Kingdom of God on earth

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Kingdom of Godon earth

• What have you done so far?
• What do you plan to do?
• Young Adult FellowshipBukit Batok Presbyterian
  ChurchSaturday 4 November 2006

All pictures used in this presentation are taken
from various sources, mainly from the NGOs
websites.No specific permission is asked
beforehand. However, the fact that these pictures
are displayed in public websites meant that the
pictures should be okay to be used for
non-commercial purpose like this...
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Definition

• Kingdom of God
• A Kingdom where God is the king
• God reigns
• An Ideal State
• No tears, No deaths, No sorrow, No pain, etc
• Explained via many parables by Jesus
• There will be judgment (Parable of Weeds)
• Day and hours unknown (Parable of Ten Virgins),
  etc
• Many other definitions
• Often the views are different
• What is your own definition??

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Definition (Enhanced)

• Kingdom of God on Earth
• Is there a Kingdom of God on Earth now??
• Or is it only after 2nd coming of Jesus/End of
  Age
• In Lords Prayer, we say
• Your kingdom come,
• Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven
• NIV Bible Commentary
• Kingdom of God is already here (e.g. Matthew
  32),
• But it is on progress to come more and more
  completely until its full and final perfection
• If it is on progress, should we stand still/do
  nothing??

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The Problematic WorldDoesnt fit the image of
Kingdom of God
Poverty
Oppression
Corruption
Poor Education
War
Injustice
Disasters
Malnutrition
Famine
Global Warming
Disease
Man Dont Fear God
Many Others
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Can We Do Something??

• Outline for todays fellowship
• What the Bible said about these issues??
• The past/current works for actualizingKingdom of
  God on earth
• Discussion about our possible roles
• Mostly on humanitarian acts which emerge as our
  act of love
• The call for mission is embedded inside these
  acts
• PS we will discuss mission in the next quarter
  (Jan-Mar 2007).
• Wrap-ups and intercessory prayers

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Kingdom of God on earth

• The Biblical Basis
• (not exhaustive)

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The Lords Prayer(Matthew 69-13, Luke 112-4)

• Our Father in heaven,
• Hallowed be your name,
• Your kingdom come,
• Your will be done
• On earth as it is in heaven.
• Give us today our daily bread.
• Forgive us our debts,
• As we also have forgiven our debtors.
• And lead us not into temptation,
• But deliver us from the evil one.
• For yours is the kingdom and the power and the
  glory forever.
• Amen

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So There will be Equality (2 Corinthians
813-15, Exodus 1618)

• Our desire is not that others might be relieved
  while you are hard pressed, but that there might
  be equality.
• At the present time your plenty will supply what
  they need,
• So that in turn their plenty will supply what you
  need.
• Then there will be equality,
• As it is written
• He who gathered much did not have too much,
• and he who gathered little did not have too
  little

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The Parable of the Good Samaritan(Luke 1030-37)

• A man was going down from Jerusalem to
  Jericho,when he fell into the hands of robbers.
  They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and
  went away, leaving him half dead. A priest
  happened to be going down the same road, and when
  he saw the man, he passed by on the other side.
  So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and
  saw him, passed by on the other side. But a
  Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man
  was and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He
  went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on
  oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own
  donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him.
  The next day he took out two silver coins and
  gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he
  said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you
  for any extra expense you may have.
• Which of these three do you think was a neighbor
  to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?
• The expert in the law replied,
• "The one who had mercy on him.
• Jesus told him,
• "Go and do likewise.

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True Fasting(Isaiah 586-10)

• Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen
• to loose the chains of injustice
• and untie the cords of the yoke,
• to set the oppressed free
• and break every yoke?
• Is it not to share your food with the hungry
• and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter
• when you see the naked, to clothe him,
• and not to turn away from your own flesh and
  blood?
• Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
• and your healing will quickly appear
• then your righteousness will go before you,
• and the glory of the LORD will be your rear
  guard.
• Then you will call, and the LORD will answer
• you will cry for help, and he will say Here am
  I.
• "If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
• with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
• and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the
  hungry
• and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,

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Work so that we have something to
share(Ephesians 428)

• He who has been stealing must steal no longer,
  but must work, doing something useful with his
  own hands, that he may have something to share
  with those in need

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Love with Actions(1 John 317-18)

• if anyone has material possessions and sees his
  brother in need but has no pity on him, how can
  the love of God be in him?
• Dear children, let us not love with words or
  tongue but with actions and in truth

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You did it for Me(Matthew 25 35,36,40)

• I was hungry and you gave me something to eat,
• I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink,
  
• I was a stranger and you invited me in,
• I needed clothes and you clothed me,
• I was sick and you looked after me,
• I was in prison and you came to visit me
• Whatever you did for one of the least of these
  brothers of mine, you did for Me.

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Kingdom of Godon earth

• The Past and Current Works

PS These examples are not exhaustive!! It is
quite likely that many of you havent heard of
these ministries Please do Google search if you
are interested to find out more
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Red Cross/Crescent

• Initiator
• Jean Henry Dunant
• After seeing the war, he wrote
• Memory of Solferino
• A life-changing book
• He then initiate the Red Cross Movement
• Mission
• To protect human life and health,
• To ensure respect for the human being,
• To prevent and alleviate human suffering,
• Without any discrimination based on nationality,
  race, religious beliefs, class or political
  opinions.

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Mother Teresa

• Missionary of Charity, Calcutta, India
• Quotes
• I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing
  God who is sending a love letter to the world.
• The world is not hungry for bread,but for love.
• I have found the paradox, that if you love until
  it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more
  love.
• In this life we cannot do great things. We can
  only do small things with great love.

