Danielle Steel has sold over 570 million books.[1] When people think of Danielle Steel they think of her as an author. In a recent Newsweek column, however, Steel revealed another side to her, one she’s never spoken publicly about and one most people know nothing about.[2] For over ten years Steel and a team of volunteers have gone onto the streets of San Francisco to provide clothing, bedding, supplies and food to the homeless. They have served more than 30,000 homeless people. And she is writing about it now to draw attention to the plight of the poor. When most think about Danielle Steel they think of her as an author. There is, however, another important element to her life. One she wants more people to know about.
Danielle Steel’s story illustrates something which happens in the minds of many when it comes to Jesus. Like Steel, Jesus is often known for only one thing. When many think of Jesus they think primarily of his cross. And rightly so. In 1 Cor. 15 Paul writes that that the cross is of first importance. But because of the significance of the cross, it can be easy to forget the three years that led to that cross. And what took place during those three years can be summarized in the word “kingdom.” We find the issue of the kingdom more than 100 times in the four gospels. When we think of Jesus we should not only think of the cross. We should also think of the kingdom. It is another side to Jesus which we neglect. Jesus told parables about it: The kingdom of God is like… Jesus preached about it: Repent for the kingdom of heaven has come near… He urged us to pray for it: your kingdom come, your will be done… He asked us to seek it: But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness… Jesus is not only about the cross. He is also about the kingdom.
But what is this kingdom? There are many answers to that question. One window into the concept of kingdom is found in Lk. 11:20: But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. (Lk. 11:20 TNIV) Matthew indicates that Jesus said But if I drive out demons by the spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. By his power, by his Spirit, God is using Jesus to usher in the kingdom. What is that kingdom? Here, it is illustrated by Jesus driving out demons. It is Jesus freeing people from the things that enslave them and cause them pain. Through Jesus God is asserting his power over forces which rule people’s lives. Through Jesus God is vanquishing these powers and releasing people from them. That’s the kingdom. The kingdom is a state in which God’s power liberates people from the forces that make their lives difficult and discouraging. And here we see that God uses Jesus to bring the kingdom. Repeat that with me: God uses Jesus to bring the kingdom.
When Jesus gave strength to the legs of a lame man, that was the kingdom. When Jesus enabled blind eyes to see, that was the kingdom. When Jesus turned a hard heart toward God, that was the kingdom. When Jesus’ actions led people to worship God, that was the kingdom. When Jesus made leprosy vanish from someone’s skin, that was the kingdom. When Jesus spoke up for the poor, that was the kingdom. Can you imagine a state of life in which all the things that weigh people down—disease, poverty, oppression, doubt, sin, evil—are lifted away? That’s the kingdom. And in the Gospels, God uses Jesus to bring the kingdom. If we really want to understand Jesus and his significance, we have to understand this: God was using Jesus to bring a kingdom—a state in which people are liberated from the forces and circumstances that cause them pain.
That work, however, did not stop when Jesus ascended to heaven. It began, but it was not completed. When Jesus ascended into heaven, there were still many people enslaved by and burdened by forces and powers and diseases and doubt and sin. So, God continued that work through the church. This seems to be why Luke, the same one who recorded Jesus saying But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you, says in Acts 1 that his record of Jesus life was only about what Jesus began to do and to teach. Luke is saying that the book of Acts is the record of what Jesus continued to do and to teach through his church. Acts is how God used the church to bring the kingdom.
Paul also writes about the church in this way. Writing to the church meeting in the city of Corinth he writes Now you are the body of Christ. (1 Cor. 12:27 TNIV). What a remarkable statement that was, especially to the Corinthians. Earlier Paul described the church in Corinth in this way: Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are… (1 Cor. 1:26-28 TNIV) Paul held up a mirror to this church and said: Take a good look. Not many of you are wise. Not many of you have influence in your city. Not many of you have parents to brag about. From the perspective of the city around you, you are foolish. You are weak. You are lowly. Here’s how Eugene Peterson puts it in The Message: Take a good look, friends, at who you were when you got called into this life. I don’t see many of “the brightest and the best” among you, not many influential, not many from high-society families. Isn’t it obvious that God deliberately chose men and women that the culture overlooks and exploits and abuses, chose these “nobodies” to expose the hollow pretentions of the “sombodies”? (1 Cor. 1:26-28 The Message) And to this church of “nobodies,” Paul says Now you are the body of Christ. (1 Cor. 12:27 TNIV). The City Council may not think much of you, but you are the body of Christ. The board of the local university may not want you, but you are the body of Christ. Jesus is still present upon earth through you, the church. God is continuing his kingdom bringing work through you, the church.
God uses us, the church, to bring the kingdom. His power now flows through the body of Christ, the church, to continue what Jesus started. Through the church God intends that all the things that weigh people down—disease, poverty, oppression, doubt, sin, evil—will be lifted away. God uses the church, the body of Christ, to bring the kingdom—a state in which people are liberated from the forces and circumstances that cause them pain and hurt.
At the beginning of June some of us from Highland travelled to Little Rock to tour the River City Ministry. Several area churches and individuals have partnered to create the River City Ministry. And as we walked around it and talked to the leaders of it, I could see the kingdom coming. They hold 15 eye clinics a year at their facility for the poor. They have over 10,000 pair of prescription glasses to hand out. They see over 500 poor people each year in their dental clinic. They served over 7,000 people in their kitchen last year. They filled almost 4,000 prescriptions for the poor last year. Over 500 needy children received Christmas presents. Over 3,000 children received food. Thirty four poor people were baptized last year. It’s the closest I’ve ever come in this country to seeing today what Jesus was doing in his day. Through those Little Rock churches and leaders the kingdom is coming.
