Bible Teaching

Calvary Temple Teaching Library

The Kingdom of Violence Pt.1

Well, praise God, we had a good time this last week as we were able to go down, be with our young people in Tennessee, see the fruit of the ministry here, the faithfulness of each of your families and what's been sown into our children. I'm so thankful for young people that are such standouts, praise God, in the community of youth. It was like light and darkness as you saw the character of our kids. One of the leaders from another school that was there was talking to Kimberly and said, "You all are just so lucky to have children that are so respectful, seem to care for each other and just good kids. You're just so lucky!" I thought, you know, the other team, the Dawson Street Dogs from Georgia, they were so lucky to have so much physical talent all in one small group of people. They were just so lucky that so many outstanding physical athletes happened to show up in this one little community. "Where your treasure is" and "where your heart is," are synonymous. Our treasure, and our heart are for righteousness, and we have it in our kids. The other team's are for basketball, and you could see where their emphasis was and they lacked all kinds of character. What a contrast! You could see those that worshipped basketball; and you could see those that honored the Lord; and I thank God that we're in the second group. Don't you say, "Praise God!" for that?

In addition, praise God, we're able to also announce to you that we have some new national champions among us, praise God. As our Junior Varsity, our junior high basketball team, it's actually a combination of the two, was able to play some outstanding games, showed a lot of character, and have been able to come back as the national champions, praise God! Let's have all these young people stand, and let's honor them this morning. All the players that were on that team, I think this is something. They're so young that many of them don't realize what happened. Can I share something with you? You will not always have national championships that will fall into your life. All the young men stand up; let me see, where are you? Only one? He did it single handed, praise God, right here! This is the man. Look around you, look at all the young men that are here. These young men not only played hard, but they showed a lot of character and we thank God for the fruit, the testimony of their lives. You won the championship, but there was more talk about the character of our young people and we thank God for that.

Our young ladies finished second this year, praise God. They had an outstanding tournament, and I think that from the national tournaments we have trophies one through four down there, praise God. So each year our teams have made some great showings. Our young men, our varsity team, played the game of the tournament, their tournament. They were the talk of the town for that day and, in fact, the team that went on to win the championship said to us, "Watching you play, you showed us how to beat that team." We should have been able to watch them play and then we could have won, but unfortunately we had to face them first. The Dawson Street Dogs were averaging 95 points a game. I say that because they're from Georgia, you know, the bulldogs. No, I'm saying it because that's what their character was. They were just rolling over people, and our young men went out and played their hearts out and held this team to 30 points under their average and played them to within 10 points.

It was a game that could have gone either way and our kids just showed a lot of character. People were impressed with the fact that there was no "quit" in them. That's what we're trying to do. We're trying to teach our kids two things: to honor the Lord, they did that, and to never give up, praise God, to never quit, and they did that and you can't ask for any more. So we're proud of all of our kids and just a great time. Petey's the only one that came back with a profit. There was a monetary prize to any guy that could make a lay-up, a free throw, a three pointer and a half court shot within x-number of seconds. The only one to do it in the whole tournament was Petey. So, anyone that needs any money, see him. He's not here this morning; if he was, I'd remind him that his tithe is due. It was a great time and we're just proud of all of our kids. They showed a lot of character and exhibited what we're about in this ministry, praise God.

