The Lampstand Question

There is a great deal to talk about, and I apologize. I've not updated this blog for some time.

I have been reading the Gospel of Mark for some time now and I am not to far into it yet. Yes, I have read it before, but I believe when I read it before, it was just to "get it done" not to really absorb it. So I decided I wanted to go through it again, and this time I wanted to ask questions, I wanted to pray through it, I wanted God to speak to me in His word. So far it has been everything I was hoping for it to be. If I wanted, I could write enough on this blog entry to make your eyes bleed. Don't worry though, I am not going to. I want to talk about something that I found really interesting in Mark Chapter 4.

And He was saying to them...

"A lamp is not brought to be put under a basket, is it, or under a bed? Is it not brought to be put on a lampstand? For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear."

I had spent a fair amount of time reading these couple verses, Mark 4:21-23, and thinking them over. I asked the question, "Is the ministry I am involved in, shinning light on the whole room, or just a few people? Does anyone who walks into the group feel blessed when they leave?"

I want to meet people. I want to meet people who don't know Christ, most of all, I want to bring Christ to them. What does that look like? Do I create an attractive event and hope they come? Do I pull them out of places they feel comfortable in? Do I yank them out of their culture, so to speak? Jesus provides numerous examples where He entered into the culture of people and impacted it for the better. Not even just impacting it, Jesus worked to root that culture in Himself, in God. I think it was C.S. Lewis who said this, and please do correct me if I am wrong, but we don't need more Christian businesses, we need more businesses run by Christians. I feel the same way in regards to ministry, be it on campus, or in a city, or in a church, or wherever. Don't mistake me on this. My point is that we need to be developing ways of engaging people where they are at instead of hoping to create the newest and most attractive thing for them to come and check out. Let's stop fishing off the dock, get a boat, get into the lake and throw some nets over. These questions took me to more, but the big one was, "What exactly is the Kingdom of God?" I like the insight Paul gives in his letter to the Ephesians.

How Shall We Describe the Kingdom of God?

"So then, you are no longer strangers and aliens, but your are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household, having been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit." - Ephesians 2:19-22

How cool is that? We are being built, as the unified body of Christ, into a dwelling place, leaning on one another, but most importantly of all, finding our foundation and support in Christ, our cap stone. The cool thing about the Cap Stone, is that attention is drawn to it by the very stones it is supporting. In 1 Peter 2 we are told that we are living stones. And as such, we build one another up, and in so doing, we point to Christ.

In Mark 4:26-32, Jesus gives two illustrations of the Kingdom of God. In the first illustration, Jesus compares the Kingdom to that of a seed being planted. The man who planted it goes to sleep and wakes up to find the seed is growing. He doesn't know how it happened, he just can see that it has. And when that seed begins to yield a crop, he is there to harvest it. In the second illustration the Kingdom of God is compared to that of a mustard seed, the smallest of all garden seeds. And when it is planted, though it is the smallest seed in the garden, it grows to become the largest of garden plants, creating within it a home for the birds of the air. Here is what God has put on my heart in regards to these illustrations:

• The Kingdom of God starts small, personally, within our immediate communities:

There is certainly enough scripture to show this the case. A friend and myself had gone through John 2 and 3 and looked over the start of Jesus' public ministry and first followers.Jesus was baptized by John, whose mother was related to Marry. Then there was John's followers who left him to follow Jesus, one of whom was Andrew, Simon's brother (Simon who would become Peter). They then found Phillip, who was from the same town as Andrew and Peter; Phillip then found his friend Nathanael. This in itself is so cool! How amazing is this, right there, right off the bat we have the start of Jesus' public ministry moving within relational networks! His first miracle in Cana took place at a wedding that Jesus and His family, and his disciples were invited to. In Acts, Jesus commands the Disciples to be His witnesses, firstly in Jerusalm and Judea, then the ends of the earth. They were to start where they were at.

So we can see that the Gospel progressed relationally. In the same way, we need to build relationships with the people around us. Part of that means being transparent with people. It is in that transparency that people can see the inner workings of God in our lives; be that His impact in the good areas of our life, or His impact in the bad areas. People will start to wonder why we go to God in our good times and our bad. They will start to wonder why we put Christ at the center of our every though, word and action. And when God has worked in them to the point where they want to know, and they ask you the big question; why? You will be there to share with them, to give the account for the joy of Christ in your life. You will have put the lamp on the lampstand and have made yourself available to God to move through you. I just thought of this as I wrote this, but think of it as being the lampstand on which God hands the lamp of his word. You can be placed in strategic places around the room so that God's light may shine upon it. Lift God's word high to light the world.

• The Kingdom of God is believers, rooted in Christ, obedient to Him, and blessing those around them:

So we have seen that the Kingdom of God starts small, with our immediate communities, thus it also is us. We are the Kingdom of God, those who are rooted in Christ, are obedient to His truth and His commands, not simply to the benefit of ourselves, but to those around us as well. If we are lampstands that lift high God's word, it is not only to our gain, but to the blessing of everyone that light falls on. The Kingdom of God is people, centred on Jesus Christ, growing into something that blesses all who enter into it. How many times do we see the call to love and serve others in the name of Jesus Christ in His word? I can tell you with all certainty that John 15 does not talk about loving just a few, and giving yourself over to the service of just a couple. Jesus didn't die for that one dude that He liked. He died for us all. Jesus came as an example of love and service for everyone. We are blessed in that when we entered into that relationship with Christ, He gave us His Holy Spirit so that we may know Him better. We know Christ, He continues to reveal Himself to us all the time. That was His promise to us in John 15:15. So now we have a command to look out into the crowds and pluck out the people who need to know Jesus. Like the four men who plucked a crippled man out of a crowd of people, tore open the roof for him and lowered him down to see Jesus because they knew what Jesus could do for that man. What did Jesus say? He told those men that their faith was rewarded. What an absolutely beautiful expression of the Kingdom of God.

Still Praying, Still Listening, Still Learning

I am continuing to pray in regards to how to make a lampstand ministry. Pardon my coined phrase, I tend to do that. But the question remains. It is something I am going to get to learn so much more about as I spend a year in England working alongside the good people of Manchester. I have no doubt of the growth that year is going to create in how to better serve God, how to better reflect Him in my relationships with the people I meet, and how to go out and meet people where they are at. I am really excited about what God is going to do in that year. And I thank those of you who read this and pray for me. Your prayers most certainly are being heard and answered. God has been speaking to me on how to grow in these areas and some really awesome ideas are coming out of it. I am starting to get a reputation as an idea guy, which is great. But I want that reputation to be backed up by the ability to get out their and implement those ideas. Thanks so much for your continued prayer, your support and encouragement. Sorry for the length of this entry, and for it's lack of cool pictures. Take care, and may God bless you and keep you!