It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter. Proverbs 25:2

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The Lord’s Prayer Part I

Jesus taught His disciples how to pray. He gave them a pattern to show them how to approach the Father in prayer and what to ask. Jesus taught us that God is our Abba Father, our Daddy God. He is not a faraway deity that has no relationship with his children and He is the Father of us all. God is our Creator not the Father of one race, one culture group or nationality but He is the God of all creation. His children are from every tribe and nation. God has a personal relationship with those who are born into His kingdom.

Matthew 6: 9-13 “This, then, is how you should pray: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.  

 

Our Father in heaven, hallowed is your name, Jesus is saying God you are our Father in Spirit and You are Holy and we are asking God to bring His Holy kingdom on earth, in our lives as He reigns in the heavens. We can now come to God as our Abba Father; as a Daddy God, He is someone we have a personal and close relationship with. He lives in heaven above all situations and circumstances.

We are to give respect and reverence to God’s Holy Name. He is the Almighty God, the high and lofty the One who inhabits eternity. To be Holy means He is one with Himself, He is consistent in all He does and He is set apart from everything. There is nothing and no one greater than God. We are called to be like God, holy, one with ourselves, and live differently from the world system. We are set apart for God’s purpose, for His pleasure, His plans and His glory.

The root word of holy in the Hebrew, Kaw-dash, to be wholly, one self or to say to be the same person at all times. We are not to be a person who acts one way with this set of friends and do or say something totally different when we are with another set of friends. We are to be consistent in what we say, what we do and what we promise. Character and integrity is when we choose to be one person at all times. We decide to hold true to our values and stand firm in our commitments even if it causes us hurt, even at the cost of losing money, fame or loss of relationships.

We are not to be several different people living in this one body. A person, who says one thing, does another thing and promises something totally opposite. A schizophrenic is a person with multiple mindsets and personalities and we would never know which personality would show up when we are talking with them. They are undependable and completely without integrity because they are not consistent in their words, thoughts and actions. These are the ways of Satan, who is a liar and the father of lies. He is so subtle with his tactics that sometimes we do not even realize we are reflecting his character.

God is unlike anyone we know in the earth and He cannot be compared with any person. He lives in eternity. He is One God, the same yesterday, today and forever. He is not like fallen humanity, which may display multiple personalities. It is our rebellion against God and our fallen state that has us acting one way today, and another way tomorrow. We never know how to act or respond to someone who is always changing and we never know what to expect from them. This is why we are told to be like our Heavenly Father. God is Faithful and true, He does not change and He will do what He said. God is true to Himself and His word.

Romans 8: 15-16 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to son ship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”  The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 

Jesus understood God’s original purpose was for man to rule His Kingdom on earth. God had given Adam authority and dominion to rule the earth as God rules in heaven. Jesus came, paid the debt man owed for his rebellion, and gave us the ability to be back in right standing with God. Mankind fell from being the highest of God’s creation to being ruled by Satan.

Jesus came and not only restored our life with God but Jesus gave us a greater and new position as sons of the Most High God. Now we come to God as His Children, adopted into the family of God. We as sons of God are to talk and communion with God so that His kingdom will come in our lives and His will is done in us while we are on earth. This will bring glory to God when His kingdom reigns in our lives, our homes, our families and communities.

Matthew 10:7 As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’

Colossians 1:13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.

Give us today our daily bread.

Jesus told us to rely on our Heavenly Father for our daily provisions. Though we may or may not have money in the bank, food, clothing or shelter we are to trust in God to provide these things. It is God who daily loads us up with benefits. We have seen people who have had wealth and riches and they put their trust in their wealth then lose it all in a moment’s time. People who trust in things are the ones who will lose all hope if their wealth is gone and then want to give up on life. Jesus tells us we can trust our Father to supply all our needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus and we must look to Him for our daily provisions. A life that is barely getting by and begging for scraps is not promises of the kingdom life of God according to the riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Jesus told us to ask for today’s daily bread, not next week, next month or next year. That is how the adversary would have us to think and stay in anxiety, focusing on what might happen in the future. Jesus told us not go after what you should eat or wear, our Heavenly Father knows we have need of them and He will supply them. We are to seek first the kingdom of God and His Righteousness, that is our position in Jesus, and all these things will be given to us.

We do not have God’s abundance because we are not seeking His kingdom which is the knowledge of His word. So many people who call themselves Christians are going after the very thing Jesus tells us not to go after. We are working long hours or two jobs just to buy food, clothing and shelter. If we took that same effort, we used to go after money, and instead sought the word of God which teaches us how to operate in the kingdom of God.

God says His people perish for lack of knowledge, not lack of effort. If we sought God’s work and His kingdom knowledge we would learn His principles and kingdom laws and would be able to operate successfully in the things of God and receive all His benefits. We can trust God, His word is true but our minds and eyes are blind to how to operate in God’s word because we are not seeking His kingdom ways.

Many people operate in what we have been taught, the tradition of men. The world’s way, go after and try to get as much money as we can even if we have to step on people as we go. In the kingdom of God we serve one another and we put others first. Those who want to be great in God’s kingdom become servants to the people. This is a different mindset from the world’s way of doing things.

The adversary will try and trip us up by telling us we cannot seek the kingdom because we cannot be righteousness like God and no one can be like God. We were made the righteousness of God through the completed work of Jesus. What a lie from the pit.

Jesus was made unrighteous so we who accept His atonement and payment for sin will have His righteousness. Just as Jesus was made to be sin for us, though He never sinned, we are made righteous, though we have sinned. It is not by our works of righteous acts; it is a faith, trust and belief in the completed work Jesus did on the cross that makes us righteous. When we accept what Jesus did on the cross we are transformed in our spirit into a righteous spirit, we are now in right standing with God.