I want to start a new study. We want to take a look at living in the kingdom of God. As we're talking about life in the kingdom, we're really talking about life in the Spirit. Because the kingdom of God is not meat or drink, it's what? Righteousness, peace and joy, say it, in the Holy Ghost. So many people, as they try to figure out what the kingdom of God is, many times they misunderstand and they say, "Okay, the kingdom isn't the natural things, the kingdom is not meat, it's not drink," and that refers to all the Pharisaical rules if you read the context of what Paul was saying. The kingdom is not in the Pharisaical keeping of the law. It's not in the letter of the law. So the kingdom is not meat or drink, but it's righteousness, peace, and joy. It's spiritual fruit in what? The Holy Ghost. So we can really say it this way: the kingdom of God is not meat or drink; the kingdom is living in the Holy Ghost. It's the fruit of the Spirit; it's the fruit of dependency upon the indwelling Spirit of God that's living within us. The kingdom of God--and get this, it'll be important for our study--the kingdom of God, as it's in direct contrast to the kingdom of this world, is a kingdom of obedience. For the kingdom is not in word the Scripture says, but it's in power. Ok, get this in your notes. It's not meat and drink, it's righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. The kingdom of God is not inward; the kingdom of God is in power. We'll give you those Scriptural references as we go on in the study of these passages that I'm quoting to you. So we see, then, that it's not a kingdom that is observable. The kingdom of God, the Scripture says, is not with observation, for the kingdom of God is what? Within us, or a better rendering in the Greek is, the kingdom of God is among you, or within you; it's the corporate expression of an obedient body; the body of Christ, the church. The kingdom of God is not an observable kingdom from the natural; it's only an observable kingdom from the spiritual. Only people that have spiritual eyes will be affected by the kingdom of God.

What I want to show you in this study is there are two kingdoms that are in direct opposition to one another; they're running parallel and they're in opposition. There's the kingdom of observation, "The moment that you eat this, you will surely die." Satan said, "Eat it" and what'll happen? "Your eyes will be opened." There's the kingdom of the "open eye", the kingdom that thinks it sees, and it's blind. There's the kingdom that observes and analyses. There's a kingdom that will not believe unless it sees and can comprehend, and, then, there's the kingdom that follows Him who is unseen, the invisible God, who seeks a city that is invisible, whose builder and maker is God. There are two kingdoms and they're contrasting and they're in total opposition to one another. There's the kingdom that you eat the fruit of it, and your eyes are opened and you become as gods, you become self-sufficient. Get it in your notes, there's the kingdom of self-sufficiency, of independence, and then there's the kingdom of absolute trust and reliance, which are just words describing faith. You and I, then, have to discern what kingdom we're living in and which kingdom we're pursuing.

Matthew, Chapter 5, speaks some great truths about the kingdom of God. As you turn there, I want you to realize that this kingdom which we're speaking of is a kingdom that has true citizenship and benefits to every citizen that occupies it. But like every other kingdom, not only are there benefits, there are responsibilities that we have as citizens of this kingdom. In this kingdom there is no welfare program. You don't just sit back and do nothing and the kingdom provides for you. In this kingdom, if a man doesn't work, he doesn't eat. In this kingdom, the law of reciprocity works perfectly; you will reap what you sow. In this kingdom, if you give, it'll be given unto you, good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over. In this kingdom, if you leave mothers, fathers, houses and lands, if you forsake all, you'll receive in this kingdom, in this life, a hundredfold and in the life to come, eternal life. In this kingdom, the citizenry is expected to put their hands to the plow and not look back. In this kingdom, there's expected 100 percent allegiance and there shall be no other gods, no other kingdoms, and no other nations before Me. It's a kingdom that the Scripture says suffers violence, and it's a kingdom that can only be taken by force.

It's not a kingdom of passivity. It's a kingdom that takes diligence, pursuit, a seeking with all of our hearts, and when we seek in this kingdom with all of our hearts, the guarantee is this, beloved: you will find it. Amen? There's not a person who will not benefit from the full expression of the power and the majesty of God who seeks it with all of their heart. There is no prejudice in this kingdom. There is no respect of persons in this kingdom. Every one of us has the same opportunity to apprehend the presence of God and to obtain all things that manifest themselves in life and godliness. Which kingdom are we living in? This kingdom allows no mediocrity, and I thank God that, you know, as we were talking about our young people, they fought hard. They didn't quit. That's some of the character we want to build in our young people as we pursue God. At the same time, as we're building this diligent pursuit, there has to be also an absolute dependency on God's ability and not on our own. It's not in our pursuit and diligence; it's in our acceptance of the finished work. It's in our belief that if He's for us, nobody can be against us. John, Chapter 3, "What must I do to enter the kingdom of God?" was the question. The answer was so simple that Jesus gave; He said, "You've got to understand that this kingdom is not a kingdom of flesh and blood. It's a kingdom of spiritual life, and what has to happen is, you must be born again." Corinthians tells us we need to become a new creation, old things pass away, behold all things become new. The prophet tells us that this heart of stone has to be replaced with a heart of flesh. "What must I do to enter the kingdom of God?" You must be born again.

