What the Kingdom is really
like - I've been fascinated this week to learn how the
Kingdom grows. It's a lot easier than we usually think.
He also
said, "This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed
on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the
seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by
itself the soil produces grain — first the stalk, then the head,
then the full kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe,
he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come." Mark
4:26-29 NIV
Here's the goal. "Seed" can be sown spiritually and
the crop is a mature disciple. The parable of the sower is an example.
"Seed" also refers to money or literal crops in the natural. People that
know how to multiply money and disciples have learned how to do it
easily, "all by itself." Let's consider both:
Finances -
People with wealth do work hard but their focus isn't on the sweat, it's
on the smarts (the wisdom of Proverbs). Wealthy people have learned to
let money work for them. Ever heard of "passive income?" It's the best
kind - shows up night and day with no effort on your part except to set
it up in the beginning. I want to suggest that is "spiritual wisdom" and
it reflects an aspect of Kingdom reality - "night and day, whether he
sleeps or gets up, the see sprouts and grows." We don't set out every
day to re-earn our salvation. We set it up once at the cross and then
start doing what the father's doing. It's not work; it's a joy to "flow"
with the leading of the Holy Spirit and our heart's desire.
Even the key to engineering principles is to
leverage nature to extract something for free. We build a dam and make
electricity from the water that gives us energy from gravity - for free.
We plant crops that grow naturally from the sun and water. Every good
idea grows the Kingdom in an automated, natural way. That "natural
growth" is true in engineering, finances and our spiritual relationship
with the Lord. If you can grasp it your creativity and productivity will
change dramatically.
Making disciples
- I want to suggest that making disciples is much easier than we've
believed in the past. Our "good news" message to new believers is
sprinkled with terms like surrender, die, repent, turn, submit, and
obey. Although there are powerful truths in each of those terms they
must be balanced by the resurrection portion of the gospel.
You see sin is what makes life difficult. Cain is a
great example:
Now you
are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth
to receive your brother's blood from your hand. 12 When you work the
ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a
restless wanderer on the earth." Gen 4:11-12 NIV
When we get saved a spiritual door is opened to
enter the Kingdom and the concept of multiplication starts can work for
us too. What if our message to new disciples was that the consequence of
their salvation was freedom, healing, abundant life, creativity, wealth,
and generosity? What if we taught them they could arrange their lives by
faith to receive these things passively (by grace)?
Here's what I think would happen. I think disciples
would start making themselves. I think missions would go "viral." I
think it would happen day and night and we wouldn't even understand all
the reasons why these new disciples decided to start multiplying
themselves without a lot of effort on our part. We just need to learn
how to scatter the right seed!
Sowing the Right Seed
- "Seed" can be God's word or money. Seed can also be our lives. In a
very real sense we are seeds sown by God into the world to produce a
harvest. So how do we get the seed of our example to be something others
will want to emulate? Our life has to "multiply" through this planting
process.
I tell
you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and
dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces
many seeds. John 12:24
We usually read John 12:24 as a death sentence for
our heart's desires... our very life. We usually hear it as an
admonition to give up everything. We expect things to go wrong in our
life and then we read this verse and conclude that God is also trying to
destroy us!
Let's put a different spin on it. Jesus did die
over the course of a few hours. Since then the Kingdom has been
multiplying and he's been sitting at the right hand of the Father
(having a great time). This verse really speaks to the set-up required
to have abundant life. Our old ways of poverty and hard work may have to
die before we can "produce many seeds" and learn to multiply finances
and disciples. If my life isn't multiplying and I'm stuck, what has to
"change / die" to reach abundant life and "rest" while I'm doing it?
For he
that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own
works, as God did from his. 11 Let us labour therefore to enter
into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of
unbelief. Heb 4:10-11 KJV
It looks like this
- God is multiplying the finances of His people because we looked for
passive income and found the creative ideas that led us to "sow"
inventions, investments, and business opportunities and ministries that
multiply. People are drawn toward us because of the blessing they see
operating. It's not work; it's an adventure. Our focus is less on
ourselves and more on helping others find abundance. We tell others,
"this is what the Kingdom is like, "we scatter seed; it grows day and
night and we don't know exactly how it works. We just know the soil
produces, and we harvest... and we know it's a lot of fun!"
Example - We
received email this week from Jan Davies in New Zealand. While I'm
sleeping, the soil in New Zealand is producing Kings. Pretty cool - the
disciples are discipling themselves. I didn't do a thing after
scattering the seed. Sounds like a great vacation spot. Sue is wishing
for a tour in New Zealand now! The pictures are the web are beautiful.
You can see a picture of Mike and Jan at
http://www.zealandier.co.nz/tours.php
John - We
recently purchased your book - Releasing Kings and your
teaching PDF workbook, and have just begun session 1. It has taken a
few lessons to lay the foundations. We are excited and passionate
about this type of teaching as we see that our business and
Releasing Kings are like a hand and a glove, not only can we teach
it, we are living it. Bit scary at times I must confess. I've
checked out all the notes which go with the DVD's. I had already
read some of the notes but was not aware they went with the DVD's.
This info is REALLY GREAT. You have done so much work on this. It
excites us no end. Our difficulty is to keep the balance with
teaching and promoting our business.
Mike is my
business partner and he has spent time with John & Paula Sanford
while they visited NZ to run a series of seminars some years back
and actually escorted them around the area. Mike has a great respect
for John's teaching and was delighted to read his comments in the
foreword to your book.
Our cell group
consists of up to 20 people, coming from 2 distinctly different
churches. We belong to a Baptist church and some come from that
church, (several of the church elders,) and then we also affiliate
to Mosaic - much younger congregation, but very much alive and
happening. Mike's son is the pastor of this church. Along with this
we have people attend who do not attend any church, for various
reasons (not for us to judge) and after each lesson, I recap the
lesson and email it out to quite a large number of people who have
requested these. We have no idea how far a field these lessons go.
But they are much appreciated. There are many times we want to give
this part up as our lives are so busy, but God says no.
Now I will
brief you on our business. This is relatively new. We're in our 2nd
year now, and Christian / Religious travel for New Zealanders in New
Zealand is a completely new concept. It happens in other parts of
the world, so we decided it can happen here also. My business
partner and I had considered this for some time and prayed about it
in some length, before taking the risk to step out. During the
process of research and set up I discovered your writings on the web
and it felt so right. We felt it was for us. We run a cell group and
my business partner is the teacher. He has pastoring experience and
Christian counseling background, along with business. He too was a
mechanical engineer for a fairly large company. It was in this heavy
vehicle industry where we begun our working relationship.
We believe the
two (business and ministry) go hand in glove. We are excited and
passionate about putting the two together, and I can assure you this
is not an easy ride or walk.
New Zealand's
scenery is truly amazing and as we travel about the country, you see
so much of Gods creation in a very short space of time and travel,
unlike longer travel distances in USA. Additional info is on our web
site. I will send you a promo pack which includes 2 X DVD's of New
Zealand as a tourist destination, along with a Zealandier Tours DVD.
Jan
Davies, Director Zealandier NZ Ltd,
jan@zealandier.co.nz
Box
4527 Mt Maunganui, New Zealand