Kingdom Perspective: The Eternal Message Part 2
When John came baptizing the people with water, he had only one message: In those days John the Baptist came to the Judean wilderness and began preaching. His message was, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” Matthew 3:1-2 Note that John did not come offering a new religion, but to prepare the people for the arrival of the King and His government. The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.”
And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.” John 1:29-34 NKJV The Lord God gave John a sign (a dove descending on Him) of who His Son was in the midst of the crowd.
It is vital that we embrace the Kingdom message and not a religion called Christianity or any other religion. Remember, we have talked about the origins of the name Christian. The name Christian first came about because some citizens called Paul and Barnabas Christians at the city of Antioch, but that wasn’t who they were. Then Barnabas went on to Tarsus to look for Saul. When he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. Both of them stayed there with the church for a full year, teaching large crowds of people. (It was at Antioch that the believers were first called Christians.) But they were citizens of the Kingdom of God’s government. The citizens called them Christian because they perceived them as followers of Jesus Christ. They named them as they perceived them. Ambassador Paul made it clear who they were: But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for Him to return as our Savior. He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like His own, using the same power with which He will bring everything under His control. Philippians 3:20-21
Later the Catholic religion picked it up and ran with it, spreading that name throughout their world. As I say, if you allow people to name you, they will define you. Kingdom citizens don’t belong to a religious group called Christianity. You are citizens of the Kingdom of the Lord God, if you have been born of the Spirit of the Lord God. Sadly, the name Christian has been so soiled and damaged by centuries of bad and evil behavior by those who have claimed that name as their own. You are a follower of King Jesus, our Lord and Savior. You are a Kingdom citizen. Read and study God’s Constitution (Bible) and discover who you are in His Word.
I realize there are some translations of the Lord God’s Constitution (Bible) that use the word Christian, but when you are born of the Holy Spirit, you become a citizen of the Kingdom, not a member of a religious group. Religion is man made, as are denominations. The word "denomination" comes from the same root word as denominator in fractions, which means to divide. Where the people are divided, there WILL be bickering, fighting and strife. I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose. 1 Corinthians 1:10 Denominations are man made and have no scriptural authority to exist. King Jesus came to bring the government of the Kingdom of Heaven to earth, to all who would receive Him. King Jesus made this very clear when explaining the Kingdom message to a religious ruler named Nicodemus: Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
“What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”
Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”John 3:3-8
If you have any doubt that people think negatively about Christians, go out and ask people to tell you the first word they think of when you say Christian. You might think it would be Jesus, God, church, love, hope, mercy; but more likely it would be hypocrite, liar, cheater, judgmental, hateful, phony and probably far worse than these. I grieve for this because this causes the world to see Jesus through this mindset.
We must shine the light of the Kingdom of God to this world and change that viewpoint. Be a citizen of the Kingdom of God: Believe in King Jesus, accept Him as your Lord and Savior, and be filled with the Holy Spirit and God’s Word. Remember that King Jesus didn’t speak of a new religion, comparing it to other religions. He taught them about the coming of the Kingdom: One day the Pharisees asked Jesus, “When will the Kingdom of God come?”
Jesus replied, “The Kingdom of God can’t be detected by visible signs. You won’t be able to say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘It’s over there!’ For the Kingdom of God is already among you.” Luke 17:20-21 He never compared the Kingdom to a religion because a kingdom is a government. For a Child is born to us, a Son is given to us. The government will rest on His shoulders. And He will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of His ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen! Isaiah 9:6-7
His message has never changed. This is why I keep teaching on the Kingdom, because this is the assignment given to us by our King. To do anything else would be to lose focus!
Remember your greatest asset is your faith in the King and His Word.
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
And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.” John 1:29-34 NKJV The Lord God gave John a sign (a dove descending on Him) of who His Son was in the midst of the crowd.
It is vital that we embrace the Kingdom message and not a religion called Christianity or any other religion. Remember, we have talked about the origins of the name Christian. The name Christian first came about because some citizens called Paul and Barnabas Christians at the city of Antioch, but that wasn’t who they were. Then Barnabas went on to Tarsus to look for Saul. When he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. Both of them stayed there with the church for a full year, teaching large crowds of people. (It was at Antioch that the believers were first called Christians.) But they were citizens of the Kingdom of God’s government. The citizens called them Christian because they perceived them as followers of Jesus Christ. They named them as they perceived them. Ambassador Paul made it clear who they were: But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for Him to return as our Savior. He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like His own, using the same power with which He will bring everything under His control. Philippians 3:20-21
Later the Catholic religion picked it up and ran with it, spreading that name throughout their world. As I say, if you allow people to name you, they will define you. Kingdom citizens don’t belong to a religious group called Christianity. You are citizens of the Kingdom of the Lord God, if you have been born of the Spirit of the Lord God. Sadly, the name Christian has been so soiled and damaged by centuries of bad and evil behavior by those who have claimed that name as their own. You are a follower of King Jesus, our Lord and Savior. You are a Kingdom citizen. Read and study God’s Constitution (Bible) and discover who you are in His Word.
I realize there are some translations of the Lord God’s Constitution (Bible) that use the word Christian, but when you are born of the Holy Spirit, you become a citizen of the Kingdom, not a member of a religious group. Religion is man made, as are denominations. The word "denomination" comes from the same root word as denominator in fractions, which means to divide. Where the people are divided, there WILL be bickering, fighting and strife. I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose. 1 Corinthians 1:10 Denominations are man made and have no scriptural authority to exist. King Jesus came to bring the government of the Kingdom of Heaven to earth, to all who would receive Him. King Jesus made this very clear when explaining the Kingdom message to a religious ruler named Nicodemus: Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
“What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”
Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”John 3:3-8
If you have any doubt that people think negatively about Christians, go out and ask people to tell you the first word they think of when you say Christian. You might think it would be Jesus, God, church, love, hope, mercy; but more likely it would be hypocrite, liar, cheater, judgmental, hateful, phony and probably far worse than these. I grieve for this because this causes the world to see Jesus through this mindset.
We must shine the light of the Kingdom of God to this world and change that viewpoint. Be a citizen of the Kingdom of God: Believe in King Jesus, accept Him as your Lord and Savior, and be filled with the Holy Spirit and God’s Word. Remember that King Jesus didn’t speak of a new religion, comparing it to other religions. He taught them about the coming of the Kingdom: One day the Pharisees asked Jesus, “When will the Kingdom of God come?”
Jesus replied, “The Kingdom of God can’t be detected by visible signs. You won’t be able to say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘It’s over there!’ For the Kingdom of God is already among you.” Luke 17:20-21 He never compared the Kingdom to a religion because a kingdom is a government. For a Child is born to us, a Son is given to us. The government will rest on His shoulders. And He will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of His ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen! Isaiah 9:6-7
His message has never changed. This is why I keep teaching on the Kingdom, because this is the assignment given to us by our King. To do anything else would be to lose focus!
Remember your greatest asset is your faith in the King and His Word.
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