23.05 Craig Smith - The Come Down Kingdom (Part 1)

In this fifth session of the Indigenous Faith teaching series, Craig Smith takes us once again to the Scriptures to show the stark contrast between all human based religious systems and the message of the gospel and Christian faith.  While all human based religions were birthed out of fallen human cultures, and established on this earth's soil, the Christian message was a come down message.  It came to earth from another world, another place, a place called heaven.  It's clear that the message came from above, as John 3:16 reminds us that, God so loved the world, he gave his one and only Son.  It's a come down message, brought by a come down messenger, Jesus the Christ!  His birth was unlike that of anyone else on planet earth in that while His earthly mother, Mary, was engaged to Joseph, the Holy Spirit of God came down and in one of  the world's greatest miracles, Jesus was conceived, born, and tread this earth for over thirty-three years before He went to the cross to pay the penalty for our sins.  Then, once again the Holy Spirit of God came down on the day of Pentecost, shortly after Jesus the Christ ascended back up to heaven's portals where He continues to sit at His Father's right hand making intercession for us until once again, He comes back down to rapture His church, which is also a come down church, as He establishes once and for all His come down Kingdom!  That, my friend, is a lot of coming downs and going ups!  This sets apart the Christian message as unique, and totally separate from all other world religions and world views!  This is an important reality to consider as we look at the claims of all other human religions that contend their ways are the way and all roads lead to heaven.  If that was the case, why would the God of heaven and earth go through all He did, send His son to be tortured, die a cruel death, be mocked, beaten spat upon, and ridiculed so, just so that all it would mean was this was just one more way to find eternal life?  No sir, my friend!  Craig makes it abundantly clear in this multi-part session that God had to do this to fulfill His own standards that included the shedding of innocent blood to reconcile us to God.  But, as Craig points out, just as much blood of Jesus was shed to reconcile us to each other as was shed to reconcile us to God!  And that's an amazing reality, and should affect how we look at those redeemed ones from other races, tribes, nationalities, and languages.  We are now brought into the very same kingdom that spans the globe...the Kingdom of the Redeemed, who are assured of eternal life with their King throughout the rest of eternity!  That's what the gospel is all about, and is offered to not just the elite, but to every Indigenous, taken advantage of people group around planet earth!  We are not only equal under the curse of sin, but through Christ, equally adopted children of God, joint heirs with Christ, and eternally living in this amazing worldwide family of God!  Now that's why it's called, Good News!!!