Prophecy

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Mark 1:14-15, “Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God, 15-and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand; repent ye, and believe the gospel.”

I know that when we start talking about repentance, most people tend to get a little nervous. The truth is, we don’t like to be comfronted with any sin in our lives. We want to live in that place of diffused light where we can almost believe we don’t really have any sins to speak of that we need to repent of. What did God say abou this? 1 John 1:8, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” That’s what the diffused light is---deception.

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THE LITTLE FOXES:
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We can’t hide those ‘little foxes’ anymore that’s been spoiling our vines. We’ve got to allow the Holy Spirit to pull back the rug in our lives and expose the dirt so we can accept responsibility and repent of those things. And if we will humble, He promises us in 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins (repent and turn), He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Somebody comes along and says, “But I repented of my sins 20 years ago when I got saved.” Praise God! And when you did, you were born again. But let me ask you this, since that time, have you lived a sinless life? Of course, you haven’t and neither has anyone else except Jesus when He walked this earth. He’s the only perfect and sinless One---the Son of the living God. We have all sinned and fell just short of attaining the glory. But “we’re pressing toward that mark, for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil.3:14). Amen!

God knew what He was doing when He made provision for us in 1 John 1:9 because He knew we were imperfect. He knew that as long as we’re in these earthly bodies with all its raging passions, we‘re subject to the temptation of sin. But thank God, He always makes a way of escape if we want it. Thats right! The moment you were born again, 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, you became a new creature in Christ Jesus. Your old past sins were washed away by the precious blood Jesus shed on the cross to pay for the sins of the whole world. Plus, He promised in Phil.1:6, “Being confident of this very thing, that He which has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” We can also be encouraged that “Jesus is the Author and the Finisher of our faith”(Heb.12:2). Praise God!

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THERE IS A WAR GOING ON:
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Once you accepted God’s free gift of salvation, you could began a new life in Christ Jesus with a clean slate. Praise the Lord! This is true for all people who makes Jesus Christ the Lord of your life. Someboby says, ‘But I’m having so many problems trying to live this Christian life.’ Well, be encouraged, the Apostle Paul had the same problems as we do. He said, “I’m seeing a war going on in my members. The things I don’t want to do, those are the things I do. And the things I WANT to do, those are the things I don’t do (Romans 7:19-25).”

Like Paul, we’ve all experienced this war in our members with the same results as he had. But again, like Paul, we have to learn to do as he did. As the Spirit of God revealed it to him, he learned how to put his flesh down and not allow it to rule him. We have to learn the same thing. We have to allow the holy Spirit to teach us by the Word, how to put down our flesh (the carnal nature). We have to allow our (reborn) spirits to take charge and deny the flesh rule over our every thought, word and action because its against God and His Word.

We have to allow the Holy Spirit to teach us from God’s Holy Word to do as Jesus did, and as Paul did and that is to, “die daily” to the raging passions and desires of the flesh. Amen! And that’s not to say that these raging passions and desires are only for drugs, alcohol and the such, although it can be and is those things. But it can also be that a person has a passion for gossip or for spending money and being reckless with it.

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JESUS IS TOUCHED WITH OUR INFIRMITIES:
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It’s true that your spiritually dead spirit was quickened and made alive unto God through His Word, the blood of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 6:11)---it’s also true that your your soul didn’t get saved. Your soul has to be converted. It has to be transformed and renewed by the Word and power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 12:2). Your flesh has to be brought into submission to your reborn spirit-man, to God’s Word and the Spirit living on the inside of your human spirit now.

Even though you’re a new creature in Christ Jesus, your flesh still loves to sin just as much as it ever did, while your spirit-man wants to follow after God and do will. Your flesh wants to continue indulging itself like always and if you allow it, that’s just what it will do. This is why Gal.5:17 says, ‘the Spirit who now dwells within you, and your sinful flesh are in constant enmity against each other. Therein lies the conflict that we all face. Is that the sound of groaning I hear? Can we overcome it? Yes, we can.

The Bible says that Jesus was tempted in all points as we are yet He was without sin. He came to destroy sin’s dominion over us, and He did so on the cross at Calvary! Praise God! And now, through His blood, the Word and His Holy Spirit, we don’t have to allow sin that rages in our flesh to continue controlling us. That is, unless we want it to. Are you listening? We each have a choice to make.

Romans 8:4-6 tells us that “we’re able to conqueor through the victory of Jesus by following after, and being led by the Holy Spirit.” Didn’t Jesus preach this in the message of repentance that He preached? According to Mark 1:15, our opening Scripture, He did. And in light of His message, I want to look at the word ‘repent.’ This word in the greek text means, “to have a change of mind due to sincere regret over past sin.” It means, “A turning FROM sin and turning TO God.”

