Introduction

This is the third study in what it means to believe that God is the Father of every blessing. In our first teaching, I emphasised the role that Adam had as a man of the future, to be a seer, one who sees the coming of a future reign of God whose glory will fill everything. The temptation and Fall in Eden seems to frustrate the coming of this kingdom on every level – human beings are now subject to sin, Satan and death, each of which exclude the power of blessing. Instead of transmitting God’s rule, the nations are now ruled by evil deceiving spirits, Australia, ruled by a “spirit of deprivation”, is a land dominated by an awareness of material realities. As a Korean student of mine said after she emigrated here, “No wonder the people here don’t believe in God, it is like the Garden of Eden.” She meant that the people find their satisfaction in the world around them, rather than experiencing the blessings of a kingdom within them.

Jesus categorically taught that people either lay up treasures on earth or lay up treasures in heaven (Matt 6:19-21). Ruled by a sense of inner emptiness, Australians have definitely chosen earth over heaven as their home. In teaching this principle Christ did not mean that spiritual things were divorced from the material things of life, when he came proclaiming “the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt 4:17) he revealed that the heavenly rule of God breaks into and radically transforms the conditions of life in this world. In Jesus’ own life, and those of his disciples, the heavenly and the earthly, the present and the future, this age and the next could be distinguished but they could never be separated[1]. To see Jesus is to have insight into how God’s kingdom comes on earth as it is in heaven (Matt 6:10). Christ perfectly enacted the blessings of the kingdom of God that are available to men and women now.

The Compassion of the King

People often observe that when people came to Jesus, “he healed them all” (Matt 8:16; 12:15), and go on to ask why we don’t see everyone healed[2]. Various answers are given- we lack faith, we don’t pray, we are sinful and Jesus was God etc. Whilst each of these have a certain validity, they tell us more about the spirituality of the person proposing them than they do about the dynamic of Christ’s inner life and especially about his relationship with the Father. Jesus is the perfect representation of the heart of the Father to bless beyond measure, he is a window onto a Father who sees and senses every trauma. Christ is the extension into our world of the heart of an impassioned Father who is in pain because the rule of evil powers in this age, sin, Satan and death, impose limitations on his ability to give. The presence of the pain of this fervent longing Father is given a specific name throughout the scriptures.

In an extraordinarily illuminating Old Testament scripture we read, “though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love;33 for he does not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men.” (Lam 3:22-33). More literally, “he does not afflict or grieve the children of men from his heart”. What are we to make of this scripture which was penned in the aftermath of the destruction of Jerusalem and the deportation of an enslaved population to Babylon, which itself had been sent as the agent of God’s wrath[3]? Or, closer to home, at the moment I am writing this the east coast of Australia is suffering from devastating floods whilst the west coast is in drought. Can we really believe that compassion is God’s true heart?

I have already remarked that when we were in Israel we went on a journey tracking the sites of the divine blessing. One of these is by the Sea of Galilee and is graphically described in all the Gospels[4], it strategically links the two keys for unleashing the power of the kingdom of God.

“When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And. 35 And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. 36 Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” 37 But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said to him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?” 38 And he said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” 39 Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. 41 And taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all. 42 And they all ate and were satisfied. 43 And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. 44 And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.” (Mark 6:34-44)

When Jesus saw the helpless state of the people “he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd”; what does this mean? I have a friend who every time he quotes this scripture starts to cry, that’s what it means. Jesus was constantly aware in himself of a gap between his own heart experience of the fullness of the Father and the state of those deprived of God’s blessing, the poor, sick, outcast. The compassion of Christ filled the space between the Father and the lost and released the presence of the kingdom of God in a variety of ways. Firstly in teaching, “he began to teach them many things” (Mark 6:34), when Jesus opened his mouth (Matt 5:2) eternal realities were imparted by the life-giving Word of God. Unlike much of the church he did not however stop there, he set the hungry crowds before him “looked up to heaven and said a blessing”. He looked up to heaven because he came to reveal the heavenly Father. He said a blessing because blessing was his Father’s will and he knew that his Father’s word of blessing had limitless power to multiply whatever resources were needed for the growth of the kingdom of God[5].

I will never forget some words spoken by a missionary to Venezuela some years ago. Speaking of the feeding of the 5,000 he said, “Jesus always worked on the principle of abundance.” This is not some formula, but a simple and effective way to describe the connection between compassion and blessing in the kingdom of God. Teaching the Word and feeding the needy are like the two hands of God. This is not just something that we see in Jesus ministry, it is a characteristic of any mature body of believers. In Acts we read not of both these things, “there was not a needy person among them” (4:34) and “the word of God increased and multiplied” (6:7; 12:24).

