The Gospel of the Kingdom of God: Part 1- Access

A few weeks back, the Lord spoke to me and said, "Preach the gospel of My Kingdom".  I said, "Yes, Lord".  I did not want to assume or move forward in the typical traditions or modes.  So, I asked Him to reveal the Kingdom to me so I would really understand what He had commanded me to do.

Yes, I've been in ministry for more than 25 years. I've evangelized, pastored and prayed.  But this is a new season and time where God is calling all of us to go into a deeper level of understanding Him and His Word (Jeremiah 9:24). He is showing us His mysteries that we may make a show of Him in the earth to the defeat of the enemy (Ephesians 3:8-13).  God desires to be glorified in the earth and for His Kingdom to come in the earth through each one of us.

Therefore, in this five-part series, I will share what God has revealed about His Kingdom and how we each can grab hold of it, manifest it in the earth and enforce its rules and regulations all to God's glory (Matthew 11:12-30).

Today, I will share briefly about how to access God through prayer.  If you're reading this you likely are one who prays.  But I want to share how we are to consciously pray so that WE know our prayers have been heard AND answered.

If you've ever received a speeding ticket in North Carolina and you don't want to pay the fine, you have an opportunity to appear before the judge and ask for a "prayer for judgment". What this does in minor cases is allows you to plead guilty but not suffer the consequences (fines, points, etc.) of a conviction.  If the judge grants it, you just have to pay the court costs.  Because this is a man-made system it is not perfect like God's perfect ways.  Man tries to mimic God's systems but often falls short.  But I will use what we do see and understand to help us understand what we do not see but has more power.

The Kingdom of God is just that.  It is like a municipality, state or country that has its own laws.  All who are a part of that Kingdom and those who "visit" it are subject to its rules and regulations.  In Psalm 19:7-11, David tells the perfection of each facet of the Kingdom's governance: The law is perfect, the testimony is sure, the statues are right, the commandment is pure, the fear is clean and the judgments are true and righteous.  In keeping them is great reward.  Though we are in this world, we are not of this world but belong to this heavenly Kingdom.  So, how do we live in both? The key is to let God's Kingdom prevail over the Kingdom of this world.  When we do, we will see the miracles that Jesus did and do even greater. We will discuss this more in the future blogs.

Access.  Prayer is communing with God: Father, Son and Holy Ghost.  Each, though One, has a different role.  When we pray there are specific ways to ensure your prayer is heard.  Unfortunately, some scriptures have become so common to us that we recite but don't understand their true importance to our living a Kingdom life.  For example, Philippians 4:6,

Be anxious for nothing. but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;

and Psalm 100:2-5

2. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs.
3. Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us , and we are His; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name.
5. For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.

These are just two of several scriptures that tell us how to access God, particularly, God the Father.  Psalm 100:2 says we are to come before Him, His presence or to present ourselves to Him, with glad worship and joyful songs.  Verse three affirms that we are part of His Kingdom. Verse 4 says in order to enter His court we first must come through the gate. To get through the gate we must use the "key" of thanksgiving.  Once you get through the gate, you can then get into the courtroom.  The key to accessing the courtroom and standing before the judge who will decide "yea" or "nay" on your petition is to give Him praise.  And verse five gives us confidence that we will get the petitions we ask for because He is a good and merciful judge.  This is how we access Him.  But we can't do it in our flesh.  We can only be done in the spirit.

Anytime we pray we have to consciously pray in the eternal realm of the Spirit of God.  It must be Spirit to spirit (John 4:23-24). When you step into eternity to pray, you will see, understand and know how to pray, what to pray for and know that you have what you prayed for.  It is from this place that as Jesus defends you with His blood, God the Father will answer you and you can bring your answer from eternity into the NOW here on earth.  And the Spirit, the precious Holy Spirit that made all things, is obligated to perform it with the angels of the Most High enforcing it.  Because of the Spirit's obligation to perform what God the Father says yes to, (catch this-everything IN HIM, is yes and amen, 2 Corinthians 1:20) the earth and everything in it is obligated to respond and reorganize itself to fulfill it. Catch next week's blog, part II-The Spirit verses the flesh. Continue to rise, bless and be blessed by our God.