Hearing and reading God’s Word is how we begin to change our thought life and then our actions will change into living right. Salvation is a costly gift from God, it is the simple act of our will, to confess and trust Jesus as our Lord and Saviour and we are saved for eternity. However, our thoughts, speech and behavior are transformed by getting a new mindset and a new understanding of the kingdom we have been born into. Renewing of our minds is the process that allows us to die to old habits and ways and begin living according to God’s kingdom principles.

Knowing God and understanding His word is how God transform, conform us into the image of His Son. It is a process as with anything, that is of value takes time to grow and cultivate. God will give us the strength and ability to be transformed but we must choose to do so by the acts of our will. It is a gift of righteousness that cannot be purchased. But it is a process of transformation by renewing or changing the way we used to think and to begin thinking and operating in the kingdom ways of God.

Matthew 6:31-34 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

 

2 Corinthians 5:21     God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

 

Romans 5:17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!

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What to Pray About

Jesus told us to pray for our enemies and for those that spitefully use us. We are told not only to pray for our enemies but also to do good to them and it is like heaping coals of fire on their heads. Jesus knew forgiveness would be a hard challenge for most of us in our natural mind. God is our Source and He gave us the ability to forgive. It is through prayer that we are connected to God and are able to receive the strength to forgive those who misuse and abuse us.

We can be assured that we will be vindicated. It may appear that people are getting away with wrong doing at the moment, but they do not get away. God is the only just Judge who knows all and will judge all at the right time. If we try to vindicate ourselves we may overdo it and become guilty ourselves or we may not do enough and be ineffective. We must leave other people to God.

When we humble ourselves and pray for those who have persecuted us God, in His mercy, gives us grace to persevere through our problems. Just as Job prayed for his friends, who spoke evil of him and in the end after Job prayed for them Job was healed and blessed more than before.

Romans 12:20-21 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirsts, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

 

Luke 6: 11-12 And they were filled with madness; and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus… He went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.   KJV

 

     The prayer of intercession is praying for others. God is not a far off Omnipotent God who is hard to reach but He is our Abba God. He is One we can call our Daddy-God. With intercession we are petitioning God for someone else who needs Him. When we pray for others, we are bringing them and their needs before God. Sometimes people do not realize they are in need of prayer or they may say they do not want prayer. But we can come to God for them just as Jesus is our High Priest in heaven interceding for us we too can pray for those around us. We are not trying to forgive sin we are inviting God into their situation. God saw us while we were still sinners and saved us. He did not wait for us to change or wait until we became perfect. God loved us while we were sinners and sent Jesus to die for us so we may live.

We must forgive no matter the wrong. When we do not forgive it is because of pride. When our focus is on ourselves and our pride then our self-centeredness will not allow us to forgive others because of what they have done to us. We are more concerned about our appearances at the moment and not God’s love and His glory. Pride prevents us from walking away and forgiving. When we forgive, we are showing the love God has for every soul and we are being the love of God on the earth. Forgiveness is a true test of the love of God in us. It will reveal what we believe and who we truly serve.

Hebrews 7: 24-25 but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore, he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.

 

Isaiah 59:16 And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore, his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him. KJV

 

We are to pray for our leaders and those that are in authority. We are asking God to lead them in making good decisions for us, our families, jobs, schools and nation. We are told to pray for our leaders so it may go well with us. Too often we want to get angry and speak evil communications about our leaders and this is the very opposite of what God tells us to do. We are to pray, intercede and give thanks because this is good and pleases God.

1Timothy 2: 1-3 I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—  for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth.

 

Jesus was the perfect man, God in the flesh and yet He prayed and had communion with God the Father. We are much more in need and should pray and stay connected to our God and Savior. We too may have the same fellowship with God as Jesus had through prayer. Jesus lived His life as a man by the power of the Holy Spirit and He understood our weaknesses, temptations and testing. He knew we would be tested in our character and tested in the temptations of evil. Jesus told us to pray that we do not let the evil testing overtake us.

Luke 22:40, 44 And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation.

 

We are told to pray for the sick and this may be one of the hardest things for us to do. We have often heard people say, “I prayed for them but God did not heal them or God did not answer my prayer.” We think if we tag Jesus’ name at the end of our prayer it is the magic word that should open all doors heal all sick or change every situation according to our definition of better. That is mankind leaning unto our own understanding and not the word of God.

When we pray for the sick we must understand the spiritual process that is taking place. When Jesus prayed for the young boy it appeared as though things got worse. The boy fell into the fire and things looked bad but Jesus was not moved by what He saw and kept praying. The enemy will try to bring us into fear and doubt through what we see but God tells us to stand in faith by what we know according to His word. This is how the lack of knowledge of God’s word can destroy God’s people. We are to pray in Jesus name, to ask and it shall be given to us.

To pray in Jesus’ name is to pray like Jesus prayed, in faith that the Father will hear us and answer us. Trusting God with the outcome even though we may never see it manifest at the moment. When we pray in Jesus name, we are doing more than putting a tagline at the end of our prayer. We are asking and praying like Jesus prayed in faith without doubt. Our faith in God to handle the problem or situation should be just like the faith Jesus had when He prayed to God.

We must realize to pray in Jesus’ name is to pray in His authority, power and faith. Many of us allow our history and prior situations to cause doubt and fear in our hearts and this dictates our belief and not the word of God. When we pray for the sick we must understand that this is a spiritual process. Just as Jesus spoke to the fig tree and said it would die, though at that moment the tree had the same appearance it was dying, and when they came back the tree had died from the root up.

The disciples did not see it at the moment Jesus spoke it but the next day they saw it had withered and died. We should pray and have faith in God to fulfill His promises but we must leave the timing up to Him. God said His ways are not our ways and His mind is so far above our limited thoughts. For us to try and fit God into our box will only cause us pain, doubt and we may possibly loose hope.

Doubt is what hinders us from walking in faith. Peter was walking on water and when he started looking at the waves he began to doubt and sink. Jesus healed the boy when the disciples could not. When the boy’s father asked Jesus to pray for the boy, the boy went into convulsions and was thrown into the fire. Most people are led by what we see.

