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Kingdom Power

August 22, 2019 / / 0 Comments

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First the Kingdom Part 23: Kingdom Power

There was a man sent from God whose name is John. In fact his mission was determined before he was born. He was filled with the Holy Spirit while still in his mothers womb. Instead of following in his fathers path as a priest of the levitical order, he would be the prophet to herald the coming of the Messiah of Israel.

The people who heard his message were called to repent of their sins because the Kingdom of God was near. Then they followed him into the Jordan River to be ceremonially cleansed as a part of their repentance. He would not permit his disciples to put their faith in him. He said another would come after he had baptized them in the water. John did not even feel worthy to take off the shoes of this one to wash His feet. He told them this this one would baptize them in the Holy Spirit and fire.

When Jesus came to be baptized by his cousin John, John refused. He would rather be baptized by Jesus. But Jesus insisted. When Jesus came up out of the water the heavens opened unto Him, a voice then came saying, “This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.” Then the Holy Spirit came and landed upon Him like a dove. From that time on, Jesus began demonstrating the power of God, the power of the Kingdom through the working of healings, miracles and delivering people from demon possession.

Both John and Jesus placed strong emphasis on Holy, godly living. They both respected the law of Moses which stood at the heart of the nation of Israel but they were also quick to point out that there was a wrong and a right way to observe the law. As other prophets of Israel they scolded the people who outwardly kept the law, while their hearts were far from loving the God Who graciously saved them from slavery.

Neither John nor Jesus left the people with heavy moral demands and no hope for fulfilling them. John told of the Holy Spirit and fire to come, and Jesus proved what the Holy Spirit could do to heal the minds, hearts and bodies of those who cried out to God for help. We must keep in mind that all of this is consistent with the history of Israel. Abraham and Sarah by faith received the miracle of a child in their old age, Jacob encountered God at Bethel and later received His blessing. Joseph had the help of the Spirit to interpret dreams for Pharaoh, and Moses was empowered by God to work miracles before Pharaoh and Israel. After that judges like Samson were empowered by the Holy Spirit with special abilities to serve the nation. David was anointed by the Spirit of God and was blessed to lead the armies and the nation. Solomon received supernatural wisdom, and prophets like Samuel, Elijah, Elisha, Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Daniel served the people as the Holy Spirit spoke the Word of God through them.

It has always been this principle, God resists the proud, but give grace unto the humble.

If this message accomplishes anything at all, I hope and pray that you will be encouraged to humble yourselves before Him. It does not matter how successful you are in this life or if you were raised in a Christian home and never strayed from the faith. We all need to be humble before God. There is often a serious lack of supernatural ability in Christians to overcome temptations, fears, addictions, bad attitudes etc. Could the reason for this be that we have failed to received the fullness of this baptism, this gift that God through Christ has offered us? Could it be that we have been too proud to admit our need?

In John 3:3-5 Jesus said that we must be born of the water and the Spirit to enter into the Kingdom of God. I doubt that anyone reading this or hearing this podcast would argue that anyone could come to Christ without the help of the Holy Spirit. If any change of heart ever comes we know it had to come from the intervention of God and His grace. I certainly hope that you do not credit yourself with becoming a new creation, or a better person!

Is the New Birth the one and only act of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer? Jesus had dozens of followers before Calvary. Some of them had even been given the authority to work miracles as well. But there was an even greater work of the Holy Spirit to come. Jesus said that rivers of living water would flow out from the innermost being of those who believed in Him. When John the apostle recorded this statement he explained that this would happen after Jesus would be glorified. After His resurrection, Jesus told them how the time for Kingdom power was very near.

Christians believe that the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ was a world-changing event. God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not counting their sins against them. The only thing left is for us is to receive the benefit of this reconciling work. This is where the preaching of the Gospel comes in. How can people believe in someone they do not know? How can they know if they are not told? How can they be told if God does not send his messengers? So faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.(Romans 10:13-17).

The Cross and Resurrection of Christ makes everything else possible, including the promised coming of the Holy Spirit in power. People need to also hear the good news that God has provided all the power we will ever need to live in His Kingdom now. That aspect of the Gospel must also be proclaimed and believed. For thousands of years this truth has been largely forgotten. Today it is being declared around the world that kingdom power is available to those who believe, but amidst great confusion and controversy.

