Tag: Holy Spirit (Page 2 of 2)

The Kingdom Perspective

April 4, 2019 / Dan Beaty / 0 Comments

Subscribe: RSS

First the Kingdom, Part 12, The Kingdom Perspective

With all this talk about the Kingdom of God, some might wonder “what’s the big deal?” Does it really matter that we think in terms of how our actions are involved in this grand plan that seems to be taking a very long time to complete? Besides that, the majority report does not even agree with the things I have been saying. Who are we to question the more famous Biblical scholars in our day?

Today I will be taking the opportunity to address these questions. First of all, I hope that you will not be simply persuaded by my exhortations but by the Holy Spirit Himself, and through your own thorough studies of the scriptures. I am convinced that given that investment, you will at least see that the Good News of the Kingdom of God was important to Jesus. If understanding, loving and serving Him is important to you, this should become a priority in your life. He instructed His followers to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. He also told His disciples to pray that the Kingdom would come, and that God’s will would be done in earth as in heaven. Finally He told His followers to repeat everything he told them to the nations as they were being discipled! That in itself is a very big deal.

There is the fact that the Christian faith is advancing God’s will in the earth already, even among people who are not consciously thinking in these terms. God is always at work within us to fulfill His good pleasure, even when we do not fully know His plan. However, there are advantages to understanding His plan. And I think I have the backing of the apostles, prophets and even Jesus in that statement. There is the matter of having light on our path, a vision that we might not lose direction, and the wisdom that understanding brings.

Is it possible that believers in Christ could be more effective in spreading His Gospel than they already are? While I am encouraged by every sincere effort, some of the mistakes we make can easily undermine our efforts. Take for instance the competition that exists among churches. Is it possible that we have embarrassed ourselves in front of the watching world as we compete with one another over already converted souls? Would it not be much better to have a Kingdom perspective? Does Christ really receive the glory due His name when we are more concerned with pleasing people than Him? Why do we feel the need to constantly change our style of worship to keep up with the latest fad? Why do we fear losing members over trivial disagreements? why do we think so much about numbers and the church budget — things Jesus never talked about?

Is it because our vision is too small? Is it because we fail to present a victorious Savior who has no competition? Does a bigger, more luxurious building really serve to advance the Kingdom of God more than a small group praying in someone’s home? These are all things I have struggled with, and in which a greater perspective of the Kingdom has brought liberation.

While the Gospel is about meeting our need for deliverance from sin and death, it is also about satisfying the Father’s great desire for us! The Kingdom perspective is God’s perspective. It is the bigger picture. It is greater than our individual church groups. If all we are building is for our own church family, then maybe we are more interested in our own little kingdoms than God’s glorious eternal Kingdom that cannot be shaken or moved!

Here is a liberating thought: Everything is here for a purpose. Even after the fall due to Adam and Eve’s sin, there exists evidence of harmony in the universe. Life on earth depends up the balance between plant and animal life. Plants need carbon dioxide which animals generate, and animals need oxygen, which plants generate. The sun, moon and the planets move about in perfect order.

The only thing that is out of order is humanity.

The imperative, “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand,” is the call for a “paradigm shift.” This is a change in perspective that works. It is a return to the balance and harmony that existed in the beginning. Paul the apostle put it this way, The Kingdom of God is not about eating and drinking but righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 14:17) In this chapter, he was dealing with specific rules of conduct like the Jews had in their dietary laws. He was fine with those who continued to avoid certain foods according to their own consciences. It is just that the Kingdom of God is something else, on an entirely different plane. The paradigm shift is a shift in focus to this higher realm in God.

The shift in perspective that Jesus brought was to reorder our thinking to God’s thinking. He created each of us with a purpose. When we resist that purpose we are in fact resisting His righteousness, peace and joy.

It is also a change in allegiance. Whether we knew it or not, before the change in direction to follow Christ, we were actually in service to the enemy. Chaos is the devils friend. God’s order of righteousness, peace and joy is not easily seen from this lower, earthly plane of existence. That is why believers are called to seek those things which are above, and to be seated with Christ in heavenly places. Our enemy is in the business of distracting us, in order to keep our focus off of the Kingdom of God.

To seek first the Kingdom of God is to have a preoccupation with the person of Jesus Christ, His Lordship and His agenda in this world. If my traditions in the church begin to get in the way of His purpose, I have the freedom to let go of them. If my patterns of thinking are a hindrance, they can be cast aside as well. Sorry to say, some of this change has not been without an inner struggle. I have been so committed in the past to some beliefs and habits, that He had to literally tear them from me. And yet am I ever thankful that He did!

