Your {Offensive} Kingdom Come
(5 minutes)
The Kingdom will offend your mind, to reveal your heart. Whether we'd like to admit it or not, this was the way of Jesus when He dealt with the religious mind. What He did, when He did it, who He claimed to be, who He declared Yahweh to be was all offensive.
Take a look at this. This scripture would have been the deeply held belief in Jesus' first-century, Jewish culture.
"Thus Yahweh used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend." (Exodus 33:11)
The entire Jewish culture believed that God and Moses spoke face to face.
Then Jesus comes along...
"No one has seen God at any time..." (1 John 4:12)
"No one has seen God at any time..." (John 1:18)
"Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father." (John 6:46)
So which is it? Did Moses speak face-to-face with God? Or are Jesus and John the Beloved right when they say that no one has seen God at any time? This was deeply offensive to the Jewish culture who loved Moses. And this is just one example. Jesus was always doing and saying the most offensive things. He could've healed people any day of the week, but He deliberately chose to do it on the Sabbath, the one day that He wasn't allowed to do it according to the religious law. Why? Why did He do that?
"Changing the way you think only happens when you encounter a different way of thinking." (Pastor Tim)
Remember, the message in Jesus' mouth was, "Change the way you think, the Kingdom of God is at hand." Yahweh often comes wrapped up in offense, so our heart can be revealed, and so we can be invited into a different way of seeing.
But what happens when we continue running from Yahweh's invitations? Well, we learn the way of religion...we make it about everything else except God, because we don't like what He has to say and we'd rather hold onto our own way of thinking than embrace His.
"When you make it about everything except God, it means that you're not encountering God. When you have not experienced and encountered Jesus, you have to make it about other things because when you encounter the God of Heaven you're not interested in anything else. You're telling me if Jesus comes into the room, you're going to be concerned about anything but His feet? The fact that you're concerned about other things tells you that you're not a lover of Jesus, but a lover of you and what you think, and what you believe. And the Kingdom says, 'I've come to offend the way you believe.'" (Pastor Tim)
When was the last time you were offended? How did you respond? Did you even stop to consider that Yahweh may have been wrapped up in that offense, trying to reveal your heart and invite you into a deeper measure of healing and a Kingdom way of seeing?
Let's start seeing offense with Kingdom eyes, starting today. The offense is the love of Abba attacking the trust we've put in our own opinion. Every single time.
Abba, come and offend our minds, to reveal our hearts. We don't want to worship our own beliefs, we want to pour out extravagant worship at Your feet. We choose you!
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Worship: "Preference" by Rachel Morley
Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place
Share With Us: We would love to hear how you're encountering Abba in your daily walks. Don't hesitate to share what you're hearing, seeing, or sensing in His presence. Email us here!
