The Kingdom Foundation - Part 1

How many people know that God’s kingdom is forever established in the heavenly realm?  I am going to provide some scriptures to give you some background into what God has been saying to His people from the beginning.

Let’s turn to the book of Exodus, chapter 19.  I will be reading from the King James Version. Starting at verse 3:

Exodus 19:3-11:

And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the Lord commanded him.And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord. And the Lord said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee forever. And Moses told the words of the people unto the Lord.And the Lord said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes, And be ready against the third day: for the third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai.

So the man of God approached the Lord, and He gave him the instructions to relay to the people of God.  He reminded Moses about the consequences for not letting the people of Israel go, and all the plagues He sent upon the Egyptians.  Sometimes, the Lord has to remind us of what He has done, in order to get us to move into purpose and destiny.

So here are the commands that He told Moses to relay to the people:

1. Obey My Voice – Don’t look to the left or to the right, but look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith;
2. Keep My Covenant – What is the covenant, you may ask? To love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your might, and with all your strength.  In other words, do not put anything or anyone before the Lord, period.  Let me say something about this for a moment.  Jesus died for all of mankind, right?  Here comes the devil with distractions, to keep our focus off of what God wants us to do and be in Him.  He brings us people, places and things to keep our eyes off of the Lord.  Please don’t get me wrong.  It’s a good thing to want to marry, but even in that, God still comes first.  It’s also great to have the ability to travel the world, but are you doing it just to say you can, or are you actually doing something to change the world as you travel it, like sharing the gospel?  Food for thought.  Having things can also be nice, but if it gets in the way of serving God wholeheartedly, you don’t need it.
3. The Promises of God – One of many that He states in His word is to let us know that He has set us apart for Himself. We are a peculiar people, a holy nation.  What does that mean, exactly?  I’m glad you asked!  We’re not meant to fit in with the world.  Let me say something to the young people in the room for a minute.  Maybe you grew up in a bible believing Christian home.  Of course, when you interact with your friends, all of them may not be saved.  So when you tried to do things contrary to the will of God, like going to the club, you looked like a fish out of water, right?  Your crew may have looked at you like, what in the world?  Go home, church boy, or church girl!  That might have discouraged you for a moment, but the older you got, you started to appreciate what may have seemed like a disparaging title, because you wanted to look cool in the presence of your peers.  Why?  Because when you begin to look back over your life, you may realize that God brought you from a mighty long way, and spared you from many a thing that could have broken you, or even killed you.  Let me give you a newsflash that you may not be aware of.  The enemy of our soul is going to take you out.  No, for real, that’s his job, to steal, kill and destroy the people of God.  If you’re not a statistic, you need to praise Him right now, because He woke you up, you’re breathing, and you can move about with no assistance.  You don’t have a disease that keeps you from walking, talking, or you are not buried six feet under the earth.  So, that being the case, you understand what I’m talking about.  The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.  The world, and they that dwell in it.  Whether we realize it or not, we are under the protection of God, and stay within the arc of safety, unless we willfully go against the will and word of God, which is enemy territory.
4. A Kingdom Of Priests, And A Holy Nation – Let me stay here for a moment and explain this to you. In other words, everyone that has accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior is fit to be in ministry.  Let the shock wear off for a moment, because when we talk about ministry, our minds immediately go to the 5 fold ministry, which I will talk about later on this week.  That’s another talk show.  What I want you to gain an understanding about is that you don’t have to have a title in order to share the gospel.  Why?  Because if you can simply share your salvation experience with the lost, so that they understand what you’re saying without a homily, an organ, exegesis or exegesis, you can win a soul.  Now, with that being said, the desire of the Lord is for us to be holy and set apart for His use.  Holiness is still right, no matter what the world has to say and think about it, and without it, no one can see the Lord.  Let me get you to understand something.  Holiness is not a religion, i.e., Pentecostal, Church of God in Christ, Apostolic, Assembly of God, or any other denomination you may have heard of.  Holiness is a lifestyle and a way of life.  It does not mean that you can’t wear makeup, jewelry, or a dress a little shorter than knee length.  It doesn’t mean that you can’t go to the movies, or you can’t dance at your wedding.  You will not go to hell if you do any of these things.  Shocking, right?  What it does mean is that you are totally and unequivocally sold out to God.  Indeed, if He is the Savior and Lord of your life, then He has total access to each and every area of your life, the secret things that nobody else knows about.

Let me say something else, while I’m on this subject.  Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, which dwells in you, and He will not dwell in an unclean temple.  What I mean by that is not your physical body, but your inner man.  In order to be holy and pleasing in God’s sight, you must do a few things, and I will close with this.

1. Put on the whole armor of God – This is the protection that keeps us from being buffeted by the enemy’s darts, schemes and plans. Remember I said earlier that he is out to get us.
2. Renew your mind – The word of God says to let this mind be in you that was also in Christ Jesus, to walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. What does that mean?  Simply stated, you must allow the Holy Spirit to declutter and clean up your mind.  How does that happen?  Taking captivity of your thought life.  Ask the Lord to remove every impure and evil thought that doesn’t please Him, and then continue to ask Him every single day.  You see, the devil likes to play upon your weaknesses.  He’s not going to get you on smoking weed if women are your thing.  You will not fall into temptation if you wake up each morning with a prayer of, “Lord, cover my mind, and forgive me for every wayward thought that doesn’t represent You.”
3. Guard your heart – The armor covers the body, your mind is covered in prayer, but you also have to guard your heart. I’m going to talk to the married folks in the room for a moment.  We all know that the word of God tells us that he who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the Lord, right?  Well, if you are single, and searching, try this.  Pray and ask God what His will is for you concerning marriage, and to point you in the direction of the woman He created just for you.  The Lord will give you the desires of your heart, if you ask Him with the right motives.  You want a Proverbs 31 woman, not a woman that you can make it rain with.
4. Cover your feet – Let your feet be shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. When you’re praying for your mind, also pray for direction.  Ask the Lord to take you to another level in Him, and don’t let you stray from the path, by going somewhere you know you have no business going.  Your prayer should be deliver us from evil.

I will continue tomorrow, God willing, with the second half of this message.  May the Lord bless you is my prayer.