Introduction
"During the reigns of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed; no one will ever conquer it. It will shatter all these kingdoms into nothingness, but it will stand forever. 45 That is the meaning of the rock cut from the mountain by supernatural means, crushing to dust the statue of iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold. "The great God has shown Your Majesty what will happen in the future. The dream is true, and its meaning is certain." (Dan 2:44-45)
And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then, finally, the end will come. (Matt 24:14)
Principle
The Prophet Daniel spoke of a Kingdom that would replace all other kingdoms for eternity. He was prophetically speaking of the Kingdom of God. This prophecy in Daniel has yet to come to pass; however, I believe we are on the verge of its completion.
Today, we live in what is known as the Church age. This is the time between Christ’s first coming and His second coming. If you are a believer you are part of God’s church in the earth. It is His church that will usher in His kingdom in the earth. Does that mean that the church age will end? Absolutely! And I believe that day will be soon. What we are talking about is the greatest single event in World History! Jesus is coming again to establish His reign in the earth. When He returns, the age of the church will come to an end.
The message preached by the church today varies a great deal from that of the early church. I believe this is the number one reason we have such little relevance in the earth today. You see, we have preached a cross without a kingdom! Intellectual ascent to the cross alone is not enough to change a generation. The cross of Christ made the kingdom of Christ possible. Without the Kingdom there will be no cross.
Is it any wonder so many today claim to be believers; yet their lives remain unchanged. The gospel is the good news about the coming kingdom. The Gospel is not a plea to the selfishness of man; that Jesus will fix your problems and make your life better. It is the announcement to humanity that the kingdom of God is coming; to make right every wrong, and to remove wickedness from the earth. (Isaiah 9:6-7) It is the announcement that every man is accountable to God for his actions and that every man will reap what he has sown and give an account to the God of all the earth for his actions. This is the message that has the power to change a generation. Sure, Jesus loves us and has a wonderful plan for our lives. That good plan deals with righteousness and the Kingdom of God. God’s justice is the reason for the cross. All of man kind would be found guilty without it. The cross provides forgiveness from what we were and gives us the ability to become what He’s called us to be. It is time to once again announce the coming of God’s Kingdom to all the world.
The church should be the most relevant voice in the earth today. We have the most relevant message. What is wrong? The problem is in the message. We have changed the message and replaced it with a method. We have the prettiest churches, robes, choirs, agendas, etc. Unfortunately, besides the beaten side of humanity, we have had little effect in reaching the world. If we will change the message of the day, and incorporate the message of the Kingdom our effectiveness will change. The kingdom demands decision. John 3:16 is great, but in light of the world view it will take the announcement of God’s kingdom to see results in our generation. We live in a pluralistic, politically correct world that hates absolutes. Despite this we can no longer compromise our message. Regardless of popularity and applaud ability, we must be true to our cause to be His voice in the earth. The cooperation of the church is crucial in seeing God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. We are God’s voice, His hands and His feet. We are His catalyst in the earth today. Today we experience God’s kingdom in a spiritual sense, tomorrow we will experience His kingdom in a literal sense. In this book, you will find the key elements necessary in seeing our relevance restored in the earth. Now on a practical note, you will find a variety of applications and principles to equip the believer with the timeless message of the Gospel.
Practical
If you’re a pastor or leader that desires to see a generation of saints equipped with the power of a relevant gospel, this book is for you. If you desire to be a great commission church, this book is for you. If you desire to be used by God, this book is for you. This book is designed to equip you, the believer to be a minister in the marketplace. Ministry always seems easier in a familiar church setting. Many people have learned how to operate in the things of God in this way. What about the marketplace? The marketplace is anywhere people may travel through the course of their week; it consists of work, school, home, travel, etc. I believe that ministry in the marketplace is God’s idea to reach the masses in the 21st century. I have listed below a few staggering statistics that will support this point of thought.
These statistics were taken out of the book, “Planting growing churches”, by Aubrey Malphurs. This first warning comes from Floyd Bartel. In his book A new look at church growth, he writes that “95% of all Christians in North America will not win one person to Christ in their entire lifetime.” Apparently, according to this statistic, what American Christians believe about the bible isn’t significant enough to share with others; or else they just don’t know how. Another warning comes from Bob Gilliam. In the mid- to late 1990’s Gilliam, a church growth consultant surveyed more than 500 evangelical churches in 40 denominations over a 10 year period, including more than 130,000 church members. His survey revealed that each year the average evangelical church led 1.7 people to Christ for every 100 in attendance. What’s wrong? I believe the answer to this question can be found in our approach. Most local churches have introduced only one way to share the gospel; the confrontational approach. It seems then to reason why only 5% of the church will ever lead someone to Christ. I believe this is one of our biggest problems. As the old saying goes; ‘there is more than one way to skin a cat.” We desperately need a paradigm shift in the church today. There are a multitude of believers with unique gifts and unique personalities that go unused. God will use each ones unique background, education, ethnicity, race, and profession to reach those around them with the gospel. God will use each one of us within the framework of our make-up. What works for one may not work for another. We cannot expect to see results when we limit our method to one approach. God will use each in His or Her unique way. Diversity is what makes the Body of Christ so wonderful. I believe God has given to each a unique gift and grace to reach a variety of individuals within his or hers realm of influence. The Gospel will work for anyone. The key is to discover the grace and gift within ones life and use it for the advancement of the Kingdom. These are all things that will be discussed in this book.
Jesus always ministered in the marketplace. Everywhere he went He ministered in some capacity or another. We are His church, His body, and He has given us the model to be used in the same way. Not only has He called us to minister as He did, but He said that we would even do greater things than He did (John 14:12). God is moving His people out into the marketplace to compel those who are outside to come in. If we are to fulfill this mandate we must have the understanding on how to do it. Thank God for His Word. He has shown us how. No matter if you are the weakest or the strongest, if you are willing to follow a few simple principles, and gain some understanding on the “how to,” you can be used of God. In fact, God wants to use you even more than you want to be used. If you have the desire, God has the ability.
There are seven areas of focus that I believe will help you become fruitful in building the Kingdom: Message, Mandate, Model, Motive, Ministry, Marketplace and Mobility.
You may say, “I could never do the things that Jesus did because He was the Son of God.” But remember, Jesus was not only the Son of God; He was the Son of Man. It is important to know that He was equal to God and was God, but nevertheless submitted Himself to the Father God. It is also important to realize His humanity so that we can relate to Him. He was tempted in every way that we are and went through the same things that we do. This helps us not only to identify, but to relate in a way that makes it personal. It is important that we understand this because it is His life that we will be looking at. It was the Holy Spirit that made the difference in His life, just as it is the Holy Spirit that makes the difference in our lives. The work of God cannot be reduced to a mere method. We must depend completely on the Spirit of God if we are to be fruitful as ministers in the marketplace. Unfortunately, what many fail to realize is that the Holy Spirit Works exclusively within the parameters of what Christ accomplished at the cross. God moves on our behalf based on the finished work of the Cross! This is of vital importance if we are to walk in the power of the kingdom as God intended. Let’s begin our journey into the mind and heart of God’s plan for planet earth!
