Bible Teaching

Calvary Temple Teaching Library

Thy Kingdom Come Pt.3

Glory to God. I think we can all say that. Amen? We'll never be the same again. Aren't you glad for that first encounter you had with Him that transformed you, and old things passed away, the Scripture says, all things became new? Great time of celebrating His work in our lives.

I think the thing I'm most thankful for this morning is that every day, for those of us that are true believers, is Resurrection Sunday. Amen? There're not many churches that experience what we do here, that we have the exact same attendance on Easter Sunday as we do all year round. We have the exact same attendance on Easter Sunday night as we do on Easter Sunday morning or thereabout. Some of you have been "sluffing off" lately. We realize that the true people of God do not forsake the assembling of themselves together. The true people of God are seeking Him on a daily basis. He's the same in our lives. There's no Sabbath or new moons or special feasts. He's just Lord every day of our lives, praise God. That's exciting.

Let's turn to John, chapter--or let's go over, actually to Matthew. I think we'll start off in Matthew, Chapter 9, and then I want to look at 1 Corinthians 15 this morning and look at a couple of passages that I think are going to bring about a summation in our study here on the Kingdom of God. We understand that Jesus made it very clear that in His incarnation, as He appeared, that the Kingdom of God had manifested itself in the midst of men. John the Baptist, the forerunner, came and declared the Kingdom of God and was preaching a message of repentance, for the Kingdom was at hand.

One of the things that we understand is that the Kingdom is about repentance. It's about changing the direction of our lives. It's about giving us an alternative. When John preached and when Jesus preached the Kingdom of God, it always came with repentance. You can't continue on the course you were on and be moving in the Kingdom of God.

In fact, I'm going to--probably our next study is going to be on repentance, on true Biblical repentance. I want to make sure that we, as a people, are aware of what it takes to enter the Kingdom of God. We're here, as we've talked about, coming into a third generation in this fellowship of believers. The most dangerous thing that we can face is religion. Those of us that have been in the Way now for--and I don't mean in the way, but I mean in The Way--for a good number of years, so often can just begin to become comfortable in what we've achieved to this point and some type of a perceived righteousness and fail to realize that it's a continual process of being conformed into His image that is so necessary in our lives. It's, in this day that we're living, the thing that we have to protect ourselves against.

As we've talked about the Kingdom of God, we saw that one of the things was that the Kingdom was surely not with observation. We realize that it's one of the big moves today in our society that Christians--we've talked about the post-millennial theology that the Church is going to rule supreme and begin to take over politically and take over economically. The Church will begin to rule the world, and when we come to that place, then Jesus can return. And we'll hand Him His scepter, and the kingdoms of this world will then have become the kingdoms of our God and of His Christ. That doctrine has been propagated by the Catholic church for well over a millennium now. It's been embraced by Protestants today of all different denominations and preached in many different ways, and it's not a Scriptural position. There's nothing in the Scriptures that talks about the Church ruling the nations. The Kingdom of God is a separate entity. It does not usurp and replace the kingdoms of this world.

The kingdoms of this world will remain in place until Jesus presents them to the Father following the millennium when He comes and rules and subdues the kingdom of this world, the nations. He rules them with a rod of iron; but even at that time, they're going to remain in place. It's only going to be in the end when He then finalizes the earthly rule, and then the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our God. They'll be no more. Until that time, they remain in place.

There's a spiritual kingdom running parallel, the Kingdom of God. Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand. Pray: "Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come." We taught that we're praying for that eschatological kingdom, the future kingdom that is going to come; but there's a present kingdom that we've talked about.

Some are standing here, Jesus said, that will not die until you've seen the Kingdom come in power. We know that we haven't seen any two thousand year old men running around, and so the Kingdom came. Praise God. They saw it come in its power. It was the day of Pentecost. The Kingdom had come with Jesus. The Kingdom came in power as it pertained to man at Pentecost, and the Church was formed to carry on the power of the Kingdom. The Kingdom was initiated with Jesus and it's being sustained by the Holy Spirit's power through the Church. The Kingdom is here. It's not in the future.

