The Kingdom of God and Rigtheousness

THE KINGDOM OF GOD and RIGHTEOUSNESS

Romans 14:17 – “for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”

The Kingdom of God is about righteousness, peace and joy, in the Holy Spirit.  It is not just about eating and drinking or anything that we’re deprived with, anything that we could put first in our lives instead of Jesus, not about anything that could compromise our righteousness.

The characteristics of a lifestyle we should have according to (Romans 14:17 )are righteousness in the Holy Spirit; peace in the Holy Spirit;  joy in the Holy Spirit, all three we receive in the power of the Holy Spirit.

The early Church persecution under Emperor Nero endured all things because of their relationship with God with righteousness, peace and joy putting Jesus first among anything else, in fact the early church despised their own lives unto death. (1 Peter 4:12-19; Revelation 12:11)

“The key to understanding real peace, is to understand it comes from putting Jesus first.” – Pastor Brian Burton

The early church were put to death in colosseum and fed to the lions and other wild beasts, but despite that they have endured because of their love to Jesus, they have endured because they have real peace and joy despite of the circumstances.

In our time, we’ll not experience the same exact situation, however we do have our own challenges where we’ll have to weight which to put first, Jesus and his Kingdom or everything else.

Isaiah 54:17 says that a weapon will be fashioned against us by the enemy for sure, no questions about it, but a promise also given that these weapons will not prosper.  The early Christians bodies were destroyed but the price of that is nothing compared to that the world can give.  They received eternal life, and the  Gospel spread to all corners of the earth. No matter what Emperor Nero did, the church kept on growing.  The soldiers were the means of spreading the gospel, because they witnessed things, they witnessed the persecution of the Christians, they witnessed what the Kingdom of God is about through the lives of those believers, and the believers then led by Peter, spoke Peace. (1 Peter 4:17)

“In whatever circumstance, we have to learn to speak peace” -Pastor Brian Burton

TWO THINGS THAT ENABLED EARLY CHRISTIANS TO LIVE LIKE THAT OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD:

1. They have a clear goal worth dying for.
To be persecuted and put to death for the sake of others to enter the Kingdom of God is worth dying for.  Their love for Jesus enabled them to endure and removed all fears. (1 John 4:18)

2. They were ‘In the Holy Spirit’
John 16:13 “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.”

The Holy spirit will guide us into all the Truth and how will it happen? When we are righteous and obedient to God.  He will speak to us and He will disclose to us what is to come.  He will prepare us for tomorrow!

Dare to ask God. God can see ahead and we can’t -Pastor Brian Burton

Righteousness leads to peace, and peace leads to joy, all these by the power of the Holy Spirit in order to see others enter into His Kingdom, His Kingdom come on earth as it is in Heaven.

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Excerpts from Pastor Brian’s Message
Phuket Christian Centre, April 17, 2016
http://www.phuketchristiancentre.org

Why You Shouldn’t Ignore Your Conscience

Why You Shouldn’t Ignore Your Conscience

by Andrew David Naselli and J. D. Crowley

A Moral Version of Your Nervous System

What happens if your finger accidentally touches an extremely hot object like a stove or a dish that just came out of the oven? If your nervous system is functioning correctly, then you would reflexively pull back your hand to avoid more pain and harm. Your nervous system is a priceless gift from God because it saves you from danger. It’s a built-in system that instantly communicates, “Warning! Pull back!” It’s a gift from God.

– See more at: https://www.crossway.org/blog/2016/04/why-you-shouldnt-ignore-your-conscience/

Isolation from the Church Is Dangerous

Isolation from the Church Is Dangerous

We are all prone to wander off from the path.  In certain cases it may be a sinful temptation or merely laziness.  Just as John Bunyan depicted in The Pilgrim’s Progress as Christian and Hopeful followed Vain-Confidence off of the true path onto a different path that eventually led them astray.  They became lost and eventually were captured by Giant Despair.  They found themselves prisoners in the dungeon of Doubting Castle.  In their despair, Hopeful said, “O that I had kept on the true way!”  Avoiding isolation is a constant work of sanctification.  

