Hope in His Kingdom Come

If you haven't read my last four posts about Missions, you can read them here:
1. A Personal Response to Perspectives
2. The Abrahamic Promise and How it Applies to us Today
3. God's Mission Purpose
4. To Glorify God

"When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities. Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”" 

Mathew 11:1-3

Mathew 11:1-3 "Are you the expected one, or shall we look for someone else?"

John was looking for someone who was fulfilling the prophecy of Daniel (which is yet to come), someone to overthrow unrighteous leaders and save the people from the injustices of the world. He thought Jesus would come with armies and to abolish and punish sinful institutions. Likewise in our modern world many are still looking for someone to take away the injustices of the world “right now” and fail to see how God first attacked and defeated Satan and is freeing the lives of men and women from the evil within instead of their earthy bondage (this freedom will come later).

Prayer can be understood as a rebellion against the status quo because it is refusing to accept anything except God’s will and plan; It is our way of making our request for His Kingdom to come and judge the unrighteous. This is important for mission because it is the rejection of evil acts, schemes, peoples, and nations and the fervent asking for the goodness of the Kingdom of God to come into full effect.

"And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come." Mathew 24:14

The Gospel of the Kingdom WILL be preached to ALL the world as a witness to ALL the nations. Wow! I don’t think I have ever thought of this verse in this way, but essentially this verse says that once “His Kingdom Come” has been preached to EVERY nation, tribe, tongue, and people Christ will come. First this encourages us to Go and preach because we know the end is near, and second it encourages us to Go and preach to the nations because we want the end to come!

Christ came and defeated Satan, but before He completely annihilates evil and all evil doers (including Satan and his demons) the “evil age” will continue for a while as God’s kingdom is at work in the hearts of men. It is binging the blessings of the age to come in an unexpected and radical form that is up close and personal with the individuals of mankind, giving EVERY nation a chance to hear of the Gospel of the Kingdom/The Gospel of Jesus Christ. When Christ returns He will fulfill Daniels prophesy and John the Baptiste’s proclamation of baptism with fire; Evil will be judged and condemned by the all consuming glorious power of God. His power and kingdom will be made known.

Do you remember when we talked about the three directions of God's purpose? 

I'll remind you quickly:

Against Evil, 

For People,

and Toward God

Understanding the Gospel Kingdom of God in relation to His Purpose for people (for the nations) helps us see our part in His plan for the world and specifically for the individual Nations. When we realize that the Gospel of the Kingdom of God is the Gospel of the Salvation of Jesus Christ and that it is our duty to help spread this kingdom and this gospel.