Pray for Your Church: The Foundations (7)
…that you would walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory. 1 Thessalonians 2.12
“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Matthew 6.33
God calling
Believing in Jesus for the forgiveness of sin, so that you will go to heaven when you die: This is not the chief end of the Christian life.
Joining a church and becoming an active member of a congregation: This is not the chief end of the Christian life.
As important and satisfying and fulfilling as these can be, they are not why God has called us to Himself by grace through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
The chief end of every person, the reason why we were created, redeemed, and saved, is that we should glorify God and enjoy Him forever (1 Cor. 10.31). Christians and their churches are, as it were, lighthouses from which the knowledge of the glory of the Lord is diffused until it covers the earth—community by community—as the waters cover the sea (Matt. 5.13-16; Hab. 2.14). Believing in Jesus only realizes its purpose as we do all things to glorify and enjoy the Lord. Joining a church—or building a church—only achieves its intended temporal end as the glory of God glows from it into the surrounding world.
Which is just to say that the end of our discipleship and the end of our church are one and the same: To glorify and enjoy God by seeking, realizing, and advancing the rule of Jesus Christ unto righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14.17, 18).
For our heavenly Father is not calling us to go to heaven when we die. Nor to find a good church and become active in it. He is calling us to His Kingdom and glory. And Jesus, His King, commands us to seek that Kingdom as the first and defining priority of our lives.
Church as sign
The implications of this are staggering. Church is not an end to itself. The signs we erect outside our church advertise the name of our congregation, the times of worship, and, in many cases, the name of the preacher and perhaps the topic of the sermon. Thus we make our signs for our churches, as though God were calling the people of the community to church.
But the Church—and every local church—is not that to which God calls us. Rather, churches are the means by which God calls people to His Kingdom and glory. Every church is thus a sign to the community that the Kingdom of God has come and is coming on earth as it is in heaven. Just as Jesus, in His incarnation and ministry, pointed to the coming of the Kingdom, told stories describing its character, and embodied the reality of that rule in His own life, so our church—the Body of Christ locally—must do the same. Our church offers our community a glimpse of things to come, a preliminary but real experience of an eternal reality which is our intended home.
The sign which local churches must hold out to their community is that of the Kingdom of God, for it is to that realm that God is calling us that we might know, enjoy, and glorify Him forever.
Church as outpost
Jesus is building His Church as His Body to point and call the world to His Kingdom and glory. But Jesus did not command the world to go to church. Quite the opposite, as we know. The new life and glowing light of eternal life in the Kingdom of God goes forth from the church into every nook and cranny of a community—homes, schools, neighborhoods, workplaces, markets, sporting events, and more—in those who, by virtue of their faith in Jesus and God’s calling to His Kingdom and glory, are citizens and ambassadors in the Kingdom of God.
The Good News which Jesus heralded was that of the coming of the Kingdom. The Good News we proclaim and embody throughout our communities must be nothing other than this.
And yet, many Christians only have the vaguest of notions about the Kingdom of God—its nature, order, promise, power, and growth. Living for the Kingdom and glory of God is not something many Christians understand or seek. We must be honest about this if we’re going to build our churches according to the design and intentions of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus is building His Church as a sign and outpost of something greater than the Church, something that, in its coming, affects people, cultures, institutions, societies, and creation itself. The rule of King Jesus in judgment, justice, and peace is world-transforming. And it is to this reality that God calls us day by day, that Jesus commands us to seek, and that our world so desperately needs.
So let us pray:
Lord Jesus, let Your Kingdom come
on earth, as it is in heaven!
Let it come in me.
Let it come through me.
Let our church, in all that we are and do,
be a sign and outpost of the Kingdom
of righteousness, peace, and joy
in the Holy Spirit.
For reflection
1. How would you explain the glory of God to a non-Christian friend?
2. How do you experience the Kingdom of God coming in and through you?
3. How would you explain the teaching that the local church is a sign and outpost of the Kingdom of God?
Next steps—Transformation: What will it mean for you to live every aspect of your life today for the Kingdom and glory of God?
T. M. Moore
Give thanks
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Enjoying God
Can you say that you enjoy God? Would you like to enjoy Him more? Our book, Enjoying God, can help. And it’s free to put on your e-reader and share with friends by clicking here.
Thank you.
Many of you are faithful and generous in praying for and supporting ReVision and The Fellowship of Ailbe. Thank you. I encourage all our readers to seek the Lord about becoming a supporter of The Fellowship of Ailbe. It’s easy to give to The Fellowship of Ailbe, and all gifts are, of course, tax-deductible. You can click here to donate online through credit card or PayPal or Anedot, or send your gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, P. O. Box 8213, Essex, VT 05451.
Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
