Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Jesus Wants Your Help Bringing God's Kingdom on Earth | Who Is Jesus? | 1 Corinthians 15.58

Starting point is 00:00:05 Welcome to Tim Minna Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life and the time it takes to get to work. My name is Patrick Miller. And I'm Keith Simon. Before we jump into today's episode, I want to invite you to read the Gospel of Mark with us beginning in January. I love the first of the year because I'm the kind of person that likes to set new goals. I don't tell people about them because I often fail in my goals, but I like to do it. And sometimes I even succeed. And one of the things I always want to do is grow in my mind.

Starting point is 00:00:34 reading of the Bible. And one of the ways that I have a better shot at succeeding is if I do it with other people. So is there somebody in your life friend, coworker neighbor, I don't know, who you would like to invite to read the Bible along with you? And not even the whole Bible, just the gospel of Mark. We've got a great little study guide that we are including a link to in the show notes. And I think you'll really benefit from going through that study guide to help you understand what's happening in the gospel of Mark. Anyway, we'd love for you to join us in. that if you are open to it and all that kicks off at the 1st of January. So let's jump into today's episode. What are you supposed to do with your life as a Christian between the time that you come to

Starting point is 00:01:18 faith in Christ and the time you die? What are you here for? Why didn't God just take you up to heaven the moment that you put your faith in Jesus? God must have something for you to do with your life, for me to do with my life, for every Christian to do with his or her life while they live out their time on earth. But I'm afraid that a lot of Christians don't know what they're supposed to do. Are you one of those Christians? When you press people on it, here's what they often say. Well, I guess I'm supposed to be more like Jesus. And yeah, that's true. If you just follow up and ask them, what do you mean by that? What does it look like to be more like Jesus? And they will list off, a number of really good and important things. I want to grow more humble. I want to get more patient.

Starting point is 00:02:09 I want to be less selfish. In other words, they want to grow in holiness. Fantastic. I hope all of us want to grow in holiness. But without minimizing holiness, can I say that I think that God has more for us to do than to grow holier? I think it's surprising to most Christians to learn that that one of the really important things that God wants us to be about between the time that we come to faith and the time that we die is that we are to partner with God to bring about his kingdom. I think it's really shocking. It almost sounds sacrilegious or heretical to say that God is using us to establish his kingdom here on earth. I mean, it's his kingdom, isn't it? He's the sovereign king. So in what sense can I, a fallible, sinful human being partner with God to bring about his kingdom?

Starting point is 00:03:06 But it's not heretical. It's biblical. God created human beings in his image and told Adam and Eve to work in the garden. They were to cultivate it. They were to grow it. Their calling was to expand the Garden of Eden so that God's kingdom would fill the whole earth. Yeah, I know. We all know that sin corrupted people. corrupted the earth, it corrupted our work, it corrupted everything. But even after sin, human beings were still given the same calling. Under God's authority and empowered by God's spirit, they were to labor to get God's program back on track. We know that Jesus is the king of God's kingdom, that he comes to announce the arrival of that kingdom in himself. And he does miracles and

Starting point is 00:03:52 healings. And those aren't just to draw attention or to kind of wow the crowds. Those miracles and healings are demonstrating what God's kingdom will be like. In God's kingdom, there will be healing. In God's kingdom, there will be wholeness. And then Jesus sends out the disciples. You can read about it in Luke 10, for example, he sends out the disciples and tells them to do the same things he does. He tells them to announce the kingdom that it has come in Jesus. The disciples also do miracles and cast out demons. Now, we don't do the exact same things the disciples did. We don't do the exact same things the disciples did. We don't have the exact same calling, but that's okay. Because Jesus gave us clear instructions about how we are to be his kingdom people, how we are supposed to live. Just like the

Starting point is 00:04:39 disciples went out and did Jesus-y things, so we are to go out and live in Jesus-y ways. And those Jesus-y ways are found in the sermon on the Mount. We are to live in Jesus' upside-down kingdom by his inside out, upside down ethic to show the world that this is what God's kingdom will be like. It will be a kingdom of love, justice, and mercy. It will be a kingdom in which people love their enemies, in which people care for those in need, in which we trust our father to provide for us. That's how we live. That's how we demonstrate that we are kingdom people. Even in the sermon in the Mount, it tells us to pray for God's kingdom to come. Right there in the Lord's Prayer, it says that we are to pray, may God's kingdom come, may His will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Starting point is 00:05:28 So catch this now. First we partner with God in establishing his kingdom. Again, all under the authority of God, all empowered by the spirit of God, by doing Jesus-y things. And those Jesus-y things are demonstrated on the sermon of the Mount. And then we participate with God and building his kingdom by praying that he would send his kingdom. Now there's a verse in 1 Corinthians 15. at the very end of the chapter that I think helps explain this a little bit more clearly. Paul, the apostle, has just written a lengthy discussion on the resurrection. He's gone into great detail about how Jesus is now the risen king, and he will establish his kingdom here on earth. And we might expect him to finish a chapter like that by saying,

