Leviticus 27
It is the glory of the Lord to allow us to join in with what He is doing. This is seen in the valuations of Leviticus 27. The valuations are for persons, animals, lands and fields. Each of the items could be valued and then sold and the money given to speed the work of the Lord. When one sees the glory of the Lord at work, it is natural to be enamored with what He is doing and desire to join in with Him. But it may be that the person for one reason or another cannot join in. By giving something of himself, that person may join in. So these are voluntary gifts that could be given because one has so fallen in love with the glory of the L ord. Have you fallen in love with the glory of the Lord so much that you delight in giving to the advancement of His cause? Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
Luke 17:20-37
We are all watching closely the activity in Iraq, especially those of us who have loved ones there or will soon have loved ones there. We want the new government there to succeed. We want it to become a just and effective government, serving the Iraqi people well. If for no other reason at all, we want it to do well so that we can bring our soldiers home. So we watch and observe hoping the government will be supported by the people and will protect the people, hoping it will provide security for them. We want to do all that we can to get it to succeed. So we watch and observe.
The glory of our King is not like that. His is a glory that is built from within. It cannot be observed from the outside. We have no idea who His cabinet will be, or what kind of officers the cabinet will have, or even if He will need a cabinet. There will be no immediate need for drawing up a constitution, no electing a provisional government, no appointing of judges to sort out the war crimes. There will be no protests because of slowness to rebuild the infrastructure. Will electricity, running water and sewer to houses be an issue? Will distribution of food be a problem? Will medical facilities be required? Will clothing manufacturing and sale be a conundrum? Will the entertainment industry have to be rebuilt? Somehow those things might be a part of the Millennial Kingdom, but I don't think it will be anything like we can imagine.
Jesus says that His physical Kingdom will come without observation. It will be sudden and conclusive. In the mean time, His Kingdom is within us. In the mean time, His Kingdom is about building character in His people. In the mean time, His Kingdom is about building righteousness in His subjects. In the mean time, His Kingdom is about building love in His family. In the mean time, His Kingdom is about proclaiming the good news to non-citizens that they can receive citizenship if they will repent and believe in Jesus, receiving Him as their King. In the mean time, His Kingdom is about building a relationship with Him. In the mean time, His Kingdom is about rejecting the world's values and embracing His values. Those things cannot be observed. Oh sure, if we are building those things in our lives it will result in things that we can see around us. It will result in our serving others more than ourselves, and that will ultimately be visible. But there are those who do not know Him that serve others more than themselves.
So what glory is that? The glory will be revealed when He returns. It will be sudden and obvious. And we will all marvel at what He has done. His Kingdom doesn't come with physical observation. But it will bring greater security and peace than any army, constitution, legislature, judicial system or other ruler could ever supply! I want His glory to be advanced. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
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