The Reason for The Season?

Ok, I admit it. I am getting more militant about my Kingdom view. This Christmas season I have heard for the last time that Jesus came to die, so that we can go to heaven when we die.

Where on earth did these ideas come from? Certainly not from the Bible. Mostly, I think, from tradition.

So, why did Jesus come? Lets look act the best of the best of sources, Jesus' own words. Mark 1:38 "But He said to them, "Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth." What was He preaching? Matt 4:17 "From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." What did He have to say to Pilate about this Kingdom? John 18:37 Pilate therefore said to Him, "Are You a king then?" Jesus answered, "You say [rightly] that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice."

What is the truth He mentioned? That He is a King, that He came to bring a Kingdom. 
 Click here for all that Jesus had to say about the kingdom!

Isaiah 9:6,7 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of [his] government and peace [there shall be] no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

This is why He came! To bring us a Kingdom that we could not provide for ourselves. We sing about a "Newborn King", lets celebrate Him as King, then live our lives as if He is King, accept Him as your King, trust Him as your King!

John 10:10 "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have [it] more abundantly"

Celebrate Life! Celebrate the King of all Kings, who has come to bring us life, not death! Lets Celebrate the King!

Worship A Little Longer!

I dare you to worship a little longer!

Worship until you feel His Presence,

Worship a little longer!

Worship until you see a solution for yourself and your family!

Worship a little longer!

Worship until you see a solution for your work!

Worship a little longer!

Worship until you see a solution for your community!

Worship a little longer!

Worship until you see a solution for your country, your nation, this world!

Worship a little longer!

I dare you to worship a little longer!

Worship in your circumstance! He wants to show you something!

Worship a little longer!

Worship in your failure, your discouragement, your downheartedness, He wants to show you something!

Worship a little longer!

Worship in your storm! He wants to show you something!

Worship a little longer!

Did you quit too soon? Didn't sense or feel anything? You gave up too soon!

Worship a little longer!

I dare you to worship a little longer!

John 16:33 "... in Me you have peace."

I read this verse because I heard it partially quoted this past Wednesday night, and have heard it quoted from the pulpit many times this past year. I suppose now that I read it, I should say it is "misquoted" or only partially quoted. This made me angry.

This is what the WHOLE verse says;

"These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world."

This is part of a discourse Jesus was teaching His disciples the night before His death. Let me break it down for you. In Him, you have peace. The word for "you may have" is echō, which means "to have". Its the same word before "tribulation" translated "may have" first and "have" second, but it is the same word. In Him you have peace, if you listened to what He has spoken.

The word for "world" is kosmos, which means "world affairs, the aggregate of things earthly". The world's system. Jesus is making a contrast here, very plainly, very simply. If you are in Him, you have peace, if you are in the world's system, you have tribulation. Can it be more plain? Or simple?

The word for "overcome" is nikaō, which means to conquer, He IS victorious over the world's system.

"These things I have spoken to you..." What things? Everything He said since His public ministry began is boiled down to one phrase found in Matthew 4:17 "Change the way you think, the Kingdom of God is here!"

This is my plea to all who grab a mic or stand in front of believers professing to be a "preacher", one who declares the gospel, or good news:

QUOTE THE WHOLE VERSE!

They are using one piece saying that we should expect tribulation, or troubles in this world. Well, yeah, IF YOU ARE NOT IN HIM! Yes, I am yelling. Does that mean that we should not expect trouble? From the world's perspective, yes, but from Jesus' point of view, you should expect peace!

Remember the storm in Mark chapter 4, the disciples and Jesus were on a boat, the disciples were panicking, but Jesus was asleep? They said to Him, "Don't You care that we are perishing?" Jesus responded, "Where is your faith?" Was there a storm? Yes. Was there panic? Yes, to those who didn't understand Jesus. Was there peace? Yes, Jesus slept.

Here I set before you a choice. Peace, or tribulation. Jesus, or the world view. I choose Jesus. Get into Him, read His words, listen to Him, seek first the Kingdom of God, repent, which means to change your mind, and for crying out loud, QUOTE THE WHOLE VERSE!!!!!!

Some Things to think about ...

I have heard a couple of statements that have been churning in my spirit for several weeks. I want to write them for you to consider, mull them over in your mind.

First: "The currency of the Kingdom is Faith, and Faith is simply believing what God has said".
Consider the currency of the world system, and how much some of those who claim to be "of the Kingdom" desire that, instead of the currency of the Kingdom of God. Read the whole "Sermon On The Mount", Matt 5-7 while contemplating this. Especially the last half of chapter 6.

Secondly: "The only weapon you need is Faith, and Faith is simply believing what God has said".
Think about your daily struggles, and what God says about them. Weigh it carefully. Compare truthfully.

