DownshoreDrift

This thing with the cartoon and the Muslims is getting out of control.   MSNBC posts here that Muslims in Indonesia have now stormed the U.S. Embassy:

JAKARTA, Indonesia - Hundreds of Muslims protesting caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad tried to storm the U.S. Embassy on Sunday, smashing the windows of a guard post but failing to push through the gates. Several people were injured.

Pakistani security forces, meanwhile, sealed off the capital of Islamabad to block a planned mass demonstration and fired tear gas and gunshots to chase off protesters. In Turkey, tens of thousands gathered in Istanbul chanting slogans against Denmark, Israel and the United States.

I don't want to waste time bashing Muslims or saying how wrong they are. I firmly believe that they are blinded to the truth by the prince of darkness and are acting as unregenerate people would. But, I am praying that as the Church of Jesus Christ, we are seeing what is going on and are interceding for the souls of the millions and billions that are caught in this web. O, that the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ would break through and set people free. The Bible tells us in Ephesians 6:12 that we are not fighting against flesh and blood, but against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. In case there was any question about that, the article goes on:

Christians are targets
Christians also have become targets. Pakistani Muslims protesting in the southern city of Sukkur ransacked and burned a church Sunday after hearing accusations that a Christian man had burned pages of the Quran, Islam’s holy book.

That incident came a day after Muslims protesting in the Nigerian city of Maiduguri attacked Christians and burned 15 churches in a three-hour rampage that killed at least 15 people. Some 30 other people have died during protests over the cartoons that erupted about three weeks ago.

In Jakarta, about 400 people marched to the heavily fortified U.S. mission in the center of the city, behind a banner reading “We are ready to attack the enemies of the Prophet.”

We should not be surprised. If they persecuted Christ, they will persecute his followers as well. It reminds me of Nero blaming the Christians for the burning of Rome. Christians had nothing to do with the Danish cartoon, but Satan misses no opportunity to "make war against the rest of her offspring - those who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus." - Rev. 12:17.

Let's take time today to pray for peace in the Arab world. That every Muslim would know the true meaning of submission to God through His Son, Jesus Christ. When I was in Jerusalem last year and saw the hatred between Jew and Palestinian, I knew in my heart that there would never be peace here, absent the Return of Christ or an explosion of His Gospel. And, please do not think that my interest in this has anything to do with end-time prophecy - ugh. It is just that God wants all of the people that we are seeing on our televisions who are so angry and full of rage find peace with Him. He wants them all to be reconciled to Him through His Son. Jesus died for each and every person we see so full of anger and rage. Let's remember that this is a spiritual battle and we should be interceding for our brothers and sisters in these lands. I know of two personally who are in Pakistan right now that are serving Jesus and need our prayers.

This is an amazing picture. It is taken by the Hubble Space Telescope and it is of the X-Structure at the center of the Whirlpool Galaxy 31 million light years from earth.  Isn't this incredible? Yeah, this could be anything, but the Hinge of History is Jesus' death on the Cross. The one who called the starry hosts by name and called the heavens into being leaves reminders of His work all through the cosmos.

I saw this tonight at the Chris Tomlin/Matt Redman/Louie Giglio Indescrible Tour at Auburn University. It was an incredible time of worship and teaching concerning the greatness and majesty of God. He is great and huge and we are not - yet He loves us enough to come for us and die for us. What an amazing God. I'm just kind of filled with wonder right now and I wanted to make sure I got this image posted. It is truly incredible.

Living From An Eternal Perspective

Matthew 6:10 “On Earth as it is in Heaven.”

What is heaven? What is it like? Does heaven excite you?

All cultures have either looked back to or forward to a Golden Age, when things would be set right.

Ecclesiastes 3:10-11 – But God has set eternity in our hearts. Each of us know down deep that there is something more because God has set eternity in the hearts of men.

What are the barriers to living for Heaven?

• Materialism/preoccupation with this life – Matt. 6:24; 19:16-30

• We are spiritually dead unless God saves us – 2 Cor. 4:3,4

• We have a lack of hope and are given to a desire for instant gratification. How does it affect my life now? 1 Th. 1:3 says that the endurance that we have to live this life is inspired by the hope that God gives us. If we lose our hope, then we will also lose our ability to endure.

