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To live like Jesus lived we must renew our minds developing an eternal mindset. Listen to the words of the apostle Paul.
Romans 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
There is only one way to be transformed. It's by renewing our mind with the Word of God that we may prove what is that good acceptable and perfect will of God.
The will of God is the kingdom of God and the kingdom of God is the will of God. When you are doing the will of God you are living in the kingdom of God.
Jesus taught us to pray "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven"
Thy kingdom come and thy will be done are not separate things, they are one and the self-same things
What is being done in the kingdom of heaven? The will of God and when we are doing the will of God on earth, the kingdom of heaven has come to earth. It's that simple, yet so profound.
In the Garden of Gethsemane we see Christ's struggle to manifest the kingdom of heaven on earth.
Luke 22:40-44 And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation. And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
Jesus Christ in submitting His life and will to the will of God was bringing the kingdom of heaven to earth. He was bringing the now of the kingdom of heaven to earth.
We can see this kingdom principle working in the Old Testament in the account of Sarah's conception of Issac.
Genesis 18:9-14 And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent. And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also? And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old? Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.
Abraham and Sarah were well beyond the age for having children. In the natural their time had passed but the kingdom of God is not limited by time. Romans chapter four tells us Abraham was impotent and Sarah's womb was dead but because of the kingdom promise of God, time was going to have no influence upon their bodies. The kingdom of heaven was about to exercise its authority. God says at the appointed time I will return unto thee according to the time of life. God was going to turn back their physical time clocks, because the kingdom of heaven rules over time. In the kingdom there is only a now. There is no such thing as too early or too late. There is no beginning and there is no end. There is only "Now"
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
The Bible tells us that Abraham took up this "Now faith" of the kingdom of heaven and reversed the effects of time upon his body and the body of his wife Sarah
Romans 4:13-21 For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect: Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression. Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara's womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.
The people of Jesus day were expecting the Messiah and the establishment of the kingdom of heaven, on the earth, at some time in the future. Jesus message was "the time is at hand, it's come, it's upon you". They couldn't believe his message because they couldn't see the kingdom.
Luke 17:20-21 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: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
The kingdom of heaven does not come with observation, it comes with revelation. Revelation is the seeing of the spiritual eye. Jesus said it wasn't in a place, it dwells within them, within their hearts
They were carnal so they rejected Him as Messiah and the Gospel of the kingdom.
Have you ever noticed how Jesus speech is saturated with the "now" concept of the kingdom of heaven.
Luke 4:16-21 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
And again in
John 11:22-27 But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee. Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.
Let me asked you, if Jesus had this mind set and we are to have the mind of Christ why can't we begin thinking like Jesus? Why can't we take Jesus at His word and proclaim like He did, that the kingdom of heaven is at hand.When Jesus was teaching what has become known as the Lord's Prayer He said in
Matthew 6:10-13 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Jesus wants the kingdom of heaven to come to the earth. He gives us instructions to pray for it to happen but we need to realize it is not going to happen independent of us. Jesus is not going to send it to a place so we can all run over and see it and experience it's power. It is going to be manifest in a people called the sons of God. A people who are living and breathing the reality that the kingdom of heaven really is at hand. A body of people who are living in the "now"
Romans 8:13-21 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
The kingdom of heaven is not going to come to earth unless it comes to earth in us and through us.
In the kingdom of Heaven there is no yesterday and there is no tomorrow. There is only today, now, the present. The apostle Peter expressed it this way.
2 Peter 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
All that exists in God's kingdom is an eternal now. Jesus prayed Give us this day our daily bread (present) and then He speaks of the past "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors" and then of our future "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil"
Jesus is telling us to pray like this because He wants us to live in the now, in the present. It is only with this "now mindset" free from the bondage placed upon us by past experience and the fear of an unknown future, that we are going to walk as true Sons of God
Jesus said in
Mat 6:24-34 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
There is much we could say about this portion of scripture but one of the central truths is to Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and then and only then shall all the things that we need for our daily lives be added unto us. In order to live in the reality of the kingdom Jesus tells us to not be fearful of tomorrow but to live in the present day.
A few days ago my wife Kathy and I were on our way home in our vehicle and she said something that really impacted my spirit. She said "I am learning to live in the now" and I thought what a power statement. She went on to say, If I am going to live in all that God has for me today, I can't let the hurt and the pain of the past effect me and I can't let the fear of the future influence me and ruin my joy today. Truer words were never spoken. The psalmist wrote in
Psalm 118:24-25 This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. Save now, I beseech thee, O LORD: O LORD, I beseech thee, send now prosperity.
Rejoicing today, in the now, will enable God to bring salvation and prosperity into our lives. Throughout the Bible we see this Kingdom truth permeate the Word of God. The apostle Paul really got a hold of it in
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
2 Corinthians6:2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvationWe will never live in the reality of the new creatures we have become in Christ until we have considered our old lives dead. Our mistakes are dead, the hurt and the pain of our past lives is dead, old friendships that have died are dead, old dreams are dead. It's all dead and until we consider it as such we cannot enter the blessings of the Kingdom that Jesus Christ has laid up for us now. How many people have actually quit living because of the failures, mistakes and disappointments of the past. If we live never thinking we are good enough for God to bless us we will never live in His present blessings of the Kingdom. If we live thinking we have no future we will live a weak and beggarly existence today.
It is our human fallen nature that causes us to live in the good or bad old days or put things off to another time in the future but Jesus Christ met that mentality head on. Jesus came to live and demonstrate a present day reality.
Luke 4:21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
John 4:35 Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. The religious people of Jesus day missed a "NOW MESSIAH" because they were looking for him in the future. He was standing in their presence but they couldn't discern Him because of their mindset.
Felix lost his opportunity to live in the kingdom by putting his decision off to a another time.
Act 24:25 And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.
Is it possible that we are missing many of the blessings inherent in our salvation by putting much of it off to another time or season.
We sing hymns about the "Sweet bye and bye" or "Won't we have a time when we get over yonder" or "Some glad morning when this life is o're I'll fly away".
My question is what about the "Bitter Now and Now". Has God got nothing for us from His kingdom now, today, in the present. How can we as the children of an ever present, loving, caring, compassionate, abundant God be satisfied with such a low level of living.
We sing, I've got a mansion just over the hilltop. My desire is to experience a little mansion living today and I'm not just talking about money. There's righteousness, peace and joy in that mansion. There's hopes and dreams in that mansion. There's purpose and unlimited power to produce a future in that mansion. The apostle Paul said in
Romans 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
Let us all pray like the apostle Paul in
Ephesians 1:17-19 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power
Let us begin to pray like Jesus told us to pray in
Mark 11:22-24 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
Jesus said," What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them".
Jesus said," When ye pray believe you receive them and you shall have them". He didn't say to believe you shall get them in the future if you pray. He said, "Believe you receive them when you pray and you shall have them"
Jesus lives in an eternal now. Jesus said the kingdom of heaven is at hand; that it is in the now and we must begin thinking in the now too.
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