We pray, "Thy kingdom come." Not just the eschatological kingdom, but the soteriological kingdom; the kingdom of salvation that we have to experience on a daily basis. We pray every day, "Let your Kingdom be manifested in my life. Let me properly represent the Kingdom of God as an ambassador of Christ." That's what we're praying for.

We've asked the question, then, of ourselves, "Are we properly representing the Kingdom on a daily basis?" Are we exhibiting power over sin in our own personal lives? The Kingdom is seen in sanctified living. Are we seeing signs and wonders in the name of the holy child, Jesus? That's the expression of those who are established in the Kingdom of God. We pray for it and we need to have faith that it's going to manifest for, beloved, it's your Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom. Amen? It's not something that God's holding out on us.

Why are we not experiencing the power that we know we need to see? Maybe it's because the Kingdom of God suffers violence and the violent take it by force. How much of an effort have you been making? It's not something that's just going to be handed to us sovereignly because God intends to give it to us. It's His good pleasure, but it has to be seized by force. We've been talking about asking ourselves the question, "What have I been doing to stir up again my Kingdom responsibilities? What have I been doing to exhibit properly the Kingdom of God to a lost and a dying world?"

Matthew chapter 9 says it this way in verse 35, "And Jesus went about all the cities and [the] villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom . . ." That's what I want to talk about this Resurrection Sunday, the Gospel of the Kingdom, the good news of the Kingdom of God. We're going to see as you look over to the tenth chapter, for just a moment, in verse 1, that, ". . . he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease." He said, verse 7, "And as you go, [preaching], saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils [say it with me]; freely ye have received, freely give" (Matthew 10:7-8). That's the mandate to those of us that are citizens of the Kingdom of God. What are you doing with what you've been so freely given?

Can we claim all of the other kingdom benefits without carrying out our kingdom responsibilities? What right do we have to our own personal ease and comfort and peace, for the Kingdom of God is not meat or drink. It's righteousness. It's peace. It's joy in the Holy Ghost. We want to move in that righteousness. We want to know that we're in right standing with God. We want the assurance of our salvation. We want to know that we're not going to be cast out into outer darkness; but, in fact, we'll be received into His presence, told "well done," and so shall we ever be with the Lord, praise God.

That's what we're longing for. We want the peace of God that rules in our hearts. Peace I give unto you, not as the world gives--not a temporal thing, not something that's momentary, not something that's limited to the soul. I'm talking about a spiritual peace where nothing else can cause you to be anxious or to be cast down but to know His presence. We want to have that assurance, the joy of the Lord, which the Scripture says, is our strength. In His presence there's fullness of joy. We want the presence of God. We want to know that God is with us and that joy that comes with it. That's something that we long for. It's one of the greatest privileges that we have as the children of God.

We want all of those things, but do we get the benefits without fulfilling our responsibilities? "Here's what I've sent you to do. I want you to do this." It's not something that's up for debate. You can't sit down and ask whether or not you have time and it can fit into your schedule. It has nothing to do with your natural personality. "See, I'm basically a shy person." It has nothing to do with that. It has to do with a commandment.

He said, "Here's what I want of you; here's what I expect you to do. I want you to take this power that I've freely given to you as the redeemed of the Lord and I want you to go and preach the Kingdom of Heaven. I want you to go out and represent me with power." Personal power in sanctified living and representative power in casting out devils, healing the sick, raising the dead. For the Kingdom of God, Corinthians tells us, is not in word, but it's in power. We have to ask ourselves the question this morning, "Are we just shooting our mouths off, or are we living in the Kingdom?" Are we just talking about the Kingdom or are we experiencing the benefits of citizens of the Kingdom of God?

Back to the ninth chapter, and Jesus went about teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the Kingdom. He's out preaching the good news of the Kingdom of God. We're going to talk about the Gospel a little bit out of John, out of 1 Corinthians 15, here on Resurrection Sunday. We're going to talk about that which Paul was ministering, and what the Gospel is. The one thing we see here at the mouth of Jesus is that the Gospel and the Kingdom are synonymous. They mean the same thing, but they express themselves to different specifics; but they incorporate the same purpose.