The Truth

• God has made us for eternity – Eph. 2:6-7

• Matt. 6:19-21 – we are store up for ourselves treasures in heaven

• John 14:1-4 – Jesus has gone ahead of us to prepare a place for us

• Phil. 4:8-9;

  Col.

  3:1-4 – We are to think on things above

What will Heaven be like?

• Worship – Rev. 4

• We will reign and rule with God – Rev. 20:4-6

• Creation will be restored – 2 Peter 3:3-15; Romans 8:20-21

• A New Heavens and a New Earth – Rev. 21:1-14; 22-27; 22:1-7

So, how does this affect us?

• Jesus has the victory – 1 Cor. 15:50-58

• God will restore creation to its previous glory and moreso and we will be restored to our original purpose (Gen. 1:26-28).

• If we live for the next life, we will be infused with grandeur and the blessing of eternity. Live for this life, and the mundane and temporal will overtake you, killing your soul. This world is not our home (Phil. 3:18-21).

• Living for eternity reorders our priorities – 2 Cor. 5:1-10; 1 Cor. 3:10-15. We live to please God, knowing that our life and actions matter.

• What is your response – Rev. 22:12-16

2 Corinthians 3:7-11

In class last week, we reviewed the previous section and talked about what it meant to influence other spiritually.  We got into a great discussion on what it means to be saved and on who God uses to speak for Him and affect others. Bono came up and we talked quite a bit about how we can give off the aroma of Christ. We then moved into our next passage at the end of class.

We want to continually live from the basis of the New Covenant. The New Covenant, which is the covenant of grace that was ushered in through Christ is far more glorious than the Old Covenant, which came with Moses. I have continue reading through the Bible in a year and it was really cool to read the Exodus account and the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai, and then come to this in our class.

Here are some scripture passages on both the old and new covenants to meditate on this week:

• Exodus 19:1-19

• Exodus 20:1-21

• 1 Corinthinans 15:56

It is so important that we go back to the Law to learn the character of God and to meditate on what He wants from us. However, we must always keep in mind that our righteousness comes from faith in Christ (Phil. 3:7-11). That is what makes the New Covenant greater. Meditate on the 10 Commandments in Ex. 20:1-21 and ask the Lord to show you where you have fallen short. Then look to Jesus in faith and ask Him to live through you. He is your righteousness before God, but He also lives through us to change our behavior so that His life is reflected in ours. God still requires holiness – He just gives us the means to live it out in Him and He also forgives us completely. Some passages on the new covenant:

• Jeremiah 31:31-34

• Ezekiel 36:24-27

• Hebrews 12:18-29

Read and reflect over these passage this week and let them speak to you about what God has done for you and how He has changed your heart.

Living From a Spiritual Perspective

Matthew 6:10 – “Your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.”

Perspective: a view or vista/a mental view or outlook/the relationship or aspects of a subject to each other and to a whole.

To learn to pray and live Matt. 6:10, we have to see things from a different perspective.

Spiritual vs. Carnal

A Carnal Perspective tells us:

• Image is everything

• You’ve got to make your own way

• This life is all there is – make the most of it

• Live for pleasure (eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow you die)

• Only 2 sure things in life: Death and Taxes (fatalism)

• Look out for #1. No one else will.

• The most important thing is that you are happy – this mantra has become almost Biblical in our culture.

• The only thing that is real is what I can experience.

• Pragmatism rules: we live by whatever works, if it works for you, great.

• You have rights and are entitled to the good life.

• We are in control.

A Spiritual Perspective tells us:

• God is in control.

• This life is not all there is – there is a life to come.

• “Our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Eph. 6:12.

• Put others before yourself – love one another.

• I am unworthy an unable to make it on my own – I need grace.

• In Christ all things hold together (Col. 1:17) – the only way to live life is in Christ.

• With God, nothing is impossible – there is always hope (Mark 10:27; Rom. 15:13).

• The least will be the greatest.

• Blessed are the poor in spirit, the mourners, the meek, those who long for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and the persecuted – God is on your side (Matt. 5:1-12).

• You don’t have to grasp for what you want – trust God.

A Couple of Stories:

Elisha – 2 Kings 6:15-17 – the Aramaens came against Elisha. Even though things looked hopeless in the physical realm, in the spiritual realm there were a host of angels fighting for him.

