A Sunday Message for every day of the week

A group of pastors were asked what was their primary ministry objective. One pastor answered, “The Kingdom of God”. When asked did they mean “The Church”, they simply repeated, “The Kingdom of God”. When asked, “but, what about the people of God – The Church?”. Whereupon, they repeated “The Kingdom of God” was their primary calling for ministry. (I.e., these pastors believe their view of the corporate structure and function of God’s Kingdom was their primary calling, ministry and mission –  not the Church! (This is a widespread phenomenon. Many pastors and staff view the Church (membership) as a distraction and a burden to be dealt by way of programmed activities (as a means to keep the ‘church people’ busy while the staff does their Kingdom Work). Scriptures see these pastor and staff as negligent, improper, manipulative and abusive in their treatment of the church, and subsequently the way Christians treat one another as they respond to this type of ‘leadership’).

What does the Bible say about each and every Christian’s primary calling, mission and objective, however?

• “You are to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. (Mark 12:30).
• You are to love your neighbor as yourself. (Mark 12:31).
• “Go and make disciples, of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit teaching them to follow all that I commanded you”. (Matthew 28:19-20).
• “I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this the world will know that you are My disciples”. (John 13:34-35).
• Why? Because, John 3:16 says, “For God so loved…

Love – Agapao – to love (in a social or moral sens).
{chiefly of the heart (wholehearted, unconditional, devoted) while G5368 is chiefly of the head (feelings, conditional, sentimental)}

Aorist Tense – has loved, does love, will always love (past, present, future – a continuous action, without beginning or end).

For God so loved the world,

World – Kosmos – an apt and harmonious arrangement or constitution, order, government; ornament, decoration, adornment, i.e. the arrangement of the stars, ‘the heavenly hosts’, as the ornament of the heavens; the world, the universe, the circle of the earth, the earth,  the inhabitants of the earth, men, the human family, the ungodly multitude;

that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.

Perish – apóllymi, ap-ol’-loo-mee; from G575 and the base of G3639; to destroy fully (reflexively, to perish, or lose), literally or figuratively:—destroy, die, lose, mar, perish. To Kill, put an end to.

God created the world (kosmos) and loved, loves and will always love His creation so much that He had and has and will continue to have no intention of causing it to perish – However, He has not and will not force His creation to love Him, appreciate Him, believe in Him nor to obey Him. But all the men and women who refuse to believe in Him, will perish (be destroyed) by their own choice, by their own volition. Those that remain – those who believe in Him – have the right to be called the children of God and are joint heirs with Jesus, and will live eternally with God.

V. 17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but so that the world might be saved through Him. V. 18 The one who believes in Him is not judged;

Judge – Krino (krínō, kree’-no); properly, to distinguish, i.e. decide (mentally or judicially); by implication, to try, condemn, punish:—avenge, conclude, condemn, damn, decree, determine, esteem, judge, go to (sue at the) law, ordain, call in question, sentence to, think.

Believe(s) – Pisteuo – pisteúō, pist-yoo’-o; from G4102; to have faith (in, upon, or with respect to, a person or thing), i.e. credit; by implication, to entrust (especially one’s spiritual well-being to Christ):—believe(-r), commit (to trust), put in trust with.

Please, please, please, dear Christian brothers and sisters, let’s stop going down the errant path of ‘self’ and “repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand”. Jesus has told us that although He is God, He did not consider even that as something to hold over people. He tells us that He came to serve and not to be served. This is the way – He is the Way. This is our only hope in these last days! Let’s love one another just as God loves us! Please.

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young