The Kingdom(pt.4)....Is it in you?
Luke 17: 20-21
It's like asking someone to determine from a lineup of individuals who is from which nationality. You don't know who people are just by looking at them. There are several things which they have to say and do as well a produce in order for you to deduce that conclusion. For instance: their language, their practices, their faith, their food, their dress code, their passport etc... Identifying the nationality of someone reflects from the inside out and not vice-versa. Culture is internal.
God gave HIS nation Israel HIS laws for them to maintain a rightful relationship and allegiance to HIM. But HIS primary intent was to be in a love relationship with HIS people rather than have a group of people living in submission to HIM void of intimacy and filled with following continuous laws. Laws do not correct sin. They are put in place to deter sin. But sin originates in the heart and mind. Sin can only be corrected if there's a transformation of the thought process. One has to see something wrong with it and then decide to stop doing it; to think opposite thoughts, to exchange ideas. That way the new motive will cause the person to automatically change directions which will/ should result in different actions. For instance: the desire to sleep with someone's spouse might be influenced by the movies you watch, books you read, or the things you do with that person. In order to correct those desires first you have to acknowledge that your thoughts are wrong. If you want to kill a plant or person you stop feeding it/ him. So too you would need to stop doing the things which positively contribute to your thoughts and desires for that thing. You might need to change some of your habits. The important thing is intentional change. Some changes require the help of The Holy Spirit.
God wanted HIS nation/ people to gravitate towards HIM based on their affection and not from their fear of punishment. They didn't understand. Instead they just buried themselves in more laws because their desires for sin and disobedience increased with their constant sacrifice of penitence. They kept sacrificing more and more animals and this displeased God. As a result God sent Jesus from heaven to earth to demonstrate HIS love towards HIS people and to teach them how to serve God correctly. Their system was totally offtrack.
Isaiah 9: 5-7
7 Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David and upon His Kingdom, to order it and to establish it with judgement and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
In the past it was customary for men to carry yokes on their shoulders. Matthew 11 Jesus when HE started HIS ministry on earth as a Rabbi HE told the people to take HIS yoke upon them i.e. to let the government system from heaven dictate their lifestyle on earth. Jesus brought the culture of heaven to earth with its system of government. It's like when the European nations colonised the Caribbean they sent a Governor to the region to setup their government system and teach the people how to be submitted to their new royalty even though it was thousands of miles away in the mainland of origin. The Governor relocated to that country and brought soldiers, resources and a mandate. His rules and regulations for the new region were a module of the Main Empire. The people in the new region learnt the language, ate the food and wore similar styles of fashion as the people in the Main Empire. A complete culture was transported with everything else. So too Jesus brought the culture of heaven the Main Empire to the colony of the Kingdom of Heaven in the earth.
First, Jesus had to die on the cross as the corrective sacrifice to God for all of mankind's sin. HE represented the animal sacrifice of a lamb. The sacrifice gave us the opportunity to regain a rightful relationship with God. God does not tolerate sin. HE would not interact with us if sin wasn't removed from our reality. When Jesus died HE gave us access to the presence of The Almighty God again. We had lost it when Adam and Eve sinned in the garden of Eden and God banished them. After Jesus resurrected from the dead HE gave us the keys to the Kingdom and went back to be with HIS Father God. But before HE left He promised HIS disciples to send the Holy Spirit as the Governor to teach them how to live in right relationship with God on earth. The Holy Spirit is the governor who has come to colonise the earth so that it resembles the government system in heaven where HE is from. In heaven they speak a language called tongues. It's just like speaking, french or spanish or english. It's the way they communicate in heaven and the way we do the same. HE gives us power to live healthy lifestyles in the earth the way they do in heaven. There's no sickness in heaven. We have to be taught how to use the power and authority that comes with becoming a citizen of the Kingdom of heaven.
The currency used in heaven is faith instead of money. Everything about the system of heaven is different from the worldly system that we as people on earth are accustomed to. For instance: instead of hoarding to increase. In heaven you increase what you have by giving it away. The more you give is the more you get. It's a completely different mindset. Romans 12. You influence the world around you by your very nature instead of the obvious. People experience your power and presence in a real way. Like yeast in a dough you are very effective. or like a small mustard seed you become the biggest tree in the forest. Your influence is based on the authority you receive as a result of your submission and relationship to the leadership of the governor which is the Holy Spirit. Instead of being lead by the prince of this world the devil, you are now being lead by the Prince of Peace. Jesus is the Prince of Peace whose instructions are what the Holy Spirit use to teach us. This is the Word of God from God the Father. The more you make it a lifestyle is the more it will flow and show to others from the inside out that you are a citizen of The Kingdom of heaven. Ephesians 2.
TESTIMONY: Sid Roth: "There Was A Demon Inside Of Me!"
WORSHIP: Our Father - Bethel Live (Worship song with Lyrics) 2012 Album
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