Acts 1:3 - ...being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things PERTAINING TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD.
After Jesus rose from the dead, He taught His disciples about the kingdom of God. In other words, the clarity and significance of what the Kingdom of God is, was revealed after His resurrection and appearance to His disciples.
The disciples were still thinking about Jesus restoring the kingdom of earth (Acts 1:6), but Jesus' reply was about bringing the kingdom of God on earth and it had to do with the Gospel (Acts 1:8).
This was confirmed by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John after Jesus' resurrection. While the Scriptures didn't record the full kingdom teaching by Jesus during that 40 days, what was recorded must be essential. I submit to you that the primary message of the Kingdom of God has to do with the Great Commission. Matt 28:18-20; Luke 24:46-48; Mark 16:15-18; John 20:21-23.
Some time ago, I had shared from the Scriptures that preaching the Gospel and making disciples are ONE message. The disciples understood that. You cannot separate the two. You cannot just do one without the other. And since the main message of the kingdom of God has to do with the Great Commission, it has nothing to do with penetrating the so-called 7 spheres of society with your talents and skills. It is not about how upwardly mobile you are in a particular sphere in order to influence people for Christ. It is about presenting and representing the authenticity of the Gospel, which itself is the power of God for salvation (Rom 1:16). The early church didn't go around trying to get to the best position in their secular jobs in order to bring in the kingdom. They focused on the Great Commission and shook the whole earth upside down.
Don't get me wrong. We should all have the spirit of excellence in whatever job we are holding. But you need not be 'UP THERE' to 'conquer' that sphere of society. You can't find that in the Bible. It is not about 'Christ IN Culture'. It is about Christ breaking culture. He didn't come to blend in. He came to REIGN.
Disclaimer: If you are in a top leadership position for a particular arena, that is a great place to impact people for Christ. But you don't have to strive to reach that position, thinking that it is the way to establish the kingdom in that sphere of society.
The Gospel itself is ABLE to transcend every sphere and every culture. To add stuff to the Gospel is to say that Jesus' works are not complete enough. The Gospel (aka the Great Commission) is more than enough.
With this in mind, I would like to be able to focus on the Gospel, while developing my own source of income to fund what I would be doing, so that the Gospel and finances can be kept separated. I shared in my earlier post that I have embarked on a new journey, on top of my real estate work. Eventually, I hope that this digital business will enable me to focus on missions work. In fact, I believe that many itinerant speakers are able to do the same, by both preaching the Gospel and working to earn their own source income. Unfortunately, not many think the same way. Yet I believe that we need more tentmakers today than ever, so that by His grace, we can keep the Gospel the Gospel.
After much deliberation and countless of late nights working, learning and planning, The Coffeespiration (thecoffeespiration.com) is launched. I'm still learning because learning should be a constant in life.
This main coffee business will remain intentionally secular because I don't want to mix it with the Gospel. While the main target audience is not Singapore, it would be great to have your support by simply LIKING and SHARING the Page on Facebook and Instagram, especially to your friends who drink coffee.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecoffeespiration
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecoffeespiration
Web: thecoffeespiration.com
Together, in our own unique capacity, we can certainly advance the kingdom of God.
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