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About Jesus - Steve (Stephen) Sweetman Choose
Whom To Serve Jesus said that "no
one can enter the Kingdom
of God
unless they are born of water and the Spirit" (John 3:5).
"You must be born again," He maintained (John 3:7). My
first birth was when my mother's water swept over me, sending me as a
newborn natural human into the material world.
My second birth was when God's Spirit swept over me, sending me as
a newborn spiritual human into the spiritual world of the Kingdom
of God. The Kingdom
of God
is an invisible spiritual universe existing in an unseen dimension in
which our time space reality exists. Paul
put it this way when he said that "in Him we live, move and have our
being" (Acts 17:28). Some
day this spiritual universe will be materialized on earth when Jesus, its
king, returns to this planet. Jesus told some people
that the Kingdom
of God
is near (Mark 1:15). It was
near because He was literally near them, and, because His disciples would
soon enter it once being born again of God's Spirit, as seen in Acts 2.
The culture of the Kingdom
of God
is in stark contrast to all human cultures.
It's a counter-cultural kingdom that cannot be amalgamated,
aligned, or confused with any earthly kingdom. The
sad historical fact is that over the centuries those claiming to be
Christian have tried to align God's kingdom with human kingdoms.
The fourth century Roman Emperor Constantine, the Holy Roman
Empire, some Reformers, many European expansionists, and today's version
of Christian Nationalists are all guilty of this blasphemy when they
disregard the fact that God's kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36). One of many differences
between God's kingdom and man's kingdoms is that earthly leaders lord it
over their people to benefit themselves (Luke 22:25).
Jesus said that this must never be seen among Christians because
they are servants (Luke 22:26) who seek God's kingdom above all earthly
kingdoms (Matthew 6:33). Is
that what we're presently doing? Much
of today's church resembles the Laodicean However you view the
book of Revelation, the prophetic call of God to His people has always
been, and still is, to "come out of her," "her" being our Babylon
style nations of men (Revelation 18:4).
It's the prophetic word for the church to go out into the world and
live the counter-cultural reality of God's kingdom that it represents.
Joshua 24:15 puts it correctly.
"Choose this day whom you will serve."
I say it this way, "Choose this day what kingdom you will
serve." I serve the
Scripture
References John 3:5 "Jesus answered, 'Very
truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom
of Mark 1:15 "'The
time has come,' he said. 'The kingdom
of John 18:36 "Jesus said, 'My
kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to
prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But
now my kingdom is from another place.'" Luke 22:25 - 26 "Jesus said to
them, 'The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them;
and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors.
But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you
should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who
serves.'" Matthew
6:33 "But
seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be
given to you as well." Revelation
18:4 "Then I heard
another voice from heaven say: 'Come out of her, my people, so that you
will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her
plagues;" Joshua
24:15 "But if serving the
LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for
yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors
served beyond the
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