Common Feature of True Kingdom Ministries

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Praying in private with his disciples one day, Jesus suddenly asked, "Who do people say that I am?" The disciples' answers were quite revealing---John the baptist, Elijah, one of the prophets. Jesus' ministry looked like the ministries of the prophets, and vice versa. They all looked alike to people. They all had the common feature of true Kingdom ministries.

The common feature is God's DNA. The present move of God.



Among God's Kingdom dynamics on earth was the prophet, priest and king threesome teamwork. These are all features of God's DNA. Jesus embodies all three of them. The king and priests worked together in nation building and governance while the prophet provided them direction. Since Paul said that the dominant work of an apostle is laying down the foundation "as an expert builder," the king and priests in the Old Testament functioned somewhat in the apostolic.

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So the triad operated in the apostolic-prophetic. Then God did a new move in David. David operated on all three anointings. One person carried all three. He was king, priest and prophet. He was a harbinger of things to come, which was the ministry of Jesus. From the family line of David came Jesus Christ, but Jesus carried all three anointings in unprecedented Kingdom power.

This is why we need to receive Jesus Christ into our bodies---to have the three-prong anointing fully operational in us. Receiving Jesus is primarily for salvation, but it's also for Kingdom ministry---for Kingdom Come purposes and to build the glorious church of Jesus Christ. This Kingdom church cannot be built up except through God's DNA using the apostolic-prophetic anointing in Christ. It's all supernatural, nothing of human effort or brilliance.

We don't have to go along with the world and attract people to our churches using worldly ways and standards. No need for any gimmick. No need to lure people with our nice buildings, facilities, elaborate programs, instruments and comfy seats. We have the full backing of the Holy Spirit power in the three-prong anointing and that's all we need, really. We need to genuinely hear from the Spirit. We have to go back to having God's imagination.

The true church can only be built by Christ himself. He said, "On this rock I will build my church." It cannot be built by human ways, desire, effort, and intellect. It cannot be built in the ways and standards of this world. It can only be built by God's ways---through the apostolic-prophetic anointing in Christ.

It's Christ in us the hope of glory. It's all spiritual and supernatural. Anything you build outside this realm is NOT Jesus' church. Impressive and successful, yes. Peopled and moneyed, yes. But it's not what Jesus is coming back for.

It should be Christ in us (led solely by the Holy Spirit) doing the church ministry and building the Kingdom on earth.

This explains why Jesus' ministry had striking similarities with John the baptist's ministry, and with Elijah's and the prophets'. One look and the people saw how they were identical. They mistook one for the other. They had the same DNA. These ministries didn't look anything like the ministries of the high priest, law teachers, and Pharisees---leaders of men's "bible-based" religion. Judaism was bible-based but human led nonetheless. It didn't have the common feature of true Kingdom ministries.

After you do a ministry, ask yourself: who do people say that Jesus is? Often, we do ministries so we can have an impact on people. And in our subconscious, we wonder what the people think about us or our church. But Kingdom ministries think about what people think about Jesus. Do they see Jesus as the Christ when they look at our ministry? Do they get a supernatural revelation of Jesus? Or do they see nothing but man's church or religion?



Do they see us as Jesus' church, or just another man's church or religious association or organization, no different from the Rotary Club or Kiwanis or other NGOs? Are they reminded of God's prophets and the prophetic move of God in the bible? Or are we just another relief organization operating in the earthly realms? It was imperative that Jesus asked, "Who do people say that I am?"

And it's imperative, too, that we possess the common feature of true Kingdom ministries in the bible to set us apart from earthly ones. We're called to be aliens and strangers in this world. We must represent the Kingdom, and thus we must possess its features as seen in the ministries of Jesus and the prophets. One look at us and people know that we are unmistakably from God (not of this world), coming straight from HIS Kingdom, and not just another man-made "Christian" religion, church or ministry.

UNSEEN GOSPEL: And even if our gospel is unseen, it is unseen to those who are perishing. [2 Corinthians 4.3]

How the Smallest of All Seeds Becomes the Largest

God thinks big, but he does that by thinking small. He knows the potentials of "small." With small, we easily focus on the few details that really matter, uncluttered by nonessentials which often occupy big spaces and dominates the whole screen or stage. Small keeps us accurately faithful to God and his Kingdom. Big tends to overwhelm us with nonessentials. That's how the smallest of all seeds becomes the largest of all garden plants in God's Kingdom.