The Greek rendering is, "You must be born from above." There needs to be a spiritual birth. There's a natural birth in to the Adamic kingdom, the kingdom of darkness, the kingdom of sin. Then, there's a spiritual rebirth into the kingdom of light, the kingdom of obedience, the kingdom of dependence, as opposed to the kingdom of independence. We begin to ask ourselves, "To what degree am I in pursuit, and to what degree am I in right standing in this kingdom?" You'll see that it is in contrast directly to our obedience to the commandments of God. Jesus speaks this in the Beatitudes, Matthew Chapter 5; let's turn over there and see what we can glean this morning with that being a little bit of an introduction of what we want to approach. Let's see what we can draw from Jesus' teaching here on the Sermon on the Mount.

As we realize that in summation of this fifth Chapter in Matthew, as He begins to speak toward these great kingdom principles (and that's what these really are), He draws the conclusion to what we call the Beatitudes in verses 17 through 20. When he says, "I'm trying to bring you from the letter of the law, from the Pharisaical rendering of the law, the works, into the kingdom of faith that works. Not flesh that works, faith that works. Not self that works, but the Spirit working in you." He contrasts the kingdoms as he says, "Think not that I am came to destroy the law or the prophets; I've not come to destroy." This walk in the spirit is not a walk that is separate from the law of God. This walk in the spirit is a life that fulfills the law of God without self effort; where there is no dependence upon our own abilities or our own righteousness. Where there is no expectation of self exaltation for just being unprofitable servants. In the Beatitudes, as He begins to reveal to us the spirit of the citizenry of this kingdom, those of us that He says are poor in spirit, verse 3, are those who are citizens of the kingdom of heaven. "Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." We find Jesus telling us right here that there's no place for an attitude, cockiness, pride, and there's no place for independence.

I tried to share something with our boys and also our girls. I think it actually snuck up and bit our girls. It was the last thing I told them before the championship game and I saw it manifest before my eyes. The last game that our boys lost--now, you've got to understand, this isn't something that people plan. It's not something that you even see when you're involved in it, and it doesn't have to do with the amount of effort and energy being put forth, it's an internal thing. The ultimate cause is pride and the vehicle is fear. Our boys in their last game as they were playing, which was a good game, and the teams were pretty evenly matched and we were up at a certain point, and I saw it beginning to happen. I commented to some people around and I said, "You know what's happening now? We're playing not to lose instead of to win." The moment that happens, you're in trouble. What produces that is pride, the vehicle is fear, and the results are paralysis, the inability to relax, and to flow as we've been created, as we've practiced, and exercised ourselves. Now the shots were released hoping, instead of knowing, and there wasn't the follow through. The mindset begins to be one of negativity. Now things aren't going our way, the bounces aren't going our way, and the calls aren't going our way. I want you to contrast that and compare that to our spiritual walk. We're not living in this kingdom in the midst of all of this sin and adversity trying to keep from losing! We will not be overcome, praise God. Can you say, "Amen" to that? In all things we are more than conquerors. If God is for us, who can be against us? Our faith is the victory, praise God; all things are possible to he that believeth. Do you believe that this morning?

You see, we need to become an offensive people, we need to begin to set out against the enemy. Resist him, the Scripture says, and he will what? Flee from you. In our lives there's going to be those times of the game where you're going to have to make that decision. Which kingdom am I going to operate in? The kingdom of independence, of self reliance, the kingdom of self glory, the kingdom of self gain, or the kingdom of seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, of emptying ourselves for the glory of God, of speaking only the things we've been sent to speak, etc.? We contrast these two kingdoms in so many different ways in our lives. You want to know who's going to inherit the kingdom? Say it with me, the what? Poor in spirit. Everything in natural man--we've talked about it being in Christian bookstores. Everything has to do with the building of our image. We poked a little bit of fun at it, I think, in our last session, you know, of the society that we're living in and everybody gets participant plaques. You shouldn't get a trophy for participating! "Yeah, but everybody just needs recognition. They need to feel good about themselves." Our Christian bookstores are full of "self helps;" build up your image. You want me to tell you what the Bible says about your image? "Your righteousness is as filthy rags!" Amen?

