Until the Christian receives her own grasp of the Kingdom purposes of God, she will continue to be distracted by small slivers of Christianity while never entering into the whole of God’s eternal purposes and power. As long as that man who longs for God’s presence and the resulting sense of personal identity remains committed to splashing around in the tributaries of Christianity, he will never give Himself to the main currents of the Kingdom. The challenge for the Church today is not primarily that we are evil, immoral or victims of poor teaching. What I see as the great temptation for the 21st century church in America is that we settle way too soon for far too little. We have lost our tether to the eternal throne of Jesus wherein lies Kingdom wisdom, Kingdom vision and Kingdom power.
We have to recapture our comprehension of His throne, and all that this glorious seat of highest power and purpose entails.
The throne of Jesus Christ is the central and permanent fixture in eternity. It signifies His excellency, His peerlessness, His supremacy over all that has ever been. It was this throne that Satan once wanted for himself. The very enemy of God understood that the one who sits upon heaven’s throne is the same one who is exalted above everything else, so Satan craved it for his own glory (Isaiah 14:12-14). The throne of Jesus Christ is fixated upon no fewer than twelve times in the eleven verses of Revelation chapter four. John was taken by the Spirit to see the unfolding future and, in this vision, the focus is not upon golden streets or pearl gates, but on a single throne and the indescribable King who was sitting upon it. We must have our hearts captivated by the King, His throne and the boundlessness of His Kingdom.
The mission of Jesus is not about temporary pleasure.
The mission of Jesus is not about higher levels of morality.
The mission of Jesus is not about making earth a better place for our children.
The mission of Jesus is not confined to evangelism, prayer, missions, discipleship or biblical education.
All of these are facets of the mission of Jesus Christ, but they are smaller components of a greater whole. I am concerned that we are forgetting the greater whole, and giving the best of ourselves to these smaller pieces. Friends, the mission of Jesus Christ has always been about the establishing of the Kingdom of God and it is beautifully, if not succinctly, summarized by an unnamed angel in Revelation 11:15 when he declares,
“The kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever.”
When this compelling truth takes ownership over the soul of a redeemed man or woman, nothing less than its fulfillment will satisfy the longing of that heart. The finalization of the mission of the Almighty is that His Kingdom will be established among mankind. This is why we refuse to give our precious allegiance to any lesser loyalties. We cannot take our full satisfaction prematurely. Specifically, we can have no sense of all things being as they should until the Son of God is acknowledged as Lord, with every eye beholding Him and each tongue confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord. We cannot plant our flags in denominations because denominations are incomplete. We will not align ourselves with movements within the Kingdom because they do not suffice to represent the whole of the Kingdom. We will not become distracted by even the most beautiful slices of God’s eternal plan because Christ does not offer us a slice apart from the entirety. Recognize with me that it is possible that some will live out their Christian lives for a component of the Kingdom, but may remain blind to the breadth of the Kingdom while doing so. These people may be sincere, but they must be rescued from spiritual shortsightedness.
The Kingdom is vast and Jesus Christ came to provide it all to us. He lives and intercedes now to offer it all to us. He will return here to establish it all for us. He will not settle for anything less than His throne to be the everlasting place of our adoration and worship.
So let us reorient ourselves accordingly to the King, His forever-throne, and the all-encompassing Kingdom which it represents.