Previously Ashley Elias shared her experience about her accepting the LORD as her Savior and LORD and then about her decision to be baptized. The LORD told her she did not need to be perfect to be saved and that works would not earn her way to heaven. She reminded us,”You can come as you are!” After surrendering her heart to the LORD, she desired to obey Him when He said,”Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved….” Mark 16:16 (NIV) Ashley believed and then desired to be baptized because baptism is dying to yourself. “The old life is buried,” she said. You can follow Ashley’s example by being water baptized. Her testimony invites you to obey the LORD if you have accepted Him as your Savior.
Pastor Josiah then set the stage for his message with Matthew 4:17. “From that time Jesus
began to preach and to say,’Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” (NKJV)
Because Matthew was writing to the Jews, and they did not say God, Matthew used the term
“kingdom of heaven.” Jesus told His listeners to repent which means “a change of mind. To
change the way one thinks.” That means when you believe that Jesus is your Savior and
LORD, you change your mind about topics like money, power, hobbies, and careers. Also
Jesus is king, and we Christ followers are His ambassadors. The kingdom is the King’s
domain.
“For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred
us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption,
the forgiveness of sins.” Colossians 1:13 (NASB)
FC is a church on a hill, the light on the hill reflecting the Light of the world. The LORD has
established us FC as the kingdom of His Son.
“One day the Pharisees asked Jesus, ’When will the Kingdom of God
come?’
Jesus replied, ’The Kingdom of God can’t be detected by visible signs.
(By your speculations) You won’t be able to say, ’Here it is!’ or ‘It’s
over there!’ For the Kingdom of God is already among you.’”
Luke 17:20-21 (NLT)
Every time that a person makes a decision for the LORD to be master of her/his life the kingdom of God is pushing back the darkness. Every time that a person is healed the kingdom of God is pushing back the darkness. Every time you share what the LORD has done in your life (like Mary Dinnen shared at the LB event on Friday 3/15) the kingdom of God is pushing back the darkness.
Robert Heidlier in his book Experiencing The Spirit said, ”The Bible describes the Kingdom not in terms of territory, but in terms of will and rule. Where God’s will is done, there His kingdom is manifested.” His kingdom is manifested as the worship team leads us to His throne, as we pray corporately or individually, as we gather in connect classes or small groups, as Pastor Josiah shares the Word with us, and as Pastor Michel leads the children. “The kingdom is here and is coming. Jesus is here and is coming,” stated Pastor Josiah.
The kingdom of heaven was established as the Samaritan woman shared with her village folk
about the man who told her everything she had done. They begged Him to stay, and He
accepted their offer and remained in Sychar for two days. The kingdom of darkness was pushed back in Samaria.
After the two days in Samaria, Jesus returned to Galilee.
“He Himself had said that a prophet is not honored in his
own hometown. Yet the Galileans welcomed him, for they
had been at the Passover celebration and had seen everything
he did there.” John 4:44-45 (NLT)
He had turned the water into wine in Cana and had overturned the tables in the Temple courts. At this point they welcomed Him, but He had grown up in the area so they were familiar with Him as a child. “A chief enemy of honor is familiarity.” It was difficult for them to swallow that He was the Messiah. They acknowledged that He was a prophet, but…“Never let familiarity blind your spiritual eyes.”
”Can you offer high honor even to those whose faults you are aware of?” For example,
Pastor Erick Aguilar loves to have fun. However when he is worshiping or teaching the Word, he has an anointing. May we honor him and desire to know him as a person better. For 9400
Campo Road, may we honor the church and steward our church well. Some of the attendees
were part of the congregation that laid brick and installed drywall. Though they are very familiar with the property as are those of us who have attended since the 70’s, we must honor the gift the LORD has given us. Of course, we want to grow closer to the LORD each day, and yet we need to respect and bless Him. We need to both seek a closeness with Him and honor Him.
Jesus returned to Cana where he had turned water to wine, and a government official from a
nearby town came to see Jesus. The official had walked about twenty miles to see Jesus, and
he asked Jesus to go and heal his son.
“Jesus asked,’Will you never believe in me unless you see
miraculous signs and wonders?’
The official pleaded,’Lord, please come now before my little
boy dies.’” John 4:48-49 (NLT)
Jesus questioned the official so that He could pull out faith, for faith pleases Him. God is looking for faith; His love is not contingent on your reception of the miracles but to extract faith.
God can deal with our challenges to believe. He wants the best for us. “If I didn’t see another
miracle, it would not change a thing about what I believe about my God,” emphasized
Pastor Josiah.” We don’t chase signs and wonders.” Signs and wonders chase the believers.
“Our king is not dead. He was commissioned to destroy the devil.” The Paramount Point is
“We’re all armed with the most powerful kingdom.” In John 4, we see what happened to the
official’s son.
“While the man was on his way, some of his servants met him
with the news that his son was alive and well. He asked them when
the boy had begun to get better, and they replied, ’Yesterday afternoon
at one o’clock his fever suddenly disappeared.’
Then the father realized that that was the very time Jesus had told him,
‘Your son will live.’ And he and his entire household believed in Jesus.”
John 4:51-53 (NLT)
Jesus was moving the official toward faith, and Jesus did not even need to be there. The boy
was healed. The result was faith in Jesus!
In our own FC family miracles are happening. Vanessa Jarrell, Ed and Debby’s daughter in law, was diagnosed with a malignant mass and was scheduled for an operation. An army of prayer warriors sent up a chorus of intercession and prayers for her. At her next MRI the report returned as normal. She does not even need a follow up appointment. God is so good. “The question isn’t whether or not He can; the question is whether or not we can truly believe.” The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Draw near to Jesus.
“Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” May we be salt and light
in this troubled and dark world.
Written by
Larry & Annette Linthicum
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