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Overcome and Pursue

Job 42

Here is an excerpt from Live For Results that I believe you will find useful.  I welcome your comments.

The enemy is always looking for a way to get into your ear.  He understands that if a bad seed is planted in soil that accepts and nurtures it, it will produce bad fruit.   Since you were born, he was looking for opportunities to plant seeds of doubt.  The mind is fertile ground and one seed can produce much.  If you accept the first seed, he will continue to plant in you one carefully constructed, strategically planned lie after the other.  With this tactic, he has deceived many to the point that they don’t believe anything really good can happen in their life, and if it does happen it won’t last.  Keep in mind that our purpose in God is to believe in Him and do what He wants us to do.  In return, He promises to bless us beyond what we can even imagine.  Your purpose and your promises go hand-in-hand.  If you don’t believe that good things could, and actually, should happen for you, they won’t.  This is not because God can’t perform them.  But it is because He can’t perform them through your doubt...

...Too many of us have become paralyzed, emotionally and physically, simply through the thoughts we have accepted over time.  If God says you’re healed but you don’t start walking in the wisdom of that healing, it will not manifest.  If God says you’re delivered but you don’t change and start living a delivered lifestyle, your deliverance won’t take root.  If God says He’s going to give you the relationship you desire but you don’t walk in patience and prepare yourself for the type of relationship you want, you may never get it.  And, if you do get it, you won’t be positioned to keep it.  If you somehow are able to keep it with a wrong mindset, you will regret ever wanting it because it is hard to handle what the relationship gives you when your mind is rooted with bad seeds.

James 2:20 proclaims that faith without works is dead.  What is dead has no life, and if there is no life in a thing, there is no God in that thing.  This is what walking in faith is all about.  Acting on what it is you say you believe.  The first and most important part of your faith and actually the core of your faith is trust in God.  Trust, first of all, that God loves you and will love you forever without ceasing and without condition. Then trust Him to care for your needs as you focus on His needs through you. 

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Pray For Results

"O God, you are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water.  So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory." Psalm 63:1-2

Prayer.  It is that special conversation we have with God.  Our prayer conversations can be about any and everything that is on our hearts or minds.  But they are those times when we can also deepen our relationship with our Father through Christ by the Holy Spirit.

God loves having prayer time with each of us.  We are told to pray without ceasing, I Thessalonians 5:16-18.  It can be as quick as a phone call to a friend just to check in or as long and deep as a special vacation you take with one that you love.  But just as we communicate with many others throughout the day, we should stay in constant communication with our God.  How do we do that and how do we have time to do that?

God made us people of choice.  We can choose when to get up, whether or not to go to work, what to wear, where to go to church, etc.  But with each choice there are consequences. Based on the outcomes we desire to have in life, we choose to do one thing or another.  For example, most people will get up and get up in enough time to make it to work by the right time. When it comes to praying and finding time to pray, we must do the same thing; Examine the outcomes of spending time in prayer with God in order to help us make the right choice about how and when to pray.

Prayer will move and even disintegrate mountains.  It will change circumstances in your favor.  It will cause you to gain favor with God and the least likely of people.  It will cause doors and windows of blessings to be opened for you.  Prayer will stop the hands and tactics of death.  Prayer will change things, advance things and manifest things.  Prayer will make the difference in your life.  Therefore, when should we ever NOT pray?

How do we pray for this type impact?  You have to first know who God truly is and what He will and will not do.  He is love.  Therefore, He will never hate or despise you.  He may not like some things you do, but He will always love you.  You are His seed that He birthed and has known since the beginning of time.  He wants to prosper you and use that prosperity to show the rest of the world how great He is so they too will follow Him.  God has no desire to harm you and will not harm you.  We get harmed when we step outside of Him to follow the world.  Yet, He forgives, again and again if we repent for disobeying His instructions.

