The Correct Use of Kingdom Authority

As I started on this journey of thinking about the kingdom, it occurs to me that Jesus was our best example of what it means to live in the Kingdom. He lived out "Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." And as such, everywhere He went lives were changed. People received healing because there's no sickness in heaven. Demons were cast out because demons don't dwell in heaven.

And shouldn't we have the same authority? We'll get to some of my favorite stories later, but as we move through Luke, I noticed something I hadn't noticed before.... The correct use the kingdom authority.

Read Luke 4:1-22.

While this seems like two separate stories: Jesus' temptation and Jesus teaching at the temple. I submit to you that perhaps they are connected by the kingdom.

Notice that when Satan tempts Jesus he says, "If you are the Son of God..." Indeed, Satan is saying that because Jesus is the Son of God and his realm and reign is in heaven and has kingdom authority... turn the stones into bread; trade worship for the kingdoms of this world; jump off the temple to test God.

As I read this again, I thought, is what the devil wants the correct use of kingdom authority? Use your kingdom authority for personal needs? Use your kingdom authority to gain worldly authority? Use your kingdom authority to test God's presence with you?

Then in the next scene, Jesus teaches in the temple and reads the passage of Isaiah where it says,

"18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,

Because He has anointed Me

To preach the gospel to the poor;

He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,

To proclaim liberty to the captives

And recovery of sight to the blind,

To vset at liberty those who are oppressed;

19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

The New King James Version. 1982 (Lk 4:18-19). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

It's as if Jesus was making the point that the reason he had kingdom authority and the reason for the Spirit's presence with him was to bless others. That is the correct use of kingdom authority.

Something to ponder and pray about. Does this apply to us as Christians? I believe it does. But we have to change our whole understanding of what it means to live the Christian life and how much power and authority we have through the Holy Spirit dwelling in our lives.

=)

Pastor Arlen

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The message Jesus' preached when He was on the earth was the Kingdom.

Have you thought about the Kingdom lately?

John & The Kingdom

Luke 3

John the Baptist received the word of the Lord and then began preaching.

Are we so quick to obey the word of the Lord too?

More on the Kingdom

Recently, I've been impressed that we need to live our lives in the Kingdom of God. You can think of it as flowing with God's presence and power.

I was so blind to this earlier, but Jesus is our perfect example of this. And from His life, we can pick up principles on how to live in God's presence and power.

I feel so strongly about this that if this is all I ever preach or teach about from now for the rest of my life, I believe it will be well worth it.

Would you join me in studying the Life of Jesus and prayerfully gleaning lessons about living in the King's power and presence? Please leave me comments and posts on your insights.

I'm starting in the Book of Luke.

Testing from the Lord

In my personal devotions I've been reading the book of Hebrews and
reflecting once again on the life of Abraham. In particular, I've been
thinking about the testing that comes from the Lord.
Read Hebrews 12:5-9.
Just as God tested Abraham and walked with him as he developed his
faith, so too, he will test our faith. Discipline is a part if the
Father's love, but so is teaching and training.
Remember that the Lord will use both on your life as He grows your
faith.

Blessings,
Pastor Arlen

Bible Study Notes: Genesis 17

Remember last Chapter, Abram couldn't wait for God to fulfill His promises. Abram tried to help God out by sleeping with Hagar to have a surrogate child. Because of that action, God would be silent for the next thirteen years.

It should be noted that God's silence doesn't mean He is not working. We are to walk by faith, following God and doing what He's told us to do. And in those moments of seeming silence, God is developing our character and our faith.

Finally God breaks the silence and when he does, Abram responds in absolute submission and falls to his face in worship as he listens to the words of the Lord. (v1-3) It's interesting to note that in other instances when God spoke to Abram, his response was different. This time Abram responds in absolute submission and worship. We can therefore infer that Abram has been growing spiritually and maturing. This is why God chooses to speak to him and bring about the fulfillment of His promises at this time.

This fresh encounter with God begins with a fresh revelation of who God is... El Shaddai, God almighty. Look in our Blog archives for more on this significant name of God.