It would be like going down the wrong road, then realizing you’re on the wrong road. You stop then and TURN AROUND and go FROM that wrong direction. You get on the right road TO God. So, when Jesus said, “Repent!” He was talking about each individual person having, “A change of mind.” Repenting FROM sin and going forward TO God, the Father, believing the gospel and receiving forgiveness. Hallelujah!


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THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS AT HAND:
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Lets look at our foundation Scripture in Mark 1:14-15 again and spend a few minutes focusing on what Jesus said in relation to the Kingdom of God.

Mark 1:14-15, “Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God, 15-And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand; repent ye, and believe the gospel.”
What gospel is He talking about? He said, the gospel of the Kingdom of God. That we’re to repent of sins and believe this gospel. And the word gospel means, “good news.” Lets read it this way then, “Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the ‘good news’ of the Kingdom of God.” Then, He said, “Repent and believe the ‘good news’ about this Kingdom of God.” Jesus said, “It’s at hand.” (paraphrase)

If you notice, Jesus also said, “The time is fulfilled.” After John had decreased from crying in the wilderness, it was the appointed time for Jesus to increase and begin His three and a half year ministry. For thirty years, God had been preparing Jesus for ‘such a time as this.’ If Jesus had to prepare and BE prepared by the Holy Spirit for ministry, then it stands to reason why we need the same preparation even more so.

Sometimes, we think if we have to wait three weeks or three months, or even three days, we’ve waited a lifetime and we ask God, why is it taking so long? But listen, God is in no hurry and what He has for you to do will come in the fulfillment of HIS time. And that time will be the perfect time, just as it was for Jesus. The thing we want to remember is to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit when our appointed time of break-through does come. tWe don’t want to miss our window of opportunity. It’s more important than ever that we press into God to know, like the sons of Isachar, the times and seasons of His appointed times.

As we’re talking about the Kingdom of God, I want us to keep in mind that Jesus is the Christ. He’s the anointed One of God. He boldly proclaimed this in the synagogue one Sabbath as He stood up to read from the book of Isaiah 61:1, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel (good news) to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to set at liberty those who are bound, etc.” (Luke 4:18).

And from Luke 11:2 we read, “And He said unto them, when you pray, say, Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be thou name. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us this day, our daily bread, and forgive us our tresspesses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, for thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory, forever and ever, amen.”

Now, lets also look at John 6:38, where Jesus said, “I came down from heaven not to do My own will, but the WILL OF HIM Who sent Me.” Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil, that’s true but He also came to establish God’s Kingdom rule in the earth the same as it’s being done in heaven---and do it by the will of the Father. Not his own will.

The word Kingdom in the Greek text means, “Soveriegnty, royal power and DOMINION.” This is the same dominion God gave to Adam and Eve in the garden. Its the same as we’ve been given now. Simply put, when we’re talking about the Kingdom in these Scriptures, we’re talking about the spiritual rule of Christ within each heart of those people who have been born again. Lets look at Colosians 1:13, “Who has delivered us from the power of darkness and has translated us into the KINGDOM of His dear Son.”

The Kingdom of God is present here on the earth now as Christian believer’s are living in submission to God’s will, and His Word and His power is producing changed lives. Thus, the expression, “We are being changed from glory to glory.” Of course, some of us don’t look like we’re being changed into more glory, but then God’s not a man that He should lie. Amen, so if He said, we’re being changed from glory to glory by His Word and by the transforming power of the Holy Spirit, then we are, amen? Amen. God calls those things that be not as though they were (Romans 4:17). Praise God! So, the thing for all of us to do is get into agreement with Him. Amen.

So, the Kingdom of God was to be spiritually set up first on the earth in the hearts of born again people. Again, this is the spiritual Kingdom. At a future time when Jesus comes back to this earth for the second time, the Kingdom of God will literally be restored and manifested on the earth. God has established in His Word that we’re to pray and call forth His Kingdom rule to come and be done here in earth as its being done in heaven. We, as the Church, have not diligently been faithful to do this. We’ve prayed our own little agenda’s to be done more than we‘ve prayed for God‘s agenda‘s to be done. That is, His Kingdom rule in our hearts because that‘s where it begins. But instead of God’s Kingdom rule, we’ve wanted our rule in operation more than His. Did I hear somebody say, ‘Ouch?’ Or was that just me?

