Luke 17:20-21 The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
Well a pleasant Tuesday morning to all you wonderful Friends and neighbours out there in Scrip-Bit land! Ah mih people, it almost happened; the ole fella almost won two races straight, but Rebel got beaten by a head-bob at the wire. It was disappointing…no, heartbreaking, as a friend at the track pointed out. It wasn’t disappointing because Rebel ran an excellent race, tried his heart out. I would have felt better though if he’d been beaten by a wider margin. Anyway, for whatever reason, the Lord decided he wouldn’t shower that much blessings on me today. Hn! It sure would have been nice to win, since the monetary difference between first and second place is substantial. But as usual, in keeping with the teaching, I said Lord, your will be done, not mine; grinned and bore it stalwartly. And yuh know, I just LOVE the way Jesus used words: He really was an excellent wordsmith. Just look at how He answered the hypocrite Pharisees, re their question of when the kingdom of God would come. They asked Jesus about the future, but He answered them in the present. ‘The kingdom of God cometh not with observation. Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! For behold, the kingdom of God is within you.’ Yes my Friends, we cannot sit back and observe the coming of God’s kingdom like a linear, unfolding event. Nobody’s going to say, ‘Look it here, or look it there,’ since the kingdom of God is already within you. It was already at hand when the Pharisees asked. It began with John the Baptist and Jesus himself, cause that’s all they talked about; it was their main theme. Then too, the coming of the Holy Spirit to dwell in believers is also a part of God’s kingdom. Think about the ideas the Spirit generates; it’s guidance and direction. Consider too our repentance and God’s forgiveness, His mercy and LOVING kindness. That’s all part of God’s kingdom because He’s working in our lives right now, controlling them when we surrender to Him. In fact Friends, God’s kingdom is not only in us, but also all around us. If we believe that He’s the Creator and Controller of the universe, and has a say in all that happens therein, then whose kingdom is it, if not God’s? So if the Pharisees had chosen to really listen to John the Baptist and Jesus and observe what was happening around them, they too would have recognized that the kingdom had already begun. But they were too tied up in their self-importance and knowledge of the old law to listen to anyone else, especially on something new. Just like Israel expected the Messiah to come and physically save them from the Roman oppression, I guess the Pharisees also expected to see balloons, streamers and such, heralding God’s kingdom. But remember Friends, our God doesn’t always do what we expect. When we expect high drama and suspense, He’s low keyed, and vice versa. So the Messiah didn’t come the first time with the big bang and all the hullabaloo that was expected, but as a lowly, humble preacher, teacher and servant; healing the sick and lame, while living His philosophy of humility and service. But the next time mih breddren; the next time will be the big one! Then the fireworks will be on display! And Jesus took the opportunity the Pharisees’ question provided to warn the disciples about what was to come. ‘The days will come when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it.’ (Luke 17:23) As believers, we all long for the second coming of Christ, but we’ll probably never live to see it. Then He warned them later on about the anti-Christ and false teachers. ‘Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them. But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by.’ (Luke 21:8-9) ‘And they shall say to you, See here; or see there: go not after them, nor follow them.’ (Luke 17:23) Oh my people, we need to take serious notice of all those words because the great expansion of the world and the Word, from Jesus’ time to now, has tremendously increased the opportunity for false teachers and preachers to arise. And we see them all around us, just preying on innocent people. It’s therefore very important that we are able to discern and stay away from the wolves in sheep’s clothing that now exist in every corner of the globe. And as Jesus said, we don’t need to worry about the increasing wars, violence and disasters, for the second coming isn’t imminent, and all those thing must happen before it occurs. Then He tells them how the second coming will be: ‘For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of one part under the heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven: so shall also the Son of man be in his day.’ (Luke 17:24) So Friends, if we’re still alive, we won’t have to worry about seeing or discerning His next entrance, cause it will be spectacular. Matthew puts in plainer English. ‘For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.’ (Mat.24:27) Now we’ve cleared up two things here; the kingdom of God is already at hand, underway, in existence, whichever you choose to use, and that when Jesus comes again it will be a most bright and wonderful day. The world will be illuminated like lightning with His majestic presence. Till then, let’s do what we’re here to do nuh: LOVE our God, and LIVE our Faith! That’s all Jesus asks of us. Much LOVE!…the first coming was down to earth…the second will be heavenly….