In changing Abram's name, God adds a fifth Hebrew letter to his name. Interestingly, five is the number in the Bible associated with grace. In the Bible, when a person's character changes significantly, God changes their name. Consider Jacob-Israel, Simon-Peter, Saul-Paul.

Circumcision would be a sign and token of the covenant God made with Abraham. But it would mean nothing if one doesn't know the meaning behind the practice.

An interesting study is on Ishmael. Although he received the sign of circumcision, he was not the child of the promise, nor would he ever show any signs of faith. Indeed he would be materially blessed, but never a spiritual man.

Study Notes: Genesis 16

In Chapter 15, God promised Abram that he would indeed have a son of his own, and God Himself made a covenant that He would keep His end of the deal. Having done that, God is silent for a little while and Abram continues to walk with the Lord.

Note in v1 that Sarai had a handmaid from Egypt. Remember the whole ordeal at Egypt? That episode in Abram and Sarai’s life continues to have consequences for them, just as our choices to trust God or ourself has consequences for us too.

Abram listened to his wife... sound a bit like Adam and Eve? It's not that women give bad advice, but when we look physically or culturally, we're likely to fall spiritually.

In our worship service, I spoke about cultural compromise. This is because sometimes we take advice or follow the directives of our culture rather than following what God says in the Bible. This is why it was “acceptable” for Abram to sleep with Hagar. Culturally it was an acceptable practice, but compared to the standards of the Bible, it doesn’t add up.

Verse 3's decision to give Hagar to Abram completely overlooks the primary reason God gave us marriage... companionship. This word from the Lord has the power to completely bless your marriage relationship. Don't gloss over it.

In v5 we see Sarai’s response when her plan doesn’t work as she thought it would. As the Bible says, out of the heart, the mouth speaks. Sarai’s true self is now coming out.

In v6 we see Sarai and Hagar each choosing to “do what comes naturally”. Sarai reacts to Hagar’s condescending glances and comments and Hagar flees from the negative situation. This whole chapter has been everyone doing what comes naturally rather than considering what the Lord would want them to do.

But before we give up all hope, consider how the Lord appears to Hagar in His grace and calls her back. This is the first instance in the Bible of “the angel of the Lord” appearing to someone. And He doesn’t appear to one of his people. He doesn’t appear when all is going well. He appears to Hagar at a time of brokeness and need. What a wonderful God who seeks and saves his lonely lost sheep.

Blessings!
Pastor Arlen

Learning to Walk the Path of God

Hi Gang,
We just started this new series on the Life of Abraham (aka Abram).
Abraham's life is packed with practical lessons that we all need to learn as we walk with God. To help you follow along with our weekly messages, I'm going to put up some study notes for you here on my blog.

This week we're studying Genesis 13. So here are the notes for you...

Genesis 13: Study Notes for your personal growth

The Story begins with Abram's return from Egypt. Sometimes we have to return to the Lord from a season of disobedience.

v2- Notice the wealth Abram had accumulated. But remember how he got his wealth in Genesis 12:10-16.

v3-4 Tell of Abram's return spiritually. He came back to a place or worship to repent and return to God. If only we would always have enough sense to do the same when we have strayed.

v7 Mentions that the Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land where Abram and Lot's men quarreled. While this detail may be unimportant, isn't it true that there are always non-believers watching how we Christians act? If we respond like Abram, with humility and understanding, the world will see Jesus working in our lives and we can use that opportunity to turn people to Him.

In verse 10, Lot makes his decision purely on what he sees. Remember another person who did the same? Eve looked at the forbidden fruit and saw it's pleasing nature. But there's more to a choice than what we can see. There's the spiritual impact of obeying God or following his leading. I believe Abram was humble and followed God well because he first "called upon the name of the Lord." Lot lived by sight and not by faith.

"The East" it would be interesting to study the word East in the Bible as a lot of evil come from the "East".

The end of this chapter is marked with God reiterating His promise to Abram and Abram worshipping God.

What has God been teaching us about how we learn to walk the path of God? Repentance and worship characterize this chapter and God seems to be pleased. Walking the path of God requires humility and patience. We cannot rush God, but if we humbly worship and obey, God will bring about his plan in his timing. Amen!

Hope this helps you in your daily walk with God!

=)
pastor arlen