Culture is so powerful that you actually become the
culture that you associate yourself with. Whatever group you become a
part of is what you will have the tendency to become. What
denominational or non-denominational, or even inter-denominational group
are you a part of? When you gave your life to Jesus did you join a
Baptist or Methodist Church, a Presbyterian or Assembly of God Church? Did
you become a part of a Pentecostal or Fundamental group? Whatever
religious group you aligned yourself with is what you became. Your
belief system is in large part impacted by how you learned God from the
group you joined yourself to. There is no escaping it. There is
nothing as powerful as culture. In large part who you are, the way you
think, how you act and what you do even spiritually, has been greatly
impacted by the dominate influences in your life. Are you COGIC,
PAW or Assemblies of God? Maybe you are Evangelical, Conservative or
Liberal. Whatever you are, in large part your theology is the result of
the religious culture to which you've aligned yourself and your theology
is the result of that culture. Your belief system and experiences
with God are directly impacted by your commitment to the group that
you've aligned yourself with. You may never consider yourself religious
but take a moment to reconsider. I know you will say "God led me
here" and you no doubt have probably had great experiences with God and
the people to whom you've aligned yourself while in pursuit of God and
spiritual growth. No one will ever be able to tell you that you don't
know God, and I totally agree. But here is the challenge. While
almost every group if they are truely Christian at all will lay hold to
the belief that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, He died on the cross for
our sins and whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have
everlasting life, we must realize that having a fundamental belief about
Jesus and having the experience of being Born Again does not me that we
have really comprehended what God wants us to understand the most.
Tragically we become what we believe God is looking for, maybe have even
ordained, but sadly many are discovering that they could not be further
from the truth. Let's talk about the Kingdom of God now. The
Kingdom is a country. It is not a religion, not even Christianity as
we've known it. The Kingdom is God's government here on earth among men.
The Kingdom is God's will, His dominion, authority and power that rules
over all who submit themselves to Him in all things. COGIC,
Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian...doesn't really matter which group,
the question becomes, "are we being who God called us to be and do we
really understand the difference between Kingdom and religion. Jesus
said, "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness...." He
did not say seek a religion, not even Christianity. Now I know that by
now you think that we are just talking semantics here. That in reality
Christianity is just a term that identifies you as a follower of Jesus.
Well here is the heart of the matter. To be a true follower of
Jesus on His terms is to be totally removed from the religious concepts
that man has manufactured in his limited understanding. So, now we come
to God's concept of the Church. If you will admit it even you have had
enough of religion or perhaps not. In any case everyone of us should
want what Jesus wanted for us and requires of us regardless to the joys
and/or sorrows we may experience within whatever religious group to
which we have aligned ourselves. Somebody say Kingdom! Jesus
brought you a Kingdom, a country, a territory. He brought you a
government to which you were to yield and with that government He came
with a message, a message we have never been trained to preach and
therefore what religion became the Kingdom is not. The Kingdom of
God is God's sovereign, royal rule, dominion, authority and the rule of
God in your life moment to moment, day to day. The Kingdom of God is
God's action, His control in the life of the follower of Jesus. The
Kingdom of God is His will expressed through those who submit themselves
to Him. If we will admit it we would not do half of the things we do in
the name of God if we were to truly do what God has called for. Religious
culture is not Kingdom culture. Jesus came against the religious system
of the day and yet since the 2nd half of the second century until now
man has only rebuilt the very religious system Jesus came to do away
with. We think religious, act religious, and the greatest evidence
of this fact is our unwillingness, or perhaps even inability to change,
even in the face of truth. The Pharisees knew that what Jesus was
saying was correct but it was easier for them to oppose His right to say
it than to repent and believe what He said. Jesus said that His
doctrine was not His own but the Father's. Our doctrines about Jesus are
our own in many respects, but not the Father's. We have developed
an unhealthy mix of mysticism, old testament realities and in so many
ways outright Catholic practices that even God I believe is no longer
winking at our foolishness but is command all men (religious mankind) to
repent. Jesus came with a Kingdom not a religion. Today's
Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers we want to believe
mean well, but in this hour everyone of us that name the name of the
Lord are going to have to rethink and repent of what we've become and
purpose to be like a child in matters concerning the King and the
Kingdom of God if we ever have hope of truly living according to God's
plan and purpose according to the scriptures. Study the Kingdom of
God. Study God's Word again with new eyes. Just go to the Father like a
child and ask Him to teach you the Kingdom. Religion taught you about
Jesus and used scripture to do it. Let the Holy Spirit teach you the
Kingdom. You see God is not obligated to tell you what you don't want to
know. Let the power of the Holy Spirit transform you from being a
religious servant to being the son/daughter He has called you to be.
