Matthew 11:12
From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it. NIV
I am about to preach on this passage of scripture. I tend to use the NIV so I was about to preach "come on folks lets be forceful men who take hold of the kingdom and forcefully advance it."
But I have just read Carson's commentary on the verse in "The Expistor's Bible Commentary (1984)" which points us to an interpretation that says
"since the days of John the Baptist the Kingdom of heaven is being forcefully advanced, and violent men are pillaging it."
So that shoots my planned sermon in the foot. However, I sense that Carson's interpretation is right. I don't feel like a mighty warrior about to take hell by storm and the people who I preach to are by and large in the scared rabbit league.
So my revised interpretation is that Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit is forcefully advancing the Kingdom of heaven every time he heals the sick, cleanses a leper or brings sight to the blind (Matt 11:5). Jesus clearly sees these as actions of spiritual warfare against the principality of darkness (cf 1 John 5:19).
This violence against the forces of evil is carried out by a child of God - a little one whose eyes and ears are open to the things revealed by the Father (verses 15 and 25).
The violent men are the people who oppose the Kingdom of heaven by persecuting the likes of John the Baptist, Jesus, James and countless other Martyrs.
The implications for me and my hearers is that although we are little children and not forceful men we can nevertheless join Jesus in his work of forcefully advancing the Kingdom of heaven as we operate in the power of the Spirit: doing good deeds that bless people and healing the sick.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Saturday, May 19, 2007
What has been happening
If you have been a reader of my blog in the past you may remember that I posted a blog in August last year about the popping of my "super-ego" bubble:
Click here to read my post from August 2006
Sadly, the fact that this had happened didn't immediately filter through to everyone and I found the spiritual temperature of the church very cool in the Autumn:
Click here to read my post from September 2006
This made the grass look greener on the other side of the fence, and I gave serious thought to moving on. I even went to a couple of interviews, but it became very clear in mid December that the Lord had other plans for me.
Coming to terms with my disappointment with how things had turned out took a couple of weeks - hence the blogging silence. During this time I organised the sabbatical to give myself space to reevaluate etc. Then by New Year my weariness lifted and the church began to respond quite positively to my ministry. I was so busy throwing myself back into ministry that I didn't have time to blog. Then I just got out of the habit!
I have now returned from sabbatical to a warm welcome and there are many signs of life in the church and many good things happening.
Click here to read my post from August 2006
Sadly, the fact that this had happened didn't immediately filter through to everyone and I found the spiritual temperature of the church very cool in the Autumn:
Click here to read my post from September 2006
This made the grass look greener on the other side of the fence, and I gave serious thought to moving on. I even went to a couple of interviews, but it became very clear in mid December that the Lord had other plans for me.
Coming to terms with my disappointment with how things had turned out took a couple of weeks - hence the blogging silence. During this time I organised the sabbatical to give myself space to reevaluate etc. Then by New Year my weariness lifted and the church began to respond quite positively to my ministry. I was so busy throwing myself back into ministry that I didn't have time to blog. Then I just got out of the habit!
I have now returned from sabbatical to a warm welcome and there are many signs of life in the church and many good things happening.
I'm Back
I don't know if I will be blogging much in the future. I might, but I have not felt like doing so recently.
For those who might like to know, I have just been on sabbatical from Feb - April. During this time I put a new fireplace in the living room and decorated it. I also made a pond in the back garden. I went on holiday to Angelsey with Jane and spent a week in the Cambrian mountains with my mum.
The blog was helpful last year as I wrestled with my dissatisfaction with the dear of Church of England. I am now at peace with where I fit in. Maybe I will blog about this and how I believe God wants me to minister in the future.
In a nutshell, I still see myself a missionary to the unchurched folk of Britain, but I personally am going to concentrate on those in Bredbury and Woodley. As a base for this outreach I am working to strengthen the missionary community which calls itself St. Mark's Church.
For those who might like to know, I have just been on sabbatical from Feb - April. During this time I put a new fireplace in the living room and decorated it. I also made a pond in the back garden. I went on holiday to Angelsey with Jane and spent a week in the Cambrian mountains with my mum.
The blog was helpful last year as I wrestled with my dissatisfaction with the dear of Church of England. I am now at peace with where I fit in. Maybe I will blog about this and how I believe God wants me to minister in the future.
In a nutshell, I still see myself a missionary to the unchurched folk of Britain, but I personally am going to concentrate on those in Bredbury and Woodley. As a base for this outreach I am working to strengthen the missionary community which calls itself St. Mark's Church.
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