Christianity today promoting self in so many different ways, and the Bible keeps saying, "Deny self! Crucify self! Empty self!" and everything in this other kingdom says, "Exalt, prepare, build, trust in." You can see it throughout the Scriptures, whether it's in Eden; a kingdom where God provides all but the fruit of independence, and He says, "Don't eat of that. The day you eat of that fruit of independence, you're going to die." Satan says, "You won't die. Your eyes will be opened; you'll be as God. You will be able to discern; you will be able to decide what's good and what is evil. You'll be able to decide what's best for you! Who does God think He is, telling you what to do?" If you think that's not the spirit of the kingdom--is that what's in man? "Who do they think they are, telling me what to do?" You know what? It's bad enough in the secular realm.

How many of you don't like people telling you what to do? How many of you don't like the homeowners' organization telling you what to do? How many of you don't like the county supervisors passing some bonehead laws and telling you what to do? We Americans, especially, this is the home of the brave, the land of the free. There's nothing free today! There's something in us that doesn't like that. And you know what's interesting? It accelerates--and I think this is part of the phenomenon that we've run into here in ministry, where people supernaturally get mad and they hate you supernaturally. I thought, "You know, what makes people so mad?" You know, it's just a hatred for Jesus. It goes back to the Garden. It's bad enough to have the homeowners' organization tell you what to do. Now, people wouldn't say this, but this is the reality of it. "The one thing for sure is this, bless God, God's not going to tell me what to do!" They wouldn't see it that way, but if you want to experiment, try it this way. At work, just as you're talking to somebody, put a natural restriction on them, and then say, "And Jesus said don't do this." See what they respond to. They're not as vehement against the mayor telling them they can't do something as they are against Jesus telling them.

It's supernatural; that's the point I'm trying to make. It's spiritual. This hatred for authority, the desire to be independent is supernatural, and it's not easy to divest ourselves of. We've got to discern what spirit we're in. So as you and I then move into this kingdom of light, the kingdom of God, the great in this kingdom are going to be the poor in spirit. Now, all "poor in spirit" means is those that are humble. Or it's talking about an attitude of dependence, the poor contrasting itself with the perception of rich, might, worth, and ability. Those of us that think more highly of ourselves than we ought are living in another kingdom, the kingdom of self will, the kingdom of independence. It's not natural to empty ourselves for the benefit of others. It's not natural to bow our knee to the will of God and live in complete obedience to the Word of God. It is not easy to subject ourselves to the wisdom of God, the counsel of God, the doctrine of God's Word when it conflicts with the natural observation of the kingdom of the "open eye," the kingdom that is observable, this kingdom whose laws are effectual, they work.

Two plus two, the law, it's four. And you've got to live by that. We live in a kingdom that says two plus two is four, unless God wants to alter that. Two plus two can become forty and you don't know how the other 36 were added, but God's been glorified in it! The cruse of oil doesn't fail and the meal doesn't fail, because we're living a kingdom that's without observation. A kingdom that if we will humble ourselves and live in absolute dependence, he will never forsake us! A kingdom whose citizenship will someday be raised up to sit with Him upon His throne. Citizens who are being adopted as sons; there's nothing like it, beloved. Its benefits are not always immediate, but so many times they're in the eternal realm. The benefits of our obedience are not always immediate. In fact, sometimes it appears as though God's forsaken us, sometimes it appears as though this other kingdom is actually winning. Sometimes, we wonder if it's really worth it because "Blessed are they [verse 10] which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