When the disciples tried to heal the boy they probably saw the boy go into a convulsion and their faith turned to doubt because of what they saw. This is how the enemy gets us to lose faith in God’s word and rely on our past experiences, history or our five senses to determine our belief system.

Jesus was not moved by what He saw, though the boy went into a convulsion and fell into the fire. He was not moved by the crowd that said the boy was dead. Jesus’ faith was in the word of God. When we pray we must believe that we shall have what we pray.

Mark 9: 19- 23 He answered him and said, “O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me.” 20 Then they brought him to Him. And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth.

21 So He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?”

And he said, “From childhood. 22 And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”

23 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe,[a] all things are possible to him who believes.”

 

Faith believes God even when all around us speaks against Him. Faith is willing to die to self or to lose everything and stand in the belief that God’s word is true. Faith knows God is faithful to His word and just as Job’s faith believed God and believed, Though God may slay him, yet he will trust in Him. The three Hebrews refused to bow before an idol, through faith in God, they were willing to die rather than to compromise and dishonor their God. They were willing to tell the king, the God they served is able to deliver them from the fiery furnace and even if He does not they still trusted God and would not bow to his idol. Faith is to trust God with our life and our future. Most of us want to trust God for our eternal life but not with our present everyday living.

In these present times, people say they believe in God and have faith in Him and yet when a challenge or a sickness is not handled the way we want it, many may turn their backs on God. Faith stands when all hope is gone, even when everything is taken like what Job faced.

When life comes and deals us a hard blow and our faith is to trust God and not be shaken by what we see or do not see. Our faith is built on the Rock, Jesu our Saviour. If life comes and all is lost and we can still stand and say though my ways are not His ways or may thoughts His thoughts, bless be the name of the Lord.” Then we will know we are standing on the Rock and trust Him will our present and our future situations. This is a hard thing to take and not many can bear it. Only those who know their God and trust in His mercy and grace can stand and not be destroyed. Faith looks not only at the moment but the future. We may not understand God’s ways but we can be sure He is true to His word. When we pray in Jesus name we are praying in the authority He has given us.

Matthew 10:7-8 As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’  Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.

 

 James 5:14-15 Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up.

 

Through His life, death and resurrection, Jesus provided a new way of communing with God. We are told to come boldly to the throne of Grace. Jesus paid every sin debt that we owed. Jesus is before God interceding for us. That is why we can come boldly and confidently to God and say, “The Lord is my helper we do not have to be afraid.”

We no longer need a priest on the earth to make sacrifices for us because Jesus became our atonement our propitiation before God. Jesus has now made us kings and priests that we may go boldly to the throne of God.

Hebrews 4: 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

 

Hebrews 5b-6 …because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”  So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?”

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How to Pray

Private Prayer:

Jesus told us to go to our room, close the door or to go to an unseen place so we may pray in secret to God. Prayer is a personal and private conversation between us and God. Jesus went to the mountain to pray and he prayed at night while others were sleeping. He told us to not be like the hypocrites who pray loud, long, public prayers just to be seen. They are not praying to God they are praying to be seen by men and they have received their reward, the recognition of men.

We are to pray privately to God who will answer us openly. Most of our prayers should be simple conversations between friends, us and God. There are times when we are called to pray publicly as Jesus did when He prayed for Lazarus. This was for the benefit of those who were around and did not believe or know how to pray

Matthew 6: 5-8 And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.  But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.  Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him

 

John 11: 41-42 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me.  I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”

 

Prayer in the Holy Spirit:

Prayer may be a groans from our spirit because prayer is communication with God. God is Spirit and He understands our spirit even though we may not be able to express ourselves in words. He understands our hurts those that are so deep in our soul that we may not be able to utter them. Sometimes the situations are so great we do not have words, we can only sigh and groan in our spirit. Yet God hears and understands these prayers from our spirit.

We have been in situations where we did not know how or what to pray. There are times when we may not be able to distinguish what is the right thing to do but we can rely on the Holy Spirit to intercede for us. The Holy Spirit in us understands the will and the plans of God and He prays for us. Though our natural mind may not understand the prayers of the Holy Spirit of God in us, but He is petitioning God on our behalf whether it is us, our families or circumstances that may affect us. Even when I sit in darkness, God is my Light.

Romans 8:26-27 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

 

Psalm 38:8-9 I am feeble and utterly crushed; I groan in anguish of heart.  All my longings lie open before you, Lord; my sighing is not hidden from you.

 

Judges 2:18b for the Lord relented because of their groaning under those who oppressed and afflicted them.

 

Prayer of Petition and vindication from others:

Jesus gives us an example on how to continue to pray, with the parable of the widow woman. She came to the unjust judge who would not help her, he did not fear God nor had regard for man. Yet because she continued to come repeatedly, she wearied him. The unjust judge avenged her of the wrong done to her. Our Father, who loves us, will avenge His children who cry day and night to be vindicated. These are the prayers we make regarding other people and their injustice to us.

We are told to ask and keep asking, to seek and keep seeking and to knock and keep knocking until our petition is granted. These are not long prayers for show with vain repetition just to be noticed as the hypocrites did in public places. These Prayers may be short but constant petitions before God. Praying daily in our closet where we keep asking, and seeking God for vindication for those who may be lost. We are to keep asking, keep seeking and knocking with our prayers until it is open unto us.

These are prayers of intercession for other people who have a will of their own. Though we are asking and seeking each individual has a will and the ability to choose to receive the direction from God or reject it. This is not to say God is not answering our prayers, because He is, but in this world every person has a choice they exercise. We are not to lose hope because God is our hope. He can orchestrate situations and circumstances to work together for the good of His people and His glory.

Like 18:5-8a Yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me! And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?  I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly

 

Matthew 7:7-8 Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 

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What Is Prayer and Why Do We Pray?

