Preach: the Kingdom of God is for now!
Matthew 3:1-2 Years later, John the Baptist started preaching in the desert of Judah. He said, “Turn back to God! The kingdom of heaven will soon be here.” Matthew 4:17, 23 Then Jesus started preaching, “Turn back to God! The kingdom of heaven will soon be here!” (23) And Jesus went all over Galilee, teaching in the Jewish meeting places and preaching the good news about God’s kingdom. Matthew 24:14 When the good news about the kingdom has been preached all over the world and told to all nations, the end will come. Luke 17: 20-21 Some Pharisees asked Jesus when God’s kingdom would come. He answered, “God’s kingdom isn’t something you can see. There is no use saying, ‘Look! There it is.’ God’s kingdom is here with you.” Romans 14:17 God’s kingdom isn’t about eating and drinking. It is about pleasing God, about living in peace, and about true happiness. All of this comes from the Spirit. Acts 19:8, Col. 1:12-13, Heb 12:27-29, Rev. 1:6, 9; 5:10.
John the Baptist, Jesus and the disciples all preached the kingdom. They preach not only that the kingdom of heaven was coming soon, but that in fact it was here. Spiritually, Jesus is the fulfillment of the kingdom. In him we find all that the kingdom is. We as fallen humans are so stuck in our flesh and bodily senses that we see only the physical world around us. We are drawn and motivated almost entirely by what we feel, see, hear and taste. God gave us these senses that we might know him through them, but they were corrupted when sin came into the world and now they are a snare to us. This world we live in is Satan’s domain and he has naturally done everything possible to keep us trapped living in and through the physical world by appealing to our fallen corrupted nature.
What Satan has so clearly done through deception is to have us believe this world is the real thing. But it is not! It is a lie, a deadly lie! He has been so affective in his deception that most Christians continue to live in the lie, justifying their behavior saying, ‘no one is perfect and at my death, I will be made perfect for God’s kingdom. So too, do many believe that they have a right to happiness brought on through success, wealth, health and all the pleasures of the world. Satan has convinced the vast majority of Christians (here in America, anyway) that these are God’s blessings and we have every right to them. Satan’s plan is to keep man focused on the physical, whereby our spiritual life will be neglected and we will soon find that we become weak and powerless.
So why did John the Baptist, Jesus, the disciples and many faithful followers through history, preach the kingdom of Heaven is at hand? The first and foremost reason was and still is that with Jesus coming, he brought the kingdom with him and through his death and resurrection he gave the final blow to his enemy, our enemy, setting in place this Father’s kingdom forever. Then with the coming of the Holy Spirit indwelling his children, the kingdom was set in our hearts, waiting to show forth its light through his prepared, purified and holy temples. Jesus rescued us from the enemy’s clutches, changing our citizenship from ‘Satan’s world’, to ‘God’s kingdom’. We are a new creation having a new King, a new ruler, his name is Jesus!
However, though the enemy was defeated, he was not destroyed nor was he taken captive, as that is still forth coming. As new citizens of heaven neither have we been moved there. The King and his kingdom have moved into us, but we have been left in the enemy’s camp as it were. No longer are we here as captives, prisoners in bondage, taking our orders from the oppressor himself, but we are here as freed children, learning to follow our new king and living by the ways of His kingdom. But why does our loving king leave us in the enemy’s camp? It would be so much better for us if we were out of here. The most obvious reason is that it is in the enemy’s camp where the captives are kept and our King desires for all to be set free. Another reason that is not often thought about is that here in the enemy’s camp, the King’s followers are a constant thorn in the enemy’s side, reminding him that he has been defeated, that there truly is only one Lord and one King! There is another reason for preaching (then and now) that the kingdom of heaven is at hand, that is because it is true. The kingdom of heaven is coming and it is coming soon. If we believe that the kingdom is coming soon we will live with great anticipation, looking for our blessed hope to appear. We will live by what we know to be true in our hearts, not by what we see with our eyes.
God knew that in the weakness of the flesh we would get stuck in the lie rather than living in the truth. If we think that the kingdom of heaven is not a reality until we are dead and gone or that the coming of Christ is yet far off, we will live to fulfill the desires of our flesh not our spirit. When we live in this world to meet our physical needs and neglect the most important need that of our spirit, we live in denial of the truth. The truth of the kingdom of heaven is that it is the fountain of living water that quenches our thirst; it is the bread of life that gives life and sustains it. It is a yoke that brings rest and a dependence that brings peace. It is silence that speaks loud and clear, it is the invisible wind that moves with power, touching and transforming whom it will. It is the blood of the Lamb that cleanses and purifies and the vine that produces godly fruit, it is the cornerstone that is the foundation. The reality of the kingdom of heaven is that eternity dissolves time, this world is perishing, but it is a kingdom that is forever. It is a sun that will not be needed for the glory of God himself will be our light. It is a fruit that will heal the nations, no more sickness, no more sorrow, and no more pain; meanwhile, it is joy and peace in the midst of suffering. This is just a tip of the iceberg when it comes to the reality. However, how sad it is that this is not where most Christians choose to live. Rather we live in the lie.
