Over the last 3 weeks I’ve been doing a series on kingdom culture which I hope you have been enjoying but today I’m taking a break to share something a little different. Actually, a lot different. Recently, I was going over the website for my blog, making a few updates, and I realized that I’d drifted a bit from my initial mission.
When I started this blog, it was my goal not only to share some of my thoughts but also some of my life. So, today I want to share an interaction I had with my son.
My new wife had popped into the grocery while I waited for her in the truck with my daughter and youngest son. And out of the blue he looks at me and asks, “So dad how long do you think this marriage will last?” I could hear my daughter snickering at the question. It was one of those hard questions that usually only children will ask so unabashedly.
As a side note, I encourage my
children to ask me anything. I love the fact that they think about stuff and
that they feel free to ask me whatever is on their mind. I never scold them and
I never sidestep the answers.
So, in that vein, I said, “I expect
this marriage to last for the rest of my life.” But I wasn’t going to get away so
easily.
“Didn’t you expect the same thing
for your other marriages?” he pressed.
“Well son, nobody goes into a
marriage expecting it to fail.”
He looked thoughtful, “That makes
sense.”
“But I guess what you are really
asking is why do I think this one will be different. I believe that God chose
this marriage not us. I believe that both of us followed His will when we
decided to get married. Also, I believe there is a greater element of
compatibility than before.”
“Well I really never saw you all quarrel so you could be right.”
And that was it. As I pondered the conversation, I felt the weight of past failures. Would it really be different? However, the feeling lasted no more than a moment. I have no illusions of my greatness as a husband or an easy road ahead but I am still very excited about the future. I am excited because I know Jesus is always with us in our marriage. Where we are weak, He is strong. With Jesus, our past does not dictate our future. He is THE reason for our hope.
I have rarely had the luxury of being able to tell my children that I did it all perfect so follow my example. My hope is that they will take the best from their parents and learn to avoid the worst. More than that, my ultimate hope is that my life will point them to Jesus, not to me. And I believe that that is a better heritage than a perfect track record!
Copyright Matik Nicholls, 2019. All rights reserved.
Welcome to
part 3 of the kingdom culture series. Today I want to talk about how we lead
people in the kingdom. Due to their span of influence, leaders have a great
impact on the culture of the organizations or teams that they lead. Arguably
nothing influences culture more than how we treat the people we lead.
Although it still exists in some organizations, I believe that the pitfalls of leading through intimidation, punishment and domination are well known and accepted in both the secular and church arenas. However, what is still prevalent and widely accepted today is a culture of compliance. Meaning that followers are required by leaders to comply with their instructions, no questions asked.
While compliance may be acceptable in the world value system, a culture of compliance is not kingdom culture. Many church people do not get this. Perhaps it is because in the Old Testament times it was all about compliance. The leadership system centered around a strict compliance with the religious laws and rituals enforced by the leader/king. It fostered an ultimate leader culture that was so dominant that the spiritual health of the entire community rose and fell on the character of the leader alone.
Then, over two thousand years ago Christ entered the scene and flipped the script. He modelled and taught a different kind of leadership. His leadership placed supreme value on winning the heart not just enforcing surface obedience. He said (Mat 5:27-28):
27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Jesus was
the ultimate change agent for this new culture. Changing the compliance culture
that had grown deep roots over hundreds of years of Jewish tradition was a
monumental task. Jesus repeatedly confronted it head on as he butt heads with
the religious leaders. He did not mince words. Check Him out in action(Mat
23:27-28):
27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
In the corporate world many leaders are focused on compliance with the company’s rules and the leader’s instructions. Insubordination is severely punished and not towing the line leads to victimization. When we consider that many churches function along the same lines we should be cut to the heart. The culture of the world has deeply infiltrated our churches. We have lost our saltiness.
Jesus walked in this earth humbly. He modeled the type of leader that God desires. His first response to sin was mercy and forgiveness. He did not seek to lord it over others and assert His authority and control as so many religious leaders do today. He loved us first and demonstrated it by dying for us while we were yet His enemies.
