Since we first responded to a prompt from the Spirit of God to LEAP!, we have been challenged to change mind-sets established long before we leapt; this process involved more than mere agreement on our part to do things differently, it required a deep heart shift. No knowledge acquired on our own merit could prepare us adequately for the transformation required; instead it became vital to set aside doctrines of men so that we could begin to receive heavenly wisdom. The more obedient we were to the truth we heard, the more the rule of God became a daily reality.
The word kingdom is a 21st century church buzzword: there are many teachings on the subject whether it is ‘kingdom now’ or ‘apostolic reformation’. It is therefore important to stress that the dawning of this age is not a theological positioning; what we have been invited to share is something quite different: the rule of God in and amongst His people is not the latest “move’ of God; it is the acknowledgement of the sovereignly of the Father by those He has chosen to lead in His time to this understanding.
Some obstacles to our understanding once the Spirit cried “come out” included varying measures of the inability to let go of belief systems built on ‘revelation’ and man’s interpretation, the refusal to deal with heart attitudes and surrender to the circumcision process of changing circumstances and a presumptuous entitlement which did not permit us to walk in the fear of the Lord. The popular doctrines achieved by interpreting some Scripture figuratively whilst subjecting other parts to a literal belief mapped out an easier route to kingdom glory: it is no wonder that these doctrines which held great appeal to the soul of man were able to flourish in the last two decades. The way of thinking that glories in a “supernatural” kingdom superior to but much like all the other kingdoms of this world has its roots in knowledge, not wisdom. Its most-prized treasures like dominion over men and unbridled prosperity for its leaders at the expense of its citizens does not represent the eternal kingdom we are invited to. To embrace the unshakeable rule of God we are receiving, it is vital that we separate from our own way and that we deal with the arrogance of the uncircumcised human heart.
The writer to the Hebrews makes reference to a cloud of witnesses who surround us even as of now. They did not see the fulfillment of what was promised to them in their generation. With great expectation and eagerness they have been waiting to see our generation come onto the scene of the age of man and fulfill our part as a people of faith, so that they can be perfected with us in Christ Jesus. (Hebrews 11 and 12). They were commended for having hope and assurance about what they did not see. Abraham was obedient in journeying to the Promised Land but when he found himself there, he lived like a foreigner or a temporary dweller, who knew this couldn’t be it: what was wealth, houses and lands, fame and man’s acknowledgement of greatness in comparison to what he saw when God first spoke with him and taught him through his journey?. Moses persevered after leaving Egypt because he gazed at the unseen. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ, who came many centuries later, as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward (Hebrews 11:26) – the same reward we are offered: Christ within, the hope of glory.
The doctrines of men are often established by the traditional elevation of leadership and their ideology to the level of benchmarks for all those ranked lesser to strive toward despite the leaders’ human flaws and the mixture that comes from their own way of thinking: this is not the kingdom Jesus spoke of or what the cloud of witnesses of Hebrews 11 looked ahead to, the City that God Himself would build. In Luke 17 when Jesus was asked by the religious authority in His day when the kingdom of God would come, he replied, The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.” He taught Nicodemus in John 3 that “no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit”.
Paul echoed this to the Corinthian church in 1 Cor. 15 writing “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall webear the image of the heavenly man. I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable”.
In looking ahead, let us set our faces like flint toward that which we are receiving as the sovereign rule of God become real in our midst; here only because we have been led by His Spirit and given understanding to hear His truth and see His kingdom come, let us not look back to the temporary or allow ourselves to be distracted by the frenzied activity of the external ‘kingdom’ that so many only invest in because they cannot yet hear what we are hearing. When the sovereign rule of God comes, every value system dear to the heart of man is crushed in the shaking, and that which the Father values is left. Submit to the voice of the Spirit of Truth as He reveals Christ within and live every moment in the fear of the Lord in surrender to the process that brings His sovereign rule in our midst.
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Meg Dean
