In the spiritual realm there are two forces at work. The spiritual realm directly affects our physical realm. The two forces are the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of satan. We are either part of God's Kingdom by surrender, repenting, and choice (accepting Jesus as Savior) or by choice not to accept (rejecting Jesus) and/or without His knowledge defaulted to the kingdom of satan. If one rejects Jesus Christ, then one belongs to satan whether he/she agrees or disagrees. This world is currently governed by satan and he is described as the god of this world.
Satan is the god of this world because he had deceived Adam and Eve and when they had fell, all that were under Adam's authority fell and belonged to Satan. If a country is able to conquer another country whether violently or by means of surrender, then all the resources of the conquered country and all its people would belong to the conquering country. If one king or figure of authority surrenders to another king, then by default, all the people of the conquered country is subjected to the ruling and conquering country whether they agree or disagree. All resources, money, manufacturing, livestock, commodities, and people would belong to the conqueror. This is why many country have gone to war. Empires would invade other countries to steal their resources.
When satan had deceived Adam/Eve, both were figures of authority. Both were two realms or terriorities. Countries in our physical realm all need to eat and if they do not have the natural resources, then throughout history many would go to war to survive. Satan had rebelled against God and was thrown out from heaven. Satan was thrown to hell. He is now the king of hell. But Satan and his demons are beings that need to eat.
God told the serpent after he had deceived Adam, "You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life."
The serpent or devil also eats but his food is now dust. What is made from dust? Man is made from dust. The decaying man from his sin would be the food for the devil. The demons feed on our anger, hate, jealousy, lust, addictions, idols, and many more other earthly unspiritual matters of sin. Moreover, they hated God and they hated HIS children. When satan deceived Adam and Eve, he had now conquered the earth and all that belonged to Adam and Eve. All the children of men would now be born in sin. They were by default slaves of a new king, satan. We were now conquered to be satan's slaves and his food. When the sinner dies, the sinner would go to hell and be the food supply for the demons and be the subject of their tortured victims. Just as men raise livestock for food supply, men were now subjected to satan's kingdom to be slaves and food. In physical war, the conquering country would make slaves and torture their victims for fun or for various reasons.
When Jesus had come to the earth, God had physically invaded the earth to liberate HIS people. The Kingdom of God had come upon us. But the people of the earth belonged to satan and they were citizens of this demonic world. They acted like the devil. They were sinners. They were liars, thieves, adulterers, idolaters, cheaters, impure, and much more. God was and is willing to forgive their rebellion through their surrender to HIM, repentance, and acceptance of Jesus Christ but we have to willingly change through His Grace and become citizens of heaven. To become citizens of heaven, we must go through the sanctification process after being saved. We must pick up our own crosses and die to ourselves. We cannot continue to live as we did before we were saved and think we will just stride into God's Heaven when we possess the rebellious characteristics of the devil. We cannot live like the world and do what the world does. What does the world do? The world divorces, cheats, aborts their babies, lusts, drinks, smokes, do drugs, tattoos abusing their bodies, spends more time knowing about their sports team than King Jesus, does not read the bible, takes each other to court, slanders their secular and spiritual leaders, gossip, curse one another, defiles the Lord's Day by breaking the 4th commandment, steals by not tithing and offering to God, and denies the Holy Spirit. Yes, the Lord will forgive us of these things when we repent and turn from our wicked ways but it does not mean one can continue after salvation and after repentance. We must seek Holy lives. The citizens of heaven are peace makers. We are to strive to live in peace with all men. To live in peace is to manifest the Kingdom of God around us.
We hear and know that our God is a God of order but many Christians fail to realize the deeper meaning of this statement. If our God is a God of order, it would mean satan is the king of disorder. There are two realms at work and how we choose to react within our realm determines the presence and atmosphere we allow within and around us. Our choice and reaction determines which kingdom will rule or become present in our lives. We may have verbally given our lives to Jesus but as the book of James states without works, our faith is dead. Are we working for our salvation? Of course not, our salvation is based on His Grace alone. But the works or what we practice is determining or defining which kingdom we belong too. If we belong to the Kingdom of God, then we should be practicing righteousness (obedience). If we belong to the kingdom of satan, then such people will practice wickedness (disobedience).
Psalm 119:34 Give me understanding and I will obey your instructions; I will put them into practice with all my heart.
