There is a great kingdom of God awakening that is underway right now.
And I believe that that, uh, along with that, we're entering into what I call a
kingship reformation in the church.
So in this course, I hope to encourage you to discover your royal identity and
find, pursue and find your place in this great, uh, God's great kingdom story.
I would like to welcome you to this empower you class.
And, uh, my name is Jim Maffuccio and I'm excited to bring you this class.
It's entitled, uh, kingship reformation.
And in this first session, I just want to give a kind of an
overview and an introduction and my, my premise for this course.
And, uh, that is that there is a great kingdom of God awakening
that is underway right now.
And I believe that that, uh, along with that, we're entering into what I call a
kingship reformation in the church.
So in this course, I hope to encourage you to discover your royal identity and
find, pursue and find your place in this great, uh, God's great kingdom story.
So first of all, what do I mean by there's a kingdom of God awakening underway?
Well, you know, if you've been around church for a while, I've been three plus
decades, actually more than that.
If you include my Catholic upbringing, but there's a lot
of talk about the kingdom of God.
I mean, everybody uses the kingdom of God in their taglines
and, and, uh, throws that term around.
And, and, uh, that's great.
Nothing wrong with that.
Uh, so just kind of going through some of the history of what this
has meant in my, my own life, you know, in the, uh, in the eighties and
nineties, I think, um, what started waking up in the church was what
we called marketplace ministry.
And, and marketplace ministry kind of came up addressing this divide between,
you know, ministry and all other vocations.
So, you know, when you look at it, the, when I say ministry there, I
mean, in the classical sense of church ministry, the ecclesiastical realm.
And, and so, uh, you know, the 97% of the, of the congregation, let's say
that would never be involved in, um, in church ministry, you know, kind
of viewed themselves and in some teaching were made to feel like, you
know, the real ministers are the, are the guys up front or the guys
working for the nonprofits.
And, and at best, what you do out there in the world is really just about, uh,
yes, display the character of Christ.
We need to always do that.
But, but the whole idea of commerce was you're a cash cow for the real minister.
So you're kind of a second class citizen.
I don't think anybody thinks that way anymore, but, uh, but then marketplace
ministry, the way it kind of started, the focus seemed to be on, okay, let's
take ministry into the marketplace.
And so what that meant was, you know, lead people to the Lord around the water
cooler.
So it really was just moving evangelism into different venues.
And so now you're evangelizing at the workplace and that's awesome.
And then maybe also throw in some teaching on biblical ethics.
So we ought, you know, we ought to all live out the, you know, the scriptures
and the way, the way that we, you know, manage ourselves in the business world
or in the home life or anywhere else outside of the church.
And, you know, more recently, the, the more and more people have been
discovering that, no, the work itself is actually ministry.
And in fact, the word ministry, it really isn't a religious word.
It's, you know, uh, my wife and I adopted some children from Russia.
And when we were there, we had to, we had to deal with the ministry of health and
the minute there's the ministry of education.
And, you know, the word is not, uh, confined to, to the church world.
It's, uh, it's, it's actually all encompassing.
So even the word itself, but we started discovering that, you know, if you're a
plumber, you really are, you really have a ministry because if you're serving the
Lord who sends you as a minister, that becomes your ministry.
And then even the word, uh, work is really the same as worship.
There's an underlying root word there, Avoda.
And it, uh, it's the same word that can be used for worship.
What we think of traditionally as worship and work itself.
So there's been kind of this evolution of this kingdom thinking and kind of
thinking less churchianity and more kingdom of God.
And so then in the seventies and eighties, you know, we had, you know, John
Wimber and the vineyard movement and, and the kingdom of God then was the phrase
that was used, you know, it was all about kingdom demonstrations of the
supernatural, which is awesome.
It was like, do the works Jesus did, you know, heal the sick.
And, and the prophetic became quite, uh, you know, it grew in popularity and,
and, and in practicality.
And so, uh, you know, Bethel probably is a movement that has, uh, has, has picked
that up and, and, you know, teaching courses on it.
So it's, it's really looking at the kingdom of God from perspective of the
power that's released through the kingdom of God.
And that's, that's super valid and super true.
And, and then I would say in the last couple of decades, maybe, you know,
kingdom thinking has evolved or grown to encompass what's come to be known as the
Seven Mountains Mandate, and so that's the areas or arenas of cultural influence, or spheres of
influence, where people started teaching and rethinking, hey, maybe we're supposed to be
having an impact as salt and light, and engaging with the culture, and even coming to places of
leadership in the culture, which I 100% agree with. It's underneath it all. God has ways that
He's given us in His Word, and we take not only His presence and His power with us wherever we
go, but we take His ways, and when you bring His ways into the marketplace, they actually work,
and when you bring His ways into government, they actually serve people better than some of the
other ways out there that we see working in the culture. So there's been this, I say that's why
there's a kingdom of God awakening. It's like the church has been waking up to identify and
eliminate this divide between the sacred and the secular. But with all of this, I have found that
the typical believers understanding the kingdom of God is still ambiguous at best. Is it coming
to earth, or has it already come to earth? Is it only spiritual, or does it also impact the natural
realm? Is it just the supernatural? And if Jesus said to seek first the kingdom, I mean, we ought
to know what it is we're seeking, and have some models where we can understand that. And even in
Jesus's, you know, He gave us the Lord's Prayer when He said, pray this, and He said, pray this to
the Father. Thy Father, thy kingdom come, and thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And
I think there's a lot of fog around just how real is the kingdom of God on earth, apart from
the supernatural interventions. And so in this class, you know, I'm hoping to burn off some of the fog
that exists, you know, by taking a look at some high-level, non-controversial, very scriptural
references to the kingdom of God in relation to our lives here on planet earth. So what do I mean
by a kingship reformation? Well, in the early 1500s, you might know that there was the
Protestant Reformation, and Martin Luther was kind of the guy whose name is most associated with that.
