Make Way for the King!

Preaching a kingdom gospel.

When we were in Nicaragua, God put it on my heart to share a message with the people we worked with. When we share the gospel with people, we tend to hyper-focus on personal salvation, and God's extreme love for us: two very important things to learn about. However, the good news of the kingdom of God is much larger than our salvation. This good news is about a King who is coming back to fulfill all His promises since the time of Abraham and to live among His people once again, reigning as a good King and a loving and just ruler. While we were in Nicaragua, God wanted us to tell the people that He is coming back to rule, wipe away every tear, and defeat death.

From that point on when we went into the villages of Somotillo and people asked us why we had come, I told them because my King had sent me to invite people to be a part of His eternal kingdom. My King has sent me as an ambassador and a messenger to tell people that Jesus is coming back to defeat death and sin and make the world new, and He wants them to be His children and His people. The people of Nicaragua have lived under a reckless political regime that has not taken care of them for a long time. They needed to hear a message about the true King, and the true political leader that loves His people and is truly worthy to be served and worshiped.

When we returned home, I realized that we have stopped preaching the news of the kingdom for a more attractional gospel. Here in the United States, people look for their savior in the political system. We desperately search for someone who is going to defend the church or someone who will care about the things that Jesus cared about. The issue is that we will not find the King we seek in the kingdoms of man. The King that truly deserves our devotion is Jesus, and He is asking us to be His ambassadors. In our allegiance to this heavenly kingdom there is no room to serve another master. The author of Hebrews, as well as Peter the apostle, refers to Christians as aliens, strangers, and exiles on this earth.

Reflect:

This week take some time to meditate on what it really means to live ours lives as ambassadors of the kingdom of heaven. If you have a chance to share the gospel with somebody this week, share with them the good news of the coming kingdom and the King that you are proud to serve! Also, take some time to ask yourself some of these questions. Are there ways that you are living more like a citizen of an earthly kingdom rather than a citizen of the kingdom of God? What are some things you can change to show people in your everyday life that you serve a heavenly King?