Remember
when Jesus gave an experiential lesson to His disciples in servant leadership
by washing their feet? He even washed Judas’ feet! The feet of the man whom He
knew would cause Him so much pain and suffering; that man’s feet. In other
words, Jesus loved and served the rogue church member who was out to
assassinate His leadership. Think about that. Jesus’ objective is not to get us
to serve Him by coercion or manipulation. He is committed to winning our love
through loving sacrifice and service.
The church is rife with leaders who believe that their followers are best served by a culture of complete compliance to their leadership. Sin is shamed and punished. Those who obey unquestioningly and fawn over the leaders are favoured. Corporate world culture with a side order of hallelujah. I believe most church leaders are genuine but just do not understand how kingdom submission works. Submission is VOLUNTARY and in the church it is supposed to be RECIPROCAL. Forced submission is domination, period. Sometimes more subtle approaches like social pressure or withholding love or withholding opportunities are used but the cancer is the same. Corporate leaders use the same tactics.
The missed
opportunity here is the opportunity to transform the heart through love. That
is what Jesus is after. That is what the Father is after. That is what Jesus
came to demonstrate. Gaining compliance without transformation of the heart is
no gain at all in Christ’s books. The body of Christ is supposed to operate as
a community of equals serving each other. We each have different roles and
gifts but we are all directed by one head; Jesus Christ. We submit to one another. We honour one another. We love one another. There is no hierarchy of
value in the body. The toe has the same value as the eye. Jesus says it this
way (Mat 23:8-12):
8 But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. 9 And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. 10 Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. 11 The greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
As kingdom leaders we have one job; to love all and to serve
all. Our objective is not to gain people’s compliance but to win their hearts
for Christ. That, is kingdom culture.
Copyright 2019, Matik Nicholls. All rights reserved.
Welcome to the second instalment of this series on kingdom culture. Today we address ‘the pursuit of happiness’. Everybody wants to be happy. Not only do we want to be happy but we believe that we deserve to be happy. Happiness… it means many things to many people. A dream job? Travelling the world? A husband? Children? All of the above? None of the above? The butterfly of happiness comes in a myriad of patterns and colours and shapes.
Look at the picture above. Linger on it for a while. This is one vision of happiness; the perfect family. The happy couple with their adorable children. Now juxtapose this vision against these words from Jesus (Mat 10:37-39):
37 Whoever loves father or mother
more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than
me is not worthy of me. 38 And whoever does not take his cross and
follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose
it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
What is Jesus saying? Surely, we should love our father and mother and children? Of course! God is love! The message of love for all humanity is an immovable pillar of Christianity. But what Jesus is taking aim at here is a different kind of love; a love that worships the object of its desire. The love that says, “You are the centre of my world. You are my heart. I love you more than anything else!” Jesus is taking aim at what is your highest joy in life. Anything that you love more than Jesus is something you love too much.
Happiness is like a butterfly that rests only on the shoulder of Jesus. If you seek it, it will fly away from your grasping hands but if you forsake all and go after Jesus with all your heart, there you will find it resting peacefully. If you pursue happiness, even through your closest relationships, it will evade you.
Let’s go back to the photo. Think about how many advertisements incorporate this idea of happiness. The advertising agencies know what our deepest desires are and use them to sell their products. How many ads for milk, cereal, cleaning products, are set in the scene of the happy family? This is the apex of many of our hearts. Including Christian hearts. So many silent prayers and tears are said and shed for that perfect husband or wife that would make us happy? How many grandparents’ happiness rise and fall on the events of their grandchildren’s lives? How many are in anguish because they cannot have children? My hearts go out to these people not only because they are in pain but because the cure is not in the place they seek.