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DOMINION OF THE KINGDOM!
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Lets take an even closer look at the word Kingdom and seperate this word into two parts. When you do, you have KING and DOM. We know that Jesus is the “King of glory.” We know that He’s King of King’s and Lord of Lord’s just as Rev.19 says. So, there should be no doubt in our minds who the King is. It’s Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Wherever the King is, you’re going to have His Kingdom also. Isn’t that true? You have His rule and authority present. And if you’ve been born again by the blood of Jesus, and you’re a child of God, then not only are you going to have the King and His Kingdom, but according to Rev.1:6, you’re going to find His ‘little king’s and priest’s’ there also. Praise the Lord! That’s talking about you and me! Amen!

Lets go on and look at the second part of that seperated word, which is Dom, taken from the word DOMINION. This is the same dominion that God gave to Adam and Eve in the garden. It’s the same dominion given to you and me as blood-washed, born again children of God almighty. First of all, we’re under Father-God’s Kingdom authority as we submit our hearts to His rule in obedience in our daily lives. Jesus said in Matthew 28:18, “ALL power (authority and dominion) is given unto Me in heaven and in the earth.”

Then in Luke 10:19 Jesus told us this, “Behold, I give unto you power (dominion, authority) to tread on serpents and on scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” There was no way that Jesus could come and preach ’repent or parish’ without preaching the Kingdom; because the new birth is the only way you can enter into the Kingdom of God.

Not only did Jesus say “The Kingdom of God is at hand” but He also said in Luke 17:20-21, “The Kingdom is within you...” The new birth enables the Kingdom of God to live within you spiritually. Romans 14:17 says, “The Kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.” Praise God! The joy of the Lord is our strength (Neh.8:10). Being God’s very own children by the blood of Jesus and living in obedience to His Word--it puts us under the protective and loving care of our Father-God. Amen!

Jesus started out preaching the Kingdom of God, did He ever stop preaching repentance? No, He preached repentance right on into the book of Revelation where He addressed the seven churches. He told them the things they were doing right but He also told them that they needed to repent of some things. I encourage you to read and study Revelation yourself. It’s the only book in the Bible that promises you’ll be blessed just by reading it. You will see why it’s called the Revelation of Jesus Christ because it truly reveals Jesus in all of His glory. Revelation is a book of hope, as Jesus is our blessed hope.
So, in talking about God’s Kingdom, we know that every Kingdom has a rule. God’s Kingdom rule is His right way of doing things and just simply being right in all way‘s. God is righteous, which broken down and taken from an old English word, it means to right right. And you can’t be any more right than God, who is right all the time. When He’s right, He’s right and He’s right in ALL matters. His rule is not as harsh as one might think it is. This is because the law of God’s Kingdom is LOVE.

James called it the “perfect law of liberty.” And love is the motivator of faith so that it can operate and function in balance with God’s Word. Gal.5:6 says, “Faith works by love.” Therefore, the joint-law in the Kingdom of God is love and faith working in absolute unity with the Word and by the power of the Holy Spirit. Love and faith is a fruit of the Spirit. Somebody says, ‘but what about the gifts of the Spirit? You left out the gifts of the Spirit.’ No, I didn’t. They ALL there because the Holy Spirit is in residence and the fruit of the Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit work together in unity. Hallelujah!

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SUFFERING FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD:
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Along with righteousness, peace and joy in the Kingdom of God from Romans 14:17, there is also suffering, affliction and persecution for those who gain entrance into God‘s Kingdom. At times, you’ll experience redicule and persecution for heeding Jesus’ message of repentance and for embracing the Kingdom of God. People who have rejected Jesus for years will set themselves in the seat of judgment and call you crazy for following after Him. That’s okay, you pay what they say no attention. Pray for them and go right on with Jesus.

You’re not crazy and you are on the right track---the track of righteousness. Amen. But if you listen to that luke warm bunch at the church, or some of your unsaved family, you’ll end up crossing over to the track of unrighteousness. You surely don’t want that to happen. Better to stay on the track of righteousness and keep stepping into the footprints of Jesus as you continue to follow Him because ultimate, He is your destiny. Praise the Lord!

A lot of these people may even try to tell you that you’ve gone off the deep end and you’re in need a head doctor. You can be encouraged because the Bible says, “Let this mind of Christ be in you.” Praise the Lord! Take on His thoughts and let the offense’s roll right off you like water off a ducks back. Halelujah! Just smile at them as if you know something they don’t because really, you do. You’re walking in Kingdom law---love and faith by the Holy Ghost Who helps you to rise above this sort of thing and enables you to sit in heavenlies places with Christ Jesus! Far above offenses! Halelujah! Besides, you’re in the presence of the Great Physician. What more could you need? Amen.

