Posted by When Jesus says “follow me” he’s extending an invitation to a life transforming partnership with God. We are connected to God by grace for conducting Kingdom business on a grand global scale.
This lifestyle of intimacy with God teaches us the art of altar building where His blueprints and strategies are released for gathering like-minded people for His purpose of city building through redemption and societal transformation.
This is all done by God’s power demonstrated through servant leadership. Jesus never sends us to take a city but to serve it, pray for it, and love its people through Spirit empowered humility.
By today’s standards as well as by the standards of the first century A.D., Jesus is by far the most countercultural mentor and teacher of truth anyone could ever encounter let alone follow.
Never has anyone on earth ever spent so few years pouring into their followers as Jesus spent pouring into those ordinary people following him and change the world forever.
Unprecedented Power of Divine Selflessness
Never before has the world ever witnessed a people who lay down their lives for others, performing miracles, living out an unchanging global redemptive mission with the highest values, transforming cities, changing the course of history as the genuine followers of Jesus continue to do.
In answer to the prayers of Jesus God the Father poured out his Holy Spirit on all who obey him as Jesus instructs (see Acts 5:32), releasing astonishing power in and through genuine Christ-followers to transform their families, friends, neighbors, and all who will listen to the story Jesus has given them to tell all who will listen.
These miraculous followers of Jesus are known as “The Church,” God’s called-out ones. Jesus is demonstrating God’s kingdom lifestyle so that “… through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.
This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him (Ephesians 3:10-12).”
Living God’s Kingdom Lifestyle
This kingdom lifestyle of simple gatherings for regular prayer for God’s will to be done “on earth as it is in heaven,” brings amazing blessings into the life of the believers and the communities they live in.
His Kingdom becomes a living reality to us, and the fact that He has made us His righteousness in Christ becomes our experience. That alone should be enough to motivate us to embark on the practice of meeting alone and corporately with God often.
Abraham the Altar Builder
Abraham was a kingdom seeker and an altar builder, meeting regularly with God. He had God’s righteousness credited to his account because he believed! Hebrews 11:10 says that “he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” Abraham was always seeking God’s kingdom on earth as it was in heaven, and God supplied for his every need.
When it comes to the Church seeking the peace of the cities and praying for them, that’s the major priority of seeking a city whose “rebuilder is God. After all God is the perfect architect of societal transformation.
By regularly praying together we develop a keen sense of discernment, we recognize God’s presence more quickly and are given an abiding confidence that every need will be supplied. In the enjoyment, God’s presence, seeking our personal provisions become secondary, to the bigger picture of establishing God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.
Think of the influence the Church will exercise in society if we all lived this abiding kingdom lifestyle! keep in mind that We the Church are still the City on the Hill giving light to those living in the darkness of the valley.
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