Bumblebees are amazing insects. According to the principles of aerodynamics, bumblebees should not be able to fly. When you compare the size and structure of their wings with the size and weight of their bodies, it would seem to indicate that bumblebees cannot fly.
But you cannot convince a bumblebee of that. There are many things which seemingly cannot be done. Everyone will insist that they cannot be done, but God will enable us to do them.
In and of ourselves we cannot do it, people struggle with this kingdom principle, it is called legalism. But there is another kingdom principle= by the grace of God, through the faith of God-which is not a human faith, but God’s faith which a fruit of the Spirit not our mind, we can do all things through Christ. Nothing is impossible through him.
The way we will move ahead and prevail depends a great deal upon our attitude. We must realize that with every commission God gives us, He also gives us His authority and His enablement to fulfill that commission. We can do what God wants done because He anoints us to do it. We can do it! We can speak His Word that will set things in motion. We can do it!
As we hear today’s Living Word, it loses the aura of just another sermon and becomes the unfolding of the Word that God wants us to walk in now. Peter spoke about being “established in the present truth” (II Peter 1:12), as though every truth that God brings has a current, present emphasis. It becomes a fresh revelation to us. We must do all we can to walk in that Word.
God is bringing forth a fresh Living Word which many of His people are receiving as though they were sharp radio receivers. God is sending out His Word through many vessels who are speaking the same present truth which stirs our hearts. Then the Lord confirms it, and we realize that this is a Word which we can walk in now.
In the past, an untimely Word would come to us. We would run for the door, thinking it was wide open and eager to walk through it, only to find that it was locked. It did not seem to be the moment to walk in that Word. But for some time now we have been in a progressive unfolding of what we can walk in. Thus, the eighth chapter of Romans is becoming real to us. We are discovering in this very day that the seer-prophet ministry is coming forth and opening up revelation to our hearts, showing that God is beginning to release creation from futility. God’s true end-time ministers are not preaching a theory; they are declaring a Living Word that people can walk in immediately. This new release has come forth through intense intercession.
To some, such intense intercession may seem unwise; but the Body of Christ has gone through such shakings that violent intercession has been necessary. Travail had to come to bring forth the end-time apostolic company. Intercession has been like some wild travail, like the scream of a pregnant woman in pain, agonizing in the midnight hour to be delivered. While it holds all the promise, it also sends chills through those who hear it. The cry of travail causes the less dedicated hearer to want to draw back, saying, “This is too intense. Surely everything will be all right. It will be life as usual, business as usual. Nothing really will come to change our lives!”
But the changes are actually here! They have begun to affect many of God’s people. God’s ministries suffer much, but He initiates their testings. None of His end-time apostolic company will come forth except through fire. God will work deeply in every ministry He brings forth. The apostolic company is now multiplying. Many of them are speaking fantastic Living Words on a level we have never heard before. This travail, the intense prayer, must continue. The work of the Lord must continue. We should be praying while we work. Breakthroughs that we have longed to see for many years are here, and the time has come to move in them.
Everything that we read about in the Gospels had a purpose. Often the Lord emphasized that He was preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God; and a unique pattern was established, even though it was not subsequently followed during the period of the Church age. Now as the Church age is closing and we are coming to the time of the Kingdom, we are returning to those very patterns which Christ established. Once again the Kingdom is being preached.
What is the difference between the Church and the Kingdom?
The Kingdom of God, is ever exanding , the church is just a part of the Kingdom of God.
This is a subject worthy of deep study and teaching. In the first place, dedicated discipleship is required of one who would be a citizen of the Kingdom, living under the privileges and government of God, under the Lord of lords and King of kings.
Professing Christians, on the other hand, have found it easy to say, “Thank God, I go to church; my sins are forgiven; Jesus is my Savior.” Jesus is real to both the old-order professing Christian and the new-order citizen of His Kingdom. While Jesus may be real to all of us in one way or another, He now wants us to know Him in a Kingdom sense, instead of in an elementary Church-age sense.
We must sense that Christ has forgiven our sins; this is the basis of our walk with Him.
But we must now also go on to excel as citizens of His Kingdom, bringing forth His will, seeking first His Kingdom.
Many Christians simply do not seek first the Kingdom of God. They believe in the name of Jesus Christ, but they are not totally involved with Him.
Discipleship is rare among the average professing Christians in a church. Yet discipleship is the basic teaching of the gospel of the Kingdom. This is where we must start. It is not a matter of trying to be superior; it is a different approach altogether. God wants to bring forth His Kingdom; so to become citizens of His Kingdom, we must learn to walk in the Kingdom patterns.
The tenth chapter of Luke is a pattern for Kingdom discipleship. There we find truths which are very fresh and very timely for us, present truths that have such a timely application that we can walk in them now.
