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God's KIngdom

Peter Becomes Bold and We Need to Do the Same

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The First Next Step in Building God’s Kingdom Here on Earth

Last week we discussed Jesus’ earthly journey coming to an end and how Peter got scared and denied knowing Jesus. Admitting to knowing and following Jesus can be a scary thing still for us today.

I also told you that Jesus’ death wasn’t the end of the story…just the beginning. In Acts, Luke tells us how the followers of Jesus were scared and lost and didn’t know what to do.

They were feeling lost and wondering “where do we go from here?”.

This is something that is common for us still today. We wonder what to do, where to go, and how to get there.

As some of the followers were together, Jesus showed up and shared God’s plans for building His kingdom here on earth. (Acts 1:4-8) These plans are still the same today. Just like the followers of Jesus then, we have everything we need.

After Jesus finished giving them the instructions, He went up into the sky while they watched. (Acts 1:9-10) Then two men dressed in white told them that He would come back.

Then, when about 120 followers were meeting and praying, focused on a single purpose, the same Peter that had denied Jesus, stood up and began speaking. He shared how the Holy Spirit had told David about Judas and what would happen. (Acts 1:16-19) Peter went on to say that…

“We need to tell others that Jesus was raised from the dead.”

On the day of Pentecost all the Lord’s followers were together in one place. Suddenly there was a noise from heaven like the sound of a mighty wind! It filled the house where they were meeting. Then they saw what looked like fiery tongues moving in all directions, and a tongue came and settled on each person there. The Holy Spirit took control of everyone, and they began speaking whatever languages the Spirit let them speak.

Many religious Jews from every country in the world were in Jerusalem. And when they heard this noise, a crowd gathered. They were surprised because they were hearing everything in their own languages. They were excited and amazed, and they said:

“Don’t all these who are speaking come from Galilee? Then why do we hear them speaking our very own languages? We are from a lot of different places, yet we all hear them using our own languages telling us of the wonderful things God has done.”

Everyone was excited and confused. Some of them even kept asking each other, “What does all this mean?”

Others mocked the Lord’s followers and said, “They are drunk.” (Acts 2:1-13)

Then, the “not so scared” Peter stood up and spoke in a loud voice to the crowd. “You are wrong to think they are drunk, it is only 9:00 in the morning!” Then he told them what the prophet Joel had said about the Holy Spirit being given to everyone. (Acts 2:14-21) The followers continued meeting and worked together to build the church and God’s kingdom.

We are still presented with the opportunity to continue building God’s kingdom today.

We have everything we need to accomplish this. We have the Bible which is the blueprint for building God’s kingdom. We have the workforce, otherwise known as the church. This workforce provides all the different skills needed. We can communicate directly with the Architect through prayer.

Now like Peter, be bold and don’t be afraid to do your part in building God’s kingdom here on earth.

We’ve Been Commissioned to Build God’s Kingdom Here on Earth

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The Question is…What Are You Going to Do About It?

As Christians we are supposed to be God’s builders here are earth. The problem is that most of us don’t bother to look at the Blueprint and we don’t build according to the Architect’s plan.

We all have our idea of what we expect it to look like.

This plan has never worked very well. In John 18:33-37 Jesus went before Pilot because the people were expecting something else…they missed Him. Pilot expected something else…he missed Him.

Pastor Lee shared the poem And So They Missed Him that explains this pretty well.

They were looking for an adult, but He came as a little infant Babe,
and so they missed Him.

They were looking for a lion, but He came as a Lamb,
and so they missed Him.

They were looking for a warrior, but He came as a Peacemaker,
and so they missed Him.

They were looking for a king, but He came as a Servant,
and so they missed Him.

They were looking for liberation from Rome, but He submitted to the Roman State,
and so they missed Him.

They were looking for their temporal needs to be met, but He came to meet their spiritual and eternal needs, and so they missed Him.

Good intentions don’t make a difference…it takes action.

God has given us everything we need to build His Kingdom, but it’s up to us to do something.

Robert Pierce was a Baptist minister that found himself working with the Youth for Christ in China. On one trip, he met Tena Hoelkeboer, a missionary teacher, who presented him with a battered and abandoned child. Unable to care for the child herself, Tena asked Pierce, “What are you going to do about her?” Pierce gave the woman his last five dollars and agreed to send the same amount each month to help the woman care for the child.

