We have all been fools. We have all believed lies, because we have desired lies more than the truth. That is why we keep falling into the same traps of the devil, over and over again. Man has not changed and God and the devil have not changed. So the devil’s lies that worked before, will keep on working as long as man keeps his sinful nature.
I am mainly talking about the reason Jesus was rejected upon His first coming. Men were expecting a different kind of savior and king, a physical earthly savior. For the very same reason, Jesus’ second return has also been rejected by man. The reasoning or lies of the devil that man wanted to believe ended up having the result of crucifying Jesus Christ on the cross the first time He came. For the very same reason, men have rejected Christ’s second coming. Men are still looking for a physical reigning king. Men have been fools for the devil, over and over again. As long as man clings onto his/her selfishness, we will be fools and take in the devil’s lies for our own truth.
What is this major lie that we have believed about Christ’s return? It is an assumption by man that Christ or God wants to setup His kingdom and reign on earth as an earthly or physical king. An earthly/physical kingdom is the last thing God wants His kingdom to be. God is Spirit and His kingdom must also be Spirit. Just because we are stuck in this physical earthly realm for a small amount of time, doesn’t mean that God wants to be stuck to a physical earthly kingdom. Just because we are in a physical body for now, doesn’t mean that God wants to be limited to an earthly physical body. With God you have to start thinking out of the box – by getting out of your box.
People have been waiting for God to rule over His kingdom with a “rod of iron.” Of course we automatically think of a physical rule of Christ where everyone is kept in line by God’s great power and will conquer all that is evil or bad. Please think again! There are only two great powers that control every person’s heart and actions. They are fear, which is out of loosing something of one’s own self, and love, which is all about giving of one’s own self. So, does the words “rod of iron” indicate that God wants to rule out of fear or love? Most have taken it to be out of fear. We have been fools, this is not God’s way, especially under His new covenant with us. The only one that wants to rule out of fear is the devil, his demons, and the people with the devil’s nature (selfishness). God on the other hand has always wanted to rule His people out of a pure love for Him and others.
People have greatly under-estimated the power of these two loves, the love of God and the love of self. These two kinds of love rule over every spirit on earth, in heaven, and in hell. It is the “love of God” that is the “rod of iron”, for nothing is stronger than pure love. The next ruling power under God’s love is the love of self (the devil’s nature). We currently live in a realm where there is both the love of God and the love of self. If a person is ruled by God’s love which has filled their heart, then they will have the nature of God and will always do God’s will. It is God’s love that will rule everyone in His kingdom. If a person is ruled by self love, then they will think and do as the devil has done from the beginning. It will be the self love that rules and destroys every soul in the devil’s kingdom.
Can anyone point to a time in history when God ruled His people by fear? It is true that everyone should reverently fear God for His greatness, but he has never ruled anyone by fear. God only punishes by fear. God has brought people to the point of fearing Him out of His wrath, usually for their past disobedience, but He always allows them to become disobedient before He sends His wrath. God has always wanted to rule His people by His people loving Him and the people being obedient to Him out of that love. It is only after people weren’t obedient, out of love, that He would send His wrath. God’s plan is not to whip us into shape and into obedience; He wants to love us into His perfect spiritual kingdom. The only ones that God has to discipline and show His wrath to are the ones that are still in the devil’s spiritual kingdom, the selfish and disobedient.
Somehow through our selfish assumptions, man has assumed that there will only be a peaceful or perfect kingdom during Christ’s millennial reign, that there will be no evil. Why did we and why do we still assume this, because we want to believe it. We don’t want to have to fight the evil ourselves; we want God to do it all. We want God to create an environment where everything is perfect, where there is no evil, and there are no temptations for our selfishness to take up on. Why do we keep fooling ourselves, where ever there is selfishness, there is evil. There can be no perfect environment where there is still any selfishness.
During Christ’s millennial reign, the scriptures don’t indicate there is no evil. The scriptures just say that the devil is locked up for those thousand years while Christ reigns. There was still evil during that time, because there were still a lot of people with their selfishness. Selfishness is evil; self love is the spirit or nature of the devil. No where does scriptures mention that Christ reigns over and controls every person during His millennial reign, again we assumed that. We have assumed wrong.
So, all of you that have been fooled by the devil’s tricks and are still waiting for Christ’s second coming, quit fooling yourself and realize that men have already rejected Christ’s second coming for the same reasons that they rejected Christ’s first coming. Christ has already returned and is waiting for more souls to enter His kingdom. If you keep rejecting His return, then you will probably miss out on Him reigning in your heart as well.
The Lamb and the Lion have already lain down together. The Lion of Judah and the Lamb of God have already laid down on the cross together. Don’t let the devil deceive you any longer. His kingdom is here and Christ wants you to fight for it.
As for our near future, we are all to see God’s wrath come upon us, because we have rejected Christ and His kingdom. It doesn’t matter that we were mistaken and deceived, because we let ourselves be deceived. It doesn’t matter if we believe God’s wrath is coming or not, God doesn’t need for you to believe in order for Him to do what He has already decided to do. Even though God’s wrath will not be stopped, any person that still wants to die to his own self love and be filled with God’s love will enter into His eternal kingdom.
Date: 4/20/2011
Michael W Reid
Showing posts with label God's kingdom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label God's kingdom. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
The Heroes
Date: 12/7/2010
As we remember what happened at Pearl Harbor on its yearly anniversary, we usually remember all the heroes that were lost, or the ones that lost parts of their body for their country. Many lost family and friends in that devastating attack, but there were losses on both sides. Both Japan and the U.S. lost people in that fight, but each side tends to remember and be concerned about the loss on their side of the fight.
Whether it be Japan or the U.S., each side considers the ones that died for their kingdom to be the heroes. The people of United States don’t consider the Japanese people bombing our ships to be heroes, because they were the enemy. The Japanese don’t consider the United States people that died and fought in that fight to be heroes, because the U.S. was their enemy. From each “kingdom’s” point of view, the heroes are the ones that fought to preserve and expand their kingdom’s way of life. Each kingdom in this fight had their heroes and their enemies, even though the other side’s enemy was the other side’s heroes. How people look at things is always a matter of perspective.
So why are all these people called heroes? They all have something in common. Even today’s war heroes have this same thing in common. The thing they all have in common is that they were willing to sacrifice and leave the comforts of their own homes and fight for their kingdom. They left what they considered the good things of their kingdom and fight to preserve or expand those good aspects of their kingdom for others. The US soldier fights to preserve the freedom and what that soldier thinks is good. The U.S. soldier is also willing to fight to expand this kingdom of freedom to other countries. Each soldier, on each side of the war(s), is willing to give the ultimate sacrifice of their own physical life. They are willing to give up all what they understand to be good in their life and never experience it again, so that their kingdom can expand and/or other people of their kingdom can keep experiencing that good. For instance: even though the Japanese clearly won that fight at Pearl Harbor, all those Japanese pilots knew they would not survive the attack. All these pilots were instructed to release their torpedoes and ammunition and then use their own plane to kamikaze into an enemy ship. They had no plans of returning back to the Japanese ships that they were launched from. From my understanding only a few planes returned back to the ships and the planes were not even equipped to land back on the ships. The Japanese saw Pearl Harbor as a great victory for them, but their heroes knew when they took off from those ships that they would not come back. They died with honor, but never to experience the “good” they were fighting for. Each kingdom fights for what they understand to be good, even though the enemy thinks the enemy’s good is the evil they need to fight. They do this to preserve or expand what they think is good.
