Friday, May 30, 2008

Your Kingdom Come On Earth as it is in Heaven

7:41 AM by Christi Bowman

I was sitting in my room the other night, reading my Bible, and the concept of God's Kingdom on earth just got downloaded into my brain. I am going to try my best to describe it. I need to. I won't do it justice. This realization, made the physical world around me disappear. The spiritual realm became very obvious to me...very real. I could see them clearly...the two kingdoms. One kingdom was very dark, and the other kingdom was full of light. They are both operating, alive and well, in the visible world we live in, touch, smell, and see. Both of these kingdoms are fighting, to the death, for us. Having to choose only one Kingdom became very obvious to me, as they are diabolically opposed to each other.

If you don't choose to SELL OUT to God's Kingdom, by default, you choose satan's. If we are making OUR life OUR priority on this earth, no matter how good of people we are, we are subscribing to satan's kingdom. Satan's kingdom is neatly packaged, here in America, to the naked eye. If you go to Africa, you will see that satan doesn't package it up so nicely there. You can not see satan's kingdom for what it is, anywhere, unless God opens your eyes to it. Take a chance, what have you got to lose? Ask God to open your eyes. It doesn't happen over night...but it will happen. God wants to open your eyes. He will take you on a journey...and slowly show you things, when you are ready, that blow your mind; things that you can barely use the words, you know, to talk about. Yet you know them just the same.

For the first time in my life I now see Christ's death and resurrection as a reason to celebrate. Next time I see a picture of Christ on the cross I want to whoop it up...or next time I take communion...I want to dance. This is serious stuff!!! Before Jesus died, we were ALL hopeless. We were all slaves to this dangerously real very dark kingdom that shrouds itself in the tangible. Before Christ died, because of sin, we had no choice. We were separated from our creator, with no way to make it back to Him on our own. Permanent separation from our creator...Almighty God...ruled by satan...IS hell. He hates us, and is only offering us "good" things now to keep us numb to Christ...while we still have a choice. These things satan offers to us...are NOT good. They make us crazy. When there is no longer choice, satan won't have to hide his kingdom, in things, to entice us. Once satan has his people, his hate for man will be made evident, and all the beauty satan has used to deceive, will melt away into an evil hating disgust for mankind that will punish the people who have unwittingly chosen satan's kingdom, for eternity. Ignorance is NOT bliss!

Now because of Christ's death we have a choice. Though born into satan's kingdom, we no longer have to be subjects to it. We can pursue MORE than the tangible. It doesn't matter anymore if we measure up, by the worlds standard, to ANYTHING. We can CHOOSE life...FREEDOM from what other people think...whoever they are...but we have to choose it. Because we have a choice satan has had to package his kingdom up nicely...that is why the American dream is so enticing...that is why it makes us feel happy for a time...IT IS A LIE. In reality, it is a part of satan's kingdom. He wants your life. This dark kingdom wants to suck you in, and numb you, so that you blindly and tirelessly use up all your time and energy pursuing it instead of the only thing that matters...Christ.

Satan's hope is that you NEVER find God, NEVER give God a second glance, NEVER even consider God as a valid option for your life. If satan fails in that, and you do realize your need for God, satan will do his best to see to it, that you NEVER experience GOD. Satan will use and pervert ANYTHING to keep you from experiencing God. Even things that God originally meant for good...like church. KNOW that if you choose making yourself happy in this world, you have chosen death. If you are a Christian, choosing your own happiness...you are running after death. Satan doesn't want you to experience God, because once you do, all you can think about is bringing people to Him, and that is dangerous to satan's reign. But, going after people, that is the only thing that makes your life here count...the only thing that makes it meaningful. The Bible is MOST harsh to people who try and play it safe. There are NO safe places on this earth. "Die or be killed" says Andrew Shearman.

God's Kingdom, the Kingdom of light, is NOT a place we enter into upon death. It is NOW...it is fighting for you NOW...It wants you to realize it NOW...and live in it NOW. If you choose it, you have to be willing to give up everything you are living for...even your very self. God PROMISES that if you loose ANYTHING because of Him, you will get it ALL back (Matt 19:29-30). That is what makes this life here on earth all smoke and mirrors. Satan, and his kingdom of this world, can not take a thing from you. It may seem like he does, as you suffer here...but God says, in His word, that you will get it all back.

anyone who sacrifices home, family, fields, whatever, because of me will get it all back a hundred times over, not to mention the considerable bonus of eternal life. This is the Great Reversal: many of the first ending up last, and the last first."

I firmly believe that as I seek after God, and work to bring His kingdom out from invisibility, if satan takes anything from me, God WILL restore it. God is not calling me to "enjoy" my life here the way others do...but what is that...70 years? That is NOTHING compared to eternity. We have to stop living for THIS 70 years. We have to STOP focusing on OUR now...that is NOT the point to our life here. God created this world. Because of sin it has fallen...but life goes on...under it's fallen king...satan. The goal of our life now, as we know it, is to FIGHT for EVERY human being born into this fallen world...to bring Christ's invisible kingdom, into visibility. Without the Holy Spirit this is IMPOSSIBLE. The Holy Spirit empowers you. He brings God's invisible Kingdom into visibility for you, just as He did for me. Ask Him to do this for you. He wants to. And once you see it...really see it in all of its Kingdom glory...you will believe it, and subscribe to it with every ounce of being that is within you...and once you do this, you get all the power that is behind it. GOD'S power to do the unimaginable is TRULY within our grasp. We MUST believe this.

I am becoming SO passionate about this. We Christians who are numb, who are living for ourselves...we can't share our faith...we have been lied to. We ARE being lied to. We have nothing real to offer anyone. It is not about us, it is not about our families...it is ONLY about the kingdom of God. We are at war...and if we aren't living like it...we are buying into the lie. We are buying into the wrong kingdom...and it only brings death...death to our mind...eternal death to others. We are responsible for bringing Christ to this world...and if we don't do that, no matter what we have, no matter what we own...we have nothing. Our life span here is truly like a blade of grass...God has opened my eyes to that. The only way we make it count is by giving it away. He offers us eternal life. We are spiritual beings...we will live on...or experience death forever. Why are we so willful...so desperate to hang on to maybe...if we are lucky...70 years? Let it go. Give your life away...really give it away to God. Don't try to hang on to a piece of it...NOT EVEN A PIECE...and I promise you He will empower you, and fulfill you in ways you have never even dared to dream about.

For More About Kingdom Thinking go here: Kingdom Reality

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