This kingdom that we're talking about, this kingdom that suffers violence, is a kingdom that requires the character traits of humility, and in the midst of that because they hated Him they're going to hate us. In this kingdom, I want to tell you something, this kingdom is in absolute conflict, contrast to, opposition with, not only us being opposed, but us opposing; because the flesh lusts against the spirit, the spirit against the flesh. These two are contrary, the one to the other, so that you can not do the things that you would, the Scripture says. We are offensive, this kingdom is offensive. We're offending them, and attacking their kingdom; we are the light of the world. We're the salt of the earth, praise God! We're not playing this thing hoping not to lose. We're a people that are setting out against the enemy and having done all to stand, what's the Scripture say? Stand, praise God. Are you being opposed by a sickness? What are you doing about it? Loved ones that are in bondage to darkness? What are you doing about it? "Well, you know, I'm just kind of hoping that things are going to work out right." Where in the Scripture do you see, "Hope things work out right?" The Bible tells you what to do. It tells you how to deal with demons; it tells you how to deal with sickness and it tells you how to deal with false doctrine. It tells you how to deal with darkness: you reprove it.

We're children of light; we have no fellowship with darkness. It is not a kingdom of passivity. It's a kingdom of violence. "I did not come to bring peace," Jesus said, "I came to bring a sword." Now we're not talking about physical violence. There are those that propagate physical violence, you know, there are groups down in South America and some of these that really believe that we ought to take up arms as Christians and take back what rightfully belongs to God. Beloved, all they've got to do is read the Scriptures. Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world; if it were, then, my citizens would fight" (John 18:36). He's talking about natural weapons. When Peter took up the sword and cut off the ear, Jesus slapped it back on, said, "You missed the point." The injured guy said, "No, I don't think he did!" Our weapons are not carnal; they're mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds, amen? What kind of a kingdom is this? The one thing we know is this, His kingdom is not of this world's kingdom; there are two kingdoms. There's the world's way of doing things, the kingdom of darkness, the kingdom of the world, and there's the kingdom of God, the kingdom of light. There is no fellowship, there is no cease fire, there is no negotiation, and there is no United Nations. There is an uncompromised, dogmatic statement of truth. There is a commission, a mission set before us, to go into all the world and preach this gospel. There's an end result that each one of us are pursuing; there are promises to be apprehended.

Keep your finger here in Matthew; look over at 2 Peter for just a second and let me show you something. We're going to review, hopefully in detail, some of the character traits. But in 2 Peter, Chapter 1, verse 3, he says all things, according to his divine power, have been given to us that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him. "According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue. [And] Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises; that by these [promises] ye might be partakers of the divine nature, [That's what God's called us to, Christlikeness, that we could be like Him. That when He appears, we will be like Him; we will see Him as He is and we will be like Him. These things have been given to us as exceeding great and precious promises. With these you] having escaped [verse 4] the corruption that is in the [kingdom of the] world through [Whose motivating power, instead of humility, is what?] lust."

Pride, an insatiable appetite for self fulfillment and that's what motivates the other kingdom. What motivates this kingdom you and I are in? Love and respect for God, and humility by the awesomeness of our God. We're humbled by His presence. We serve Him because of his worth, not because of what we will benefit. These exceeding great and precious promises of what awaits us in the eternal realm have then caused us to escape the corruption that is in the worldly kingdom through lust. Then, he says with these promises, add this character, and we're not going to deal with this, but all of these character traits: diligence, faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, kindness, love. He said as that kind of character begins to be worked in you, then, look what the benefits of this will be. And become sober and make sure your calling, verse 10, and your election, the very end of the verse "...for if you do these things, ye shall never fall: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

Look at it. If you do these things, an entrance into the everlasting kingdom. And if you don't do these things, there won't be an entrance, you'll be overcome. There's a war for your soul that's taking place; there's only one of two kingdoms that you're going to function in. Look at the character traits that Peter says are required in the citizenship of this kingdom of light. Make note as we go through this study of how many times there is reference to diligence, character, and zeal as we relate to this kingdom.

You know, there has been a lot of attention recently to the female basketball player who turns her back on the flag, and all kinds of national press is given. One of her quotes was, "Well, I'm just doing it to draw attention

because so many people are not aware of the injustices in our society." This is a twenty-year old telling us this; going to enlighten the rest of us on life. Maybe it would have benefited her to have been one of those that the Equal Rights Amendment could have given full privilege to lay on her face in a rice paddy in Vietnam. Maybe if she lived a life that wasn't a life full of air conditioned gymnasiums, she might have another opinion on what this country has afforded her.