Fighting for temporary or eternal kingdoms:
Now, let us put these worldly kingdoms that heroes have sacrificed and died for over the many centuries in perspective. For the most part all these earthly kingdoms are temporary. They are not eternal. There are only two kingdoms that are eternal, which is God’s kingdom and the devil’s kingdom. A person can argue that some of these earthly kingdoms are more evil than good and some are more good than evil, but they are all temporary.
Why is it that people will temporarily or forever give up the things that they see as good in this life and go out and fight to preserve or promote those freedoms and earthly good things and not sacrifice and fight for the eternal good of God’s kingdom? It is sad to say, but many of these heroes that have died for the temporary earthly kingdoms, which they have left behind, only come to find out that they were not fighting for the kingdom that has eternal life. Instead they realize they were tricked by the devil’s kingdom by loving the temporary things. God is not a respecter of people or earthly kingdoms. Earthly kingdoms usually get in the way of people realizing God’s eternal kingdom. Jesus said His kingdom is not of this world. So why do we keep stressing about the different kingdoms of this world? It is because the devil wants to keep us busy with the concerns of this world. In that way we keep our minds on protecting the temporary good things of this world and forget about the eternal good things of God’s kingdom. If the devil keeps us protecting and cherishing even the godly temporal things of this world, then the devil wins by default, because our attention has been diverted from the important eternal good things of God’s kingdom.
We have to realize that even if something is considered godly and good in this world, it doesn’t mean we need to acquire or have it. If our goal is to have and work for what is considered good in this world, then we will not fight for what is eternally good, which is God’s kingdom. Even if it seems that something in this world is godly and every person should have it, our goal should not be on attaining it or preserving it for ourselves. Even the things that are considered good and godly can feed our selfish interests and take us away from God and His eternal work for Him. Even the godly good pleasures of this world will bind us to the devil’s kingdom by loving the things of this world instead of God Himself. The way of attaining God’s kingdom is attaining God Himself by the way of Jesus Christ.
God’s kingdom is spiritual and the worldly kingdoms are temporal and of the devil’s kingdom. The only things that are eternal are of the spiritual realms. The only things that enter heaven or hell are of the spiritual nature. Since the spiritual realms are the only things that are eternal, then that is where we should do our fighting. We can’t let ourselves be bogged down by any physical things of this earth, no matter how good they might seem. Don’t let yourself be fooled into thinking that God has blessed you with many good things of this world, when in the spiritual reality; it is the devil that has sidetracked you into loving the world and God’s creation instead of loving only God Himself. Be a hero for God’s kingdom and not for a temporary worldly kingdom.
As Christians we are called to fight, to preserve and expand God’s eternal kingdom, not physical kingdoms. The only way to expand God’s kingdom is to bring more souls into it. This is what God’s plan is. Is God’s plan also your plan? Are you willing to forsake even the temporary good things of this world in order to grow God’s eternal kingdom. God’s says we are to store up treasures in heaven. Well, the only things we can store up in heaven is our soul and the spiritual souls of others. There is nothing else that we can store or bring with us. No matter how good and/or amazing God’s created things are, the only things that enter His eternal kingdom are the spiritual things. So, if you are working to acquire God’s physical created things instead of His spiritual eternal things, then the devil has tricked you. We must not worship or desire the created things, but instead worship and desire the creator.
Michael W Reid
As we remember what happened at Pearl Harbor on its yearly anniversary, we usually remember all the heroes that were lost, or the ones that lost parts of their body for their country. Many lost family and friends in that devastating attack, but there were losses on both sides. Both Japan and the U.S. lost people in that fight, but each side tends to remember and be concerned about the loss on their side of the fight.
Whether it be Japan or the U.S., each side considers the ones that died for their kingdom to be the heroes. The people of United States don’t consider the Japanese people bombing our ships to be heroes, because they were the enemy. The Japanese don’t consider the United States people that died and fought in that fight to be heroes, because the U.S. was their enemy. From each “kingdom’s” point of view, the heroes are the ones that fought to preserve and expand their kingdom’s way of life. Each kingdom in this fight had their heroes and their enemies, even though the other side’s enemy was the other side’s heroes. How people look at things is always a matter of perspective.
So why are all these people called heroes? They all have something in common. Even today’s war heroes have this same thing in common. The thing they all have in common is that they were willing to sacrifice and leave the comforts of their own homes and fight for their kingdom. They left what they considered the good things of their kingdom and fight to preserve or expand those good aspects of their kingdom for others. The US soldier fights to preserve the freedom and what that soldier thinks is good. The U.S. soldier is also willing to fight to expand this kingdom of freedom to other countries. Each soldier, on each side of the war(s), is willing to give the ultimate sacrifice of their own physical life. They are willing to give up all what they understand to be good in their life and never experience it again, so that their kingdom can expand and/or other people of their kingdom can keep experiencing that good. For instance: even though the Japanese clearly won that fight at Pearl Harbor, all those Japanese pilots knew they would not survive the attack. All these pilots were instructed to release their torpedoes and ammunition and then use their own plane to kamikaze into an enemy ship. They had no plans of returning back to the Japanese ships that they were launched from. From my understanding only a few planes returned back to the ships and the planes were not even equipped to land back on the ships. The Japanese saw Pearl Harbor as a great victory for them, but their heroes knew when they took off from those ships that they would not come back. They died with honor, but never to experience the “good” they were fighting for. Each kingdom fights for what they understand to be good, even though the enemy thinks the enemy’s good is the evil they need to fight. They do this to preserve or expand what they think is good.
Fighting for temporary or eternal kingdoms:
Now, let us put these worldly kingdoms that heroes have sacrificed and died for over the many centuries in perspective. For the most part all these earthly kingdoms are temporary. They are not eternal. There are only two kingdoms that are eternal, which is God’s kingdom and the devil’s kingdom. A person can argue that some of these earthly kingdoms are more evil than good and some are more good than evil, but they are all temporary.
Why is it that people will temporarily or forever give up the things that they see as good in this life and go out and fight to preserve or promote those freedoms and earthly good things and not sacrifice and fight for the eternal good of God’s kingdom? It is sad to say, but many of these heroes that have died for the temporary earthly kingdoms, which they have left behind, only come to find out that they were not fighting for the kingdom that has eternal life. Instead they realize they were tricked by the devil’s kingdom by loving the temporary things. God is not a respecter of people or earthly kingdoms. Earthly kingdoms usually get in the way of people realizing God’s eternal kingdom. Jesus said His kingdom is not of this world. So why do we keep stressing about the different kingdoms of this world? It is because the devil wants to keep us busy with the concerns of this world. In that way we keep our minds on protecting the temporary good things of this world and forget about the eternal good things of God’s kingdom. If the devil keeps us protecting and cherishing even the godly temporal things of this world, then the devil wins by default, because our attention has been diverted from the important eternal good things of God’s kingdom.
