Naturally Supernatural: An Introduction To The Kingdom Series

If you would like a free MP3 audio file of this teaching, please email us @ tfh777@msn.com and mention the teaching MP3-20060903.

Welcome to September! It�s time to go back to school. Time to begin new season of learning.

Sandy & I are excited to begin a new teaching series this fall...NATURALLY SUPERNATURAL....Continuing the Kingdom Ministry of Jesus.

We�ll be teaching on Sundays.

Beginning the week of Sept 17...LIFE-GROUPS (mid-week home groups) will be following up & putting into practice what we�re learning.

More on that later....but now...get out your Bibles.

READ Acts 1: 1-9

If you�re pentecostal or charismatic...you�ll tend to focus on: “you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit”

If you�re more evangelical or Word-oriented...you�ll tend to focus on "you will be my witnesses to the ends"

Look up to verse 3. “Jesus spoke about the Kingdom of God” Could this be a vitally important key for all of us?

Jesus talking about the Kingdom...This is nothing new.

For three years, Jesus had ONE message & ministry that apparently surrounded everything He said & did.

THE KINGDOM OF GOD

Let’s look back into the gospels…

Mark 1:14-15 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,”he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!”

Matthew 9:35-38 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.

Interesting isn’t it? There seems to be a reoccurring pattern in Jesus’ ministry. Two aspects of His ministry…

A PROCLAMATION. Repent, The Kingdom of God is here. Gospel: Good News..God is here to set things right. The King has shown up to take back His creation.

A DEMONSTRATION: Acts of mercy, healing, deliverance, multiply food, raising people from the dead, power & authority over sin, sickness, demons, nature & death. Amazing stuff, wasn’t it?

Let me ask you this question...

Gee, I wonder why I don’t see those kind of things today? Could it be that we (the church) have strayed from the main & the plain of Jesus’ ministry?

In 1984 Sandy & I met a man named John Wimber

John was traveling around the US & Canada meeting folks from all kinds of churches. Catholic, Protestant, evangelical, pentecostals, etc.

John talked about the Kingdom of God and how important it was for the church to return to this simple Kingdom pattern of SAYING JESUS’ WORDS & DOING JESUS’ WORKS.

John’s history…

straight-laced Evangelical

working with Fuller Seminary in the mid-late 1970’s

Wimber met a great variety of Christians. George Ladd, a theology professor who took this idea of The Kingdom of God and began to show how it was the central theme of not only Jesus’ life & ministry but was the underlying theme throughout the entire Bible.

KINGDOM OF GOD THEOLOGY…a 5 minute overview...

We have a King. The King created everything.

The King gave creation to us to oversee & tend. We sinned & gave up that authority to Satan.

Satan wants to keep it, but the KING has a recovery plan.

He will send His own Son. A second Adam comes on behalf of The King and brings with Him the Kingdom of God: God’s right to rule & reign.

The King rips the authority & power of Satan away from him, disarming him, and delivering a fatal blow.

Jesus’ death & resurrection actually took the keys to the Kingdom right back into God’s Hands.

Now with salvation and deliverance from the devil an actuality, God starts a whole new race of people on planet earth.

Subjects of the King, our goal is to work alongside The Father & His Son, and by the empowerment of Holy Spirit we look for every opportunity to rob the enemy of his prizes (people held captive by his lies & deception).

The Kingdom has come, the chains are broken, but the final consummation of God’s Kingdom is still yet to come.

So we live in the time between the times. Between the first coming of Christ & the second coming.

A unique season where the devil is defeated but still very powerful. Bound but not yet condemned to hell. Still active on earth, but limited in his influence.

John Wimber suggested that our job description as ambassadors of Kingdom of God was very specific. Very biblical. As subjects of the King, our job was to simply LISTEN & OBEY.

John told wonderful stories that made us all believe that the scriptures might be right..this KINGDOM MINISTRY of Jesus is TRANSFERABLE.

Could Jesus� Kingdom Ministry of WORDS & WORKS be transferable to the 250-300 people attending Father�s House Vineyard in CR??

Doing an ancient thing in a contemporary way!