Continuation of "The kingdom that turned the world upside down".....

A different Kingdom...
The year AD 30 began like any other year. Jewish priests still offered daily sacrifices in the temple. Farmers worked in their fields,      an women washed their clothes inthe streams. Fishermen hung uptheir nets to dry on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. But suddenly a prophet named John burst upon the scene! Clothed in camels hairand a leather belt, John made a striking figure. And he brought withim a startling message---the kingdom of God was at hand!
   the kingdom of God was at hand? to the Jewsm this meant that the messiah was about to come. It meant the overthrow of rome! It meant they would soon have back their independence as a nation. No wonder that Jonhsmesssage caught everyones attention. People began flocking tohim to find our what they needed to do to prepare for this kingdom.
   However, when John identified Jesus as their long awaited Messiah, most  Jews were not excited. Jesus of Nazereth??? He didntseem a all like the Messiah they were expecting. He was obviously no warrior. And He didnt even attempt to organize an army to liberate the Jews from Rome. In fact, He didnt even PREACH against the romans.
   What did He preach aboaut? Iwould like to ask you, the reader, that question? What was the theme of Jesus' preaching? Mans need for salvation? Gods love for mankind? The necessity to be born again? The fact that Jesus would die as as ransom for us?
Jesus certainly spoke about al of these things. And they are all essential truths. But none of them was the THEME of His message.  The Scriptures record only one occasion on which Jesus spoke about the new birth: his private talk with Nicodemus. He mentioned His dying as a ransom for us only one time. There are only 5 or 6 passages in which He even used the word salvation....
   No, the theme of Jesus' message was the Kingdom of God. ther are nearly one hundred references to the kingdom throughout the Gospels furthermore, most of Jesus' parables were about the kingdom. In fact,Jesus said that the reason He was sent to earth was to preach about the kingdom:"I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I was sent"(Luke 4:43). Thats not what were used to hearing, is it? Weve all been given the impression that the primary purpose of Jesus coming to earth was to save us from our sins. And that definately was one of the purposes of His coming here. but it was NOT His only purpose.
   Where ever He went., Jesuspreached about the kingdom of God. "From that time, Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand....And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all  kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease,,,but when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and soke to them about the Kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing. ...Then Jesus went about all the cities and vllages, teaching in their synagoaues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people'(Mt. 4:17, 23; Luke 9:11, Mt. 9:35).
   The irony is that although the kingdom of Godwas the theme of Jesus' preaching, the message of the kingdom is almost totally missing from the gospelthat is preached today. Whats the theme of most preaching today? Its mans personal salvation, isnt it? Its not the Kingdom of 'God.......

More later this week...my fingers get tired typing....

Love to all who read...
@@@!!!~~~TERRI~~~!!!@@@