Even if other people persecute you and say you’ve gone and lost your whole sack of marbles, praise God anyway! The Bible says to “beware when all men speak well of you.” Because of the precious blood of Jesus, you’re well able to say ‘Yes, I once was lost but now I’m found. I once was blind but now I see because Jesus saved me by His grace. He brought me safely into His Kingdom. He anointed my eyes so I can see where I’m going now and I‘m heading straight for the glory realm. Praise the name of the Lord!

We can be like Paul and say, “I see it, I’ve got it in my sights and I’m pressing toward the glory! I’m pressing toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus”
(Phil.3:14-15). Hallelujah! Amen! God is calling for the Church to come up higher today just as the heavens opened when John was on the isle of Patmos and he looked into heaven and heard a voice say to him, “Come up hither (here).” John was whisked away in the Spirit then and he had a third dimension---a third heaven experience where he saw mant of the things we read in Revelation. We’re in that day of third heaven experiences and I believe we’re going to hear more and we’re going to enter into His presence more where we will experience these times of “come up here”from God and be able to articulate what you‘ve seen and heard to the rest of the body for edification. Therefore, let us be expecting to see the heavens open and hear His voice call us to “come up here” to His holy mountain.

But with the kind of friends we were talking about who persecute you unmercifully, like the saying goes, who needs enemies? Amen. Very often, these same people who call themselves your friends and colleagues will make you feel like you’ve done something wrong. Sometimes, you almost feel guilty and that you should apologize because they seem so unhappy. All of this is because you’ve given your heart and life to Jesus Christ. Am I talking to anybody? Probably, we’ve all been through this type thing to some extent. I know I have.

Their reaction of upset toward you is probably not that you’ve done something wrong (as you might think) but rather because you did something RIGHT! The Holy Spirit is at work using your testimony to convict their hearts of their own sins and this is why they feel most uncomfortable. This is also why they will try to throw the conviction off themselves and on to you to try and make YOU feel guilty for their discomfort. What these people need is to quit trying to get you to feel guilty enough to renounce Jesus so they’ll feel comfortable and give their heart to Jesus for themselves. Amen.

If you have family and friends right now who are acting like this, don’t be discouraged but be encouraged because it shows you that God is at work because He loves them too and He wants to bring them to repentance and establish His Kingdom in their hearts. He wants relationship with them just as He has with you, and He needs your prayers of faith based on His Word to give Him an opening to bring this person or persons to Himself..

We’ve all found out by now that to be associated with the Kingdom of God, in a lot of circles, it won’t make you popular. In fact, there are times when you will be flat out rejected by some people. These things come as a test to see if we‘re in the faith and to bring things out of us that needs dealing with, such as pride. There is no TESTimony without a test. And if you desire to be popular among people, wanting attention and center stage, then thats a good indication that your priorities are out of line. It says clearly that you need to refocus them to the point that Jesus Christ is the center and the reason, and the cause for everything you do.


Are you hearing me? If you don’t, you’ll end up falling on your face in failure and that can be very painful. Jesus said, “If you’ll continue in My word, you will be My disciples indeed: You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32). The TRUTH revealed in your spirit by the Holy Spirit is what will make you free, providing you take it to heart and put it into action. God’s truth won’t set you free until you, not only become a “herer of the Word but a doer of the Word as we” (James 1:22).

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NEW BABIES IN THE KINGDOM:
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Too often, the church fails to tell new converts the other side, the reality side to being a Christian in our society today. The real truth is, there is no downside to knowing Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. How can I say that? Very simply. For the first time since you entered this planet, you’ve finally been turned right-side up. You came into this world upside down and its not until you make Jesus the Lord of your life that He turns you right side up the way you were created to be in the beginning. You were never to go through life looking at the downside of things.

Have you ever noticed how many times Jesus said in the Bible to, “Look up, for your redemption draws nigh,” meaning His second coming to the earth. How can you do what He said and look up if you’re still turned the wrong way and looking down at everything all the time? Huh? I’ll say it again, there is no downside to being born again and in the Kingdom of God. It’s righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost because now, you‘ve finally been turned right side UP. Glory to God! And you’re headed up, your destination is UP when Jesus comes again for His Church. Hallelujah! Even so, come Lord Jesus!

