The Kingdom Promise

Leading Canadians Conquer the Storms of Life

Gary Gradley, Phil Kershaw

• Publisher: Castle Quay Books
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN: 9781894860321
• eBook ISBN: 9781894860253
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Ministry

Twenty-five of Canada's spiritual leaders share how they chose faith over fear in overcoming serious personal life crisis. Our uncertain times with impending social, economic and spiritual crisis all over our world drive us to automatically react in fear, but God calls us to respond in faith. The Kingdom Promise provides overwhelming evidence that when we "seek first his kingdom and his righteousness…all these things will be given to [us] as well" (Matt. 6: 33, NIV). Contributors include Ron Ellis, Paul Henderson, Don Cherry, Lorna Dueck, Phil Geldart, David Mainse, Mel Stevens, Gerry O'Mahoney, John Arnott, Mike Gartner, Don Simmonds, Bruxy Cavey, Annmarie Morais, Tim Cestnik, Bruce Smith and others.

Chapter 1: The Promises of God

“The LORD is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does.” Psalm 145:13 NIV

The Kingdom Promise is based on Scripture from the book of Matthew. It speaks to what God has promised us when we enter into a covenant relationship with him.

The purpose of this book is to give you the tools to build your faith, by two means:

One: Presenting the biblical principles and Scriptures that deal directly with God’s faithfulness. In so doing we will endeavour to build on your understanding and appreciation of these principles and Scriptures.

Two: Providing overwhelming evidence by a series of testimonials from Canadians, both well-known, like Dr. David Mainse, Lorna Dueck, Paul Henderson and Don Cherry, and not so well-known, who have amazing testimonies of faith and overcoming horrendous obstacles and triumphing.

My belief is that by doing this the book can be an invaluable tool for believers to strengthen their faith and also a great evangelical tool to reach out to non-believers so that, as they say, “When you’ve tried everything else, try Jesus.”

This book is entitled The Kingdom Promise because it speaks to the principles and covenants that God has offered us. There are 1,260 promises in the Bible, which is why this book is so significant to our lives.

The Oxford Dictionary defines promise as “a declaration or assurance that one will do something or that a particular thing will happen.” In fact there is no stronger commitment than a promise that can be made. However, as we all know, a promise is only as good as the authority, credibility and intention of whoever is making it.

Therefore, as there is no higher authority than God himself and there is no higher commitment than a promise, we need to study and understand this.

These promises are revealed through what is referred to in the Bible as a covenant. A biblical covenant is an agreement between God and his people in which God makes certain promises. It is unconditional, whereas a contract is conditional and based on agreed upon guidelines.

Specifically, God formed a covenant with Abraham in which he blessed his seed for eternity: “Blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven” (Genesis 22:17 NKJV).

Now this is significant to us as Christians as we are grafted into this covenant through the blood of Jesus, as was revealed by the apostle Paul in the New Testament: “That the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith” (Galatians 3:14 NKJV).

This is important because as we face our crises and fears, we are going to be looking for “evidence” that God has both made and fulfilled his promises over the ages to his descendants who are operating under Abraham’s covenant.

This is key, because it states unilaterally that we as believers of Jesus are blessed, as are our descendants. This then forms the basis of our faith, which is to believe and trust in that blessing and that its benefits will flow to us.

In this book you will see modern-day examples of Canadians just like you and me who have been the recipient of this blessing and are now sharing their testimonies. We have attempted to cast as wide a net as possible, stretching from pastors such as Dr. David Mainse and Bruxy Cavey to sports icons like Don Cherry, Paul Henderson and Ron Ellis.

We have attempted on purpose to uncover aspects of their lives that are not well known, as a means of revealing the total people behind the public personae as they disclose intensely personal and sometimes difficult circumstances in their lives.

Other people in the book will probably not be known to you. They range from missionaries serving in Africa to recent immigrants to Canada who share their trials and how faith pulled them through seemingly overwhelming odds and challenges.

“So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11 NKJV). As stated in this Scripture, the promises of God cannot return void. We invite you to take this journey of faith with us and our fellow Canadians as we present The Kingdom Promise.

 

Chapter 2: There Is a God, and It Ain’t You! (Gary Gregor and Gerry O’Mahoney)

“The LORD brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up. The LORD sends poverty and wealth; he humbles and he exalts.” 1 Samuel 2:6–7 NIV

One of my favourite people is Gary Gregor, who farms outside Moose Jaw.

Gary is also a psychologist, with a passion for helping people. When he was working in the community college system in his home province of Saskatchewan he was seeking a way to assist young people so they could get better results and succeed.

