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KINGDOMBITE # 4

THE KINGDOM: A TRINITY

   A kingdom, any kingdom, is a trinity.  It is comprised of (1) A ruler, (2) A realm and (3) rules to effectively connect ruler and realm.  In this way, every kingdom on earth has the potential to illustrate the Eternal Kingdom of God.  But alas, these kingdoms have flawed rulers, a sinful people in the ruler’s realm and laws that do not reflect righteousness.  For these reasons all these kingdoms are destined to fail and fall.
   This King who rules over this Kingdom, however, is the God of Glory, perfect Ruler, with righteous rules.  And, though those who make up this Kingdom are flawed, we are being sanctified and the Kingdom is given to us.  Thus, we become a part of something that will never fail, not because  of us but because of God..
   This Kingdom is in the Holy Spirit and is identified with righteousness, peace and joy, other descriptions we will deal with later.
A good confession of a Kingdom citizen:
  “Father, I recognize you as Father-King of the Kingdom that I have entered by being born again.  I recognize and confess your Sovereign rule and declare my citizenship in this Eternal Kingdom. You have taught me to pray through Christ, “Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”.  I say YES to every facet of your rule and every venue of your Kingdom.
   Welcome to the Kingdom!

Jack Taylor

KINGDOMBITE # 3

THE KINGDOM: ETERNAL 

    The word “eternal” not only means without end but with without beginning. It has always been and always will be.  The Kingdom of God is eternal.  Its history is measureless, transcendent.   Observe antiquity and you will not find its beginning. It has no such.  Look to the future and imagine as far ahead as you are able, yet you will not see its end.  It if has never not been and never will not be, it is now!  It is timeless, yet is timeful; it is beyond time, yet deeply involved in time.  It transcends time in every direction, yet is intimate with time and gives respect to time’s dimensions.
    Being eternal, the Kingdom of God is indestructible, unshakable, and wins by sheer permanence.  It disturbs tyrants, mocks pretenders to its authority and presides over the decay and destruction of mighty nations.
    Hey, it’s nice to be a part of something that will be around a trillion years and then some!  The Kingdom is eternal.

Jack Taylor

KINGDOMBITE #2

THE KINGDOM: A MYSTERY

Jesus called the Kingdom a mystery. A mystery is something unexplainable or hidden.

Nowhere does Jesus give a definition of the Kingdom but he gives many illustrations of it, begi9nning with the words, “The kingdom of heaven is like . . .” It is “like a mustard seed, like a man who sowed good seed, like leaven, like treasure hidden in a field, like a merchant looking for fine pearls, like a net let down in a lake.”

Yet, with all the examples, illustrations and parables, the Kingdom remains a mystery. From what Jesus said, we know much of what the kingdom is like but we are still faced with a mystery (Matthew 13:31-47).

There are several reasons for the lingering mystery:

(1) Its magnitude. The Kingdom is larger than man can think or even imagine. No man can wrap his small around something so huge.

(2) The absence of a proper model. While the parables give us some characteristics they do not give us a whole picture of this vast Kingdom.

(3) Jesus chose to speak in a manner in which understanding was not expected.

(4) A full understanding of the mysteries of the Kingdom was meant for a later time. The fact is, the Kingdom is beyond comprehension but not beyond apprehension. It is not hidden from us but for us.

The important thing to remember is that Jesus said, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness . . . (Matthew 6:33).” There would be very little encouragement to seek something that is perfectly clear. A mystery encourages, even demands a search. Continued searching anticipates finding.

Any language is taxed to its utmost to give description to the Kingdom of God.

Welcome to the supreme mystery of time and eternity and bow before mystery and majesty.

 

Jack Taylor

KINGDOMBITE # 1 (Introducing the Series)

 

HOW DOES A PERSON EAT AN ELEPHANT?

(There’s an Elephant in the Church House!)

 

This brief article launches a series of short, informal and to-the-point bulletins of the all-important subject of the Kingdom of God.

The topic of this article has to do with eating an elephant. The elephant is an illustration of something very huge that cannot be denied. We often refer to an obvious subject yet to be acknowledged as “an elephant in the room”.

The

Kingdom

of

God

is to the whole of Christianity the “elephant in the room” and up until a little while ago it was largely un-addressed except under the pressure of taking positions all along the spectrum of opinions, background, past, present and future of the Kingdom. It is difficult to conceive that the subject that Jesus addressed throughout his ministry from beginning to end, literally, seems only to merit honorable mention in Christendom today. So there is an elephant in the room!

Now that we have acknowledged the elephant, we must deal with the same.. The reference to “eating an elephant” does not mean that I am suggesting that such is going to happen but I am recommending that we deal with up front with the issue of to the

Kingdom

of

God

.

If one could rake up a ravenous appetite sufficient to take on an elephant for supper, there would be only one way to do it, one bite at a time!

The same rule must apply to the

Kingdom

of

God

, the elephant in the church house.

How shall we receive the Kingdom? What will be our first move? More ponderous than the elephant is this great subject that occupies the heart of God 24/7.

Therefore, I propose that we approach the matter of “eating” the Kingdom as we might face the issue of “eating an elephant” . . . one bite at a time or, as I have just consulted the dictionary, it might be one “byte” at a time.

Nevertheless, the next articles on the

Kingdom

of

God

will be offered unto the title, Kingdombites, an elephant-sized subject, a bite at a time.

It’s huge!

Contrary to Prevailing Opinion

(Watch out for the Big “P.O.”!)