We have to realize that even if something is considered godly and good in this world, it doesn’t mean we need to acquire or have it. If our goal is to have and work for what is considered good in this world, then we will not fight for what is eternally good, which is God’s kingdom. Even if it seems that something in this world is godly and every person should have it, our goal should not be on attaining it or preserving it for ourselves. Even the things that are considered good and godly can feed our selfish interests and take us away from God and His eternal work for Him. Even the godly good pleasures of this world will bind us to the devil’s kingdom by loving the things of this world instead of God Himself. The way of attaining God’s kingdom is attaining God Himself by the way of Jesus Christ.
God’s kingdom is spiritual and the worldly kingdoms are temporal and of the devil’s kingdom. The only things that are eternal are of the spiritual realms. The only things that enter heaven or hell are of the spiritual nature. Since the spiritual realms are the only things that are eternal, then that is where we should do our fighting. We can’t let ourselves be bogged down by any physical things of this earth, no matter how good they might seem. Don’t let yourself be fooled into thinking that God has blessed you with many good things of this world, when in the spiritual reality; it is the devil that has sidetracked you into loving the world and God’s creation instead of loving only God Himself. Be a hero for God’s kingdom and not for a temporary worldly kingdom.
As Christians we are called to fight, to preserve and expand God’s eternal kingdom, not physical kingdoms. The only way to expand God’s kingdom is to bring more souls into it. This is what God’s plan is. Is God’s plan also your plan? Are you willing to forsake even the temporary good things of this world in order to grow God’s eternal kingdom. God’s says we are to store up treasures in heaven. Well, the only things we can store up in heaven is our soul and the spiritual souls of others. There is nothing else that we can store or bring with us. No matter how good and/or amazing God’s created things are, the only things that enter His eternal kingdom are the spiritual things. So, if you are working to acquire God’s physical created things instead of His spiritual eternal things, then the devil has tricked you. We must not worship or desire the created things, but instead worship and desire the creator.
Michael W Reid
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Christ's Reign
I know God’s Kingdom and His Spiritual reign has already been here for more then a thousand years, but many don’t accept a Spiritual reign of Christ, they are looking forward to Christ physically reigning on earth. This is what the Jewish nation was waiting for when Christ came to them before, but they rejected Christ because it was not the Christ they were looking for. To this day they are still looking for Christ to come and reign physically on earth like King David did, but Christ’s physical kingdom would not be limited to a section of the world, but would be a reign over the whole world.
For this discussion I will pretend to believe that Christ’s physical Kingdom and reign is yet to come. Where there will be peace and joy around the world. A kingdom where everyone will love one another. Where there is no more selfishness, hurt, sorrow, and pain. Where everyone would be living by the light of God and fully submitting to the Lordship of Christ. Sounds good and I admit that this would be heavenly.
There is one big problem with most (not all) of the people that believe this, and that is they are unwilling to submit to the Lordship of Christ in their lives right now. Do they think that somehow their selfishness will just evaporate to nothing when He returns or even when they get a new spiritual imperishable body? Where the problem comes in, is that our selfishness is part of our soul, not our fleshly body. What we love makes up what and who we are. Whether we are selfish or unselfish is a big part of who we are. Our love for self or our love for God is our spiritual nature. It is not part of the fleshly body that dies. It lives on in our soul that passes on to eternity.
So for all the people that are looking forward to this utopia of God’s physical reign, where do they fit into this new beautiful physical kingdom of Christ? If any of them are unwilling to have Christ be the Lord of their life now, what makes them think that they would want Christ to be their Lord in this new physical kingdom? Let’s say that Christ forgives their sinful ways and has covered their sinful behavior by the cross and that living a pure and righteous life is not required to enter this new physical kingdom – then what. What happens when someone still has their selfishness and sinful nature in this new and sinless kingdom? Is Christ going to throw them into jail? What happens when some of the nations of the earth don’t want to follow and obey the Kingship of Christ? What will Christ do? Will He go to war and upset this pure peaceful heavenly environment? Will Christ just send them all to hell with a Word? Is this the perfect kingdom that people are expecting? As soon as Christ would accept anyone into His Kingdom that still has their selfish sinful nature, then it would be at that point that it would stop being a heavenly place. That one bad apple would ruin the whole bushel.
We need to see that there is no place in God’s Kingdom for selfishness. Selfishness doesn’t have any place in His Kingdom and since what we love (ourselves or God) is the very essence of who we are and is the very essence of the person we are, we have to understand that if we have not died to our selfishness, then we have no place in God’s Kingdom. This is true whether you believe in a spiritual kingdom or a future physical kingdom.
Since God’s Word says His Kingdom has come to earth and is in the hearts of men, then let us bring God back into this world by killing our selfishness and live by God’s love. Let us show the people of the world that God’s love reigns over evil. Let us show people that they can be in God’s Kingdom today.
For this discussion I will pretend to believe that Christ’s physical Kingdom and reign is yet to come. Where there will be peace and joy around the world. A kingdom where everyone will love one another. Where there is no more selfishness, hurt, sorrow, and pain. Where everyone would be living by the light of God and fully submitting to the Lordship of Christ. Sounds good and I admit that this would be heavenly.
There is one big problem with most (not all) of the people that believe this, and that is they are unwilling to submit to the Lordship of Christ in their lives right now. Do they think that somehow their selfishness will just evaporate to nothing when He returns or even when they get a new spiritual imperishable body? Where the problem comes in, is that our selfishness is part of our soul, not our fleshly body. What we love makes up what and who we are. Whether we are selfish or unselfish is a big part of who we are. Our love for self or our love for God is our spiritual nature. It is not part of the fleshly body that dies. It lives on in our soul that passes on to eternity.
So for all the people that are looking forward to this utopia of God’s physical reign, where do they fit into this new beautiful physical kingdom of Christ? If any of them are unwilling to have Christ be the Lord of their life now, what makes them think that they would want Christ to be their Lord in this new physical kingdom? Let’s say that Christ forgives their sinful ways and has covered their sinful behavior by the cross and that living a pure and righteous life is not required to enter this new physical kingdom – then what. What happens when someone still has their selfishness and sinful nature in this new and sinless kingdom? Is Christ going to throw them into jail? What happens when some of the nations of the earth don’t want to follow and obey the Kingship of Christ? What will Christ do? Will He go to war and upset this pure peaceful heavenly environment? Will Christ just send them all to hell with a Word? Is this the perfect kingdom that people are expecting? As soon as Christ would accept anyone into His Kingdom that still has their selfish sinful nature, then it would be at that point that it would stop being a heavenly place. That one bad apple would ruin the whole bushel.
We need to see that there is no place in God’s Kingdom for selfishness. Selfishness doesn’t have any place in His Kingdom and since what we love (ourselves or God) is the very essence of who we are and is the very essence of the person we are, we have to understand that if we have not died to our selfishness, then we have no place in God’s Kingdom. This is true whether you believe in a spiritual kingdom or a future physical kingdom.