Then you need to know who you are to Him.  You are His beloved child.  whether you do right or wrong, you belong to Him and have been reconnected to Him through Christ once you chose Him over the world.  You are His heir and have access to everything He has: His power, authority and life.  It is from this place of confidence, or faith, that you must pray in order to have results.

Be sensitive to His presence.  He's always right there with you.  You can pray while walking down the street or even at your desk.  It doesn't have to be loud or even heard by anyone but Him and you. Just stay in constant communication.  Ask Him what you should do with your circumstances and how to fight any battles you face.  He will direct you.  Start each day by asking Him what He wants out of that day and how He wants you to do things.  He will guide you.  As you do these things, you will start to see things change, first inside you and then around you.

When you consider whether or even when to pray, consider the results you want in each area of your life; the areas of faith, health, relationships, career and finances.  Ultimately, we each want peace in each area of our lives and that peace looks a bit different for each of us.  The Bible says God will keep in perfect peace, he whose mind is stayed on Him, because He trusts in Him. (Isaiah 26:3) Speak to God throughout the day leaving room for Him to speak back to you. As you keep your mind on your dearest friend and protector, you will have the results you seek in each area of your life.  May the Lord, our God, grant you abundant and overflowing peace in each area of your life.

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Climb Out of the Manhole and Into God's Presence

Matthew 12:13-14 Then He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other. Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.

There is a call coming out from God for His people to enter and remain in His presence. Psalm 16:11 says,

You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Being in the presence of God is the way to life, both in this world and in the one to come.  In the presence of God we will find not just joy, but the full measure of joy, which includes but is not limited to,

• Peace in the midst of every circumstance, 
• healing for every ailment whether mental or physical, 
• resolution for every issue whether caused by us or someone else, 
• redemption for every fault or sin no matter how "great" or how "small", 
• safety in places of turmoil, 
• strength to endure and persevere, 
• mercy that forgives, 
• deliverance that makes whole and sticks, and, 
• love that banishes guilt and shame.  

The presence of God is an awesome place for each of us to dwell.  It is the place that we enter by His Spirit, through Christ and where we can constantly commune with Him; the place that He invites us to come and dine with Him every moment of every day. It is a place where we will see beyond what can be seen with the natural eye; the place where we can gain the understanding of life we have been seeking.  God wants His people to know and understand Him.  That is one of the benefits of salvation.  The mysteries of God's Kingdom are mysteries to the world but revealed to His people who will then show the wisdom of God to the principalities and powers of this world (Ephesians 3:9-11).

This is what Jesus did in Matthew 12.  The people were caught up in legalism, the law, their roles, timing, who was in charge, who had a "right" to minister or speak a word of life to someone else, what they felt was the right process and who the people chose to honor and exalt.  But Jesus, walking in the presence of the Father, exhibited the wisdom of God in healing the man that was stricken, even on the Sabbath.  Like the Pharisees, even though we believe, we can let our positions, our roles, our jobs or duties, our possessions, our differences and our attitudes cause us to lose focus on God's wisdom, which He seeks to manifest through us.  We fall into these manholes of life, which like the real ones, hold us in dark and low places where it is hard to see the truth.  And if you can't see the truth you will definitely have a hard time walking in it.  But if we can lift up our eyes and not only read but receive the Word, which is living, we will be able to shift our focus away from darkness to what is most important.  What's most important is our relationship with God. And as we humble ourselves and pray, repenting of our sins, He will forgive us without bringing them up again.  Then as we seek Him through prayer and the Word with all our heart, and delight ourselves in Him and not the cares of this world, we will find ourselves in His presence.

To remain in His presence we set our hearts first on Him, next on Him and forever on Him.  The more of His presence we experience, the more permanent our heart's desire for Him will become.  As Paul expressed in Philippians 3:1-11, all the position, education and honor he had in the world became as nothing in comparison to the loving and wonderful relationship he found in Jesus Christ.  It may be a press at first to focus on being in God's presence.  But with an attitude of humility and thankfulness, make yourself pray, make yourself spend time in the Word and worship so that the Holy Spirit can join in.  As you continue in this, you will quickly get to the place where you can't live without doing it and being in God's presence will become as necessary as breathing.  Let us all climb out of our manholes of distraction and wrap ourselves in the presence of our God for this is the path of true life.