To go through these times we’re in, its imperative that we make sure to have on the whole armor of God. To arm ourselves by taking up the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, having our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, girding our loins with the strong belt of truth and lifting the sword (Rhema Word) of the Spirit. But a lot of times, young christian’s don’t always know what to expect once they get ‘out there’ among unbelievers in their new-found zeal. If not properly armed and prepared in God’s Word to witness effectively the love of Jesus to other’s in need of Jesus---they can become discouraged real quick. Especially if they run into some people who redicule and persecute them severely.

Unfortunately, if these young people, and all new born Christians aren’t discipled so they’re prepared, this is the place where we loose a lot of them and they go back into the world. But I believe we’re beginning to see break-through in this area as more and more churches are realizing that folks need to be discipled and prepared to know how to deal with “out there” more effectively. I believe we’re going to see this change even more in this hour and season of the Church.

New converts are just what they are, “new babies” in Christ and they need to be loved and accepted. Even if some of them go on out there without the proper preparation, God’s grace is certainly with them and upon them but the devil is out there also and he’s not waiting around until they get a little more experienced before he attacks them. He’s going around now as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour (deceive) [1 Peter 5:8).

These young converts have just been born into the Kingdom of God but lets don’t forget that they are babies still wearing pampers. And quite frankly, how far have we grown past the pamper stage? Have we, the Church grown up into the fullness of Christ yet? Are we perfectly reflecting His image out here to the world? I would have to say, no we’re not, but He who started a good work in me will bring it to completion (Phil.1:6). We’re a spiritual creation in progress.

But after birthing all these new babies into the sheep-fold, into the Kingdom of God, we sure don’t want to end up losing them because they weren’t properly informed of all the lurking wolves just waiting to devour them. We don’t want to make them fearful but to help them be “wise as serpents and harmless as doves.” Lets make sure our new converts are discipled and well equipped and prepared before they go ‘out there.’ Amen. Thats what Jesus did with His twelve ‘babies,’ the Apostles. We just need to follow His pattern and give God the glory for all He enables us to do by His grace.

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NO ROOM IN THE KINGDOM FOR THE PROUD:
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There’s absolutely nothing wrong with being recognized for some things we do and having others honor us. In God’s Word, He said for us to honor all men---give honor to whom honor is due. But we’re not to set ourselves up to be honored and recognized. If we do, we’re being ruled by pride. Our heart motive is wrong and out of line with God’s Word that says in James 4:6 “But He gives more grace. Wherefore He said, God resists the proud; but He gives grace unto the humble.” Then in verse 7, He says, “Submit yourselves therefore to God; resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

God is saying, resist the tempation to lift up your heart in pride. Just say a simple, ‘no.’ When you choose to resist the devil and the sin of pride, God’s enabling grace will come in to under-gird you with strength so you CAN say, ‘no.’ Didn’t Paul say, “I can do ALL thing through Christ, which strengthens me?” (Phil.4:13). I can do all things---I CAN resist the devil---I CAN resist pride. I CAN resist sin from taking hold of me, through the Anointing---through His grace that strengthens me. Saying “I can” is to say, you’ve made a decision to do something that God is asking you to do. And once you yield yourself in submission to God, then by His grace, you will be empowered to stand in resistance to the devil. And God promises that as we do, the devil has no other choice but to flee (run) from us.

And finally, in James 4:10, God says to the Church, “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up.” If you want to be lifted up and honored in the right way, the best and quickest way for that to happen is, you’ve got to go down low first in humility. This is totally opposite of the worlds way that says in order to climb the ladder of success, you’ve got to get on top, even if it means walking over people to get there. Now, watch this, in verse 6, God is saying here, ‘I’ stand ready and desire to give you more grace, but I resist the proudness of your heart. It causes me to have to withdraw my grace from you because of your prideful attitude. And if I have to withdraw my grace out from under you because of pride, then it’s a sure thing, you’re going to take a fall. You’re coming to come down and it’s going to not only hurt you, but its going to hurt me as well to see you fall.’

What loving parent who truly loves their children, wants to see them fall and get hurt? Not one.
God’s our loving heavenly Father, and He doesn’t want to see not one of His children ever fall and get hurt. And if we do--and we often do, then it’s by our own choice of will. And when we choose the wrong way, apart from God and get into trouble because of operating in pride, you can’t go blaming God or anybody else for your fall. It’s OUR will and OUR choice that WE made to go OUR way instead of God‘s way. So, its better to do as God said in the beginning when the devil comes sneaking around---just say, ‘no!’ Isn’t that just so simple? Amen.

You know, when the devil was kicked out of heaven, he didn’t lose his evilness of pride----the very thing that caused him to lift himself up and try to over take God’s throne. It’s the very thing that causes us to sin against God by lifting our minds and hearts up in pride, thinking we’re so good. We’re so self-reliant, we don’t need anything---I can do this job all by my self. I don’t need anybody---look what I’ve accomplished all on my own.