However in the Bible we see no evidence of a controversy on this subject. John and Jesus foretold of an immersion in the Holy Spirit, Luke in Acts detailed exactly how that happened. Calvary was a one-time, once and for all time event. Then the Day of Pentecost, when Christ poured out His Spirit on all humanity was the fruit of that. Together these two world-changing events herald the Lordship of Jesus Christ and the beginning of God’s Kingdom reign upon this earth! However, are there many who have received the gift of forgiveness brought at Calvary, but not the infusion of power brought at Pentecost? How can they know since they have not heard?

In Acts chapter nineteen there where some people in Ephesis who had heard the Gospel of the Kingdom most likely from disciples of John the Baptist. Paul asked them if they had received the Holy Spirit since they believed, to which they answered, “we did not even know there was a Holy Spirit!” These folks were sincere, humble and hungry for God. They immediately received the more complete Gospel from Paul, were baptized in the Name of Jesus and filled with the Holy Spirit, evidenced by the gifts of tongues and prophesy.

Since the early Twentieth Century, more people have become aware of the power that has been available to believers since the Day of Pentecost. In their zeal to encourage other believers to receive this power they have stirred up controversy and a division exists among us to this day. Not only that, but counterfeit demonstrations of power have added to the controversy. The lack of discernment among those of us who accept any strange phenomena as from the Holy Spirit is also a problem.

Once God called His people to “come, let us reason together.” Could it be that the time has come to reason together on controversial subjects like End-time prophecy, the sign gifts, and the supernatural manifestations of the Kingdom of God? Established teachings for many generations have accepted that the days of miracles were over near the end of the apostolic era. It is acknowledged that the inspired writings of that first generation of church leaders have secured the “faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.” The foundation has been laid for the church of later generations, and the basic errors have all been addressed. Therefore some reason that miracles are no longer useful or needed.

Even the controversy we are discussing has already been addressed in the New Testament! Paul explained that love is the greatest gift of all, but that we should still desire spiritual gifts so that we could build up one another in love! Why is this important?

The fact is that confidence in the bible is at an all-time low in our day, even among some who claim to be Christians! The same power of God that worked miracles to validate the message of the kingdom that the apostles brought is needed today. While we recognize that the Holy Spirit Himself has always validated the Word of God in the hearts of hearers throughout the ages, there is no indication in the Bible that God has stopped performing miracles for this same purpose.

While Jesus chastised those who clamor after signs alone, He continued to shock His generation with infallible proofs of His calling and message. Like Peter, who stepped out of the boat to meet Jesus on the water, may we focus on Jesus, His beauty, glory, power and love, step out in faith when He bids us, and trust in Him to support us when we fail. That risk is always possible, but the greatest failure might be to not step out at all!

Only One Gospel?

August 9, 2019 / / 0 Comments

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First the Kingdom Part 22, Only One Gospel?

The word “gospel” has come to mean many things today. Anyone who has a new idea or a supposedly better way of doing things is often seen as presenting his or her gospel. In the time that the New Testament of the Bible was written, there was one word commonly used to convey that a wonderful event had come or was coming. It was the Greek word “euangélion,” which means “a message of good news.” From this we get our English word “evangelist,” who is a messenger of good news, and the word “evangelical,” which usually describes those who promote the good news of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Since the old English word for good news, “Gospel” was used in the early English bible translations it has found a permanent place in our language to this day.

In the New Testament the word is used exclusively in connection with the Good News of Jesus Christ. Paul the apostle of Christ left no doubt about his confidence in The Gospel:

In Romans 1:16-17, he writes:

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous man shall live by faith.”
NASB

Elsewhere in his letter to the Corinthians he clearly states the content of the gospel he had been proclaiming:

1 Corinthians 15:1-4:
Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…
NASB

Right here is the heart of Evangelical Christianity. Around the world there are people and churches with differing beliefs, but this one message either unifies or divides them. The one living and vital group of people who know the Christ of the Bible, know that He came to save sinners by laying down His life for them, and by taking it up again to prove His Lordship.

But what of the Good News of the Kingdom of God? Is the Gospel that Jesus preached a different one than the one Paul proclaimed? There are those who would say yes. Some believe that the Gospel of the Kingdom was rejected, and that the Kingdom was postponed for over 2,000 years. They teach that it was necessary for the Gospel of Grace to intervene until a time in the future. At this future time, they look for the world to be judged in 7 years of great suffering and sorrow known as the Great Tribulation. After that Christ will come and establish His reign in the earth, which He had intended to do at His first coming.

