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Saturday, October 20th (Day Six)

Read:
Matthew 4:17-24

"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

Reflect:
When I ask people why Jesus came to earth, they almost always say, "To save me from my sins." This is undoubtedly true; in fact the passage we considered earlier from John 1 teaches this. However, when Jesus himself announced why he had come in Matthew 4, he said he came to inaugurate the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God had come because the King had come. In Jesus, nothing would ever be the same again.

According to verse 23 he proved this by participating in two main activities: teaching and healing. He taught people what it means to live in God's world and how to be reconciled to him through the death Jesus himself would die. He healed diseases to show that he had the power to repair what is broken in the world and to offer a precursor to life in heaven, where there will no longer be any suffering or disease.

It is the middle part of this passage that often gets lost. Jesus did not want to undertake this ministry alone, so he called disciples to go with him, learn from him, and eventually carry on the ministry he began. Now here we are in Houston in 2007 trying to construct a physical structure on Silber Road. Why? It must not be as a monument to ourselves but only to carry on Jesus' two-fold purpose of extending the Kingdom of God by proclaiming his Word and practicing redemptive mercy.

Apply:

1. People often refer to the two-fold ministry of extending the Kingdom as the ministries of Word and deed. Are you committed to following Jesus as his disciple in extending his Kingdom in this way?
2. How can the resources God has given you - including your abilities and your financial resources - be used to most effectively extend God's Kingdom in Word and deed?

Pray:

1. That the Kingdom of God would take root in your own heart and that you would commit yourself to following Jesus in the ministries of Word and deed.
2. That the construction of a permanent facility on Silber Road would be used as a Kingdom hub for ministries of Word and deed in Houston and beyond.