The Gospel, the good news--what is the Gospel? The Gospel is that Jesus was made sin with our sin, that we might be made righteous with His righteousness. What is the Gospel? What is the good news? God was made flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus took upon Himself our sins, praise God. He died on the cross as a substitute for you and me. Can you say, "Praise God" for that?

This is the good news. Jesus died in our place. He was the substitute. God then raised Him from the dead, praise God. He's ascended to the right hand of God the Father. Here's some good news. He ever lives to make intercession for us. How many of you are glad this morning Jesus is praying for you? Without it you wouldn't make it. You're not going to make it on your own prayers. Jesus is praying for me right now. "Peter, Satan desires to sift you." And he beat the tar out of Peter and would have destroyed him, but these words ring forth with such power, "But I have prayed for you." Satan desires to sift you, but Jesus is praying for you. Can you say, "Praise God"? You're not going down, man. You're not going down.

If you abide in Him, and His words abide in you, you can ask what you will. What do you desire? I want to represent the Kingdom of God. I want Jesus to be seen in my life and it will be given unto you. It's exciting. He says, "I want you to understand what's going on here. Preach the good news. He died, was buried, raised the third day according to the Scriptures, ascended to the right hand of God the Father, lives to make intercession for us and coming again to receive us unto Himself that where He is there we might be." My response to that is, "Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus." Don't you want to get out of here?

Everything here, as good as it is, is so far short of what God has planned for those who love Him. For eye has not seen, ear has not heard, and it's not entered into the heart or the mind of man the things that God has prepared for those that love Him. Heaven is far beyond anything you can imagine it to be. It's far beyond the symbols that we find in the Scripture. It's far beyond gates of pearl and streets of gold and mansions--Any thing that you can imagine it to be--and it so far surpasses. That's exciting. Hell is far greater torment than you can ever imagine it to be. The world needs to know the good news that we've been bought with a price. Because of that, we're no longer our own. The Kingdom of God, then, requires you to subordinate to the lordship of Jesus, every citizen in absolute subordination. This Gospel of the Kingdom, it's good news. Not only that we've been delivered, but also that we're being sustained, praise God, as we continue to walk in obedience and in submission to His lordship. Preach the Gospel of the Kingdom, He says.

What is this kingdom message? What is the good news? It's not just something that we talk about. He says that when you preach the Gospel of the Kingdom, it will be accompanied with power. "I give you power. Go preach the Kingdom's at hand." The Kingdom of God is not in word, Corinthians says. It's in power.

Now, we're going to have to come to grips with this, this morning. How would you rate your power this morning? How would you rate your representation of the power of God? I'm not talking about anything that you can do. I'm talking about your representation. I'm talking about whether or not you are allowing the power of God to flow through you. Are you doing what's necessary to make yourself a candidate for the power of God?

We know what it takes, don't we? We know what it takes. We know it's His good pleasure to give us the Kingdom, but we also know that it's not something that's casually strolled into. The Kingdom of God suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. It's not going to just be handed to us. We can have great intentions. "Lord, I'd really like to be used of you. Lord, it's my heart's desire." You hear it all the time. "I just want to be used of God." What are you doing to prepare yourself to be used of God? What have you done to make yourself a candidate for the glory of God?

These men that Jesus was giving power to were hand picked by Him. There was a reason, and the reason isn't given specifically as it pertains to each one of them, but it's given generally in all of the Scriptures. You remember before these people were picked, these twelve, what was it that Jesus did in our teaching prior to this on prayer? What was it that Jesus did prior to picking these twelve men? He went out and prayed specifically--didn't He--about whom to choose. There's something about these men that would walk away from their livelihoods. Peter and Andrew just left their whole business behind at a word, one word. Well, actually two words. How do you respond when Jesus walks up? Can you imagine what that was like? We've experienced it. "I've seen Jesus" they sang this morning; I've never been the same again.

I've seen Him, have you? When I encountered Him, I've never been the same. My life was absolutely transformed. I've never been the same--battled the flesh all of these years but never the same. I'm a new creature. I have a new lord. I experienced something very similar to what Peter and James and John and Andrew experienced, and many of you have.

