Lost Kingdom

Luke 19:10 (NIV)
"For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."

Have you ever had one of those moments when certain words was shared with you that for the next 48 hours or so, you find those words repeated again and again and expounded upon from peoples' sharing, from scripture and even from the Christian TV channel, that you feel the word come alive. Well, I call such a moment a Holy Spirit (HS) encounter.

A couple of days after my last posting on GIGO, I had the "chance" to re-visit Luke 19:10 (NLT).

Luke 19:10 (NLT) "And I, the Son of Man, have come to seek and save those like him who are lost."

This time however, I found the words from the NIV, different to that which was used in my posting.

Luke 19:10 (NIV) "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."

What do the word "lost" here, means? Certainly the NLT version do suggest, Man's relationship with God that was lost at the garden of Eden and that the Son of Man came to seek such lost person/people, to restore that relationship.

However, focusing on the NIV version, what does it mean by "...save what was lost"?

Yes, it does also suggest Man's relationship with God that was lost. However, the revelation that was share with me, was that the word "lost" also refers to the "Kingdom of Heaven" or "Kingdom of God". The two phrases have been used interchangeably in the Gospel.

This would be for me, very much the nature of God to give and to bless, always double in portion or in abundance (John 10:10). The Son of Man came not only to restore the relationship between Man and God, but also to bring the Kingdom of Heaven to Man.

In the four Gospel, Jesus during his ministry made several references to the Kingdom of Heaven being near or is at hand. He uses this term to express God's future promise salvation for His people. He also said that the Kingdom of God is within you.

Luke 17:20-21 (NIV) Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The Kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the Kingdom of Heaven is within you."

Here is some of what it means to have the "Kingdom of Heaven" within you;

• Matthew 3:2 - Repentance
• Matthew 18:3-4 - Child-like, Humble
• Matthew 5:10,20 - Righteousness
• Matthew 7:21 - God reign
• Romans 14:17 - Living in the Holy Spirit
• Matthew 16:19 - Authority
• Matthew 6:9-10 - Heaven on Earth
• 1 Corinthians 4:20 - God's Power

There are probably more to this, but it will be for another time.

So what have you heard about Jesus?

You would have heard that, Jesus, the Son of Man came to restore the relationship between Man and God, and to bring the "Kingdom of Heaven" to Man. It is these two truths, that brings about the transformation in our lives and as the "Kingdom of Heaven" is within us, the transformation happens from our inside out.