14-07-2018
Matthew 6:33 New King James Version (NKJV)
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all
these things shall be added to you.
God is restoring the gospel of the kingdom to the people of Israel.
There is a restoration for the church as well--the restoration of the Scriptures.
The Old Testament is as important as the New Testament.
We need to look at the Bible as one book, fully inspired by God, especially what we call as the Old Testament (Jesus calls it the Scriptures).
2 Timothy 3:16-17 New King James Version (NKJV)
16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable
for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for [a]instruction in righteousness,
17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good
work.
Isaiah 2:2-3 New King James Version (NKJV)
2 Now it shall come to pass in the latter days
That the mountain of the Lord’s house
Shall be established on the top of the mountains,
And shall be exalted above the hills;
And all nations shall flow to it.
3 Many people shall come and say,
“Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
He will teach us His ways,
And we shall walk in His paths.”
For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
What is God's Kingdom but the domain of His rule?
The people of Israel understood that God ruled in a lawful way.
Matthew 4:17 New King James Version (NKJV)
17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for
the kingdom of heaven [a]is at hand.”
Matthew 6:10 New King James Version (NKJV)
10 Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Jesus emphasised the Kingdom of God in His parables.
Many Christians learn about the Kingdom of God from the New Testament.
But that's like coming to a long movie in the middle.
The Kingdom of God, biblically, starts much earlier with the people of Israel.
Our spiritual roots start with Abraham.
God created Israel from one man: a man of faith.
God chose him and made a covenant with him.
Genesis 12:3 New King James Version (NKJV)
3 I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Twice to Abraham and again to Isaac and Jacob.
Jacob's name was changed to Israel when he wrestled with God. He had twelve sons who became the tribes of Israel.
God will use Israel as a means and an example to bless the world.
Families are redemptive in God's sight.
Families and families become tribes.
Tribal identities are also redemptive.
When the tribes agree, that's when you have nations.
Pray for the impossible.
The people of God need to have the vision for the coming of the Kingdom.
Every Christian should know the Bible-the one book-from beginning to end.
About 70 people went into Egypt through Joseph.
Then God sent Moses and he brought them out to freedom.
For 400 years, they have been slaves along the Nile river.
They were not going to last 10 days.
That's when God showed up.
This was God's plan to give every nation hope.
Exodus 19:3-6 New King James Version (NKJV)
3 And Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the
mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the
children of Israel: 4 ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I
[a]bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. 5 Now therefore, if you
will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special
treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. 6 And you shall be
to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you
shall speak to the children of Israel.”
God became King of Israel in the dessert.
"If I am King, then you are the Kingdom of God."
God choose one out of the twelves tribes to become priests. Priests take that middle spot and represent God to all the nations of the world, and represent them to God.
In God's family of the nations, he has many children. And He loves all His children with a Father's love.
But He only has one firstborn nation--Israel. And Israel has stricter upbringing.
Israel was going to be His Kingdom, and a holy nation.
Jesus becomes the individual example for every human being: that Jesus is Lord.
From the beginning, God's plan for His Kingdom is an entire society where religion play a central and essential part. Who is God? What is He like? What are the Scriptures? How to worship? How to pray?
But in God's Kingdom, only one tribe was chosen to be religious professionals. It's less than one tenth.
Israel was set apart.
But 90% of us won't be.
The rest of us are to go and bring the Kingdom of God into our society--mobilising the 90% to be ambassadors of God, equipping them and finding our own gifting and calling in our spheres of society.
The text of the Bible is important for you and the next generation. That's why it is important that we know the Bible and obey it.
King David was the greatest warrior ever produced in the Bible. He was a gifted warrior.
Joseph was a politician.
Find out the gifts of artists and craftsmen, and warrior.
Every person is gifted by God so use your gifts. And we are all accountable to God.
The Kingdom of God advances after you leave the (conference) room.
There is nothing superior about Israel.
They ended up in a covenant relationship with God.
They got punished more than we did.
Under Joshua, they went into the Promised Land.
The tribes had to find a way to agree. And when they made God king, they agreed.
And they became a nation.
After they began to settle in the land and began to prosper, they grew tired and jealous of other nations.
They went to Samuel who was judging them at that time. "Tell Him we're not happy with the situation. We want a human king." (1 Samuel 8)
Samuel said that's not a good idea. "The first thing a human king would do is to tax you. Then the human king will take your sons for national service."
1 Samuel 8:6-7 New King James Version (NKJV)
6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king
to judge us.” So Samuel prayed to the Lord. 7 And the Lord said to Samuel,
“Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not
rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.
In that process, Israel rejected the Kingdom of God.
The human kings of Israel were a disaster.
Though not perfect, only David wanted to be the little king so God could be the great King. He was a man after God's own heart.
All the rest were complete failures.
After Solomon, the kingdom was divided. There was civil war, corruption, political assassination and manipulation, etc.
The Babylonians took them into captivity. For 70 years, they ceased to exist.
Under Nehemiah and Ezra, a fraction came back. They were never free again-Persians, Greeks, Romans. They were ruled by pagan foreigners for centuries.
What a disaster and sin it was when they wanted human kings.
After generations, a man arose in Galilee with power from God. Lame walked, sick healed. He walked on water.
God is visiting His people again.
He had more than just miracles. He was preaching. "Israel turn away and repent! The Kingdom of God is here!"
So they followed Him and wanted to make him King.
What if you had five minutes alone with Jesus and you could only ask Him one question? What would you ask Him?
The disciples had five minutes alone with Jesus. They had spent more than three years with Jesus and heard all His teaching and saw all His miracles.
They had encountered spiritual giants.
After His resurrection, He only talked about the Kingdom of God.
Acts 1:6 New King James Version (NKJV)
6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying,
“Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”
That's THE question.
Acts 1:7-8 New King James Version (NKJV)
7 And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons
which the Father has put in His own authority. 8 But you shall receive power
when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be [a]witnesses to Me in
Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
To the church and the remnant, YOU are the KEY instrument in GOD'S HAND.
Bring the gospel of the Kingdom to this nation and make this nation the head and not the tail.
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