Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem The Lord God is not the God of the dead, but of the living! When the King responded to the Sadducees, a religious group of Jesus’ time, He made it very clear: Jesus replied, ”Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God. For when the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage. In this respect they will be like the angels in heaven.
But now, as to whether there will be a resurrection of the dead—haven’t you ever read about this in the Scriptures? Long after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died, God said, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ So He is the God of the living, not the dead.”
When the crowds heard Him, they were astounded at his teaching. They were trying to trip Jesus up by talking religious semantics. That’s what often happens when trying to teach Kingdom, religion tries to trap you in a religious web they have created!
Whenever the Lord Jesus went to a funeral, He represented the Kingdom government, meaning the dead were no longer dead. He had all power. Remember His friend Lazarus? When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within Him, and He was deeply troubled. “Where have you put him?” He asked them.
They told Him, “Lord, come and see.” Then Jesus wept. The people who were standing nearby said, “See how much He loved him!” But some said, “This man healed a blind man. Couldn’t He have kept Lazarus from dying?”
Jesus was still angry as He arrived at the tomb, a cave with a stone rolled across its entrance. “Roll the stone aside,” Jesus told them.
But Martha, the dead man’s sister, protested, “Lord, He has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible.”
Jesus responded, “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?” So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me. You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe You sent me.” Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!” And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him go!”
Whenever the Lord Jesus attended a funeral, He always represented His government. The dead were always brought back to life. When He visited the sick, they were always healed. The blind were always given their sight, the lame were always made to walk. He always focused on His purpose for being here on earth.
Keep in mind, His birth, death and resurrection weren’t His focus for being here. They were integral parts, but not His focus. His focus was to restore the Kingdom government into the heart of His people, something they had lost. Those people who go under the religious group of Christian, focus on holidays such as Christmas and Easter or “Resurrection Sunday”, claiming them to be holy days. But keep this in mind, the Lord Jesus never mentioned nor endorsed those days. Neither did His disciples or apostles.
Everyone that came around the King were either healed or made alive through His Word. The Lord Jesus never focused on His death or resurrection! Why? Because that was all in the process of giving mankind a second chance. “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.”
There are some religions that honor and worship those who they claim to be saints in their religious circles. Keep this in mind, The Lord Jesus never instructed His people to worship or celebrate the dead. Remember, He isn’t the God of the dead, but the living. "I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ So he is the God of the living, not the dead.”
Again, the Lord God cannot lie. God is not a man, so He does not lie. He is not human, so He does not change His mind. Has He ever spoken and failed to act? Has He ever promised and not carried it through?
If you will take time to notice, most religious people attend funerals and wakes. When you realize who you are in the Kingdom, you will understand what the King was saying when He made this statement: But Jesus told him, “Follow me now. Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead.” The King was saying, stay focused on the living for they are the only ones you can reach with the Kingdom message. There are many that are dead spiritually, but the Lord Jesus knows who they are.
If you want to see a bunch of ‘zombies’, just attend a funeral. Those ‘zombies’ walk, talk and teach others how to do the same. This may sound humorous, but it is no laughing matter. We are entertaining a sad state of affairs concerning those who claim to be following King Jesus. They attend what they call church services every Sunday; and yet the Kingdom concept isn’t being taught. They debate on church bylaws, customs, and even carpet. They debate on which megachurch leader is the greatest and how they move to be in that position. The ambassador Paul had the same situation: Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in Christ. I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready, for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world? When one of you says, “I am a follower of Paul,” and another says, “I follow Apollos,” aren’t you acting just like people of the world?
Now doesn’t that sound familiar? One more piece of information! Kingdom citizens allow themselves to be led by the Governor—meaning the Holy Spirit.
And as always, remember that your faith in His Word is your greatest asset in the Kingdom of God government.
