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“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.” Luke
17:20,21.
“Man
shall not live by bread alone, but by every word
that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”
Matthew 4:4.
Christ
Defines the Kingdom of Heaven
We
enter into the kingdom by entering into full
surrender to Christ. Christ defines the
kingdom by His person and presence. Man
does not define the kingdom of God,
as the Jesuits have sought to do.
The Great King of His
Kingdom
“I
am a great King, saith the LORD of hosts, and my
name is dreadful among the heathen.” Malachi
1:14.
The
kingdom involves necessarily at its center, a
King. The King at the heart of the kingdom of God
is none other than God Himself. “For the
LORD is a great God, and a great King above all
gods.” Psalm 95:3. This God is, on the sure
Word of the Lord, a Godhead. God is the
Father, Whose work is to reveal the awesome
transcendence, glory, might and power of the
Godhead; God the Son, Who, omnipotent, and
omniscient Himself, and possessing the fullness
of the Godhead bodily, in awesome glory and
splendor, has as His work in the Godhead to
reveal the character of God on a close, personal
basis to the creature; and God the Holy Spirit,
the Spirit of full liberty and truth, Who is
everywhere present, and has the work of
impressing upon the hearts of the creatures the
revelation of God.
Space for the
Soul
As one
truly surrenders his heart, soul, will, mind and
strength to Christ, he experiences the incredible
freedom and space that Christ, the Author of
freedom gives. Many today are snapping because
they feel that they have no space for their
soul. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there
is liberty, infinite liberty, and infinite space.
Modern Man’s
Elimination of Space for the Soul
Modern
man, in his autonomy from God, lost this freedom,
and descended into the realm of mechanistic
determinism, the philosophical concept where man
is seen as locked in by cause and effect, a
concept which paved the way for the rise of
pantheism, Marxism, with its historical
determinism, and the appearance of Buddhism, with
its concepts of karma, in the Western world. When
people feel closed in, locked in, they get
desperate, and commit desperate acts.
Post-modern
Culture Rejects the Very Idea That There Can Be a
Worldview; A Generation Retreats Into Delusion
and Irrational Activism
Postmodernism
is the nihilistic attempt of the new generation
to rebel, and completely reject the idea that
there can even be a rational worldview.
It is a revival of the Age of Irrational Activism
with fury, concepts that unleashed Nazism in
Germany in the 1930s, with many additional
demonic, spiritualistic features. A generation is
retreating into an unreal world of imagination
and delusion, a world of utter irrational
activism, in which, by the assertion of the will
they hope to attain freedom, even if it means
death.
Gothic Culture
Erupting Into Terrible Violence
Hence
we see the rise of such movements among the youth
as the demonic Gothic movement, with its black
clothes, heavy chains, and leather fighting
gloves, and glaring, hostile eyes. At times these
things erupt into terrible, open sadistic
violence, as at Columbine and Virginia Tech.
Entering the
Realm of God’s Freedom Through the Strait
Gate of Self-surrender
But
the person who surrenders himself fully to Christ,
enters through the strait gate into a glorious
realm of God’s freedom, a world of
omnipotent power made available to his will in
doing God’s will. “When the human will
co-operates with the will of God, it becomes
omnipotent…” YI 6-24-97. “As the
will of man co-operates with the will of God, it
becomes omnipotent. Whatever is to be done at His
command may be accomplished in His strength. All
His biddings are enabling.” COL 333. The
possession of omnipotent power in Christ, the
Author of freedom, means freedom for the soul,
true freedom, space for the soul to live,
breathes, and maneuver.
Christ Is the
I AM, Reality
For
the true disciple of Christ, Christ is Reality.
Christ is Who He claimed to be-the great I AM,
the One Who in His glorious divine person is the
truth. (John 14:6), is Reality himself.
Therefore, the person who is a member of Christ’s
kingdom has a basis for freedom in all his
relationships with other people, for now all
of life passes through the Mediator, who, in
His awesome Person and power, buffers all
relationships.
Infinite Value
in Deep Prayer
We
must now revive deep prayer. We live in a society
that does not see value in prayer, but for a
member of Christ’s kingdom there is infinite
value in prayer to the great King. Deep
prayer becomes absolutely fascinating. For it
unleashes infinite power, it opens to us the
world of God Himself, the most fascinating Being
in the universe.
Prayer >
Faith > Key That Unlocks the Divine Treasury
“The
summing up of the benefit of prayer is that
devotion that leads to faith in God’s
promises. This faith is the key that
opens the divine treasury, is the hand by
which we appropriate to our use the
richest gifts of God. The prayer of the
contrite heart unlocks the treasure house of
supplies, and lays hold of omnipotent power. This
kind of prayer enables the suppliant to understand
what it means to lay hold of the strength of God,
and to make peace with Him. This kind of
prayer causes us to have an influence over those
with whom we associate. The prayer of faith is
not listless, dry, and uninteresting. It
wells up from perfect trust and assurance, and by
its fervor makes manifest to the world, to angles,
and to men, that you believe in God, and have
made Christ your personal Savior. The Lord
Jehovah accepts the argument that is presented in
the name of his Son, and places the
resources of his merit at your command.” ST
6-18-96.
God Entrusted
The Operation of the Weather to the Word of
Elijah
At one
time, in the time of Elijah, God even entrusted
the power of the weather, the power of giving
rain and dew to the world, to the word of a man
of faith and prayer, Elijah. “And Elijah the
Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead,
said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth,
before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor
rain these years, but according to my
word.” 1 Kings 17:1. “His word
locked the treasures of heaven, the dew and rain,
from the earth three years. His word alone
was the key to unlock heaven and bring showers of
rain.” 3T 287, 288. “Elijah had locked
heaven with his word and had taken the
key with him, and he could not be found.” 3T
286.