You're going to find out one thing when you study the lives of these men. It doesn't just happen one time. It's reaffirmed. Life cycles. There're times that we talked about where our lives begin to demand more intensity in our prayer, in our preparation. There're times when there's a rest that we've entered into, but primarily we're laboring for the rest.

What have you done to apprehend the power of the Kingdom of God? Have you been striving toward that privilege? That's what we have to ask ourselves, this question. I think many of us would have to say, "No, really, I've done better than I'm doing right now." Then the Bible says the Kingdom of God is at hand, what are we supposed to do? What are we supposed to do? Repent.

If you're not fulfilling the role that you've been called to do, that you've been ordained to do, then you need to repent. You need to change what you're doing, and get it back on course. The Kingdom of God is a continual process of repenting into the very image and the purposes of God.

He says, "I want you to go out and preach this Gospel of the Kingdom. I want you to heal every sickness and every disease." Then we see the heart of the Master, and we have to then ask ourselves, "Am I representing the Kingdom in this way?"

It says He looked upon the multitudes and He was moved with compassion, for they were scattered as sheep without a shepherd. He then turned to the disciples and He said, "The harvest is plenteous, but the citizens of the Kingdom are few, the laborers are few. Pray the Lord of the harvest that He would send forth laborers into the harvest." Then He gave them power. First chapter 10, then He gave them power. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as it is in Heaven.

As we're praying properly, if we're praying effectively, this is what we're praying for. "Lord, let me represent you better. Lord, what am I doing? How am I being moved today representing your compassionate heart for the lost? Is that consuming me?" We need to ask ourselves a question this morning. Are we content that our families are safe and being taught and being raised up, and not moved and broken in a heart of compassion that Jesus expressed here for the multitudes around us that are lost?

As I was driving to service this morning, I looked up and one of my neighbors, actually two, one almost across the street from each other, they were out mulching their plants. I thought, "Praise God that on Easter Sunday, they're staying home mulching." I was so glad to see that, because those people are going to be a lot easier to reach with the Gospel then the ones that are in church this morning and that's the only time they go to church. There's a world out there that's lost and broken and fearful and lonely.

All of the different things that man does that all of you and I have done to try to fill in the void, they're not satisfying. We try to fill them with activities, goals, and the accumulation of stuff. We all throw up the different defense mechanisms that we've developed over the years based upon our own personal insecurities and the inferiorities that every one of us battles with and everybody's afraid.

I want to tell you something. When you go to work and you look around you and guys that really look like they have got it all together, they're just better actors than you. That's all. They need to hear the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. They need to understand the two parallel Kingdoms. They need to understand that they're not living to themselves. They're under the lordship of Satan, and that Jesus has come to pay the price to redeem them from the god of this world, that they could be reconciled back to their Father and gifted with the glory of God and the presence of God and the peace of God. Then they need to see the reality, not just the doctrine--the reality. They need to see the peace in your life.

Things are a little shaky on the job with the economy shaking a little bit here. You haven't seen anything yet, we shared with you over the last number of months. Some of you young people have come to experience this, young adults. I told you. It's not that easy to make money. Some of you--they were just throwing money at people. Eighteen months ago, two years ago, three years ago, I said, "It's not real. That's not the real world." Some of you that had been out of work for months and months and months, and some of you won't go to work because somebody told you you were worth $80,000 a year and you're probably worth $20,000, and somebody offered you $30,000 and you won't take it. You got the wrong image of yourself through that period of lies that you experienced.

What am I saying? In times like this is when we can express the Kingdom of God. You just go in and you do what you're supposed to do as unto the Lord. And you don't allow all of the things that are causing fear and resentment and all of these things in the lives of others because you realize that the steps of the good man are ordered by the Lord. Praise God. You just tell them, "Hey, man, God's for me. Nothing can be against me. I believe that I'm here for a purpose. I'm here working this job just to talk to you, praise God. You accept Jesus right now, and then maybe I'll get fired tomorrow, praise God. My job's over."

How are you looking at what you're doing in the Kingdom of God? Do you understand that that's our first responsibility, and to represent it in power, power of righteous living, power of contentment, the power that we walk free from the fear of men's faces. It doesn't matter what people think about us on the job. Are you representing the Kingdom, the power of representation of Jesus' victory over sin and over death, to where we can pray for the sick?