Luke 10 speaks about the gospel of the Kingdom. There we read how Christ sent forth the seventy disciples before Him to the places where He was going. Verses 8–9 tell us: “And whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat what is set before you; and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ ” Notice the phraseology, “The Kingdom of God has come near to you.” Christ also said, “The Kingdom of God is among you.” Many will scoff, “You say the Kingdom of God is among you? I don’t see it!” But Jesus said, “The Kingdom of God does not come with observation. None shall say, ‘Lo, here!’ or, ‘Lo, there!’ The Kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:20–21, KJV).
We are the purveyors of the Kingdom. It begins within us when Jesus Christ is absolute Lord over our lives as we strive to bring everything under His feet and to submit ourselves wholly to Him. Submission, then, is the basic teaching of His Kingdom. We continue to struggle with the problem of submitting to God, submitting to divine order, submitting to the Kingdom; but we cannot and will not allow our heart to become rebellious. We do not want to be pictured in a mug shot as “Public Enemy Number One of the Kingdom.” We do not want to be enemies of the cross. We want to be the citizens of the Kingdom of God, totally different in every respect.
Jesus told the seventy disciples whom He sent out, “And whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat what is set before you; and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ But whatever city you enter and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you; yet be sure of this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’ ” Luke 10:8–11.
In both instances they were to say, “The Kingdom of God has come near.” This may not mean much to the average Christian. If he does not press into the Kingdom, the fact that it has come near him only means that he had an opportunity. The dust was shaken off the disciples’ feet, indicating that it would be more tolerable for Sodom than for the city which rejected the Kingdom of God coming near (verse 12). Judgment will be greater for someone who hears the message of the Kingdom but rejects it, than upon one who has never heard.
Forces of hostility and persecution are focused against those who really preach this present truth of the Kingdom, not in theory only, but as an open door, saying, “Here, come in.” Many may say, “Oh, preach to us about the manifestation of the sons of God. Preach to us all these wonderful concepts. Preach to us Romans 8. Preach to us about the great Kingdom, about the earth being loosed from futility.”
Those who really declare the Kingdom say, “We have preached it to you. The door is open. Be a citizen—be a devoted, dedicated disciple of Christ’s Kingdom!” Those who hear may tend to back off and withdraw when the gospel of the Kingdom is actually preached, not in theory or as a doctrine, but with the declaration, “It has come near; get into it! It has come near you.” Such Kingdom preaching begins to stir people and they usually rebel, saying, “How dare you bring that to us!” They draw back, protesting against the rigidity of the way of living as a free man in Christ. They protest against the disciplined way of life that a free man of God has in the Kingdom, saying, “A disciplined life? A rigid life? That doesn’t sound like freedom to me!”
A Christian is not free as long as he is serving the lusts of the flesh. Until he comes into the discipline of walking in the Spirit, he is simply not free. He is likened to a criminal who walks down the street, thinking, “I want my freedom! I want to be able to swing a ball-bat any way I want and hit anyone I want to. Let them get out of my way!” But when one considers the Body of Christ, we must come into Christ’s thinking in our treatment of each other. Our freedom must end where a brother’s nose begins. Before you start swinging at a brother, remember what Christ said about His Kingdom: “He who receives you receives Me” (Matthew 10:40). If you reject your brother, you have rejected Christ.
We are entering into the time of the fulfillment of the tremendous law of love, and a man who loves with Christ’s love is placed under much restraint (James 2:12–13). He cannot do whatever he pleases and call it the grace of God. The grace of God does not condone licentiousness or liberty to the flesh. For freedom has Christ set us free. We are set free so that by the grace of God we can serve one another (Galatians 5:1, 13). We are free to serve one another, free to really become slaves. Beforehand, we could only serve the flesh. Now we can really serve God and our brother. We are really free!
The day that you become totally free, you become a “big shot” in the Kingdom of God. The greatest man in the Kingdom is the one who has become the servant of all. Some people are becoming very ambitious—not for themselves, but to be great in His Kingdom. They say, “What can I do to serve? Can I wash your feet?” These “ambitious ones” are striving to be great in the Kingdom of God. From the world’s viewpoint, they are not big shots, but the Word tells us, “He who would be greatest must be the servant of all” (Mark 10:44). This is a whole new way of thinking, a different attitude. Isn’t it beautiful?
In Luke 10:17–18 we read, And the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” And He said to them, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning.” Lightning moves fast, at approximately 186,000 miles per second. This illustrates the speed of Satan’s fall.
The seventy disciples said, “The demons all went out when we rebuked them.” What does this show us? Individuals will not be delivered just so that they can become lighthearted church members who shake the preacher’s hand. That is not what God wants. He wants to liberate those people, to set them totally free. There is no real deliverance until the total downfall of the usurper has come—the one who has ruled over them; he has to fall. First you must bind the strong man (Matthew 12:29).