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The Church Must Pray

Prayer changes things, situations, circumstance and people.  What should our response be to all we see happening around the world?  Shake our heads in despair, restrict our lives in fear, sit back and wait for the impending redemption of the church?!  None of these things are going to help fix the situations around the world, specifically the tragedies being perpetuated by our brothers and sisters around the world.  Yes, I said our brothers and sisters.

We were all created by God for good works that would glorify Him.  Yet, some have been led astray by the enemy and are yielding to his lies and deceptions.  As the church what must we do?  Just like we would pray for a brother or sister in the church to be healed, delivered or made the victor in a predicament, WE MUST PRAY for those that need to have their minds and souls redeemed.  Ephesians 3:8-19 is one of many clues to how we, the church of Jesus Christ, are to respond to tragedies in the world. Verses 9 and 10 in particular say this,

"To the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord,.."

The mysteries of God were hidden until the coming and resurrection of Christ.  Now that Christ has been revealed and the multi-faceted wisdom of God can be accessed by His saints, that same manifold wisdom must be used by the saints to deal with the principalities and powers in heavenly places.  Why? To build the Kingdom of God through Christ, which was the eternal purpose of His coming.  THE CHURCH MUST PRAY.  Are we to fear? NOT AT ALL!  The next verse says we have boldness and confidence through our faith in Christ.  So, Paul prays that the saints would be strengthened with might through the Holy Spirit in the inner man.  We must take on holy boldness and let the Holy Spirit lead and strengthen us to do the work for which we were called and chosen.

Then he talks about comprehending the width, length, depth and height of Christ's love, which passes knowledge... We have often applied this verse just to ourselves.  But in the context of the entire chapter, we are to comprehend how much God loves every man and woman in His creation.  How can God love such wicked people?  This is why Paul says His love passes our natural knowledge and understanding.  If we let the love of Christ live within us, we can begin to understand how He loves ALL of us.

It is with that understanding WE MUST PRAY for these lost ones to shift out of their dark places and into the light of God's glory.  How?  Acts 2:17 says that in the last days, He will pour out His Spirit upon all flesh.  Even if some limit that to the last days of the old testament dispensation, His Spirit is still being poured out upon the men and women of earth. So WE MUST PRAY that the Spirit of Christ be poured out upon these brothers and sisters caught up in the web of terrorism.  For only the light of Christ can drive out darkness.  WE MUST PRAY that the light will cause them to see the truth, which is God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, so that who ever believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting LIFE (John 3:16) God is LOVE, not death and destruction, which are the purposes of the devil.  PRAY that these ones would have their minds renewed and encounter Christ even as Saul before becoming Paul encountered Christ on the road to Damascus.  PRAY that they realize they are serving the wrong master and switch to serving the true Master who is Christ, the Lord of all who has all things under His feet (Ephesians 1:21-22). PRAY for their deliverance!

THE CHURCH MUST PRAY for our world leaders who have agreed to band together to destroy this terrorist activity, which we know is demonically induced.  PRAY that God give them divine strategies and His wisdom.  PRAY that they agree to Pray together to receive the wisdom and instruction of God, PRAY that they rely on the wisdom of God and be unified in trusting Him.  We have the power and authority through the Holy Spirit to arrest these demonic spirits and destroy their assignments.

WE MUST PRAY for that is our charge from the true and living God, our Father.  It is now time for the church to BE the church.  Rise up and take your stand in prayer.  Love like Christ loved us and PRAY for true salvation to take over throughout the world.  Trust God and do this so that we all, as many as will turn, may live and come to know Christ as our Savior.  He desires that none be lost.  PRAY, CHURCH, PRAY! Yes, Prayer changes things and prayer will change this thing...
To our God the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit be glory, honor dominion and power, now and forevermore.