You want me to show you a way that you can see probably the most, the highest success ratio of praying for the sick that you can see? It's not going to be in churches. It's going to be out in the highways and byways. You want to see the power of God? Go out and find the most unlikely candidates, and be sensitive to what the Holy Spirit's saying. Understand your mission as an ambassador. Have compassion for the broken and the lost, and you'll begin to see the power of God in your life because Jesus said, "I'll go with you, and I'll confirm the words that you speak with signs following." Just go out and preach the Gospel of the Kingdom. It's so powerful. It's so necessary that this is what we represent, for the Kingdom of God is not in word, but it's in power.

Look over at Luke chapter 4 for just a second. We see again the ministry of the Lord here, and the call that's on each one of us in representing this Kingdom. If we'll go out and minister with this heart of compassion as proper representatives of the Kingdom of God, He'll be with you and confirm the words with signs following. If He's with you, there's peace. If He's with you, there's joy. If He's with you, you're established in righteousness. When we're moving in those things within the Kingdom, those are the insulators against the cares of this world. Get in your notes: Matthew 13 is the Kingdom chapter. If you want to learn some stuff about the Kingdom, begin to read the parables of Matthew 13.

You'll see also that as you look at the different aspects of the Kingdom of God in the Luke passages, just prior to the parables on the Kingdom, is the sower. There's a beautiful phrase in there concerning the Kingdom, and in the parable of sower, He said, "And these are the words of the Kingdom."

The Kingdom has its own power source. It's the Word of God. It's that Word, if you read those parables, that Satan's coming to try to take out of your heart. This is the power source. The more time you spend in the Word, the more power manifests itself in our lives. For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, the good news of the Kingdom, for it is the what? The power of God to salvation.

These words birthed in our hearts, spoken by faith, set people free. They hear the Word with power. It gives them that capacity to hear where they've never been able to hear before because the Kingdom is not in word. It's in power. It has to be the Word in power, not just the Word, the Word in power. The anointed Word, the Rhema spoken out a heart that's been moved by the Holy Spirit; so it's important for us to be prayerful and understand that this is what the representation of the Kingdom is all about.

Luke chapter 4, we find that the Lord is manifesting here the ministry following His temptation. He comes in the power of the Spirit, verse 14 tells us. Fame was going around the region concerning Him. Then the Scriptures says that He, as His custom was, went into the synagogue. He stood up to read, and He read that passage out of Isaiah 61. John said, Repent, the Kingdom is at hand. Jesus, now, is representing the Kingdom and here He says is the prophetic word concerning His ministry, the ministry of the Kingdom. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel [of the Kingdom] to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and [the recovery] of sight to the blind, [and] to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord" (Luke 4:18-19). The year of Jubilee, the year of forgiveness, the year of replenishing.

Oh, how many people are broken today on the jobs. How many people are in debt, and I'm not talking about financial debt, though we understand that's a major problem in our society today. The average household in America, $8,000 in credit card debt. You say, "That's nothing, man, I can beat that." It's the average. You're big debt includes those guys who don't even have credit cards, okay? The average home, eight, not all other debts, just credit cards, $8,000 credit card debt; and the average American household has $1,500 in savings. Just in credit cards, America's $6,500 a family in debt, and people are looking to get more. They're in bondage. Do you want to know the reason they're in that kind of bondage? It's because they are in debt spiritually.

They are depriving themselves of all spiritual blessing. There is no contentment; there's no peace. There's no power of God to live separate from the kingdom's power, which is servitude, bondage. We have the message of the year of Jubilee, the forgiveness of all of our debts. Spiritually set free. None of these sins any longer held against us. The power of sin broken in our lives, and the sins that are still in our members and that will always be there are now under the power and the authority of the blood of Jesus and His name. Are we preaching this to a lost and dying generation, or do they believe that they just have to live under those appetites the rest of their lives? I just can't do anything about this lust.

What's the condition of America today? We saw it financially. 56 % of Americans are obese. Now you're fat and in debt. You think that won't depress you? Addiction, after addiction, after addiction, and they don't want to be that way and they hate it but they have no power to free themselves. We've got a message, beloved, that will take God's remnant and set them free from the power of sin. What are we doing to represent the Kingdom of God? It's very important that we understand what our obligations are, what our responsibilities are.