You are a nation of Kings and Priests. You are a royal priesthood, a
holy nation, citizens of the Kingdom who are called to represent God's
government to the nations of the world as a witness. Rethink your
purpose, rediscover your divine destiny, by rediscovering the Kingdom
the devil almost successfully hid from the Church. Yes its going
to be a struggle. You are in the fight of your life. The battleground is
your mind and the devil is putting up stiff opposition. He knows that
if you ever understand the Kingdom of God on God's terms, then the enemy
will have been rendered powerless to manipulate you again, especially
not through religion. Study these words and don't operate in self
deception. Don't make pretend you know these truths if you haven't taken
the time to study them on God's terms. Apply yourself to this study.
Search these words from the scriptures. Seek (Matt. 6:33) First (Micah 4:8) Kingdom (Matt. 3-24) Dominion (Genesis 1:26-28; Daniel 2-7) Rule Reign (1 Peter 2:9) Authority (Matt. 28; Luke 10) Royal (James 2:8) Law Commandment Government (Isaiah 9) Righteousness (Rom. 14:17) Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9) King These
words when studied in the context of the verses that contain them, will
suddenly open up to you a whole new understanding of what Jesus came to
do in the earth. You may even identify words and verses not identified
here. Go for it! God's Holy Spirit is waiting to lead you and guide you
into all truth. When a government comes to take over a people in a
territory the first thing that invading governmment will do is strip
you of your old identity and culture and will then seek to work within
you a new culture and identity. The Kingdom of God is not a
democracy. It is not a government of individual thoughts and ideas. The
Kingdom of God is the manifestation of God's thoughts, His ideas
expressed throughout history as to His plan and purpose for man. When
God issues a commandment it becomes law. You may have free will but
your will is to be freely expressed in choosing God's ways over your
own. So do this fascinating word stiudy and approach it as a child. If
you approach this study academically you are going to miss the whole
point. When Jesus said seek first the Kingdom of God He didn't want you
to throw your brain away...however, you cannot successfully seek first
the Kingdom of God on Jesus terms unless you do it as a child. Have
great fun with your study. You will be amazed at the life transformation
that takes place. Friend, the religion we became is not the
citizen He (God) has called us to become. Its going to take some serious
effort to undo what the slave master of religion has done but God is
faithful. You prayed for direction. You asked God to give you
understanding. You praised and worshipped God and fasted and even shut
in wanting to get into the presence of God and know Him the way He wants
to be known. Don't miss your visitation bound by self-deception.
Now is the time to press into the revelation of the Kingdom. Its been
here for more than 2,000 years. Jesus did not bring you a religion, not
even Christianity. Jesus brought to you a Kingdom, a government and
restored to you your personal dominion. Read the Bible for yourself.
Don't side with those bound by religion. Many times your worse
instructors are the professors and their commentaries. Get to know Jesus
again. God took the greatest message in the world and made it so that
you would have to learn from the greatest messenger in the world, Jesus.
So allow the Holy Spirit to give you understanding in these matters.
Kingdom First! Dr. Leonard N. Robinson, Kingdom Vision Ministries International, 267-357-9816
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