NS Ministries

The church is to be an extension of the Kingdom.  The Kingdom should never be an extension of the church.  While it may appear as if I am making a play on words but the hard and real facts are – the Kingdom is Divine – the church even though built upon the precepts of heaven is basically a human institution.  The Kingdom is built on the following scripture:

“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”  Jesus said to him, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment.  The second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  All the law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”  (Matthew 22:36 – 22:40)

The church however, is built on rules and resolutions that dictate thou shall do and thou shall do not drafted by human minds.

Another important element in the relationship of the Kingdom of God and the church is found in the 14^th chapter of John:

Jesus replied, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”  (John 14:6)

I am not suggesting that we do not need the church or that because it is a human institution that is something that needs to be discarded as something useless.  I am not suggesting that we no longer need to attend church to the contrary never in world history has church attendance been more crucial.  What I am saying is simply the Kingdom and the King first followed by everything else.  That not only applies to the church but our individual lives as well.  The Apostle Paul in his letter to the Ephesians spells it out as plain and plain can be:

I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live worthily of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you too were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of the gift of Christ.  (Ephesians 4:1 – 4:7)

Paul is calling for unity within the Christian movement yet at the same time he is telling us that our diversity is God authored, “But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of the gift of Christ.”  The divine authorship of diversity is also illustrated in Jesus’ choice for his disciples.  As we know there were times when the disciples were not always in unity with each other – one of them betrayed him – one of the denied him – one needed proof to believe in him – they all argued over who was the most important.  However, in response to the Great Commission each of them in their own individual uniqueness put Jesus and the Kingdom first and for the first time in history the Kingdom went into the world in many different directions.

Not only did the Kingdom go into the world in many different directions following the Great Commission but the Christian Church was founded as well.  You cannot read very far into the book of Acts before you come across some divisions within the early church.  Even further down the pages of history we discover in Paul’s Letters similar divisions:

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are following a different gospel – not that there really is another gospel, but there are some who are disturbing you and wanting to distort the gospel of Christ.  (Galatians 1:6 – 1:7)

Again I am not trying to undermine the purpose and importance of the church in our lives my purpose is only to contrast the difference between the church and the Kingdom Jesus not only brought with him but established as well.  Perhaps another way of looking at the Kingdom and the church is the Kingdom is within us whereas the church is “without” us.

At the risk of taking Jesus out of context in his Sermon on the Mount he established a priority when it comes to heavenly things (the Kingdom) and earthly things (the church):

But above all pursue his kingdom and righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.  (Matthew 6:33) 

Basically what Jesus was saying, “If you want your church made of Godly then pursue the Kingdom of God first and God will bless your church with Godly things.”

The Apostle Paul in Romans writes, “For just as in one body we have many members, and not all the members serve the same function, so we who are many are one body in Christ, and individually we are members who belong to one another.”  (Romans 12:4 – 12:5)  Even though Paul is addressing this letter to the Roman church I’d like to place it in the scope of the entire Christian movement with all of our various denominations.  We are many yet we need to be one because there is only ONE CHRIST.  To further emphasize my point in his first letter to the Corinthian church Paul writes, “Is not the cup of blessing that we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread that we break a sharing in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all share the one bread.”  (1^st Corinthians 10:16 – 10:17)

It is just as important for our individual churches to pursue the Kingdom of God first as it is for each of us to pursue Kingdomly things first.  What I mean by that is the Christian Community which is comprised of the individual churches that not only proclaim themselves to be body of Christ but proclaim themselves to be Jesus’ disciples as well should first build up God’s Kingdom on Earth first and themselves second.   The message of the “Churches Who Proclaim Jesus Christ” to the world should with one united voice be saying:

"I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more they can do. But I will warn you whom you should fear: Fear the one who, after the killing, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!  (Luke 12:4 – 12:5)

In the book of Acts and throughout Paul’s letters to the churches there are references to the money collected and sent in support of the church at Jerusalem.  One church supporting another church by people more interested in building up the Kingdom then themselves.  One of the most famous scripture quotes found in the bible is in the gospel of John:

