* Kingdom Adjustment

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  

Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.  

Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.  

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.  Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.  

Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.  

Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.  

Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: 

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  

Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, 

and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.  

Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: 

for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.  

Matthew 5:3-12

Jesus tells us expressly about the necessity of love. 

Master, which is the great commandment in the law?  Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.  This is the first and great commandment.  Matthew 22:36-38

And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.  Mark 12:30 

And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.  Luke 10:27

It is spoken of throughout the New Testament.  The Sermon on the Mount begins by attitudes and characteristics that are grounded in love. 

The very essence of God’s nature is love.  A review of 1 Corinthians 13 lets us know that everything we do in our service to God is hinged on love:

And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.  1 Corinthians 13:13

This love is all inclusive – love for God, our self and our fellow man.  When our love is rightly applied, we have a desire to not only do that which pleases Him, but to feel and see as God feels and sees.  The Kingdom of God is a pure place where iniquity does not abide.  Therefore, we cannot reside in God’s kingdom if we don’t possess the characteristics born of love.  Without love for God, our self and others we would see a kingdom filled with individuals such as these:

*                    Instead of being poor in spirit humbled before the presence of God because they realize their insignificance without Him, they are self-satisfied and fully content that they are good right where they are.  

*                    Instead of being in sorrow and broken-hearted for the plight of mankind being blinded by the prince of this world, they are ‘partygoers’, not even recognizing or caring that soon the party will be over.  

*                    Instead of being meek; those who are mild, patient and longsuffering, they are forceful and yet they will end up with nothing.

*                  Instead of hungering and thirsting after righteousness, they hunger and thirst for things of the world not recognizing they will never find fulfillment.

*                    Instead of being merciful, they are merciless, having no concern for others. 

*                    Instead of being pure in heart; their hearts are overcome with darkness being unable to see the goodness of God

*                    Instead of being persecuted and slandered for righteousness, they are the troublemakers.     (author unknown)

A kingdom infected with iniquity!  Instead of embodying a place created by a loving God we would instead have all the characteristics of the prince of darkness.  Because God abhors iniquity none of the above individuals would be allowed to be a citizen of the kingdom of God.

God, in his omniscience; knowing the state of mankind, gave us a wonderful gift, his Holy Spirit, to enable us to assume His characteristics. 

His characteristics, known as the fruit of the spirit, are indicated in Galatians.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.  Galatians 5:22-23

When we ingest this fruit; his fruit, there is no room for the work of iniquity to have rule in our lives.  With the fruit of the spirit, we are able to reside in the kingdom of God according to His will. 

As mentioned, love is the very essence of the nature of God and it is the first attribute listed in the fruit of the spirit.

Jesus let the disciples know that they would be known by their demonstration of love one toward another.

By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.  John 13:35  

The word of God also lets us know that within the body we are to esteem others higher than ourselves . . .

Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;  Romans 12:10  

In a world full of ungodliness with selfish motives, with characteristics that are driven by self-gain, our Godly characteristics must shine brightly into all areas of darkness.  This can only be done in and through love.

The enemy of God; Satan, has blinded the world through his deceit and lies and caused many to live a life of delusion.

In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.  2 Corinthians 2:4  

But to those of us who have by the grace of God been called out of the darkness and have had our eyes opened, we are called to be a peculiar people; meaning that the attributes that characterize the world cannot be found in us. 

Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.  Galatians 5:20-21  

These characteristics cannot inherit the Kingdom of God as they do not embody the standard of holiness required by God.

To live by kingdom principles means that we denounce the standards of this world for the standard set by God.  We love what God loves and we hate what God hates.  I am reminded of the wilderness experience of the children of Israel when God let them know of how they were to live and the reason why.

And ye shall not walk in the manners of the nation, which I cast out before you: for they committed all these things, and therefore I abhorred them.  Leviticus 20:23

There is a distinct difference in the lives of those that have separated themselves from the world.  The world has to see the difference and they have to know the reason why.  There are many people with good morals according to the standards of this world and that is good but worldly standards, though some may be good is not enough and do not justify kingdom living.  Worldly standards change with time while God’s standards are forever set and are not swayed or motivated by man.  We can see now, even in the times that we are now living that what was once considered wrong or immoral according to worldly standards has now shifted and are no longer considered wrong, i.e., homosexuality.  It is only godly characteristics that stand the test of time. 

God tells us explicitly those things that are an abomination to him. 

These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:  A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,  A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.  Proverbs 6:16-19  

A person who is not filled with the fruit of the spirit is subject to commit any one or all of the seven abominations listed above.  Godly character can only be built through the spirit of God.  Apostle Paul tells us that the living and lifestyle that we adhered to prior to accepting Jesus should no longer be our lifestyle.

Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:  Ephesians 2:2   

Once we accept Jesus, we are to walk in His spirit there by avoiding the lust of the flesh.

This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. Galatians 5:16  

Because we are called to be the light in a dark world, the salt that flavors, I believe the most important and valid reason for kingdom principles is just that;  it allows our light to shine in a darkened world.  It shows us as being in the image and likeness of the very God who created us!   

(Bible Study)

11/20/19

05/14/20