Sadly, the leaders of the church have stopped preaching the message of the kingdom of heaven with its incredible power, but rather preach that is our future reward for believing in Jesus as our Savior. Therefore, we do not live as those who have the King or kingdom in our hearts. Until his children love Jesus as King and see that this world is nothing like his kingdom, and that we are not to live in it as if it were, the light of his kingdom within us will not shine. We will continue to live in the lies of this world, falling into one trap after another. We will not be helping to set captives free, but rather we will be an ensnarer to those seeking freedom for they will not be able to distinguish the truth from the lies. Rather than being a thorn in Satan’s side reminding him that he has already lost, we will be his delight as we do more to keep the captives captive then he does. While Satan can no longer have us and take us captive again, he can riddle our path with snares and nets that will weaken us and render us useless all because we have not turned away from the lies to live fully in the truth. Satan is not dead and he is not stupid. He is not out there proclaiming himself king and God, not yet anyway. He is waiting to do that until the fullness of his deception is complete. No, he is out to keep us from turning to God, making sure we have no need for God. He does that through the ultimate lie that is that we are what this life is all about. It’s about our happiness, our success, our stomach, our health, our money, our plans, our wellbeing, our looks, our satisfaction, our wants, our likes and dislikes. The list goes on and on this life is all about us, me, myself and I!
The greatest damage that Satan has done is to have hindered the teaching of the kingdom of heaven. God’s kingdom coming and God’s kingdom within us is the power over sin, the power over the enemy and the power over his vast army. It is the power to turn us from our own self interests to the needs of others and especially the needs of the captives. When the kingdom of God becomes our reality and not just so many words or some future existence, our lives will begin to be transformed into the new creation that we are in Christ.
I Cor. 4:20 for the kingdom of God does not consist in words but in power.
( Article posted with permission of writer; originally posted at http://api.ning.com/files/tFu4DrQFBvGBW-Mwl*-ZjU7sO9*9uNi9YhKXCPM-6RQ_/Preachthekingdomofheaven.doc)
John the Baptist, Jesus and the disciples all preached the kingdom. They preach not only that the kingdom of heaven was coming soon, but that in fact it was here. Spiritually, Jesus is the fulfillment of the kingdom. In him we find all that the kingdom is. We as fallen humans are so stuck in our flesh and bodily senses that we see only the physical world around us. We are drawn and motivated almost entirely by what we feel, see, hear and taste. God gave us these senses that we might know him through them, but they were corrupted when sin came into the world and now they are a snare to us. This world we live in is Satan’s domain and he has naturally done everything possible to keep us trapped living in and through the physical world by appealing to our fallen corrupted nature.
What Satan has so clearly done through deception is to have us believe this world is the real thing. But it is not! It is a lie, a deadly lie! He has been so affective in his deception that most Christians continue to live in the lie, justifying their behavior saying, ‘no one is perfect and at my death, I will be made perfect for God’s kingdom. So too, do many believe that they have a right to happiness brought on through success, wealth, health and all the pleasures of the world. Satan has convinced the vast majority of Christians (here in America, anyway) that these are God’s blessings and we have every right to them. Satan’s plan is to keep man focused on the physical, whereby our spiritual life will be neglected and we will soon find that we become weak and powerless.
So why did John the Baptist, Jesus, the disciples and many faithful followers through history, preach the kingdom of Heaven is at hand? The first and foremost reason was and still is that with Jesus coming, he brought the kingdom with him and through his death and resurrection he gave the final blow to his enemy, our enemy, setting in place this Father’s kingdom forever. Then with the coming of the Holy Spirit indwelling his children, the kingdom was set in our hearts, waiting to show forth its light through his prepared, purified and holy temples. Jesus rescued us from the enemy’s clutches, changing our citizenship from ‘Satan’s world’, to ‘God’s kingdom’. We are a new creation having a new King, a new ruler, his name is Jesus!