For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved through him.  (John 3:16 – 3:17)

“HE GAVE…”  God did not send Jesus into the world to GET; Jesus came into our world to GIVE.  In the 10^th chapter of Luke Jesus sends out missionaries to spread and build up God’s Kingdom:

Go! I am sending you out like lambs surrounded by wolves. Do not carry a money bag, a traveler's bag, or sandals, and greet no one on the road. Whenever you enter a house, first say, 'May peace be on this house!' And if a peace-loving person is there, your peace will remain on him, but if not, it will return to you.  (Luke 10:3 – 10:6)

Jesus did not send them out to GET (Do not carry a money bag, a traveler's bag, or sandals) but to GIVE his message of peace.  The importance of what Jesus was sending them out to do is emphasized when his said, “…and greet no one on the road.” 

“May peace be on this house!”  Is one of the most important “messages” we as Christians have to GIVE not only each other but more importantly to our brothers and sisters whose peace is based not on knowing Jesus intimately but based on the assumption that peace is the absence of conflict.  But before we can GIVE the “message” we first need to experience the “message” but before we can even do that it is an absolute must that we understand it is not our “message” it is the sole possession of Jesus!  "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; I do not give it to you as the world does. Do not let your hearts be distressed or lacking in courage.”  (John 14:27, emphasis added)  I believe what Jesus is asking us to do is to GIVE to the world what we have already conceived and received.

Of the common beliefs of the “Churches Who Proclaim Jesus Christ” one of the most important and powerful ones is the belief in the bible.  While each of us may use a different version each of those versions have between their covers Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.  And within each version are what have been called The Beatitudes:

(1)  When he saw the crowds, he went up the mountain. After he sat down his disciples came to him.

(2)  Then he began to teach them by saying:

(3)  "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.

(4)  "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

(5)  "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

(6)  "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.

(7)  "Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

(8)  "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

(9)  "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God.

(10)  "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.

(11)  "Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil things about you falsely on account of me.

(12)  Rejoice and be glad because your reward is great in heaven, for they persecuted the prophets before you in the same way.

(Matthew 5:1 – 5:12)

I believe the Beatitudes are “God’s Nine Point Plan” for building up his Kingdom on Earth.  I believe the Beatitudes are Jesus’ “Nine Point Plan” for experiencing the peace he GIVES.  I believe the Beatitudes are the Holy Spirit’s “Nine Point Teaching Plan” to teach us how to live with each other as Christians and as brothers and sisters of the entire population of the world.

I believe the problems facing our world are of such magnitude that it will take each of us as individuals and as individual churches united in One Jesus, One God, One Spirit, One Faith, and One Body.  United we stand!  Divided the entire earth will fall!  

While space does not permit me in this article to go into the Beatitudes I would like to associate as Ezekiel’s Dry Bones:

The hand of the LORD was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and placed me in the midst of the valley, and it was full of bones. He made me walk all around among them. I realized there were a great many bones in the valley and they were very dry. He said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" I said to him, "Sovereign Lord, you know." Then he said to me, "Prophesy over these bones, and tell them: 'Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. This is what the sovereign LORD says to these bones: Look, I am about to infuse breath into you and you will live. I will put tendons on you and muscles over you and will cover you with skin; I will put breath in you and you will live. Then you will know that I am the LORD.' "So I prophesied as I was commanded. There was a sound when I prophesied — I heard a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to bone. As I watched, I saw tendons on them, then muscles appeared, and skin covered over them from above, but there was no breath in them. He said to me, "Prophesy to the breath, — prophesy, son of man — and say to the breath: 'This is what the sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these corpses so that they may live.' "So I prophesied as I was commanded, and the breath came into them; they lived and stood on their feet, an extremely great army.  (Ezekiel 37:1 – 37:10)

I believe one of the most important affirmations Jesus GIVES us in our attempt not only to be Christians, our attempt to bring unity to the Christian Movement, and our attempt to proclaim and build up God’s Kingdom on Earth is found in the 6^th chapter of John (and my favorite “life building block” scripture): 

The Spirit is the one who gives life; human nature is of no help! The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.  (John 6:63)

Amen!