Humphrey Culture of the Kingdom

A Call to the Sermon on the Mount Lifestyle
1. Auflage 2009
ISBN: 978-1-938060-17-5
Verlag: Forerunner Publishing
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 123 Seiten

This book is a prophetic call that examines the culture of the kingdom of God as compared with the culture of the Western church. We are in great need of seeing the truths of the Sermon on the Mount restored to the Western church. Through this introductory study of Jesus' teaching from the Mount.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Humphrey, Billy

Leseproben

CHAPTER 1

The Kingdom Is at Hand

The Forerunner

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the LORD; make His paths straight.’” Now John himself was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.
(Mt. 3:1–4)

Imagine a man dressed in camel skin eating bugs and honey. He is the new prophet who has emerged on the scene. Though he was the son of a priest, he did not follow the conventional approach to ministry. Rather than being raised in the priesthood, he chose the way of the wilderness, giving himself to fasting and prayer for eighteen years, until God sent him forth with a new message. This wild man from the wilderness was, of course, John the Baptist. His appearance was as radical as his message: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Those words may seem familiar and even trite to us. However, his proclamation would ignite a spiritual revolution that would change the entire world. What did these words actually mean in the minds of the initial hearers?

John was not only proclaiming that people needed a spiritual awakening; he was also declaring the inauguration of the reign of the Messiah on the earth. “God, in the flesh, is coming to rule,” was what the initial hearers understood him to say. This stunning proclamation was what differentiated John from the prophets of old. He was insistent upon the fact that the kingdom of God was being initiated upon the earth and that the rulership of the Messiah was beginning.

When John used the term “at hand,” it had unique meaning. The phrase “at hand” is a Jewish idiom. In Hebrew, if you wanted to say something was in front of you, you would say it was “at the face.” If you wanted to say it was behind you, you would say it was “at the back.” For John to say the kingdom “is at hand,” he was saying that the kingdom of God was right there with them, at that moment. What a shock! John was proclaiming that God’s chosen ruler was now launching His earthly leadership of the kingdom of God. He was declaring there was a King who was coming to set up God’s global empire on the earth.

Of course we now know John was prophesying about Jesus, the Messiah. What the people did not understand in that day was that the One who was to rule was not coming as King at that time; He was coming as a servant. Rather than coming as a conquering warrior, the Messiah would be meek and lowly. John prepared them to
embrace an unconventional King by not only proclaiming an unconventional message, but by being an unconventional messenger. His appearance and his approach were not what the masses were expecting. This wild man from the wilderness was God’s chosen vessel to introduce His Holy Son to the entire human race. John was a signpost to that generation, indicating that the Messiah was not going to be what people expected. Just as John was unusual in his method and message, so the Messiah would be unusual in His manner and manifestation. This would force the people to change their minds in regard to who they thought God’s King should be.

Change Your Mind

From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Mt. 4:17)

It is amazing to consider that, when Jesus began to preach, He did not start off preaching volumes of new revelation. He simply preached the same message John had started. The global empire Jesus was initiating was going to cause massive upheaval. He was calling the people to repent so they would be able to embrace His kingdom.

The people believed the Messiah would be a strong king who would come and restore dignity to Israel. They wanted a king who would be powerful and mighty and subdue the nations before them. They were looking for a king who would emancipate them from Roman imperialism and apostate, Jewish leadership. Little did they know that God’s chosen King was not coming to free them from earthly tributes but to liberate them from spiritual bondage. When Jesus called them to repent, He was calling them to change their minds about what they had believed He and His kingdom to be. While He was calling them to righteousness, Jesus was also declaring, “The kingdom is right here with you and is going to manifest through Me. It is not going to be the way you thought it would be. It is going to be set up on a different value system than what you had in mind. You must change the way you think, or you will not be able to receive the kingdom. You must repent!”

It is the same with us today. We must repent. In order for us to embrace the kingdom of God, we must change our minds as to what we believe the kingdom of God to be. Jesus is King, and since the days of His earthly ministry, He has been setting up His kingdom in the earth. Today, His kingdom is manifest in men’s hearts, yet there is a glorious day ahead when His kingdom will manifest fully in all the earth. In that day, He will rule upon the earth over all the nations as the King of kings.

The Evidence

And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them. Great multitudes followed Him—from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan. (Mt. 4:23–25)

In order to validate Himself as God’s chosen leader, Jesus began to publicly manifest the supernatural power of His kingdom. He began to work substantial signs and wonders among the people. Healings and miracles exploded on the scene. The demonized and paralytics were delivered and set free. Massive crowds began following Him because they had never seen such power released. He was producing tangible evidence of the power of the kingdom that He proclaimed; however, He had yet to explain to them the fabric of His kingdom. He demonstrated power like they had never seen in order to get their attention. These unique demonstrations testified to the uniqueness of the nature of His kingdom. Just as the power that He was manifesting was unlike anything they had ever seen, so the fabric of His kingdom would be unlike anything they had ever experienced.

With perfect strategy, when the crowds had grown vast and the people’s interest was piqued, Jesus gathered the multitude to a mountain in order to proclaim to them, for the first time, the core values and mission of His kingdom. The message He proclaimed has come to be known as the Sermon on the Mount. It was within the lines of this sermon that Jesus identified the DNA and culture of the kingdom of God.

The Value System of the Kingdom

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
(Mt. 5:16)

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus was establishing the value system for all who would be citizens of His kingdom. Some today believe the Sermon on the Mount is a “high bar” of Christianity not attainable in “real life.” They believe it simply serves as a standard of conviction for us. Yet the truth is that it is intended to be the norm for Christian living. The principles of the Sermon on the Mount are not simply good ideas or something to try for a season. They are the prescribed lifestyle for all who are subjects of the kingdom of God. Jesus’ intent for expressing the values of His kingdom was to set in place the culture that all believers should not only embrace with their minds as truth, but also walk out in their daily lives.

Conclusion

Throughout the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus reinterpreted wrong teachings that the people had heard from the rabbinical teachers of the law. Six times in the sermon, He said, “You have heard it said, but I say unto you.” (Mt. 5:21–22, 27–28, 31–32, 33–34, 38–39, 43–44). He clarified parts of God’s law by Holy Spirit revelation through the lens of love. By releasing new revelation to the people, Jesus gave a completely new perspective on familiar teachings. In so doing, He identified the errors in their paradigms and unveiled the true culture of His kingdom.

The people marveled at Jesus’ revelation. Never before had they heard anyone speak like He did. So much was new to their ears. His teaching was completely different from what the other teachers taught them. Much of what Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount flew in the face of what the Pharisees, the very ones who were supposed to carefully observe and teach the law, had taught the people their entire lives. The Pharisees thought they had God’s law figured out. They boiled it down to thousands of rules to keep, yet they ignored God’s desire for them to have hearts that were fully His. They were extreme about keeping the externals clean; all the while, they were internally bankrupt. As Jesus said to them, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence” (Mt. 23:25). They were hypocrites, for they did not do the works they required other men and women to do. They were legalists, who lived without love. Jesus made it...