Life in Christ Jesus Podcast

The Church which is His Body

The Kingdom of God has Come Unto You II

The Kingdom of God Has Come Unto You II
How often do we associate the Kingdom of God with our own minds?  Our own wills?  Our own thoughts? Our own state of being? In the story of the demon possessed man in Matthew 12, who was blind and mute, the Kingdom of God coming to Him released him from the bondages of darkness, being possessed of the demon and being blind and mute.  The scriptures declares the man spoke and saw when Jesus healed him.   The man came to an entirely different state of being.  The Kingdom of God had come unto him, and changed his being!
Matthew 12:22-31 “Then was brought unto him one possessed with a demon, blind and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the dumb man spake and saw. 23 And all the multitudes were amazed, and said, Can this be the son of David? 24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This man doth not cast out demons, but by Beelzebub the prince of the demons. 25 And knowing their thoughts he said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: 26 and if Satan casteth out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then shall his kingdom stand? 27 And if I by Beelzebub cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges. 28 But if I by the Spirit of God cast out demons, then is the kingdom of God come upon you. 29 Or how can one enter into the house of the strong man, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house. 30 He that is not with me is against me, and he that gathereth not with me scattereth. 31 Therefore I say unto you, Every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men; but the blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven.”
Do we consider that the Kingdom of God is personal to us, as well as corporate?  Jesus reigns over His Kingdom!  The reality is His Kingdom is not just a piece of real estate in the Middle East, but a people who are gathered unto Him.  In Colossians 1:13 the Bible declares that God has translated us from the kingdom of darkness (where the blind and mute man was held), to the Kingdom of God’s dear Son.  This is not a futuristic Kingdom, but one in which God’s Life and purposes reign inside of a people.  It is a Kingdom where the motivation of the hearts is from God rather than from man.  God has dominion in your person.  
In the Book of Romans 5:17 the Word declares, “For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!”  Hear what is being said!  These are Kingdom words.  You shall reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.  This is a reigning over darkness in His Life, to be experienced in our hearts and minds, and to be manifested through our flesh or earthly bodies.  
We have been released like the bound man in Matthew 12, and translated into God’s Kingdom.  Now for Christ Jesus to rule within us!  No longer darkness, but we have the Light of His Life.  Yes, His Life rules in us!  That is the Life we reign in, His Life.  Glory to God in the Highest!

The Kingdom of God has Come Unto You

The Kingdom Has Come Unto You
For some weeks we have been looking at As it is in Heaven.  “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.”  In Matthew 12, Jesus makes a statement that if He cast out devils by the Spirit of God then the Kingdom of God has come unto you.  Here the Jews were accusing Him of casting out devils through Beelzebub.  Jesus declares a Kingdom divided cannot stand.  
Matthew 12:22-31 “Then was brought unto him one possessed with a demon, blind and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the dumb man spake and saw. 23 And all the multitudes were amazed, and said, Can this be the son of David? 24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This man doth not cast out demons, but by Beelzebub the prince of the demons. 25 And knowing their thoughts he said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: 26 and if Satan casteth out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then shall his kingdom stand? 27 And if I by Beelzebub cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges. 28 But if I by the Spirit of God cast out demons, then is the kingdom of God come upon you. 29 Or how can one enter into the house of the strong man, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house. 30 He that is not with me is against me, and he that gathereth not with me scattereth. 31 Therefore I say unto you, Every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men; but the blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven.”
Now look at this closely.  Unless the strong man is bound, his house cannot be spoiled.  Jesus bound the strong man!  How did He do it?  He entered into His house.  “The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.”  Jesus became man.  He entered the strong man’s house, and bound Him at the cross, crucified him, and put him away.    He utterly spoiled the strong man’s goods.  
You and I are no longer bound by Satan.  We are no longer bound in Adam.  Christ is our life.  We live in Him.  The strong man who bound us from God has been destroyed and put under the feet of Christ.  We are in Him.  His finished work has been applied to us and is being revealed in our hearts that we live in His fullness.  Glory to God!

