Our Hope Is in the Kingdom, not a Nation

I spent most of my first 48 years living and working in Australia and New Zealand—two nations that still belong to the British Commonwealth. During those years, Aussies and Kiwis were taught to sing:

            Rule Britannia, Britannia rules the waves.

            Britons never, never, never will be slaves.

Down through the centuries, empires and nations have produced statements and songs that reflect the one quoted above. However, with the passing of the years, I have questioned more and more the appropriateness and validity of such statements. After all, Britannia never did rule the waves, and, regrettably, it played a leading role in the slave trade. In the early decades of the twentieth century, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill stated, “The British Empire will rule the world for the next one thousand years.”  But his prediction did not come to pass!

Recently, I read a book by Richard Hughes titled Christian America and the Kingdom of God. I have found it to be most fascinating and insightful. In it, Hughes analyzes the Bible’s “Big Story,” the message of the Old Testament prophets, the narrative embedded in the four Gospels, and the theology contained in Paul’s writings. He then offers insights in relation to the concepts of “Christian America” and “The Kingdom of God.” I am now working through this book for the second time. Next to the Bible, it is the most marked up book in my library.

I believe that this book is a must read for those who claim allegiance to Jesus as Savior and Lord. Sad to say, we live in a challenged world, and the only “peace plan” that will work in time and for eternity is that embedded in the teachings and ministry of Jesus, the radical forgiving Servant Messiah. May this book impact your life as it has mine!

Do People Notice Jesus in Your Ministry?

Years ago, while I was doing graduate work in biblical studies in the US, I came to know a fellow student named Robin Leaver, an Anglican clergyman from England. When returning to Australia in 1971, my family and I spent some time in England. While I was there, I visited Robin who was then serving a parish in Reading near Oxford. He shared with me a statement that I shall never forget:

“When the day comes that I want people to notice me rather than Jesus, I will have invalidated my ministry.”

I have visited England a number of times this past decade to conduct seminars for the Anglican Church Mission Society (CMS). Although the headquarters of CMS are now based in Oxford, my first visit with CMS leaders was at their headquarters in London. I was deeply moved when the Secretary-General of CMS at the time, Timothy Dakin (who is now the bishop of Winchester), arranged for me to meet Dr. N.T. Wright, who was then the Resident Scholar at Westminister Abbey.

On the way to Dr. Wright’s apartment, I felt embarrassed. How was I, an ordinary Aussie from the land of kangaroos, to address such a distinguished biblical scholar? So, after he and his wife welcomed me into their apartment, I sheepishly asked him, “How would you like me to address you?” He reached out, grabbed my right hand, and said with a beaming smile, “Call me Tom!”

I shall never forget that hour with Tom. I came away convinced that I had spent time with someone who wants only that people would notice Jesus! Tom’s book, Who Was Jesus? is one which you would do well to read.

What H. G. Wells and C. S. Lewis Wrote That Has Influenced My Biblical Thinking

The following three statements have greatly influenced my biblical thinking. H. G. Wells wrote the first two statements and C. S. Lewis wrote the third.

“Jesus was too great for his disciples. And in view of what he plainly said, is it any wonder that all who were rich and prosperous felt a horror of strange things, a swimming of their world at his teaching?  Perhaps the priests and rulers understood him better than his followers. He was dragging out all the little private reservations they had made from social service into the light of a universal religious life.  He was like a terrible moral huntsman, digging people out of the snug burrows in which they had lived hitherto. In the white blaze of his kingdom there was to be no property, no privilege, no pride, and no precedence, no motive and reward but love. Is it any wonder that people were dazzled and blinded, and cried out against him? Even His disciples cried out when he would not spare them that light. Is it any wonder that the priests realized that between this man and themselves there was no choice but that he, or their priestcraft, should perish? Is it any wonder that the Roman soldiers, confronted and amazed by something soaring over their comprehension and threatening all their disciplines, should take refuge in wild laughter, and crown him with thorns, and robe him in purple, and make a mock Caesar of him?  For to take him seriously was to enter into a strange and alarming life, to abandon habits, to control instincts and impulses, and to embrace an incredible happiness. Is it any wonder that to this day this Galilean is too much for our small hearts?” (Wells, The Outline of History, Vol. 1, pp. 425-6)

“The doctrine of the Kingdom God, which was the main teaching of Jesus, and which plays so small a part in the Christian creeds, is certainly one of the most revolutionary doctrines that ever stirred and changed human thought.” (Wells, The Outline of History, Vol. 2, p. 8)

“There is no neutral ground in the universe. Every square inch is claimed by God—and counterclaimed by Satan.” (Lewis, "Christianity and Culture," Christian Reflections, p. 33)

Yes, Jesus mission was and is much, much bigger than most people understand!

Harry Wendt

Delusions and One-Liners for the New Year

The year 2012 is now history, and the doors into 2013 have opened. We shall not be saying, "Merry Christmas" for another year. However, we shall be saying, "Have a blessed New Year!" What do we mean by that? We would do well to remember that Jesus never equates "being blessed" with possessing and enjoying material things. He equates it only with knowing Him as the forgiving Savior and with following Him as Servant-Lord.

One of the appendices in Crossways International's In Heaven's Name, Why on Earth? is titled "Ten Deadly Delusions." If you do not have a copy of this publication, you can purchase one from us and work through those delusions with others; the answers to each delusion are included in that publication. Doing so will empower you to get your people beyond "popular opinion" to "divine revelation."