Prayer is not a mystic, esoteric process. It is not some mysterious thing that only a select few have access or power to perform. Prayer is a common practice; it is a normal conversation between mankind and his God. Prayer is not unique to those who believe in Jesus but it is a ritual done by most people and religions where they are seeking favour and answers from their gods.

For those who believe in Jesus, prayer is talking to the God who created us, who knows us, and loves us in spite of all our faults. Prayer is defined as an act of talking with God to give thanks or praise to our Creator and making a petition or asking for something. It appears most people have lost touch with the praise and giving thanks to God for who He is and all He has done for us. They come with the request and petitions and then they leave many still worried and anxious because they have not had true communion with God.

They may have said all they wanted to say but they did not take time to exchange their weakness for His strength. When we are in God’s presence in prayer we are to magnify Him and make God bigger than our problems we are focusing on our God, His glory and His love for us. The more we magnify Him the smaller our problems become and we are strengthened by the power of His Spirit.

It is in prayer where we take our concerns and to release the wrongs, injuries and injustices done to us. In prayer we are submitting our requests and desires to God, asking Him to move on our behalf while we release all malice and hate. We trust God to settle the matter justly and now we are free to forgive and love those who spitefully abused us. Prayer is us taking our concerns to God and letting go of pride and the selfish need to vindicate ourselves and making much of who God is. Prayer is fellowship and hanging out with God who is your Father and your Friend.

Prayer is displayed in many forms. Prayer is when we make a petition to obtain a result regarding a problem or concern. Prayer is communion and fellowship with our God as the source that supplies life to our situations and circumstances. Prayer is talking and staying connected to God our source that produces life in our very being. Prayer is to say what God says or speak what God speaks in His Word on the matter. Prayer is giving thanks to God for His provision and is when we request God to be our advocate and help against our adversaries and enemies. Prayer is interceding for someone, asking God to help them, bless them and meet their needs. Prayer is giving praise to the Almighty God for Who He is and what He has done, doing and will do in our lives.

Simply put, prayer is talking to God, just as we talk to our family or a friend who knows us. When we are talking to close friends or family there is no need to put on airs or pretend to be something we are not. They already know who we are, our needs, and our temperament; they may know things about us most people do not and would not understand.

God knows who we are. He knows our past, and our present and our future. God even knows our inner thoughts, hopes and fears. That is why some may ask why should we pray? If God already knows all things, why waste time praying? Prayer is a relationship between two beings and it is mostly for our benefit.

Let’s be clear, God is God all by Himself and has no need of anything outside of Himself. He does not need man’s prayers; He gives man the privilege to pray and to commune with Him. God made man as a free will being with the ability to fellowship and to have a relationship with God. God desires a relationship with us but we need God in our lives if we are to live an abundant life in this world. God has given us the process of prayer and fellowship as a means of exchanging our weakness for His strength, our bewilderment for His wisdom. It is in His presence there is fullness of joy because it is there we see His greatness and majesty and our problems pale in the light of His glory.

God said unto them, be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth. God gave man dominion over the things in the earth therefore; humanity is responsible for the things that take place in the earth. When God gave man dominion over the things in the earth, man became responsible for the things that are happening in the earth.

Mankind gave this authority over to Satan in the fall; man failed miserably at managing this world God had given him. God could not violate His word and could not usurp man’s authority even though he was misusing it. God could not step in and do a hostile takeover even though Adam and Eve missed it. God is faithful to His word, “man has authority over the earth” and God is bound by His word.

God had a plan to redeem mankind, legally according to the principles and authority of mankind even before the foundation of the world. God would become a man in the flesh so He could die for all humanity so we may have a choice, once again, to be reborn by Grace through faith in Jesus the Son of God and man. When we accept Jesus as our Lord, we are saying He is our Master and we will obey and serve Him. We are then adopted into the family of God and become God’s man on earth.

God is a God of integrity and honesty and He is true to His word. He will not violate mankind’s right to reign. When we call upon God in prayer and ask for His divine intervention, God has already provided all we need through Jesus. Jesus has done a great and mighty work on our behalf and has brought us abundantly. God has paid it all and provided all we need to be successful and live abundantly in this life. The people of God perish today because they do not know God’s word and they lack an understanding of how to live in this new kingdom on earth.

God is the Source from which we have our existence and our life. Prayer is the cable, rope or the life line that keeps us connected to The Source of life. We understand that if a plant was uprooted from the soil, its source of life, it will die and if a fish is taken out of the water, its source of life, it too will die. Mankind came out of God and He is our source. But we became detached or disconnected from our source of life in the Garden when mankind as God had created him died spiritually although it took centuries for him to die physically. Jesus came and gave us a new life, a new spirit. We are no longer under the curse of sin when we accept Jesus as our Lord and our Redeemer.

Genesis 2: 17 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

 

Man, as long as his spirit was connected to God he was able to live, freely eat in the garden and enjoy all God had provided. When mankind rebelled and disobeyed he became disconnected from The Source of life. The living spirit of man that God created surely died that day. Mankind disobeyed God, ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil and obeyed Satan.  It was a spiritual death the departure of the God likeness in man’s spirit was gone. God’s fellowship and intimate communion was gone. Mankind was no longer the created spiritual being God created him to be and was disconnected from his source.

The brightness of God’s glory was no longer on man and his spirit no longer illuminated the glory of God from within. Mankind lost the glory God had placed on him and his natural eyes could now see his nakedness. Man in his glorious splendor deceased and he began operating in the natural or in his flesh.

When mankind lost their spiritual connection to God they became cynical, afraid, acting and talking like the one they obeyed, Satan. But God had made provision for mankind to be re-born to have a new birth and another life though Jesus. Jesus paid our sin debt and redeemed us from death this was our way back to God. God had provided a way of escape before the foundation of the world.