– See more at: http://www.deliveredbygrace.com/isolation-from-the-church-is-dangerous/#sthash.6CPLaUfq.dpuf

Show Me your Friends and I’ll Tell You Who You Are

God With Us

CreativiNeal

God With Us

You’ve come to bring peace
To be love, to be nearer to us
You’ve come to breathe life
To be light, to shine brighter in us

Oh Emmanuel God with us

Our Deliverer You are Savior
In Your presence we find our strength
Over everything our redemption
God with us, You are God with us

You’ve come to be hope
To this world
For Your honor and name
You’ve come to take sin
To bear shame
And to conquer the grave

Oh Emmanuel, oh God with us

You are here
You are holy
We are standing
In Your glory

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Back to the Basics: To Love is to Rest

Love is the rest and satisfaction of the soul.

It’s a new year and is a good time to reflect on to the past years’ mistakes and lessons learnt.  It’s also a transition opportune time to obey God.  Literally getting up, making things right and actually doing the obvious thing to do because we love God.   Looking at the 10 commandments will be a good start, yet looking at the sum and substance of all of God’s commandments and precepts will be better starting point.

Let us look at Matthew 22:36-40:

36“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

This is what Jesus’ answer to the young student of law when he asked Jesus ‘which is the greatest commandment in the law?’ Basically, we can’t separate the two to each other, we can’t say that we love God and hate our neighbor… neither the other way.  According to Jesus the second commandment is just like the first one.

Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law – Romans 13:10.

Matthew Henry Commentary says that: All the law is fulfilled in one word, and that is, love. See Rom. 13:10. All obedience begins in the affections, and nothing in religion is done right, that is not done there first. Love is the leading affection, which gives law, and gives ground, to the rest; and therefore that, as the main fort, is to be first secured and garrisoned for God. Man is a creature cut out for love; thus therefore is the law written in the heart, that it is a law of love. Love is a short and sweet word; and, if that be the fulfilling of the law, surely the yoke of the command is very easy. Love is the rest and satisfaction of the soul; if we walk in this good old way, we shall find rest.

Do we claim that we love God and yet hate our neighbor?  If so we are being disobedient. (not according to me, that’s according to Jesus himself)  We have no excuse not to love our neighbor and or our enemies, because while we were yet still sinners Christ died for us, He loves us even before… even when  we were yet His enemy.

but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. – Romans 5:8.

Blessings and a joyous new year!

A Father’s Experience, An Insight To Ministry

ANYONE WHO DOES NOT LOVE DOES NOT KNOW GOD
(My experience as a father an insight to the ministry God has entrusted)

——-
1 John 4:8 “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” To know God is to know love; to know God is to equip yourself to act in love.
——-

I have kids (Nadja and Anja) I love my kids that is why I discipline them which breaks my heart through the process, yet it must be done in order for them to learn for their own good, because I love them.

This is the heart of our Father in heaven when He disciplines us, it breaks His heart to see us go through the process but His discipline is for our own good, because He loves us.

When I discipline Nadja, I deal only with her and her alone. She has to give an account of what she did and did not do, not with what Anja did or did no do. I commands Nadja to always help and encourage Anja in everything, instead of bullying her, despite the hurt that Anja is causing her she needs to forgive her… because the hard fact is that they are both mine, both Ornidos no matter what.

Our Father in heaven deals with us individually daily, one day we will give an account for ourselves not for other individuals, we’ll give an account of how we’ve used the talents He gave us, if we have used them to encourage others or the other way around. Conflicts are real however Jesus gave an antidote for that long time ago, forgiveness and loving one another.

The hard fact will be seen with what Apostle Paul said in Philippians 4:2-3, what is the point of disagreement if our names are written in the book of life. Philippians 4:2 “I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.”

The question is, in the appointed time of discipline, are we going to pass the test? to forgive and love others? Are we going to pass the test among other tests to know and realize that to know God is to love, because He is love.

FOR HE HAS RESCUED US FROM THE DOMINION OF DARKNESS AND BROUGHT US INTO THE KINGDOM OF THE SON HE LOVES… – Colossians 1:13

Blessings!