God has called all of us to demonstrate the
Kingdom of God through social reform. The Western Church has
typically – and usually unwittingly – promoted itself instead of the
Kingdom of God. We have preached the Gospel of the Church instead of
the Gospel of the Kingdom.
We have built programs, organized Bible studies, held anointed
conferences, and developed training curricula to propagate and
sustain church and ministry activities instead of equipping
believers to build the Kingdom. This focus has resulted in an
insular, inward mission instead of an outward expression of bringing
the Kingdom of God to bear upon the kingdoms of this world.
As we go to the streets with the Gospel, we must remember that the
message is the Kingdom. The Church is the voice and the vehicle for
that message. Promoting ministries doesn’t get people born again.
Promoting the message of the Kingdom does. Ministries are strategic
and vital instruments the Lord uses to bring the Kingdom of heaven
to Earth. But ministries are not the end-all. The bottom line is the
Kingdom of God.
“The evangelical Christians of the 19th century combined revivalism
with social reform and helped lead movements for abolition and
women’s suffrage – not to mention…the American civil rights movement
led by the black churches,” Jim Wallis, a theologian, evangelical
preacher and author of God’s Politics, said. “History is most
changed by social movements with a spiritual foundation.”
In reading Wallis’ words written more than 100 years ago, it should
remind us that our goal is to establish the Kingdom, not to grow a
church. That’s because a church may grow numerically and even
spiritually but not necessarily result in Kingdom growth. Healthy
ascension-gift ministry in a territory will always result in the
Kingdom of God impacting that territory – and then “the Church” will
grow. In other words, Kingdom growth always results in church
growth.
CLICK HERE
to get a
FREE issue
of The Voice magazine.
According to some biblical scholars, Jesus only mentioned the Church
twice in Scripture. However, the Bible records Him preaching the
Kingdom of God in many places and at many times. We also know that
the first apostles followed Jesus’ example. What can we learn from
this?
From Old Testament prophets’ cries of justice to New Testament
apostles appointing individuals to provide practical mercy to widows
and orphans we learn that the outworking of the apostolic and the
prophetic have always resulted in practical outreach that brings
transformation to society. Today we should see the same as the Lord
restores both these gifts to the Body.
How do we move from mere ministry survival and the newest
church-growth strategies to extending the Kingdom of God to our
communities and reaching the lost? We do it quite simply by
embracing altruism, practicing benevolence, and giving alms.
Altruism is unselfish concern for the welfare of others. Even
animals and other creatures in nature are instinctively wired with a
charitable cooperative behavior.
The opposite of altruism is egoism. We see demonstrations of egoism
when ministries supplant the interests of the needy with their own
selfish interest.
“When we cast our bread upon the waters, we can presume that someone
downstream whose face we will never know will benefit from our
action, as we who are downstream from another will profit from that
grantor’s gift,” says actress, poet and author Maya Angelou who
describes the spiritual effects of altruistic behavior in humanity.
This type of downstream blessing should be expected as we sow seeds
of evangelism in our various territories.
We can also practice benevolence. Benevolence is a disposition to do
good or an inclination to do kind or charitable acts. Benevolent
acts demonstrate good will, release blessing, promote happiness and
flow out of a love for humanity. The 19th Century Scottish writer
Thomas Chalmers wrote, “Benevolence is not merely a feeling but a
principle; not a dream of rapture for the fancy to indulge in, but a
business for the hand to execute.” When we are kind to others we
promote the Kingdom of God.
Get books about the Kingdom
of God at TheVoiceBooks.com
|
 |
Rediscovering The
Kingdom
by Dr. Myles Munroe
|
 |
Governing Churches & Antioch Apostles
Discovering the New Apostolic Reformation
by
Jonas Clark
|
CLICK HERE
to order and to find other
great books at
TheVoiceBooks.com.
FREE GIFT:
Subscribe to The Voice magazine today and
receive a
$5.00 Gift Coupon for
TheVoiceBooks.com.
CLICK HERE
or call
800.943.6490.
Then there’s giving alms to the poor, which has always been the duty
of the righteous. Alms should be given in addition to tithes,
offerings and first fruits – and never as an equivalent substitute.
King Solomon in all his wisdom said he who has pity on the poor
lends to the Lord, and the Lord will repay back to him what he has
given (Proverbs 19:17). The Apostle James put it this way, “Religion
that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look
after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from
being polluted by the world” (James 1:27).
We must remember that being apostolic and prophetic is more than
promoting anointed conferences and offering inspiring symbolic
revelation. It is crying out for the needs of those suffering in our
communities and bringing the Kingdom of God to displace kingdoms of
oppression, tyranny, and darkness.
We cannot ignore our highest moral responsibility to preach the
Gospel of the Kingdom in season and out of season and ministering to
those around us with altruism, benevolence, and alms. These are
essential hallmarks of an apostolic and prophetic people. This is
the pattern that our Chief Apostle and Prophet left His Church that
brings about true social reform and a demonstration of the Kingdom
of God.
Jonathan Benz is resident prophet and pastor of prayer and
outreach at Covenant Centre International in West Palm Beach, Fla.
Benz is also an apostolic prayer leader and president of
Emissary International, networking intercessors in South Florida and
internationally. Jonathan has authored six booklets on prayer and
has written for popular Christian magazines.
Hungry for more?
Get
The Voice magazine.
CLICK HERE to subscribe or call
954 456-6032.
Saving the lost begins with
preaching the Kingdom, not promoting ministries, churches
and conferences. God has called all of us to demonstrate the
Kingdom of God through social reform.