Luke 4:43 But He said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose.”
Jesus came preaching the Kingdom of God - yet often and maybe most often, I find Christians presenting the Kingdom of God as being a place we go to in the future when we die. Is that what Jesus preached???
I think any, even superficial study of the Bible reveals that is not what He preached. Yes, I believe real believers will wind up there, but it is also clear that the Kingdom of God is obtainable and should be obtained now!!! Indeed, I really think Jesus was explaining that we need to find Him, the King, and thus His Kingdom of God now or we won't be there later!! It that is correct, there are going to be many sadly disappointed Christians. So we need to get this straight, right now!
Mat 12:28 “But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
I find the above verse interesting because Jesus is saying that even right, while He the Christ, was in the flesh He was casting out demons by using the Kingdom of God!! He was in the flesh, so the power was coming from the Kingdom of God!! And look - It was the Kingdom of God that has "come upon" them!!
Jesus, thought the Son of God and God the Son, was not casting out the demons and healing the sick by His power but by using the Kingdom of God!! It was available to Him right then and there at the time!! It was not something for some future use, but to be used right then!!
Mark 1:15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
The above verse not only proves clearly that the time for the kingdom of God to come had be fulfilled, but that it was indeed "at hand" if you repent and believe in the good news!! Now I find few quote "Christians" who don't think they have repented, and fewer still that don't think they believe in the "gospel" (Good News), though there may seem to be a question as to what is the Good News? Is it the Bible or is it perhaps that we can personally get to know the King and thus have access to the Kingdom of God. Our failure to understand what exactly is the Good News, could be the problem! But back to the kingdom of God and if it is available to us now.
Mark 9:1 And Jesus was saying to them, “Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.”
By the above verse we can see that some, but it looks like not all standing with Jesus, will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power. So who were they that got to see the kingdom of God before death and who were they not?
I think thse under the "not", part must be those not repenting and believing, according the the verse gone over before, but then what about the others who got to see the kingdom of God. Who were they?
Mark 4:11 And He was saying to them, “To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but those who are outside get everything in parables,
His disciples, that is to say those close to Him and learning directly from Him via that personal relationship that comes with being His disciple, were given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but the were just getting the info in parables. This is important to understand, because we read in the bible an instruction from God, and other information, about giving speaking to the people so that they don't understand so that with their ears they won't hear and their eyes they won't see.
Is 6:9,10 He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on listening, but do not perceive; Keep on looking, but do not understand.’
“Render the hearts of this people insensitive, Their ears dull, And their eyes dim,
Otherwise they might see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, Understand with their hearts,
And return and be healed.”
Now we don't know everything God said to Isaiah, do we? Yet we know that at least everything from Isaiah 6 and on was design to keep you from hearing and seeing!! And what had Isaiah just seen before this instruction? Was it not the Kingdom of God?
Is 6:1-3 In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.”
Now the throne of the king is not the only place to see in a kingdom, yet Isaiah even saw the throne of the King over the Kingdom of God and the events happening right there. If a person was to actually have access to the Kingdom of God it doesn't mean they would see the throne or only the throne would it? But of course, if a person did not get eyes to see, and that from reading what Isaiah wrote, then they wouldn't see any of it anyway!
I think that might take us back to what is the Good News? It is the writings like what Isaiah wrote, or it is the King Jesus Christ and hearing and seeing Him and His Kingdom?
Luke 9: 2 And He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to perform healing.
So if Jesus came preaching the kingdom of God and that was indeed His purpose for coming (see Luke 4:43 at the beginning of this thread) And we know that Jesus was using the power of the Kingdom and not His own power to cast our people and heal them, then the disciples must have bent sent out to do the same thing in the exact same way!! THE KINGDOM OF GOD WAS AVAILABLE TO THEM THEN!!
Luke 9:1 And He called the twelve together, and gave them power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases.
A king has authority over His kingdom, That authority gives him the ability to command the army of the kingdom. So the power that king has is in the army that fight for him. Jesus gave that authority He had as King, to his disciples and so the disciples could access the army of God and therefore the power of God right then!! So, the Kingdom of God was available to them then, but only based on the what was given to them by the King of Kings at that time!
Luke 10:9 and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.'
That was instructions given by Jesus Christ to His disciples. So how is it that we "Christians" so often don't seem to know that the Kingdom of God has come near us???
Luke 17:21 nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!' or, ‘There it is!' For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.”
Wow - the kingdom of God is in our midst, and still many don't know about those heavenly hosts that make up the kingdom of God!
Luke 22:29 and just as My Father has granted Me a kingdom, I grant you
It amazes me to this day how hard it is to simply talk about the angels of God who serve Him in Christian churches!! They all claim to know the Bible, but it is evident that they don't know or don't believe what is written in the Bible, by their responses!!
And what amazes me even more is that those who do know the Kingdom of God at church so often don't want to talk about it, and help people to understand what is available to us right now!!
Is 1:29 Surely you will be ashamed of the oaks which you have desired, And you will be embarrassed at the gardens which you have chosen.
Yeah - Isaiah wrote in parable form and that so what with your ears will be dull and your eyes won't see. But if you truly seek the KING OF KINGS, He will explain that parables to you so that you might know about the Kingdom of God!
Yet you choose to listen to the oaks which you have desired and you like the gardens which you have chosen, instead of seeking the King.