This principle of abundance is a very important truth for the growth of the kingdom of God in Australia, for abundance is the direct opposite of deprivation. However much the conscience of contemporary Australians is gripped by evil spirits telling them that that God is a hard hearted person who always wants to take and never wants to give (Matt 25:24), it is very hard to argue with a compassionate God who imparts words of eternal wisdom, reconciles enemies, feeds the hungry and heals the sick.

When the kingdom of God is revealed in this way (which is nothing more or less than Jesus personal presence) it is supremely attractive. This is what was so profoundly present in the ministry of Father Samaan in the Cave Church of Cairo- the throngs of people seeking to touch him, he receive a healing word, to have a demon cast out, a prayer for marriage, fertility… were imbibing the delightful presence of God’s kingdom. When we Australians overcome our embarrassment and pride in seeking God, and learn how to pray unapologetically to the Father in Jesus’ name, “Bless me now…”, our retarded spiritual state will be overcome and the prayers of the years will be answered.

The compassion driven multiplication and release of the resources of the kingdom of God brings to the fore further aspects of blessing.

Distributive Blessing

I remember standing by the Nile one morning and suddenly thinking, “Joseph was here”. The man who was rejected by his brothers and believed to be dead by his father was sent down to Egypt by God to prepare the land to be a source of supply for the people of Israel. In a potent passage he explains to his startled brothers, ““God…has made me a father to Pharaoh” ” (45:8). Joseph brought the wisdom of God to Pharaoh so that divine provision would not be lacking in all the land. More than this, “all the earth came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain” (Gen 41:57). Through Joseph, the blessing of God went out to all peoples. This is always the nature of God’s kingdom.

In Israel we were privileged to visit a ministry called The House of Light[6], the Arab Christian couple there visit prisons, collect clothing for the needy, minister to children, advance Arab-Jewish reconciliation etc. After we left them it suddenly struck me that the Lord was still speaking to us about the blessings of the kingdom, for here was a church that fitted these famous words of Jesus.

““When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’” (Matt 25:31-40)

I have noticed that the multiplication of resources and abundant life is experienced in miraculous way by every ministry that understands that the blessings of the kingdom of God are to be distributed to others. This is what Jesus meant when he taught, “give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”” (Luke 6:38),“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matt 6:33). The righteousness of God’s kingdom is nothing less than a heavenly justice that spreads out the divine supply to those in need[7].

The Delivering power of the Kingdom

Teaching on the kingdom as a realm of blessing was Jesus favourite topic in the Gospels[8] and something he constantly embodied. Why is it then that we see so little of the manifestation of the power of the kingdom of God in our midst? Jesus referred in various places to “the mystery of the kingdom of God” (Matt 13:11), that which was previously hidden about the kingdom was now being revealed through his life and words. The climax to Matthew records Christ’s directive to “make disciples of all nations” by teaching obedience to all his commands (Matt 28:19-20). To be a disciple is to understand the ways of the kingdom which Jesus taught[9]. Australia is a very undiscipled nation because it does not understand the mystery of the kingdom of God.

There are three dimensions of the mystery of the kingdom of God that we must understand and which are widely confused in our day. The first concerns the primary location of God’s kingdom. “Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed, 21 nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”” (Luke 17:21). You will often hear preacher say, “the kingdom of God is within you”[10]. To think that the kingdom of God is within us is tremendously appealing to modern Western egocentric people who will try to consume anything, including spirituality[11]. This cannot possible have been Jesus meaning, for he was speaking to the Pharisees and the rule of God was precisely what they resisted. When Jesus said, ““the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.””[12] he was pointing to himself and his works[13]. Jesus and not the believer is at the centre of God’s kingdom.

In the first confusion the believer rather than Jesus is made the focus for God’s kingdom, a second confusion flows from this and makes the church rather than the kingdom of God our central focus. The word “church” appears only twice in the Gospels, and in one of these texts we are told exactly about the relationship between the kingdom of God and the church[14]. Jesus said to Peter, “you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”” (Matt 16:18-19). Jesus teaches us that the kingdom that builds the church, not the other way round. Church building is something that God does; it is purely God-centred and by his unaided power. Where the mystery of the kingdom is understood and lived Christians will never blindly follow church leaders, they will always follow holy men and women in one invariable direction.