Jesus preached this Gospel of the Kingdom. We see it in Matthew 9. We see it here in Luke 4 and continually you can find it throughout the Scriptures. Luke chapter 8, the good news of the Kingdom. The glad tidings of the Kingdom, the Scripture says was the word that He brought. We've got some good news to take out there that Jesus is alive and He's present through His Word to confirm His promises with signs following. It's the message that Phillip preached in Acts, chapter 8. He preached the Kingdom of God in the name of Jesus.

We're not out inviting people to church. We're out there inviting them to be free from Satan's power, from the power of sin in their members. We're inviting them to become the citizens of the Kingdom, the redeemed of the Lord. We're coming into a day when, or I should say the Lord said, into the night when no man can work. Let's pray the Lord of the harvest, we would go forth while it's still light. Let's pray for doors of utterance to be opened, that we could bring the Gospel of the Kingdom.

Let's go over to 1 Corinthians 15 as we close for this morning. This message that you and I are supposed to be bringing to the lost, what is that message? I got a kick out of just watching this guy just the other day as he was pulling out of the area that we were parked with our trailer. As he was driving by, he looked up, and he actually stopped. I could see it. I could watch his lips moving. "Jesus Christ died for our sins, was buried, raised the third day according to the Scriptures." His lips are moving, "...raised the third day according to the Scriptures. And if Christ be not raised, your faith is in vain." I could see his lips. "You're yet in your sins." The one thing I noticed is that as we've been trying to minister in this area that we've been hanging out, there're a lot of religious folks, a lot of religious people. You go out, and you either have total pagans, just partying up a storm, people in between. I asked the Lord, "What...What's the message? What do we need to get across to these folks in a basic way?" I was just believing the Lord for something we could put up, and the Lord said, "The Gospel." The Spirit, of course, reminded me of this condensed message here in 1 Corinthians 15.

I was thinking about this yesterday as we were driving down the road for a few hours. As we're driving, I'm thinking about all these people that we're passing. We usually are passing people; people are not usually passing us. Just cruising along and people are used to seeing "God is love. John 3:16." This is the Gospel when you look at the message on the trailer condensed to three lines. When you look at that message, your life can never be the same. You can make a whole bunch out of "God is love. Jesus loves you." but the power of the message that Jesus died for your sins, was raised from the dead according to the Scriptures, and that because of His resurrection, He is Lord. You have to either believe that He's raised, and if He is, He's Lord, or that He's not raised. If He's not raised, you're still in your sins. You can only draw two conclusions. Either Jesus did not rise from the dead, and man is still damned to Hell and lost, and there is no reconciliation. Or Jesus is raised; and if Jesus is raised, He is Lord. Praise God. You have no alternative but to keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.

Paul says it this way in Chapter 15. He said, verse 3, "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received . . ." Paul makes it very clear in his writings who he received his revelations from. Who was it? It was Jesus. Paul didn't get the message, and this isn't saying that it's something that's not reliable. Paul makes it very clear. He said, "Look, I just wanted to make sure that what I received was the same word that everybody else was preaching. So when I went to Jerusalem and I talked to James and I talked to Peter, they added nothing else to me. They said, 'Yep, that's the Gospel.' I received it out in the desert from Jesus Himself. Here's what Jesus told me to preach. It's the same message that Peter preached on the day of Pentecost, that the Jesus they crucified, God raised from the dead." He said, ". . . that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures." (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Interesting that the phrase keeps coming up, isn't it? According to the Scriptures.

How important is it for us to know the Word of God and to speak the Word of God when we're sharing the Gospel with people? The ability to give the reason of the hope that's in us. Not, "Our church says..." "It is written..." Praise God. Not, "Mom and Dad said..." "It is written, according to the Scriptures."

This Word can only affect you in direct proportion to the condition of the soil of your heart, in the parable that Jesus taught us on the sower. I personally believe that as you look at the condition of the heart there and the soil, this is talking about every man in here. Every one of us at different times in our life has different conditions of the soil in our heart.

