THE KINGDOM OF GOD

One of the great mysteries of God is His kingdom. It is sad to see and hear what many Christians have done to change Jesus' original thought of what He wanted to do on earth (what He came preaching) into great presumption and even downright lies to manipulate people for money and power. The kingdom of God is nothing more than a submitted heart to the authority of God and His word in our lives (thus coming into the kingdom of God) whereby He sits on the throne of our heart as King and is the unquestioned ruler. No matter the circumstances and situations we face in life God's rulership prevails in our lives and can we weather the storms of life. As I said many things have been said and written about the kingdom of God, so let us take a heart look. First it is God's kingdom not ours. Like faith the kingdom of God is God's and we cannot add one muster seed to it no matter how hard we try. We today in the church are trying to build God's kingdom and you know what, God needs no help all we need to do is submit to Him and He will take it from there. Remember our submission of heart is the beginning of our salvation not the words we speak as we walk the aisle. Did you know there is a difference between obedience and submission. Submission is a matter of attitude while obedience is a matter of conduct. Thus submission is absolute, but obedience is relative. In God often times what we believe to be right or wrong does not matter. Obedience is related to conduct, it is relative. Submission is related to our heart attitude and is absolute. Only when we submit ourselves to God, His word, and His will for our lives can we come into the kingdom of God. Back in the 70s and 80s Christians foolishly would get into airplanes and fly above regions and cities so they could "cast" down principalities and powers (in the name of Jesus) or "bind" them, yet the evil continued and even increased. They twisted the truth of verses into something they were never intended to be. Matthew shares, "And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind (Strong's #1210, to gather, tie, knit) on earth shall be bound (Strong's #1210) in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Matthew 16:19) Notice not the kingdom of God, but the kingdom of Heaven, there is a huge difference. They would "bind" Satan in the name of Jesus (the precious name above all names) on Wednesday and have to do it again on Sunday and then again on Wednesday. Did Satan have the power to get loose from God? Of course not this is all showmanship and kabuki theater. The word "bind" here means to gather, like gathering sheaves together to make them stand up. So now with this truth in mind, whatsoever is gathered to us on earth is gathered to us in heaven. And whatsoever is loosed on earth is loosed in heaven. There is not a demon under every rock like some Christians believe. God has used me (many times) to cast out evil spirits (like recorded in the Bible) in people. I personally know Satan is real (after all the Bible talks about him) you are wagering your soul if you think he is not real, but there is no parallel kingdom of evil that Satan has set up with different levels of demons (word not mentioned in the KJV of the Bible) to do warfare against God. If you believe this then you have given Satan power and sway in your thoughts and life. Satan was defeated on the cross and is to be defeated in our lives. Now Satan is evil, he is a liar (the father of all lies), a counterfeiter, but he cannot get in our thoughts, he cannot make us do things, he cannot be in more than one place at a time. Yet Satan gets blamed for a lot of things he is not the author of. If we believe this drivel then Satan will rule and reign (be seated on our heart throne) in our lives. Nowhere in the Bible did Jesus talk about or define Satan or his minions having power over us, He just dealt with them with power and authority and we must also. Sadly again the church got this wrong (you can manipulate people with this teaching) when they invented a doctrine/term called "spiritual warfare." The concept is not defined anywhere nor do the words even appear in the KJV of the Bible. My word, just go out to the internet and look at all of the websites, the 1,000s of books, the DVDs, teachings (you can use at church or home group meetings), and all of the deliverance ministries that spin this doctrine/term. Again these folks have twisted verses like, "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, (Strong's #746, magistrate, power, principality, principle, rule) against powers, (Strong's #1849, delegated influence, authority, jurisdiction, liberty, power, right, strength). against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." (Ephesians 6:12) If you look at the words (where the truth of the verse is found) you will find this verse has nothing to do with the spiritual realm, but more to do with the "rulers of the darkness" and "spiritual wickedness in high places" of the government, magistrates, and local leaders. Paul was not talking about Satan, but the Roman government who was evil and acting like Satan. The same in Colossians, when he said, "And having spoiled principalities (Strong's #746) and powers (Strong's #1849), he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it." (Colossians 2:15) You MUST follow the context of the verses and theme of the chapter to have correct understanding. Sadly many people are getting rich while others are being deceived. How greedy and misguided of the church. We must not make this walk with the LORD harder than it needs to be. Yes Satan is alive, but according to the Bible I read Jesus has given us all power and authority. Luke encourages us to know, "Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils (Strong's #1142, supernatural spirit (of a bad nature)) and to cure diseases. 2 And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick." (Luke 9:1-2) The "them" includes us too. We need not define or examine Satan or devils only deal with them with the power and authority given to us by Christ. The only power Satan or devils have in our lives is the power we give them. The more we think about or study them the more power we give them. This dangerous inquiry will even affect our heart condition giving us a dark perspective of the spiritual realm and of people. It will blunt or even stunt our spirit so that our spiritual focus will be on darkness and not on the glorious light of what Christ wants for our lives. And it will even affect our mind giving us a wrong thinking process to how God functions and operates whereby we miss the real truths of the word of God. I know of a church that built their belief around the so called spiritual warfare and deliverance (almost exclusively), that started off okay, but before they closed their doors in scandal and shame were drinking human blood during their communion service. The longer one goes looking for Satan and devils (and make no mistake my friend they will find them) the less they are looking for God. Anyway it is not Satan or his minions that causes us to sin and do evil in God's eyes it is our own evil heart and the lust contained therein. James tells us, "But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringethforthdeath.16 Do not err, my beloved brethren." (James 1:14-16) Not Satan, but it is our own lust that entraps us so. My dear mother would never even call his name, yet I have been in Pentecostal churches where they pray to Satan and even to Babylonian and Canaanite dumb idols in the name of spiritual warfare. How ungodly is that? We need not be so fast to concede or relegate the spiritual realm to Satan. God has so much more for us if we can just look away from Satan and his evil, darkness, and gaze into the face and the glorious light of Christ. I wonder what the Bible says about the kingdom of God? Believe it or not, the Bible has a lot to say. Did you know the term "kingdom of God" has 359 occurrences in the KJV in 91 verses? Let us let the Scriptures speak for themselves; Brother Paul helps us with what the kingdom of God is, "For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." (Romans 14:17). It does not sound like you can get a job in the kingdom of God as some preachers and teachers say. Luke helps us with where it is, "Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you." (Luke 17:21) Wow the kingdom of God is within us. In our heart. And our heart is the throne God wants to be crowned upon. Luke helps us if we want to see it, "And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:" (Luke 17:20) We cannot see it with our physical eyes, but we know it when we enter. Mark gives us a clue that it is waiting for us, "And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel." (Mark 1:15) But Luke in Acts tells us, "Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God." (Acts 14:22) Tribulation is the price we pay to enter the kingdom of God whereby He deals and judges in our lives through life. Not too many people abide in the kingdom of God the cost is too great. I really like this one. Luke again helps us (Doctor Luke had much to say about the kingdom), "And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand." (Luke 8:10) The kingdom of God is hard to understand unless you have the right heart condition. I like serving a God that is a mystery who I cannot figure out. Here is where we really get into trouble. Matthew tells us, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." (Matthew 6:33) We go seeking the kingdom of God and all of the "things" thinking they are found in the kingdom (power, titles, jobs, authority, money etc.), but they are not, so we make the kingdom of God something God never intended it to be. Luke again helps us what our status within the kingdom of God is, "And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God." (Luke 6:20) The condition for entering into the kingdom of God is to be poor in spirit, spiritually bankrupt, where we see no value in our self. Maybe that is why there are not many people in the kingdom of God. Matthew tells us, "Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." (Matthew7:14) The kingdom of God is life (God's life) for those that find it. Written by David Stahl

