Not My Usual Clean and Somewhat Classy Blog…
Book of Acts, Chapter 1, Verses 3-5
Verse 3. ”To whom (the apostles He had chosen) also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs (an infallible proof was a token given of a “sure thing.” Jesus showed “sure thing” evidence that He was truly alive.), being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God: (Verse 3 gives an overview of what had happened during the previous forty days. Now the attention will turn to this specific day; the day of Jesus’ ascension; the departure to heaven of the only begotten son of God, God manifest in the flesh.)
Verse 4. "And, being assembled together with (them), commanded (a bit more strident sound to the instruction now. Imagine the commandments mentioned in verse to be something Jesus said as they ambled along the seashore. Now -- it would be sitting in a circle. Jesus making eye contact with each man; His voice more strident. Before you do anything else I've commanded, do this that I'm saying now.) them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait (stay around, don't wander off) for the promise of the Father, (the eternal expression of God) which, (saith he), ye have heard of me. (It is the Father's promise, you heard it from God manifest in flesh - totally man, totally God.)
Verse 5. “For John truly baptized (baptizo – immersed, saturated, totally affected) with water; but ye shall be baptized (same word for baptism. Immersed, saturated, totally affected) with the Holy Ghost (so the Holy Ghost is not the baptizer, instead the Holy Ghost is that in which they were to be baptized -- like John baptized in water. You will be baptized similarly with the Holy Ghost) not many days hence.”
Speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God
Jesus’ time with the apostles was focused. The kingdom of God was Jesus’ topic.
Carefully notice, Jesus spoke about the kingdom of God. He did not speak to them about the kingdom of Israel or the kingdom of David. The kingdom of God has a different citizenship than any other kingdom. Jesus focused on this kingdom.
Yet, even with the single-minded topic of Jesus’ talks, His apostles still did not get it. In the next paragraph of Acts 1, Jesus’ apostles are focused on the restoration of the kingdom of Israel. Jesus talked about the expansive; Jesus’ apostles had questions about the miniscule. Even having experienced forty days with the resurrected Christ, the apostles continued living in a small world.
Books have been written about the last words of various people. God manifest in flesh spent His last days on earth focused on, “the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.”
Do we need to recalculate and re-evaluate how our values match the values of the kingdom of God? Modern philosophy supports a “Win – Win premise.” You win, I win everybody wins. In God’s work this is not always the case. If you think your relationship with God means things always go well for you, consider John the Baptist.
What is good for me is not necessarily what is good for God. As John put it, “He must increase, but I must decrease!” (John 3:30)
Entangled Kingdoms
In European history royal families of different nations created alliances supported by marriages. These alliances were intended to strengthen a kingdom and a royal family’s hold on power. If there was an uprising against the royal family of Denmark, the army of some other nation might be sent to defend the throne.
The compulsion to send an army, which was not an inexpensive task, would be the marriage between heirs to the respective thrones.
Through time, such marriages and alliances weakened these royal families. The gene pool was too small. Weaknesses were accentuated because of these entangled kingdoms.
To what degree am I preoccupied, focused on the kingdom of “Carlton” while Jesus has bigger things in mind?
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To contact Carlton L. Coon Sr. as a speaker, for a guest blog post, or podcast - email carltoncoonsr@gmail.com.
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