However, though the enemy was defeated, he was not destroyed nor was he taken captive, as that is still forth coming. As new citizens of heaven neither have we been moved there. The King and his kingdom have moved into us, but we have been left in the enemy’s camp as it were. No longer are we here as captives, prisoners in bondage, taking our orders from the oppressor himself, but we are here as freed children, learning to follow our new king and living by the ways of His kingdom. But why does our loving king leave us in the enemy’s camp? It would be so much better for us if we were out of here. The most obvious reason is that it is in the enemy’s camp where the captives are kept and our King desires for all to be set free. Another reason that is not often thought about is that here in the enemy’s camp, the King’s followers are a constant thorn in the enemy’s side, reminding him that he has been defeated, that there truly is only one Lord and one King! There is another reason for preaching (then and now) that the kingdom of heaven is at hand, that is because it is true. The kingdom of heaven is coming and it is coming soon. If we believe that the kingdom is coming soon we will live with great anticipation, looking for our blessed hope to appear. We will live by what we know to be true in our hearts, not by what we see with our eyes.
God knew that in the weakness of the flesh we would get stuck in the lie rather than living in the truth. If we think that the kingdom of heaven is not a reality until we are dead and gone or that the coming of Christ is yet far off, we will live to fulfill the desires of our flesh not our spirit. When we live in this world to meet our physical needs and neglect the most important need that of our spirit, we live in denial of the truth. The truth of the kingdom of heaven is that it is the fountain of living water that quenches our thirst; it is the bread of life that gives life and sustains it. It is a yoke that brings rest and a dependence that brings peace. It is silence that speaks loud and clear, it is the invisible wind that moves with power, touching and transforming whom it will. It is the blood of the Lamb that cleanses and purifies and the vine that produces godly fruit, it is the cornerstone that is the foundation. The reality of the kingdom of heaven is that eternity dissolves time, this world is perishing, but it is a kingdom that is forever. It is a sun that will not be needed for the glory of God himself will be our light. It is a fruit that will heal the nations, no more sickness, no more sorrow, and no more pain; meanwhile, it is joy and peace in the midst of suffering. This is just a tip of the iceberg when it comes to the reality. However, how sad it is that this is not where most Christians choose to live. Rather we live in the lie.
Sadly, the leaders of the church have stopped preaching the message of the kingdom of heaven with its incredible power, but rather preach that is our future reward for believing in Jesus as our Savior. Therefore, we do not live as those who have the King or kingdom in our hearts. Until his children love Jesus as King and see that this world is nothing like his kingdom, and that we are not to live in it as if it were, the light of his kingdom within us will not shine. We will continue to live in the lies of this world, falling into one trap after another. We will not be helping to set captives free, but rather we will be an ensnarer to those seeking freedom for they will not be able to distinguish the truth from the lies. Rather than being a thorn in Satan’s side reminding him that he has already lost, we will be his delight as we do more to keep the captives captive then he does. While Satan can no longer have us and take us captive again, he can riddle our path with snares and nets that will weaken us and render us useless all because we have not turned away from the lies to live fully in the truth. Satan is not dead and he is not stupid. He is not out there proclaiming himself king and God, not yet anyway. He is waiting to do that until the fullness of his deception is complete. No, he is out to keep us from turning to God, making sure we have no need for God. He does that through the ultimate lie that is that we are what this life is all about. It’s about our happiness, our success, our stomach, our health, our money, our plans, our wellbeing, our looks, our satisfaction, our wants, our likes and dislikes. The list goes on and on this life is all about us, me, myself and I!
The greatest damage that Satan has done is to have hindered the teaching of the kingdom of heaven. God’s kingdom coming and God’s kingdom within us is the power over sin, the power over the enemy and the power over his vast army. It is the power to turn us from our own self interests to the needs of others and especially the needs of the captives. When the kingdom of God becomes our reality and not just so many words or some future existence, our lives will begin to be transformed into the new creation that we are in Christ.
I Cor. 4:20 for the kingdom of God does not consist in words but in power.
( Article posted with permission of writer; originally posted at http://api.ning.com/files/tFu4DrQFBvGBW-Mwl*-ZjU7sO9*9uNi9YhKXCPM-6RQ_/Preachthekingdomofheaven.doc)
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by A. Christopher Welch on
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Sharon, I know you are preaching the burden of your heart here...but as you go online doing this has anything else been hitting you this week or these last months?
As I have been doing my online blog the whole qustion of the Kingdom has had to become clearer and clearer in order for me to write. My blog has about 20 different visitors a day worldwide..which is ofcourse quite small...goodness knows how it has reached over 12000 page impressions. So I sometimes think the biggest reason for my blog is to give me practice.
Here are some recent Kingdom realisations.
Apart from the miracles, the disciples had no more than we have to go on...and as miracles flow from us in greater and greater measure...there will even be less of a gap. The fact is...through living with Jesus, and having Him speak His Word to them over 3 years...they were prepared in character and Word for the massive anointing at Pentecost.
My blog is all about moving through the growth stages of 1 John 2. We have made the anointing "everything". But it clearly isn't and somehow by just being with Jesus even before receiving their Spirit baptism in Acts 2, they went through a preparation stage like no others.