So here I am, reaching out to anyone who will listen, hoping others will receive what God has burned within my heart. The walls of traditional thinking have become so thick that my words often come bouncing back to me. Others who feel they have been freed from tradition can be equally hard to reach. The man-centered gospel has actually high-jacked Kingdom terminology to be grossly misused. It breaks my heart so see the greed, the pride, the arrogance of those who even see Christ as a means to getting the luxuries that they want in this world. It is even worse when this is identified with the Kingdom of God!

What will happen to these so-called “kingdom” people when the kingdoms of this world fail? Everything that can be shaken, will be shaken. If we are so tied to these worldly kingdoms, we too will fall. In Christ we have received a kingdom that cannot be shaken, that will stand forever.

God is in the process of recruiting warriors who are willing to stand with Him. They see the bigger picture and are willing to deny themselves for a greater cause. If the cults and political activists can recruit their millions to support their vision of a perfect world, why is the church afraid to proclaim the true vision that God Himself has given to us? Jesus started with a small band of followers whose limited vision of the Kingdom enabled them to sacrifice their lives. How clear is your vision today? Will it sustain you through the times we are facing?

Our wonderful Lord encourages us with these words in Luke 12:32:

Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
KJV

There must have been times when they trembled before the physical might of Rome. In Acts they gathered for prayer and God answered by filling them anew with the Holy Spirit and a greater boldness than before! What about us? Have we been intimidated by the recent flood of immorality in our modern world? Are we tempted to retreat into our Christian comfort zones? Or are we tempted to take up worldly weapons of anger, intimidation and the use of political power?

It amazes me that believers have so little interest in their history. We have so much to learn from the mistakes and the victories of the past. Those who had a direct connection with Jesus and His apostles were powerless in this world but oh so powerful in Christ! The more they were oppressed, the more victorious they became. Their total trust was in Christ, and not any worldly strategy.

Obedience to Jesus was their greatest weapon against the darkness.

Since we are 2,000 years removed from the experience of the early Christians, we tend to see things from our own perspective. And yet, we have the same Word of God and Spirit of God to help us recover the original intent of God, and how to apply the same simple and effective methods they used. I submit that their methods were effective primarily because of their Kingdom Perspective.

We hope this series on First the Kingdom has been helpful to you. To continue in this study with us, we invite you to “like” and “follow” https://www.facebook.com/livingtruthcom/ or subscribe to our blog on https:livingtruth.com

The Mustard Seed Conspiracy

March 21, 2019 / Dan Beaty / 0 Comments

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

First the Kingdom, part 10, The Mustard Seed Conspiracy

What we have been discussing in these podcasts is nothing less than the reign of our Lord Jesus Christ over the whole earth. For thousands of years the prophets foretold of His reign. Then from the very beginning of the New Testament, it was announced that the time for His reign had come. Everything Jesus had to say was related to the Kingdom of God. Great crowds of people rallied around His message and to receive the benefits of His healing powers. But most finally rejected Him when He failed to meet their expectations of Him.

A small band of followers stayed with Him and became His closest friends. To them He explained the Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven. Yes, it was real and very near. Yes it would come in power and the glory of God. Yes it would change everything. But only those who would patiently trust and learn from Him would be prepared for it. Only they would have special insight into what form and how it would appear.

In the story of course, it does not appear that the disciples and apostles understood everything perfectly. Their greatest struggle was with how He should die on a cross. After His resurrection, He was able to make things clearer. In fact He took them through the writings of Moses, the prophets and the Psalms and opened their understanding of the scriptures concerning Him. (Luke 24:44-45). This is the work of what Paul called the “spirit of wisdom and revelation of the knowledge of Christ.” (Ephesians 1:17-18)

Before His crucifixion, Jesus told them that the Spirit of Truth, Who was with them, would soon be in them. After His resurrection, Jesus explained the Kingdom of God to them even further before He ascended to His throne of authority in Heaven. Soon after, about 120 of them were filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, and began with great authority to declare His Lordship to the world! You see, there is intellectual truth, and their is also experiential truth. His Lordship was not academic to them. His Lordship was real and wonderful. The Kingdom did not come unto them from looking at the skies, or observing the political scene! The Kingdom of God was within them, to demonstrate His power in the earth!