LET US PRAY

This year during the National Day of Prayer millions of Christians and sinners alike will gather in churches, chapels, synagogues, and even mosques to pray for America, but sadly I believe not much in the Spiritual realm will be accomplished. Oh they will have a wonderful time visiting with each other, eating, and even praying together, but I am not sure how much God will be involved in their prayers. The rallying verse from the Bible will be: "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." (2 Chronicles 7:14) Strange how we think today because of our ungodly culture and the moral decay of our society in America we have discovered this verse, but oh no my friends this moral decay and ungodliness has been going on in my life time since the early 60s and this verse has always been in the Bible. We kicked God out of school in 1962 (and the church did nothing about it) and now we wonder why we have so many school shootings and even killings? In 1973 the Supreme Court of America (while the church did nothing about it. They said they were concerned about souls and did not want to offend, but in reality the church was more concerned about the money and the power they would lose if they spoke up) passed a law (that impacted the world) to make wholesale slaughter of babies in the mother's womb legal. How greedy of the church. Since then we have had over 53 million babies offered up on the altar of convenience, pride, and selfishness and now wonder why the birth rate in America is decreasing and our financial systems in America are crumbling, not to mention the ungodly evil acts of barbarism. While all the time this verse was neatly tucked away in the Bible. So now we pop this verse out like a magic wand and wave it in the air as we pray thinking God will just forgive us and heal our land? How religious of us. In 2015 again the Supreme Court said sodomy was okay between a man and man and lesbianism was okay between a woman and a woman (God said they were an abomination) and even said they could marry (while the church said and did nothing) again it was a money issue and falling attendance. Again the church was more concerned about money and the influence, and power it would lose. How greedy and religious of the church. No my friend God will not look past America's sins our day is coming unless we submit and turn from our wicked ways. Why are we praying? Read the verse again. For our land to be healed there are things that must be done before we pray. It says we have to "humble" ourselves. This means we are to submit to the authority of God and His word in our lives thus coming into the kingdom of God whereby He sits on the throne of our heart as King and is the unquestioned ruler of our lives. What a strange concept for most Christians. We must submit to God and His word and not the denominationalism and title driven leadership structure (Bishops, Apostles, etc.), but submit to the truth that every word of the Bible is inspired right from the heart of God whereby we can no longer wiggle around verse after verse. My God we have lesbians and sodimites leading churches, denominations, and we think God will bless our nation? We are killing babies by the millions and selling their body parts. How foolish are we? We support and even vote for people who openly defy God and His word (by their words and actions) and feel we are still a Christian. How poor, blind, and naked are we? God will not bless a nation whose culture is ungodly and evil, I do not care how long and how hard the people pray. So we must "humble ourselves" and then "turn from their wicked ways." In other words we must stop aborting babies, call the homosexual lifestyles what God calls it, an abomination. We must stop calling evil good and good evil turning our heads away from sin. We do all of these things and just because we pray we think God is going to stay His hand of judgment. How ungodly and miserable are we? My friend God's heart for us is to come into the kingdom of God and for this to happen we must understand the truth about God and His kingdom. More to come on this topic in my next article. By all means let us pray, but praying to pray without humbling ourselves is insanity. Can God heal our land? Yes without question, but it is not up to God, His ability, or power it is up to us. When God speaks and promises us something it is always His intention in the speaking, but if God's intention happens it is because we have met the conditions for God's intentions to happen. And here in 2 Chronicles 7:14 we must humble (submit) ourselves, pray, seek God's face (which is more than praying), and turn from our wicked ways. Only praying will do little to nothing for us. I will be honest I am not hopeful America will change the Bible does not lend itself towards that, but I am hopeful in God and that is enough for America and us. Remember God is to us what we are to God. It is not God bless America, but America bless God.