September 10, 2022
Pastor Tonderai Bassoppo-Moyo
Executive Teaching & Discipleship Pastor
“Boldly and freely he proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Acts 28:31 BSB
In the culmination of Paul’s journey recorded in the book of Acts, God has established Paul on a stage from which to minister. It is here we get a glimpse into the Kingdom message - Paul’s proclamation is one built on his theological understanding and given strength through his testimony of experience with the Lord Jesus Christ. In his letter to the Corinthians, we see Paul’s message continue, as he seeks to proclaim to them that Kingdom living is not divided but rather of the same mind and heart, pulling in one accord through the influence of the Holy Spirit.
He asserts that the advancement of the message of the Kingdom comes not from human intelligence, philosophies, or concepts but from having access to the mind and heart of God provided by the Holy Spirit. We have a responsibility to build this Kingdom using the same foundation that Paul built upon - the foundation of Jesus Christ. However, how we build is of great importance to what we build. If we fail to build on sound doctrine, in time our work will be shown for what it is. Essential to this building is the testimony that comes from our personal experience with the Lord.
In Acts, Paul uses many opportunities to minister by pulling from the Damascus road experience. We do a disservice when we shy away from building the Kingdom or ministering using our personal experiences of how the Lord has been good to us. How do we build the Kingdom? The wisdom of God empowers us to make a judgment of all things. It is upon this wisdom that the Kingdom is built. When we understand judgment from this Kingdom perspective, we are able to see why Paul writes and tells the Corinthian church to expel immoral people from the church. This is not referring to one who is contending for Christ and struggling with sin, but rather someone who sins and revels in it.
Just as people who commit crimes are isolated from society for their rehabilitation, so it is for people who have not taken hold of the Kingdom message and are allowing sin to fester in their lives. The Kingdom is comprised of individuals who have given their yes to Jesus and desire to walk in His way - imperfectly, but with a consistent heart and mind. The proclamation of the Kingdom is life to those who take hold of it and personal to those of us who have experienced meeting its King. Keep not that message to yourself - boldly and freely proclaim this message of our King Jesus and His Kingdom.
3 Then Samuel said to all the people of Israel, “If you want to return to the Lord with all your hearts, get rid of your foreign gods and your images of Ashtoreth. Turn your hearts to the Lord and obey him alone; then he will rescue you from the Philistines.” 4 So the Israelites got rid of their images of Baal and Ashtoreth and worshiped only the Lord.
I Samuel 7
Psalm 84: How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God. Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise! Selah Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion. As they go through the Valley of Baca they make it a place of springs the early rain also covers it with pools. They go from strength to strength; each one appears before God in Zion. O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah Behold our shield, O God; look on the face of your anointed! For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you! (ESV)
