I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like children,
You will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child
Is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.
And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.
(Matthew 18:2-5)
Jesus said:
Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them,
For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these. (Matthew 19:14)
How great is the love the Father has lavished on us,
That we should be called children of God! (1 John 3:1)
Every person is in fact, a child in comparison
To the all knowing, all seeing, all powerful, present everywhere,
Self-existent, God of creation.
Children trust their fathers and are completely dependent upon them.
They love and idolize their fathers; they live to please them.
They rest in the assurance of their father's love.
They love to be in the presence of their father more than anything else;
They seek the approval of their father in all they do.
They allow their father to guide, direct and teach them.
This requirement of child likeness, as access to the Kingdom of God,
Has been an insurmountable barrier for many in every age.
It will be a insurmountable barrier for many in this day.
The Kingdom of God was made for children, by God, who is Love.
The River of God that runs through the middle of the City of God
Is a River of delights; it is delightful for children in the here and now
As well as the by and by.
A predominant characteristic of children is their desire to play.
A defining characteristic of a good father
Is his desire to play with and enjoy his children.
Our Heavenly Father is the Father of fathers.
He created the River of Delights specifically for His children.
Those who were privileged to experience the Renewal of the 90's
And it's continuation and other moves of God know this.
Laughter and shear happiness were characteristic of every Revival.
Yes, there was conviction of sin and the revelation of the holiness of God,
Repentance and forgiveness.
But along with this, and in equal measure,
Came the revelation of the goodness and love of God.
Christ Jesus said:
I praise you, Father, Lord of Heaven and earth,
Because you have hidden these things
(The reality of the Kingdom of God on earth as in Heaven)
From the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.
Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure. (Matthew 11:25-26)
God has said:
I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
The intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate. (Isaiah 29:14)
Christ Jesus said:
Wisdom (The Bride of Christ)
Is proved right by her actions. (Matthew 11:19)
Wisdom embraces Christ Jesus who is LIFE.
The Kingdom Of God Is Available To All Children
Who Come To Christ Jesus In Faith
In the Gospels, Christ Jesus said:
'Repent for the Kingdom of heaven is near.' (Matthew 4:17)
The Kingdom of God was near because Christ Jesus was near
And He embodied the Kingdom of God.
The “good news,” is that the Kingdom of God is available
To any “child,” who comes to Christ Jesus in faith
With a gentle and humble heart.
On The Day of Pentecost the Kingdom of God came to earth as in Heaven;
That is Christ, the Holy Spirit came and inhabited His people
And there was a manifestation of that reality.
The Kingdom of God is the supernatural realm of God,
Created by the Father for His children.
It may be proclaimed by a man
But belief and confession can only be produce by God.
In salvation, it is God, touching the heart of a “child”
And reveling Himself to them.
Out of this revelation they are able to believe
And make their confession of faith.
This revelation is initiate by God and completely supernatural;
The only part the “child” plays is to agree with the Father.
What does God say that the New Covenant is?
He tells us, that unlike the Old Covenant that remained in the natural,
In the New Covenant He places His law in our minds
And writes it on our hearts;
This is a supernatural impartation done by God,
Creating a new supernatural being, a “born again” child of God.
Entering the Kingdom of God
Entails receiving a supernatural revelation from God,
That imparts belief, faith and Christ the Holy Spirit.
An impartation of His Kingdom on earth as in Heaven.
The Kingdom of God on earth
Is Christ in you the hope of glory, manifested;
That is the glory of Christ Jesus, manifested.
God's Kingdom Is The Realm Of His Spirit,
The Realm Of His Glory, Where He Rules And Reigns.
By definition any kingdom is where the king rules and reigns.
Christ Jesus teaches us to pray,
To ask the Father to bring His Kingdom to earth as in Heaven;
That His will would be done on earth as in Heaven.
That everything we do on earth as as followers of Christ
Would be as it is done in Heaven;
That everything that happens in and through His children
Becomes supernatural, a manifestation of His glory.
Christ came to inhabit His children;
To rule and reign in them; to manifest Himself in and through them.
When Christ Jesus sent His disciples out,
He sent them out to preach this message:
“The Kingdom of Heaven is near.”
Today, we preach that the Kingdom of God is “here.”
He sent them out with His Glory, the Glory of His Kingdom.
He told them to heal the sick, raise the dead;
That what they were freely given (God's Kingdom Glory)
They were to freely give.
This was before The Day of Pentecost;
It was an example of what was to happen, typically, after Pentecost;
It was an example of what did happen, typically, after Pentecost.
Where Christ Rules and Reigns
His Glory Will Be Made Manifest
The Scriptures teach that Christ Jesus worked with His disciples
And confirming His Word by the signs that accompanied it. (Mark 16:20)
The disciples testified to the Word of Christ,
And Christ Jesus manifested His glory.
Wherever Christ rules and reigns this will be the case,
Where ever He rules and reigns,
His glory will be revealed in and through His children
With signs and wonders.
Christ Can Only Rule And Reign
Where The Freedom He Brought, Rules and Reigns
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.
Stand firm, then,
And do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
(Galatians 5:1)
Christ will only manifest his glory through “children”
In whom He rules and reigns;
Children who He has set free from sin
And the bondage of the rules and devices of men.