This led him into exploring how he could use his knowledge of how our brains function in order to stimulate better outcomes, and what he learned he applied to help people with their challenges.

Saskatchewan is Canada’s agricultural heartland, and Gary conducts seminars for farm families, many of whom have been decimated by low commodity prices that have created economic hardship and in many instances have caused them to lose farm assets that had been in their families for generations. He provides comfort and hope for these people.

He also acts as a consultant for Fortune 500 companies and as a strategist across North America.

In addition to all of these things, he is a brilliant sports psychologist, who helped the Saskatchewan Roughriders win the 1989 Grey Cup (only their second of three titles in their 100-year history).

He would tell people, “There’s two things you need to know: there is a God, and it ain’t you!”¹ I always got a big laugh out of this because it captures the plain-spoken but wise attitude of people who live on the Canadian prairies. As farmers they truly understand the key principles of the kingdom of God, which is that all crops and great harvests come from seed and that the seed must be nurtured, watered and tended as the crop grows and flourishes, and eventually there will be a harvest in the fall.

But it is not the farmer who transforms the tiny seeds into endless fields of golden wheat that feeds the world, but the mighty God of Israel. The farmer understands he must live on faith, the belief that God will provide, that despite rain, wind, drought, hail, frost, insects, weeds and all kinds of strife and hardship, God will deliver the crop and give them the faith at the end of every season to believe to plant again in the spring, sometimes against all worldly reason, including hard-hearted bankers and indifferent government officials and greedy commodity speculators.

This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come. (Mark 4:26–29 NIV)

The point is that when facing an oncoming storm we need to get our perspective right. If there is no God, then it’s every man and woman for themselves. However, if it’s true—and we fervently believe it is—that there is a God and it ain’t you, then we need to figure out what this means and how we react to it. We also have to remember who created the universe and who is in charge, and it wasn’t the result of some “big bang” or arbitrarily concocted evolution theory.

Come on, the house you live in wasn’t built by the house; it was built by a builder. The universe wasn’t built by the universe; it was designed and built by a creator.

Sir Frederick Hoyle, the late noted British scientist—not a theologian—put it this way: “The probability of life originating on earth is no greater than the chance that a hurricane sweeping through a scrap-yard would have the luck to assemble a Boeing 747.”²

In fact this concept was echoed by Albert Einstein when he was asked if he believed in God. Now with the rampant growth of atheism in the Western world led by those who favour science over faith like Richard Dawkins, the Cambridge University professor, scientist and non-believer who wrote the best-selling God Delusion, and the late Christopher Hitchens, another Brit who wrote a best seller called God Is Not Great, many skeptics would have expected Einstein to reject the concept of God.

However, here is what Einstein, who is recognized to be the smartest man to live in recent times, said to the God question:

I...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Quote
• Thanks
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction (Gary Gradley)
• Chapter 1: The Promises of God
• Chapter 2: There Is a God, and It Ain’t You! (Gary Gregor and Gerry O’Mahoney)
• Chapter 3: Seek Ye First the Kingdom (David Mainse)
• Chapter 4: And All These Things Shall Be Added Unto You (Joel Auge and Bryan Freeman)
• Chapter 5: The Kingdom Culture (Mel Stevens)
• Chapter 6: The Kingdom of Canada (John Arnott)
• Chapter 7: Chazown (David Mainse’s Perfect Vision)
• Chapter 8: Don Cherry’s Leap of Faith
• Chapter 9: In God We Trust (Don Simmonds)
• Chapter 10: Choosing Faith over Fear (Tim Cestnick)
• Chapter 11: To Preach the Kingdom of God and to Heal the Sick (Winsome Johnson)
• Chapter 12: Blindsided (Bruxy Cavey)
• Chapter 13: Shooting Star (Paul Henderson)
• Chapter 14: The Power of Prayer (Mike Gartner)
• Chapter 15: Obedience to God (Phil Geldart)
• Chapter 16: Seventy Times Seven (John and Eloise Bergen)
• Chapter 17: “I Am the Vine”: Staying Connected (Ron Ellis)
• Chapter 18: Rebuilding The Walls (Lorna Dueck)
• Chapter 19: Sowing and Reaping (Bruce Smith)
• Chapter 20: “Pressed Down, Shaken Together, and Running Over” (Annmarie Morais)
• Chapter 21: The Wisdom of Solomon (Tim Cestnick)
• Chapter 22: May You Prosper as Your Soul Prospers (Neleitha Hewitt)
• Chapter 23: The Kingdom of Heaven Is Like Treasure (Philip Phillips)
• Chapter 24: The Kingdom Promise, Summary
• Epilogue: Faith in Action
• About the Authors
• Castle Quay Books