Matthew 14:22-36 – Jesus was able to walk on water. Peter could too, when he looked to Jesus. Also, when the men of Gennesaret recognized Jesus, they were healed.

Ephesians 1:17-19 speaks of the need for the eyes of our heart to be enlightened so that we can know what God has for us. If we do not see life from spiritual eyes, we will constantly be groping in the darkness and missing God’s will and provision for the life that He wants us to have. This is something that we have to ask for and submit to on a daily basis. We do not just naturally live life from a spiritual perspective.

Practical Applications in your daily life and relationships.

• If you live from a spiritual perspective, you will not lose hope (2 Cor. 4:7-10).

• You will be able to bless and not curse (Rom. 12:14).

• It changes your relationships with others because you are able to come out of the fog of self-focus (Rom. 12:3).

• It enables you to know God (John 17:3).

How do you gain this perspective?

Hebrews 12:2 – Let us fix our eyes on Jesus – How do we do this? Worship, Prayer, Trust.

1. You must be born again (John 3:3-21)

2. You must fill yourself with God’s Word (Psalm 119:105; Heb. 4:12,13).

3. Prayer, faith, fellowship with believers (Eph. 3:14-19).

4. Ask, Seek, Knock (Matt. 7:7-8).

How we should be praying for Bono from U2. I ran across someone today who has had similar thoughts about Bono as I have, namely, that he claims to be Christian, but is very worldly has has used bad language. While I definitely do not condone that, it seems that God is using this man in extraordinary ways as I posted yesterday. Kevin Bussey has a quote from Bono himself that I found here:

"Look, the secular response to the Christ story always goes like this: He was a great prophet, obviously a very interesting guy, had a lot to say along the lines of other great prophets, be they Elijah, Muhammad, Buddha, or Confucius. But actually Christ doesn't allow you that. He doesn't let you off that hook. Christ says, No. I'm not saying I'm a teacher, don't call me teacher. I'm not saying I'm a prophet. I'm saying: 'I'm the Messiah.' I'm saying: 'I am God incarnate.' . . . So what you're left with is either Christ was who He said He was--the Messiah--or a complete nutcase. . . . The idea that the entire course of civilization for over half of the globe could have its fate changed and turned upside-down by a nutcase, for me that's farfetched."

"That's between me and God. But I'd be in big trouble if Karma was going to finally be my judge," says Bono. "It doesn't excuse my mistakes, but I'm holding out for Grace. I'm holding out that Jesus took my sins onto the Cross, because I know who I am, and I hope I don't have to depend on my own religiosity."

O.K. So, this guy is really trying to walk with the Lord, as imperfect as he might be. I really want to recommend that you read the transcript from the Presidential Prayer Breakfast the other day where Bono spoke to the attendees. This is an ecumenical event, so he speaks to Jews and Muslims as well to find common ground, but his words and his actions are astounding. It is printed here in USA Today.  An excerpt concerning his own pilgrimage:

I presume the reason for this gathering is that all of us here—Muslims, Jews, Christians—all are searching our souls for how to better serve our family, our community, our nation, our God.

I know I am. Searching, I mean. And that, I suppose, is what led me here, too.

Yes, it's odd, having a rock star here—but maybe it's odder for me than for you. You see, I avoided religious people most of my life. Maybe it had something to do with having a father who was Protestant and a mother who was Catholic in a country where the line between the two was, quite literally, a battle line. Where the line between church and state was… well, a little blurry, and hard to see.

I remember how my mother would bring us to chapel on Sundays… and my father used to wait outside. One of the things that I picked up from my father and my mother was the sense that religion often gets in the way of God.

For me, at least, it got in the way. Seeing what religious people, in the name of God, did to my native land… and in this country, seeing God's second-hand car salesmen on the cable TV channels, offering indulgences for cash… in fact, all over the world, seeing the self-righteousness roll down like a mighty stream from certain corners of the religious establishment…

I must confess, I changed the channel. I wanted my MTV.

Even though I was a believer.

Perhaps because I was a believer.

I was cynical… not about God, but about God's politics. (There you are, Jim.)

Then, in 1997, a couple of eccentric, septuagenarian British Christians went and ruined my shtick—my reproachfulness. They did it by describing the Millennium, the year 2000, as a Jubilee year, as an opportunity to cancel the chronic debts of the world's poorest people. They had the audacity to renew the Lord's call—and were joined by Pope John Paul II, who, from an Irish half-Catholic's point of view, may have had a more direct line to the Almighty.

