I was listening to one of my Pandora stations and heard the old 1967 Buffalo Springfield song, “For What It’s Worth”

I was struck by how this poem describes the same phenomenons of “pretesting” we see today in the OCCUPY movement. The continuity of wisdom is fascinating.  In the midst of the excitement that something good may be happening, so often in these protests there is confusion, conflict, miscommunication, lack of coherency, and self-righteousness. What is interesting to me is that for some in the OCCUPY movement it is a way to relive the glory days of the 60′s protests. But it is mostly a new generation of activism that has failed to see that unity is not the general outcome of such protests. It may produce some noise and interest, but not solidarity and meaningful and lasting changes. Those are the gifts of God who transforms both hearts and minds to conform to His Word.

Take the time to read the lyrics while enjoying a trip back into the 60′s style of music.

There’s something happening here
What it is ain’t exactly clear
There’s a man with a gun over there
Telling me I got to beware

I think it’s time we stop, children, what’s that sound
Everybody look what’s going down

There’s battle lines being drawn
Nobody’s right if everybody’s wrong
Young people speaking their minds
Getting so much resistance from behind

I think it’s time we stop, hey, what’s that sound
Everybody look what’s going down

What a field-day for the heat
A thousand people in the street
Singing songs and carrying signs
Mostly say, hooray for our side

It’s time we stop, hey, what’s that sound
Everybody look what’s going down

Paranoia strikes deep
Into your life it will creep
It starts when you’re always afraid
You step out of line, the man come and take you away

We better stop, hey, what’s that sound
Everybody look what’s going down
Stop, hey, what’s that sound
Everybody look what’s going down
Stop, now, what’s that sound
Everybody look what’s going down
Stop, children, what’s that sound
Everybody look what’s going down

Understanding and Owning Christian Theology

Week 12 (Oct 23): The Kingdom of God, The Church and the World/Society

 The Church ought to be understood in terms of its many different biblical descriptions. She is the Bride of Christ, His body in the world and for the world. It is the assembly of the saints from all ages; the “called out” (ekklesia) ones. It is the new thing that began at Pentecost, but is as old as the world, corresponding to God’s covenant people throughout history. It is the true worshipping community; it is known historically and will be fully manifested on the last day. The church is the chosen people of God; and it is an institution with an orderly life. The church is a family, and is made up of families.

What does the Bible mean when it talks about the Kingdom?

The Kingdom

God has always been King over the world, and most especially His people (Ps. 10:16; 22:27-31; Dan. 2:44; Heb. 1:8-13). God always intended His rule to be, at least in part, administered by men. Adam was commanded to rule and have dominion over all the creation. Not even sin changed this. Men would take dominion, either in obedience or disobedience to God. The kingdom in Israel (1 Sam. was an early manifestation of how God would rule through His people, and promised the Davidic Messianic King to sit on the throne forever.

²⁷All the ends of the world Shall remember and turn to the Lord, And all the families of the nations Shall worship before You. ²⁸For the kingdom is the Lord’s, And He rules over the nations. ²⁹All the prosperous of the earth Shall eat and worship; All those who go down to the dust Shall bow before Him, Even he who cannot keep himself alive. ³⁰A posterity shall serve Him. It will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation, ³¹They will come and declare His righteousness to a people who will be born, That He has done this. Psalm 22:27–31 (NKJV)

⁴⁴And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Daniel 2:44 (NKJV)

⁸But to the Son He says: “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. ⁹You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.” ¹⁰And: “You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands. ¹¹They will perish, but You remain; And they will all grow old like a garment; ¹²Like a cloak You will fold them up, And they will be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will not fail.” ¹³But to which of the angels has He ever said: “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool”? Hebrews 1:8–13 (NKJV)

With the coming of Jesus, there was something new that was good news that need to be proclaimed. John & Jesus both said the Kingdom was “at hand” (Matt. 3:2; 4:17, 23). Our prayer is that God’s Kingdom would come, and His will would be done “on earth, as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10), and the disciples were sent to preach the coming of the Kingdom (Matt. 10:7). The miracles of Jesus (and the disciples) were evidence that the kingdom was coming. The new thing is that God will rule through the man Jesus – forever.