Christ can only be “lifted up” by “children” in whom He rules and reigns;
Children who have been set free by the Spirit of Christ;
Those who worship Him in Spirit and in Truth.
When He is “lifted up” by “children” who have been set free,
In who He rules and reigns,
Then He draws all men to Himself;
Then there is the continuous revival he came to bring.
Christ will share His glory with no man.
He will not allow man to appropriate His glory.
That is exactly what the devil seeks to do.
Christ Jesus set us free from all forms of bondage.
In the New Covenant God eliminated any bondage of man
By eliminating any hierarchy of man
Between Himself and His children;
He made His children all priests before Him.
He did this by His initiative; putting His law in their minds,
And writing them on the hearts of His children,
So that it would not be necessary for anyone to teach them to “know” Him,
Because they would all “know” Him from the least to the greatest.
God eliminated all intermediaries to “knowing” Him,
By the giving of the Holy Spirit, the anointing of the Anointed One.
God will have no one between each of His children and Himself.
Christ Jesus said we have One Teacher, the Christ.
(Jeremiah 31 and John 2)
Man made religion always creates a hierarchy that empowers a few.
People, in the natural, gravitate to a hierarchical religion,
Because it relieves them of their responsibility.
In the New Covenant
Each child is responsible for their relationship with their Father.
No one will have any excuse for not coming to “know” their God.
Each of us is “free” to “know” God the Father.
No one can keep this from us,
And God the Father continually pursues each one of us.
Christ Jesus said:
If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.
Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. (John 8:31-32)
Freedom is beautiful;
It is Christ Jesus ruling and reigning in and through His children.
This is the only freedom that exists on the earth.
I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.
Now a slave has no permanent place in the family,
But a son belongs to it forever.
So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. (John 8:34-36)
The antithesis of freedom is man made religion.
It is specifically designed by the devil to bring bondage,
Because through bondage men gain control, which is their objective,
Under the deception of the devil.
Remember, the devil masquerades as an angel of light
And man made religion is his primary tool.
Christianity is the primary target of the devil.
The freedom Christ Jesus brought is his only adversary.
The natural tendency of men is to lay burdens on people,
Whereas Christ Jesus is a burden lifter.
The apostle Paul said:
But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin,
You wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching
To which you were entrusted.
You have been set free from sin
And have become slaves to righteousness. (Romans 6:17-18)
Therefore, there is now no condemnation
For those who are in Christ Jesus,
Because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free
From the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:1-2)
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing
With the glory that will be revealed in us.
The creation waits in eager expectation
For the sons of God to be revealed.
For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice,
But by the will of the one who subjected it,
In hope that the creation itself will be liberated
From its bondage to decay
And brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.
(Romans 8:18-21)
Now the Lord is the Spirit,
And where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
(2 Corinthians 3:17)
How do we know where the Spirit of the Lord is?
Where there is the freedom Christ died to bring.
It is sin for any one of us to allow anyone or any thing
To get between us and God the Father.
The Spirit of the Lord has set His children free from all forms of bondage,
Spiritual or man made.
The children of God have been set free by Christ in them
To be holy, free to live righteous, free to love without conditions;
Free to worship in Spirit and in Truth.
For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die;
But if by the Spirit, you put do death the misdeeds of the body,
You will live,
Because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear,
But you received the Spirit of sonship.
And by him we cry, 'Abba, Father.'
The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit
That we are the children of God and co-heirs—heirs with Christ,
If indeed we share in his sufferings in order
That we may also share in his glory. (Romans 8:13-17)
The “children” of God will not tolerate any form of bondage in their lives.
Bondage is repulsive to them; it opposes freedom.
All forms of bondage are anti-Christ.
Christ Jesus came to set His children free.
Where Christ Jesus rules and reigns His children are free.
The Bride of Christ has fought for freedom in every generation;
She, like her Savior, gave her life in every generation, to be free.
Father, give us resolve in Christ, to be free in this generation;
To allow Christ Jesus to rule and reign in and through us.
Children Express Their Freedom In Christ
By Their Praise And Worship To Christ
From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise.
(Matthew 21:16)
The simplest way I have found to determine if there is freedom in a body
Is to observe their praise and worship to the Father.
If they are able to praise and worship as the Psalms instruct us,
Then, most often, there is freedom in that body.
If they do not, then there is usually bondage.
This is especially true of the leadership of a church.
If the leaders can express freedom themselves in praise and worship,
Then, they are usually able to be free and allow freedom.
The whole purpose of leadership in a church
Is to provide an atmosphere where Christ Jesus can rule and reign;
An atmosphere of freedom,
Where Christ Jesus is allowed to do what only He can do;
Manifest His glory, which is revival, in every assembly.
Christ Jesus intended that His people be in continuous revival
From The Day of Pentecost till today;
That His people prophesy, dream dreams and have visions;
He is the Spirit of prophesy and all illumination for His children.
Christ Jesus provides “vision” for His children;
Without which they perish and with which they thrive.
Christ is the Spirit that produced the Psalms;
The Spirit that produced the Tabernacle of David
And continuous praise and worship;
The Spirit that said in the last days
He would rebuild the Tabernacle of David;
Zion where the fire of God resides;
The New Jerusalem, which is God's furnace.
The Bride of Christ, in these last days, will manifest the glory of God.
She will lift Christ Jesus up, and He will draw all men to Himself.