'Jubilee'—why 'Jubilee'?

What was this year of Jubilee, this year of our Lords favor?

I'd always read the Scriptures, even the obscure stuff. There it was in Leviticus (25:35)…

'If your brother becomes poor,' the Scriptures say, 'and cannot maintain himself… you shall maintain him… You shall not lend him your money at interest, not give him your food for profit.'

It is such an important idea, Jubilee, that Jesus begins his ministry with this. Jesus is a young man, he's met with the rabbis, impressed everyone, people are talking. The elders say, he's a clever guy, this Jesus, but he hasn't done much… yet. He hasn't spoken in public before…

When he does, is first words are from Isaiah: 'The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,' he says, 'because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.' And Jesus proclaims the year of the Lord's favour, the year of Jubilee. (Luke 4:18)

What he was really talking about was an era of grace—and we're still in it.

I think we might be with Bono in heaven, and I think that quite a few more people might be there because of his witness - what do you think?

For all that are holding candle light vigils and engaging in hunger strikes, don't worry:  I'll get my  sermon notes and Wednesday night teaching notes from this past week up really soon. I've been pretty busy and also fairly slothful with the blog thing this week. But, I'm injecting some new life into it by writing about other things besides just reprinting my teaching notes (which I will continue to do.  My biggest issue is always taking the time to put my thoughts into print.

By the way, I went to an incredible presentation by a lady named Darcy Gill from Voice of the Martyrs. My heart was touched as I heard about the persecuted church and what so many Christians go through each day in this world. Did you know that every three minutes on this planet, a Christian is killed for their faith - approximately 180,000 per year!  What a tragedy. We all need to be in prayer. 

"We've found different ways of expressing it, and recognized the power of the media to manipulate such signs. Maybe we just have to sort of draw our fish in the sand. It's there for people who are interested. It shouldn't be there for people who aren't." -- Bono on faith, quoted in "U2 at the End of the World"

I thought this article from Kim Lawton for PBS was interesting about Bono from U2.  Andrew Jones turned me on to it. While I do not believe that his theology or his lifestyle is completely consistent with God's Word, and I would not tell other believers to emulate his lifestyle, he is having a huge impact on the world today with his focus on the AIDS epidemic and global poverty. It is heartening to me that he is doing this from a Biblical perspective and is motivated by Jesus' example. While we might not say, "Follow Bono as he follows Christ" in everything, we might have a lot to learn from an imperfect man who is being faithful in many ways.  He'll also be speaking at Willow Creek's Leadership Summit in 2006. Bono was also Time Magazine's Man of the Year in 2005 and their song, "Sometimes You Can't Make it On Your Own" won Song of the Year for the Grammy's the other night. 

If you listen to U2's music and hear their story, it could just be that the biggest band on the planet is trying to draw people to the Lord in their own way.  Maybe Bono is someone that we should really all be praying for, that more and more each day he would know the Lord and learn to walk with Him.  Here is another of their early songs that comes from Psalm 40 as performed in a concert in Germany:

"40" (live from Germany)

Sing this with me, this is "40"

I waited patiently for the Lord
He inclined and heard my cry
He lift me up out of the pit
Out of the miry clay

I will sing, sing a new song
I will sing, sing a new song

How long to sing this song
How long to sing this song
How long, how long, how long
How long to sing this song

He set my feet upon a rock
And made my footsteps firm
Many will see, many will see and hear

I will sing, sing a new song
I will sing, sing a new song

Sing it
How long to sing this song
How long to sing this song
How long, how long, how long
How long to sing this song

Thank you, goodnight

This is just one of many U2 songs that have Biblical references.  For others, take a look here.

Liberty University as a Division 1-A football powerhouse? That is the plan of Jerry Falwell the Chancellor of Libery University according to Dennis Dodd writing for cbs.sportsline.com.  Dodd tells Falwell to get ready to compromise the stated mission of the university, however, because making the jump from a 1-10 1-AA team to a Division 1-A powerhouse might be harder than he thinks.  Falwell, 72, has decreed that this must happen before he dies to make the university complete.  I'll keep my thoughts on this basically to myself and let you be the judge, but does this not smack of kingdom building, and not of the Biblically correct kind? How about athletic competition for the sake of competition? Statements of greatness for the glory of God ring hollow to me and to the world as well. It seems to be more for the glory of Jerry Falwell.