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Thanks, Father

It's Thanksgiving time and, yes, we have so much to be thankful for.  Life, strength, provision.  We could go on.  Yet, I am most thankful for my best friend, Jesus Christ, my helper, Holy Spirit and God, our Father.  I realize how imperfect I am as I look at all the mistakes I've made throughout the year and the times I didn't quite do exactly what I know God wanted me to do.  Truly, regrettable.

But God, still loves me! He bestows His Spirit and encourages me.  He leads me in right paths so I can encounter blessings and He opens doors that I could never open on my own no matter how "good" I might try to be.  I am grateful that God is who He is; Faithful even when I'm faithless, Generous beyond my expectations, Comforting in my moments of despair, Uplifting when the enemy tries to weigh me down, Perfectly loving even when I need an attitude check.  Wonderful to me even when I've been distracted by "stuff",  Protective even when I've made the wrong turns in life, Patient when I do all the talking, Knowing how to get my attention when I don't realize its His turn to talk.

I love the Lord, Jesus Christ, for He still defends me before the Father regardless of my faults.  The Holy Spirit is always there and ready to engage with me, even if I didn't give Him the attention He deserves.  So here is my goal:  To Let the Holy Spirit truly lead me from this moment on (I'm not waiting for the New Year) by allowing Him to govern my thoughts and decisions at all times. This will replace my making a mental decision and asking for His approval after the fact. I also strive to Not resist Him when He's trying to tell me to go in a direction other than the one that SEEMS normal, appropriate, expected by others or that I want.  So, daily I yield, daily I seek Him at the start, during and at the end of the day.  Daily I am learning how to trust God with all my heart and not lean towards my own understanding as society has taught us to do. To, truly take to heart and line my life up with Proverbs 3.  That is my goal and I'm determined to achieve it.  Life requires persistence.  It's not a do it once and that's the end.  Every day we have to run the race that lies before us.  It requires a daily re-commitment to live life according to the Word of Truth (And there is only ONE truth). Happy Thanksgiving and stay connected to God!

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Introduction to My Story

I promised to share my life story, though at this point it only covers the first fifty years of my life.  I believe it is important to be transparent and share the challenges we face and what we've overcome. More importantly, we should share how we overcame, especially if we've faced multiple challenges.  Over the next few weeks I will share my "hows" for those that need encouragement.

As an introduction, I will briefly describe what I've faced.  Now, I recognize that there are many others who have faced far worse circumstances than I.  Truly, I have been privileged to avoid a number of issues.  But I also recognize that each person is faced with circumstances that, though different from others, can evoke the same degree of pain, worry or sadness.  

For me, from a toddler, I faced molestation several times over many years by different people until I was ultimately raped in my teens.  I've faced ridicule, been ostracized and plotted against to the point of losing jobs and job opportunities.  I've been stabbed in the back many times; each time losing loving relationships or ministry that meant so much to me.  I've been heckled during speeches by hateful, jealous people who admitted their jealousy to my face before acting out their envy.  Yes, I've been cheated on by men I loved and supported wholeheartedly. I've been gravely misunderstood to the point of losing lifelong friendships that I cherished for decades.  I've endured blatant disrespect and insult from those closest to me time and time again.  I've lost all my possessions more than once including houses, cars and land.  I've had to move 8 times in three years.  I've had to live day to day for more than six years, some days literally only having ten cents in my pocket with two children to feed.  For over a month I lived in a home with no heat or lights with my children because the electric bill was out of control.  I was diagnosed with cancer and sarcoidosis with no insurance for treatment.  I could go further, but this is enough for now.

If I were to carry all of these circumstances, I could say that in my life I've faced far more bad than good.  But because of God's grace I cannot say such a thing.  Today, I am happier than I've ever been and have more hope than I've ever had.  Life is great and I'm full of joy!  The one consistent cord through all my experiences is God's love.  That is how I made it.  As I share more over the next few weeks, I will go into detail on how He manifested His love for me alongside these circumstances so that I would not give up but rather rejoice and be happy while I overcame. I hope it will encourage you to take heart and persevere through your situations.