OUR FATHER WHO DOES WHAT WE AGREE TO ASK FOR IN JESUSˋ NAME

Continuing on the theme of the collective power the citizens of the kingdom of God, the Lord Jesus in Matthew chapter 18 verses 19 - 20, said this;

19 “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

Strongly emphasizing what He was telling them by prefacing it with ˋtrulyˋ, Jesus said that if even a quorum of two people collected together and reached a consensus of what to ask for and asked God for it in prayer, it would be done for them by our Father in heaven.

The principle established here is that the authority of Jesus is operational on earth where even a small group of two or three people gather in His name.

This dynamic should encourage citizens of the kingdom of God to form associations with each other that can readily gather to seek  the face of God on any matter facing them or affecting their families or communities.

Amen.

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 OUR FATHER WHO GAVE AUTHORITY TO HIS PEOPLE

The Lord Jesus, in Matthew chapter 18 verses 15 - 18,  speaking of the protocols of the kingdom of God that would be applicable to the earthly church, said this;

15 “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. 

16 But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ 

17 If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

18 “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

This model of corrective action demonstrates a systems of checks and balances that preserves the standing and privacy of individual members while allowing for an escalation process that makes it possible to screen out the most agriegous conduct.

Starting with interpersonal intervention, people can bring up concerns that they have with each other in a private setting and here, much grace is provided to call back a brother or sister into the fold with no fanfare and no humiliation.

If this level is ignored and an escalation is warranted, two or three others can be called in to consider the matter. Here, the other participants are checks on the opinion of the one bringing the concerns and if they agree that there is merit to the concerns, they can approach the offending person. 

If this is rebuffed, then the matter can be refered to their local church to weigh in on the matter and establish the validity of the concerns or the defensive arguments of the one being corrected.

At this point, refusal to respect the considered and final  ruling of the local  church can righfully result in expulsion of the person.

At each level, the process is fully authoritive in the spirit realm.

If the person responds positively at the first aproach, that person is reinstated into the fold on earth and in heaven as well and this is true of the second level as well where a person can be reinstated.

If, however, the person rejects councel all the way up to the church level,  they can be expelled from the church and they are expelled in the realm of the spirit as well. Only a counter-ruling on earth by an authoritative person can reverse that judgement. 

An example of this is where Moses, in Deutronomy chapter 33 verses 4 - 6 is recorded to have reversed the judgement on Rueben that was cast upon him by his father Jacob;

4 Moses commanded a law for us, A heritage of the congregation of Jacob.

5 And He was King in Jeshurun, When the leaders of the people were gathered, All the tribes of Israel together.

6 “Let Reuben live, and not die, Nor let his men be few.”

As such, whereas even an individual can reinstate a person into the fold on earth and in the spirit, only a church council can expell a person and even that can be reversed by a single person of authority.

The kingdom of God heavily favors reinstatement and expulsion is only narrowly possible.

Have mercy on us o Lord.

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 OUR FATHER IS NOT WILLING THAT ANY SHOULD PERISH

Matthew chapter 18 verses 12 - 14,  recording the Jesus teaching His disciples more about the value of Godˋs little ones, says this;

12 “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? 13 And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. 

14 In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.

The scene painted here by Jesus is that of a sheep owner in the hills tending his hundred sheep.

One of the sheep, maybe seeking greener pasture, wanders away and finds itself separated from the flock and lost.

The man, keen on recovering his lost sheep, leaves the other sheep and scours the hills looking for the lost one and IF he finds it, he is more thrilled about finding the lost one than he is about the ones that were never lost.

The implication is that there is a chance that the man would be unable to find the missing sheep and this translates back to mean that if we, little ones get lost, there is a chance that we may never be found. 

If we get lost and entangle ourselves out of sight and out of reach and refuse entreaties to return to the flock, we could be left behind to fend for ourselves.

The Father is not willing that any of His little ones get lost and He expends much time and treasure to retrieve them but if by their own will, refuse to return, He will not forcefully compel anyone to be part of His Kingdom.

Have mercy on us O Lord.

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OUR FATHER WHO IS READILY ACCESSIBLE TO THE ANGELS OF THE LITTLE ONES

Continuing in the context of the citizens of the kingdom of heaven being innocent and trusting as little children, the Lord Jesus issues a caution to His disciples (and to us) not to look down on them. To demean or to devalue the Lord's humble servants is a dangerous practice because their angels (their spirits) have continous access to the Father who is in heaven and to bring injury or discouragement to them could invite retribution from God.

If a little one of God is put to grief and the matter comes up before the Father, He will involve Himself and it is inadvisable to be in the position of facing the inquiry of God regarding our conduct towards His little ones.

10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. 

It is because of this dynamic that the Lord Jesus gives the counsel found in Matthew chapter 5 verse 40 which reads as follows;

If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also.

As little ones, if someone takes you to court to deprive you of your tunic, surrender your cloak as well. This act of weakness and dependence on the Father will involve Him in the case and His response is what the Lord Jesus was speaking of in Matthew chapter 18 verse 10.

The angels spoken of in this passage  are most likely the spirits of the little ones in the same way that Genesis chapter 16 verse 10 speaks of the Angel of the LORD in reference to the Spirit of God. 

10 Then the Angel of the Lord said to her, “I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude.” 

Matthew chapter 18  verse 11 exists only in some manuscripts with the words from Luke chapter 19 verse 10 which reads;

11? for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

This verse, if read into the context,  indicates that because a very high price has been paid for the little ones, when they are found and saved, they are highly valuable to the Father and He fiercely concerns Himself with their welfare.