Having Spiritual Influence

This past week in our Sunday School class, we discussed 2 Corinthians 2:12-3:6.  This passage deals with how God uses our lives to influence others through our lifestyle and testimony, and through the power of the Holy Spirit living and working through us.  The passage is broken down into four main sections:

2 Corinthians 2:12,13 – this section deals with how Paul was given an open door to preach the Gospel by the Lord, but he still was not content because he was not able to find and partner with his friend, Titus.  So, he moved on from that area and returned to Macedonian. Paul is still giving a defense of his travel plans and explaining his itinerary, but he also brings up an interesting issue dealing with friendship and faith.  I think that too often we try and live life on our own and forget that God made us to live in relationship with other believers.  Paul normally worked in teams and we see this desire shown here.  Are you in close relationships with other believers? Do you partner in life and ministry with others? God’s desire is that we would work together.

2 Corinthians 2:14-17 – this section talks about how God leads us in triumphal procession in Christ.  We are constantly giving off the aroma of life to those who are being saved, or the aroma of death to those who are perishing. This imagery is connected to the way that ancient armies would take slaves from conquered lands and bring them back and march them in triumphal procession through their home city.  Often, priests would walk in front waving censers (bowls) full of incense that would give off a beautiful smell.  This is the picture – we have been caught in God’s victory train and he is parading us around, showing off His people for His glory.  Instead of a negative connotation, is it positive. 

  It makes me think about when I went to Rome last summer and sat at the Via Sacra (Sacred Way) through the Roman Forum. I meditated on the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman general, Titus, and his legions in A.D. 70.  Jerusalem was obliterated and tens of thousands of Jews were taken back to Rome as slaves and marched through the streets.  When I sat there in the very spot, I wondered what they must have been thinking.  Did any of them remember Jesus and his Messianic claims?  Did any of them wonder if they had been wrong? What did the Romans think of all of these Jews being paraded through town?  There is an arch there commemorating the victory called  the Arch of Titus.  It is one of only three arches left in the Roman forum.  The triumphal procession that God leads us in through Christ is just as dramatic.  This world is no longer our home.  When people see us they are to know that we have surrendered to another.  Our lives are now to be lived as slaves of a glorious Lord.  In the same way that Jerusalem was conquered, our hearts have been conquered by Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthinans 3:1-3 – this section speaks of Paul’s credentials for his ministry.  Instead of having a brilliant resume with letters of recommendation, he says that they are his letter of recommendation!  They are a letter from Christ, the result of his ministry.  At this point, Paul is referring to their experience.  They should know that his life and ministry are real because of what they have experienced in Christ.  Jesus is all over them and they have experienced the Spirit!  That is how they know that Paul is genuine.  Match that with the fact that he did not gain anything financially from his ministry to them (vs. 17), and you have people who have benefited from the truth and know in their hearts that the gospel is true and Jesus is real.

2 Corinthians 3:4-6 – here, Paul says that his confidence and competence for his life and ministry come solely from God.  He says that he is not competent to influence them or anyone else with the Gospel, but God has equipped him to minister the new covenant and the Spirit of God, Himself!

This entire passage tells us that we are influence those around us with our lives, so that we will draw some to Christ, while repulsing those who reject Him.  We are also to minister the Spirit of God through words, actions, and miracles.  The Gospel should go forth from us through the power of the Spirit, not our own intellect.  Jesus should be given free reign to shine through us so that all around us will be influenced by who He is!

Last night, we talked about what it means to rest in the Lord - to find our life in Him, and not in our performance.   The Bible is full of injunctions to rest in God, but how often do we fill our lives with activity, just to be doing something? How often do we chase after our own desires and live for temporal pleasures or to please others, while all the time, God has a life of balance, meaning, and rhythm available to us if we would just ask and look to Him.  Basically, if we are lead by the Spirit, He will lead us where He wants us to go, and even if we die, we will find our lives "hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:3).