Luke 11:28 Jesus replied, “But even more blessed are all who hear the word of God and put it into practice.”
Philippians 4:9 Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.
Ephesians 4:19 They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity.
1 John 3:9 Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God.
Our God is a God of order, harmony, balance, peace, and love. Where there is order, harmony, balance, peace, and love, we will find manifestations of God. But where there is disorder, confusion, anger, hate, jealousy, and such we will not find the presence of God but the presence of evil and demons. For example, an angry person can walk into a room and such a person can change the atmosphere of the room. The people inside will sense the imbalance and disorder of the atmosphere. The angry person has brought the kingdom of satan with him as he/she walks into the room with anger spirits. A Christian who is carnal can bring and manifest the kingdom of satan as he/she gives into their carnal nature. This is why a Christian can continue to spiritually struggle as they give into the kingdom of satan through their disobedience and flesh. Within time, such a person who refuses to die to themselves will have given themselves back to the god of this world.
Luke 13:22-24 Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he went, always pressing on toward Jerusalem. 23 Someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few be saved?” He replied, 24 “Work hard to enter the narrow door to God’s Kingdom, for many will try to enter but will fail.
Luke 14:27-30 And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple. 28 “But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it? 29 Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you. 30 They would say, ‘There’s the person who started that building and couldn’t afford to finish it!’
Receiving the message of the gospel can be very easy to people. We are saved by Grace and we did not have to do a thing to receive salvation. But to live it and finish the race is another matter. We must endure to the end for scripture states that those who endure to the end shall be saved! We are called to work out our salvation with trembling and fear. Oh, if it was a cake walk but it is not! Yes, His Grace is sufficient if we submit and yield to HIS authority.
As Christians, we are to manifest the presence and power of God. We are to manifest the Kingdom of God as it is already upon us. How do we manifest the presence and power of God? We must die to ourselves, pray, and seek HIS Face daily, and live Holy lives. We must be consecrated and separated from the world. We can no longer live and belong to the world. To get saved and then go back to the world is one who had begun construction of a building without first calculating the cost to determine if they would finish the race (Luke 14:27-30).
We are to forgive. We are to let the hurt go and give it to God. We are to repent. We are to stop fighting with one another. We are to stop gossiping. We are to stop disobeying our authorities. We are to stop slandering. We are to stop judging. We are to stop smoking, drinking and doing drugs. We are to stop usurping God's authority. We are to stop getting angry and having outburst of anger. We are to stop being impatient. We are to stop allowing the kingdom of satan to manifest in our lives and in our churches. The presence of God is lacking because we are manifesting our flesh rather than dying to ourselves. If we manifest chaos, disorder, fighting, anger, and such then God's presence would not be present. What would be present is food for the demons and just like flies or a swarm or sharks, they would smell and sense hate, anger, jealousy, and the likes and the kingdom of satan would instantly set up shop to have a feast on you. If you continue to practice the works of the flesh, then the kingdom of satan will only get stronger in such a person and God's presence would decrease as the demons increase. Satan and his demons thrive in disorder, chaos hate, fighting, jealousy, and the likes.
If we die to ourselves and we practice and strive for peace, order, forgiveness, gentleness, kindness, self control, and love, then God's presence would manifest and we would have brought the Kingdom of God upon us. When the Kingdom of God is upon us, then God can heal people and HE can deliver people. God's presence thrives around peace, order, harmony, balance, gentleness, and love.
When someone does or say something that offends you, then it is your choice whether to allow the kingdom of satan or Kingdom of God to manifest. If we choose to fight back, arguing, and escalating the matter, we are inviting demons creating an atmosphere of disorder and confusion. Or we can overcome the darkness with His Light by not reacting in the flesh but perhaps speaking a gentle word to turn away wrath. Why cannot you just apologize? Must you have the last word?
Proverbs 15:1-4 A soft answer turns away wrath, but grievous words stir up anger.2 The tongue of the wise utters knowledge rightly, but the mouth of the [self-confident] fool pours out folly.3 The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch upon the evil and the good.4 A gentle tongue [with its healing power] is a tree of life, but willful contrariness in it breaks down the spirit.
Jesus said if your eye makes you to sin then pluck it out. He said if your hand makes you to sin, cut it off. We are to make every effort using our act of will through HIS Grace to die to ourselves and stop sinning so that we may find Life.