Ephesians 1:4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to son ship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—

 

      Prayer is just us talking with God and we are reconnected to our source. In His presence we can receive the life giving strength we need to grow and live an abundant life in the earth. Just as a plant or tree that is loosely planted in the soil may live for a season but will not be as productive as it could be had it been firmly planted and tightly attached to the life giving soil. So are we when we are loosely connected to our source of life. There is so much more we can do when we are securely connected in fellowship and communion with God.

 John 15:4-8    Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.  If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.  This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

 

The Reason We Do Not Pray!

 

With prayer being such a vital part of our growth, we must ask the question; why is it we do not pray? Usually it is one of two reasons; it is out of ignorance and or pride. Ignorance is the lack of knowledge on a matter and one is blind to truth.  That is what Satan, the prince of darkness, tries to do, to keep us ignorant and in darkness to the word of God. He wants to blind us to the light and truth of God’s word.

Pride says, “I do not need God!” Pride is lifted up in self-reliance and believes that they are doing ok. Pride believes in self that self has all the knowledge it needs; he is smart enough to handle every situation on his own. It was pride that caused Satan to think he could be lifted higher than God and to be thrown out of heaven. Pride is the same weapon he used in the garden to cause man to think more highly of himself than he should. This is the trap the enemy uses to get so many to fall into. Pride relies on self but humility trust God.

 Hosea 4:6a …my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.

 

Isaiah 14: 12- How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!  You said in your heart, “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon.  I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.”  But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit.

 

Proverbs 16:18 Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.

 

Proverbs 29:23 A man’s pride shall bring him low: but honor shall uphold the humble in spirit.

 

Pride does come before destruction and a fall. Pride has kept us from being connected to The One True God and at times our loved ones. Most people would never say out right that it is pride that keeps them from praying but their actions speak volumes to what they believe in their heart. They refuse to admit their wrongs or their need for help even at the risk of losing a friend, someone they love or communion with God. Some people refuse to pray or ask God for help because they think it will make them look weak. Others hearts are so hardened that they just refuse to seek help and it is all because of pride.

When we pray we are coming to God and communing with the One who created us. Prayer says I need you God in my life to help me and direct me in my situations and circumstances. Prayer shows humility. When we pray we are humbling ourselves under the authority of God and acknowledging Him as our Sovereign King. A king is responsible for his subjects, to provide and protect them from their enemies and invaders. This is the provision and protection we receive from God as our Sovereign King.

2 Chronicles 7:14-15 If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.

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God’s Grace

24       GOD’S GRACE

Grace is giving when it is not deserved. God is gracious and God is kind. God is gracious to the underserving and the unthankful he is gracious to us. To be gracious is to show kindness and favor to someone who has not earned it. Grace is having unmerited favor with God for Him to do for us what we could not do for ourselves. Grace was displayed when God paid the debt we owed, was bankrupt to pay and was given eternal life.

Mankind was created to live forever in this world and man’s spirit, which came from God, will live for eternity. Mankind has a soul, a mind and will and his body was formed from the earth. Therefore, Man is spirit, soul and has a body this is the tri-being God created. It was God desire that man was to replenish the world with God’s splendor, wonder, magnificence that is glory. God’s glory is our created, continued purpose on earth, to multiply and create people who look like God and an earth that looks like heaven.

 

Exodus 34: 6-7 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.

 

God will show compassion and be gracious to those who receive God’s provision and yet the guilty will not go unpunished. This sounds like an oxymoron, a seemingly self-contradiction in this statement. God has given us the ability to choose, a will to decide to accept the provision of Jesus as our way of escape from the penalty of rebellion or to reject Him. The word has been given as the light of God to a dark world. Man can again choose life or death. Those who choose Jesus accepts God’s provision and payment for their sin and in this God shows mercy and loving kindness. Those who reject and rebel against His provision, they will be required to stand before God in judgement for themselves and their guilt will not go unpunished.

Those who accept the Blood of Jesus for their payment of sin are no longer under the curse of the law. The generational curse flows from generation to generation for those who continue in disobedience. Those who refuse Jesus rebel against God, by denying Jesus as their Lord and Saviour, their sins tend to escalate through the future generations.

God not only loves us as His creation but He adopted us into His family through Jesus. There have been many children conceived naturally by “accident” but an adoption is always deliberate and intentional. Sometimes society labels adoption as a lesser thing, another lie from Satan. In God’s eyes and the eyes of the parents who seek an adoption, it is a wonderful thing to be chosen. Many times adoption can be a long drawn out process but it speaks to the love and commitment the adoptive parents have for the child. Jesus went through a long painful process of being born and the death of the cross, so that we can become sons of God. God is kind to His children and His creation. He is gracious to us and His love is seen because He gave us His Son so we, through faith in Jesus, may be called children of the Most High King.

 Romans 6:23For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

God made provision again, in that He gave His Word for us to again obey. As in the beginning God gave mankind His word, to not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, God sent The Word in the body of Jesus for us to obey. A new commandment Jesus gave us was to love one another as have loved you.” Man had only one thing to do in the beginning and man has only one thing to do today. To become love in the earth and to show that love is the fulfillment of all the law. If we love God, we will obey Him by loving others as Christ loved us and put others before ourselves. Jesus is the same, the Word in flesh, the truth and the light of God.

John 1:1-5 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.  Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

 

John 1:16 Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given.  For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

 

The old covenant and law given through Moses was performance based, thou shalt not or thou shalt! God knew man, in his fallen nature, would be unable to live up to law. God gave the law so man would see his need for a Saviour. God provided Jesus as that Saviour and the payment for our sin. Jesus was the only one who could live a life perfectly and He chose to die for our sins. Jesus took our sin; He took the death and wrath of God that we deserved. He took our place as sin so we could have a place as sons’ of God. God the Righteous Judge must execute judgement against sin and the penalty for sin is death. Jesus paid our sin debt of death on the cross. We each have a choice to stand before God for ourselves or accept Jesus as our Lord and sin payment, our Saviour to stand before God for us. That is Grace, giving us mercy and abundance we did not deserve and could not earn.