Since God’s Word says His Kingdom has come to earth and is in the hearts of men, then let us bring God back into this world by killing our selfishness and live by God’s love. Let us show the people of the world that God’s love reigns over evil. Let us show people that they can be in God’s Kingdom today.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Christ's Return - Part II
Before I get to the message on Christ’s Return, I want to let people know that I realize this message will be hard for most people to take in. Because of this, I would like to challenge everyone to be open to discarding the lies they have learned and believe only in God’s Word. I know the masses of people that believe these lies have human reasoning on their side, but we are called to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding (Prov 3:5)”. We cannot listen to our own reasoning, because our selfishness will always lead us into a trap of believing the devil’s lies. This fight against evil is not against any person, but it is a fight against the lies of the devil. Even though I know this message will probably be hard for people to believe, I believe that if people come to believe in God’s Word alone, then there will be some very positive results. This challenge is for God’s glory and will have a benefit to all who believe. I write this message in the hopes that God’s Truth will reign once more in our land. It is not the human’s version of the truth that sets people free, but it is God’s Truth alone that sets people free.
Now getting to the subject of this message, which is the Truth of Christ’s return. Many people (believers) are waiting for Christ’s return, but what return of Christ are they waiting for?
There is the return of Christ that has already happened after He ascended to His heavenly Father and upon His return He set up His Kingdom here on earth. Most people call this “the second coming of Christ”.
A person could also consider the return of Christ as being when Christ and His Kingdom overthrows the devil in the end, where Christ throws the devil, death, hell, and everybody not found in the book of life into the eternal lake of fire. We could call this return of Christ “the final return of Christ”.
I have learned that most believers are still waiting on “Christ’s second coming”. People call it Christ’s second coming because He came once already to be a sacrificial Lamb and died on the cross for all our sins. Most people and even most theologians are still waiting for Christ’s second coming, where Christ is to set up His Kingdom. This “second coming of Christ” is the subject I will concentrate on in this message. My goal in this message is to show by God’s Word that most believers have been deceived by the devil into believing lies about God’s Kingdom. Most people are waiting for Christ to return, but God’s Word says Christ’s second coming has already happened. Most people are waiting for God’s “physical” Kingdom to be brought to earth, although God’s Word says His “Spiritual” Kingdom has already come and is here now. Most believers have been deceived into looking for a physical kingdom of God, so this has brought them to believe that Christ and His Kingdom hasn’t come yet. This lie of the devil worked on most of the Jews in Jesus time, and now this same lie seems to be working in the devil’s favor again. Are we ever going to learn, God is Spirit and His eternal Kingdom is also Spirit.
God’s Word says when He would return. In fact, Jesus Christ Himself told us about the time He would return.
Matt 24:30-35 - At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
Matt 24:30-35 has many spiritual happenings at the time Jesus Christ returns, but I don’t want to get side tracked by these spiritual meanings at this point. I would like to stay focused on the timing of the physical things that happen during this time when Jesus Christ returns. In Matt 24 we have God’s Word and it spoken directly from Jesus Christ. Jesus says He would return before that current generation of people passed away. We can’t ignore this. This is God’s Truth, but most have ignored this verse or just say they don’t know what Jesus really meant by this. Jesus Christ meant exactly what He said. If this was the only verse of God’s Word that indicated that Christ had already returned, then we would have to believe that Christ returned already based on this verse, because it is God’s Word and God’s Word cannot lie to us. But for the doubters out there, there is more scripture that backs up the truth that Christ has already returned.
John 21:20-23 - Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, "Lord, who is going to betray you?") When Peter saw him, he asked, "Lord, what about him?
Jesus answered, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me." Because of this, the rumor spread among the brothers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?
These verses indicate that the disciple John (the one whom Jesus loved) would not die before Jesus Christ returned. These verses back up the verses in Matt 24:29-30 that say Jesus Christ would return before the current generation passed away. These words were said by Jesus to His disciple Peter after Christ had already died on the cross and ascended to His heavenly Father. Even though Christ had returned to His disciples to teach and encourage them some more, this was not Christ’s second return, because Jesus told the disciples then that He would return again in the future. When Jesus told of a disciple not dying until He returned, how are we sure that Jesus was talking about one of His disciples (11 disciples at that time), it is because God’s Word says “disciple whom Jesus loved” and the words “This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, "Lord, who is going to betray you?”. The supper discussed here is the Last Supper with His 12 disciples. So, by this we know that it was one of the disciples that were with Christ at the last supper and this one disciple would not die until after Christ returned.
Here is another verse of God’s Word to backup this Truth. Again this is Jesus Christ talking.
Matt 16:27-28 - For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.
If we believe God’s Word to be infallible and true (which it is), then we must know and believe that Jesus Christ already returned as He said. It doesn’t matter whether we understand this Truth or whether we cannot accept this Truth; it is the Truth, because God and His Word never lie.
Now, you might say, how can this be true? How can almost everybody be wrong? Let us look at some more proof in God’s Word. Let us look back at Matt 24 verse 29.
Matt 24:29 - Immediately after the distress of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.
Again this verse has spiritual happenings (not physical happenings). The actual sun doesn’t darken, the actual moon doesn’t stop giving its light, the actual stars don’t fall from the sky, and the actual heavenly bodies aren’t physically shaken. For this message we want to concentrate on what was said, the timings of things, and the consistency in God’s Word and not get side tracked by what these spiritual happenings really mean, even though it would be a great study to do at a later time. This verse (Matt 24:29) directly preceded Matt 24:30-35 (stated previously), where Jesus Christ said the generation that was currently living with Him would not pass away until He returned. We see a great similarity in Matt 24:29 (the above verse), which is saying what will come before and after Pentecost, which is found in Acts 2.
Acts 2:14-20 - Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel”:
“In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.
Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.
I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke.
The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
Matt 24:29 Acts 2
the sun will be darkened ……………. wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth
sun will be turned to darkness
the moon will not give its light ………. wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth
the moon to blood
stars will fall from the sky ……………. wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth
the heavenly bodies will be shaken … wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth
What Jesus Christ prophesied in Matt 24:29 already happened, some of it at the cross and its aftermath (the distress) and some of it at Pentecost and some of it after Pentecost. Let us look closer at the scripture in Joel (the prophet) to see how this ties together. Remember Peter stood up at Pentecost and said: “this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel”
Joel 2:28-31 - I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days (This all happened at Pentecost and after Pentecost). I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
What was said in Acts 2 by Peter at Pentecost and what was said by the prophet Joel matches exactly, except the scripture of Joel says that these events will happen “before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.” So what happened at and before Pentecost, marked the beginning of the coming of the Lord, or to say it another way, marked the “second coming of Christ”.
Now I know this goes against what most people have been taught and have come to believe. I am sure people must be saying; how can this be? Christ was to return and setup His Kingdom. Yes, that is exactly what Christ did when He returned. Christ did not return “physically” to setup a “physical” kingdom like most are looking for, He returned spiritually to setup His spiritual Kingdom. God’s goal was to extend His heavenly Kingdom down to earth. Our heavenly Father and Jesus Christ never wanted a physical kingdom. God is Spirit, so their Kingdom is also Spirit. The physical realm is for the flesh, not for the Spirit. The Spirit can use the physical realm, and it does, but God’s Kingdom does not need the physical realm, except for a place for souls to pick which spiritual kingdom they want to be a part of.