We are not allowed to accept our shortcomings of the flesh. Yes, we have grace to get through and get things right with God but grace is not there for us to continue in our sins. His Grace is sufficient for us to take our flesh and sins to the cross and to deny ourselves. As James chapter 3 states, "If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom."
The command is to take and possess the Promise Land but only the meek shall inherit the earth. Only through the deeds of the fruit of the Spirit such as "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control," shall you overcome and win souls for the Kingdom of God. Do NOT follow the sinful desires of the flesh. "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives."
Glory to HIM
Pastor Steve Yong Kim
June 1, 2014
Receiving the message of the gospel can be very easy to people. We are saved by Grace and we did not have to do a thing to receive salvation. But to live it and finish the race is another matter. We must endure to the end for scripture states that those who endure to the end shall be saved! We are called to work out our salvation with trembling and fear. Oh, if it was a cake walk but it is not! Yes, His Grace is sufficient if we submit and yield to HIS authority.
As Christians, we are to manifest the presence and power of God. We are to manifest the Kingdom of God as it is already upon us. How do we manifest the presence and power of God? We must die to ourselves, pray, and seek HIS Face daily, and live Holy lives. We must be consecrated and separated from the world. We can no longer live and belong to the world. To get saved and then go back to the world is one who had begun construction of a building without first calculating the cost to determine if they would finish the race (Luke 14:27-30).
We are to forgive. We are to let the hurt go and give it to God. We are to repent. We are to stop fighting with one another. We are to stop gossiping. We are to stop disobeying our authorities. We are to stop slandering. We are to stop judging. We are to stop smoking, drinking and doing drugs. We are to stop usurping God's authority. We are to stop getting angry and having outburst of anger. We are to stop being impatient. We are to stop allowing the kingdom of satan to manifest in our lives and in our churches. The presence of God is lacking because we are manifesting our flesh rather than dying to ourselves. If we manifest chaos, disorder, fighting, anger, and such then God's presence would not be present. What would be present is food for the demons and just like flies or a swarm or sharks, they would smell and sense hate, anger, jealousy, and the likes and the kingdom of satan would instantly set up shop to have a feast on you. If you continue to practice the works of the flesh, then the kingdom of satan will only get stronger in such a person and God's presence would decrease as the demons increase. Satan and his demons thrive in disorder, chaos hate, fighting, jealousy, and the likes.
If we die to ourselves and we practice and strive for peace, order, forgiveness, gentleness, kindness, self control, and love, then God's presence would manifest and we would have brought the Kingdom of God upon us. When the Kingdom of God is upon us, then God can heal people and HE can deliver people. God's presence thrives around peace, order, harmony, balance, gentleness, and love.
When someone does or say something that offends you, then it is your choice whether to allow the kingdom of satan or Kingdom of God to manifest. If we choose to fight back, arguing, and escalating the matter, we are inviting demons creating an atmosphere of disorder and confusion. Or we can overcome the darkness with His Light by not reacting in the flesh but perhaps speaking a gentle word to turn away wrath. Why cannot you just apologize? Must you have the last word?
Proverbs 15:1-4 A soft answer turns away wrath, but grievous words stir up anger.2 The tongue of the wise utters knowledge rightly, but the mouth of the [self-confident] fool pours out folly.3 The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch upon the evil and the good.4 A gentle tongue [with its healing power] is a tree of life, but willful contrariness in it breaks down the spirit.
Jesus said if your eye makes you to sin then pluck it out. He said if your hand makes you to sin, cut it off. We are to make every effort using our act of will through HIS Grace to die to ourselves and stop sinning so that we may find Life.
We are not allowed to accept our shortcomings of the flesh. Yes, we have grace to get through and get things right with God but grace is not there for us to continue in our sins. His Grace is sufficient for us to take our flesh and sins to the cross and to deny ourselves. As James chapter 3 states, "If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom."
The command is to take and possess the Promise Land but only the meek shall inherit the earth. Only through the deeds of the fruit of the Spirit such as "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control," shall you overcome and win souls for the Kingdom of God. Do NOT follow the sinful desires of the flesh. "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives."
Glory to HIM
Pastor Steve Yong Kim
June 1, 2014
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