Kingdom of God…Christ…heaven – the same thing.

In what sense was it coming?

²⁰Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; ²¹nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.” Luke 17:20–21 (NKJV

³⁶Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.” ³⁷Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?” Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” John 18:36–37 (NKJV)

 When did it come? (Matt 16:28; Mk. 9:1; Lk. 21:10, 31 – His Ascension & 70 AD)

 ¹⁰Then He said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  ³¹So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near. Luke 21:10, 31 (NKJV)

The Kingdom can be defined as: “The new world order that Christ established in His life, death, resurrection, and ascension; a new order of things that will be fully revealed and established on at Christ’s return.” (Peter Leithart, The Kingdom and the Power: Rediscovering the Centrality of the Church)

Jesus is King and rules from His throne at the right hand of the Father (Eph. 1:19-23; 2:6; Rev. 11:15); it is a real throne and it is actual (not just future) rule – now. He is not being thwarted in His rule; He cannot be defeated; and His will is being realized in time and history. The Kingdom is an existing reality, since the coming of Christ. Revelation 11:15 (NKJV)

¹⁵Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!”

Are the Church and the Kingdom the same thing? No. We pray and work to see the Kingdom come and God’s will done throughout the world, not just in the church.

The Church is the first form of the Kingdom of God. She forms the pattern for all other manifestations of the Kingdom: The word (law), government, and sacraments (defining who is in, and ongoing peaceful relationships). These are what the world needs. It is a pattern, example and leader for the rest of the Kingdom’s manifestations.

Kingdom manifested progressively through history (It is a present reality, but not fully manifest until the second coming of Christ: “Already and not yet” character of the Kingdom)

Conflict, holy war with the kingdoms of this world. How does the kingdom progress? What is the conflict?

Is everything conflict between us and the world? No. Often we are beneficiaries of contributions made by unbelievers to our wellbeing. We can cooperate together for the common good of all.

Interactions between the world/society and the Church – Common Grace (what it is and isn’t).

As it becomes increasingly clear that the OCCUPY protesters (everywhere) have little or nothing to say that is meaningful, and can’t seem to come to any consensus about what they want to see changed or how to do it – It has become obvious that most of what they are about is motivate by simple envy and selfishness.

I’m not saying by this that there is nothing wrong in our country, or that all is good and righteous on Wall Street, Pennsylvania Avenue or Main street. What I am saying is that we need to be thankful for the blessings given to us by God, and that carping about how much more we want from the rich and the government (which is perceived to be the source of our well being) will result in nothing more than resentment between each other and judgment from God. The United States of America has been uniquely blessed with wealth and the ability to help those in need. Those considered poor in our country are wealth by the standards of many in the world. If the same activism and energy were applied by these protesters to the problems of world hunger true poverty – more of the world could also enjoy higher standards of living.

May God grant to all of us a sense of perspective, which causes us to truly, from the heart, love our neighbors as ourselves. The Church needs to stand up and be counted as the ones that are doing what it takes to meet the real needs of people – motivated by the love of Jesus, who self-sacrificially laid down His life for us!

Herman Cain

Evangelical Christians long for the day when they can, in joy and a clear conscience, cast a vote for a presidential candidate that they fully endorse. With each election they look to see how faithful the professing Christian candidates are. But seldom do they find a man that enables them to check off everything on their list of essential and hoped for reasons for voting. One by one, election after election, the Christian candidate becomes the one that they “have to” vote for to keep the really bad candidate from the other party out of office. The lesser of two evils dilemma.

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In this second post about OCCUPY Portland: Its not really hypocrisy that I am interested in highlighting by making this post.

I am not even defending corporations, per, se.

Rather, what I want to know is what these folks want? I sincerely ask: If you had your way, what would you want to see different in our society if you we able to achieve the changes you are calling for (whatever those are)? If you got your way, do you think you that you would be able to continue enjoying the way of life you currently have?

Thought Experiment: Here is a list of the things that OCCUPY Portland listed on its website as needs for the success of the protest. Which of these do you think will Not be provided by a corporation (probably publicly traded on Wall Street)?

Immediate Needs Friday 10/7

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