We can see that God’s Kingdom is not of the physical realm, but in the hearts of men. God resides in heavenly places and in the spirit of men, at least men and women that are born of God.
John 18:36 - Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place."
Luke 17:20-21 - Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you."
Anyone that says and/or is waiting for Jesus Christ to return and setup His Kingdom is woefully misled. Anyone that is teaching believers to wait for Christ’s return and/or teaching believers to wait for God’s Kingdom to come is ignorant of God’s Word and Truth. Christ has already returned and setup His Kingdom. Anyone that has the true knowledge of God’s Word cannot claim to be waiting for Christ’s return and His Kingdom to come. Anyone that is teaching others that Christ second coming hasn’t occurred yet, is teaching a lie, even though they are most likely not doing this out of an evil intent, but out of lack of knowledge and a lack of knowing God.
I know this belief that Christ has already returned is not the belief of most believers, but it is God’s Truth. I know I am going against the crowd on what most believe, but the crowd is usually wrong. I pray everyone stops believing what the crowd believes and believes God’s Word instead. This is a message about God’s Kingdom, I pray you take it to heart and believe. Otherwise the evil one will snatch it away from you.
Matt 13:19 - When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart.
Many cannot believe God’s Kingdom is here, because they don’t see it. To all these people I say, I can understand your thoughts. God’s Kingdom has been hard to see in the last fifty or so years. Our selfishness and the rejecting of God and His Word has made this world into a pretty bad place, at least when we compare it to God’s Kingdom. Even though this world has a lot of evil, I want to assure everyone that God’s Kingdom is still here. Individuals can still enter it if they search for God and His pure righteousness in their lives through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Once a person enters God’s Kingdom, they will find it bright and shining as the Son. It is my hope that this world comes back to God’s true Word as what they believe and live by. Then the whole world would see His Kingdom shining and there would be no more doubt about God’s Kingdom.
When Jesus Christ told us the Lord’s Prayer and said: “Your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”, Jesus Christ was not wanting us to pray His Kingdom come in a hundred or a thousand(s) years later, He intended His Kingdom to be on earth and His Kingdom’s will to be done on earth at the time when they spoke this prayer and now as we speak this prayer. His Kingdom came down to earth a long time ago and it is still here through every truly born again Christian.
The churches of our world need to stop waiting for God’s Kingdom to come and actually get into God’s Kingdom.
God’s servant,
Michael W Reid
Now getting to the subject of this message, which is the Truth of Christ’s return. Many people (believers) are waiting for Christ’s return, but what return of Christ are they waiting for?
There is the return of Christ that has already happened after He ascended to His heavenly Father and upon His return He set up His Kingdom here on earth. Most people call this “the second coming of Christ”.
A person could also consider the return of Christ as being when Christ and His Kingdom overthrows the devil in the end, where Christ throws the devil, death, hell, and everybody not found in the book of life into the eternal lake of fire. We could call this return of Christ “the final return of Christ”.
I have learned that most believers are still waiting on “Christ’s second coming”. People call it Christ’s second coming because He came once already to be a sacrificial Lamb and died on the cross for all our sins. Most people and even most theologians are still waiting for Christ’s second coming, where Christ is to set up His Kingdom. This “second coming of Christ” is the subject I will concentrate on in this message. My goal in this message is to show by God’s Word that most believers have been deceived by the devil into believing lies about God’s Kingdom. Most people are waiting for Christ to return, but God’s Word says Christ’s second coming has already happened. Most people are waiting for God’s “physical” Kingdom to be brought to earth, although God’s Word says His “Spiritual” Kingdom has already come and is here now. Most believers have been deceived into looking for a physical kingdom of God, so this has brought them to believe that Christ and His Kingdom hasn’t come yet. This lie of the devil worked on most of the Jews in Jesus time, and now this same lie seems to be working in the devil’s favor again. Are we ever going to learn, God is Spirit and His eternal Kingdom is also Spirit.
God’s Word says when He would return. In fact, Jesus Christ Himself told us about the time He would return.
Matt 24:30-35 - At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
Matt 24:30-35 has many spiritual happenings at the time Jesus Christ returns, but I don’t want to get side tracked by these spiritual meanings at this point. I would like to stay focused on the timing of the physical things that happen during this time when Jesus Christ returns. In Matt 24 we have God’s Word and it spoken directly from Jesus Christ. Jesus says He would return before that current generation of people passed away. We can’t ignore this. This is God’s Truth, but most have ignored this verse or just say they don’t know what Jesus really meant by this. Jesus Christ meant exactly what He said. If this was the only verse of God’s Word that indicated that Christ had already returned, then we would have to believe that Christ returned already based on this verse, because it is God’s Word and God’s Word cannot lie to us. But for the doubters out there, there is more scripture that backs up the truth that Christ has already returned.
John 21:20-23 - Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, "Lord, who is going to betray you?") When Peter saw him, he asked, "Lord, what about him?
Jesus answered, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me." Because of this, the rumor spread among the brothers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?
These verses indicate that the disciple John (the one whom Jesus loved) would not die before Jesus Christ returned. These verses back up the verses in Matt 24:29-30 that say Jesus Christ would return before the current generation passed away. These words were said by Jesus to His disciple Peter after Christ had already died on the cross and ascended to His heavenly Father. Even though Christ had returned to His disciples to teach and encourage them some more, this was not Christ’s second return, because Jesus told the disciples then that He would return again in the future. When Jesus told of a disciple not dying until He returned, how are we sure that Jesus was talking about one of His disciples (11 disciples at that time), it is because God’s Word says “disciple whom Jesus loved” and the words “This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, "Lord, who is going to betray you?”. The supper discussed here is the Last Supper with His 12 disciples. So, by this we know that it was one of the disciples that were with Christ at the last supper and this one disciple would not die until after Christ returned.
Here is another verse of God’s Word to backup this Truth. Again this is Jesus Christ talking.
Matt 16:27-28 - For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.
If we believe God’s Word to be infallible and true (which it is), then we must know and believe that Jesus Christ already returned as He said. It doesn’t matter whether we understand this Truth or whether we cannot accept this Truth; it is the Truth, because God and His Word never lie.
Now, you might say, how can this be true? How can almost everybody be wrong? Let us look at some more proof in God’s Word. Let us look back at Matt 24 verse 29.
Matt 24:29 - Immediately after the distress of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.
Again this verse has spiritual happenings (not physical happenings). The actual sun doesn’t darken, the actual moon doesn’t stop giving its light, the actual stars don’t fall from the sky, and the actual heavenly bodies aren’t physically shaken. For this message we want to concentrate on what was said, the timings of things, and the consistency in God’s Word and not get side tracked by what these spiritual happenings really mean, even though it would be a great study to do at a later time. This verse (Matt 24:29) directly preceded Matt 24:30-35 (stated previously), where Jesus Christ said the generation that was currently living with Him would not pass away until He returned. We see a great similarity in Matt 24:29 (the above verse), which is saying what will come before and after Pentecost, which is found in Acts 2.