Matthew 22:29-33 John 11:33-44; 3:16-17 Numbers 23:19 Matthew 8:22 1 Corinthians 3:1-4
~~W.R. Luchie
www.kingdomcitizens.org
This article may only be reproduced, in print or on the internet, if the author's name and website address are included at the end of the article as originally placed. Thank you
But now, as to whether there will be a resurrection of the dead—haven’t you ever read about this in the Scriptures? Long after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died, God said, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ So He is the God of the living, not the dead.”
When the crowds heard Him, they were astounded at his teaching. They were trying to trip Jesus up by talking religious semantics. That’s what often happens when trying to teach Kingdom, religion tries to trap you in a religious web they have created!
Whenever the Lord Jesus went to a funeral, He represented the Kingdom government, meaning the dead were no longer dead. He had all power. Remember His friend Lazarus? When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within Him, and He was deeply troubled. “Where have you put him?” He asked them.
They told Him, “Lord, come and see.” Then Jesus wept. The people who were standing nearby said, “See how much He loved him!” But some said, “This man healed a blind man. Couldn’t He have kept Lazarus from dying?”
Jesus was still angry as He arrived at the tomb, a cave with a stone rolled across its entrance. “Roll the stone aside,” Jesus told them.
But Martha, the dead man’s sister, protested, “Lord, He has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible.”
Jesus responded, “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?” So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me. You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe You sent me.” Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!” And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him go!”
Whenever the Lord Jesus attended a funeral, He always represented His government. The dead were always brought back to life. When He visited the sick, they were always healed. The blind were always given their sight, the lame were always made to walk. He always focused on His purpose for being here on earth.
Keep in mind, His birth, death and resurrection weren’t His focus for being here. They were integral parts, but not His focus. His focus was to restore the Kingdom government into the heart of His people, something they had lost. Those people who go under the religious group of Christian, focus on holidays such as Christmas and Easter or “Resurrection Sunday”, claiming them to be holy days. But keep this in mind, the Lord Jesus never mentioned nor endorsed those days. Neither did His disciples or apostles.
Everyone that came around the King were either healed or made alive through His Word. The Lord Jesus never focused on His death or resurrection! Why? Because that was all in the process of giving mankind a second chance. “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.”
There are some religions that honor and worship those who they claim to be saints in their religious circles. Keep this in mind, The Lord Jesus never instructed His people to worship or celebrate the dead. Remember, He isn’t the God of the dead, but the living. "I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ So he is the God of the living, not the dead.”
Again, the Lord God cannot lie. God is not a man, so He does not lie. He is not human, so He does not change His mind. Has He ever spoken and failed to act? Has He ever promised and not carried it through?
If you will take time to notice, most religious people attend funerals and wakes. When you realize who you are in the Kingdom, you will understand what the King was saying when He made this statement: But Jesus told him, “Follow me now. Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead.” The King was saying, stay focused on the living for they are the only ones you can reach with the Kingdom message. There are many that are dead spiritually, but the Lord Jesus knows who they are.
If you want to see a bunch of ‘zombies’, just attend a funeral. Those ‘zombies’ walk, talk and teach others how to do the same. This may sound humorous, but it is no laughing matter. We are entertaining a sad state of affairs concerning those who claim to be following King Jesus. They attend what they call church services every Sunday; and yet the Kingdom concept isn’t being taught. They debate on church bylaws, customs, and even carpet. They debate on which megachurch leader is the greatest and how they move to be in that position. The ambassador Paul had the same situation: Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in Christ. I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready, for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world? When one of you says, “I am a follower of Paul,” and another says, “I follow Apollos,” aren’t you acting just like people of the world?
Now doesn’t that sound familiar? One more piece of information! Kingdom citizens allow themselves to be led by the Governor—meaning the Holy Spirit.
And as always, remember that your faith in His Word is your greatest asset in the Kingdom of God government.
Matthew 22:29-33 John 11:33-44; 3:16-17 Numbers 23:19 Matthew 8:22 1 Corinthians 3:1-4
~~W.R. Luchie
www.kingdomcitizens.org
This article may only be reproduced, in print or on the internet, if the author's name and website address are included at the end of the article as originally placed. Thank you
