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by Diane Lake<\/h4>
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I am encountering a growing number of believers who are examining the difference between the gospel of salvation and the gospel of the kingdom. Jesus said, \u201cAnd this gospel of the kingdom<\/strong> will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.\u201d (Matt. 24:14)<\/p>\n
The basic difference between these two concepts is that the gospel of the kingdom teaches people how to apply the influence of heaven to their everyday lives\u2014including their surroundings and daily activities.<\/p>\n
There are seven major spheres (or mountains) which impact society: business, government, media, arts and entertainment, education, family and religion.[1]<\/a> Every believer moves in at least one of these areas, and God wants to use our influence for His glory. As we do this, we are reformers, bringing God\u2019s government (organization, or influence) to earth.<\/p>\n
Scripture provides the threads from which to weave a picture of God\u2019s reformation plan.[2]<\/a> A primary thread is Isaiah 9:7, which says, \u201cOf the increase of His government\u2026 there will be no end,\u201d that He will \u201corder it and establish it,\u201d and that \u201cthe zeal of the Lord\u201d will accomplish this.<\/p>\n
Another vital thread is found in Matthew 16:18, where Jesus says, \u201cI will build My church<\/strong>, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.\u201d<\/p>\n
And still another important thread is in Matthew 6:9-13. When we pray for His kingdom to come and His will to be done, we must understand that everything God intends to do on earth He intends to do through His church<\/strong><\/em>\u2014meaning you and me!<\/p>\n
You were born \u201cfor such a time as this\u201d (Esther 4:14). But we must not miss the first part of this verse, which basically says if we can\u2019t or won\u2019t do what He wants done, He\u2019ll find someone else! Like me, I\u2019m sure you want God to use you<\/em> as a reformer\u2014not someone else!<\/p>\n
A Reformation Snapshot<\/strong><\/h4>\nA brief history of reformation allows us to see where we\u2019ve been and where we\u2019re going.[3]<\/a><\/p>\n
God\u2019s first reformation age began with His Son\u2019s death on the cross.[4]<\/a> The purpose of this age was to defeat and dethrone Satan [5]<\/a> and to birth and establish His church. This age lasted from Jesus\u2019 death until A.D. 313, when the church transitioned from being spiritual and supernatural to political and structural in nature.[6]<\/a><\/p>\n
God\u2019s second reformation age began on October 31, 1517 when Martin Luther hammered his 95 Theses on the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany birthing what many think of as the <\/em>reformation. I doubt Luther was trying to start, reform, or birth anything\u2014he simply acted on godly conviction that the church of his day needed to embrace biblical truth regarding repentance of sin. Many of the divine truths lost in the Dark Age were restored in the years that ensued.<\/p>\n
The church is currently in God\u2019s third (and final) age of reformation, which will culminate with the announcement that the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ\u2014when the conquering overcomer saints rule and reign with Christ on earth.[7]<\/a> The scriptural setting which illustrates this time period begins in Revelation 10:7 and continues until Revelation 11:15.<\/p>\n
You might ask, \u201cWhat does this have to do with me?\u201d Simply this; God\u2019s purpose in this age in which we live is the full manifestation of\u2014\u201cThy kingdom come.\u201d<\/strong> In order to fully manifest His kingdom on earth, He needs you!<\/em><\/p>\n
Reformation Demystified<\/strong><\/h4>\n
God has always been a reformer. From the moment Adam and Eve fell into sin in the garden, He had a plan to restore the environment of heaven to earth through His son, Jesus.<\/p>\n
Being a reformer is not that complicated. Daniel was a perfect Old Testament example of this. I\u2019m sure Daniel had no plans to be a reformer\u2014he did not even choose to be where he was. He was very young, not a spiritual leader or someone well known. He simply stuck by His godly convictions even when faced with persecution or death. God poured out a spirit of excellence on him, and in time, he was elevated to a position of great influence.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s important to believe that we are blessed of God. Passages like Deuteronomy 28:1-14 and 30:11-20 illustrate this. As we obey the voice of His Spirit and observe His commands, He promises to open the treasures of heaven and bless all the work of our hands\u2014to set us above the people of the earth, to make us the head and not the tail. It is critical to catch the progression\u2014Obedience brings blessing, and blessing brings influence!<\/strong><\/p>\n