The Word of the Throne - As it is in Heaven VII

The Word of the Throne – As it is in Heaven
In the Old Covenant God communed with Israel from the Mercy Seat according to the Word He had given. 
Exodus 25:20 “And the cherubim shall spread out their wings on high, covering the mercy-seat with their wings, with their faces one to another; toward the mercy-seat shall the faces of the cherubim be. 21 And thou shalt put the mercy-seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. 22 And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy-seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.”
In Isaiah, the Bible declares that this seat of Mercy was God’s Throne.   Many of us as Christians do not get ahold or understand this.  God’s throne was in Jerusalem.  The Word He ruled by was the Law of Moses.  It was God’s rule among His people Israel.  He communed or fellowshipped with Israel according to the Word and Covenant He gave.
Isaiah 37:14  “And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up unto the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD. 15 And Hezekiah prayed unto the LORD, saying, 16 O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast made heaven and earth.”
Moses declared through the Lord that Israel was enjoined by the Blood of the Covenant to the Word spoken in Exodus Chapter 24.  Now I want you to hear the New Covenant.  In Revelation Chapter 5, John sees Jesus in the throne.  “A Lamb as if it had been slain, standing in the midst of the throne.”  Here is how God now communes with those that are His, according to the Lamb.  Jesus is the Word of the Covenant.  This Word is the Word of Covenant.  We are in Covenant with God, according to THE CHRIST, who put off the Old Man, and brought forth the New Man in Himself.  
In this Covenant we are learning The Word of God.  I mean THE WORD OF GOD.  “In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, the Word was God.” “The WORD was made flesh and dwelt among us.”  This is the Word we are learning.  This is the Word we live by.  This Word is our communion with God who is our Father.  Glory to God!  What a Covenant we are in that we have the Living Word in the throne to direct us and cleanse us.
In Hebrews 12, the Bible speaks of God the Judge of all, and the spirits of just men made perfect, and the blood of sprinkling that speaks greater than Abel.  One day reading this I saw what God is saying.  Here in this judgement of Christ these men are made perfect.  The judgement of the cross is unto perfection.  Jesus mediates a New Covenant where the comers can come into the perfection or completion of God.  It is not like the Old Covenant where they could never find completion, but it is new where you and I come to God through Jesus and find our perfection in Him.  Glory to God!  

The Throne of the Kingdom - As it is in Heaven VII

The Throne of the Kingdom  –  As it is in Heaven
Whenever we view a Throne, the idea of dominion, of authority, of Government comes into view.  Whenever we have a Throne, we have a rule or a Government that is established.  “Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.”  Let us hear this in view of the Throne of God.  His Kingdom is according to His rule.  His rule is found in a person, the Lord Jesus Christ.  The rule of Christ Jesus is to be established in our hearts and our minds.  
In the Old Covenant Israel, God ruled His people through the Law.  Israel was subject to the Law of God, which could never transform their minds.  Israel was subjected to the Word of Covenant, to the Priesthood, to the Feasts, and to all that was spoken.  This word could never make those who come to it perfect, Hebrews Chapters 9 and 10.  
We are subject to the Word of God which can and does transform our souls and minds.  We are subject to the perfect work of Jesus Christ, “by which He perfected forever those who are sanctified, Hebrews 10:14.”  The Throne of God changed from a seat covered with the blood of animals to a Seat filled with the Living Christ.  God rules us through Christ.  His dominion and Throne are in Him.   His blood has forever cleansed those who come to God by Him.    
For me to understand God’s rule.  I have to understand Christ.  He is God’s rule of the Kingdom.  It is not simply that Jesus is the King.  He absolutely is THE KING, and there is no other.  However, His Kingship is established upon His Work.  How we rule with Him is through understanding His work in His death, burial and resurrection.  This is how He rules and reigns in our lives. This is how He transforms our minds.  Glory to God!
 

Thy Will be Done - As it is in HeavenVI

Thy Will be Done – As it is in Heaven VI
Jesus declared in the Lord’s prayer “Thy Kingdome Come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.”  We as believers have to ask ourselves what is God’s will?  Not simply, what is God’s will for my life, but what is God’s will period!  Do we know God’s will?  Have we considered His will in creation?  Have we asked for His will to be made known to us?  Why did He make man?  What was His purpose in forming a man from the dust of the earth, and blowing into him the breath of life?  All of these questions we need to ask ourselves.
 
In Ephesians 1 God sets forth through Paul His will.  That in the administration of the fullness of times He would gather together all things in Christ.  All things in Heaven and on Earth in Him.  This sounds a whole lot like Matthew 6 if we consider these scriptures together.  Thy Kingdom Come Thy Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.  That He would Gather together all things in Christ, all things in Heaven and on earth even in Him.  This is what God purposed in Himself.  He purposed to gather man into Christ.  Here is the Heaven meeting the earth.  Here is the divine image of God coming forth in Man, through the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
Ephesians 1:7-14  “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.” ESV 
 
This is our salvation.  To the praise of His Glory.  Let this sink in.  We are to be to the praise of His Glory.  How could that ever be?  God gathered us up into Christ.  Here the Heavenly Jesus is filling man with Himself, Heaven meeting the earth, and a New Man Coming forth.   This is it.  That He might gather all things to Himself.  Let us who are His lay down our lives to this, and as Paul said, counting all things but dung that I may win Christ.  We are to leave the things behind, and press toward the prize of the High calling of God in Christ Jesus.  Glory to God!

