I’d like to say we’re moving on from our study in
‘grace’ as it pertains to the Kingdom of God, but the truth of the matter is; as
Christians we are never too far away from the topic of grace. In yesterday’s lesson, we began looking at
the kingdoms of this world in comparison to the Kingdom of God. Actually we
looked at the different societies mankind creates to bring order, and stability
to our daily lives. I would usually
transfer our study sheet, and embellish it for this blog, but I wrote this
lesson more than a year and a half ago.
It is written in bullet statement style, and wouldn’t make for an
interesting blog.
The gist of the lesson is how we form governments and
kingdoms. We began by looking at
families, tribes (extended families), nations, cultural alliances, and the
modern concept of globalism. Of all the
kingdoms that men have created through the years, none of them could bridge the
language gap. Without a common language,
there can be no true understanding. In
the past, attempts at global kingdoms failed for lack of understanding. Actually, it is more complicated than that,
but the smallest societal groups split up over minor differences. Understanding, which requires good
communication, is the cornerstone of all successful societies. Believing in the goodness, purpose, and
intentions of the leaders of the society, allows the society to grow. Sadly, somewhere along the line, a leader
will make a decision they ‘believe’ can’t be understood by the people, or may
even be a stretching of the society’s moral code. It is at this point, a
critical decision to be either transparent or secretive is made. Transparency will further the society’s
growth, or cause it to begin the slow decline toward self-destruction.
All the kingdoms of this world are empowered by
knowledge. Knowledge is power. The
kingdoms of this world fail because they seek to control knowledge. The control
of knowledge is an illusion, just as control is an illusion. The problem, is man’s fear of losing
control.
The Kingdom of God, on the other hand, isn’t plagued by
this failure. It is the Father’s GOOD
pleasure to give us the keys to the Kingdom.
He isn’t threatened by what we know.
A matter of fact, he wants us to know all about Him. His Kingdom is built upon us being intimate
with Him to the point of his telling us everything. It gives Him great pleasure to share what He
knows. The problem arises when Christian
men, and women give in to their carnal nature.
When we attempt to build physical kingdoms out of Spiritual building
material, God will only let it go so far.
Because he is ever merciful, tender, and kind, He is always warning
those who try to create their own kingdom.
There are always ever increasing warnings to stop doing what they are
doing. The Kingdom of God will never be
enclosed in secret levels, hidden rooms, buried documents, or as secret
orders. Those religions, denominations,
and fellowships that do things in secret, will eventually be destroyed by the
very secret they tried to hide. This was never Christ’s plan for us.
Praise God, the Kingdom of God is once more advancing,
due in large part to the power of the internet, television, and social
media. As men and women learn more by
the Holy Spirit, the light of knowledge is spreading to the ends of the earth.
The greatest threat to the Church will always be when Christians become
fearful, and attempt to control the knowledge of the Kingdom.