Under the new and better covenant, believers are the spiritual children of Abraham and citizens of a holy and spiritual nation.[8]<\/a> Jewish people understood the concept of blessing and even today are known for financial and cultural prominence. As the church catches this impartation and uses it to bring the full manifestation of \u201cThy kingdom come,\u201d we will see cultural revolution!<\/p>\n
What Might Reformation Look Like?<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Once when my husband was serving on the board of our local public high school, we unified believers and successfully removed Planned Parenthood from involvement with the sex education program. Everyone said it couldn\u2019t be done, but God had a different idea!<\/p>\n
So much good came from this. The media\u2019s biased reporting allowed me to write a lengthy guest column in our local newspaper. Then, we helped rally believers and introduced legislation banning their involvement in all <\/em>state high schools. It passed both<\/em> the house and senate, but ultimately was vetoed by our liberal governor. It clearly showed, however, how believers can unite to bring kingdom influence. (For a behind the scenes look at when we removed Planned Parenthood, click here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n
How Can I Fit In?<\/strong><\/h4>\n
– Reformation flows from a life of obedience.<\/strong> Remember, Daniel did not intend to be a reformer. He was simply faithful and obedient in the place he found himself, and God did the rest.<\/p>\n
– Understand you are blessed by God<\/strong>, and blessing brings influence.<\/p>\n
– Let God position you and give strategy<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
– Allow God to shape your character, and endure through the process<\/strong>. Every step of your journey brings you closer to the fulfillment of your ultimate calling and purpose.<\/p>\n
– Reformers are motivated by God\u2019s heart of love.<\/strong> When removing Planned Parenthood, God rocked my world by imparting to me how much He loved those unbelieving high school students and was grieved they were being deceived. Those motivated by God\u2019s love will<\/em> become reformers!<\/p>\n
Endnotes<\/p>\n
[1]<\/a> See Isa. 2:2; Mic. 4:1<\/p>\n
[2]<\/a> See Acts 3:21<\/p>\n
[3]<\/a> See Heb. 11:39-12:2<\/p>\n
[4]<\/a> See Heb. 9:10-12<\/p>\n
[5]<\/a> See Col. 2:15<\/p>\n
[6]<\/a> See Prophetic Scriptures Yet to be Fulfilled, by Dr. Bill Hamon<\/p>\n
[7]<\/a> Ibid, also see Rev. 11:15, 20:6<\/p>\n
[8]<\/a> See Heb. 8-10; Gal. 3:29; 1 Pet. 2:9<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/p><\/div>\n
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About Diane<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
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Diane and Allen are ministers ordained with both Christian International and Generals International. Diane is also a writer whose articles are featured regularly on Generals International, as well as on The Elijah List and other media platforms. Diane and Allen serve as Church Mountain and Montana Coordinators for the Reformation Prayer Network (led by Mike and Cindy Jacobs), and as Media Mountain Leader\/Facilitators for Christian International\u2019s emerging \u201c7 Mountain Kingdom Influencer\u201d Network. Together they founded Starfire Ministries<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n
with a vision to see the Kingdom established beyond the four walls of the traditional church. They have three grown children and are blessed to call beautiful western Montana home.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":19721,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0},"categories":[120],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/old.christianinternational.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19719"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/old.christianinternational.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/old.christianinternational.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/old.christianinternational.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/old.christianinternational.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19719"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/old.christianinternational.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19719\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19720,"href":"https:\/\/old.christianinternational.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19719\/revisions\/19720"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/old.christianinternational.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19721"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/old.christianinternational.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19719"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/old.christianinternational.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19719"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/old.christianinternational.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19719"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}