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Then God grows us big. Remember, real growth in the Kingdom comes only from God, not us or anything we do. Growth manipulated by our hands may get applause in this world but never in God's Kingdom. It's merely vanity. So God wants us to stop thinking of our imagined greatness and just focus on accurate faithfulness. We keep our focus on the few really important things that matter.

How Small Grows

First, it needs to be planted, buried in the ground. In the soil it dies. Jesus said, unless a seed dies it remains a single seed. But when it dies, then it has the potential to increase. In fact, "the largest."

"(God's Kingdom) like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. 32 Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.” [Mark 4]

Don't think this is just about numerical growth. It could be, but the real point here is the growth of the Kingdom, and that Kingdom is within you, said Jesus [Luke 17.21]. Jesus added that, often, it's not something seen by the naked eyes, so that you say "Here or there it is." It's spiritual growth. The Kingdom in you grows but physically people may not see it.

A Mustard "Tree"?

I mean, do mustard seeds really grow into big trees? I have planted mustard seeds in my gardening days and I know for a fact they never grow into big trees. But it happens spiritually in the Kingdom, for everything impossible is possible there, and everything weird here is normal there. Real Kingdom growth is like that. It's spiritual. It happens within you. A "growing" church in the Spirit should be seen this way, not through membership size, income, programs or facilities.

In fact, it's an abnormal seed. It's not normal in this world for a mustard seed to become a tree, but it's the norm in the Kingdom. Real Kingdom churches are "smallest" in people's eyes---particularly the eyes of natural men---and it's how the smallest of all seeds becomes the largest of all garden plants in God's Kingdom. The least is the greatest. That's among powerful Kingdom principles in Jesus' unseen Gospel.

That's why often I say, the true church in Christ is abnormal.

Seed Becomes Shade

Then the tree from the small seed becomes a shade or covering. Genuine Kingdom people and churches who maintain Kingdom meekness serve as spiritual covering or protection for people connected to them in the Spirit. They become "big branches" that support people who find them a secure place to perch on, providing ample and protective shade. So people naturally seek refuge in them.

And didn't Jesus, the true Vine, explain how we are branches attached to him? In a sense, Jesus is the Kingdom within us. He was like a tiny, small, minuscule, unimpressive seed---seen like that by big-time religious leaders who thought they were somebody. But Jesus grew to unseemly proportions after dying and rising (or planted), although mortals hardly saw it that way. They still belittled Jesus and mistreated his ragtag church after he left.

But to real Godly men, the Kingdom spread and advanced even if to most people it perished in the persecutions. Later, some men started their own churches which were worlds different from what Jesus had introduced and started, again belittling the smallest of all seeds and preferring large ones. In fact, to this day, many treat that seed outmoded or irrelevant (worse, even persecuted), though given utmost importance and kept in glass frames in magnificent museums called "church buildings" where God's things are kept sacred (but unused).

Small is Big to God

Definitely, God wants all men to be saved [1 Tim.2.4], and wants us to "compel" folks from the outskirts of town to attend and eat his banquet "so that my house will be full," [Luke 14], but he nonetheless wants us to keep small---because small is big to him. Small though big. Big though small. (I love these Kingdom reversals!). Have you seen a big-time rich guy acting like a small-time, low-profile, simple, common folk? In fact, like a poor Nazarene carpenter? That's the idea. And that's how the smallest of all seeds becomes the largest of all garden plants in God's Kingdom.

Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand.” [Zechariah 4.10]

The Work has small beginnings, and it grows enormously inside while appearing small. And it's not the physical size that matters but the "plumb line" held in "Zerubbabel's hand." That plum line ensures accuracy in the Work, making sure everything is according to God's Kingdom patterns alone. Zerubbabel (symbolic of God's servants in his temple, which is our bodies) should focus on this alone, not on physical size, income, programs, or what-have-you. These are merely added when we focus on the smallest of seeds.

[Continued]

UNSEEN GOSPEL: 

And even if our gospel is unseen, it is unseen to those who are perishing. [2 Corinthians 4.3]

When Real Kingdom Authority and Power Comes This is What Happens

Broken Believers

How do you know when genuine Kingdom authority and power had come on you? Kingdom standard says you'd know it when true meekness reigns. Have you seen in the Gospel how it happened to Jesus? It says Jesus "knew" that authority and power had come from the Father and that he knew who he really was.

Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; [John 13]

Just imagine---the Father had put "all things" in his power. All things in the universe and on earth. And yet, how did he look? Did he look anything like it, like how the world understands power and authority? He looked weak and powerless, like a jobless street bam roaming the streets of Jerusalem and remote places in the wilds. 