He was deeply affected by the wartime poverty and human suffering that he witnessed in both China and Korea and in 1950 he founded World Vision International.

World Vision International is a service organization that meets the emergency needs of missionaries. It is active in more than 90 countries with a total revenue including grants, products and foreign donations of USD 2.90 billion (2019).

When Robert gave the five dollars to Tena, he didn’t know what this would become. He just followed God’s Blueprint and started building.

Don’t miss His plan for you.

Study the Blueprint and start building!

It’s Amazing How Much the Little Things Can Change the Big Picture

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Small Things Can Make a Big Difference, So Do Your Part to Make it the Best

This past Sunday we had the Vacation Bible School program at church. As I watched those small children performing and sharing what they learned during the week, I was reminded of the importance of small things.

VBS has had such a huge effect on so many kids over the years, me being one of those. In this big, fast-paced world it’s so easy to lose sight of the little things.

Big things are made up of small things.

Regardless of what the big thing is…it can look and feel overwhelming. Most of us feel so small and insignificant that we don’t move forward, doing the things we should. We’re convinced we don’t have what it takes, or that what we can do won’t make any difference, or that nobody cares about what we have to offer, or…you get the picture.

The big oak tree starts out as an acorn. The field of wheat starts from small seeds. God’s Kingdom is built one seed at a time. Just like the tree in the forest or the stalk of wheat in the field…we’re not alone. The building of His Kingdom is not up to us only.

God provides us with the opportunities to build great things, the actions are up to us.

As I was thinking about the importance of small things, I once again was reminded of Andy Andrews and one of his books. Does my infatuation with Andy’s stuff border on addition? 😊

The Little Things, Why Your Really Should Sweat the Small Stuff is another great book and speaks to the importance of little things.

Andy’ perspective on principles that empower the human mind and spirit embodies his own approach to life and work. In this book he offers material that he uses to teach and coach some of the most successful corporations, teams, and individuals around the world. In his unique humorous style, Andy shows how people succeed by actually going against the modern adage, “don’t sweat the small stuff”.  By contrast, Andy proves that it is in concentrating on the smaller things that we add value and margin.

“In a world where so many feel powerless, wouldn’t it be great to feel in control?

 . . . that one tiny thing that, when understood and harnessed, allows us to create a life of extraordinary purpose and powerful results. It’s less about drive and will power than it is about understanding certain principles and why they work . . . every time.

Small things make a big difference. When spider webs unite, they can tie up a lion. We need to unite and tie up some lions.

God’s Kingdom is built one block at a time. The little things that we do regularly are the building blocks of that Kingdom

We Are All Important to the Building of God’s Kingdom

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No Matter How Small We Are in the Big Picture

Way too often we tell ourselves that we aren’t good enough or don’t have what it takes to do that thing…whatever that thing is. This perception is very good at keeping us from doing the things we’ve been designed to do.

We look around and see what everybody else is doing and from the outside it looks amazing. We have to remember that we are not designed to do what they are.

Each of us is here for our own specific purpose.

Or maybe we’ve been convinced that because we grew up in a certain place or look a certain way that we aren’t capable of doing anything great. We are too easily persuaded by these outside forces.

Some people thought Jesus wasn’t anything special. After all he was from Nazareth. In John 1:46 Nathanael said about Jesus, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”

A concrete foundation is made up of sand, cement and water. All of these things are made up of very small individual pieces. A grain of sand, a particle of cement and a drop of water. Each of them by themselves is tiny and seemingly insignificant. However, without them each serving their specific purpose the skyscraper wouldn’t stand. Their role is vital to the outcome.

It takes a collection of different components to build a skyscraper, each serving their individual purpose. Each of us are like these small pieces. We are vital to the outcome.

Accept your part in supporting the kingdom.

This past weekend we had a movie marathon. And watched the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies. These are some of my favorites and if you haven’t seen them, I would highly recommend it. These movies are based on the classic fantasy novels and children’s books by J.R.R. Tolkien.

In the story, the Hobbits are small little creatures. Just happy to be living their peaceful little lives…when called to do something big and out of their comfort zone. We are all called to do these kinds of things, we just have to be willing to.

Maybe fantasy isn’t your thing. But the story is a great one of good versus evil and how no matter how small and inadequate we see ourselves, if we’re willing, we can make a big difference.

Remember, it doesn’t matter where you’re from or how you look. What matters is your willingness to step out in faith and go where you’ve been called.