The kingdom of God is at hand

[Kat]

This is excerpts from 'What Is The Gospel Of The Kingdom?' conference. Just find it so refreshing to read about what God is preparing for those who love Him.

http://forums.bible-truths.com/index.php/topic,6142.msg50216.html#msg50216 ----

Christ is the King who is gone into a far nation. To do what? What does the parable say, what is He going to get there? A kingdom! 

Where is Christ now? He is in heaven. But what is He doing on the earth? He's getting Himself a kingdom. It started with the Apostles - the few. He said to 'you' it's given to understand, you are the few. But to 'them' - the many, it is not given, but to the few. Many called - a lot of seeds scattered around, but only some seeds fall on the good ground, the few. 
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But just like when God said to Israel, I'm choosing you, it was a shadow. Now Christ came and we say, at last now we have the real thing. That was right, He was the real thing. He was the Seed! 
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Gal 3:29  And if you (Galatians - Gentiles) are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. 

How about that! Promised through the woman, through Abraham, through Isaac, through Jacob and then we have the one Seed arrives. Jesus Christ taught all these things. He said, if ye are Christ's, the one Seed and you're Abraham's, now you're into multiple seeds. Now go to the last chapter.

Gal 6:16  And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.

Is He talking about carnal Pharisees and the Scribes? No. Those that walk according to this rule, this new rule, this being an Israelite without being an Israelite, being circumcised without being circumcised, being a Jew while you're a Gentile. That's what this is all about, this is something different. But it's going to fulfill that promise back in Exodus, He will make a royal nation, a royal priesthood and a holy nation out of who? Israel. What Israel? The Israel of God, not those who are circumcised in the flesh, no no no.

Rom 2:28  For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh;
v. 29  but he is a Jew who is one inwardly (he's writing to the Gentile Romans here...) circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit (he is the spiritual Jew; the Roman - the Galatian - the Philippian...) not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.

So if you are in Christ, you are of the Seed of Abraham, even though there is no bloodline connection. Spirit is thicker than blood. 
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1Peter 2:9  But ye (he is talking to Gentiles) are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own peculiar (special) people...

Does that sound a little bit like Exodus 19? I will make out of you a royal priesthood, a holy nation. Where do you think Peter got it? 

Exo 19:6  And ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.

A chosen generation... a royal means, kingly priesthood, a holy nation. A peculiar people, that comes out of about 3 different Greek words, the pronoun 'his' is in there and peculiar really means special. So what this is saying is, you are His - God's precious people. That's pretty neat, you are His precious people, not the Israel of old, not the Israel that came down through the seed of the devil, that was who? The Scribes and the Pharisees and they personified it, the leadership of the church and the Temple system, personified the nation. Not that seed, the seed of the devil. You are the seed of Jesus Christ, you are of this Israel of God, like Paul talked about in Galatians.

Gal 6:16  And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them and upon the Israel of God.

1Peter 2:9  ...so that you might speak of the praises of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

So the kingdom of God is what? The Israel of God! It's those who through the faith of Abraham... that is the same faith that God gave to Abraham He gives to us, that's the faith of Abraham. We become this peculiar, special people to God. 
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So what is it? It's the gospel of the kingdom. What is the kingdom? YOU - WE are the kingdom! How about that. We are the kingdom. It's the gospel, the good news of the kingdom. When you are spiritually converted and you are holy and you are circumcised in spirit and mind and soul and heart you are a spiritual Jew. You are the one that He said back there, I'm going to make you a holy nation, Israel... but not that Israel, that was a type. That was a shadow, that was only going to be a nation of people living in a certain land. 

This kingdom is going to what? Bless all the nations. This is a big kingdom and it's a spiritual kingdom, because the more we do away with the flesh, the more spiritual we get. The more we die to the flesh, the more we grow to the spirit.
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But let me tell you something, there is a price. You don't become a king, a priest, a lord, a savior, a very special person to God by falling off a rock. In the original gospel it was just very broad.

Gal 3:8  And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the nations through faith, preached the gospel before to Abraham, saying, "In you shall all nations be blessed."

Here was the good news, here is what Paul said, God Himself preached to Abraham and He called it the gospel. "In you (your seed) shall all nations be blessed." In these few words you can sum up the whole purpose for the creation - the world - the university - humanity, "all will be blessed." We will be the blessers, they will be the blessees. We are already being blessed. They have no idea what it is like to be blessed. They think the physical is the spiritual. If you get rich and famous and have a huge mansions and have all this materialism, then you are spiritually blessed. What?! If anything it comes closer to a curse. Why? "a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of the heavens." Hardly!
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Mark 1:15  and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe the gospel."

Mark says the kingdom of God is at hand, now that should tell us something. The kingdom of God was at hand. Well then His Apostles went out after Christ's crucifixion and resurrection and they taught the kingdom of God is at hand. Then the second generation of church leaders taught the kingdom of God is at hand. Here I am sitting before you today and I am telling you the kingdom of God is at hand. How is it at hand? It is at hand for you!

"Repent, and believe the gospel." It's at hand for YOU! It's at your hand right now, for you! It wasn't at your hand before you were born, if some of you die this week or next month or next year or whatever, it won't be at hand for you then. The kingdom of God is at hand NOW. When you hear this message, that's when it is at hand for you. This is God telling you, repent the kingdom of God is at hand, right now, while you are sitting there, right now it's at hand. 

How is it at hand? Because Jesus Christ is, was and He will be! 
It is at hand for us now. 
It was at hand for them when it was preached back then. 
It will be at hand if there is generations beyond us, before our Lord returns.
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John 6:63  It is the Spirit that quickens, the flesh profits nothing...

But He healed the sick... the flesh profits nothing, but He caused the blind to see... the flesh profits nothing. 

V. 63 ...The words that I speak to you are SPIRIT and are life.

'You mean these words that He quoted to every village and town and hamlet and city in Jerusalem and Judea and all around Galilee, you mean all these words are Spirit?' That's what He said, I believe Him. These are words of Spirit. He's not talking about giving sight to the blind, who can't see the sunset. He talking about giving spiritual sight to those that are spiritually blind! The words of Christ are Spirit, there fulfillment are Spirit. 

Christ has a kingdom made up of heavens - people who in their heavens, have God indwelling. This is Spirit!  Spirit is more real than physical, because physical is temporary, Paul tells us. This kingdom will last, Daniel says. This kingdom is not going to be over turned in so many years by some more powerful nation.
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The gospel of the Kingdom of God... we are a chosen generation, a royal kingly priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar - that's God's special people. We are the manifest sons of God, we are saviors to the world, we are lord and overseers and priests and judges and kings. Is that lofty enough for you. You get an idea, when it says the high calling, this is high. 
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mercy, peace and love
Kat

[rick]

Hello Kat,

Ray has a way of explaining scripture that is easy to understand and to the point. I have read on some post those who say they don't agree with everything Ray said but I believe everything Ray said and I'm not ashamed to make mention of this fact.

Ray is awesome to me because he was the only man that has open the word of God to me unlike any other, while he was alive he was a shining light on the hill and in his death his light still shines from the papers he left behind.

I enjoy reading all he has written concerning the things of God , I believe the things Ray teaches not because he said this is what I think but how he proves everything he says with scripture in a way that cannot be denied.

I no not if I am number among the elect but thanks to Ray I finally know Gods plan for all humanity and God our creator truly is a loving God who only has everyone's best interest at heart.   


God bless you all especially those who He has called to be His elect.   

[narroway]

Thanks Kat, I really enjoyed "The Kingdom Of God Is At Hand". Thank the Lord for the Moderators and all you do for us.