Weblog Entry - 09/18/2005: Volume 82 - The Gospel of Jesus Christ - The Kingdom by Chris Pridham

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09/18/2005: Volume 82 - The Gospel of Jesus Christ - The Kingdom by Chris Pridham"

The Gospel of Jesus Christ - The Kingdom

The Son of God said - Matt 24:14 "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come." NASU
The Gospel or 'Good News Announced to all nations' was a message that was never clearly understood by the disciples of Jesus during His walk on this earth. Even after Pentecost this gospel was hard for the Jewish people to understand. Tradition is powerful and it does not die easily. Jesus was born on this earth. 30 years later, when He began announcing the Kingdom of God, the Jewish people were looking for someone. They were looking for their Messiah. To the Jewish people the Messiah would restore the kingdom of Israel to its former glory and splendor. Israel would again be as they were in the time of Solomon; a great nation on the face of this earth.
Moses said - Gen 12:1-3 Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father's house, To the land which I will show you; 2 And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; 3 And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed." NASU
This very much permeated the minds of the Jews including the disciples of Jesus Christ. (John 1:41 …. "We have found the Messiah"). This great nation; this kingdom of Israel was something of this earth; something born of the flesh and something that was near to the heart of every Jew. The treasure of every sincere Jew was the Temple.
The Messiah - In the first century, it was interpreted to refer more specifically to someone appointed by God to lead His people in the face of their tribulations with Rome. The prophecies regarding this person refer to him as a descendant of King David who will rebuild the nation of Israel and bring world peace by restoring the Davidic Kingdom Wikipedia Encyclopidia.
The Son of God said - John 3:3-6 … "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born, can he?" Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." NASU
The Kingdom of God is a Spiritual kingdom; not the restoring of the earthly kingdom of Israel. The kingdom of Israel was but a shadow of the reality of what we seek. That reality is Jesus Christ and His kingdom
The Son of God then said - John 3:10 … to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things"? NASU
To this day, it is not only the Jews but Christians as well who struggle to understand the Spiritual Kingdom that Jesus Christ came announcing. Our minds are so accustomed by long practice to think on the things of this earth. It takes a seeking out with our minds guided by the Spirit to enter into the kingdom of God. This path our mind takes is not one the flesh can follow. Christ has sent the Spirit of Truth as the guide to our minds to lead us into all Truth.
The Son of God says - Luke 12:29-31 "And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not keep worrying. For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things. But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you." NASU
So what is the kingdom of God? It is not thinking about food or drink or entertainment. The kingdom of God in this world is the supreme desire to do the will of God. It is thinking or dwelling on that which the Spirit guides such as righteousness, holiness, longsuffering and love to name a few. How often do we think peace? When that person cuts to the front of the line in which we have been waiting for hours, are our thoughts blessing or a curse? When someone says something demeaning about us, do we seek gentleness or something else? Do we go to where Christ is or somewhere else? If we value and treasure our reputations, where will we go when those reputations are attacked? Will our minds seek to set straight the one who has attacked our reputations or will we follow the leading of the Spirit to the One without reputation? Will we think on meekness or will pride overwhelm our thoughts? Too often we try to control our actions but our thoughts are left untouched. It was Christ who sent the Spirit to help guide our minds and thoughts to him knowing that actions always follow the thoughts. We know through experience that actions can be deceiving. It is in the thoughts of man where man lives. How many Christians live in fear and are tortured by their thoughts?
Why is it so difficult for the rich man to enter into the kingdom? Although he may have the Spirit as a guide to bring him into the kingdom, he has many treasures on this earth to take the attention off his mind and thoughts. It is not easy to get rich and even harder to maintain. The mind and thoughts of a wealthy man are consumed with the advancement and maintenance of his wealth. Although it is not impossible for him to seek and find Joy in the kingdom of God, it is difficult.
Who can enter the kingdom? The family of God can. All children of God at some point in time cry out "Father" and the Spirit of Truth bears witness and says "what you say is true, you are his child." Now that we have become aware of our Spirit birth, and been born again, we begin to seek out our home. It is the Spirit of Truth that is now sent by our Father at the request of our older brother Jesus to guide us to our new home, the kingdom of God.
John 16:13; 14:16-17,26 "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. NASU
It is the Spirit of Truth that has come to live in us and guide us into the kingdom of God. Let the Spirit guide us into this wonderful kingdom. Let the Spirit saturate our minds and thoughts so that we learn of Him. Let the Spirit of truth renew our minds so that we have the mind of the Anointed. Without being first born of the Spirit and the Spirit of truth being sent as our guide, man had no way to enter into the spiritual kingdom of God. But Jesus came and made a way for us to be with Him. He brought us a new birth and sent the Spirit of Truth as a helper to guide us to where He is. So that where He lives there we may be also. This is the Good News that Jesus announced here on earth. He said I go to prepare a place for you in my kingdom. Come unto me all you who are weighted down in your minds; you who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Follow the lead of my Spirit and let Him guide you to me in my kingdom. My thoughts you can experience and learn from, and in them you will find love, peace and joy. The Spirit lives in you and the kingdom of God is within you and the Spirit says "Come be perfect even as the Father is perfect".
Written by Chris Pridham