And we pat our ownselves on the back, ‘aren’t I good?’ While God has with drawn His conscious presence---His grace from us and we don‘t realize it. By pride (lifted up in heart--the mind) we fall. By grace (humbling ourselves) we stand. Jesus said in John 15:5, “I’m the vine, you’re the branches. As long as you stay united and joined to me, you’ll bear much fruit. But apart from me, you can do nothing.”Now, did Jesus tell us the truth or not? Amen, yes He did. We “move, and breathe and have our being in Him.” That says, without Jesus, we’re helpless beyond the natural abilities He’s given us and even they’re limited without His anointing upon us.

So, why are we talking about pride and the humbling of ourselves? Because it’s vital to being productive and bearing much fruit in the Kingdom of God. There’s no room---there’s no place for prideful hearts and prideful attitudes (without the show of love) around a holy God and His people in His Kingdom. In light of that, we need to do as God told us and that’s to remember, He resists the proud but He gives grace to the humble. When we humble our hearts to God, then He will exalt us in due time, when He knows we’re ready to be.

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SHINING FOR THE KINGDOM:
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We think we know best for ourselves so many times, only to find out that God’s way was right and best for us after all. And had we listened to His wise counsel, we could have avoided a lot of unnecessary hurt. It’s the truth, folks and it’s time to deal with a lot of issues that we’ve swept under the rug and left there for years. I’m telling you, God is in the process today of pulling back the rug in each of our lives. There is a shifting and a sifting going on in the body of Christ and the Holy Spirit is exposing all the dirt we’ve swept under there and left for so long.

It’s time to deal with sin, that is accept responsibility for your own and repent of it and receive the cleansing blood of Jesus. This has to happen in order for us to be able to step over fully into this next level that God is calling the Church to. What is this next level? It’s the glory realm, the third day resurrection power for the Church. It’s the portals of heaven being revealed and third heaven glory experience in the awesome presence of almighty God. But before that can fully happen, there has to be the refining fire. There has to be the altar where you put your flesh on it to die and it be consumed by the fire of God. You have to become as a dead man because no flesh can survive in the raw and glorious presence of God in this hour of the Chuch that we’re coming into. Amen.

To be able to shine forth as pure gold, that gold has to go through the fire, more than once to become pure. And real pure gold is transparent. We’ve got to take off the persona’s that we all hide behind and become transparent with one another in the body. We’ve got to come before God and come together with each other in unity with no hidden agenda’s but being so transparent that people are able to look at you and say, “You’re so beautiful. God made you beautiful.” They can say this because they truly see Jesus shining forth in you, and he’s beautiful. They see a heart overflowing in the power of His grace and love and they will be drawn to you like a moth to a light. Glory to God! Praise His holy name!!

It’s the hour for the Church to truly begin getting into place and to go forward in her destiny, becoming a glorious Church, moving in the beauty and grace of God‘s righteousness, purity and holiness. Being a people who will establish, by His Word and the power of the Holy Spirit, God’s Kingdom purposes in the earth. The Holy Spirit is now sitting as the Refiner of God’s people---the body of Christ. Preparation in righteousness, purity and holiness for the Church is going on now in anticipation of the soon return of Jesus Christ. Let us all be ready when He comes.

The Church has been at a crucial point and she MUST now get strategically lined up with God’s plans and purposes for the days that lie ahead of us. In light of that, what we’ve been talking about in the area of pride is a vitally important issue that most, if not all of the body of Christ, needs to deal with. We are all carrier’s of God’s glory to different degree’s, according to our faith and we want to go forth in the earth beaming at a million watts of the brightness of His glory. Who wants to go blimping along at 25 watts that people can barely see? Twenty-five watts really isn’t very bright at all. Do you see what I’m saying to you?

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KEYS TO THE KINGDOM:
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What about Kingdom Priviledges? In any kingdom, even if its minimal, there will be priviledges for the people. And especially if you’re of the royal family. We’ve already established that by the new birth through the blood of Jesus, we’re born into the royal family of God. And because of that, you’ve got, what I’ll call, the ‘gold card,’ amen! If the King is your Father, and He is, then that makes you the ‘King’s Kid,’ right? Hallelujah! Yes, it does. Glory to God! Your Daddy owns it all! The cattle on a thousand hills---all the gold and silver---in fact, He owns all the earth and the fullness thereof. Praise God!