 2 Corinthians 5:17-19 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!  All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them.

Salvation is free for us to receive but it was at a costly price for God and Jesus. The death of God’s Son on the cross and the total separation of Jesus from His Father was a high price to pay for our salvation. Yet the love of God compelled Him to lay down His life for humanity. We cannot earn our salvation; it is a gift from God. To think that with our works we can satisfy God’s wrath or judgement is nothing but pride and self-righteousness trying to prevail, but it will fall short.

A Righteous Judge must judge justly; sin must be punished. God must keep His word. “The wages of sin is death.” At the cross, God’s Justice, God’s Grace and His mercy came together in the person of Jesus. He who knew no sin, who never sinned, became sin so we could become the righteousness of God through Christ Jesus. We are made righteous through faith in the completed work of Christ. That is all God asks, that we honor His Son and accept His completed work on our behalf. Many have refused this priceless gift and stood in pride to their own destruction.

Ephesians 1: 4-8a For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to son ship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us.

 

Ephesians 2: 3-9 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast

 

It is by God’s grace we are saved; it is a gift from God. We can choose to accept it or reject this awesome gift. God made provisions for us before the foundation of the world to provide redemption and forgiveness of sin through the blood of Jesus. We all deserve the wrath of God for the rebellion and sin we have committed but because of God’s great love and grace toward us, He offers eternal life and salvation through faith and obedience to Jesus.

No sin will go unpunished someone will pay! God’s Word is true the penalty of sin is death. The choice is ours, to accept Jesus as our Savior and let His death represent us before God or to stand before God on our own. It is only our pride that prohibits us from humbling ourselves before God and accepting Jesus.

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The Deception of Satan

There are two world systems in the earth, the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of Light. Both systems are available to mankind but he must decide which will reign over him in time, thoughts and even his destiny. It is important to see how these two world systems operate and influence humanity. Satan is known as the father of lies, being full of pride and he wants to instill fear in humanity.

Satan deceived mankind in the Garden of Eden and still has not changed his tactics or deception to try and cause mankind to doubt God and His love for us.

The simple plan of God from the beginning was for man to rule and reign in the earth.  It was Satan who came to kill man, steal his inheritance and destroy his destiny. He tried to derail God’s plan with treason, causing man to believe a lie rather than God’s truth but God had a greater plan. The enemy is doing the same thing today; he lies and tries to have us believe his lies rather than God’s truth and faithfulness.

Jesus is known as the Prince of Light, The Word of God and He operates in faith. God is an all seeing and all-knowing God and He knew Satan would attack man and cause him to fall. God also had pre-planned a solution that would reconcile man back to Himself.  God was not taken by surprise at attack against humanity but He made provisions for it.

The attacks on us today and things we are going through they do not take God by surprise. He has made a way of escape from every situation.  However, we must be willing to take that way of escape even if it means us fleeing the situation.  Some may think their “pride” is at stake and do not want to look bad in front of others. It takes humility to trust God even in the face of ridicule.  Pride is a powerful tool that the enemy uses because he knows it was pride that lead to his fall. We can trust God with our lives, homes and families because God loves us.

 

I Corinthians 10:12-13                        So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! 13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. NIV

 

Before the foundation of the world was laid, we were chosen by God to be in the family of God.  Jesus paid the price for our sins and the treason we committed against God. Jesus brought us back into the family of God and brought His kingdom to earth. That is the Good News of Christ; the kingdom of heaven is now available to us on earth. The kingdom of heaven is mentioned more than any other subject in the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Jesus preached, the good news of the kingdom of heaven is at hand and is now available to all humanity. This is the gospel of Jesus that the kingdom of God has arrived on earth.

I Peter 1: 17-21 Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.  He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. 21 Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.

Jesus preached, “Repent,” which means, change the way you think. Jesus is saying, because God’s kingdom has returned to mankind on the earth we can change the way we think about life and ourselves. Jesus tells us what the kingdom of God is like and how we are to operate in this new kingdom. Jesus taught in parables that most people did not understand and many still do not. But, for His disciples, those who sought and asked for the meaning of the parables, it was revealed to them. It is the same today. Jesus tells us to ask, seek and knock and when we ask for wisdom God will give it to us. God is ready to answer our prayers and the word tells us we have not because we do not ask God or we ask with the wrong motive.

Matthew 7:7-8 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

James 4:3       You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

Mankind was made in the image of God and was the pinnacle of all God’s creation and yet mankind still fell in the Garden of Eden.  Jesus came to do what we could not do for ourselves, live a perfect life. He died for all humanity and those who accept Jesus as Lord are transformed into a new creation, sons of the Most High God. We become joint heirs with Christ, children of the King of Kings and adopted into the family of God!  Before the fall we were God’s highest creation, but now we are adopted into the family. What the enemy meant for evil worked for our good and God’s glory.

We are now in a much greater state of value as sons of God. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are then accepted as the beloved children of God. God has placed us into an even higher position, into the household of God as His dear children.

II Corinthians 5:17-19 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them.

We are living so beneath our value and purpose. We have been tricked, bamboozled and hoodwinked into believing the enemy’s lie about us rather than God’s truth. The world has told us we are not good enough, smart enough or of the right social or economic status. Then the enemy tries to sell us on his lie and tells us we are sinful, no good and unworthy of God’s love. But Jesus came so we may know the truth; God so loved this world He sent His Son to die for us that we may have His abundant life.

At the end of the Civil war all slaves were set free and yet many stayed enslaved in their minds and physically. Some were not told the truth and others did not believe the truth. Many lack knowledge of the change in events. They did not know they were freed and some were lied to and deceived by their owners. No matter the reason they all were still enslaved.

The enemy has deceived many into believing God does not care and he wants to keep them blind and in darkness so they do not recognize their freedom and the love of God. To keep them from knowing who they really are in Christ. They enemy knows what a person thinks of themselves will eventually become their reality, even if it is not true. Jesus’ first sermon told us to “repent,” or “change the way you think” for the kingdom of God has arrived. We no longer have to live in the state of slavery to sin and the lies of this world. .

