Watch with Me Depression Seeking The Kingdom Of God Distress of Nations
SEEKING THE KINGDOM OF GOD
By: Kirbbie L.
Cowart
And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Matthew 10:7
I have had to preach several funerals during the last two months. I always start out by saying it is my responsibility as an ambassador of a heavenly kingdom to tell you why people have to die. I start with the fall of Adam in the Garden of Eden, where his disobedience to God his Creator brought judgment upon him and the death sentence was given upon all mankind.
But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Genesis 2:17
In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
Genesis 3:19
As you can see, by one mans disobedience death came upon all of mankind and not only death but the loss of the dominion God had given man all of His creation.
And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
Genesis 1:26-28
Over 2000 years ago Jesus came into the world to promote and establish a Kingdom. He called Himself a "King" and Jesus came to bring His “kingdom” back to earth. It has been said that the greatest and most successful human governments have been “kingdoms” ruled by righteous, benevolent and good kings. There is only one who can truly fit that role, and that is Jesus Christ. King Jesus cares for His citizens. His rule is a righteous rule.
SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you
Matthew 6:33
This declaration by Jesus also suggests that there must be something about His Kingdom that all of mankind has misunderstood. I have preached sermons titled "The Aliens Are Leaving", "Aliens Among Us" and "Do You Have Your Green Card," all dealing with the fact that we, as Christians, are in the world but not of the world. This past month the Spirit of God has been dealing with me about the Kingdom of God in a greater way than ever before. I believe the Spirit of God is going to reveal more about the Kingdom of God to men and women of God than ever before. Our first instruction from Jesus is to seek. This means to pursue, study, explore, understand, learn and consider. We must have a desire to know, and possess a passion for the object of our search. The Kingdom must be pursued, studied understood, and learned. Did you notice the word first? In other words, the Kingdom must be our top priority, the principal thing to place before all others as most important. Seeking the Kingdom of God must be our number one priority.
The next thing Jesus said to seek for was “His righteousness.” It is also the righteousness of the Kingdom. This righteousness has been diluted in the water of religion and must be recovered if we are to understand the Kingdom and experience the abundant life every child of God deserves.
In essence, righteousness describes the maintenance of the rightly aligned relationship with a governing authority so as to qualify for the right to receive governmental privileges. This is why Jesus emphasizes the Kingdom and the need to be righteous so that you can receive "all things added unto you." This promise includes all your physical needs, all your financial needs, and all your security needs, as well as your need for self-significance. No wonder the old men and woman of God of yesterday rejoiced with unspeakable joy in the time of hardship because they knew they were not of this world and they knew their King Jesus was the good Shepherd and that he would meet every need. Their prayer was to know Him and their song was "Victory in Jesus." Let me give you David's "Psalm of Praise" I think he may be able to explain it better than I can.
I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts. I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works. And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts: and I will declare thy greatness. They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness. The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works. All thy works shall praise thee, O Lord; and thy saints shall bless thee. They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power; To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom. Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations. The Lord upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down. The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works. The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them. The Lord preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy. My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.
Psalm 145:1-21
CITIZENSHIP
Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
Colossians. 1:13
My citizenship is not of this world and if you have been born again of the Spirit of God neither is yours. We have been translated into the kingdom of Jesus Christ the Son of the living God. "Hallelujah!" Years ago I was approached by a man reading a “tabloid” about space aliens they claimed were here on earth. He asked me if I believed in aliens. The Spirit of the Lord came upon me and I begin telling him that I was one of them. He said “You know I think you are. You are different than all the other men on this job. You don't tell jokes, you don't look at all the girly magazines,” he said, “ I think you are one!” Then I began telling him I would be leaving someday soon and it could be this very day. His eyes got bigger and bigger. He had never heard anything like this before. He kept saying, “I can see you are different,” over and over, “I can see you are different.” I asked him if he wanted to be different, and if he would like to go with me to my heavenly home when Jesus came back for me. He said "Oh! You are one of those ‘Jesus freaks." I said, “If you want to call me one, I guess I am.” Right after that I was preaching a revival and my first message was "The Aliens Are Leaving." Back in the seventies the Lord was teaching me that my citizenship was not of this world but it has more meaning to me today than ever before.
For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
II Peter 1:11
The citizens of this Kingdom are holy and righteous. There is no unclean person in the Kingdom of God. Let me say it this way, there are no sinners there. To become a citizen of this Kingdom there must be a new birth. The old man died with Jesus on the cross and a new man raised up by of the Spirit of God to newness of life. You can be religious, go to church, and still live in sin, but you will never be a citizen of the Kingdom of God.
Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Galatians 5:21
For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
Ephesians 5:5
Just keeping some laws or principles of the Kingdom will not give you an entrance into the Kingdom of God. You must be born again. Believe that Jesus died for you and totally surrender your old sinful life to His cross in faith that he will raise you from the dead and make you a new creation and a citizen of the Heavenly Kingdom in Him.