As the Word of God's being sown in our lives, as the Word of God is being spoken to us, as it is this morning by the Holy Spirit, what condition are you in to receive? Have you allowed a fallow ground? Has the ground of your heart been trampled down by associating with too many people that aren't part of the Kingdom?

There's no better way to have the soil of your heart compacted and trampled down then by hanging out with folks that aren't continually bringing about to us a breaking up of fallow ground, a challenge to our lives. They'll just keep trampling on you with all of their good intentions, supposedly, and their fair words and their good speeches that deceive the hearts and the minds of the simple. "My friends at work" who do nothing but trample on your heart, so the Word of God can't enter in. The Bible says that the seed just lies there on the top of the soil, and Satan comes and just takes the thing immediately from us. It doesn't even have a chance to impregnate, much less germinate.

Is the Word of God bouncing off of you this morning? Are your mind and your heart all over the place this morning as we're here worshipping the Lord, commemorating this Resurrection Sunday, speaking of the responsibilities we have as citizens of the Kingdom of God? Be honest with yourself. How much of a recipient are you this morning, of these eternal truths? Then the prophet tells us that you'd better break up the fallow ground. "How do I do that?" By repenting.

You got the way you are because of the course you're on. You need to make a change. The simple definition they've said many times of insanity, doing the same thing over and over expecting different results. You got to change if you want different results. How do I do that? Take a survey of your life. What is it that's robbing you of the time that's necessary? And that's all it is. It's time to pray. It's time to study. It's taking the time to minister freely those things that we've freely received. If you're not doing that, you're dying. To those that have, shall more be given. To those that have not, if you're drying up, you'll become dryer. It'll be taken from you and given to somebody else. It's time to cry out and fall on the rock and be broken and break up the fallow ground. What do you need to do? You need to start praying more. You need to start taking more opportunities to serve others instead of yourself. Break up the fallow ground; it's time to seek the Lord. Then the Scripture says, the good news is, He'll rain His righteousness upon us.

He rose again according to the Scriptures, verse 4 says. Then the testimony, and I won't take time to get into that this morning, that He's seen of all of the witnesses, over 500 at one time. The better part are alive today, He says. "You don't believe me, go ask them." They saw Him. In the genius of God, the eyewitnesses that saw the resurrection, irrefutable evidence.

The pitiful arguments that men make today. Some of the people in our society today, and they think that they're so sharp. There's no new thing under the sun. A lot of people like to come up and say, "Well, you know, the disciples that saw Him, and the women, were under such distress that when they went to the tomb, they actually went to the wrong tomb. And that's why they couldn't find Jesus."

I think Joseph of Arimathaea could have found his own tomb because that's where He was buried. They didn't lose the tomb. The issue was answered by the angel. "What are you doing here seeking the living among the dead? He's not here; He's risen, praise God." "They so longed to see Him that they actually had a hallucination. That's what it was; it was a hallucination. That, that appeared to Mary, she was just hallucinating."

Well, those that make those comments, it shows how stupid they are as you begin to study the sciences of the mind. These people were not candidates for hallucinations. Besides that, no incident ever would indicate--it is impossible for 500 people to have the same hallucination. Hallucinations are private.

The good news is, He's risen. Praise God. The irrefutable evidence of the eyewitnesses, and the irrefutable evidence of the changed lives, and the irrefutable evidence of the Roman history of this man having been raised. The secular historians, such as Josephus, hostile witnesses in a court of law, who all speak toward His resurrection. The good news is this morning, beloved, He is, according to the Scriptures, raised and we are free from our sins if you've made Him Lord.

Father, we ask this morning that we would come to know what that true lordship is as it pertains to the evidence in our lives. For You've said that by a man's fruit they'll be known. Many of us serve You with our lips, but our hearts are far from You. We look for the benefits of the Kingdom but refuse all the responsibilities that come with sonship and citizenship, with our ambassadorship. We're called to be salt. We're called to be light. We're called to be ambassadors. We're mandated to go and to bring a Gospel that we have so freely received. If it is not freely given, then it has probably never been received, because the very presence of its power mandates its sharing. We cannot help but speak the things that we have seen and heard. Make it real, Father, in our hearts, we ask in Jesus name. We believe You were risen. We believe we're sent. Come with us, and confirm Your words with signs following. We ask it in Jesus name. Amen.