Lets look at Matthew 16:16. At this particular time, Jesus asked His disciples who were people saying He was? They answered, ‘some people say you’re John the Baptist, Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.’ Then, He narrowed it down even more and asked them specifically who did they say He was? So, lets begin reading at verse 16, “And Simon Peter answered and said,

“Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
17-And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jo’-na; for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but My Father which is in heaven.
18-And I say also unto thee, that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
19-(now watch this), And I will give unto you the KEYS of the Kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

We know that ‘keys’ represent power and authority. Keys open doors and they lock doors. It would take too long to go into the many aspects of binding and loosing---dealing with the keys, but I will say that along with binding and loosing, there is the ‘key of knowledge’ mentioned in Luke 11:52 that you might want to study out yourself. Also in Rev.9:1--20:1, it tells us about the ‘key to the bottomless pit’ where the fallen angel’s and demon’s are bound. And finally from Rev.1:18, Jesus declares that He has the ‘keys’ of death, hell and the grave.

For what we’ve been talking about, I want to look at having the ‘Keys to the Kingdom’ a little bit different in relation to our being King’s Kid’s and our Daddy owning everything. I want to say that a King usually has a Palace. Isn’t that true? And any Kingdom usually has storehouses filled with a surplus of supplies. Phil. 4:19 says, “But My God (watch this) shall SUPPLY all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Everything you need is in Father’s house already. Hallelujah! And remember, you’ve got the “gold card” without interest, praise God! You’ve got a key to it all.

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KINGDOM PRIVILEGES:
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You see, let me break it down like this. Your ‘Daddy’ had to go away for awhile. He’s coming back, although you don’t know exactly when for He didn‘t say. But He stays in close contact with you through a close partner of His, the Holy Spirit who has come to look after you in His place. Yes, your Father and the Holy Spirit are so close they seem like one and the same yet, they‘re seperate. Now, in the meantime, while your ‘Daddy’ is away, He left YOU the keys to the mansion---to the palace. Hallelujah! This means that you have the free-dom (free to use dominion) to use those keys whenever and wherever you need to.

It means, you can go, not only in the Palace but with those keys and the special code of the gold card, ‘f-a-i-t-h works by l-o-v-e,’ you can go right into those storehouses and get whatever you have need of. Your Daddy is a good Father Who takes care of His children royally. He made sure to stockpile those storehouses with all the supplies of salvation, healing, grace, mercy, love, peace, joy, prosperity, wisdom, good relationships, victory---oh, I don’t think you heard me. I said, your Daddy has supplied everything you have need of today and all you have to do is to use those keys He gave you. All you have to do is unlock the door with prayer and with your faith working by love, you can go right on in and get what you need. Praise the name of the Lord!

Thats what He told you to do. Isn’t that true? You’ve got His Word on it and you know that your Daddy does not lie. You know that He honor’s His Word when He gives it. And He made sure to provide for your needs abundantly before He went away. So, with the keys He put in your hand as His child, He gave you the authority and dominion to walk boldly right into that Palace in your time of need (Heb.4:16). Are you hearing what I’m saying to you? Jesus has already been to the cross, shed His blood, died and rose from the dead. It is finished, He said. It’s ALL done.

His blood has already been applied to the mercy seat in the Throne Room of God. And if you’ve received Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then that blood has been applied to your heart to cleanse you from sin. Hallelujah! Therefore, you don’t have to sneak around to the back door like a beggar. Your Daddy is the KING, and you’re His child, so you hold your head up high with His confidence flowing in your heart and you march right in there like you belong there because you DO belong there. Your Father said you could come in any time and you would find grace and mercy in your time of need! Glory to God! We can go in boldly (with confidence) because of the precious blood of Jesus and the truth that we‘re covered in His love! Praise the Lord!

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WISE COUNSEL OF THE KINGDOM:
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But now listen, before your Father went away, like I said, He left you His Word’s of instructions on how to take care of things and how to conduct yourself properly in the Kingdom. Included in His Word to you, He left you a list of everything He promised would be in the storehouses for you. He loves you so much and He wanted to make sure that He’d made provision for everything you would need. You can look over His list and think to yourself, my, my, this is a lot of instructions, how will I ever be able to carry them out? But as you read over them, you begin to see your Father’s heart of love and His desire for you to be obedient to carry out His will in His Kingdom. Everything you need to do this has already provided. Just draw upon His Word and His grace by your faith.