My wife, Chloris, and I send out a Christmas letter each year to about 230 partners and friends around the world. In our most recent letter, we included some intriguing one-liners that were sent to me by Vic Pabellon, my colleague in the Philippines:

• Give God what's right--not left.
• A lot of kneeling will keep you in good standing.
• When praying, don't give God instructions; just report for duty.
• Don't wait for six strong men to bring you to church. Come now!
• Many people want to serve God, but only in an advisory capacity.
• It is easier to preach ten sermons than to live one.
• Peace starts with a smile.
• Many who sing,"Standing on the Promises" are content just to sit in the premises.
• If God is your co-pilot, swap seats.
• The best mathematical equation that I have ever seen: 1 cross + 3 nails = 4-given.

Give Jesus and me a lot of joy by sharing these insights and sayings with fellow-believers, family, and friends.

Harry Wendt

Food for Thought from Rome and Slovakia

From Pope John Paul II in Rome:

“Perhaps the hardest-fought battle between Church and regime involved family life, for the Communists understood that men and women secure in the love of their families were a danger. Housing, work schedules, and school hours were all organized by the state to separate parents from their children as frequently as possible. Apartments were constructed to accommodate only small families, so that children would be regarded as a problem. Work was organized in four shifts, and families were rarely together. The workday began at 6 or 7 AM, so children had to be consigned to state-run child-care centers before school. The schools themselves were consolidated, and children were moved out of their local communities for schooling.” (Witness to Hope, p. 97)

From a pastor in Slovakia:

“How did the Communists ruling Eastern Block countries set about destroying the Church? They told the Christian community: ‘We will never try to stop you from going to church. Go to church every Sunday. Listen to those sermons. But remember this: There are to be no Bible study groups, no prayer groups, no Sunday schools, no youth groups. Just go to church and listen to those sermons. And all sporting events for children and youth are to be held on Sunday mornings!’ That strategy succeeded in all but destroying the church.” 

Several years ago, researchers probed the question, “How do people come into a relationship with Jesus and His Church?”  Their research revealed the following: 

                                                            Evangelistic crusade: 0.5% 

                                                            Special needs: 1 to 2% 

                                                            Pastoral visitation: 1 to 2%

                                                            Church program: 2 to 3%

                                                            Walk-in: 2 to 3%

                                                            Sunday school: 4 to 5% 

                                                            Pastor: 4 to 5%

                                                            Parents, relative, or friend: 75 to 90%

Jesus does not call us merely to worship in a church on Sunday mornings. He calls us to soak ourselves day in and day out in His Word, and, by faith, to embrace and live according to what He teaches. He calls us to live in caring, sharing, serving community every minute of every day of every week of every month of every year. Without a doubt, the family circle is the most important spiritual school and influence of all. Little wonder that the Communists did all that they could to destroy the family circle. We would do well to ask ourselves, “What can we learn from all this?”

Crossways International is committed to helping parents and people live in community by equipping them to show their children and youth the Jesus that God wants them to believe in and follow.

Harry Wendt

South Korean Food [for Thought and Action]

I have visited South Korea 24 times, and to date 20,000 Korean pastors have attended a Crossways training event. Protestantism was introduced into Korea in 1884 by two pastors from the United States, one a Presbyterian, the other a Methodist. A few years after they began their work, a conference was held to establish a methodology for mission. Nevius, a European missionary working in China, urged Christian communities in Korea to adopt the following approach:

• You may build a church structure as long as you can pay for it yourselves--no subsidies!
• You can have a pastor as long as you can pay the needed salary yourselves--no subsidies!
• The church must be built on the Adult Bible Class system.

The Presbyterians bought into the system; today, they have about 7.5 million members in South Korea.  The Methodists did not; today, they have about 1.5 million members. Draw you own conclusions. My number-one interpreter in Korea used to serve as senior pastor of the 30,000 member Choon Hyun Presbyterian Church in Seoul. Among other statements in that congregation’s mission document are the following:

• Each member must read three chapters of the Bible every day, and five chapters on Sunday.
• All members must contribute a tenth of their income and then begin making their offerings.
• Each member is to study the Bible at the feet of someone who knows more than he or she, and each member is to teach someone who knows less than he or she.

Food for thought, yes; guidelines for action, yes. 

Harry Wendt

Man's way leads to a hopeless end; God's way leads to an endless hope.

The elections are finally over.

 We now know who will serve as the President of the United States for the next four years. Many people are hoping that he will restore the prosperous way of life enjoyed for decades during the last century. However, we do well to ponder the five reasons that Edward Gibbon (1737–1794) offered in his Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire as to why the Roman Empire crumbled:

• Family life disintegrated.
• All ethical systems were discarded.
• The world of entertainment became immoral and corrupt.
• The cost of maintaining the empire’s military system became enormous.
• The empire’s economy collapsed.

About the time our original thirteen states adopted their new constitution in 1787, Alexander Tyler, a history professor at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, had this to say about the fall of the Greek Republic some 2,000 years earlier:

• A democracy is always temporary in nature; it cannot exist as a permanent form of government.
• A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury.
• From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship.
• The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations from the beginning of history has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, those nations always progressed through the following sequence:

 

1.         From bondage to spiritual faith;
2.         From spiritual faith to great courage;
3.         From courage to liberty;
4.         From liberty to abundance;
5.         From abundance to complacency;
6.         From complacency to apathy;
7.         From apathy to dependence;
8.         From dependence back into bondage.

 

During the early decades of the twentieth century, Winston Churchill stated: “The British Empire will rule the world for the next one thousand years.” During his time in office, President George H. W. Bush Sr stated that “The American way of life is non-negotiable.” Any thoughts?

We as God’s people would do well to remember that our focus in life must be on morals, not money. The model for our morality must be God’s will, not our whims. Jesus, our forgiving Savior and Servant Lord, demonstrated that will. If a nation does not conform to that will, it will crumble.

 

The mission of the church is not to invite people to sit, stand, say, sing, and scatter. It is to inspire them to search, stoop, serve, sanctify, and sweat—and seek the good of all on earth. 

 Harry Wendt