Okay, see if you can follow this. In a blog post written by Felicity Dale, she quotes author Phillip Mauro from his book, "The Church the Churches and the Kingdom". He writes, "… we cannot regard it as a matter of indifference but rather of grave concern that in our day the existence of the Kingdom of God as a present reality, the place and responsibility of every regenerated person therein and the great and precious truths and promises that pertain thereto, have all but faded out of the consciousness of those who have entered into that Kingdom by the door of the new birth;" (emphasis mine)
Our Wednesday group has been looking at the Kingdom of God (KoG) for the last several weeks now. It is changing my perspective of the Christian walk big time! Mauro's quote for me was a reality, "faded out of the consciousness". What does Scripture say?
-John the Baptist preached, "Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." (Mat. 3:2)
-Jesus said, "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness". (Mat6:33)
-"Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the Council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God," (Mark 15:43)
-Jesus said, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God," (Luke 8:10)
-"Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." (John3:5)
-"And he (Paul) entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God." (Acts 19:8
Vine's says,the Kingdom of God is (a) the sphere of God’s rule. The Kingdom is also (b) the sphere in which at any given time His rule is acknowledged.
This world needs to hear about this kingdom. You need to know about this kingdom. There are many verses that say what the kingdom is like (check out my April 21st post), what it is, and what it is not. John the Baptist preached the KoG, Jesus preached the KoG, Paul, Peter, James , and John preached the KoG. Get the picture? See how my perspective can be changed? How about you? Get a concordance and start studying. You will be changed! God bless y'all real good.
2 comments:
Thanks KH! A quick search shows that in the NKVJ the phrase K of G appears about 70 times in the new testament. At the very least this should tell us to take notice. Two verses and concepts jumped out at me.
Sometimes it is helpful to understand what a concept is by first seeing what it “is not”. Paul in 1 Corinthians 4:20 states “For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power.” This is a good reminder that we should be caught up not in talking about it but living in it in power! Paul used this as a sign of his authenticity and calling from God. James talks about being doers and not just hearers of the word. (Also check out Romans 14:17 )
Even more powerful is Revelation 12:10-11 “Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, ‘Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.’”
They did not love their lives to death. The NLT puts is bluntly, “And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die.” If we understand God’s word, his call and his kingdom we should see a calling that somehow transcends much of what is temporal and transient here on earth. This includes our life that is but a vapor.
That gives somewhat of a WOW factor!!
Thanks for the reminder KH!!
Thanks KH! A quick search shows that in the NKVJ the phrase K of G appears about 70 times in the new testament. At the very least this should tell us to take notice. Two verses and concepts jumped out at me.
Sometimes it is helpful to understand what a concept is by first seeing what it “is not”. Paul in 1 Corinthians 4:20 states “For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power.” This is a good reminder that we should be caught up not in talking about it but living in it in power! Paul used this as a sign of his authenticity and calling from God. James talks about being doers and not just hearers of the word. (Also check out Romans 14:17 )
Even more powerful is Revelation 12:10-11 “Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, ‘Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.’”
They did not love their lives to death. The NLT puts is bluntly, “And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die.” If we understand God’s word, his call and his kingdom we should see a calling that somehow transcends much of what is temporal and transient here on earth. This includes our life that is but a vapor.
That gives somewhat of a WOW factor!!
Thanks for the reminder KH!!
Rudy
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