This has to do with the third dimension of the kingdom; the kingdom of God is present in the person of the King, Jesus himself. The kingdom is not a thing, like the United Kingdom, it is the Lord Jesus’ personal presence. Jesus personal presence conveyed to those around him an awareness of the kingdom of God as an eternal power; to “See the King” drives out fears to do with finance, drives out demons, illness, sin etc. The presence of the King however comes to us in an unexpected way and unless we recognise it we are not delivered from our afflictions.

Jesus is the presence of the kingdom of God, not as the invulnerable conquering Messiah of popular thought, but as God made present in weakness (John 1:14). As I was praying about these things (somewhere in the Middle East) I sensed that to be aware of the kingdom of God is to share how Jesus experienced the presence of his Father’s kingdom power in his own human weakness. Jesus’ weak humanity was the bridge between him and the Father Almighty (e.g. Mark 14:36) through which compassion flowed with immeasurable blessing to all those around him who were weak too, the poor, hungry, diseased, outcaste, shamed and guilty. The deepest secret of the kingdom of God, its scandalous nature, is the weakness of its King. Natural human thinking, including the natural thinking of most of the church, cannot embrace the truth that the King is seen in the fullness of his kingly power on the cross[15]. The only way to the resurrection power of the kingdom of God is via the death of Jesus. Contained in the cross is the ultimate kingly power to finally destroy evil.

Kingdom Priorities

Acts tell us that the apostles “turned the world upside down” by preaching “another king, Jesus” (Acts 17:6-7). In our day the first place where Jesus needs to be accepted as King is in the church, and it is the institutions of Christianity that need to be turned upside down – from centres of personal privilege to dynamic hubs that minister to every kind of human need.

Years ago when I was praying I had a strange sensation of being “turned inside out”. The Lord began to speak to me about turning the church inside out, from self-centred to Christ-centred and so on. This means that the kingdom of God must be a priority that precedes the church, Jesus commanded that we seek the kingdom “first” (Matt 6:33). Jesus’ priority must be our priority, and he did not call his central passion “mission”, “evangelism”,“church planting”, or “social justice”, but “the kingdom of God”. The most urgent matter for the church is not salvation (this too is a matter from which we need deliverance), but God’s rule.

When the people of God embrace Jesus as King as first priority, we immediately become engaged in a war with eternal implications. In the middle of the night of the 17^th November (Amman) I sensed that the Lord was speaking to me about the, “Goodness of a war that is holy.” To follow the King in the coming of his kingdom is to be engaged in a truly holy war. Unlike all other claims for warfare that is holy or just[16], the goodness of this war is the kingdom enforcement of the reality of peace with God through Christ in the power of the Spirit. This is the good pleasure and purpose of the Father (Eph 1:9).

Insight into this kingdom truth is radically important for God’s kingdom strategy for Australia at this time. In a nation that suffers from a spirit of relational deprivation and so pursues pleasure above everything, the Word that goodness, holiness and the most intense pleasure knowable by humanity are combined in the experience of being ruled by God (Rom 14:17) is a revolutionary message. Without a doubt when these kingdom truths are lived out by the people of God many lost souls will be attracted to Jesus.

Conclusion

Like the Jews of Jesus’ day we have largely lost sight of the reality of God’s kingdom, to rediscover this what this kingdom is all about we must rediscover Jesus. Not only Jesus in the Gospels, but the treasure of Christ in us, the hope of glory (2 Cor 4:7; Col 1:27). This is why our next study will examine “The Blessing of the Son”. Second, we must receive once more the power of the Spirit of Blessing, for Christ said, “if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Matt 12:28). This is also a matter to be pursued in thought and prayer in subsequent weeks. Finally, in Christ and by the Spirit, we must be men and women of the future. No one can bring forth the testimony of Jesus without being a prophet and a seer, for the kingdom of God is the breaking into the present of a future heavenly world. I will develop these issues at length in my sixth study.

In the midst of massive transformations in our thinking a new vision is gradually emerging in the church of what it means to be a community created by the presence and power of the kingdom of God. There is in process a shift from a community based on rules, titles and programmes to a body marked by mercy, patience, forgiveness and the care-filled rule of God. The overwhelming compassion of Christ is coming to the fore and as it does so we may anticipate a heightened visibility of the kingdom of God that will enable more and more outsiders to see and enter it for themselves (John 3:1-7). This is why Jesus came, and it too is our purpose.

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