I only say that to contrast such an imperfect kingdom, such as America, and how in many of our eyes we look at this young person's actions and we say, "What an exhibition of adolescent selfishness and ignorance." Then, we look at ourselves and how we respond to the benefits of the kingdom of which we're citizens, and I think many of us find ourselves in that same condition of what's been afforded us and we're not aware of the preciousness of the blood of Jesus. The cost of what so many of us take for granted now. It's a kingdom that's had a lot of bloodshed; martyrs that have gone on before us, a great cloud of witnesses who have endured persecutions and afflictions for the Word's sake. A people who've invested in eternity like we're trying to do and we're not living for the moment. Our decisions that we make here are not momentary decisions. We're making decisions to try to raise up another generation, a godly seed, should Jesus tarry. We're not interested in building our own reputations or living in our own ease and comfort, but if somehow we can leave a remnant, a seed behind, a holy seed that will continue to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom. This message that says, "Yes, though we're a minority, we are the victors. Though we are the reproach of the world, we are the treasure and the inheritance of God, and we are the citizens of a kingdom of light."

Matthew 5, verse 10. Are you being persecuted for righteousness sake? As Jesus speaks in this fifth chapter of Matthew, to exhibit the character traits of second Peter, light will begin to emanate from us, and because this other world, this other kingdom, prefers darkness, they are going to persecute you. If you're not hated by this other kingdom, you're probably not fulfilling your responsibility of being the light of the world and the salt of the earth. There is no neutral ground. There is no fellowship between light and darkness; you can't get fresh and salt water out of the same well. We're not called to passivity. You're not called to go sit at work, hide your Bible in your little space and hope nobody sees you reading the Word, trying to maintain, trying to somehow in the midst of this crooked and perverse generation not be seduced and overcome. But what we've received, in the secret chambers of our prayer closet, we're to get upon the housetops and shout the victory that's been won for us in the obedience of Jesus. Our King who's come to liberate humanity from the kingdom of darkness, from the kingdom of the "open eye". The ones that say they see and they're blind; that "understand" and they're ignorant. "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." What does "righteousness sake" mean? He's just talking about a people who will make a stand for the standards of the kingdom. Not expecting the world, and we've shared this before, to live as Christians. We're not going out and trying to get the world to change their laws. We're telling them theirs are wrong and there's another kingdom they can enter. We're not asking you to change your kingdom; we're asking you to leave your kingdom. There's nothing worth changing, there's nothing worth saving. As Justice Clarence Thomas asked me the question, "What can we do to save our nation?" I shared with him, "It's beyond saving, and it's not worth saving." God in His sovereignty will perpetuate it as long as it's for His good and His profit. I'm not concerned with the state of America; God will concern Himself with that for his own sovereign purposes. I'm concerned with the condition of the kingdom of God.

The nations, the Scripture says, are just a drop in the bucket; they're God's instruments. Nations are the result of man's pride and obstinacy. The fruit of his rebellion and independence, and so God confounded man and through the confounding of language and the dispersion we find the nations, the nationalities that have arisen, but they're all of one blood, Adam. All men are the same, sinners. Every national anthem is nothing but the expression of self will and pride. But there's a city and a kingdom whose builder and maker is God, of which you and I are citizens, and our allegiance is there. Tragically, there are a lot of people that call themselves Christians that have a greater fervency and love and zeal for this nation than they do the kingdom. They'll get choked up when they hear the national anthem, but endure the singing of the Lord's Prayer. "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven." They get more touched by "the home of the brave and the land of the free" than they do by "Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever." Where's our allegiance? Is it national? We talked about the cause of all prejudice in one of our meetings just recently, and people talk about prejudice, and whether it's racial prejudice or whether it's social prejudice or whatever it is. We shared that the root cause of all prejudice is just pride. Thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought; thinking somehow that our group is better than that group. Hatfields and the McCoys. There is no prejudice in a person who's meek in their spirit. How can I think I'm better than anybody else when I know what I am without Jesus? And that everything that I have that's of worth is a gift given to me, I am a debtor. Without Him I can do nothing! At my best, I'm filthy rags in the natural. You see, it just depends in which kingdom we're living.