Heaven is my Throne - As it is in Heaven V

In Isaiah 66 God declares, through the prophet, Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool.  Where is the House you will build me?  Where is the place of my rest, unto this man will I look.   As we consider this scripture we know that the Living God fills the Heaven and the Earth.  We know through the Psalmist David that there is no where we can go away from the presence of the Lord.  David declared that if he ascended into Heaven, went into the deep, and even into Sheol, the omnipresent God would be there. 
 
What we must ask ourselves as we consider this is what is God’s throne?  What does it mean in Isaiah 37:16 that He is enthroned between the Cherubim?  In this sharing some of this is answered.  Pay particular attention to Heaven and Earth.  God’s Heavenly government was represented in the Law of Israel that was given through Moses, and executed in the earth of Israel, with Jerusalem being the place chosen for the rest of God and the place of His feet.   The Temple was in fact Israel’s place of Judgement.  Here is where the High Priest came once a year with the blood of the offering to sprinkle the Mercy Seat,  to sprinkle the seat of Government, to sprinkle the throne of God.  God’s divine judgement and rulership was based on the words of the Law and the Blood of the Covenant.  Here is where He reigned in Israel, according to the words (law) He had given.
 
Exodus 25:22 “And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy-seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.”
 
In the Old Covenant God met with Israel, His people according to the Law of Moses.  Now in the New Covenant of Jesus Christ there is another blood applied to the Seat of Mercy, to the Seat of Government, to the Throne.  It is the Blood of the Lamb.  In this Covenant God no longer meets with us according to the Law of Moses but according to Christ.  He is the word of the New Covenant. The words He spoke in the Body of His flesh are Spirit and are Life, and have been caught up in the Body of His resurrection. 
 
In Hebrews 12:18-29, we see the transition of these Covenants.  The writer declares we have not come to Mt. Sinai, but to Mt. Zion the Heavenly Jerusalem.  In this passage of scripture it is declared that we have come to Jesus, the mediator of the New Covenant.  We have come to the Blood that SPEAKS greater than Abel.  It is declared we have come to God the Judge of All, and to the spirits of just men made perfect.  Consider this closely.  Here in this judgement, God is judging the spirits of just men perfect through the blood of Jesus Christ.  Here like Revelation 5 is the Lamb in the Throne.  Here in this Covenant we are made perfect or complete through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 
This is not as the Old where we could never be completed, but always found lacking, always found short of the Glory of God.  Now in Christ Jesus we are complete in Him!  Glory to God!
 
 
 

John Saw a Lamb - As it is in Heaven IV

As it is in Heaven IV – John saw a Lamb
On Earth as it is in Heaven.  We have been looking at Jesus telling the disciples to pray “thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” for the last few weeks.   In the Book of Revelation 4 and 5, the Apostle John was caught up in the Spirit and he saw in heaven.  John saw a throne and One on the throne.  And He saw in the hand of the One on the throne a book sealed with seven seals.   John wept that no man could open the Book.  For us all to seek an answer from the Lord, why did John weep? Was it for redemption?  For shortly, John is seeing twenty-four elders falling down before the Lamb and declaring the that the Lamb had redeemed them to God.  The Lamb had opened the seals of the Book.
 
In this setting, in the midst of the throne, stood a Lamb as it had been slain.  I believe this is the key to this entire setting.  The resurrected Lamb, who was slain for the sins of the world, ruling in Heaven.  This is where redemption comes from.  The Lamb that was slain, raised into the Heavens, appearing in the presence of God for us.  Now everything in Heaven is according to the Lamb.
 
The Kingdom coming from Heaven into the earth is according to the Lamb.  Ruling and reigning is according to the Lamb.  Even to consider the words to rule or to reign speaks of the Kingdom.  “Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will be done.”  Let us hear that.  All in accordance with the Lamb.  There is no way to understand God’s Kingdom or Will without seeing the Lamb.  It is impossible.  He is where God’s will is made known, in the Lamb, in Christ Jesus.
 
Paul wrote to the Ephesians that God had made known the mystery of His will.  In this mystery, God would gather both Jew and Gentile together into One Body.  In fact, in Chapter 1 it is written that God would gather all in the heavens and all on the earth in Christ Jesus.  Here is where the fullness of God meets man, in Christ Jesus.  Here is where judgement meets man.  Here is where Life meets man.  Here is where One New Man comes forth.  All in Christ Jesus.  The Kingdom coming in earth as it is in heaven, flowing from the Lamb!  Glory to God!