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THE KINGDOM OF GOD

The message of the Kingdom of Heaven, or the Kingdom of God, is one that is central to the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.   The Kingdom of Heaven is a place we hope to inhabit after we die, but we are often unclear about just what it is and how it has any relevance to us in this present world.   Without a proper understanding of the heavenly Kingdom, we fall short of living a truly Spirit-filled life, and we become entangled in a temporal system which God has condemned and intends to ultimately destroy.     When John the Baptist began his preaching in the wilderness of Judea, his message was simple and direct.   He said, “Repent ye: for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. ” (Matthew 3:2).   His purpose was to announce the imminent appearance of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, and the ushering in of a new dispensation of grace.   He was also announcing a shift from the importance of an earthly, visible kingdom (the Jewish nation) to an invisible...
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THE STONE THAT WAS CUT WITHOUT HANDS

Sometime around 600 B.C., according to the Bible account, Nebuchadnezzar the King of Babylon had a dream.   The problem was, while he thought the dream might be significant, he couldn’t remember either the dream or what it might have meant.     Having many “wise” councilors in his employ, Nebuchadnezzar called them together and demanded that they tell him what the dream was that he had dreamed and interpret the meaning of that dream also.  After all, wasn’t that what he was paying them to do?  Oh, and as a little incentive, if they couldn’t produce the dream and the interpretation, then the King was going to have them cut in pieces.  No pressure.    The councilors naturally urged the King to reveal the dream to them and then they would gladly interpret it for him, but that was useless because the King had truly forgotten it.  Anyway, this seemed like a good test to see if his wise men were truly wise, or not.  After their reaso...
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GROW UP INTO HIM

"Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is.  And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure." (1 John 3:2,3).   Scripture declares that we are now the sons of God.   Sonship is not a state that we must earn, wait for, or work toward.   When a male child is born or adopted into a family, he becomes a son immediately.   He does not become more "son-ish," or more "sonny," over time; he is already 100% a son from the beginning.   What is not clear, however, is what that son will become.   It does not yet appear what he shall be once he is fully mature.   It is apparent then that as sons and daughters of our heavenly Father, we must grow up and mature.   It is natural for every living thing to go through a state of growth; and when this does not occur, then we know something is...
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