As we begin to live in humility and we begin to live a life without compromise, as we begin to live a life of violence toward the kingdom of darkness, there will be persecution. They're not just going to stand by and let us infiltrate their kingdom and destroy their god without opposition. Now, are you ready to pay the price? How willing are we in our generation to become the human torches of the Appian Way? How ready are we to enter the arena and hear the same voices that cried, "Crucify Him! Let His blood be upon us and upon our children!" Do you understand the hatred of that kingdom for our King? Those same voices crying out for your blood, and say, "If you'll deny Him, we'll spare you." Like that great cloud that's gone on before us we say, "How can I deny Him whom I've served, who has faithfully blessed me all these days of my life? I've been blessed of God eighty years" the old martyr said, "and you expect me to deny him now?" How do you view persecution? A badge? Something to boast in? A marker of your pursuit, and an identity of your citizenship? As we stand and proclaim the right ways of God, that there is no other name under heaven by which you can be saved, when the governments are trying to force us into a one world mentality, a one world religion, a one world government and we say, "No, there is only one king, His name is Jesus. All other gods are false, all other kingdoms are temporal. I've seen the vision, the stone has been cut out, and it'll destroy all other nations before it. The kingdom of which I am a citizen is invincible. The gates of hell will not prevail against us." Those are fightin' words, man! You ready? Because that's the hour we're coming into, like it or not. You just sit back and watch the news every day and see what's being thrust upon us by the decisions that are being made through the nations and see if it doesn't line up with the prophecy of Daniel and of Revelation. Then, ask the question, as we end for this morning, "What have I done to prepare myself for this battle? Am I ready to go to war?"

Now, the Lord's been moving among us, and you can hear it even in the utterances this morning, an expectation of the visitation of God, the supernatural and that's "right on," beloved. God's dealing, He's moving in our midst, and we're going to see Him move in our midst. I want to tell you something. The visitations of God are not going to be so we can hold big miracle rallies again and people can stand up in lines and have hands laid on them. We're going to be healed because we're going to need to be healed to be preserved. We're going to see miracles because it's going to take miracles to sustain us as the kingdom of darkness tries to oppress and destroy. I'm not just talking about governments, I'm not just talking about the apostate religious system, I'm talking about the supernatural onslaught of the enemy who hates this kingdom that you and I are citizens of. I'm talking about satanic, demonic warfare. We're going to be hated on every side spiritually, politically, ecclesiastically, and the good news is this: If God's for us, who can be against us, amen? There is no weapon formed against us that will prosper and our faith is the victory.

So the question we have to ask as we close this morning is this, "Do you have any faith?" If our faith is the victory, do you have any faith, or do you just have doctrine? Do we have the knowledge of God that 2 Peter speaks of, a relational knowledge, or is it an intellectual knowledge? So the encouragement of the Spirit to us, as we study this kingdom, and the emphasis of this teaching are going to be a preparation. An entering in and an imbibing of that faith so that we can walk in the supernatural in this kingdom that's not in word but in power, in the kingdom that is not meat and drink, but righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. Blessed are the poor in spirit. If we'll learn humility we'll receive kingdom benefits. Blessed are those that are persecuted for righteousness. If we'll be militant in declaring the rightness of our God, ours will be the kingdom and all the benefits of it, but there is no place for the passivity or apathy. America has patriots, the kingdom has disciples. Where do you find yourself this morning?

Father, we thank You for the Word of God. We just ask that as we take time to study Your great kingdom that we would come to understand the requirements upon us as its citizens, as the sons of God, heirs and joint heirs. You've said that it's through much tribulation, much trial, persecution, refining, and pressure that we will enter this kingdom. So much of what we've relied upon, if necessary, You'll take it from us that we'll learn to trust in You. So much of what we treasured, if we won't count it dung, You'll make it refuse that we might enter Your kingdom and trust in You. You've said if we put our hand to this plow and look back, we're not worthy of this kingdom. A people who are going forth with purpose. Many around us are building their own kingdoms in Your name. They're proclaiming a gospel without a cross, a self helps gospel, a universal salvation gospel: "God will ultimately just forgive and love everybody."