Even then they struggled to understand the relationship between the Old Testament or Old Covenant and the New Covenant that Jesus introduced. In time the Holy Spirit would work this out, but they were already on their way in this adventure to “turn the world upside down!”

We have the advantage of hindsight in looking back at what they experienced and what followed. There were times when the Kingdom was so overwhelming that it looked as if paradise would be returning to the whole earth in a matter of weeks or months. Many gladly sold their possessions and freely shared with those in need. The euphoria did not last, however. The comfort of the Holy Spirit would never leave them, but circumstances would often test their faith in the future of God’s people and His Kingdom.

Persecution, famine, and various trials would come on the young church, and yet it continued to grow. over time, the hope for the Kingdom on earth was replaced with contentment to experience it in the next life. It was left to people like Peter and Paul to keep the expectation and the vision of it alive. To them knowing Jesus and that He said His reign had begun was enough.

We live in a time when many have failed to see the long-term the progress of the Kingdom in the earth. The freedom it brought us has long been taken for granted. When modern Christians see the rise of crime, immorality, terrorism, injustice, pornography, addictions and abortion, they become discouraged. All that is left is to await the end. Those of us who continue to look for more of the Kingdom to come, as God’s will is being done in this earth, are ridiculed. They think we are like those who would “polish the brass on a sinking ship,” or those who “rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic.”

It is only by Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation that we can see the Kingdom of God. Jesus Christ is Lord of all right now! He came to reconcile mankind to God two thousand years ago, and began His reign in the heart of a few. Like that grain of wheat or mustard seed He fell to the ground and died. He planted His life in the hearts of His followers and also in the collective consciousness of humanity. The world can never be the same! As evidence of this, we mark time around the world from the approximate date of His birth in Bethlehem! (Mark 4:26-34, John 12:23-25)

The heart of the Kingdom of God is of course the converted sinner, who lives to love and serve Him. But changes in society are also the result of the leaven of the Kingdom of God, leavening the whole loaf. Rome itself eventually bowed to Jesus Christ. The empire imperfectly served Him as did institutional Christianity. In spite of the imperfections, the drive for a better and just society has persisted. We realize that every advance of the Kingdom has been met with great opposition. Some through violence and others through subtle deception.

It has to be either fear or faith. When we consider only the outward appearances we might become overconfident when things go our way, or discouraged when the other side begins to succeed. The key is to stay focused on Christ and the work He is doing. Everywhere great victories are going unnoticed, just as in the days of the Roman Empire. Will we trust in the methods of Jesus, and follow Him to where ever He leads? Or will we assume the methods of the world, force, intimation, putting forth a false image, trying to impress people instead of pleasing God? If a shepherd boy could stand before a giant armed only with a slingshot and the Name of the LORD, Why do we think we need Saul’s armor?

As for me, I will stand with the meek and humble, those who believe that all things are possible with God. They take the Word of God and live in it by His power and grace! They know that the Father will take the hidden things that are pure and faithful to bring down tyrannical kingdoms that exist for their own glory. Next time we will take a closer look at the simple, and yet effective strategy that Christ has always used to extend His Kingdom here on earth.

The Armor of God

July 31, 2018 / Dan Beaty / 0 Comments

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

War and Peace

A great paradox as we live the life of faith in Jesus Christ is that of the existence of both war and peace. Because we have been forgiven and delivered from our past sinful lives we have peace with God and within ourselves. We have a wonderful sense of security and well-being in the knowledge of God’s love for us.

On the other hand, we are told that we have an enemy that would stop at nothing to destroy that peaceful relationship with God. He is very good at what he does, for he has been at it for quite a long time. He is sometimes called the devil or satan. The title devil comes from a Greek word that means slanderer, while satan is from a Hebrew word meaning opposer or adversary. Why our Lord permits this enemy to exist is known only to Him. It could be that we need the challenge for our spiritual growth. What ever the reason the fact remains, we have a powerful and cunning enemy.

As recipients of God’s love and grace we are given certain responsibilities to both protect ourselves and continue to bless and glorify our heavenly Father. We are warned by the apostles in their New Testament writings of the dangers our enemy presents and how to face them. The battle we face is commonly known as “spiritual warfare.”

In one sense we are already overcomers because the victory has already been won on our behalf by Christ. However, simple observation of Biblical history, church history, and present experience reveals that many sincere believers, whose salvation is secure in Christ, have fallen in their testimony for Christ.