Acts 2:14-20 - Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel”:
“In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.
Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.
I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke.
The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
Matt 24:29 Acts 2
the sun will be darkened ……………. wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth
sun will be turned to darkness
the moon will not give its light ………. wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth
the moon to blood
stars will fall from the sky ……………. wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth
the heavenly bodies will be shaken … wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth
What Jesus Christ prophesied in Matt 24:29 already happened, some of it at the cross and its aftermath (the distress) and some of it at Pentecost and some of it after Pentecost. Let us look closer at the scripture in Joel (the prophet) to see how this ties together. Remember Peter stood up at Pentecost and said: “this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel”
Joel 2:28-31 - I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days (This all happened at Pentecost and after Pentecost). I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
What was said in Acts 2 by Peter at Pentecost and what was said by the prophet Joel matches exactly, except the scripture of Joel says that these events will happen “before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.” So what happened at and before Pentecost, marked the beginning of the coming of the Lord, or to say it another way, marked the “second coming of Christ”.
Now I know this goes against what most people have been taught and have come to believe. I am sure people must be saying; how can this be? Christ was to return and setup His Kingdom. Yes, that is exactly what Christ did when He returned. Christ did not return “physically” to setup a “physical” kingdom like most are looking for, He returned spiritually to setup His spiritual Kingdom. God’s goal was to extend His heavenly Kingdom down to earth. Our heavenly Father and Jesus Christ never wanted a physical kingdom. God is Spirit, so their Kingdom is also Spirit. The physical realm is for the flesh, not for the Spirit. The Spirit can use the physical realm, and it does, but God’s Kingdom does not need the physical realm, except for a place for souls to pick which spiritual kingdom they want to be a part of.
We can see that God’s Kingdom is not of the physical realm, but in the hearts of men. God resides in heavenly places and in the spirit of men, at least men and women that are born of God.
John 18:36 - Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place."
Luke 17:20-21 - Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you."
Anyone that says and/or is waiting for Jesus Christ to return and setup His Kingdom is woefully misled. Anyone that is teaching believers to wait for Christ’s return and/or teaching believers to wait for God’s Kingdom to come is ignorant of God’s Word and Truth. Christ has already returned and setup His Kingdom. Anyone that has the true knowledge of God’s Word cannot claim to be waiting for Christ’s return and His Kingdom to come. Anyone that is teaching others that Christ second coming hasn’t occurred yet, is teaching a lie, even though they are most likely not doing this out of an evil intent, but out of lack of knowledge and a lack of knowing God.
I know this belief that Christ has already returned is not the belief of most believers, but it is God’s Truth. I know I am going against the crowd on what most believe, but the crowd is usually wrong. I pray everyone stops believing what the crowd believes and believes God’s Word instead. This is a message about God’s Kingdom, I pray you take it to heart and believe. Otherwise the evil one will snatch it away from you.
Matt 13:19 - When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart.
Many cannot believe God’s Kingdom is here, because they don’t see it. To all these people I say, I can understand your thoughts. God’s Kingdom has been hard to see in the last fifty or so years. Our selfishness and the rejecting of God and His Word has made this world into a pretty bad place, at least when we compare it to God’s Kingdom. Even though this world has a lot of evil, I want to assure everyone that God’s Kingdom is still here. Individuals can still enter it if they search for God and His pure righteousness in their lives through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Once a person enters God’s Kingdom, they will find it bright and shining as the Son. It is my hope that this world comes back to God’s true Word as what they believe and live by. Then the whole world would see His Kingdom shining and there would be no more doubt about God’s Kingdom.
When Jesus Christ told us the Lord’s Prayer and said: “Your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”, Jesus Christ was not wanting us to pray His Kingdom come in a hundred or a thousand(s) years later, He intended His Kingdom to be on earth and His Kingdom’s will to be done on earth at the time when they spoke this prayer and now as we speak this prayer. His Kingdom came down to earth a long time ago and it is still here through every truly born again Christian.
The churches of our world need to stop waiting for God’s Kingdom to come and actually get into God’s Kingdom.
God’s servant,
Michael W Reid
Monday, August 31, 2009
Separation of Chuch and State
We have heard many times about the “Separation of Church and State” clause in our constitution. Even though this phrase doesn't exist in our constitution, people have come to believe in it. Most people have been deceived by the devil’s lies into thinking that this means the law keeps the church from interfering in our government affairs. Actually the opposite is true. It was put in our constitution to protect the church from any interference from the state or governments of our country. Why was this so important to put in? It was because the founders of our country knew that God’s kingdom laws were higher and superseded any laws that could be made by man. Our constitution was meant to protect God’s laws, His freedoms, and His ways even over our own man made laws.
So why do our church leaders and all of us that are supposed to belong to these churches let the laws of the state interfere with God’s laws, commandments, and freedoms. Why don’t we take advantage of God’s freedom to proclaim God’s truth over any other laws that are in conflict with the commandments of God? Why have the churches of our nation submitted to the laws of the land instead of the laws of God? It is because we have become cowards and greedy to keep the business of the church growing, instead of keeping God’s kingdom growing.
One of the big reasons for this is the misunderstanding of what the church really is. The church is not the business operations of the church. It is not the building believers gather at. It is not a certain denomination. It is not where we tithe to. It is not where we hear the Word of God spoken, but from whom God’s Word is spoken. It is not where we come to grow in the Word of God. So what is it then? The church is made up of true born again Christians that are currently in God’s kingdom and their main purpose is to bring God’s kingdom down to earth. God’s church is not something visible to the naked eye, because God’s church is totally spiritual. Anytime God’s church is present, then people will see the results of God’s kingdom in the good works performed through His witnesses. God’s church has been given the charge to make sure that God’s “Will” is done on earth as it is in heaven. It is not God’s will that His laws be obeyed only as long as we can do them by obeying the laws of the land. God’s church only obeys God’s commands (the laws of His kingdom); because God’s commands will always supersede man’s laws. The reason for this is, if any of man’s laws conflict with God’s laws, then they are evil and must be overruled and thrown out of any Christian’s way of life. Any evil law(s) that man may make might be allowed for a time in the non-Christian’s life or a whole nation that is lost, but they can never be allowed for anyone that is in His kingdom.
So who is it that makes up God’s kingdom? It is prophets, because everyone in God’s kingdom is a prophet to a certain extent, because they all proclaim God’s truth, which has been opened up to them by the Holy Spirit. There are also preachers, because everyone in God’s kingdom is a preacher to a certain extent, because they all preach the good news of Christ. There are pastors, because everyone in His kingdom is a pastor to a certain extent, because they all take on the responsibility for God’s flock. Everybody in God’s kingdom are also teachers, because they all teach of God’s kingdom and mentor others about God and how to be Christ like. Last, but not least, everybody in God’s kingdom loves God and others in everything they think and do.