Our main text last night was Psalm 23.  In this Psalm, we looked at God's provision of care for us.  He MAKES us LIE DOWN in green pastures.  He leads us beside still waters.  He RESTORES our SOUL.  What a beautiful picture of God's restorative work in our lives. While we are running here and there trying to get things done, God wants us to rely upon Him.  Another beautiful passage is Isaiah 40:25-31.  Here we see that God sees our lives and He knows our ways.  He gives rest to the weary and we can go to Him to exchange our weakness for His strength.  Here is this passage:

Isa 40:25-31

25 "To whom will you compare me?Or who is my equal?" says the Holy One. 26 Lift your eyes and look to the heavens:Who created all these?He who brings out the starry host one by one,and calls them each by name.Because of his great power and mighty strength,not one of them is missing.
27 Why do you say, O Jacob,and complain, O Israel,"My way is hidden from the LORD;my cause is disregarded by my God"? 28 Do you not know?Have you not heard?The LORD is the everlasting God,the Creator of the ends of the earth.He will not grow tired or weary,and his understanding no one can fathom. 29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. 30 Even youths grow tired and weary,and young men stumble and fall; 31 but those who hope in the LORDwill renew their strength.They will soar on wings like eagles;they will run and not grow weary,they will walk and not be faint.
NIV

You might be wondering, with this topic, why the pictures up top?  They came from a recent transmission from the Hubble space telescope and it looks like a giant eye.  On another blog by a campus minister from Pennsylvania named Kiki Cherry, I was challenged to think of this as the eye of God.  Not that this constellation of stars is really God's eye, but it just gives a picture of the immensity of the universe. Yet, God sees my little life and endeavors to give me strength.  How can I not be thankful? How can I not receive from Him all He has for me? How can I not take Him up on the gracious offer to walk in His Spirit, go where He goes, and allow Him to lead my life? The God who created the heavens and the earth holds my life in His hands.  Why should I grow weary and lose heart?  My life is not dependent on me - it is dependent on the Lord God Almighty.

On Sunday I preached a message on the Kingdom of God and how it was the major emphasis of Jesus' teachings. Most of his parables were about the Kingdom, his ministry highlighted the inbreaking and works of the Kingdom (Matthew 4:23-25), and he wanted the gospel of the Kingdom to go to all the nations of the earth (Matthew 24:14).  In addition, when teaching his disciples how to pray, he taught them to pray that God's Kingdom would come and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:9-10).  All of this necessarily begs the question, What is the Kingdom of God? Why is it so important?

Basically, the Kingdom of God is everywhere that God rules.  The word "Kingdom" in the Greek is basileia, which means to rule, or a realm.  So, everywhere that God is in charge and His will is being followed is a part of His Kingdom.  Does God rule in your heart? In Romans 8:9, the Bible says, "You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you."  Therefore, if the Spirit of God lives in us, we are in the Kingdom of God. The interesting thing is that we are to be a part of extending God's rule and reign through the ministry of the Word and the Spirit in and through our lives.  We are to help advance God's Kingdom just as Jesus did (Matthew 11:12; 12:28).  We are to pray that His Kingdom come (see Lord's Prayer).  What an exciting thought!  Not only are we to become a part of God's Kingdom, but we are enlisted to help advance God's Kingdom to every area of this sin scarred planet.  We are to bring all of creation under His benevolent authority (Ephesians 1:19-23). 

Is God reigning and ruling in your family? In your community? In our land? What about at your job? If not, then this is a matter of prayer and godly influence. Jesus wants to redeem all that is lost. Have you ever thought about the fact that God placed you exactly where you are (in your city, your job, your place in life), to influence the world and bring His Kingdom? You can bring the Kingdom of God with you everywhere you go by your own obedience and also by influencing others.  Do you make decisions at work? Make godly decisions.  Seek to bring biblical principles into your communities and workplace.  Seek to live your life from a Christian perspective so that you can be salt and light.  Because the Kingdom has come in Jesus Christ, we are to shape our world through His power and bring redemption to the world through Him.

One final note:  lest we think erroneously that this is about power, remember that the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to the poor in spirit (Matthew 5:3).  God's ways are not our ways.  Jesus was born in a manger and died on a cross before rising to glory.  It is most often through service and suffering that God's Kingdom comes because His Kingdom is not of this world.  Many have mistakenly believed through the centuries that God's Kingdom can come through coercion and worldly means. It comes through love and light and the lifting of sin weary heads.