We need to stop selling a God who will make us happy with anything else but Himself. There must to be a place in our hearts reserved for God alone. A joy that is not moved by anything or anyone external. A spouse cannot make us happy but when God is at the centre of a marriage it is full of joy throughout the storms of life! Children or grandchildren cannot make us happy but a parent whose joy is in Christ is the most effective and happy parent of all! We are not pursuing God so that He would give us the things and relationships that would make us happy. We are pursuing Christ because He is our highest joy and most satisfying pleasure! The culture of the kingdom is not the pursuit of happiness but the pursuit of Christ!
Copyright Matik Nicholls, 2019. All rights reserved.
It was Peter Drucker
who said, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” I have found this statement to
be profoundly true. You can have the best strategy and be executing planned
activities diligently but if the culture does not support your strategy the
results will not follow. Conversely, a mediocre strategy with activities that
don’t quite hit the mark executed in the context of a culture that supports the
organization’s highest ideals will bring surprising rewards.
Truth is
truth and applies equally in secular and religious spheres. Therefore, it
behoves us to ask, “What is kingdom culture?” What are the ideals that should
shape the culture in our local churches to ensure that what we are building is
truly founded on the cornerstone of Christ? The question of culture in our
churches is more important than issues of evangelism strategies, worship format
or youth programmes for example. Culture is what will colour everything in our
church and ultimately determine whether we are truly light and salt to the
earth or just a religious part of the world culture.
Let’s
start with the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1-14):
1 Seeing
the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples
came to him.
2 And he
opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
3 “Blessed
are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 “Blessed
are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
5 “Blessed
are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
6 “Blessed
are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
7 “Blessed
are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
8 “Blessed
are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
9 “Blessed
are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
10 “Blessed
are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven.
11 “Blessed
are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil
against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your
reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before
you.
The first point I wish to make is that all of the things that are called ‘blessed’ here are not things that are generally highly esteemed by the world culture. Jesus esteems poverty, the world values riches. Jesus esteems mourning, the world is looking for happiness. Jesus esteems meekness, the world values status. Jesus esteems hunger and thirst, the world values excess. Jesus esteems mercy, the world says, “Make them pay!”, Jesus esteems purity, the world glorifies sin. Jesus esteems the peacemaker, the world glorifies the soldier. Jesus esteems the persecuted, the world glorifies the strong. Heaven’s culture is diametrically opposed to the world culture. The core ethos of all of the ‘blessed’ statements is that in the kingdom you lose your life to save it, the greatest is the servant of all and the last will be first. This is the kingdom economy. The saint lives in a constant awareness of his lack and weakness so that his riches, righteousness and strength comes from and is attributed solely to the presence of Christ in his life. It is a glorious calling!
Sadly, the church in general is severely contaminated with the world culture. In many instances we have the same values just different jargon. We run after riches and call it blessings. We cry vengeance for our persecutors and call them heathens and demons. We walk around puffed up because we are ‘Christians’ (or belong to a particular subdivision or have a particular title) and make war in the name of God and truth and doctrine. We heap up titles like apostle and pastor and reverend, building our own religious hierarchy and fawning over the higher ups like corporate sycophants.
We need
to expunge these world values from the church. We need to be clear on the
tenets of the culture of the kingdom and be intentional about the culture that
we are crafting. In future blogs I will go into more details. To conclude for this
introduction, it is no coincidence that after the beatitudes, Jesus makes this
statement (Matthew 5:13-16):
13 “You are
the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness
be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and
trampled under people’s feet. 14 “You are the light of the world. A
city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp
and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the
house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so
that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in
heaven.
Copyright 2019, Matik Nicholls. All rights reserved.
I recently attended a wedding where a Catholic bride was wedded to a non-denominational Evangelical groom 😊. Before the nuptials his pastors had hoped that she would get ‘saved’ and baptized and her priest had impressed upon him that the Catholic Church was the only true church. They each listened politely but were unfazed. Their love for each other and respect that they had for their equally fervent but slightly unique faiths in God had been cemented in Christ by the Holy Spirit beyond the reach of doctrinal dogma.
The wedding
started with the Latin song Veni Creator Spiritus, inviting the Holy Spirit.
And He came. The church filled with joy, peace and love, mirroring the natural
ambience created by the sunlight that filtered through the stained-glass
windows and a light breeze that wafted through the sanctuary.
