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Looking for the Kingdom of God?

by David A. DePra

And when He was demanded of the Pharisees when the
kingdom of God should come, He answered them and said,
"The kingdom of God comes not with observation. Neither
shall they say 'Lo, here! Or, "Lo, there!" For behold, the
kingdom of God is within you." (Luke 17:20-21)
 
     The Jews of the first century had an understanding of the
kingdom of God which was merely physical. They were looking
for national kingdom; a literal place where the Messiah would
reign. The only question they had was as to when the Messiah
would come to reign and rule in Israel.
     Jesus gave them an answer which was about as straight
forward as it could be. He said, "Your concept of the kingdom is
wrong. You think it's a physical kingdom you can see with you
eyes. It is not. It is a spiritual kingdom. Your Messiah wants to
reign and rule in your hearts." (see above passage)
     The Pharisees never did get it. In fact, not even the apostles
fully understood what Jesus was talking about until after
Pentecost. It was only after they entered the kingdom of God
through the new birth in Christ that they understood the Truth.
     Today, many of us know the kingdom of God is not a physical
kingdom. We know it isn't on the map. It doesn't have a phone
number. There is no street address. We know we can't point to
it and say, "This is the place where God reigns. This is the place
which belongs to Him more than any other. Come over here and
you will be in the kingdom of God."
     Or do we know that? The fact is, there are thousands of us
today who don't seem to understand this simple Truth about the
kingdom of God. We ARE looking for "the special place" God
reigns. We are looking for the group, church, or ministry which
we think exemplifies the kingdom of God more than any other.
     Here we see the tendency some of us have to link fellowship
with God with our association with the "right group." No, we
don't go as far as to suggest outright that we have to "be in the
right group" to "be in Christ." And we'd never go so far as to
actually call our group a "mediator unto God." But somehow, we
never cease trying to find that "special fellowship;" that one place
we think will make us "complete in God." Unless we are in a
group we consider "special," we aren't able to rest in Christ, nor
feel as if we are walking in His will.
     We need to go back to the words of Jesus. He told the
Pharisees that they might just as well stop looking for the
kingdom of God in a place they could see with their eyes. The
kingdom of God is within the human heart. In other words, we
can stop our search for that special place or group. There is no
special place or group. There is only one Special Person. And
He is IN each one who has received Him as Saviour.
 
Danger
 
     Have you ever wondered why many of us seek to find God in
a place or a group? Could it be because we don't really believe
-- I mean in a way that is real and vital -- that we are fully
complete in Christ by faith alone? There is a subtle fear and
restlessness in some of our hearts which tells us that unless we
belong to a special group, we can never fully belong to God.
     Don't misunderstand. It isn't wrong to want to attend a good
church. We should want to attend a good church. The problem
begins when we step over the line and begin putting our trust in
the fact we are there. At that point, we have missed the mark.
And we will never find Christ in the way we expected. Why?
Because we are looking for Christ in a place. He isn't in a place.
He's in us. We simply need to believe it.
     It is so important to get this straight. Failure to do so not only
leads to spiritual confusion, but can open us for real deception
and spiritual bondage. If I will not rest in Christ by faith, but will
only believe I am completed in Him by finding a special group, I
will probably end up "finding" it. This is one of the ways that
cultish groups trap people. They promise people exactly what
they want: Special access to God. And they usually do it without
preaching it in words. They either play on their pride by telling
them they are a "specially chosen one," or they play on their fear
by telling them they will lose out if they don't belong to the group.
If I'm not solid in Christ, I might fall for the trap.
     Do you see what the key is to standing firm against such
deception? I must, as an individual, be strong in Christ. My faith
cannot be contigent upon others, or if they fall, I will also fall.
Only if I am strong in Christ as an individual, can I be an asset to
the Body of Christ. Then I will be able to help them stand,
instead of going down with them if they stumble.
     We keep coming back to the foundation of Christianity:
Christ in the individual. The Body is composed of individuals in
whom Christ dwells. Christ does not sort of dwell "in a group,"
but not in individuals.
 
Restoration
 
     There are many groups today who are trying to restore the
Body of Christ back to what it was just after Pentecost. They
believe this will result in them experiencing what the early church
experienced. This is also one of the reasons why people try to
find a relationship with Christ through a group. They are aware
of the failings of most churches today, and want to experience
more.
     This seems a noble cause. Afterall, the early church really
was wonderful, wasn't it? What could possibly be wrong with
wanting to be that way again?
     Nothing. The problem, however, is the means by which some
seek to achieve such a lofty aspiration. Some read the Bible as
use it as a "blueprint" for the Body of Christ. They map out the
instructions given and say, "Now, we will go and do those things.
     We will act like that, and be like that." So they start "loving one
another." They hug and cry and commit themselves to each
other. Some even pool their finances like they did in the book of
Acts. That, they feel, is really an example of Christian love.
Christian communes often spring up. These are supposedly
living examples of New Testament "body life."
     What's wrong with that? In principle, not a thing. But let's
ask: What was the real source of what happened after
Pentecost? Remember, they didn't have a New Testament for a
blueprint. They didn't know how to conduct a prayer meeting, or
how to act like a group of Christians should act. But what
happened was real. Why? Because Christ in them was real.
And they were relying on Him. They believed Him.
     Herein we see the futility of trying to "restore" the church to
what it once had. You don't have to restore the church to "what
it once had" because the church has never stopped having it!
Jesus Christ has always been here. The Holy Spirit hasn't left.
What needs to be restored is faith in Jesus Christ. The wonderful
Truth is, if you want to restore the Body to what God intended,
then start restoring individuals to what God intended. Start
teaching, preaching, and living the Truth that Christ is in the
individual, and start teaching individuals how to belong to Him.
The restoration of the church will then occur as a natural
by-product of each member holding fast to the Head.
 
Complete In Him
 
     The source of every spiritual problem in the church today is
found in individuals. Individuals believe or don't believe.
Individuals preach and teach. Individuals sin against God.
Therefore, the only way in which the Body can come to function
in a healthy way is if individuals begin to walk in Truth. Thus, it is
clear that I am not going to find a special group who will make
me complete in Christ. I am complete in Him. I need to believe.
Then I will be a healthy influence in His Body.
     Again we hear the words of Jesus: "And they shall say to you,
'See here,' or 'See there.' Go not after them, nor follow them."
(Lk. 17:23) Why? Because Jesus Christ is not in a secret place.
Access to Him is not a matter of finding the right people to link
up with: "As lightning that lights out of one part under heaven
shines unto the other part under heaven, so shall also the Son of
Man be in His day." (Lk. 17:24) Apply this verse as you will to
the future Second Coming, but it also has a spiritual application
now: Jesus is accessible to all -- as lightning lights up the
whole heaven, seemingly everywhere all at once. And while we
may not always see or sense Him in a way we can document, we
can always believe. That is what it means to walk by faith.*

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