If we are to be called God’s church, than nothing can stand in the way of bringing and doing His kingdom here on earth. There can be no man made laws that regulate God’s kingdom, so there is no man made laws that have dominion over God’s kingdom. If we are instructed by our government’s laws to go against God’s kingdom and accept something evil as good, then we are to break that law. If the state says we cannot preach politics and/or reveal what candidate(s) are evil or good, then we are to break those laws and suffer losing the tax exempt status and/or be willing to go to jail for proclaiming God’s truth. If man’s laws say we cannot speak against homosexual and gay behavior, because that is deemed hate speech, we are to speak out on it anyway and call it the evil that it is. If any church is not willing to do these things and go against the laws of man when God’s laws and ways are in conflict with man’s laws, then that church body is not part of God’s kingdom. Man’s laws don’t rule God’s kingdom, instead God’s kingdom must be the rule of man.
If there are laws that take the place of God and give any human being the right to take a life that God has created, just because it is not totally formed yet, born yet, or it is not deemed worthy of living anymore, then we must call that law evil and not abide by that law. We must not only not abide by this law; we must fight against the ruling powers making these laws. Anyone promoting laws like this, we must call them out for who they are and call them evil and of the devil. God is not politically correct. With God, either it is His way or it is deemed evil and of the devil.
If any person, company, or state institution is rejecting God, His Son, or His ways, we must try to lovingly correct them, but if they still reject God, then we must reject them until they repent and come back to God. We must love them, but we cannot accept those that are evil and let them infect the body of Christ. If we continue to support the evil of man, instead of fight the evil and promote God’s kingdom, then we are not of God’s church. As a nation, we have already let to many ungodly laws and beliefs of man infect our church organizations and now they affect what we preach, teach, and how we run “church business”. This has turned into a cancer that has crippled the effectiveness of God’s Word. So anyone proclaiming and making these evil laws, we must not support with any funds or resources God has entrusted to us, which is everything. This includes the governments of our land. This is where the rubber meets the road for most people, because doing something about this requires a lifestyle change. Are we going to keep paying taxes and support an evil empire of the devil that will grow and cause more souls to be lost, or are we going to find ways to support God’s kingdom instead. If you make to much money where it causes you to pay taxes that in turn create more evil, are you willing to work less and/or make less money so you pay little or no money in taxes and stop promoting these evil causes? Maybe you could work the same, but give a lot more of your earned money to good Christian organizations as a donation and pay less or no taxes that way. Maybe we could all work less, live on less money and give a lot more of our time to God’s work. You could decide to stop working for money and go into full time work for God’s glory and depend on God to supply all your needs. Maybe you need to find a different job, because you work for one of these evil companies or governments and then get a new job that will please God instead of supporting an evil entity. There are a lot of options and if you pray about it, I am sure God and you can be creative and figure something out. Some might say; but you don’t understand, I have too many payments and obligations to pay for, I can’t earn less than I do now. Then get rid of the obligations that hold you to this evil system. Sell your house and get a smaller house, or sell your car(s) and drive older model cars. You will probably have to dig into your savings and stocks or use the asset value of a home you need to sell, so you have money to supply for your needs. I know many of you had retirement plans for this money, but that has all changed now. Our retirement is not going to be from our money or things, because God is our retirement. You might have to forfeit your children’s college education for now so you don’t have to be locked into this evil system. The way it is currently going, a college education will not be worth much anyway. People with college educations aren’t even being hired into non-educated positions, because there are not enough jobs anymore, unless you want them to work in the devil’s system. If we are unwilling to do these things for God’s kingdom, because we are unwilling to let go of these things and/or our way of life, then this should convince you that you are not in God’s kingdom, but a person taking part and enjoying the devil’s kingdom.
Our education system has been corrupted to the core and can no longer be used to educate our children for a Godly life. Even though there are some Christians still trying to make a godly difference, the evil is overwhelming any of the goodness of God still left in the public education systems. The public education systems are one of the major tools of the devil to indoctrinate our children into his evil world. It is not just the evil that the governments are making the teachers teach, but also the evil environment of our children’s peers. In today’s system, if our children are in public school and want to have friends, then the children have no choice but to accept and take part in this evil environment. The evil extremists have succeeded in making what used to be something good and turning it into an evil training place of the devil. If we want our children to have any chance of joining the kingdom of God, then we must take them out of this evil environment and teach them about God, His ways, and the life basics at home. If our children are educated in the world’s ways and they acquire more knowledge, but lose their souls to the devil, then all is lost and we have then failed at our mission of bringing up our children in the ways of the Lord.
It is up to the real church of God, the people in God’s kingdom, to do God’s work here on earth. It is true that God’s church is probably just a remnant of what we thought it was, but even God’s first church started out with only 12 disciples. Over time we have lost a lot of the church that could have been realized, but it is also true that in time we can once again make the church glorious to God and overflowing with true spiritual growth.
This is to be a hard and long spiritual war against evil and we need to acknowledge that we must be the warriors for God. This will be the time in our life where we show our true colors. Which side are we really on? Are we going to be cowards and shrink back from what God is calling all of us to do, or are we going to put on the full armor of God and fight for His glory and righteousness? We need to be warriors for God’s kingdom alone. We need to realize that the life we thought we were going to have is no longer in our future, because of the effects of our nation’s sins, but we must fight for God’s glory and for the ones that come after us. Like at the birth of our nation, we now need to fight again for the values and morals that we were founded on, which is God’s love and His righteousness. If our children and grandchildren are going to have any possibilities of the freedoms to worship our Lord the way He requires to be worshiped, then we must fight for God’s righteousness now. For anyone that dedicates them selves to God and this spiritual war, they will have victory, because the victory will come from the Lord.
If any people in a church organization say they are a part of God’s kingdom, then they will need to act like heavenly kingdom disciples and reject any and all evil beliefs and ways. There are only two spiritual kingdoms and we all belong to only one of them. Our devotion to our kingdom and king will help us all see which one we belong to.
The time for cheering from the side lines are over, we need to all get into the war,
Michael W Reid
So why do our church leaders and all of us that are supposed to belong to these churches let the laws of the state interfere with God’s laws, commandments, and freedoms. Why don’t we take advantage of God’s freedom to proclaim God’s truth over any other laws that are in conflict with the commandments of God? Why have the churches of our nation submitted to the laws of the land instead of the laws of God? It is because we have become cowards and greedy to keep the business of the church growing, instead of keeping God’s kingdom growing.
One of the big reasons for this is the misunderstanding of what the church really is. The church is not the business operations of the church. It is not the building believers gather at. It is not a certain denomination. It is not where we tithe to. It is not where we hear the Word of God spoken, but from whom God’s Word is spoken. It is not where we come to grow in the Word of God. So what is it then? The church is made up of true born again Christians that are currently in God’s kingdom and their main purpose is to bring God’s kingdom down to earth. God’s church is not something visible to the naked eye, because God’s church is totally spiritual. Anytime God’s church is present, then people will see the results of God’s kingdom in the good works performed through His witnesses. God’s church has been given the charge to make sure that God’s “Will” is done on earth as it is in heaven. It is not God’s will that His laws be obeyed only as long as we can do them by obeying the laws of the land. God’s church only obeys God’s commands (the laws of His kingdom); because God’s commands will always supersede man’s laws. The reason for this is, if any of man’s laws conflict with God’s laws, then they are evil and must be overruled and thrown out of any Christian’s way of life. Any evil law(s) that man may make might be allowed for a time in the non-Christian’s life or a whole nation that is lost, but they can never be allowed for anyone that is in His kingdom.