I suppose men
will be arguing points of doctrine until Christ returns but you know what you
can’t argue with? Love. God IS love.
“You shall
love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all
your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all
the Law and the Prophets.”
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures
all things.Love never ends. As for prophecies,
they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will
pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the
perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a
child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I
gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face.
Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is
love.
Love is the greatest! There is no higher law. Everything else will
fade, everything else will give way under the sheer force of love. In the midst
of our dark ignorance, constant failures and stumbling faith, God will still
show up… for love.
In the midst of that church, a bridge of love was forged in the
Spirit. Pastor and priest joined hands with bride and groom and God smiled. Two
families united and the Holy Spirit danced. A multitude of sins were covered
over and Jesus was glorified.
Copyright 2019, Matik Nicholls. All rights reserved.
Newsflash!
There are fake Christians. Yep. This is no surprise I’m sure. There are lots of
people who call themselves Christians but within that group there is a
subset that I refer to as the true disciples of Christ. So how do we
tell the sheep from the goats or the wheat from the tares? Let me introduce you
to the Acme Christian Test.
But before I
do that, sniffing out fake Christians doesn’t in itself seem very…well..Christian
so let’s change the question… How can I tell if I’m a real Christian? I’m so glad
you asked. Here’s how:
I’m going to
bring together a few concepts from the bible that hinges on this passage:
John 15:1-8
1 “I
am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch
in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear
fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already you are
clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me,
and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in
the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine;
you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears
much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does
not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches
are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in
me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for
you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and
so prove to be my disciples.
Voila! I’m
sure you see verse 8 jumping right out at you. Jesus’ disciples bear much fruit
which is proof (evidence) that they are:
Connected to the vine (Jesus), and;
Being pruned
Let’s focus
on the fruit first. What is this fruit? For that we will turn to another
passage:
Galatians 2:22-23
22
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there
is no law.
So, the first
part of the test of a real Christian is to ask yourself if you are exhibiting
the following qualities:
Love
Joy
Peace
Patience
Kindness
Goodness
Faithfulness
Gentleness
Self-control
Spend some
time on each word. Do some introspection. I find that some of them make me
wince a bit (or a lot) while others I feel I’m ok with. That last one, self-control,
always makes me cringe. Ouch. But we need to be bearing all the fruit
not just a few.
However,
bearing fruit is not enough, we also need to be pruned. The second part of the
test is to ask yourself if you have been increasing in these qualities. We
may all start at different places so a snapshot of a point in time is not
really the acid test. Let me illustrate. If I came from a really bad home
situation where all the examples around me contained very little of these qualities,
I might be quite impatient. Maybe it’s so bad that a single badly chosen word triggers
a violent response from me. On the other hand, if Jane was raised in a
wonderfully loving home it might take quite a lot to even get her to become
angry. Now, Jane and I both convert to Christianity at the same time and after
a year through the work of the Holy Spirit I’ve stopped beating up people, but
I still get angry pretty easily compared to Jane. But the comparison with each
other is irrelevant. The true comparison is with our former selves.
The true
disciple is in a constant process of transformation that leads to more and more
fruit. Jesus calls it pruning so that we bear more fruit. All true disciples (branches
that bear fruit) are pruned. So, you want to know if you are a true Christian? Look
back and examine yourself. Do you have more joy, more peace? Have you become
gentler, kinder? The moment you stop growing is the moment you were a
Christian. You see, a person living in constant contact with Christ cannot help
but be transformed. Relationship with Christ changes you at the most
fundamental level.
I have found
that these are not the questions that trouble most Christians and that
troubles me. We are caught in a quagmire of doctrine and religion. The fake
tests for fake Christians are for the fake fruits:
Church/mass attendance
Bible verses memorized
Doctrinal accuracy
Spiritual gifts
What church/denomination you belong to
Not going to parties
Political affiliation
None of these
are fruit. They are not evidence that you are being transformed by Christ. They
are not even evidence that you have any relationship with Christ. Measuring
yourself by such external attributes leads to destruction:
Matthew
7:15-23
15
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are
ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are
grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So,
every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18
A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19
Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20
Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. 21 “Not everyone who
says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who
does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many
will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out
demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And
then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of
lawlessness.’