Heavenly Kingdom on Earth
I have learned that God wanted to bring the invisible realm of Heaven to the visible realm of earth.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Matthew 6:10
And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.
Luke 11:2
God owns the earth and everything on it; the earth is His land. The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods (Psalm 24:1-2). Because God owns the earth, He can do with it however He pleases, and it pleased Him to give it to man. The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord's: but the earth hath he given to the children of men (Psalm 115:16). So when God "gave" the earth to man, He did not relinquish ownership. We possess the earth as a trust, as stewards, as "kings" under the High King of Heaven. The King gave us dominion over the earth, not as owners but as vassal-kings to extend His heavenly government to the earthly realm. He gave us rulership, not ownership. We have the privilege to rule the earth, and with that privilege also comes the responsibility of wise and righteous management. And we are accountable to the King for how we manage our domain. The ancient Jewish law handed down through Moses stipulated that no property sales in Israel were permanent because the land belonged to God. The land shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me. And in all the land of your possession ye shall grant a redemption for the land (Leviticus 25:23-24). Israelites were free to occupy their own plot of land, develop it, cultivate it, live off of it, and even pass it on to their heirs. They were not to sell it, however, especially to non-Israelites. If financial circumstance necessitated selling the property to a fellow Israelite, the law made provision for the land to be returned. Every 50 years Israel celebrated a “Year of Jubilee,” during which time any land that had changed hands since the previous jubilee year automatically reverted to the original possessor. In Israel today, a similar principle is in effect. When young couples in Israel marry, the Israeli government provides or assists them with their first house. Why? Because there is no private ownership of property in Israel. Officially, the land belongs to God. The principle here is that in a kingdom, living on and using the land is a privilege, not a right.
The domain in which we rule over is right where we live. The homes of America have become so wicked even the children are not safe to live there. There was a time when men and women of God would say, “This is my house! You kids are not bring that filth into this house. You are not coming in here to "shack up" (have sex with out being married).” They ruled in the domain in which God had given them to rule over. People knew their God and loved their God and did not want to offend him in any way. Then religions started saying you need to love them and try to understand where they are coming from, and what ever you do don't judge him or her, because God loves them just like they are. In other words, the blinders were being put on. But I can still hear my granny say with her long finger pointing at me saying, “Nasty, nasty! Shame on you! Shame, shame! Do you think Jesus would like what you are doing?” That was rulership. In other words King Jesus would not like it if she let me keep doing the things I was doing in her presence. My granny and granddaddy ruled over the domain where they lived. If only men and women of God would once again seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness what a mighty move of God we would see in America.
The earth has become so wicked and filled with violence because Satan has blinded or kept the children of God from seeking the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. People are so bound by religion they think its all about their church, their ministry, and seeking after signs and wonders, but never seeking His Kingdom or His righteousness. Satan will give you all the signs and wonder you want as long as he can keep you from seeking this Holy and Righteous Kingdom. When people can sit in church and go home, kick back, and enjoy the filth on television, and rent the filthy movies, and look at the filth on the internet, all I can say is, you have given up your domain to Satan and he is working in your domain to destroy every thing you once loved and held dear. The world calls it broken homes and dysfunctional families, but I call it the loss of a dominion.
If you want heaven in your home then it is up to you to seek for the Kingdom of Heaven and its righteousness. When I was a child my sister and I would go and stay with our grandparents. At night granny would tuck us into a big feather bed. When we woke up in the morning we could hear granny singing songs like “I’ll Fly Away“ or “At The Cross,” and we could smell the fresh yard eggs and bacon cooking on the stove, and it was like waking up in heaven. The Kingdom of heaven was manifested in that home: you could hear it, you could smell it, and you could see it. If only parents and grandparents would seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness today! This is the only answer for America. The next time you hold your grandbaby in your arms, remember that our national government is saying that in less than 50 years one half of all American youth will be locked up in prison. Today one out of three families have a loved one either in prison or on parole.
The only hope for America and the world is for the Kingdom of God to be made manifest. It will not be manifested in any of the religious system of today, only in the lives of citizens of the Kingdom of God. The citizen of the Kingdom of God could care less about the religious system of today. The cry of the citizen of the Kingdom of God is to know him (Jesus) and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death.
That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; Philippians 3:10
Will you seek for the Kingdom of God and pray as Jesus said to pray?
And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.
Luke 11:2
The Fathers will is for the invisible realm of Heaven to seen in the visible realm of this earth. Citizen of this Heavenly Kingdom, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven (Matthew 5:16 ).”
We could keep going on about the Kingdom of God and never find a place to stop. But in closing, I will ask you, “Where is your heart? Is it in worldly pleasure or is your heart seeking for the Kingdom of God and His righteousness?” If you plan to spend eternity in Heaven why not try to learn as much as you can about it now by seeking the Lord, “right now.”