I have recently argued that we need to nurture our spiritual hunger and thirst - a desire for spiritual food & drink, the presence of Jesus and the work of the Father. Accompanying that we need to look to Jesus and His Kingdom possibilities, which when He is present among us are surely imminent, and thus raise our expectations accordingly.
With that brewing in us, and a greater openness to the Spirit and His work in us, we will surely develop in one direction: an inescapable urge to proclaim the Kingdom of God. This was Jesus' starting point (see Mark 1:15), and His promise to His disciples upon receiving the Spirit (see Acts 1:8 'You will be my witnesses').
In other words a hunger for God plus a Kingdom expectation rooted in Him, will move us to be Kingdom proclaimers - witnessing to the resurrected Jesus and therefore the 'even greater works' of the Kingdom possible around us (see John 14:12).
Proclamation may take different forms, from the outright verbal intrusion to the quiet demonstration, but they will all point to the resurrection reality that He is risen, and His order is now coming about. Note that we do the proclamation bit, while the Spirit confirms it with Kingdom action and outcomes (e.g. Acts 14:3).
Nurture hunger & thirst, raise expectations, and grow as a Kingdom proclaimer.
Friday, 18 August 2017
Saturday, 12 August 2017
I Expect
"I expect" - two words laden with possibility. Unlike "I thirst" they are not two words spoken by Jesus on the cross, yet his reply to the thief on the adjacent cross "Today you will be with me in paradise" shows us that his expectation was very much dialled to the max!
Weeks later Peter would be walking in the temple area and encounter a lame beggar calling for attention. Peter simply offers him Jesus, and this is enough to command the lame to get up and walk. Peter's expectation levels had become similarly dialled up.
When it comes to Kingdom outcomes, are we able to say "I expect"?
It seems to me that our expectation and our hunger & thirst somehow go together. As in my previous post our desire or aspirations for growth need to be matched with an appropriate spiritual hunger & thirst. They also need to inter-lock with a Kingdom-orientated expectation. There is little point hungering after God if we do not expect much is possible (in Kingdom terms). Similarly why hanker for growth or expansion if Jesus-inspired expectation is lacking?
Let us expect that if we engage in Kingdom-work there will be accompanying Kingdom-sign. Not simply for signs sake, but resonating with a spiritual hunger & thirst nurtured in our spiritual life. As this plays out, we will then certainly need more capacity to embrace the God-given developments.
Weeks later Peter would be walking in the temple area and encounter a lame beggar calling for attention. Peter simply offers him Jesus, and this is enough to command the lame to get up and walk. Peter's expectation levels had become similarly dialled up.
When it comes to Kingdom outcomes, are we able to say "I expect"?
It seems to me that our expectation and our hunger & thirst somehow go together. As in my previous post our desire or aspirations for growth need to be matched with an appropriate spiritual hunger & thirst. They also need to inter-lock with a Kingdom-orientated expectation. There is little point hungering after God if we do not expect much is possible (in Kingdom terms). Similarly why hanker for growth or expansion if Jesus-inspired expectation is lacking?
Let us expect that if we engage in Kingdom-work there will be accompanying Kingdom-sign. Not simply for signs sake, but resonating with a spiritual hunger & thirst nurtured in our spiritual life. As this plays out, we will then certainly need more capacity to embrace the God-given developments.
Thursday, 10 August 2017
I Thirst
"I thirst". Just two short words spoken by Jesus on the cross, yet they convey so much. Of course Jesus was thirsty - who wouldn't be when crucified in the Palestinian sunshine! But the words surely also convey a spiritual reality - Jesus continues to seek and yearn communion with God his father, even as he feels separation so acutely ('my God, why have you forsaken me?'). That basic spiritual hunger and thirst is there in Jesus throughout his life, until the last gasp and it is finished.
Jesus had used thirst/hunger and water/food imagery many times. His food was to do what he saw his father doing (John 4) - that was what nourished his life and what he hungered for. This was his mode of operation even as he declared himself as the provider of living water so that others might never be thirsty again. He would describe himself as the bread of life, but this went hand in hand with his own spiritual hunger and thirst for the Father's greater work.
The question is - do we spiritually hunger and thirst as Jesus did?
Quite naturally we want to see growth from the fruit of our mission. We may well have both desires and plans for such work to increase, adding capacity for more. All good!
But do we have the underlying spiritual hunger and thirst necessary for such expansion? Is their that innate drive-for-nourishment at work in us spiritually? Our bodies automatically tell us we need food or drink when physically we become depleted, but in spiritual terms this is something we need to pay attention to, to nurture and work at.
If the spiritual hunger or thirst is not there, then surely there would be no point in God answering our prayer for more ministry opportunity ... for we would simply not be ready and able to tackle the bigger meal He could give!
John's gospel leaves us with the expectation that there is much more mission possible for us to join in with ... but let us nurture and develop our spiritual hunger and thirst that would be necessary for taking part in the greater enterprise.
Jesus had used thirst/hunger and water/food imagery many times. His food was to do what he saw his father doing (John 4) - that was what nourished his life and what he hungered for. This was his mode of operation even as he declared himself as the provider of living water so that others might never be thirsty again. He would describe himself as the bread of life, but this went hand in hand with his own spiritual hunger and thirst for the Father's greater work.
The question is - do we spiritually hunger and thirst as Jesus did?
Quite naturally we want to see growth from the fruit of our mission. We may well have both desires and plans for such work to increase, adding capacity for more. All good!
But do we have the underlying spiritual hunger and thirst necessary for such expansion? Is their that innate drive-for-nourishment at work in us spiritually? Our bodies automatically tell us we need food or drink when physically we become depleted, but in spiritual terms this is something we need to pay attention to, to nurture and work at.
If the spiritual hunger or thirst is not there, then surely there would be no point in God answering our prayer for more ministry opportunity ... for we would simply not be ready and able to tackle the bigger meal He could give!
John's gospel leaves us with the expectation that there is much more mission possible for us to join in with ... but let us nurture and develop our spiritual hunger and thirst that would be necessary for taking part in the greater enterprise.
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