But they introduced us to the concept of, and it was a reformation really of the church, but the
priesthood of all believers. And that was basically that we don't need other human mediators to
connect to God, that every individual had this direct access to God through the one mediator,
who was the man Christ Jesus. And that was a major revolution in the church. I mean,
a major reformation in the church, and it changed the face of Christianity, and therefore changed
the face of the world. Well, I believe personally that the Holy Spirit is now birthing a new
reformation, and it's centered on the kingship of all believers. So we got the priesthood of
all believers from Martin Luther, and I believe we're entering into an era where we're going to
be hearing more and more about the kingship of all believers. So I make reference to a couple
scriptures, Revelation 1.6 and Revelation 5.10, clearly say that Jesus has made us kings and
priests. And then 1 Peter 2.9 says that we're, and this is talking about the church, the followers of
Jesus, the body of followers of Jesus, and he says that we are a chosen generation in a holy nation,
a royal priesthood, a royal priesthood. Those are kingly priests. You think about Melchizedek
in the Old Testament, and that's the priesthood of Melchizedek that was kind of a type of Jesus
Christ who was both king and priest, and of course prophet. So let's look again at Revelation 5, 9,
and 10. I just want to read that, a portion of that to you. So it says, for you were slain,
talking of Jesus, of course, for you were slain and have redeemed us to God by your blood out of
every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and listen to this now, and have made us kings and
priests to our God so that when we die, we get to go to heaven. That's actually not what it says.
It says you've made us kings and priests to our God, and we shall reign on the earth. So what
this is saying is that we were redeemed, not just to escape earth and go to heaven, but we were
actually redeemed to reign on earth. That's why he made us kings and priests. So we are God's,
we are Jesus's governmental body on the earth, and Isaiah foretold that Jesus would establish
a government on earth that would never stop increasing. So, you know, we all know the
familiar, especially around Christmas time, the Isaiah 9, 6, and 7 is where it says, you know,
for unto us a child is born, and unto us a son is given, and it says, and the government will rest
upon his shoulders. But get this, in verse 7 it says, and of the increase of his government and
peace, there will be no end. And that verse ends by
by saying, the zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.
This is how serious God is about the increase of Jesus's
government and peace on Earth.
And that does not just talk about the internal soul
of a man that becomes governed by Christ
when we make him the Lord of our lives, which is, of course,
the starting point.
So like I said, we're the governmental body on Earth.
Another scripture that points to that is in Matthew 16, 18,
and 19, when he has the famous encounter with Peter, who
was Simon at the time.
And Jesus says, I will build my church,
and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
Well, the word church there, there's
two ways church has been, two words
that we interpret as church or translate as church.
And our translation is kind of weak
because they're two completely different meanings.
And the one he was using here specifically was ekklesia.
And it was actually a Greek word.
It referred to the, it was a legislative body
in the old Greek city-states.
And these are the people that would pass laws.
They would legislate at the city gates in ancient Greece.
And Jesus very specifically chose that word
to describe the church he was building.
It wasn't just a gathering of people,
which is another form of the word that we call church.
But he said, I'm going to build my governing body,
my legislative body on Earth, and the gates of hell
will not prevail against it.
So another passage, Ephesians 1, 20 and 23,
it says that, this is where it says that,
God raised Jesus from the dead and seated him
in heavenly places far above all principality and power
and might and dominion in every name, not only in this age,
but in that is to come.
And he says, and he put all things under his feet,
and he gave him as head over all things
to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him
who fills all and in all.
So notice it doesn't say there that he gave him
as personal savior to the church.
Now he did.
We all that are followers of Jesus
love the fact that he's my personal savior.
But it says here he gave him as head over all things
to the church.
And remember, he's the one that it
says that the father put everything under his feet.
So this is a high place that he's lifted us
to through redemption.
So we have all of these passages that talk of this,
greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world,
and that he's made us kings and priests.
And as Paul said in Romans, that the God of peace
would soon crush Satan underneath your feet.
He said that to human beings, to the church.
And we know these scriptures, and we recite these scriptures,
but then there's a disconnect between these truths
of the kingdom and our kingship and what
we observe about our own lives and about the world around us.
