Hello everyone,

 

In our last entry, we talked about the Promise of Discipleship and that as Pastor Randy Alcorn said, “God is grooming us for leadership. He’s watching to see how we demonstrate our faithfulness. He does that through his apprenticeship program, one that prepares us for Heaven. Christ is not simply preparing a place for us; he is preparing us for that place." Then we saw that concerning God's original purpose for mankind to rule and manage earth as expressed in Genesis 1:28 that, “This reigning, expanding, culture-enriching purpose of God for mankind on Earth was never revoked or abandoned. It has only been interrupted and twisted by the Fall. But neither Satan nor sin is able to thwart God’s purposes. Christ’s redemptive work will ultimately restore, enhance, and expand God’s original plan. “Daniel 7:25 tells us that the saints will be handed over to the earth’s kingdoms, which will persecute them for a season. But then a stunning reversal will occur. “Then the sovereignty, power, and greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be handed over to the saints, the people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him” (v. 27). The Kingdom will be God’s, yet he will appoint his saints as rulers under him, and they “will worship and obey him.”

 

So what does it mean that we will rule and how are we being prepared for that now? Our job is and has always been as God's image-bearers, and now as beloved children "to make visible the invisible God" uniquely through our own individual personalities, abilities, and efforts. We will tend and extend our Fathers Kingly benevolent rule in the New Heavens and New Earth and we begin learning about that here on this Earth now. The nature of our rule though is not so much one of rule-makers but of administrators, "ministers", decision-makers of the Kings benevolent order. For example, a yardstick is part of a standard order of measurement, a “rule". It is used to examine distances and for decisions based on those measurements to be made by the users of those yardsticks. The user doesn't create the English units of measurements that the yardstick is based on; they simply use these standards of measurements to bring order to things in their lives concerning measurements. For us, the standard of measurement we are given to use to bring order and rule with is the revealed person, character, and will of God our King and Father. In order to do that we must begin learning, applying, and experiencing the wisdom and discipline of God's Kingdom and becoming familiar with it. As disciples, those who learn and apply, we begin first to rule the "territory" of our minds. As the Apostle Paul said in Romans 12:2," be transformed by the renewing of your mind". We must learn and compare our thoughts to our Fathers revealed character-will, what we value, our goals, what we focus on, that we dwell on, what thoughts we keep, what thoughts we reject, what we decide for and against. We are commanded and given authority to bring His rule to the "territory" of our own minds. Then as we learn with our minds, we are to apply the rule of our Father's Kingdom on earth to our, hearts, will's, and emotions, we are to first seek to bring the "territory" of ourselves into the rule of God's Kingdom. From there we are to seek to establish the rule of God's benevolent Kingdom in our families, then to wherever we have been given authority in our churches, businesses, and the realm of civic engagement. Further, we are then to seek to promote the rule of God's Kingdom in the lives of all men and women around us in this world.

As we see in Genesis 1:28 we were made for a blessed work in God’s creation that has never changed and now as learners, disciples, and apprentices, we are being restored to that work-worship which begin a new in the New Heavens and New Earth. Our task here is to learn His ways so that one day soon we might hear from Him, “Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities” Luke 19:17 or ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.” Matt.25:23

 

 

Just what all this means and the extent of this is yet not fully revealed as Paul said, For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face  I Cor.13:12. and  John," Beloved, we are now children of God, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when Christ appears, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is." I Jn:3:2  But coinsider this and let it fill you with awe, Paul says as a given known truth to the Corinthians, " Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? If the world is judged by you, are you not competent to constitute the smallest law courts? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life? I Cor.6:2

and

"What is man that You take thought of him, And the son of man that You care for him?
Yet You have made him a little lower than the angles, And You crown him with glory and majesty!
You make him to rule over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet" Ps.8:6
Our discipleship is not just for us, it is a royal responsibility as members of the Kings family. 

So, ...Are we Disciples?

 

 

Next we will begin a new section to follow this one specifically for the guys concerning our being made in God’s image and our work called “In His Image: Men who we are and what we do”.

May God Bless,

Jonny