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1
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- Knowing What We Work With, and How It Takes “The Pressure Off”
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2
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- To be yoked to Jesus means to pull our load in life and ministry with
him.
- He has say over all things in heaven and earth and is with us always.
Matt. 28:18-20
- Our resources are always adequate to what he wants accomplished where we
are.
- Our part is to understand this and put it into practice. Cp. Prov. 3: 5-7
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3
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- The crushing burden is to try to carry our load in life in terms of our
abilities and our attainments.
What’s on our “Bio,” our Resume. Don’t trust it!
- Paul: “I will boast about my weaknesses …for when I am weak, then I am
strong.”
- The action with us of Christ and his Kingdom is our resource at all
times and what we must carefully practice the presence and use of it.
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4
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- Moses and his staff. Ex. 4:2-4
- Joshua. Deut. 31:6, Josh. 1:9
- David on Goliath. I Sam. 17:47
- In battle. Ps. 18:29
- The battle is the Lords. II Chron. 20:17
- What Nicodemus didn’t know. John 3:10
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5
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- If we would live in the resources of Jesus, we must preach what he
preached in the manner he preached it.
- “Repent, for the Kingdom of the Heavens is right here now (‘at
hand’).” Matt. 4:17
- His three-fold practice: Preach, Manifest, and Teach. Matt. 4:22 &
9:35, Luke 4:43.
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6
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- Everyone pressing into the Kingdom.
No “formalities” Matt. 11:11-2, Luke 16:16
- “The Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and be given to a people
bringing for the fruits of the Kingdom.” Matt 21:43
- Who “administers” the Kingdom? Jesus Christ himself. The one “with us.” His direct availability.
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7
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- It is God acting, what God is doing.
His “reigning.”
- It is where what God wants done is done.
- It is the range of his effective will.
- It is not a political or social reality, not even the “Church.” Not the millennial reign.
- It is an everlasting metaphysical reality, the natural home of the soul:
God and his reign.
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8
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- The New Testament Gospel of Jesus is the same as the Gospel about Jesus.
- It is, simply, trust Jesus, count on him, put your confidence in him.
Totally.
- Through reliance on him for everything, including the forgiveness of our
sins, we know the sufficiency of God to our life and our work. We live in the Kingdom.
- “Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness.” Matt 6:33 What that means.
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9
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- What Jesus was still teaching in Acts for forty days: The Kingdom of
God. Acts 1:3
- What the disciples were learning. Acts 3:6 and 8:12
- Paul’s constant message. Acts 20:21 & 25, 28:23 &31
- Jesus puts a face on the Kingdom, the Kingdom gives Trinitarian
substance to Jesus.
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10
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- Sowing and growing. Mark 4:26-29 & 4:3-20 (Matt 13:3-23)
- The sower sows the word of the Kingdom. Mark 4:14/Matt. 13:19
- The word does the work. “The
pressure’s off!”
- We simply practice the three-fold activity.
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11
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- “…all the things God had done with them, and that he had opened the door
of faith…” Acts 14:27
- The Thessalonians (I Thes. 1:4-5)
- The Corinthians (I Cor. 2:1-5, and II Cor. 3:12 and 10:10)
- The Kingdom in the Church. Rom 14:17
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12
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- If you believe that Jesus died for your sins, they will be
forgiven. That’s all.
Conservative sin-management ‘gospel’.
- God is in favor of justice and liberation, and you can join him by
taking action. That’s all.
Liberal sin-management ‘gospel’.
- Take care of your church and it will take care of you. Church
sin-management gospel
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13
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- Leave out the easy-yoke life, except as an option which some may choose.
- Do not have an natural tendency to lead into discipleship to Jesus.
- Account for the current acceptance of being a Christian without being an
Apprentice of Jesus.
- Make the after-life vacuous, fantastic or unreal.
- Make the life a ministry hard if not impossible.
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14
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- Is the direct result of the message we live and preach. ---
- “Your system is perfectly designed to yield the result you are
getting.”
- Jesus did not leave us with inadequate provision to accomplish his
objectives in our life and in the people we minister to.
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15
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- Leads into whole-life discipleship—learning to live our lives in the
kingdom of God as he would lead our lives if he were we—
- Not just Consumer Christians.
- And into the progressive transformation of human personality from inside
out, all the dimensions of the self.
- Yielding a radiant church, the saints in light. Col. 1:12 & Eph.
5:8-9.
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16
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- We simply present the Kingdom in life and word as he did. This is our part. We must do it.
- Get out of the performance role and into the reliance role. Disregard “success.” Paul inability to perform. II Cor.
10:10
- Do the best we can, but never trust that.
- “Stand and see the salvation of
the Lord on your behalf.” II Chron. 20:17
- “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice.” Phil. 4:4
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Notes