But if that was the only teaching of the Bible, it might be disappointing. Yes, God uses us, the church, to bring the kingdom. But what about me? What about you as an individual? Do you have any part in this, or is the us really just the leaders and the really talented people in the church? Do you really get to play on this team or are you just a bench-warmer? It is good to be on a team that’s performing well. But if you as an individual don’t get to contribute meaningfully to that performance, there is something disappointing. When it comes down to it, I think most of us want to play a real part on the team. There’s nothing like actually playing in the game. I think that’s where a lot of us are. We are certainly glad that God’s able to use the church to bring the kingdom. But what we really long for is for God to use me to bring the kingdom. We all want to get in the game.
And that’s where some of the best news of the Bible comes in. Listen to the rest of Paul’s sentence in 1 Cor. 12:27: Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. Every Christian is a part of what God is doing through the body of Christ. Each individual is a part of what God is doing through the body. Here’s how Paul puts it in 1 Cor. 12:7-11: 7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines. Each one of us is given an ability, through the Spirit, to contribute toward the work of the body. This is one of the fundamental roles of the Holy Spirit. This is our fifth week to study the Holy Spirit. Though we’ve barely scratched the surface we’ve seen some important things regarding the Spirit. First, we saw that the Spirit is a critical, though often overlooked, part of God’s story. Second, we saw that the Spirit mediates Jesus’ presence. Through the Spirit, Jesus walks with us. Third, we saw that the Spirit reveals Jesus’ way. Through the Spirit, Jesus shows us how to walk like him in each circumstance. Fourth, we saw that the Spirit cultivates Jesus’ character within us so that we become more loving.
But here we see that the Spirit equips and prepares each of us to serve like Jesus. The Spirit gives every follower of Jesus abilities so that we all can carry on the ministry of Jesus. In other words, God didn’t just use Jesus to bring the kingdom. God doesn’t just use us, the church, in general, to bring the kingdom. God uses me to bring the kingdom. Say that out loud: God uses me to bring the kingdom. God calls everyone of you off the bench and sends you into the game.
It is interesting that in Lk. 10 Jesus is sending out his followers to serve, just as he’s been serving. Listen to how he describes what will happen as they serve: 8 “When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you. 9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ (Lk. 10:8-9 TNIV). As they serve, the kingdom comes nearer. As we each use our Spirit-given abilities to serve, the kingdom comes nearer. We all get to be in the game.
God had a dream of using Jesus to free people from the things that enslave them and cause them pain. God’s vision was to assert his power over those forces which rule people’s lives. God envisioned a state of life in which people are liberated from the forces that make their lives difficult. That dream took shape through Jesus. When Jesus gave strength to the legs of a lame man, that was the kingdom. When Jesus enabled blind eyes to see, that was the kingdom. When Jesus turned a hard heart toward God, that was the kingdom. Jesus was ushering in a state of life in which all the things that weigh people down—disease, poverty, oppression, doubt, sin, evil—are lifted away. And now, God doesn’t just use the church in general to carry on that dream. He uses each person in the church. Each follower of Jesus. Everyone one of us is equipped by the Holy Spirit to continue that kingdom-bringing ministry. No one has to sit in the stands. No one has to sit on the bench. Every person belongs in the game.
Several weeks ago I was talking to a member of the praise team that leads worship in our contemporary service. She was talking about how much it meant to her to sing on that praise team. She said she had been searching for her place, for her role, but just wasn’t sure what it was. But when she took the step and joined the praise team, she said for the first time in her time at Highland she felt like she was doing what God had intended her to do. She was making a difference. She was no longer on the bench. She was now in the game. And because she is using her gift in that way, the kingdom is coming every Sunday.
What good news! It’s not just the preachers or the elders or the authors who get gifts and skills from the Spirit and through whom God brings his kingdom. It’s the “ordinary” and “average” Christians. It’s Wayne Hinley who uses his gift to serve and watch over our children in the Children’s Ministry. It’s Jimmy Welch and Lyle Bontrager who use their gifts to set up and take down the sound system every Sunday morning. It’s Gary and Clayton Lemmons who use their gifts to set up chairs and tables at HUGSR and HA each Sunday. It’s Charlotte Patterson who uses her gifts to set up and take down coffee each Sunday morning. It’s the Irwins and Cathryn Johnson who use their gifts each week in our nursery. It’s all those teenagers who grabbed a paintbrush and painted homes at Work Camp. It’s Randy McPherson helping guide Memphis Urban Ministry. Through all of these people God is bringing his kingdom. Through your spirit-given gift, God can bring his kingdom.
That’s why our understanding of what God’s called Highland to be ends with the word “send.” We not only want to draw people to our worship services so their hearts can be stirred toward God, move people to our Sunday School classes where they can be shaped into the image of Jesus, and recruit people into our Reach Groups where they can receive the support they need. We ultimately want to send every person to serve using the abilities given them by the Holy Spirit. We want to send every person into the game to play the role the Spirit has equipped them to play.
[2] Danielle Steel, “A Secret Mission On the Streets” Turning Point Newsweek (June 23, 2008), http://www.newsweek.com/id/141493/page/1.