So who is it that makes up God’s kingdom? It is prophets, because everyone in God’s kingdom is a prophet to a certain extent, because they all proclaim God’s truth, which has been opened up to them by the Holy Spirit. There are also preachers, because everyone in God’s kingdom is a preacher to a certain extent, because they all preach the good news of Christ. There are pastors, because everyone in His kingdom is a pastor to a certain extent, because they all take on the responsibility for God’s flock. Everybody in God’s kingdom are also teachers, because they all teach of God’s kingdom and mentor others about God and how to be Christ like. Last, but not least, everybody in God’s kingdom loves God and others in everything they think and do.
If we are to be called God’s church, than nothing can stand in the way of bringing and doing His kingdom here on earth. There can be no man made laws that regulate God’s kingdom, so there is no man made laws that have dominion over God’s kingdom. If we are instructed by our government’s laws to go against God’s kingdom and accept something evil as good, then we are to break that law. If the state says we cannot preach politics and/or reveal what candidate(s) are evil or good, then we are to break those laws and suffer losing the tax exempt status and/or be willing to go to jail for proclaiming God’s truth. If man’s laws say we cannot speak against homosexual and gay behavior, because that is deemed hate speech, we are to speak out on it anyway and call it the evil that it is. If any church is not willing to do these things and go against the laws of man when God’s laws and ways are in conflict with man’s laws, then that church body is not part of God’s kingdom. Man’s laws don’t rule God’s kingdom, instead God’s kingdom must be the rule of man.
If there are laws that take the place of God and give any human being the right to take a life that God has created, just because it is not totally formed yet, born yet, or it is not deemed worthy of living anymore, then we must call that law evil and not abide by that law. We must not only not abide by this law; we must fight against the ruling powers making these laws. Anyone promoting laws like this, we must call them out for who they are and call them evil and of the devil. God is not politically correct. With God, either it is His way or it is deemed evil and of the devil.
If any person, company, or state institution is rejecting God, His Son, or His ways, we must try to lovingly correct them, but if they still reject God, then we must reject them until they repent and come back to God. We must love them, but we cannot accept those that are evil and let them infect the body of Christ. If we continue to support the evil of man, instead of fight the evil and promote God’s kingdom, then we are not of God’s church. As a nation, we have already let to many ungodly laws and beliefs of man infect our church organizations and now they affect what we preach, teach, and how we run “church business”. This has turned into a cancer that has crippled the effectiveness of God’s Word. So anyone proclaiming and making these evil laws, we must not support with any funds or resources God has entrusted to us, which is everything. This includes the governments of our land. This is where the rubber meets the road for most people, because doing something about this requires a lifestyle change. Are we going to keep paying taxes and support an evil empire of the devil that will grow and cause more souls to be lost, or are we going to find ways to support God’s kingdom instead. If you make to much money where it causes you to pay taxes that in turn create more evil, are you willing to work less and/or make less money so you pay little or no money in taxes and stop promoting these evil causes? Maybe you could work the same, but give a lot more of your earned money to good Christian organizations as a donation and pay less or no taxes that way. Maybe we could all work less, live on less money and give a lot more of our time to God’s work. You could decide to stop working for money and go into full time work for God’s glory and depend on God to supply all your needs. Maybe you need to find a different job, because you work for one of these evil companies or governments and then get a new job that will please God instead of supporting an evil entity. There are a lot of options and if you pray about it, I am sure God and you can be creative and figure something out. Some might say; but you don’t understand, I have too many payments and obligations to pay for, I can’t earn less than I do now. Then get rid of the obligations that hold you to this evil system. Sell your house and get a smaller house, or sell your car(s) and drive older model cars. You will probably have to dig into your savings and stocks or use the asset value of a home you need to sell, so you have money to supply for your needs. I know many of you had retirement plans for this money, but that has all changed now. Our retirement is not going to be from our money or things, because God is our retirement. You might have to forfeit your children’s college education for now so you don’t have to be locked into this evil system. The way it is currently going, a college education will not be worth much anyway. People with college educations aren’t even being hired into non-educated positions, because there are not enough jobs anymore, unless you want them to work in the devil’s system. If we are unwilling to do these things for God’s kingdom, because we are unwilling to let go of these things and/or our way of life, then this should convince you that you are not in God’s kingdom, but a person taking part and enjoying the devil’s kingdom.
Our education system has been corrupted to the core and can no longer be used to educate our children for a Godly life. Even though there are some Christians still trying to make a godly difference, the evil is overwhelming any of the goodness of God still left in the public education systems. The public education systems are one of the major tools of the devil to indoctrinate our children into his evil world. It is not just the evil that the governments are making the teachers teach, but also the evil environment of our children’s peers. In today’s system, if our children are in public school and want to have friends, then the children have no choice but to accept and take part in this evil environment. The evil extremists have succeeded in making what used to be something good and turning it into an evil training place of the devil. If we want our children to have any chance of joining the kingdom of God, then we must take them out of this evil environment and teach them about God, His ways, and the life basics at home. If our children are educated in the world’s ways and they acquire more knowledge, but lose their souls to the devil, then all is lost and we have then failed at our mission of bringing up our children in the ways of the Lord.
It is up to the real church of God, the people in God’s kingdom, to do God’s work here on earth. It is true that God’s church is probably just a remnant of what we thought it was, but even God’s first church started out with only 12 disciples. Over time we have lost a lot of the church that could have been realized, but it is also true that in time we can once again make the church glorious to God and overflowing with true spiritual growth.
This is to be a hard and long spiritual war against evil and we need to acknowledge that we must be the warriors for God. This will be the time in our life where we show our true colors. Which side are we really on? Are we going to be cowards and shrink back from what God is calling all of us to do, or are we going to put on the full armor of God and fight for His glory and righteousness? We need to be warriors for God’s kingdom alone. We need to realize that the life we thought we were going to have is no longer in our future, because of the effects of our nation’s sins, but we must fight for God’s glory and for the ones that come after us. Like at the birth of our nation, we now need to fight again for the values and morals that we were founded on, which is God’s love and His righteousness. If our children and grandchildren are going to have any possibilities of the freedoms to worship our Lord the way He requires to be worshiped, then we must fight for God’s righteousness now. For anyone that dedicates them selves to God and this spiritual war, they will have victory, because the victory will come from the Lord.
If any people in a church organization say they are a part of God’s kingdom, then they will need to act like heavenly kingdom disciples and reject any and all evil beliefs and ways. There are only two spiritual kingdoms and we all belong to only one of them. Our devotion to our kingdom and king will help us all see which one we belong to.
The time for cheering from the side lines are over, we need to all get into the war,
Michael W Reid
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