Then You've called a people that will stand in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation and speak the truth and be willing to be persecuted. A people who through much tribulation will enter in; a people who will seize this kingdom by violence. Who are those people? I hope you don't look at yourself and say, "I'm one of them, I can be one of them, because I'm just a person who's committed and once I commit to a project, bless God, I'll see it through." "Though all forsake You, Lord, I never will." I don't know about you, but I look at myself and I say, "Lord, I don't qualify for that, it's not in me. But here am I, Lord, if You need me, I'll go. I don't guarantee anything, because if You don't go with me, I'm going to fail. If You don't take that coal off the altar and put it on my lips, I'm going to speak something that isn't of Your making and of Your glory. If You don't give me a new heart, I'm going to treasure the things of the world. It's not in me, but if You'll be in me, then, I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me. Here am I, Lord, fill me, strengthen me, be seen in me. Empty me of all self because just a glimpse of You will change a life! If I can be used, send me, Father, in Jesus' name." Amen.

Let's stand before the Lord this morning. As Gary plays for us this morning, the one thing we need to see, beloved, we're not playing church. We've got a man in the White House who says he's Christian and that Islam is a good religion. You can't have it that way. One thing is obvious, the guy doesn't know Jesus and he doesn't know the Word of God. You say, "Well, maybe he does know those things, but, you know, he's a politician." Then he's a coward and he's absolutely a traitor to the kingdom of God for the kingdom of America. You say, "That's harsh to say!" I speak that harshly to just try to make the point; it's the truth. I could have been more political, but it's the truth.

Being president of a country is no different in God's eyes than pumping gas down at the 7-Eleven. God is not impressed with the nations; He's for His kingdom. It's all that matters; it's all that's eternal. This man happens to be a very visible personality, but I think we can see it in his situation so clearly and, then, we need to apply it to our own lives. If the man was a true believer he would stand up as the president of our nation and say, "I am not in any way desirous of fighting a holy war, because the kingdom of God's weapons are not carnal, they're mighty through God. The way to deal with false religions is through the preaching of the gospel. These nations and these people that oppose us are a violent people; their religion is a religion of violence. I'm not opposing their religion. If they live in this country, they have a right to worship any way they want, even if they're wrong; but they don't have a right to oppose our nation and kill our people. So as a politician, I will oppose them and destroy them; as a Christian, I will preach the gospel of Jesus to them. They're wrong on both accounts. Their religion is wrong, and their politics are wrong. For being wrong in religion I'm going to preach the gospel; for being wrong politically, we're going to kill you if you oppose us."

How many of you think He'd suffer persecution for righteousness sake? If he made statements similar to that I want you to know something, he would make the impeachment processes that have gone before of Judge Earl Warren, of Nixon and of Slick Willy look like nothing, and it would all be because of Jesus. Do you understand the world in which we live? And you know what? It'll possibly cost you your job, some of your friends and family, but we will not compromise God's righteousness. "We can live peaceably with you, as we proclaim the gospel with you. You can accept it or reject it, we're not Constantine, and we don't have any desire to force it on you. But we will not bow our knee to your kingdom and you will not enforce your life upon us." Blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are they that are persecuted for righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom.

Let's sing this together and just rejoice in the goodness of the Lord. "Let me be a sacrifice..." Oh, thank You, Jesus. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Father, You've said to present our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable, which is our reasonable service, and we offer up our lives to You. Hopefully, there can be the praise, the sweet smelling savor that would ascend before the throne of God in our obedience. We're aware of our natural abilities and we're also aware of the exceeding great and precious promises. So we ask You to conform us to Your divine nature, and let us seek this kingdom first that men would see and glorify you, Father, in Jesus' name. Amen.

Before you go, turn to someone next to you and say, "Seek first the kingdom." Amen, go in peace, God's love go with you.

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