Every day I
have to ask myself, am I a real Christian?
Copyright 2019, Matik Nicholls. All rights reserved.
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In the Catholic bible there are two
books called 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees. The books chronicle the history of
the Jews during the period 175 BC to 134 BC. The introduction sets the scene…
Alexander the Great had advanced his kingdom to the ends of the earth,
plundering many nations. All nations were forcibly brought under his domain and
paid him taxes. His world reign as emperor lasted 12 years and then he fell ill
and realizing he was about to die, divided his empire among his generals. The
story begins with Antiochus Epiphanes who was a descendant of one of
Alexander’s generals. In 143 BC, he set his sights on the land of Israel and
the city of Jerusalem. He slaughtered many of the people, desecrated their
temple and took woman and children as prisoners. After a couple murderous
campaigns he decided to unite the world by commanding all nations to abandon
their own customs. Many Jews adopted the official pagan religion and abandoned
their laws and customs under the penalty of death.
Then one day a Jew called
Mattathias stood up to the enforcers of the king’s decree and refused to obey
the decree in public. He also killed one of his fellowmen who was offering a
pagan sacrifice and killed the enforcer. This was the start of a rebellion of
all those faithful to the Law and that is the main subject of the Maccabean
books. The faithful Jewish people rallied around Mattathias and when he died he
appointed one of his sons Judas Maccabaeus as commander of what was now an
army. Judas waged war on all who opposed Israel and the Law with great zeal.
His exploits were great and the Israeli army grew to the thousands. They
routinely defeated enemies who were better armed and in far greater numbers.
What is noticeably absent from
these books is a relationship with God. Hitherto the hallmark of the Jewish
nation was that God was with them. There are no prophets or words from God in
Maccabees. God was silent. Perhaps this was one of the reasons why these books
were omitted from the King James Bible? I don’t know but when I read these
tales I couldn’t help but think of some Christians today who have similar
characteristics; we live a bible-centred life but have little relationship with
God.
As I read the heroic exploits of
the Maccabees, defeating all in their way in their zeal for the Law, I could
not help but superimpose bible-thumping, hell and damnation preaching believers
cutting down sinful idol worshipping pagans with their words left and right. Like
the Maccabees some of us are self-styled heroes. Lost without a personal
relationship with God but yet carrying on desperately clinging to the bible
while our soul lies dead inside. Without a relationship with God, the law, the
bible, the church attendance… it all means nothing and it is all for nothing.
To me, this is the great tragedy of
the Maccabean tale. A read through the majority of the Old Testament describes
the Jewish people always in relationship with God. He spoke with some of them
directly and addressed the nation through the prophets. Adam, Noah, Abraham,
Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, Elijah, Isaiah, they all walked with God. It was
Moses who said, “If Your Presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from
here.” He refused to journey on through life without God. David said, “Cast me
not away from Your presence, and take not Your Holy Spirit from me.” What had
happened to the Israelites that caused them to go on without God? How is it
that they went out against the enemy time after time without seeking God’s
counsel forsaking hundreds of years of a heritage of, “Lord, shall we go up
against them?” How was relationship so easily exchanged for religion?
When I look at my own life, I see
how easily it can happen. It takes work to have a good relationship with
anyone. God is no different. While it is easy to neglect our human
relationships, it is even easier to neglect a God we can’t see. It takes a
deliberate seeking. A deliberate pulling away from all distractions. A
deliberate waiting to hear that small still voice.
Sometimes we say we are walking by faith but it is not faith in what God has told us, it is a resolute soldiering on (or even grasping at what we want and want now) in the absence of any communication from above. The Maccabean tale is a solemn reminder not to keep walking obliviously along the path when our divine travelling companion has paused. Wait. Wait on the Lord!
