6 May 2013 by Donna CM –
Do we get mixed up that the Kingdom of God is one of flesh and blood? Elder Lian from The City SIB of Kuching made it clear that this is not what Jesus said when he was here on earth 2000 years ago.
Jesus said this,
‘My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.’” John 18:36
He continued, “I want to remind us of the Kingdom of God,” Elder Lian Paran impressed to the church, continuing his teaching about the Kingdom of God and the spirit realm at The City SIB, Kuching.
“The Kingdom is spiritual in nature, but it is real because God is spirit. God is in the third heaven; the second heaven is also spiritual,” he said.
Doesn’t mean we don’t see it, it isn’t real, he added. The invisible world is as real as the physical world. God used the spiritual to create the physical world.
Who are the servants of Jesus Christ? Who will fight for Him? Jesus said his servants would fight for Him. He quoted,
“Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?” Matthew 26:53
One legion is 6000 angels, twelve legions (6000 X12) is more than 72000 angels. Jesus has more than 72000 angels to fight, but not in the physical world.
The angels are very strong. Isaiah 37:36 tells that one angel can kill 185 000 men; what about 12 legions of angels? “He doesn’t need 72000 angels to kill the Roman Empire!” he said.
Surely the apostles knew about King David and King Solomon, but they find it difficult to understand because it cannot be seen, he said, telling that we know, we hear, and we feel things around us. Eighty percent contact to the physical world is with our eyes with 20 percent sense of taste and smell.
“The spiritual world is more real than the physical world. He came to establish the kingdom,” he said. It’s where the angels and demons are. It’s because God is spirit.
How to enter this Kingdom of God that we cannot see? John 3:1-8 tells about Jesus teaching Nicodemus. In verse 3, Jesus said to Nicodemus he must be born again. Jesus replied,
“Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” John 3:3
Jesus said to be born of the spirit, a new nature. Because we have the same nature as Adam, to be born again with a new nature is to have the same nature as Jesus Christ; holy and righteous. That’s how we can be released from the sinful nature.
“We cannot reform the sinful nature, it is rotten. We cannot do good things and change our nature,” Elder Lian said. Before, it was sinful, not righteous. When we are born in the spirit, we are born into a new nature.
He quoted Romans 8:9,
“You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.”
How can we do this? He then says,
“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” Romans 10: 9
“That is how we are saved. All you have to do is receive. Sins will be remitted, all sins are forgiven.”
He quoted,
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” 2 Corinthians 5:17
Old things become new – new nature, new creation. Paul is talking about our spirit. Our spirit is a new creation; there are no changes in our soul, mind, and physical body. Our spirit died and burned with Jesus. We are a new creation with the same nature as Jesus.
“For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Colossians 1:13
We have been redeemed. Redeemed means purchased. The blood purchased us from the devil, he said. The devil has no more right on us because the blood has redeemed us. Once Jesus shed His blood, all sins have been remitted.
“God has delivered us out from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of love and light,” he continued. That’s what happens to us when we are born again.
It should be real to us that we are in the Kingdom of God. God blessed us into the Kingdom of His Son. “If you are a child of God, you are in the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
“We should be more interested in the Kingdom of Jesus. The Kingdom of Jesus is spiritual and eternal. The Kingdom of God is available to every Christians all over the world. It is not bound by physical boundaries; it is borderless,” he added.
Where is it? Where is the Kingdom of God?
“Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.” Luke 17: 20-21
“It is not observation or sight. It is within you. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit. God is not in the outer court or inner court but in the Holy of Holies,” he said. It is not in the body or soul, but resides in the spirit. It is in your spirit from your heart. So serve from your heart."
Elder Lian Paran will be teaching about the spiritual realm at The City SIB, Kuching in many more sessions throughout the year. The ongoing lesson began earlier this year.
Dear Viewers in Christ, if you find this article edifying to you, please share with your friends or loved ones by using the social media plugs (Share, Email to this article). The Lord will surely bless you as you bless others. May the Lord’s peace and love be with you. Amen.
Leave a Reply