In His Word, He reminds you not to be neglectful. And oh yes, theres the place where He reminds you that He loves you again. This brings to mind the joint-law of the Kingdom---love and faith working in unity together. Love God first with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might, then love others as you love yourself. As you read His Word, you can smile to yourself in peace, knowing you’re wrapped up securely in Father’s love. He reminds you to be courageous and have faith and be sure to water and to cultivate and keep the vine healthy. Keep growing so you’ll be able to bring honor and glory to your Father by producing a harvest of much good fruit for others in need.

And most definitely, if any slick salesmen come to the door trying to sell you on any other kingdom that sounds good but you know is right out of the pit---you have your Father’s keys and you know what to do with them. You have His delegated authority, His power of attorney. You have His name, His Word and you have His signature in red as a guarantee of where you stand in His grace. So pick up that sword of the Spirit and get your POINT across to those lying salesmen and let them know in no uncertain terms, “The Word that’s written in THIS house is, ‘NO DEAL, DEVIL!’ And after you do this, slam the door shut tight, not leaving so much as a crack for this kind to try and get back in again. Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!

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CONCLUSION:
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And so we come back to the message Jesus preached, “Repent and believe the gospel.” Believe the ‘good news’ that He’s anointed of God and that He came to set the captives free. Amen. His message was to every person, past present and future---for those not even born yet but who would be. His message of salvation was a message of hope and it was for all people to hear and be saved for God wished that none perished but they would have everlasting life. The message of the gospel of the Kingdom of God is still a message of salvation and hope for all people.

And even though we inherited a sin nature through Adam, thank God, Jesus came and He conquered sin on the cross by the shedding of His blood. “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2). Sin no longer has dominion over us unless we allow it to have rule instead of our spirit’s taking charge. Yes, there are temptations on every hand, there are trial’s and tribulations that Jesus said would come (John 16:33). But we’re to count it all joy when we fall into divers temptations (James 1:2). It’s a new opportunity to show God’s power in our lives so that it’s a witness to others.

While it’s true that we’ll be confronted with all kinds of circumstances and problems, all kinds of temptations, Jesus said to encourage us, “Be of good cheer (brighten up, put a smile on your face), don’t let those things get you down and depressed, because I’ve overcome the world!” And from Hebrews 4:15, the Bible says that Jesus was tempted in all points as we are today but yet, without sin. He’s touched with the feeling of our infirmities (weaknesses) and He understands exactly what we go through in our daily walk with Him on this pathway of holiness He‘s called us to.

Jesus has been through all the temptations to sin but unlike us, He said, NO and didn’t give into it to sin. He denied it’s power to rule over Him and it’s because of His victory over sin that by His grace, we have overcome too. We just have to believe it by faith and go on and act like it’s so, depending upon His grace to enable us to do so. Will we always get it right? No, not as long as we’re in these earthly bodies, but we can get to the place where we give into sin less with each passing day as we “die daily”to the flesh. This is where we have to rely on God’s Word and His moment to moment grace to empower us to resist and overcome.

Jesus was the perfect, spotless Lamb of God. He came to this earth---God Himself wrapped up in human flesh to set the example before us. Therefore, we are to follow Him in all we say, think and do. And I’m not talking about following Jesus at a distance. I’m talking about an up close, intimately personal covenant relationship with the Son of the living God. And the closer we get to Jesus in relationship and move more into intimate communion with Him, the more we’ll be empowered to stand against sin and not allow it to have rule over our everyday lives. Amen! It’s the truth. We will desire to please Jesus more than we want to please ourselves. When you find yourself here at this place, you will know that you are decreasing and He is increasing on the inside of you. Hallelujah!

So, let all of God’s King’s and Priest arise this day to go forward in Kingdom power and authority of the Holy Spirit, with a Kingdom mentality to do Kingdom business here in the earth as a witness to all people for the Lordship of Jesus Christ. May our lives bring glory to the Father---the great God Jehovah, Who sits upon His throne in all majesty and splendor. The Lord God says to you today as He said these words to me once, “If you will take care of My business. I will take care of your business.” Did you catch the condition to the promise? We have our part to do first, then God will move to do His part. He’s waiting on you and I to move out in faith on His Word so He can move to bless us. Amen.

So, may we all arise today, as God’s born again children to be about eastablishing God’s Kingdom ‘business’ (rule and law) here in the earth through our prayers and intercessions. And as we do, we can be assured and trust that He will take care of our business (our daily needs) as He said He would. Praise the holy name of Jesus! Let us give God glory for His faithfulness to iphold His Word to each and every one of His children. His ‘little’ King’s and priest’s---you and me. Praises to the King of King’s and Lord of Lord’s, Jesus Christ.

Plain As Day Ministries

Shirley Williams
8-27-02

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