What’s Missing?
- Larry Kutzler
- May 7
- 5 min read
John 18:36 My Kingdom is not of this world.
The great enemy of the Lord Jesus Christ today is the idea of practical work that has no basis in the New Testament but comes from the systems of the world. ~Oswald Chambers
What we see today in the secular world and now in the Church, is the emphasis on being good without God. That is what Oswald Chambers saw almost a century ago and it is even truer today.
In his writings, Oswald Chambers talked a lot about the emphasis in the Christian life is often placed upon the wrong things. For example:
The Kingdom of God does not come with observation. For indeed, the Kingdom of God is within you. ~ Oswald Chambers
Luke 17:20-21 Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.
It is a hidden, obscure thing. Too often, an active Christian worker lives to be seen by others, while it is the innermost, personal area that reveals the power of a person’s life.
The point that Chambers is making is that the Kingdom of God is found in the character of Christ that lives within our hearts and is present when several people gather in His name. As Christians, what is missing in our understanding is the emphasis on the character of Christ that is the signature theme as followers of Christ. As Stephen was being stoned he didn’t cry foul, he looked up and saw his heavenly home all because he belonged to a Kingdom not of this earth. Christians today are losing their perspective and replacing it with a hybrid that incorporates the thinking of this world with a Christian philosophy of tolerance. They are forgetting what the Scriptures say about loving this world.
James 4:4 You adulterers! Don't you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again, “If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God.”
As believers, we are citizens of His Kingdom living by His rules and principles, and we are not to mingle with what the world thinks, says or proclaims into His system. However, we do it all the time. The Last Days will be cold days of deception and that deception will lead us to hate each other and place huge barriers between people. Have we not seen that in this political season? The Scriptures again are right as they say this will happen.
Matthew 24:12 Because of the multiplication of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold.
The spirit of nastiness has crept into the life of the Church. Christians don’t trust each other and that is demonstrated by the posts you see every day on Social Media. We live in such a day when evil rules the lives of people, and trust is at a premium. Many Christians have compromised on issues that are not supported by the principles of His Kingdom.
Politically Speaking. His Kingdom supports life, and abortion is never supported in His Kingdom. His Kingdom also supports the design of one man and one woman in the lifelong commitment of marriage. There is no gray area in His Kingdom on these issues.
Theologically Speaking. His Kingdom is a discerning Kingdom that doesn’t support ideas that are not rooted in His Word. His Kingdom has its roots in Israel, has a Messiah/Savior named Yeshua/Jesus and claims the right to the land of Israel and to Jerusalem as the Messiah’s capital. The main emphasis of His Kingdom is to get other people into His Kingdom because entrance requires the surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Israel is ignored and surrender is not an emphasis as a foundational factor in serving Jesus.
Socially Speaking. Kingdom people take care of the poor, seek for justice for the marginalized, and help to elevate the plight of those who are suffering. They see this as an extension of their Kingdom, but never think it replaces the message of the Gospel. Kingdom people are firm on love, but take a stand against the evil of sin, and spiritual compromise of the Gospel message.
Our filters for what we are seeing and hearing must be His Kingdom principles found in His Word. The Kingdom of God is governed by a King. This King has positioned His Word as the final authority for those in His Kingdom, and that is why we need to seek God for a discerning heart that looks beyond what everyone is saying, and filter everything through the Word of His Kingdom.
Concerning the recent election, I have said this multiple times, that God has given us these candidates as His way of reminding us this is what we get when we ignore Him. Our two candidates represent a nation that has lost its way. The only thing Kingdom people can do is support the candidate that will not kill babies and support immoral relationships that violate the principles of the Kingdom of God.
So, what is missing among those who follow Jesus Christ?
The Character of Christ in us … which is our goal as followers of Christ.
Romans 8:29 Moreover we know that to those who love God, who are called according to his plan, everything that happens fits into a pattern for good. God, in his foreknowledge, chose them to bear the family likeness of his Son, that he might be the eldest of a family of many brothers.
Followers of Christ don’t represent themselves … they represent His Kingdom, His principles, His ideas and concepts that are based in an eternal perspective. We have spent too much time listening to religious pundits who have an agenda not based upon the Kingdom of God. Followers of Jesus are hyper-vigilant in being more like Christ as described in the Bible. (That could mean turning over tables in churches that are mocking the God of the Bible … just saying.)
The Nature of His Kingdom here on earth … which is our priority.
Matthew 6:33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
Our allegiance is first to His Kingdom, but that does not mean we don’t support our country. It means we apply the principles of God’s Kingdom to the support we give our country. If the laws of a country are immoral, as I mentioned previously, then we are expected not to obey those laws and to fight to overturn them. Kingdom people want what is best for all people because that is what God wants for every person on earth. His principles and values are rooted in a faith in God, and are supported by His eternal plan for humanity.
Remember, not all who say they are Christians will be allowed into the Kingdom of God.
Matthew 7:22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness.’
It takes more than a label to be His disciple, and that requires you to give up your life for Him. A surrendered life is difficult and challenging, but it is what is required to be in His Kingdom.
Challenging the Culture with Truth … Larry Kutzler