My question for us all is, are we satisfied to have an eternal destiny in heaven secured, but uncaring for the testimony we have for Him now in this life? Do we not love Him such that we care enough to bring glory and honor to Him in this life? Should not our love for Him also extend to the rest of humanity, where many desperately need to see His love demonstrated by our living witness?

Here we come to the plan and purpose of our enemy. It is to hinder the plan and purpose God has for us.

God’s plan from the beginning was for us to bear His image, to take responsibility for His creation and to be fruitful and to multiply, thereby increasing His glory in the earth. We do this by loving God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength, and by loving our neighbor as ourselves.

The simplest, most basic description of the enemy’s goal is to prevent us from loving God and one another. He has several methods, but this will always be his goal. When we fail in love, we fall short of bringing God the glory he desires, and fail to live in full victory.

One of his very successful tricks is to convince us that if we have few bad habits, attend church regularly, and perform the correct rituals, we are doing just great. Then we might give little attention to the condition of our hearts. We can secretly harbor bitterness, jealousy, resentfulness, and even hate, without realizing that the devil has had his way with us!

Jesus exposed this trick when He distilled all of God’s laws into one principle: love. Love is the litmus test for true spirituality.

So even if the devil appeals to our human weaknesses, and tempts us to lust after things that harm us and others, the end result is the loss of love. Can a person who is obsessed with power, money, possessions have time to truly love God with all of his or her heart? Can a person who lusts after another’s spouse have truly loving thoughts for them and their families? Can someone who steals from or murders another be living in love? How about the one who ridicules another individual because of their shape, size or skin color?

If we look around, it is not difficult to find confessing believers in Christ who have become distracted from the love of God in Christ, and have chased after things that bring not glory but shame to the name of Jesus.

So we are here to answer the higher call of God in Christ! We not only want to receive eternal salvation but to bear His image before the world! We want to also enjoy the bliss of His love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, meekness, faith and self control, and to share these blessings with others!

The first step is to understand the nature of the battle. The next step is to engage in the battle. In this our victory is assured, for God is on our side when we are on HIs side!

He has given us powerful weapons. (Ephesians 6:10-20) These weapons are not to be used against people, but against those spiritual forces that work against the love of God that is within us. Because our minds are under constant attack, we must be diligent in our search for God’s wisdom and understanding, and get our strength from the knowledge of His Word.

The belt that supports our armor is Truth. it was a lie in the beginning that caused the loss of paradise. It is always the lie. Why else would the enemy be called a slanderer and deceiver? So we can only stand in the truth. Every other foundation is doomed.

This is about the reality of our problem, and the solution the God granted in Christ. Only a perfect sinless man could take upon Himself the debt we owe for our sins by His death on the Cross. This is the Truth that makes us free! We believe Him, and not the lie of the devil who accuses us and wants to keep us as slaves to sin! We have been set free by Christ’s death, ressurection and the Holy Spirit within us Who empowers us to live and love like Christ!

His Righteousness is our Breastplate over our hearts. Even though we might fail, we trust in His righteousness alone. When we succeed in loving we will not forget that it is always of Him, Who has saved us from ourselves.

It is equally important that we walk in the Good News of Christ and His Kingdom. Our feet are protected as we go forward in the battle telling the Good News to others. In this the devil is defeated because it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes!

Without the Shield of Faith we can become extremely vulnerable. The enemy will constantly challenge us to doubt the goodness and trustworthiness of our Heavenly Father. Our commitment to the fact that He has already proven His love for us will protect us from these accusations against the love of God.

The Helmet of Salvation keeps us from forgetting the wonderful Grace of God we have received. It keeps our minds filled with thoughts of love and gratitude instead of resentfulness and complaints.

By the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God we cut down falsehood and continue to live in the confidence of what He has done for us and in us. We are More Than Conquerors through Him! Even when we feel weak and our emotions begin to take us downward, the Word of God strikes down the thoughts of failure and disobedience. His Word we have hidden in our hearts so that we will NOT sin against Him!

The last weapon in Paul’s teaching is prayer in the Holy Spirit for ourselves and one another. We both build up ourselves through prayer in the Spirit and one another. After all, it is only by the power of the Spirit that we overcome the weaknesses of our flesh. Anyone who tells you that your fleshly weaknesses are greater than the Spirit’s power is wrong. We can do all things through Christ Who strengthens us!

Tag: Holy Spirit (Page 2 of 2)

The Kingdom Perspective

The Mustard Seed Conspiracy

The Armor of God

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Archives

Categories

Links to Other Resources

Meta