Emerging Trends In The Kingdom Of God Today

EMERGING TRENDS IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD TODAY

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OUTLINE

1.SPIRITUALLY HUNGRY SOULS IN NON-CHRISTIAN RELIGIONS

2.SIMPLE AND EFFECTIVE MINISTERS FUNCTIONING INDEPENDENTLY

3.DESPERATE NEED FOR HOLINESS AND EXEMPLARY LIVES AMONG CHRISTIANS

4.NEED FOR UNITY AND PARTNERSHIP AMONG MINISTRIES

5.WISDOM IN SOUL WINNING METHODS

THE MESSAGE

1.SPIRITUALLY HUNGRY SOULS IN NON-CHRISTIAN RELIGIONS

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There are many people today who are like Cornelius in Acts 10 . They

do not know the name of Jesus .They do not belong to the religion

called Christianity . They belong to other religions . But like

Cornelius they are so hungry for God and their hearts are crying out

to God constantly and like Cornelius they have a heart and a burden

for those in need and pain and are reaching out to them . And just as

the prayers and alms of Cornelius reached the throne of God as a

memorial , the prayers and the alms of these millions of hungry souls

who belong to other religions have reached God . And the time is ripe

for a supernatural visitation of God to reveal Himself to these

millions of souls in non-christian religions.

And just as God had to remove the traditional barriers in the heart of

Peter before he would be willing to reach Cornelius , the church today

needs a major transformation in their attitudes towards the people of

other religions . Many traditional attitudes which are hindering the

church from reaching out to the lost must be shed even though it may

be a painful process .

And we know that many apostles got upset with Peter for going to the

house of Cornelius as they did not realise that it was the Spirit of

God who had led Peter to the house of Cornelius . Today the Church

and especially it’s leaders need a divine discernment to recognise the

leading of the Holy Spirit in reaching the lost in new and

non-traditional ways. The Church should be a source of inspiration

instead of being a barrier and a road block to those who are raised up

by God in these days to reach the lost in novel ways.

2.SIMPLE AND EFFECTIVE MINISTERS FUNCTIONING INDEPENDENTLY

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There is an incident during the ministry of Jesus when His disciples

saw a man casting out devils in the name of Jesus . And the disciples

forbid him because he was not following after them . But Jesus told

them not to do so because he who is not against them is indeed for

them.

Today there are so many hungry people who cry out to God to use them

as His instruments and God answers their cry and begins to use them

wonderfully. They are simple , ordinary people whose faith is simple

and childlike without being complicated and confused by various church

divisions and dogmas. These people are rising up and doing great

things for God within their sphere of influence and making a real

difference in the lives of people and bringing multitudes to the

knowledge of Jesus Christ through their simple child-like faith.

Therefore there is a great need for the church and its leaders not to

forbid these servants of God or force them to come under their control

. These simple messengers are very effective in their respective

ministries and they would lose their effectiveness if the church

stifles their creativity and imposes it’s dogmas and jurisdiction over

them . The church should have a large heart to love these ministers

and encourage them in every way and allow them to function with

freedom and independence.

3.DESPERATE NEED FOR HOLINESS AND EXEMPLARY LIVES AMONG CHRISTIANS

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There is a great need for Christians to be living examples of Christ .

Today millions of non-christians are hearing through television and

other mass media , the message of the power of Christ to transform

lives . They are told that Christ would transform them into saints and

deliver them from their sins. Unfortunately after hearing these

wonderful promises they look around for proof and find that the

christians they meet are no better than them .Instead these christians

are just as sinful as them. And thus they are not convinced that

Christ is the saviour. The sinful lives of people who call themselves

Christians is a major hindrance to the salvation of the world .Mahatma

Gandhi is reported to have stated that if all the Christians in India

would live like Christ then the whole nation of India would have

become christian. The church desperately needs a deep work of

sanctification which would make an impact before the unbeleivers and

cause them to seek Christ.

4.NEED FOR UNITY AND PARTNERSHIP AMONG MINISTRIES

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There is a great need for unity and partnership within the church. As

the scriptures say ’ One shall chase a thousand and two shall put ten