   Too often we find ourselves believing that God feels the same way about everything as we do.  Good way to be mistaken most of the time!
    Some time ago, feeling very pious, I asked the Lord to change my mind on every issue on which He and I did not see eye to eye.  (By the way, if your life is rather boring at present, I recommend this as a procedure to remedy that.)  What followed was a number of exposures that revealed to me a distance between how God felt and I felt on a number of issues.   It wasn’t as much doctrinal difference as it was in perspective.  I found myself in growing agreement with prevailing opinion that comes as a result of reading the newspaper, watching TV and listening to people give their opinions.  On many issues I had taken a point of view from human alternatives, a while not heretical in doctrine, what I felt was dead wrong!
   Two verses come to mind right away:
“But we have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16)”.
“Let this mind be in which was also in Christ Jesus (Philippians 2:5)”.
     Because Jesus is alive in us we have his mind.  It is quite another thing to learn the habit of allowing that mind to shape every thought process.  Why use your own mind when His wonderful mind is available at the same time?
   Huh? A no-brainer!
   Think about it! With His mind.

Where are You? What are You Doing Here?

God is always asking questions and not one of them because He is ignorant as to the answer. He is wise enough to anticipate that our answer will reveal what he is really after. 

 The questions referred to are separated by generations, centuries and 300 pages in God’s Big Story. Both were asked to men on the GKM list (God’s Key Men). The first to Adam in Genesis 2:9, “Where are you?, the second to Elijah in 1 Kings 19:9, “What are you doing here.” One question had to do with position, the other with purpose. As it is in the world of business so it is with our walk with God, Location! Location! Location!

 God is still asking such questions and like Adam and Elijah, we are prone to alibi and explain things as if God didn’t know. Where are you? Finding out where we are is the only way to know where we’re going. What are you doing here? Finding out what we are about is the only way we will know how to get wherever it is we’re going.

 Listen. Do you hear it? The same questions from heaven come bounding across the years to this day, Cut to the chase and, instead of mimicking a chatterbox, answer directly. God alone knows the proper answers and He’s asking the questions because he wants to tell you the answers.

 By the way you’re on the list (GKM)!

 Think about it. And think, and think, and think.

Lounging on the Alter

Jacob was on the lam, having goofed really badly. His name had caught up with him and would dog his tracks until a certain brook where he met his match.

On his journey to nowhere he stopped, with his head on a rock for a pillow and had a dream of stairs, angels and the voice of God. When he awoke he exclaimed,

“Surely the Lord is in this place and I was not aware of it!

How awesome is this place!

This is none other than the house of God

and the gate of heaven (Genesis 24:16-17)”.

Not the first time or last that someone stopped between difficult and impossible on the path to devastation and realized that this was no uncommon place. “I was not aware of it, God is here! Heaven is open, help has come!

How many of us have been awakened lounging the alter on bad circumstances, expecting only more of the same ill fortune when, all of a sudden, God shows up?

Look up, dear saint, your dark cave, your broken heart, your devastating betrayal may be Bethel, the House of God and you’ll find Him home. Welcome to Heaven’s Gate, USA
(or wherever you are)! Don’t lounge on the alter of circumstance; this is your gate to destiny!

Think about it. You’re not where you think you are.

That Changes Everything!

Have you ever heard something that changed the total landscape of your mind? God’s chosen people were in deep bondage, their destiny on hold, their identity gone, their future a big blur. Along came Moses and Aaron with a few signs and wonders and a message that God still cared and had plans for them.

It doesn’t take much good news to excite a slave who has never breathed the air of freedom. The Scripture simply reads:

“And when they heard that the Lord was concerned about them.

They bowed down and worshiped (Exodus 4:31)”.

That anybody is concerned is light on a dark night. That God is concerned changes the whole neighborhood. He is the only one Whose care is linked with a limitless power to do something about it. Buck up, you are still very much on his screen, He knows where you are and has something great for you.

Hey, friend, He has not forgotten you and is on His way to you.

Think about it. NOW!

Heads Up, God’s Listening

Whoever taught me this taught it well. Many a time I chose to do the right thing because I knew God was watching as well as listening. Wow! Someone (God) is listening to every conversation and watching us all the time. More than that, He even knows what we’re thinking about this very second.

 God lets us know how important our talk is to him:

“And they who feared the Lord spoke often to one another,

and God heard. paid attention and a book of memories

was written before him about them . . .

(Malachi 4:16)

 Watch what you say, it might “make the book”! One day God will open the book to his great pleasure and say, ”Let’s look at your baby pictures and listen to your baby talk.” The best thing about us as far as God is concerned? We who worshiped the Lord will make up the finished inheritance of God, His treasured possession.

 Think about it. At least three times today.

When I Consider . . . (Psalm 8:3-9)

 It’s not a sin to think. It’s just terrible to think wrong. The Psalmist is thinking ___ he calls it considering ___ and declares the result of such thinking. 

“When I consider your heavens,

the works of your fingers, the moon and stars you have set in place,

what is man that you are mindful of him?”

 Well, it’s obvious that when the Psalmist got God in the right place, everything else fell into place. Your heavens, your moon, your stars, your people. God so fashioned the mind that. Given a moment to properly consider, God comes crashing into sight and everything else comes into proper perspective.

 We all think at one time or another that we are or should be in the top spot. The fact is that when we find God, we find that the spot God has for is better than “top”!

We are . . .

 A little lower than heavenly beings

 Crowned with glory and honor,

 Ruler over God’s projects, 

 Everything under his feet, animals of the field, birds of the air and all life in the sea.

 Such a job description! Not such a bad deal after all.

 Think about it! Often.