About a year and a half ago I started teaching a series in my Sunday school class about legalism and faith. The Lord has been speaking to me about legalism over the last couple of years and most of what I teach on Sunday mornings is a fleshing out of what the Lord shows me. From that broad topic came a series of lessons about the Kingdom of God and what the Kingdom of God is, at least as I currently understand it. Out of that came a question: How did the Kingdom manifest in Jesus ministry and in the book of Acts?(1) Based on my study and what I have observed, it seems the Kingdom manifested itself in the New Testament through signs, miracles, and wonders.
That fact begged another question: How is the Kingdom of God supposed to manifest today? Nothing seemed to indicate that it should or would manifest any differently today. So we were faced with another question: Why is there so little evidence of Kingdom power in the western church today, when it seems like demonstrations of power were meant to be the norm for the church? Our answer to that question was sobering.
It’s apparent that the manifestations of the Kingdom in the NT were the result of people believing and being willing to act on that belief. When someone was sick, they prayed for them. When there was a spiritual battle with demons, they stood and fought based on the authority that was theirs in Christ. In short, they exhibited faith and their faith was efficacious. We concluded that our lack of experience with Kingdom things is the result of a lack of faith.(2) By the way, the absence of faith always results in legalism. We become more interested in appearances than in actually experiencing and walking in the power God intended for us to walk in. From a Sunday school perspective, we’re more interested in coming once a week and participating in a program than coming without an agenda to see how God would move that day.
As I thought about my teaching and our Sunday morning format, I came to some conclusions. I concluded that our reliance on program every Sunday morning was quenching the Holy Spirit and I needed to get out of the way and allow Him to begin to direct our weekly time together. I concluded that my teaching was doing very little to address our legalistic mindsets and move us toward the exercise of faith that establishes the Kingdom. I concluded that the people in my class already know about 90% of what I share with them anyway. I concluded that the Lord was telling me to stop teaching because He had something else in mind. I told that class that I wouldn’t be teaching any more lessons. They looked at me blankly, but they didn’t stop coming either. (3)
I also concluded that the Lord wanted to show us something of what the church is supposed to be, that He had something to show us about fellowship and community. Two of my favorite verses that speak to fellowship and community in the church are in Hebrews.
“And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much more as you see the Day approaching.”
Heb. 10:24-25
As I thought about my church experience it came up a little short on the considering and exhorting side. So I thought, “Let’s stop teaching and start considering and exhorting.” So we started meeting without a lesson and without a plan. We waited for God to guide the discussion. I confess that it felt weird initially and the times we had visitors it was a bit awkward for them, but there was fruit.
During this year the following has taken place within our group.
- People have confessed grievous sin and they’ve been ministered to.
- We have prayed for healing and people have been healed.
- We have wept on each other’s behalf and born each other’s burdens. We’ve manifested Jesus’ heart of compassion to each other.
- We’ve confronted one another in love. There have been no hard feelings.
- We have spoken the truth to each other, often times hard truth, and people have changed in response to the ministry of truth.
- People have shared deep, intimate hurts and they’ve been ministered to.
- Lies from the enemy have been identified and refuted.
- Marriages have been put back on track.
- A place has been made where there is no judgment or condemnation. People can unload their burdens in safety and know that all they’ll receive back is consideration, love, and exhortation.
I’ve seen a lot of spiritual fruit in our group in the last year. More than in the last 15 years of teaching Sunday School lessons combined. The Lord knit us together in relationship for the purpose of establishing His Kingdom in us and through us and on some small scale, that’s what happened. We didn’t establish community in the sense that God intends us to. I don’t think you can do that when you only meet for 1 ½ hours per week. But He gave us a taste. The last year has shown me that what He says the church is supposed to be with regard to community, fellowship, and Kingdom impact, is real. It can happen. Like all of my other experiences with God, it leaves me wanting more.
You know what’s really interesting? In the midst of our group ministering to each other, there’s been a lot of teaching going on. When we minister, part of what we do is to communicate God’s truth; we teach. But it’s been teaching that has been led and motivated by the Spirit, consequently, it produced fruit.
(1)We know that Jesus came to re-establish God’s Kingdom. In Matt. 4 He said, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” In Matt. 12 Jesus rebuked the Pharisees saying, “But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.” He healed the sick, cast out demons, and performed miracles. Signs, wonders, and miracles seem to be the things that accompany the establishing of the Kingdom of God in the New Testament.
(2) There’s been a lot written on how and why God moves miraculously and I don’t understand the variables operating (faith or otherwise) when Kingdom miracles happen. I just know that God wants us walk in the Spirit, i.e. to move in response to faith. I also know that lack of faith equals walking in the flesh and lack of Kingdom establishment.
(3) I am a proponent of both teaching in the church and the gift of teaching. Teaching is one of my spiritual gifts. The gift/ministry of teaching is necessary and God wouldn’t give it if it wasn’t important. However, I believe that its place as the main corporate activity of the western church is out of balance and not what God intended. But that is another discussion.