Third; consider how much of your life would change, if you would simply - believe! It is becoming more and more obvious to me how different the kingdom of this world is compared to the Kingdom of God. Also obvious is how much the kingdom of this world has infiltrated the religious world. No wonder Jesus said in Matt 5:20, "For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds [the] [righteousness] of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven."

But my God shall supply all your need!

So here is a verse that was stuck in my mind, I had to look this up and share with you my findings.

Phl 4:19

But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

How many sermons have we heard that equates "in glory" with heaven, in such a way that we think that this verse means that there is a heavenly ATM in heaven and Jesus is the attendant! I hate to burst your bubble, but that isn't what this means.

The word for glory here is doxa, and it is a noun, but it doesn't mean ATM in heaven. Here is what it means:

1) opinion, judgment, view

2) opinion, estimate, whether good or bad concerning someone

a) in the NT always a good opinion concerning one, resulting in praise, honour, and glory

3) splendour, brightness

a) of the moon, sun, stars

b) magnificence, excellence, preeminence, dignity, grace

c) majesty

1) a thing belonging to God

a) the kingly majesty which belongs to him as supreme ruler, majesty in the sense of the absolute perfection of the deity

2) a thing belonging to Christ

a) the kingly majesty of the Messiah

b) the absolutely perfect inward or personal excellency of Christ; the majesty

3) of the angels

a) as apparent in their exterior brightness

4) a most glorious condition, most exalted state

a) of that condition with God the Father in heaven to which Christ was raised after he had achieved his work on earth

b) the glorious condition of blessedness into which is appointed and promised that true Christians shall enter after their Saviour's return from heaven

Ok, this could get lengthy, so I'll cut to the chase. Glory is a noun, but NOT a place! The part that mostly agrees with this verse is "the kingly majesty which belongs to him as supreme ruler, majesty in the sense of the absolute perfection of the deity".

What does that mean, in relation to Jesus Christ? Simply, He is King, He is Owner, Source and Sustainer! You should know Him as Healer, Provider, Peace, Righteousness, and a large group of other wonderful things!

Whatever your need is, He is! Do you need healing? He is! Do you need provision? He is! Do you need peace? He is!

Jhn 15:7

If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.

So let us apply this verse to our language:

But my God will provide all of what you need because of who He is and all of what He has done through the finished work of His Son, Jesus Christ!

No, He is not an Automatic Teller Machine, but rather, He IS what you need!

The 9-12 Project!

This is something worth your time. Watch this video, check out this website. Its time we stand for righteousness in our country, and stand against unrighteousness, or as Glenn Beck describes it, "corruption". There is a grass roots awakening happening here, don't be left out!
The 9-12 Project

Raise The Bar!

Sunday morning at church, I was overcome by the response of many to my greeting “How are you doing?”. The response overwhelmingly was “Hanging in there!” So many people, mostly male, are “just hanging in there!”

One young man in the bathroom, bless his heart, recieved a discourse from me. I turned and said “Hanging in there? You were designed for more! Grab that rope and start climbing!”

So for the last few days I have been thinking about this post. Actually, it began about a week ago while in the prayer tower before church. A small group of people meet about 9:00 to pray for the activities of the day, and this particular Sunday I heard the familiar voice of the Holy Spirit saying “Its time to take it up a notch!”

Here’s a verse that I quote from often, it is the gospel (good news) of Jesus Christ. These are His words:

Matt 4:17 “From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”

This was His message, He spoke this everywhere He went! So let me dissect this for you one more time. The word “Repent” is a greek word, μετανοέω metanoeō. Here is what it means, taken from Strong’s Lexicon:

1) to change one’s mind, i.e. to repent

2) to change one’s mind for better, heartily to amend with abhorrence of one’s past sins

So lets put this together. he was saying, literally, “Change your mind! Change it for the better! The Kingdom of God is here!”

He would tell the people this, then prove it with signs and actions, healing and deliverance.

So this is my thought for you today, especially if you are “Just Hanging in there!” Raise your bar, climb the rope, change your mind, because there is something better! God has designed you for so much better!

John 1:12-13: But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Whether or not you know it, if you have received Him, you are a child of God! Don’t let your circumstance define you, you are not a loser! You are a winner!

If everyone around you is living in depression, you be the one to bring them out! Realize who you are! And spread the word! His word! Change your mind! His Kingdom is here!

You don’t know what His Kingdom is? Worried about what you will eat, drink, wear, drive, live, etc? Check out His Kingdom, seek it with all your heart! Everything you need will come to you! Re-read Matthew 6, but this time, BELIEVE what you read!

Raise the bar, climb the rope! You’re destiny, purpose and potential is for more, lots more!