Let's stand before the Lord this morning. As Gary plays, we have three little people that have joined our community. We're going to take this next couple of moments and just speak the peace of God on their lives and understand this great responsibility that we have to train these children up in the nurture and the admonition of the Lord. It starts with mom and dad, but it doesn't stop there. We're as responsible. Under the old covenant when children were rebellious, mom and dad threw the first stones, but not the only stones. We don't tolerate it in our midst. There's no rebellion to God allowed among the people of God. Basically, what we're saying here is we're dedicating ourselves to see that these children will remain on the course that's straight, that's narrow. We'll do everything possible to help them seize the Kingdom by force, but we will not compromise the Word of God nor spare for their crying because our commitment's to the Lord who bought us.

You all come and bring the babies and we're going to pray with you. We have Abigail Julia Ashley, Julian Gabriel Rivera, and Samuel James Shelton. Got the Old and the New Testament. What a privilege to see a godly seed raised up in our midst.

Let's sing this together as they come. Oh, we thank You, Jesus. Let's sing it one more time as the brethren come and join me. Praise You, Jesus. Glory to God. Glory to God. Just slip your hands toward these that have come, and begin to pray for these families.

Father, we come in the name of Jesus, and we ask for wisdom and strength in each of these households. Father, to raise the children in the nurture and the admonition of the Lord. Father, give them wisdom. Father, give them strength. Father, bring for them the humility to seek counsel beyond their own abilities. Cause us, Father, as a community to dedicate ourselves to seeing these children protected, Father, strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Father, You've said that we could speak peace upon households and if it's received, it would remain and we come in the name of Jesus.

Father, we speak upon this household the peace of God upon this child, the mercies of God. We thank You for that, Father, and we rest in the anointing of God that is our strength, in the name of Jesus, peace. Father, the wisdom and the power of God. We will declare it among the nations that we have a God in our midst who's for us, and none will be against us, Father. These children will not be prey, but they will be victorious in the name of Jesus. We speak that peace, Father. Hallelujah! That joy. Father, we thank You for the anointing and for the wisdom of God in raising these children. Our motive is Your glory, and we declare it, Father, in the name, in the name of Jesus. Hallelujah! We declare it, Father, in the name of Jesus. Oh, glory to God. Glory to God. We rejoice in You.

Bring the babies up here, will you? We want to let everybody see them. It's always a blessing. This is what Easter's all about, praise God. Jesus dying for each one of these precious, precious blessings that God's given us. Born into sin, look how innocent they look, and, yet, they're sinners by nature, under the judgment of God, if it were not for the mercy of Jesus and His death. Then when the age of accountability comes, they'll have been trained up in the nurture and the admonition of the Lord and they'll make the choice for salvation. Exciting.

Doomed without you sharing the Gospel. Damned without us living the life before them. What a privilege to be His representatives, amen, and see that deliverance. Praise God. The blessings of the Lord.

What did you say? Janet says she wants to hold the babies, so, okay, we'll let her. Where do you want to start?

Thank You, Jesus. Your peace, Father. Your peace, in Jesus name. Amen. Glory to God.

Okay. You can't keep them. You got to give them back. Thank You, Jesus. There's lots of smiles there. Hallelujah! Amen. Thank You, Jesus. Amen. Okay, Grandma. Thank You, Jesus. Got to figure what to grab a hold of--lot of fluff there. Thank You, Jesus. What a blessing.

Let's just thank God for the privilege of seeing another godly seed raised up in His midst. This is the will of God, the calling of God that would raise these up, another generation should He tarry.

We thank You for that privilege, Father. We thank You for these men and women who have given themselves to raising up a godly seed, who understand the citizenship of the Kingdom of God. That it's not about what this earth provides, for our treasures are truly in Heaven. For that, Father, we give You all the praise and all of the glory, in Jesus name. Amen. Amen.

The Kingdom of God suffers violence, and they take it by force. Turn to somebody next to you, say, "Take it by force." Praise God. Amen. Go in peace. God's love go with you.

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