Copyright 2019, Matik Nicholls. All rights reserved.
Let me take you on a trip; a power trip. According to a study by social
psychologists John R. P. French and Bertram H. Raven in 1959, there are 5 types
of power used within organizations:
Coercive
Power: This type of power relies on threats or punishment to force compliance
against a person’s will. Use of this type of power is destructive, leading to
unhealthy and unproductive behaviours within the organization.
Reward
Power: This form of power is based on the idea that as a society we are more
inclined to do things well when we are getting something in return. The problem
with this form of power is that when the reward does not have enough perceived
value to others, the power is weakened. One of the frustrations when using
rewards is that they often need to be bigger than the last time if they are to
have the same effect.
Legitimate
Power: This type of power is based on a person’s role or position. This is a
weak form of power as it only lasts as long as the person has the title or when
they are operating in an official capacity.
Referent
Power: The leader in this form of power is often seen as a role model. This
power emanates from a person that is highly liked and people identify strongly
with them in some way. Celebrities often wield this type of power.
Expert
Power: This form of power is based on in-depth information, knowledge or
expertise. The rarer and greater the demand for the expertise, the more power
the person wields.
The challenge leaders’ face is to organize people in a coordinated
effort toward the achievement of some goal. This necessitates giving directions
and delegating tasks. Leaders must use some combination of these types of power
to achieve their objectives. What we have realized over the years is that some
forms of power are more effective than others in creating sustainably
successful results. Leaders who rely heavily on legitimate and coercive power breed
compliance at best and undermining behaviours at worst. Successful leaders rely
more on referent and expert power. While this has been well understood but
woefully under-practiced in secular circles for years, I am continually
surprised at the prevalence of unhealthy leadership paradigms and practices
within the church world.
The Christian world seems hell bent (pun intended) on subscribing to
legitimate power as THE paradigm for the church. Typical church structures are
very hierarchical with the pastor/priest at the top and unquestioning
submission to authority required right down the chain of command. I would have expected the church to have the
best leaders! I mean Jesus is the most influential and charismatic leader who
ever walked the planet! So much so, that according to a Pew Research Center
2010 survey there are approximately 2.8 billion people on the planet who claim
to still be following Him!
What I’ve come to realize, unfortunately, is that most people do not
understand the culture of the kingdom when it comes to power. THE #1 principle of
the kingdom when it comes to power is that God
is not trying to force us to comply with His will but He is wooing us like a
lover into an amazing partnership. The #2 principle is that God is determined to give His power away
to the furthest possible person and the widest possible group. If we
remembered these two principles, we would do church completely differently.
Jesus was the embodiment of this kingdom principle. Motivated by love, He
left His all-powerful mantle in heaven and came to earth for the sole purpose
of giving us power over sin, death and the devil. He allowed death to overpower
Him for 3 days so that, when He ascended back to the highest position of power
over all power, He could bring us all up there with Him! Consider that!
Consider that the omnipotent God became a frail little human and subjected
Himself to a humiliating death so that we lowly dust creatures could walk in
His power! His heart is that not one should perish but that all should have
abundant eternal life. Yet, the choice is ours; He will not put out His hand to
coerce us to follow Him.
If you spent time with Jesus and took note of what He did what, would
you see?
You would see Him training a group of 12 people who would finish the
work He started and whom He would be excited to see do greater works than Him. Do
we do that?
You would see Him teaching, healing, delivering and feeding thousands.
Caring for the physical needs and internal hearts of others. Do we do that?
You would see Him passionately and consistently confronting the leaders
who are controlling, dominating and abusing people from their religious
positions. Do we do that?
You would see Him eating meals and washing the feet of a man who He knew
would give Him up to be killed. Do we do that?
You would see Him interceding for forgiveness for a people that murdered Him unjustly. Do we do that?
How we use our power is the hallmark of our knowledge of Him. Do we know Him?
Joyfully,
Copyright 2019, Matik Nicholls. All rights reserved.