The Kingdom , apart from the miracles, was no more manifest to them than it is to us. Jesus own brothers at that stage were not believers. The disciples had to get the "Kingdom message " by revelation alone. The first instance of confession being Peter blurting out "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." But in flesh and blood terms he had no more to go on than we do. Amazing isn't it?"
As Pentecostals we have also shortened Paul's story, conveniently forgetting that because he had ordered Stephen's death, he had to lie low for several years until he was brought forth in the Spirit. God meant it that way in order to prevent him from dashing out with a halfbaked gospel. None of this is ever talked about in Pentecostal circles. It's get converted, get baptised in the Spirit...OK fully wound up, right we'll catapult you into the marketplace.
YWAM. Morris Cerullo. Rheinhardt Bonnke all follow this sequence. But it is not in the Bible!. What IS in the Bible and what they have got right is that from DAY ONE virtually the disciples were moving in power....which is roughly equivalent to the groups I have mentioned, and maybe how you operate.
What YWAM and many of the speakers on the platform at Morris Cerullo events show is that there is more to it than winding up people with preaching abilities and power anointing. You have only to see the long list of marriage breakdowns, adulteries, homosexuality, porn addiction throughout these groups. (And yes I am a bit of an insider on this)
There clearly is more to why Jesus spent 3 years nonstop round the clock with the 12, why most commentators say Paul was at least 10 or 11 years going into ministry proper....and why since I helped turn a school around in 1972 after Spirit baptism when I was 13, but fell seriously into adultery into someone else's marriage at 18-19, and why I've been spending so long uncovering the real gospel. I am now 51. What we preached as the full gospel was only 2/3 of the gospel. Because it was better than evangelicalism we called it the full gospel....but tons of adulteries and egg on our faces later...it was never the full gospel. Just as asking Jesus into your heart remained hidden until the reformers like Wesley and Whitfield...but was always there in the Bible. Just as being baptised in the Spirit was always there but never came out fully until the awakening in the 1900s...but was always there in the Bible..... so "knowing Him who is from the Beginning" is only just seeing the light of day,but was always staring at our faces in the Bible. And also understanding that the Kingdom means a reversal of Genesis 3.
Turn on Christian TV and they only go back as far as Deuteronomy 28: the blessings and the curses. Well I'm afraid that doesn't go back far enough. Jesus said He was laying the axe to THE ROOT."
Recent blog posts of note
http://080808onnowto.blogspot.com/2009/11/what-is-flesh-part-one-no...
http://080808onnowto.blogspot.com/2009/11/skin-of-beast-part-three-... -
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Permalink Reply by john hopkins on -
I believe we need to focus on what is being discussed here, the “Kingdom” and this is to convey to those who do not understand the kingdom, which to them is a place we reach after death. The kingdom is a heavenly realm, which is here on earth right now, it is inside of us, and through salvation God made it possible for us to enter into that kingdom. But first we have to repent, which is to confess our sins, which must be sorrowful, and in this we invite the Lord into our lives, and, “ bang,” he comes in.” This is all done in the same moment, and the countenance on your forehead should indicate that the door to the spirit has been opened, now your soul can be subjected to the spirit and the Counselor comes in and we now find that we also have the Spirit of Truth. The Holy Spirit will help us in discernment and lead us and he takes us on to become like Jesus.
This is part of a long, long journey as we fight against our own flesh and in this, yes, we might come to commit adultery and everything else, and it in this area where Satan takes control of the flesh and we have to gain it back from him.
Now salvation is in God’s hands and those who enter into the kingdom become the soldiers for Christ and our purpose is to save souls, and to bring Jesus Christ into the lives of those who are lost and those who do not know Him as our Lord and Saviour, and therefore we need to pray to God for the salvation of others, and to leave that to God, and not try and convert them, or change them. The commission is to tell them the Good New, which is the kingdom as described. Jesus preached the kingdom, and we must preach the kingdom.. . -
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I was focussing on the Kingdom, John And I want to encourage anyone reading this that the Good News is better than Billy Graham said. It is better than Morris Cerullo Rheinhardt Bonnke and other power evangelists preach. I was glad to respond to Billy Graham, and you can read his latest great prayer here:http://080808onnowto.blogspot.com/2009/11/billy-grahams-prayer-for-...
I love Morris Cerullo, Benny Hinn and Rheinhardt Bonnke meetings and seeing thousands come to the Lord and get filled with the Spirit simultaneously. But again I say, the Kingdom is better than this too. And many unbelievers can see staright through the lives of people who have only experienced this level of the Kingdom.
But the full on Kingdom that I am talking about is like "Marmite" in the UK. You love it or hate it...but you are pinned down to make a decision one way or the other. With the other versions, like so much on Christian TV, you can be mildly amused by it...but you can quite easily, as people do, just walk past it totally unaffected. -
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