II Corinthians 10:5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. NIV

We must change the way we think about ourselves and God. When we change what we believe about ourselves we will change our actions. Then we will change how we act or react to situations. We will no longer see ourselves as an accident, a mistake or believe we are less than others or worthless. We will change the way we think about ourselves by knowing and believing what God’s word says about us. We will no longer believe the lies that say we come from animals and therefore we will act like animals. We will believe God’s truth of who we are, children of the Most High King. We are made new in the sight of God by faith in the Blood of Jesus and His completed work.

Most of us live this life blinded to the light of what God’s word says. We live ignorant to the life we have in Christ. Jesus came as a man to live this life so we may have a new life in His strength.  He paid our sin debt by dying on the cross, rising from the dead and placing us into the kingdom and family of God.

A baby when he is born has to learn how to crawl, walk and talk in the new life apart from its mother’s womb. When we are born again we are babes born into a new life in Christ. We too must learn how to grow and navigate this life. God tells us we are to grow by the sincere milk of the word of God.

We are to learn how to grow into the mature Christ followers in all areas such as, integrity, honesty, forgiveness, giving and loving others. When we receive Jesus as our Lord, we become a new creature in Christ. The old way of thinking must change for us to change the way we live. It is God transforming us into the image of His dear Son. But it starts in the mind and spirit and then works out into the physical and natural and we become the new creation God created us to be. We are not only a new creation but we are now citizens of a new kingdom and we are ambassadors for our Sovereign King in this kingdom. We should want to represent Him well.

 

II Corinthians 5:17-21 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

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The True Gospel

The word gospel means good news.  Jesus preached the good news of the Kingdom of God returning to the earth!  The Good News is also knowing we can now live in this new Kingdom by the power of the Holy Spirit. We can have a new citizenship with privileges that come with receiving Jesus as Saviour and Lord. The gospel or good news that Jesus spoke of was the kingdom of heaven is now available to man on earth. It was not about where you go when we die but how to live on earth an abundant kingdom life.

When words are used routinely in a different way, the meaning of these words can often evolve into a completely different meaning. For instance the word “gospel” is a term used synonymously with “how to go to heaven.” The actual word gospel comes from a Greek word; to announce a good message or good news. Jesus’ message is we can live in a different kingdom by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 4:16-17 the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” NIV

Matthew 4:23      Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.

The first thing Jesus said when He started His public ministry was “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” Many believe that the word repent means to feel sorry or remorseful, that is not the true definition.  Repent means to change the way you think. Jesus is saying we no longer have to live the way we do or think the way we do, in hopelessness. The Kingdom of God is again available to man on the earth though our relationship with Christ.

Before Jesus came into the world, people lived in darkness as a result of Satan’s lie and him obtaining dominion over the earth.  The knowledge of sin and death came because of what Satan had done.  Jesus, the Great Light, came to give man another way of living.  Jesus preached the kingdom of God is at hand, it is near.  We no longer have to choose to live in this darkness of sin but we can choose life through Christ.

Jesus’ message was “Repent” (change the way you think).  We no longer have to live in darkness, or ignorance.  Jesus came to set us free from our sins so we could have life and have it more abundantly. Thankfully we no longer have to believe what our culture, society or the things Satan says about us, if we choose to believe God and what His Word says. After all we are children of the Most High King, forgiven of sin. It is a choice that each individual must make.

We are faced with the same choice Adam and Eve made in the garden. Who will we listen to? Who will we allow preeminence over our lives and thoughts? Satan and the things he says and what the world says about us or The Word of God.

Deuteronomy 30:19               This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live KJV

We must understand that Satan tricked man in the Garden of Eden; he took from man the authority God had given him in the earth.  Jesus came and defeated Satan, at the cross, and took back what had been stolen. The Light of God was restored to mankind. Satan was known as the prince of darkness but JESUS is King of kings and the Light of the world.

That indeed is the Good News!!!!!!

Ephesians 2:2-5          Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) KJV

Matthew 28:18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me

 

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One World – Two Kingdoms

22           One World, Two Kingdoms

 

One major fact we must come to know is there are two world kingdoms vying for our time, attention and destiny. There is the fallen kingdom of this world that is influenced by the fall of mankind and sin. There is also the kingdom of God that Jesus returned to the earth and we must learn how to operate in the kingdom of God through His principles. God created mankind to be kings over His kingdom on earth and to bring Him Glory. The enemy deceived mankind and stole the authority that was given by God. With the fall, Satan began to reign in the earth with lies and deceptions. Jesus came and restored the kingdom of God back to humanity on the earth. This is what the New Testament is about, the restoration of the Kingdom of God on the earth and the adoption of mankind into the family of God.

 

Many people think God lost the battle in the garden and that Satan was the victor causing man to fall. Some people even blame God for not stopping Satan and allowing these bad things to happen to us. God was not surprised not was He defeated. What the enemy meant to be a destructive end to mankind the prize of God’s creation, God used to make man into an even more glorious design, man was not able to be children of God! As beautiful and magnificent as mankind was in his created state cannot compare to becoming a child of God. Though many of us do not operate in the understanding and knowledge of who we are in Christ, it does not negate the fact that we are more than conquers and we have the Spirit of the living God inside us, having accepted Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. We are joint heirs with Christ and through many lack the knowledge of the power and authority it is there none the less.

Matthew 4:17,                  From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.       

Matthew 10:7                    As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’

 Ephesian 2:2              in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.

Colossians 1:13                 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,

 

To understand the kingdom we must know God’s original intent and purpose for all humanity. Then we can better understand our individual purpose in the world. We each have been given a life to bring glory to God and to establish His kingdom on the earth. The choice of what we do with our lives is ours to make. Jesus came and re-established God’s kingdom on the earth, a spiritual kingdom that man can now have access and operate in while living on the earth.