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Samaritans Purse

• Parable of the Good Samaritan
• Luke 1030-37
• Jesus told us to Go and do likewise
• Mission
• Meeting critical needs of victims ofwar,
  poverty, famine, disease, and natural disaster
  while sharing the good news of Jesus Christ.

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Habitat for Humanity

• Christian housing organization
• Mission
• Providing simple, decent, affordable
  housingespecially for the poor.
• Facts
• Some 2b people worldwide live in poverty housing.
• More than 1b live in urban slums, and
• These figures are expected to double by 2030.
• Many of these people earn less than US2 per day.

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UNICEF

• United Nations Childrens Fund
• UNICEF work for children's rights, their
  survival, development and protection(Health,
  Education, Equality, Protection, etc)

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UNHCR

• United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
• Mission
• To ensure the right to seek asylum and find safe
  refuge...
• To protect refugees and to promote solutions

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Handicap International

• Handicap International existsto support the
  needs of disabled peoplein countries affected by
  poverty and conflict.
• Handicap International provide both emergency
  relief and long term development support.

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Many Others

• World Vision
• UN World Food Programme
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanitarian_aid

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Ministries in Indonesia

• SETIA (Sekolah Tinggi Injili Arastamar)
• Ministry to the unreached, (mainly) poor
• Video is available upon request.
• PESAT (Pelayanan Desa Terpadu)
• The Ministry of Mr Daniel AlexanderTeam _at_
  Nabire, Papua
• Video is available upon request.
• Many others

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The Threats

• These works have many threats
• Examples
• Pressure from other beliefs
• Christian relief workers for Tsunami/Earthquake
  victims in Nias/Aceh/Jogjakarta is classified as
  Christianization.
• The motive is misunderstood by others
• Running out of funding
• Conflict within internal organization
• Many others

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Our Unique Role

• We see many things going on badly on Earth ?
• Gods Word in the Bible asked us to do
  something!!
• But
• We are just one person, what can we do??
• We may/may not have the capability like those who
  have set examples in the previous slides
• When we want to do something big to solve those
  things,we will need to sacrifice, have to
  dedicate our life, encounter many threats, etc
  etc etc
• However
• The least that we can do is to prevent the bad
  things for expanding
• We should
• Realize that each of us has different
  capabilities/opportunities/calling.
• Think about /find our unique role
• Do it

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Group Discussion
Group Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4
Good Side Not poor Peace Safe from Disaster Normal Situation
Bad Side Poor War/Conflict Disaster Bad Social Issues
Issues There is an uncross- able gap between the rich and the poor. The rich is getting richer, and poor is getting poorer. There are so many issues within the people who are unfortunate to be born within the poor poverty,famine, poor education, disease, etc. What can be done if you are in the rich side or in the poor side?? Even though we are moving into modern era, there are still many countries currently in conflict Israel/Palestine, East Timor/Indonesia, Thailand, North Korea, etc. People living in the countries in conflict suffer from multi-faceted crisis. What can you do if you live in a country in peace or in conflict?? Recently, there are many natural disasters happening throughout the world. Tsunami Aceh, India, etc, Earthquake Nias, Jogjakarta, Hurricane Katrina, and so on. The victim of natural disaster not only traumatized by the loss of life or physical materials, but also their faith. What can you do if you are one of them or if you are in a safe place?? In many parts of the world, there are many other social issues. Human rights are violated, oppression here and there, freedom of religion is gone, racism, slavery, etc. What can you do if you are the one being oppressed?? What can you do to help the oppressed??
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Group Discussion

• Now divide your group into two.
• Each sub-group play a role
• One sub-group become the good side,
• The other bad side.
• Discuss the following items (20 minutes)
• Assuming your role
• What are the practical things that we can do?
• Preventive?
• Active?
• To realize Kingdom of God on Earth
• What are the possible threats?
• Present your discussion to the audience (2-3
  minutes)
• Followed by QA from the floor.

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Brief Summary

• Without neglecting the fact that God can use them
  too, those in bad side usually have difficulties
  in realizing Kingdom of God on earth.
• Those in good side have many capabilities,
  opportunities, potential, etc to be a channel of
  blessing to those in need, e.g.
• Those who are not poor can set up schools for
  needy children.
• Those who are safe from natural disaster can
  donate to help rebuild the place.
• Many others
• Ask yourself, in what side are we on?
• Most of us are (currently) on the good side
• Ask yourself, what should we do knowing that
  there are so many bad things happening on earth?
• Do you want to actualize Kingdom of God on earth?
• Stop and ponder

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Bagaimana Dengan MerekaOne Way

• Oh betapa indahnya, hidup kita jalaniTiada
  waktu terlewat, tanpa bahagia ...Mari lihat
  keluar, terkadang kita lupaKita tak sendiri,
  menikmati indahnyaHidup yang diberikan oleh sang
  penciptaBagaimana dengan mereka yang menjerit
  karena laparDan hidup dari belas kasihan orang
  s'perti kitaBagaimana dengan mereka yang tak
  punya apa-apaApa yang t'lah kita buat (2x)
• Karena kita diciptakanUntuk berbagi hidup
  dengan mereka
• PS Another songs that are related
• Avalon In not of
• http//www.lyricsdownload.com/avalon-in-not-of-ly
  rics.html
• Avalon Dont save it all for Christmas Day
  http//www.lyricsdownload.com/avalon-don-t-save-it
  -all-for-christmas-day-lyrics.html

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Prayer Points

• For others in need
• Poor
• War
• Disaster
• Other Social Issues
• For our selves
• Make us Your channel of blessings according to
  our unique role.
• If you hear His voice today, dont harden your
  heart.