While the disciples were ministering, Christ was moving in such great authority that Satan was brought down. Then Jesus said, “Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall injure you.” Luke 10:19. It is that authority which we must consider. When Christ sent out the disciples, He told them, “I have given you authority.” The King James Version reads, “I give unto you power.” In the spirit realm, muscles are measured by authority, not by power. In the name of Jesus, the weakest saint can rebuke a powerful demon and send him down to the pit. This is accomplished not by power, but by authority.
Satan has an ability to duplicate a great many things that the prophets of God have brought forth. This has been seen down through the years. Christ said that in the end time, false prophets and false Christs would arise and do such amazing things that if it were possible they would deceive the very elect (Matthew 24:24). Revelation 19:20 speaks about the amazing power of the beast and of the false prophet to bring forth miracles. What do we think about these things? The power of the devil should not intimidate us, because all authority is Christ’s. All authority is His—“over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall injure you.”
In the days of the early Church, there was much suffering, martyrdom, and persecution. No doubt there will be a measure of this as we approach the Kingdom. However, Christ is coming in His people, not to be crucified again. He is not to be ridiculed in them, either by their own defaming of Him through their way of life, or by others setting them at naught through mockery and persecution (Hebrews 6:6). As Christ comes forth in His people, He is to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe… II Thessalonians 1:10. This means that nothing shall injure us. We are striving to reach that place of immunity from assault.
Let us constantly move toward this potential for immunity that is growing in our lives day by day. We are coming to that place of promise where Satan will not be able to touch us. The assault comes against us, but the momentum has turned in our favor. We assault Satan’s kingdom more than he comes against us. We still get our lumps, but we are pressing in anyway, pushing in with all of our heart, all of our mind, and all of our strength. This effort is effective. Results are happening daily. When projects are started, God enables us to complete them, day by day, hour by hour.
One of the miracles of this hour is the way the Spirit of the Lord moves upon His people to provide finances and labor for His work. Without planning, promotion, or drives, people are led by the Spirit to do a great work for God. Because of this, we face warfare. The assault of the enemy is intense because authority is resting upon us. Even when the unworthy come into our midst, God reveals His authority and causes it to be manifested over all the power of the enemy.
Fear and religion go very much hand in hand. For this reason, deeply entrenched religious people, who are motivated by their fears, persecute the people of the Lord. They persecute out of the terror in their own heart. A true walk with God is so alive that outsiders fear it. What did the Pharisees say of Jesus? “This man will take away our place. We are finished if He can get His teaching through to the people.” They knew that what they had projected was only a sham.
If you want to actually see the extent to which fear is linked with religion, visit a mental institution and find out how many of the patients pray. Many of the people who have lost their minds pray and pray and pray; yet they still beat their heads against the wall in frustration. Fear is synonymous with their religion; they develop a religion that can conform to their fears. This should explain one valid reason why we should try to keep from becoming religious. We must be free. We must be objective. We must be spiritual. If we are not, we will do those things that others have done from self-condemnation, which is another form of fear. Out of such fear, people do strange things because they feel threatened and beaten down all the time.
There must not be any veiled enticement which threatens you or brings your fears to the surface so that they become the motivating force in your life. Your total motivation must be the love of God and your faith in God. Become dedicated to the Lord. Be determined to do the will of the Lord because you love Him. Strive for the impossible, and you will eventually walk in it.
When you are moving in recognized authority, God bestows a corresponding commission upon you. When that commission is given to you, it becomes a promise that God is giving you; and any promise of God is attainable. Since it is attainable, you are assured of His authority which enables you to fulfill the commission. Believe this! Move! Take steps into the Lord. Reach into something new. If God says, “Pray for the sick,” then pray for the sick. But did He actually say, “Pray for the sick”? In Luke 10:9 He said, “Heal the sick.” If God has given you that authority, then heal them.
Exalt Jesus Christ as Lord. There does not need to be an emphasis on divine healing as such, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, tongues, or the laying on of hands. Move in the gifts of the Spirit, but emphasize that Jesus is Lord. Exalt Jesus as Lord and let the signs follow. Heal the sick! Believe! Tackle what God sets before you!
When a man prays with real faith for a miracle and nothing happens, it is difficult to understand why. It seems as though God has not answered the prayer, when in reality the answer may yet be forthcoming. Let us be bold to believe that Jesus Christ can even raise our loved ones from the dead. We are in a time when things will move with the rapidity that is found in Isaiah’s prophecy: And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. Isaiah 65:24. The fulfillment of such promises will begin to spring forth speedily. The day has come to redeem the time. We are believing that even the divine processes God Himself used in the past will be so shortened that we can expect God to bring forth the Kingdom speedily with an intensive, explosive shaking. The Kingdom will come! This age will change rapidly. Believe it! Expose yourself to change.