Starting point is 00:06:13 hey, Christians, since you have such a great hope, you can sit back and relax because you know God has a great future in store for you and not just you for the whole world. But that's not how he ends the chapter. That's not how he concludes. Instead he says this, therefore, my beloved ones, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. So first, catch this. He's saying that because Jesus has risen from the dead, because he is the king of the universe,

Starting point is 00:06:48 that gives us work to do and that work that labor won't be in vain now what does he mean by our work well i think he means our whole life our painting our singing our sewing our teaching building hospitals digging wells going to your vocation every day teaching being a banker being a construction worker campaigning for justice writing poems caring for the needy loving your neighbor as yourself all of those things that we are doing for God's glory empowered by God's spirit will last into God's future. They're not just activities we do to pass the time until we die or to provide money or some entertainment and make the day more bearable until Jesus returns. No, they're all part of what we do partnering with God to build His kingdom.

Starting point is 00:07:39 We're not just kind of polishing the brass on the Titanic. Our activity here is not just restoring some great painting that will, quickly be thrown into the fire. No, our labor here is being used by God to help establish his kingdom of love, justice, and mercy. But it doesn't seem like I'm doing very much. No, you're not. Just like Jesus fed the crowds with a few fish and loaves of bread. So God will multiply our work here. And just like the cross and the resurrection is mysterious. So it's not easily explained how God takes all of our labor here and uses it to establish his kingdom, and yet he does it. God tells us that in 1st Corinthians 1558, don't give up, be steadfast, be immovable, always abound in the work of the

Starting point is 00:08:31 Lord, because your labor is not in vain. Now, look, our world is hurting. There is so much injustice in the world, so much oppression, so much poverty, so much hatred, so much discord, so much economic inequality. So many things wrong in our world. So many kids that need to be educated. So many people that need meaningful employment. There's so much going on in our world that needs Christians' attention. And we have something to contribute to that conversation. God's kingdom cares about all the things the people in our world care about. You know what your neighbor probably, probably is not waking up this morning thinking, how can I get my sin forgiven and go to heaven? But what's the same? they probably are thinking about is all the issues going on in the world, even if they don't want to

Starting point is 00:09:21 think about it, they're kind of confronted with media and everything else in our world. They have to think about the problems in the world. And Christians can contribute meaningfully to that conversation, but only if we realize that God's plan for our world is to establish his kingdom here. And he wants to use us to help do it. And that our labor, as small and insignificant as it seems to us, and it is small and insignificant compared to what God does, well, that labor is being used by God for eternal purposes. So let's don't miss out on that conversation. Let's don't miss out on partnering with God to establish his kingdom. Let's don't miss out on helping our world become the kind of place that people flourish in. Yes, let's continue to grow in holiness. Let's pursue humility and love and

Starting point is 00:10:15 kindness. But also let's realize that God has a plan for us. We're not just waiting here to die so that we can escape off to some mysterious heaven. We are partnering with God, under his authority, by his spirit, to help establish his kingdom. Come on, Christians. There's a lot to do. Let's trust God. Let's get to work. Hey, quick reminder that, like I said, at the beginning of the episode, we are going to be reading through the gospel of Mark beginning in January. So download the study guide. You'll find the link in the show notes. Think about who you could invite to do it with you and maybe even invite them to listen to the podcast with you. Hope you'll take advantage of this.

Starting point is 00:10:55 Take care. Thanks for listening. If you've enjoyed this content, please subscribe and give us a rating. That helps others find this podcast more easily. Also ask yourself who you could share this podcast with. Texting an episode to a friend or family member is a great way to help them grow spiritually. If you want to go deeper, check out our show notes for book recommendations.

Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Jesus Wants Your Help Bringing God's Kingdom on Earth | Who Is Jesus? | 1 Corinthians 15.58

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