Well a pleasant Tuesday morning to all you wonderful Friends and neighbours out there in Scrip-Bit land! Ah mih people, it almost happened; the ole fella almost won two races straight, but Rebel got beaten by a head-bob at the wire. It was disappointing…no, heartbreaking, as a friend at the track pointed out. It wasn’t disappointing because Rebel ran an excellent race, tried his heart out. I would have felt better though if he’d been beaten by a wider margin. Anyway, for whatever reason, the Lord decided he wouldn’t shower that much blessings on me today. Hn! It sure would have been nice to win, since the monetary difference between first and second place is substantial. But as usual, in keeping with the teaching, I said Lord, your will be done, not mine; grinned and bore it stalwartly. And yuh know, I just LOVE the way Jesus used words: He really was an excellent wordsmith. Just look at how He answered the hypocrite Pharisees, re their question of when the kingdom of God would come. They asked Jesus about the future, but He answered them in the present. ‘The kingdom of God cometh not with observation. Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! For behold, the kingdom of God is within you.’ Yes my Friends, we cannot sit back and observe the coming of God’s kingdom like a linear, unfolding event. Nobody’s going to say, ‘Look it here, or look it there,’ since the kingdom of God is already within you. It was already at hand when the Pharisees asked. It began with John the Baptist and Jesus himself, cause that’s all they talked about; it was their main theme. Then too, the coming of the Holy Spirit to dwell in believers is also a part of God’s kingdom. Think about the ideas the Spirit generates; it’s guidance and direction. Consider too our repentance and God’s forgiveness, His mercy and LOVING kindness. That’s all part of God’s kingdom because He’s working in our lives right now, controlling them when we surrender to Him. In fact Friends, God’s kingdom is not only in us, but also all around us. If we believe that He’s the Creator and Controller of the universe, and has a say in all that happens therein, then whose kingdom is it, if not God’s? So if the Pharisees had chosen to really listen to John the Baptist and Jesus and observe what was happening around them, they too would have recognized that the kingdom had already begun. But they were too tied up in their self-importance and knowledge of the old law to listen to anyone else, especially on something new. Just like Israel expected the Messiah to come and physically save them from the Roman oppression, I guess the Pharisees also expected to see balloons, streamers and such, heralding God’s kingdom. But remember Friends, our God doesn’t always do what we expect. When we expect high drama and suspense, He’s low keyed, and vice versa. So the Messiah didn’t come the first time with the big bang and all the hullabaloo that was expected, but as a lowly, humble preacher, teacher and servant; healing the sick and lame, while living His philosophy of humility and service. But the next time mih breddren; the next time will be the big one! Then the fireworks will be on display! And Jesus took the opportunity the Pharisees’ question provided to warn the disciples about what was to come. ‘The days will come when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it.’ (Luke 17:23) As believers, we all long for the second coming of Christ, but we’ll probably never live to see it. Then He warned them later on about the anti-Christ and false teachers. ‘Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them. But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by.’ (Luke 21:8-9) ‘And they shall say to you, See here; or see there: go not after them, nor follow them.’ (Luke 17:23) Oh my people, we need to take serious notice of all those words because the great expansion of the world and the Word, from Jesus’ time to now, has tremendously increased the opportunity for false teachers and preachers to arise. And we see them all around us, just preying on innocent people. It’s therefore very important that we are able to discern and stay away from the wolves in sheep’s clothing that now exist in every corner of the globe. And as Jesus said, we don’t need to worry about the increasing wars, violence and disasters, for the second coming isn’t imminent, and all those thing must happen before it occurs. Then He tells them how the second coming will be: ‘For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of one part under the heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven: so shall also the Son of man be in his day.’ (Luke 17:24) So Friends, if we’re still alive, we won’t have to worry about seeing or discerning His next entrance, cause it will be spectacular. Matthew puts in plainer English. ‘For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.’ (Mat.24:27) Now we’ve cleared up two things here; the kingdom of God is already at hand, underway, in existence, whichever you choose to use, and that when Jesus comes again it will be a most bright and wonderful day. The world will be illuminated like lightning with His majestic presence. Till then, let’s do what we’re here to do nuh: LOVE our God, and LIVE our Faith! That’s all Jesus asks of us. Much LOVE!…the first coming was down to earth…the second will be heavenly….
SCRIP-BITS 