In all Christian denominations, communion is celebrated in one form or
another. In the Catholic faith it is celebrated at every mass. In others, it may
be weekly or monthly. No matter the frequency, there is something sacred about
this practice of drinking His blood and eating His body as Christ commanded. However,
as sacred as it is, there is more. There is a mystery; a deeper communion to
which we need to surrender daily… hourly.
However, it requires letting go of the lie of separateness. If His
Spirit is in us, then we are never separate from God; always in communion with Him.
Yet why are we are always seeking to get to some state where we are one with
Him? Aren’t we the body of Christ? Yes! Somehow, spiritually, we are the very
body of Christ! Somehow, we can partake of the life of Christ. In fact, we are
called to share His entire life throughout time and space!
We share in His suffering:
Colossians
1:24
Now I
rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still
lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is
the church.
Romans 8:17a
Now if we are
children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we
share in his sufferings
We share in His death:
Romans 6:4a
We were
therefore buried with him through baptism into death
Colossians
3:3
For you
died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
We share in His resurrection:
Romans 6:5
For if we
have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united
with him in a resurrection like his.
Colossians
3:1
Since,
then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where
Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
We share in His glorification:
Romans 8:17
Now if we
are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if
indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
We will share in His second coming:
Colossians
3:4
When
Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
These are amazing truths! I do not want us to come away from these scriptures
feeling that all that they mean is that we must be like Christ or that it is
all symbolic. I believe that the life of the Christian is so united with Christ
that we reach out across time and space and partake with Him in His suffering,
death, resurrection, glorification and second coming. As we commune with the
eternal Christ now, we inherit all He ever was and who He ever will be because He
exists in eternity!
We are called to eternal communion with Christ! Right here, right now…
He is here.
Copyright 2019, Matik Nicholls. All rights reserved.
Matthew 28:20b
And behold, I am with you always, to
the end of the age.
What do I mean by living on the margin? I mean to walk the line of non-conformance.
I mean to be unwilling to swear allegiance to any particular group. As kingdom
believers, our allegiance is to the King alone, which means that on this earth
we are always on the margin.
Jesus lived on the margin. He went to church every Sunday and he hung
out with the sinners during the week. He didn’t belong anywhere on this earth.
To the sinners he was saintly. To the supposed saints, he was sinful. They
called Him a glutton and a drunkard. They exaggerated of course but the point is
this; Jesus was not concerned about fitting
in with society’s norms and neither should we.
The margin is my favourite place. Am I conservative or liberal? Both. Do
I believe in capitalism or socialism? Neither. Am I Catholic or Pentecostal?
Both and none. Am I a corporate executive or a surfer dude? Yes. When we refuse
to join the in-crowd or conform to the social boxes, we live in a world where
we are a bit of an enigma. Sometimes chastised and frequently misunderstood but
always free to express the kingdom unfettered by public opinion.
And that is the issue; freedom. Those who pander to public opinion are slaves
to that opinion and cannot truly execute their kingdom assignment on this
earth. If we must belong to or support a particular political party, we are slaves.
If we must be a member of the ‘right’ denomination, we are slaves. If we cannot
associate with a particular person because in Christian circles he or she is
known as a heretic or a backslider, we are slaves. If we cannot go here or
there because it is a place of ill repute, we are slaves. Every box we put ourselves into, shuts off the kingdom from reaching
those outside the walls through us. Who will reach the prostitutes? Who
will reach the drug dealers? Who will reach those living alternative
lifestyles? Who will bring balance to the group with a lop-sided theology? Who
will lift up the preacher fallen in sin? Who will heal the heart broken
divorcee? Who? Who? WHO?
The reason that Christians are described as lights and commanded not to hide their light under a bowl is because our assignment is to dispel darkness wherever that darkness exists. The mandate to enforce kingdom rule on this earth as it is in heaven must be so compelling that our need to be accepted or to be seen as right or righteous is overwritten by our zeal to reach the lost!
Dancing on the margin,
Copyright 2019, Matik Nicholls. All rights reserved.
