In a couple of days I will return to work to teach another year of high school. However, since I believe in Jesus and follow him, I know that my true work is to share his truth and love with others so they can come to know God also. God created you and loves you. He wants the best for you which is to be with him, to be like him, and to do what he does. So no matter what age you are or what vocation you may have, your primary work is entering and living in God’s kingdom. Kingdom work is servant work which involves denying yourself. It is humble work, but leads to glory. In contrast worldly work seeks to fulfill oneself or exalt oneself and has little eternal value. Jesus, God the Son, brought his kingdom to all who would receive him and demonstrated to his followers how to live in that kingdom as a servant who brings salvation, healing, restoration, power, and life. All to the glory of God. So in a sense, I’m not really returning to work. I’ve been at work all summer trying to follow Jesus in order to help others enter and live in God’s kingdom. This school year I’ll do the same in the context of teaching high school students and carrying out my vocational responsibilities with excellence. If you want to live well and work well, here are some fundamentals of Jesus which will help you do so. They are drawn from writings by my late uncle.
Entering the Kingdom
The message of Jesus today is truly a Servant message. Based on the teaching of Jesus and the words of the prophets, it is what a servant of God would be doing at this moment in salvation-history. Since we are near or already in the last days before Jesus returns, there can be no compromise with lesser goals or lesser truths. Jesus is truly God’s revelation of his will and his way (John 14:6). Jesus taught, “The time has come. The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15). With his death and resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the kingdom of God has come with power. This is the power to do the things Jesus said his followers would do. Before returning to heaven, Jesus told his disciples, “Whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing” (John 14:12). Today Jesus expects his followers to complete his work in the world, according to the principles that he taught and lived amongst his first disciples. So the Servant message picks up where Jesus instructed his disciples to go and make disciples of all nations (Isaiah 49:6; Matthew 28:18-20). The thrust of Jesus’ message about the kingdom of God is that you must enter it now! This is not possible without the new birth. Jesus told Nicodemus, “You cannot see the kingdom of God without being born from above” (John 3:3). But once you have entered the kingdom initially by trusting and obeying Jesus, then you are able to see where the kingdom is and repeatedly enter the kingdom as the realm where God’s power is at work and the promises of Jesus are effective.
Carrying Out the Mission
The kingdom comes in Jesus, and the kingdom is where Jesus is, or where he said he would be. Jesus identified himself closely with the children, the poor and needy, and those who were truly following him and even being rejected for doing his work. These are the first places where Jesus and the kingdom would be. Now his disciples must be there in his place, representing him (2 Corinthians 5:17-21). This comes about by carrying out the mission of the Son of man–seeking the lost, serving the needy, suffering for the sake of others. By these actions, Jesus disciples come in contact with the children, the poor and needy, and his true followers–the lost sheep who will hear his voice and obey him. In this way Jesus’ disciples are living and working in the realm of the kingdom that has come near.
Kingdom Moments
In practice, the Servant way of life is a combination of proclaiming the kingdom of God and carrying out the mission of the Son of man, who is Jesus. Jesus came into Galilee proclaiming the kingdom of God. His message was that the kingdom of God has come near, and you must enter it now by repentance and faith. The kingdom is not only God’s salvation but also the realm where his will is done on earth, where his power is at work, and where the promises of Jesus are effective. To enter the kingdom takes forceful action, the action of faith, turning from the world and taking hold of the present realities of God’s rule—nearness, righteousness, salvation, hiddenness—and acting according to them (Matthew 11:11-13; Luke 16:16). This leads to a new way of life—living and acting in the realm of God’s rule. But it also means learning how to enter the kingdom, the realm of God’s power, at any time and seize the moment, now a kingdom moment, for his purpose and glory. It means learning to recognize those situations in which the kingdom itself is pressing on people’s hearts and lives, looking for an entrance. In these situations, the kingdom worker must be prepared to intervene, just as Jesus did, to speak up and act forcefully with the words and actions of Jesus to make the kingdom real in people’s hearts and lives.
Kingdom Places
Entering the kingdom, then, is not only an initial crisis experience, the new birth, but also a continuing process of moving into the realm where kingdom power is at work and the teaching of Jesus comes to life. Jesus showed clearly that the kingdom of God is where he is. “If I by the finger of God cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Luke 11:20). Today the kingdom is wherever Jesus would be; only he is there through his faithful, obedient disciples. We know where Jesus would most likely be–near the ones he identified with so closely, the children (“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me” (Mark 9:37)), the poor and needy (“As you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me” (Matthew 24:45)), and those who are truly following him and doing his work in the world (“He who receives you receives me” (Matthew 10:40; John 13:20)). These are the first places to find the kingdom of God, where Jesus would be. Then it is a matter of entering the realm of God’s power by doing the things Jesus did. This too is something you learn to do—by following Jesus and becoming his disciple, by acting forcefully with faith, by speaking the words of Jesus, and by following the actions of Jesus.
Conclusion
The kingdom of God is his realm of activity, of influence, and of rule in people’s hearts. It extends way beyond what we can imagine, but he has brought it near to us in Jesus. Anyone who trusts Jesus to save them from their waywardness enters into God’s kingdom and receives the unsurpassed life and blessings of being his child now and forever. Learning to live and work in his kingdom is an ongoing process. It requires dying to your will, and your way, so God can raise you up in his better will and his better way shown in Jesus, the quintessential son. As you do he shows you kingdom moments and kingdom places to proclaim his truth and to demonstrate his love in order to help needy, broken people find and follow Jesus. So whether at your job, at school, at home, or in life work well today and every day. Make it your life’s purpose to be with God—to enjoy his presence and grow closer to him. Make it your life’s desire to love God and love others before yourself. Make it your life’s mission to utilize the resources God has invested in you to seek and to save the lost as Jesus did. Then when Jesus returns to earth to consummate his kingdom, you can rejoice with him and others as he tells you, “‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” (Matthew 25:23).