The Message of Jesus
I was asked this question last week. When you read scriptures what are you looking for? If I’m honest, I was a little stumped by the question. My answer was well, I am looking for Him but mostly what is He wanting to say to me. Later, I began to talk to Jesus about the question, and I had to be honest. It is mostly to see and hear for myself and others. Rarely is it to “look FOR Him” but I love these questions because they bring us to the reality of the Kingdom. This is where we grow from glory to glory if we’re honest when the questions come.
Pastor Tim asked a very important question on Sunday. Jesus came with one message that can be summed up in three words. What are the three words? I will let you think about it for a moment.
He tells us in John 17. “I have glorified you on the earth by faithfully doing everything you’ve told me to do.”
This is obviously before the cross and resurrection. We have been told our entire lives Jesus came to die on the cross for our sins and was resurrected so we could be forgiven and go to heaven when we die. This is not what He is saying in John 17. The answer to the question is- Kingdom of God. His message was the Kingdom of God. In all the Gospels you can see Jesus saying, the kingdom of God is like…the kingdom of God can be compared to this…the kingdom of God operates like this. In John 17 Jesus looks at his disciples and says I have finished the task that I was sent to do. Wait, Sunday school told us his task was to die on the cross for our sins and to be resurrected three days later. How can Jesus look at His disciples and say I finished what the Father told me to do? I'm done with the purpose in which I'm here for, before the cross and before the resurrection. What was he here to do? He was here to talk about the kingdom of God. It's at hand, it's available to you. He taught his disciples to pray for Yahweh’s kingdom on Earth. He never told us to suffer through this dark world until we die and can go to heaven. Jesus was telling us the commission I gave Adam to subdue and populate the earth is back on. We can start again. Adam gets the commission in Gensis 1:28, “And God blessed them in love, saying, “Reproduce and be fruitful! Populate the earth and subdue it! Reign over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and every creature that lives on earth.” Adam gets off track and takes a bite from an apple. We all fall but Jesus shows up to teach us what the kingdom and the planet is supposed to look like. He is showing us what's available to you and me. He goes to the Cross and into the grave. He comes out of the grave and tells his disciples; all authority has been given to me and now I give it back to you. Everything Adam gave up in the garden I give it back to you. Everything that was lost by biting the apple I give it back to you.
We have to change the way we think. We have to believe the Cross and Resurrection was to get back what was lost in the garden and do what Adam was supposed to do. Have dominion on earth. One thing Jesus said a lot was “On Earth as it is in Heaven.” Jesus has given us all authority to rule and reign. We CAN see Heaven on Earth. It starts with faith, hope and honesty.
Faith in what Jesus says. We can no longer afford to believe a false gospel that was given to us out of fear of the future. Waiting for a trumpet blast to be rescued from a dark world is a false gospel. We are commissioned to subdue which means take over in Love and Power. We are commissioned to populate. If He planned to rescue us from a dark world, He would not have told us to populate. We must have faith in the words of Jesus.
Hope is being anchored in Jesus. Everything He did and said is where hope is born. It is believing in what we haven’t seen YET! We have hope for the future. A multi-generational future. We must see it with Kingdom eyes.
Honesty. We must be honest with how we have approached scripture, how we have seen Jesus and what we have believed. Our lives have to begin to look like Jesus said they should. He left the throne of Heaven and came as a baby. He subjected himself to the same temptations we have growing up. He gave us wisdom and taught us truth. He suffered and died then took back all the authority lost in the garden so we could be who Abba created us to be. If you have believed this false gospel there is no shame or condemnation. You get to start again. Bring all of your beliefs, hopelessness and lack of faith to Jesus. Ask Him to restore hope. Ask Him to open your eyes to see Him in scripture. Ask Him to give you ears to hear His voice when He speaks to you. One of the many benefits we have because of the cross and resurrection is to have an intimate relationship with Him. We can walk hand in hand with Him as we subdue and see the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our God.
Jesus’ prayer over His disciples in John 17 is also a prayer for each of us.
“Father, I have manifested who you really are and I have revealed you to the men and women that you gave to me. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have fastened your Word firmly to their hearts. And now at last they know that everything I have is a gift from you, And the very words you gave to me to speak I have passed on to them. They have received your words and carry them in their hearts. They are convinced that I have come from your presence, and they have fully believed that you sent me to represent you. So with deep love, I pray for my disciples. I’m not asking on behalf of the unbelieving world, but for those who belong to you, those you have given me. For all who belong to me now belong to you. And all who belong to you now belong to me as well, and my glory is revealed through their surrendered lives.”
May you go forward from this day on being who you are designed to be. His beloved son and beloved daughter destined to see Heaven on Earth. May you walk in the authority Jesus gave you in every area of your life. Blessings.
