Turning the World Right Side Up

During Christmas, 1975, God gave me a special dream where I was the quarterback on this football team. Huge defensive linemen were waiting to destroy me. I had one offensive lineman, the center, whom I came to call the “Magnificent Lineman.” He also called the plays. As long as I huddled with him, got his play, and followed his interference, I could not be stopped. I went in for touchdown after touchdown. Then I decided to call a play on my own, an end-run. There was only one problem. The “Magnificent Lineman” did not run interference this time and I was smeared. The lesson was clear. Learn to huddle with the Lord, get God’s plays, and then combine faith in God’s power to lead and clear the way along with obedience and following God’s plan.

God was showing me New Testament Christianity. The Twelve had learned to huddle with Jesus (God in the flesh), walking with Him for three years. He taught and demonstrated lessons from God’s playbook. After His Resurrection, they spent fifty days huddling in prayer before pursuing God’s plan. Then they followed the Lord as He led them to spread the gospel in a hostile world. Despite persecution that resulted in much martyrdom, they could not be stopped as they reached throughout the known world of their day.

The church today for the most part does not display such power. Too many “end-runs” since the apostolic generation have been worked into God’s playbook resulting in activity where God’s power is not a factor. I believe God is leading His people today back to Jesus, His word, and His kingdom. There we will discover the faith and experience of the apostles and the wisdom that enabled them to take the gospel to their world despite intense opposition.

Paul exhorts the Ephesians: “Wake up, O sleeper” (5:14 NIV). He tells about amazing things in this late letter that are happening for Christians during those days when, I believe, Jesus was returning and appearing to the faithful. We will look at these later on in this book. Paul is praying that God will give them revelation and wisdom (1:17) to understand these things that open new and exciting discoveries and possibilities for their faith while still on this earth.

The giant referred to in the title of this chapter is the church. This is not because Christians are better than others, but because we are uniquely linked to the living God through Jesus and the indwelling Holy Spirit. We have the written record of God’s playbook and access to His kingdom power. I believe God is bringing the church back to the faith and experience of the apostles, to take time to huddle with Jesus, to get God’s plays, to follow His leading, and to trust in His power to clear the way. Then the church will not be stopped in reaching the world for Christ and leading the way to God’s grand finale of peace on the earth.

I have seen during my lifetime three major revolutions seeking worldwide domination. Adolph Hitler and his book Mein Kampf inspired the first. Next came the communist cause based on The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx. Now we are seeing the Islamic terrorist revolution inspired by its interpretation of The Koran written by Mohammed. All of these revolutions advanced their causes by using violence and war to impose their ways upon others.

In contrast, Jesus introduced the kingdom revolution of servanthood advanced not by force but by gaining the freewill response of people. The Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5–7 summarizes His teaching. While Holy War occurred under the Old Covenant, Jesus made it clear a new day had dawned in the providence of God as He taught His followers to love and pray for their enemies leaving vengeance into God’s hands. Jesus taught His followers to pray for the coming of this kingdom and to seek it first along with its righteousness in their daily lives. He demonstrated the kingdom’s power to heal the sick, raise the dead, and cast out demons.

The kingdom of God referred to what life would be like on this earth when we do things God’s way, in other words, submit to His rule and reign over our lives. Jesus pioneered this new “straight and narrow way” of living in obedience to the heavenly Father. Facing that terrible death for our sin, He asked the Father if that cup could be taken from Him concluding His prayer with “not my will, but yours be done.” Diametrically opposed to the course we took on this earth through sin and disobedience and still take, Jesus obeyed His Father’s commands and taught His disciples this kingdom way. He commanded them to perpetuate this process by making disciples of all nations, teaching them to observe the same commands so this unique way Jesus lived and taught would spread. Jesus started this kingdom revolution: obey God and seek His will, part of His overall plan to someday bring peace to our earth. What Would Jesus Do? His apostles knew and lived that way back then. Faithful disciples are learning from them and doing that today.

It is difficult for us who live in a democracy to understand the nature of a kingdom. We elect our leaders and decide the laws that will govern our society. God doesn’t leave those decisions up to us in His Kingdom. He has chosen Jesus to be king and tells us in His word the righteousness by which the King governs. Would you like to take part in a revolution that will someday bring peace to this earth? Then embrace Jesus’ kingdom way that you will learn in the New Testament from those who learned from Jesus.