In 2008 the message is "Accept Jesus Christ as your Saviour and you will go
to heaven". That was not the message of Jesus Christ. He did not concentrate on
getting the people into heaven, but to get them to enter the kingdom of God,
I.e. He did not want to come into our lives, He wanted us to enter His life. He
wanted us to change our way of thinking to His way of thinking where nothing is
impossible for us, where we can change the world through faith.
Therefore you are born again first, and then you see the kingdom of God, you
do not first see it in order to enter into it. This is basically what faith is -
you know something before the evidence of it is there.
It starts off very small in our hearts and then grows until it can
accommodate others
Mar 4:30 And he said, Whereunto
shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we
compare it?
31 It is like a grain of mustard
seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds
that be in the earth:
32 But when it is sown, it groweth
up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great
branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it.
Luk 13:20 And again he said,
Whereunto shall I liken the kingdom of God? Luk 13:21 It is like leaven,
which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was
leavened.
Mar 9:1 And he said unto them,
Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which
shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come
with power.
Luk 9:27 But I tell you of a
truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till
they see the kingdom of God.
How to enter the Kingdom of God
Like a Child
Mar 10:15 Verily I say unto you,
Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he
shall not enter therein.
Luk 18:17 Verily I say unto you,
Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of
God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.
Joh 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily,
verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the
Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
You need to accept it like a child without doubt, without criticism,
without trying to figure it out in your brain.
Love
The scribe gives an indication of what we need to be like to enter the
kingdom:
- Recognize God is the one and only God
- Love God with all your heart and understanding, trusting
Him that He will always be true to His Word
- Love one another as Jesus loved us (as He died for us)
- The scribe was not far from the Kingdom of God
Mar 12:32 And the scribe said unto
him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and
there is none other but he:
33 And to love him with all the
heart and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with
all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is more than all
whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.
34 And when Jesus saw that he
answered discreetly he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom
of God.
Poor in Spirit
The Kingdom of God belongs to those who are poor in spirit, who do not
think of themselves more than they ought to think (or less than what
Jesus made them to be)
Luk 6:20 And he lifted up his eyes
on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom
of God.
Born Again
Joh 3:3 Jesus answered and said
unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Those in the Kingdom of God
Greater than the Old Testament
Luk 7:28 For I say unto you, Among
those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John
the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than
he.
Do not Look Back
Luk 9:62 And Jesus said unto him,
No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for
the kingdom of God.
Receive much more in this life - and the life hereafter
Luk 18:29 And he said unto them,
Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents,
or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God's sake,
30 Who shall not receive manifold
more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting.
Where is the Kingdom?
Within Us
Luk 17:20 And when he was demanded
of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them
and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
21 Neither shall they say, Lo
here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
Signs of the Kingdom of God
Devils are cast out
Mat 12:28 But if I cast out devils
by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.
What is the Kingdom Like?
A Tree
Luk 13:18 Then said he, Unto what
is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto
shall I resemble it?
19 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into
his
garden; and it grew, and waxed a great tree; and the fowls of the air
lodged
in the branches of it.
Leaven
Luk 13:20 And again he said, Whereunto shall I liken the kingdom of God?
21 It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of
meal,
till the whole was leavened.
Luk 7:28 For I say unto you, Among
those that are born of women there is not
a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the
kingdom
of God is greater than he.
Mat 6:33 But seek ye first the
kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all
these things shall be added unto you.
Mat 12:28 But if I cast out devils
by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of
God is come unto you.
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