky. Click here for the full article.)

With Jesus’ birth, God renews His plan for His people to be fruitful and multiply to expand His kingdom—only this time it’s not so much about increasing the population as it is about changing the culture one heart at a time. His goal was for us to view ourselves and the world from His perspective instead of our own, which is why Jesus says: “No one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again” (John 3:3, NIV). It is not until we are spiritually transformed that we can recognize God’s kingdom all around us and participate in advancing it further. Jesus explains, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst’” (Luke 17:20-21, NIV).

God’s kingdom has always been present in the world. And once we identify the places He’s moving and join Him in His work, He uses us to impact our surroundings. That’s what we’re inviting Him to do when we say: “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” in the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:10, NIV). Those words reveal our longing for God to carry out His will on earth so that His kingdom will continue to expand. This prayer acknowledges that we’re putting aside our wills and aligning ourselves with God’s agenda.

In the final days of His ministry, Jesus commissioned His followers to continue multiplying and bearing fruit when He said: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20, NIV).

He assured them of His constant presence with them, reminding them that multiplying and bearing fruit was only possible by staying closely connected with Him. Perhaps they recalled His earlier teaching:“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5. NIV).

Every follower of Jesus represents another branch on God’s family tree. And by abiding with Him, we’re equipped to share His love with others so that the branches will multiply and continue to bear more fruit in His ever-expanding kingdom.

When we walk consistently with Jesus and allow His love to flow through us, we’re doing the work of advancing God’s kingdom in a world that desperately needs Him. One of my favorite songs describing the impact we can have on our surroundings is “Build Your Kingdom Here” by Rend Collective.  Listen and make it your prayer today.

Jen Wilkin, God of Creation: A Study of Genesis 1-11, Week 4 Lifeway Press, 2017

Note: the cycle of God’s people described in paragraph four is a commonly held truth among Bible Scholars.  This particular statement is paraphrased from Gideon: Your Weakness. God’s Strength by Priscilla Shirer.

Eliminate Idols; Build God’s Kingdom- Final Thoughts on No Other Gods

Moving the colorful troops around on the game board seems fairly simple. But if you‘ve ever played the game of “Risk,” you know it’s actually quite complicated. Dubbed “The Game of Global Domination,” the rules written by Parker Brothers explain: “Play the commander of vast armies, a general of superior strategy and a tactician unlike any mankind has ever seen. Your goal is simple: to take over the world.”

Each player claims a portion of a large fictionalized world map and challenges opponents to battles. Using a combination of rolling dice and drawing cards that determine a player’s advantages and limitations, players must calculate attack and defense strategies. The game can last for hours. I pictured the large world map and the tiny game pieces as I thought about what happens when we leave idols behind to focus fully on God.

Why, you may ask, would a board game prompt such thoughts? The answer is simple: some of us are so consumed with our own circumstances that we don’t realize we have the opportunity to expand God’s kingdom on earth, like spreading more of His troops across the map on the game board. Once we’re ready to leave our personal agendas behind and trust His will above our own, we discover what the abundant life God promises is really all about.

In the book of Joshua, the Israelites expanded God’s physical kingdom on earth when they entered the Promised Land and began taking possession of it. We have the opportunity to do something similar on a spiritual level every day. It’s all part of living out the phrase in the Lord’s Prayer that says “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10) Yet sometimes we focus so much on our personal relationship with God that we overlook the fact that we’re called to look beyond ourselves. Claiming Jesus as Savior should go hand in hand with increasing His rule and reign on earth.

Back in Genesis, God’s original plan was to use Adam and Eve to spread His kingdom. He made them in His image, gave them authority over the earth and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.” (Genesis 1:28, NIV) Sadly, when Satan succeeded in tempting them in the Garden of Eden, their choice to disobey God brought sin into the world. This caused the authority originally given to them to be passed to the devil. Although God had ultimate sovereignty, the enemy was (and still is) temporarily granted authority because of Adam and Eve’s choice to sin.

The good news is God’s kingdom still exists in its fullness in heaven. By doing His will, we increase His kingdom on earth. Author, Bible scholar, and Anglican Bishop N.T. Wright explains: “God intends his wise, creative, loving presence and power to be reflected…into his world through his human creatures. He has enlisted us to act as his stewards in the project of creation. And, following the disaster of rebellion and corruption [that took place in the Garden of Eden], he has built into the gospel message the fact that through the work of Jesus and the power of the Spirit, he equips humans to help in the work of getting the project back on track.”

Imagine the example of the game I described. Although God ultimately owns the “game board” (the world) and all of the pieces, the enemy has been given a temporary seat at the table. For a time, he has the opportunity to strategize about how he can thwart God’s kingdom from spreading on earth. Still, many people who love the Lord remain passive as events unfold, not understanding they’re meant to play a part in His ongoing plan to expand His kingdom on earth. Those who realize it help to reclaim the world for good instead of letting it languish in evil.

Through the power of the Holy Spirit, followers of Jesus reflect creation as God intended it to be. Once we eliminate the idols that hinder us and make room for God, we’re ready to change the atmosphere in our world. Engaging in the adventure of building God’s kingdom on earth brings joy, hope and fulfillment in a way that idols never will. Understanding this makes the hollow things we used to cherish seem flimsy, insignificant and useless by comparison. Loving God with all of our hearts, souls, minds and strength enables Him to do amazing things through us. The ripple effects cause His kingdom to spread throughout the earth, preparing it for the day when John’s prophecy about heaven and earth merging will become a reality:

“Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelation 21:3b-4, NIV)

There are two songs that have impacted me deeply as I’ve considered the part we play in furthering God’s kingdom on earth: “With Every Act of Love” by Jason Gray and “Build Your Kingdom Here” by Rend Collective. Both provide tangible examples and inspiring perspectives about this topic. Rend Collective’s song also prompted me to write a prayer about this compelling subject. Would you consider praying it with me?

God, unleash your kingdom’s power, reaching near and far. We know no force of hell can stop your beauty from changing hearts. You made us for much more than the comfort and security we seek from idols. Awake the kingdom seed in us. Fill us with the strength and love of Christ. We are your church; let us always be reminded that we are the hope on earth! Build your kingdom here; let the darkness fear. Show your mighty hand; heal our streets and land. Set your church on fire, win this nation back; change the atmosphere. Build your kingdom here, we pray.

v=3q7xnR9E3gohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3q7xnR9E3go

Kelly Minter, No Other Gods: Confronting Our Modern Day Idols, Lifeway Press, 2007, 2012.

N.T. Wright, Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection and the Mission of the Church, HarperOne, 2008, p. 207.