 

Jesus’ first message was Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent is from the Greek word, metanoeo that means, to think differently, to reconsider, or to change the way you think. It is important to understand the true message Jesus preached so we can share the same message. If we are confused with the message, we will be confused with our purpose and how to live in the Kingdom God, which He has given.

 

The enemy is an adversary he tries to keep people confused, in darkness, angry and to refuse to forgive so they will not operate in God’s kingdom life and His principles, which are love, peace, patience and forgiveness.

Genesis 1: 26- 28          Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”  So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

 

God created man to rule and to reign over all His creation for His pleasure to bring the glory of God in the earth. Jesus came to restore us from a fallen position that we may once again reign, to have dominion in the spiritual kingdom of God.  In the Word of God, we see we must not allow situations and circumstances dictate our action, only the word of God. This is how we bring glory to God; it is by living above our circumstances in life. This is not to say we will not go through some difficult times. Many people in the Bible had difficult times but overcame them through their belief in God’s promises. We too will come through difficult times and most times we become a better person, a more mature person after having gone through those life challenges. We learn how to operate in God’s kingdom principles and God receives the praise for His faithfulness.

There is a battle of two worlds and each is trying to dominate, to have dominion on the earth.  That is why we see such havoc in the world. There is a worldly system that Satan has influenced to deceive mankind and tricked people into committing treason against God. The enemy came to kill, steal and to destroy the highest of God’s creation, mankind, the one who was created to reflect God’s image. He will use anything he can to divided mankind, be it religion, culture or just the color of their skin.

It is satanic attack to have such hate rise in a person that it would cause them to kill a brother. This story is so familiar; Cain killed Able out of pride and jealousy wanting to be seen as the best. There are many people who are still destroying others because they look different, believe different and all this is because of a perverted since of self.  Self-preservation has become the first law of the fall of man rather than the commandment to love one another as Christ has loved us. We were created to be the love of God and to display this love in the earth.

The kingdom of God on earth has been established through the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus. The first message Jesus gave was about the kingdom of God, it is at hand, and you can touch it and receive it. He began describing what the kingdom of God was like and how to operate in it. When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, Jesus taught them to pray for God’s kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven. The world wants us to focus our actions on going to heaven after we die, while losing all hope for the present. God want us to bring heaven to earth by the way we live so our actions will reflect God’s kingdom principles on the earth changing the world into a kingdom that looks like God’s kingdom in heaven.

God’s original purpose for mankind was for the world to reflect the glory of God. God created mankind in His image and told man to multiply and increase in number so that the people who look like God will rule the earth as God rule the heavens.

These two different kingdoms are trying to establish their realm and domain in our lives, our homes, our families and society to extend their kingdom in the earth. We will make a choice consciously by accepting the kingdom of God through faith in Jesus or unconsciously by do nothing and therefore living in the kingdom of darkness. We are citizens of one of these two kingdoms, the kingdom of light or the kingdom of darkness. Our life choices will reflect which of these kingdoms will reign in our lives.

 

Genesis 2: 27-28               So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground

 Matthew 6:9-13                This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

 

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Proverbs 25:2 For God’s Glory and For Man’s Honour!

Proverbs 25:2

It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.

Proverbs 25:2 is the reason for this blog, to bring glory to God and so the kings (God’s people on the earth), may obtain honour. God calls us kings and priest but many of us are living beneath our calling and without honour because we haven’t searched our concerns in God’s word. This blog will be a journey, a searching of matters that are hidden in the Word of God.  We pray we will bring practical insight and put to practice what we’ve learned.

I Peter 2:9-10     But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Revelation 1: 5-6              and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.

Let’s start by agreeing typical blogs are sometime short and entertaining. This blog is for information and reference therefore, some topics were more detail than the average blog. However, our goal is to be concise.  This blog is to bring glory to God and for us to receive information and direction on the things God would have us to share. The intent is to post at least once a week, if the Lord wills, this will give us time to digest the topics.

Just as most things of great value take time and effort to cultivate, so are the deeper things of God. The more common things, which are of lesser value, are those things that are easily found. To obtain a jewel of great worth one must put forth more effort.  We want to accomplish the same with these posts, to dig for the greater and deeper things of God. We will discuss overarching principles of thought and hope to clarify concepts which are vital to us living the kingdom life God created for us.

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Humble Yourself

In some previous posts we jumped right into some major areas and schemes that Satan uses against man. Things such as anger and un-forgiveness, these things can keep us so tied down with hate that we would be unable to move forward. In the post on forgiveness we went through a process, ten steps to help us identify the source of our hurt, anger and then showed how to release it into God’s hands. Understand this was a process to humble ourselves before the Lord and not for God to feel sorry for us. God is not moved by emotion but has respect for His Word. He is faithful and just to hear us when we humble ourselves before Him.

Psalms 34:18       The Lord is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Psalms 51:17       My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.

Proverbs 29:23    A man’s pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit.

James 4:10          Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

The ten steps had more to do with us being humble before God and being honest with ourselves. Again, this was not about our emotions or us crying out to make God pity us.  God is not moved by our feelings. God is moved by what is in His Word. What we did was line us up with God’s Word and humble ourselves before the Lord. This enables us to receive what God has already provided, forgiveness for those who wronged us. This is why we seek out what God says on any matter so that we may operate in His truths.

The success or failure of our forgivingness is based on our trust in God’s word. We seek God as an act of our will, knowing God is faithful to His Word. The Old Testament was given as an example for us to see how people engaged God and His Word. The New Testament proclaims Jesus and shows all He restored to mankind, giving us the keys to the Kingdom of God which we are now part of through faith in Jesus Christ.

 Galatians 2:16     Now that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.

Psalm 91: 14-16   Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.  With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.”

I John 1:9            If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness

God is faithful to His Word and when we learn how to trust and operate in His Word we will see the power of God’s kingdom working in and for us.

 

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