爱华网Posted on December 20, 2010 by Patrick Djembe
The greatest and most glorious expression of church is the sooncoming Bride of Christ, New Jerusalem, kingdom age church. Themajor shift from the “church or man emphasis age church” to the“kingdom or God emphasis age church” is perhaps the most excitingevent since Pentecost The outpourings of the Spirit that broughtthe Pentecostal revival of a century ago and the renewal revival ofa decade ago have reset the stage. The ingredients are now in placefor the spiritual events that were planned and begun 2000 yearsago.
….I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whomthe whole family in heaven and earth is named, Eph 3:14-15
The Bride church of New Jerusalem as described in Revelation 21 isa clear picture of the purified holy church of the kingdom of Godage. The patterns and focus of the Bride church are heavenly. Thefocus of the “church age” church has been meeting the needs of manbeginning with his salvation or redemption from sin. The focus ofthe “kingdom age” church is the glory of God the Father, Son andHoly Spirit.
There are many aspects of the kingdom of God and all of the partsare necessary to make up the whole. There are two basic aspects toconsider, Heaven and Earth or God and man. The kingdom that Jesuspreached and taught is from heaven and for earth. His kingdom isnot from earth but it is for earth. It is the kingdom of heavencome to earth. Therefore there is a heavenly side and an earthlyside to the kingdom of God. The kingdom is of and from God; it isin and through man by the Holy Spirit.
Focus on the heavenly family.
The self nature of man has perverted the primary focus of the workof many churches and ministries in the past. Christian institutionshave catered to the needs and desires of man creating a primaryfocus first on self and secondly on earthly family. Certainly theprovision and well being of ourselves and our families is animportant aspect of the kingdom of God. Truly God’s desire is thatearthly families reflect an image of our heavenly or spiritualfamily. However, having made our self and our family or even ourchurch family the primary focus has robbed us of the reality of thefullness of our heavenly family.
A major principle of the kingdom is that seeking first (primarilyfocusing on) the kingdom of God causes all the other earthly thingsto be added in order. Focusing first on ourselves, and our naturalor church families can actually prevent the provision of the verythings we are seeking. First things must be first in thekingdom.
Mat 6:33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,and all these things shall be added to you.
Luke 18:29-30: So He said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, thereis no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife orchildren, for the sake of the kingdom of God, “who shall notreceive many times more in this present time, and in the age tocome eternal life.”
The first focus of selfish life is myself and just next to that ismine. My family, my friends, my stuff, my reputation, and so on.Catering to the desires of self in people is eroding the crumblinginstitutional church as individual lives corrupt and families fallapart. An intense focus on correcting the symptoms and fixing theproblems through training by psychological and intellectual methodsmay have provided some surface healing of the problems but hastotally failed to cure the problems and bring forth the kingdom ofGod lifestyle.
The kingdom of God church reality must be revealed in ourspirits.
The kingdom church is a spiritual reality. It is the FAMILY OF GOD.The FATHER and the SON from heaven on earth indwelling the manysons of the Body of Christ by the Holy Spirit.
Our first kingdom priority is our spiritual family relationshipwith FATHER who is above all and His only begotten SON who is Kingof earth and Heir to the throne of heaven with the many sons whoare joint heirs. Sons who are born spiritually by the Holy Spiritinto Christ are sons with Him. As they live and walk in the HolySpirit as mature sons they experience the fullness of the kingdomas heirs with Christ.
Rom 8:13-17: For if you live according to the flesh you will die;but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, youwill live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these aresons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again tofear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out,“Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spiritthat we are children of God, and if children, then heirs; heirs ofGod and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, thatwe may also be glorified together. (The Greek word translatedadoption above is: huiothesia:G5206 – sonship or the placing as ason)
One of the characteristics of a natural blood line family issomething called DNA. There is a spiritual equivalent to DNA.Birthed by the Spirit of God into Christ and receiving the Spiritof Christ, implants the family line spiritual DNA of God whichtransforms our spiritual DNA to the family blood line of God by theSpirit of adoption. By the Holy Spirit, the very life of Christcarrying the spiritual DNA of Father abides within true sons. Onlyby the Spirit can we relate to our spiritual family in heaven andearth.
The kingdom age order of church is “spiritual family”relationships.
Kingdom church gatherings are spiritual meetings of the HEAVENLYFAMILY IN THE HOLY SPIRIT. Not just natural family and not justchurch family – HEAVENLY FAMILY IN THE SPIRIT. Our gatherings inthe kingdom church age are a coming together with God our Fatherand Jesus our mediator and with holy angels and spirits of maturejust men (sons).
Heb 12:22-24: But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city ofthe living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable companyof angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn whoare registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spiritsof just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the newcovenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better thingsthan that of Abel.
In a gathering including God the judge of all and Jesus theMediator of the new covenant, who among you is willing to stand andtake charge of the meeting? We all will want to know the HolySpirit is moving in us and directing us before we speak. Every wordnot spoken by the Spirit is an idle word and is of no value in thekingdom family assembly. Also who is ready to resist and not moveor speak when and as the Spirit directs.
Heb 12:25-26: See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For ifthey did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much moreshall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks fromheaven, whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised,saying, “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but alsoheaven.”
People walking in the flesh who are by nature carnal minded cannotpossibly relate in heavenly family gatherings. They can relate tonatural family and man focused “church” gatherings but not tospiritual family gatherings. Religious institutions that arefocused on the natural can grow rapidly by feeding the needs ofcarnal Christians and by employing intellectual wisdom andpsychological adjustments toward lessening the symptoms and copingwith the problems generated by self focused living. These works cannever solve the deep problems generated by a lack of intimaterelationship with God through Jesus by the Holy Spirit. It is onlyby the Holy Spirit that the word can become alive and powerful inchanging lives and eventually the world.
This pattern is very different from most of our past experiences.This indeed is one of the major changes and parad igm shifts that wehave heard was coming and didn’t know what it was. Now it is comingclearly into view. It is one major step in regaining our destiny asa people of God and as a nation.
In America the destiny of God has again been delayed by anothergeneration that has been overtaken with self and religion. The HolySpirit is again seeking to bring forth a new generation of youngand old, rich and poor, male and female, and of every race who willregain the passion of the destiny of the kingdom of God from heavencoming forth in our nation and across the world. The shaking andcrumbling of life and religion as we have known them are just partof the great change God is bringing through Jesus in His maturingsons by the Holy Spirit. Yet once more God is reaching for a peopleof passion who will receive the kingdom of God.
Heb 12:27-13:1: Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal ofthose things that are being shaken, as of things that are made,that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, sincewe are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us havegrace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence andgodly fear. For our God is a consuming fire. Let brotherly lovecontinue.
Pursue Love, It Never Fails,
Ron McGatlin