Thus the Lord Jesusˋ stern warning.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHOSE KINGDOM WE MUST PRIORITIZE

In the context of the little child who was brought among the disciples to illustrate that they should change to be more like children to be eligible for the kingdom of God, the Lord Jesus gave a dire warning to those who would make it their preoccupation to cause believers in Him to stumble or fall away from their belief.

6 “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. 

7 Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come! 

This warning,  pertaining to those people who are used by the kingdom of darkness to derail the faith of people, should give pause to those who find themselves engaged in missions to discourage people from their faith in Jesus or to prevent the pure gospel of salvation from reaching the ears of people who would otherwise believe if they heard and thus enter the kingdom of God.

8 If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.

The urgency of  salvation is starkly empahsized here where each person is advised to remove any element in their lives that would prevent them from acquiring and retaining citizenship in the kingdom of God. 

The Lord Jesus gave the analogy of the removal of body parts that impede us from being able to gain the kingdom of God. The point made is that the is no loss of earthly things that can be more grievious than the failure to enter the kingdom of God. 

We must gladly give up any and all things in our lives whether it be wealth, famillial or romantic bonds, social participation or position or any form of attachment to worldly living or sinful conduct that would undermine our faith in Christ and lead us away from the pursuit of the kingdom of God.

The value of the kingdom of God far exceeds any percieved advantage that we may have in this world and so, when it comes to making the trade, Jesus counsels us to discard all the parts of our lives that would keep us attached to the systems of this world and instead reach for the kingdom of God in faith.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHOSE SON IS THE KING OF KINGS

Matthew chapter 18 verses 1 - 5 records a debate question that the disciples of Jesus raised and the counterintuituve answer that the Lord Jesus responded to the question with.

1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

2 He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. 3 And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 

4 Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.

The disciples were trying to understand their place in the heirarchy of the kingdom of God and as such, wanted to establish who was at the top of the pyramid and thus would have the most authority and power in the coming kingdom that Jesus had been unfurling for them.

In the most cynical reading, one could infer that the disciples, given the name of the person who was at the top, could then begin currying favor with that person by being obsequious towards them. 

In the most generous reading, the disciples may have wanted to know who was going to be at the top so that they could emulate that personˋs conduct because it was the currency of the new realm. If, for example, the person chosen to be at the top was extremely organized and well-spoken, they would try to develop and showcase their own organizational skill and practice their diction and speech making abilities.

Either way, the understanding of the kingdom of God being structured as a top-down command and control system in which gaining the favour of men or personal merit was the means of advancement, was incorrect.

The Lord Jesus cut through the false understanding of the kingdom of God by calling a random child and placing the child among them. Jesus said to them that unless they changed their machiavelian self-seeking ways and become like the innocent non-descript, unassuming child, they would never even enter the kingdom of God let alone being great in the kingdom.

Once prideful and selfish ambition was eliminated and the humble innocence of a child was adopted, a person could enter the kingdom of God and become great in the kingdom.

Jesus chose a child as the standard template for citizenship in His kingdom because a child is small, dependent and trusting and thus those who would be able to enter the kingdom of God would need to see themselves as small and insignificant, see themselves as dependent on God and be trusting towards God to care for them.

In that posture, a citizen of the kingdom of God is able to be taught by God (through service towards the Lord and others), to grow into faithful and responsible servants who are great in the kingdom of heaven.

Further to that, the Lord Jesus added an injuction that linked His humble servants (who unambitiously made themselves lowely) to Himself such that any person who welcomed these servants was in effect welcoming the Lord Himself.

The citizens of the kingdom of God can understood to be peculiar servant / king hybrids who are at once lowly servants and also mighty kings under the kingship of the Lord Jesus.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO SENT HIS OWN SON TO ISRAEL

The Lord and His disciples, returning from the mountain of the transfiguration, arrived back in their main operating base of the town of Capernaum, a  contingency of tax collectors approached Peter and asked him if Jesus his rabbi paid the temple tax of two drachmas to which Peter replied answered in the affirmative. Matthew chapter 17 verses 24 - 27 capture this interaction.

24 After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma temple tax came to Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?”

25 “Yes, he does,” he replied.

When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. “What do you think, Simon?” he asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own children or from others?”

When Peter entered the house, Jesus, knowing about Peterˋs  conversation with the tax collectors, asked Peter a question regarding whom the rulers of the kingdoms of the earth collected taxes from.  The question was whether the administrators collected taxes from their own children or from other people.

26 “From others,” Peter answered.

“Then the children are exempt,” Jesus said to him. 27 “But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.”

This question, treated as a parable, has these elements and what they correspond to;

• Revenue collections as taxes  -   Financial obligations to support the temple 
• Kings of the earth  -   The God of Israel
• The kingˋs children  -  The Lord Jesus the Son of God
• Others (subjects of the king)  - Regular parishoners of the religious system

When Peter replied that kings did not collect taxes from their own chidren, the Lord Jesus made the point to Peter that as the Son of the God of the temple, He was rightfully exempt from paying the taxes for the temple.

However, to avoid offending the administrators of the jurisdiction they were in, Jesus instructed Peter to go to the lake and throw out his fishing line and in the mouth of the first fish he caught, he would find a four drachma coin which would exactly pay Jesusˋ tax bill as well as Peterˋs.

This event gives us a view into the position that Jesus held in the spirit but shows us the accomodations that He made to allow His ministry to continue to the fullness of time.

Amen.

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