http://bible.com/events/48450269
When it comes to the Kingdom, the call is to participation, not observation.
Acts 1:4-84On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.5For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”6Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”7He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
-This is an account of the resurrected Jesus, who has suffered on the cross, but now has been raised to life. He is preparing to ascend into heaven.-Jesus is commissioning his disciples to be his witnesses, meaning active participants in this kingdom.-Passivity will kill the church. But we are not called to passivity, we are called to action.
The Kingdom livesinyou, so it must livethroughyou.
-When we pray “thy kingdom come”, we are not just praying that the kingdom would show upinour lives. We are also asking the kingdom to comethroughour lives.-As we pray, the Lord invites us to be a part of seeing that prayer come to pass.-You can ask God to advance His kingdom and, at the same time, even today, you can be an agent of that advancement.
Matthew 25:14-30NIV14“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them.15To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey.16The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more.17So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more.18But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.19“After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.20The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’21“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’22“The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’23“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’24“Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed.25So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’26“His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed?27Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.28“ ‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags.29For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.30And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
-This parable always seems harsh to us, but Jesus tells it so that there would be no doubt that in the kingdom there are expectations.
-Notice it does not matter to the king how much you’ve been given. What matters is that we are called to use what we have to be participants in his kingdom.