Jesus came preaching the Kingdom of God - yet often and maybe most often, I find Christians presenting the Kingdom of God as being a place we go to in the future when we die. Is that what Jesus preached???
I think any, even superficial study of the Bible reveals that is not what He preached. Yes, I believe real believers will wind up there, but it is also clear that the Kingdom of God is obtainable and should be obtained now!!! Indeed, I really think Jesus was explaining that we need to find Him, the King, and thus His Kingdom of God now or we won't be there later!! It that is correct, there are going to be many sadly disappointed Christians. So we need to get this straight, right now!
Mat 12:28 “But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
I find the above verse interesting because Jesus is saying that even right, while He the Christ, was in the flesh He was casting out demons by using the Kingdom of God!! He was in the flesh, so the power was coming from the Kingdom of God!! And look - It was the Kingdom of God that has "come upon" them!!
Jesus, thought the Son of God and God the Son, was not casting out the demons and healing the sick by His power but by using the Kingdom of God!! It was available to Him right then and there at the time!! It was not something for some future use, but to be used right then!!
Mark 1:15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
The above verse not only proves clearly that the time for the kingdom of God to come had be fulfilled, but that it was indeed "at hand" if you repent and believe in the good news!! Now I find few quote "Christians" who don't think they have repented, and fewer still that don't think they believe in the "gospel" (Good News), though there may seem to be a question as to what is the Good News? Is it the Bible or is it perhaps that we can personally get to know the King and thus have access to the Kingdom of God. Our failure to understand what exactly is the Good News, could be the problem! But back to the kingdom of God and if it is available to us now.
Mark 9:1 And Jesus was saying to them, “Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.”
By the above verse we can see that some, but it looks like not all standing with Jesus, will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power. So who were they that got to see the kingdom of God before death and who were they not?
I think thse under the "not", part must be those not repenting and believing, according the the verse gone over before, but then what about the others who got to see the kingdom of God. Who were they?
Mark 4:11 And He was saying to them, “To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but those who are outside get everything in parables,
His disciples, that is to say those close to Him and learning directly from Him via that personal relationship that comes with being His disciple, were given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but the were just getting the info in parables. This is important to understand, because we read in the bible an instruction from God, and other information, about giving speaking to the people so that they don't understand so that with their ears they won't hear and their eyes they won't see.
Is 6:9,10 He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on listening, but do not perceive; Keep on looking, but do not understand.’
“Render the hearts of this people insensitive, Their ears dull, And their eyes dim,
Otherwise they might see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, Understand with their hearts,
And return and be healed.”
Now we don't know everything God said to Isaiah, do we? Yet we know that at least everything from Isaiah 6 and on was design to keep you from hearing and seeing!! And what had Isaiah just seen before this instruction? Was it not the Kingdom of God?
Is 6:1-3 In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.”
Now the throne of the king is not the only place to see in a kingdom, yet Isaiah even saw the throne of the King over the Kingdom of God and the events happening right there. If a person was to actually have access to the Kingdom of God it doesn't mean they would see the throne or only the throne would it? But of course, if a person did not get eyes to see, and that from reading what Isaiah wrote, then they wouldn't see any of it anyway!
I think that might take us back to what is the Good News? It is the writings like what Isaiah wrote, or it is the King Jesus Christ and hearing and seeing Him and His Kingdom?
Luke 9: 2 And He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to perform healing.
So if Jesus came preaching the kingdom of God and that was indeed His purpose for coming (see Luke 4:43 at the beginning of this thread) And we know that Jesus was using the power of the Kingdom and not His own power to cast our people and heal them, then the disciples must have bent sent out to do the same thing in the exact same way!! THE KINGDOM OF GOD WAS AVAILABLE TO THEM THEN!!
Luke 9:1 And He called the twelve together, and gave them power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases.
A king has authority over His kingdom, That authority gives him the ability to command the army of the kingdom. So the power that king has is in the army that fight for him. Jesus gave that authority He had as King, to his disciples and so the disciples could access the army of God and therefore the power of God right then!! So, the Kingdom of God was available to them then, but only based on the what was given to them by the King of Kings at that time!
Luke 10:9 and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.'
That was instructions given by Jesus Christ to His disciples. So how is it that we "Christians" so often don't seem to know that the Kingdom of God has come near us???
Luke 17:21 nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!' or, ‘There it is!' For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.”
Wow - the kingdom of God is in our midst, and still many don't know about those heavenly hosts that make up the kingdom of God!
Luke 22:29 and just as My Father has granted Me a kingdom, I grant you
It amazes me to this day how hard it is to simply talk about the angels of God who serve Him in Christian churches!! They all claim to know the Bible, but it is evident that they don't know or don't believe what is written in the Bible, by their responses!!
And what amazes me even more is that those who do know the Kingdom of God at church so often don't want to talk about it, and help people to understand what is available to us right now!!
Is 1:29 Surely you will be ashamed of the oaks which you have desired, And you will be embarrassed at the gardens which you have chosen.
Yeah - Isaiah wrote in parable form and that so what with your ears will be dull and your eyes won't see. But if you truly seek the KING OF KINGS, He will explain that parables to you so that you might know about the Kingdom of God!
Yet you choose to listen to the oaks which you have desired and you like the gardens which you have chosen, instead of seeking the King.