Is it time to press ‘Kingdom Reset’ and reinstall Heaven’s original ‘factory settings’ that God had in mind when He launched His Kingdom on planet Earth? That was the question I posed at the end of my previous post – Do We Need Another Revival, Reformation or Something Else?
System Recovery
If you have a computer issue, according to Hewlett Packard, ‘resetting your computer to factory settings might be necessary if the operating system is damaged, the hard drive is corrupted, the computer is infected by a virus, or you are transferring ownership of the computer. HP System Recovery removes all hard drive data and reinstalls the original operating system.’ 1
Corrupted Hard Drive, Viruses and Infections
After 2,000 years of Church history since the launch date on the Day of Pentecost, God’s original operating system has become damaged. The Church’s hard drive is corrupted and various viruses have infected the system. Here are some examples:
- God’s original operating system is that His people constitute many members but one Body. We are to be God’s new humanity, a new creation people, bringing Heaven to Earth. What we have today are many members but divided into thousands of groups, church streams and apostolic networks, and some 46,000 denominations! Instead of demonstrating a unity which Jesus prayed would cause all to know that He had been sent by God, there is disunity, factions, and sectarianism on the inside, and confusion on the outside.
- God’s original operating system is for Jesus to be the King and the functioning head of His body, where every member is led and directed by the Holy Spirit to participate and make a contribution as part of a Kingdom governing ekklesia.2 What we have is a hierarchical top-down leadership church structure (as used in the business world), often with a man-made caste religious system of ‘clergy’ and ‘laity’, and where a few at ‘the front’ manage and orchestrate what takes place in a pre-planned service of song singing, preaching and sacraments.
I grew up in this system. I functioned in it for decades. I have witnessed it around the world within different countries, different church groupings, and in urban and rural settings. I have the utmost respect for all the church leaders and people who are involved in ‘Church as we know it’ (CAWKI) and seeking to serve and glorify God.
Asking the Difficult & Challenging Questions
At the same time we have to be willing to step back and ask the difficult and challenging questions, particularly where there is an obvious discrepancy with what we find in the New Testament, and when the outcomes are not as they should be. A lot of it is not bad per se, but it isn’t the operating system of Heaven. This is important when God’s business and mission is about ‘installing’ and expressing Heaven’s Operating System on Earth. His Kingdom coming and being done on Earth, as it is in Heaven (Matthew 6:10).
I believe God allows for a great deal of diversity and expression in how this is carried out, but fundamentally, He has only one system of operation. He doesn’t have thousands of different operating systems and versions (like Microsoft Windows ME, XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10, etc) based on different doctrines, man-made traditions, business models, personality, sacred buildings, religious garb, or cultural upgrades, etc.
Revivals & Reformations will Not Change the Fundamental System
Revivals will not change the fundamental DNA of an already existing church system or structure. The Holy Spirit may ‘gate crash’ it but more often than not, after a period of time, people like to take control and the Holy Spirit can no longer function in the way He wants so He leaves. Everything returns to its previous default setting and life carries on as before.
Reformations tend to deal with some more fundamental flaws in the system but not go far enough. The reformer Martin Luther was already in the Roman Catholic Church’s ‘operating system’ when he posted his ninety-five theses, and from this was developed a reformed, Lutheran version of the RCC’s operating system. The Protestant Reformation was not based on kingdom DNA but retained some of the inherent ‘viruses’ and corrupted practices. As well as not addressing church forms, structure and liturgy which remained very Roman, the mixed concoction actually became divisive, anti-Semitic, and lost the trust of the poor which led to one of Europe’s bloodiest wars (the Peasant War).
The Charismatic renewal and movement from the 1960s onwards also brought about many much needed changes. However, like the Protestant Reformation before it, many of the church forms, structures and liturgy remained fundamentally untouched. Modernised and upgraded, but still embedded in the same operating system.
The Need for a Complete Reset
If we want to return to Heaven’s Operating System, something far more radical is required. A complete reset. Just like with a computer, this will involve uninstalling the software and having a total clean-up of the hardware. This is the only way to get rid of the deadliest viruses, malware and junk that slows the system down and will eventually cause it to freeze up and crash!
Unlike the process with a computer, this is no overnight remedy. It will take a great deal of time, humility, soul-searching and repentance. It will almost certainly be painful and costly. But once what needs to go has been removed, Heaven’s original Operating System called the Kingdom of God can then be reinstalled.
As people realise that the world’s problems and injustices cannot be solved by man, or by any human government, they begin to look elsewhere. People are searching. Some migrate to another country looking for something better, but only find it has its own issues. They are not coming to the Church because she has, in a sense, also lost her way and is typically not answering the questions being asked. Research indicates that many Christians are leaving churches because they sense something is missing and are looking for something deeper and more authentic. What people are really searching for is the Kingdom of God.
A Divine Kingdom Recall
When a manufacturer discovers a fault with one of their products, they will announce a product recall. Many around the world are hearing the call of the Holy Spirit – a divine Kingdom recall – to get rid of any man-made and religious systems, and to once again bring the order of Heaven back to Earth. Are you hearing this call? If so, how will you respond?
1 HP Customer Support – Knowledge Base
2 The ekklesia is the word used in the Bible to describe God’s people and unlike our current understanding of ‘church’, it refers to an elected assembly of citizens, called to govern a city, territory, or nation.
(Photo by Claudio Schwarz on Unsplash)