To be fair, I believe this is a sincere attempt to reconcile both the Old and New Testament prophecies that seem to conflict with one another. Even the disciples of Jesus had questions about prophecies concerning Israel which had not yet come to pass. Jesus told them it was not for them to know then, but He did give them what they needed to know for that time.

He told them that they would receive power after the Holy Spirit had come upon them, and that they would bear witness of Him in Jerusalem, Judea, Samariah and to the ends of the world. (Acts 1:6-8)

At this time I would like to propose a simpler solution to the problem of fulfilled and unfulfilled prophecy. But before I do that we need to look at another statement of Paul’s upon which everything else pivots. In Gal 1:8-9 he writes:

But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! 9 As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!
NASU

Think of it! Twice he calls down a curse upon anyone, including himself, who preaches another gospel!

There is only one true Gospel! The Gospel of the Kingdom is the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

The problem might be in our limited understanding. The early believers received grace of course, but they also looked for the new heavens and new earth to come very soon. over time some began to think that the prophecies of the kingdom coming to earth were only spiritual, and that the real and ultimate goal was to go to heaven. People were dying from sickness, old age and persecution. It was a great comfort to know that Christ would eventually return and bring them back with Him when He comes. But that time seemed so far away. Even Peter reminded his readers that “a day with the Lord is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” He urged patience.

Over time the expectation and hope of a better world here and on this time line almost completely faded. Only during times of great refreshing from the presence of the Lord did that expectation become renewed. We are living in one of those very times! Thank God we are living in a day when the salvation that is brought by the Gospel is being more fully understood! Personal peace with God must come first. After that peace with one another. And yet there is a peace that permeates the creation!

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes! Now I ask you, if Jesus Christ is truly Lord of all, demonstrated by His resurrection, why could He not bring a salvation to His people that goes even beyond anyone’s imagination?  How small a view we at times have of His grace, of His power to do more than forgive us. Do we possibly have the guts, the courage to believe what Jesus said about the fulfillment of all that the prophets had spoken? (Luke 24:25).

The Bible is full of symbolic language. In our modern world we also use symbolic language without realizing it. We have traffic signs that use symbols in the place of words to warn of sharp turns, to watch for children and animals. Colors are also used to indicate whether or not to stop or go on the road. We use symbols in music and in art, and in advertising as well. Since we have become familiar with all these symbols, we usually know what they represent and take this knowledge for granted.

When the Bible was written the use of symbolic words was common. I would guess that the people of that time understood which words were symbolic and not to be taken in the usual way. An easy example I can think of is in young Joseph’s earliest dreams. In one of them he saw the sun and moon and eleven stars bowing down to him. Immediately his family members understood and were angry because this depicted all of them bowing down to serve him, the youngest! (Genesis 3:5-10)

This was in fact a prophesy, and it is in prophesy that symbolic language is most often used. People then knew the language was symbolic, but they did not always know what it meant, including the prophets themselves. (1 Peter 1:10-12). So here we are, centuries later, trying to understand the words of the prophets. As in Joseph’s and Daniel’s day, the wisest and most knowledgeable try to understand the prophecies and visions in the Bible. We all sense that they contain important truth, but we differ in how to understand them. We need gifted individuals, like Joseph and Daniel to hear from God and to help us!

While some believe the Bible contradicts itself, those of us who have been blessed with anointed teachers have discovered wonderful unity and harmony in both the Old and New Testaments. There are truly mysteries yet to be unveiled, but what we have seen has overwhelmed us! There are keys to understanding the plan of God. We must begin with the clear message, and allow the pieces of the puzzle come together to reveal the full picture.

So let us proceed with the premise that the message of Jesus, the Good News that the Kingdom of God had come is the Gospel that Paul preached concerning the grace of God. It begins with your personal salvation, my personal salvation by grace through faith. These are critical pieces of the puzzle. Kingdom prophecies in this area have already been fulfilled. We who have believed, repented and trusted in Christ are in His Kingdom now! Because we have seen a measure of the glory of God, we have hope for seeing more of Him!

He is still at work and we get to partner with Him in the completion of His plan to fill the earth with the knowledge of His glory! There is both a present and future fulfillment. Let’s rejoice in them both! We hope you will continue with us in this study as we look at other pieces in this “puzzle” that reveals God’s wonderful purpose of the ages!

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