Sermon on the
Mount Gives a Right Conception of Christ’s
Kingdom
In the
Sermon on the Mount Jesus opened to the people who
belong to the kingdom of heaven. “In the
Sermon of the Mount He sought to undo the work
that had been wrought by false education, and to give
His hearers a right conception of His kingdom and
of His own character. He told them the
conditions of entrance therein, leaving
them to draw their own conclusions as to its
nature. The truths He taught are no less
important to us than to the multitude that
followed Him. We no less than they need to
learn the foundation principles of the kingdom of
God.” DA 299.
Conditions of
Entrance Into the Kingdom: Blessed are the
Beggars in Spirit
“Blessed
are the poor [beggars, in Greek] in spirit:
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 5:3. Only those who feel their need of
Christ, who realize that all they have done has
been contaminated with self and sin, only those
who realize that they have nothing to commend
themselves to God, and need the help that
Christ can give – only these are members
of the kingdom. Thus the very first step in the
kingdom is the renunciation of all dependence
upon self, the stripping away of all self-sufficiency,
and the whole-hearted acceptance of Christ.
Only
Those Stripped of All Self-sufficiency Can
Receive the Gift God is Waiting to Bestow
The
Lord can do nothing toward the recovery of man
until, convinced of his own weakness, and stripped
of all self-sufficiency, he yields
himself to the control of God. Then he
can receive the gift that God is waiting to
bestow. From the soul that feels his need,
nothing is withheld. He has unrestricted access
to Him in whom all fullness dwells.” DA 300.
Christianity a
Disturbing Element to Those Who Refuse His
Infinite Love
“Blessed
are they which are persecuted for righteousness’
sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 5:10. “The world loves sin, and
hates righteousness, and this was the cause of
its hostility to Jesus. All who refuse His
infinite love will find Christianity a disturbing
element. The light of Christ sweeps away the
darkness that covers their sins, and the need of
reform is made manifest. While those who yield to
the influence of the Holy Spirit begin war with
themselves, those who cling to sin war against
the truth and its representatives.
“Thus
strife is created, and Christ’s followers
are accused as troublers of the people.
But it is fellowship with God that brings
them the world’s enmity. They are
treading the path that has been trodden by the
noblest of the earth.” DA 306.
Radical
Self-surrender: Everything Must Be Forsaken to
Enter the Kingdom
Everything
must be forsaken to Enter the Kingdom of God and
Be a Disciple
Everything
and everyone must be forsaken to enter the
kingdom: “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, Who
shall not receive manifold more in this present
time, and in the world to come life everlasting.”
Luke 18: 29,30.
“So
likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh
not all that he hath, he cannot be my
disciple.” Luke 14:33.
Even
the Most Precious Thing That Prevents Absolute
Self-surrender to Christ Must Be Plucked Up and
Cast Away
“And
if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is
better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God
with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast
into hell fire.” Mark 19:41. The kingdom of
God requires the giving up of everything
that prevents absolute self-surrender, even if it
were as precious as one’s eye.
Self-surrender
is the Substance of the Teaching of Christ
Those
who trust in riches instead of God cannot enter
the kingdom of God: “How hardly shall they
that have riches enter the kingdom of God!”
Luke 18:24. Jesus made this comment after the
rich young ruler turned away after Jesus told him
“sell all that thou hast, and distribute
unto the poor, and come, follow me.” Luke 18:22.
Ellen G. White, under the Inspiration of the Holy
Spirit, comments:
“Self-
surrender is the substance of the teachings of
Christ. Often it is presented and
enjoined in language that seems authoritative,
because there is no other way to save man than
to cut away those things which, if entertained,
will demoralize the whole being. YI 5-27-97.
How
the Kingdom of God Takes Root in the Soul and
Grows
Jesus
described how the kingdom of God takes root and
grows in the soul, using the parable:
“And
his disciples asked him, saying, what might this
parable be? And he said, unto you it is given to
know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to
others in parables; that seeing they might not
see, and hearing they might not understand.
“Now
the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
Those by the way side are they that hear; that
cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of
their hearts, lest they should believe and be
saved. They on the rock are they, which,
when they hear, receive the word with joy, and
these have no root, which for a while they
believe, and in time of temptation fall away. And
that which fell among the thorns are they, which,
when they have heard, go forth, and are choked
with cares and riches and pleasures of this life,
and bring no fruit to perfection. But that on the
good ground are they, which in an honest and good
heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring
forth fruit with patience.” Luke 8:9-15.
The
Kingdom of God is Like a Grain of Mustard Seed
“Then
he said, unto what is the kingdom of God like?
And whereunto shall I resemble it? 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.” Luke 13:18,19.
The
Kingdom of Heaven Works Like Leaven
And
again he said, whereunto shall I liken the
kingdom of God? It is like leaven, which a woman
took and hid in three measures of meal, till the
whole was leavened.” Luke 13:20,21.
The
kingdom of God must be received like a little
child. “Whosoever shall not receive the
kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise
enter therein.” Luke 18:17.
Being
a Member of the Kingdom is Not an On-again, Off-again
Matter
A
person who puts his hand to the plow and looks
back is not fit for the kingdom of God: “And
Jesus said unto him, no man, having put his hand
to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the
kingdom of God. Luke 9:62.
Notice how many people in
our culture today have never planted a seed, used
leaven, or guided a plow by hand. Today’s
generation is almost totally confined to the
computer, movies, and video games, thus removing
them far from the descriptive world of the
kingdom that Jesus gave. How important country
living is to understand the kingdom of God!
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