And what I have come to realize is
as I've grown in my understanding and hearing
of this kingdom and the power of this kingdom
and this high calling of being kings and priests,
it's like there's become like a dueling, a competing narrative.
Because in the back of my mind, I've
been given this story that things
are supposed to go into decline and get darker and darker,
and then maybe some light comes.
Well, my premise here is that this is the reason
we're not living like kings.
This is the reason we haven't really
actualized what being a king and reigning on Earth
is like, because we've been given a story that really
doesn't require kings.
I feel like the kingdom narrative that we're
going to be talking about in subsequent classes
here, the kingdom narrative has been kind of hijacked
by a story that's smaller than the one that Christ actually
came to release on the Earth.
So I was praying about this and meditating
on this a few years ago.
And in that time frame, I heard somebody
talk about the fact, supposedly a scientific fact,
that if you take a fish that in the open sea would live to,
I'm just going to give you a, this is hypothetical,
but a fish that would grow to be four feet long
in its natural environment, but you put it
in a three-foot aquarium, it can't grow to its full size.
So we also will not grow to our full size
if we have been given a story that's
comparable to being stuck in an aquarium.
And I believe that's been the case.
I believe we've shrunk Christianity
and the kingdom of God to saving souls
so that we can get off the Earth.
So we're the workers on the Titanic
as it's sinking, trying to rescue ourselves
and as many people as we can get off the boat.
And I'm saying that's not the narrative.
That's not the big picture meta-narrative
that scripture gives us.
So I believe we've surrendered our place of leadership
in the arenas of life on the Earth,
and we've concentrated on getting people
saved and ready for heaven.
Rapture.
ourselves away from the responsibility for how life on the planet goes. But the
scripture says that the foundations of this throne, of this kingdom, Jesus came
to establish are righteousness and justice. You can't read the fullness of
scripture without coming away and realizing how strongly God feels about
justice on the earth and things working right on the earth. He spun
this dust ball that we're on called earth and put it in place because
he wanted to demonstrate, he wanted to increase his domain, and he actually gave
it to man to be his partner to do that, his family really to do that, and to
think that it's just about us escaping it so it can burn up and then we can go
live in the sweet by and by. It's just not the biblical kingdom narrative. So,
you know, I believe that when we look around us and we see, you know, the
disconnect, like why are the very institutions that God's people actually
pioneered, and I think I like the Ivy League schools, you know, those were
pioneered and founded by people that had a kingdom mandate. They wanted to glorify
God and really disciple people into all the disciplines of life so that they
could go into the world as salt and light and be leaders. And you fast
forward to today, and if you mention the name Jesus Christ on some Ivy League
campuses, you get censored, you get kicked off. Well, how did that happen?
And really what gets me is, you know, we have a whole school of thought out there
and it's pretty widely taught, you know, in the body of Christ, and that
would be they would point at something like that and say, well, see, that proves
that our perspective on the world and where it's going is true, that it's
getting darker and darker, we must be getting near the end. And so they'd say
this is a sign of the times. And I say, no, it's not a sign of the times, it's our
assignment of the times. It's like this, the light left the room, the light
walked out of the classroom, and the classroom got dark. Well, that's gonna
happen every time. And so the assignment of our times, I believe, is to step back
into these classrooms, and I don't just mean the classrooms in the Ivy
League schools, I mean the classrooms of life, to step back into these arenas of
influence, or these seven mountains, or whatever you want to call them,
wherever you're planted, is to step back in with an intentionality that we are
carriers of the kingdom of God, and we actually are kings and priests, and that
we're to function as salt and light, and have a leavening effect on
this whole planet, not escape it, transform it. So you end up living
differently when you have that in your, you know, not only in the back of your
mind, but in the front of your mind. So Jesus said that, you know, He said that we
are the light of the world, and He said that we are the salt of the earth. And
what did He say about the salt? He said, if the salt ceases to be, I'll just say
effective, because there's two schools, you know, salt is something that we use
for flavoring, but in the old days it was used as a preservative, it was used to
keep the meat from rotting, keep things from rotting, it's actually a better
descriptor, I think. But Jesus said, if the salt has become ineffective, it's good
for nothing but to be trampled under the foot of men. And when I watch the news,
which I try not to do too often, and see what's going on around me in the world,
and see some of these other ideas that godless people, that we've allowed
godless people to enter into the classroom of life and teach the people
how to live, and they're terrible ideas, they're ideas that don't work, that is to
me the trampling underfoot of man. And so we've abandoned the post to a
degree there, but this is what's exciting about the times we live in, God's waking
us up, He's waking up the kings, He's waking us up to our kingdom reality, and
the truth is, you are a king. If you're a redeemed son, daughter of the
living God, you are a king, and you've been cast into a victorious kingdom
story. Not an escape story, but a transformation story. And the overcoming
kings in this day are being awakened in this day and age, and it's a
very exciting thing. So I just want to propose to you that the best days are
ahead for you, for your family, for your church, for this nation, and for the
nations of the world. So I would just want to welcome you to the Great
Kingship Reformation. So thanks for joining me, and we'll see you next time
as we continue on this journey, this study of Kingship Reformation, of Empower You.