Real Power and Authority

Pondering on this, you'd understand how real power and authority from the Kingdom looks like. It's power and authority made perfect in weakness. It is radically meek. In John 13, we see more aspects of it. When Jesus was to stress Kingdom power and authority to his disciples, he did this under these circumstances---he washed their feet while the devil had prompted Judas  to betray him. After this, he even announced how "one of you is going to betray me.”

Not a conducive scenario to show your power and authority. Washing their feet and announcing betrayal in his ministry is power and authority?

If we were to impress people with our power and authority today, we'd do it differently, even in church (or especially in church). We'd show off our capabilities, achievements, awards, titles, degrees, intellect and talents. Why? Because we need to prove who we are to people to get their respect.

Not Jesus.

He didn't need to prove who he was. He knew "he had come from God and was returning to God." Deep inside him, he was confident of this. "He knew." That was all that mattered. It didn't bother him what other people may think of him. If you have to keep telling people about your capabilities, credentials and accomplishments, it means you need their approval so much. And it means your power and authority emanates from such approval. Your power and authority are nothing but earthly.

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In fact, genuine Kingdom persons really don't need to prove themselves. And because Jesus knew about these things, he had no trouble humbling himself to perform a menial task for the disciples---washing their feet. 

Well, of course today it's so easy to "wash one another's feet." They have even made it a spectacular and glamorous Sunday church ritual and have people watching how humble they are, washing someone else's feet. It's mostly nothing but a publicity stunt. 

NO Power Tripping

It was different when Jesus did it. There was no audience or cameras (it's amazing how cameras can make people do a lot of silly things these days). And Jesus had proven to the disciples through unmistakable signs and wonders and powerful miracles that he really was the Messiah, God's own Son. Imagine the very Son of God, the King of Kings, bowing in front of you to wash your feet! Even John the baptizer didn't feel worthy to untie Jesus' sandals. What more have the Master wash your feet? Can you see this?

The message was clear---wash one another's feet. Be humble with one another and serve one another. God's Kingdom is not about positions and titles and showing off authority but about meek servitude. Jesus didn't really become their servant or household help in such a way that he obeyed their commands and every whim or cleaned their houses, did their laundry, washed their plates and cooked for them. But he took their place at the cross, dying for them instead of they themselves being nailed to it.

Here's the lesson here---the moment you really realize and have full knowledge of your position in Christ and your place in the Kingdom, that's the same time you begin to know your low position and humble yourself and become meek. If power and authority makes you arrogant and proud and self-centered, it's not from the Kingdom. It's worldly and devilish. 

Ministry Problem

Jesus' display of the nature of his power and authority was also the same time Judas, his own handpicked disciple, decided to betray him. How could this happen? Wasn't this a sign that Jesus had poor leadership? How could he be sure he had power and authority when he could not even control or rebuke someone like Judas?

Remember that Jesus knew about it all---Judas' real heart and what he was up to---and yet never confronted him about it. We would have confronted him if we were Jesus because we don't want ministry bad image wrecking our show of power and authority. But again, this only confirms the insecurity we hide in us, like the way we parade out titles and degrees and position to people to get their respect.

Jesus showed that genuine Kingdom power and authority is not control but faith and trust in God. If you really believe all is in God's hands, you need not control or fix problems yourself. You only have to pray and believe. What more if God was your Father?

I've always pondered on this---why didn't Jesus do anything to discipline Judas? Even while knowing how Judas stole money from the ministry money bag, Jesus still assigned him the task of keeping it. There's a powerful Kingdom principle behind this we should see. 

There were times Jesus rebuked and disciplined the disciples, like when he told Peter, "Get thee behind me, Satan!" But why didn't he do it to Judas who seemed guilty of a worse sin?

Genuine Authority and Power that Comes from God

Here's what I see---the more you hold real Kingdom power and authority, the more you are gracious to worse sinners and the more you allow God leeway to move in your ministry, especially where disciplining rebels and offenders is concerned.

I have seen leaders who became cruel the more they were given authority. You wouldn't believe it how formerly simple people like Hazael [2 Kings 8.11-12] can become a tyrant the moment they get just even a taste of power. I note how they also tend to shame people publicly and seem to enjoy it. There is a strong tendency for mere men to abuse power and flaunt it around. 

Jesus here demonstrated what true Kingdom leadership is. It is not harsh, strict, exacting or cruel. Yet, it is never compromising, especially to men's wishes. It is gracious especially to the worst offenders, And yet, what's scary is how it leaves judgment and punishment in the hands of God. Just see how Judas, in the end (after given so many chances) was unable to repent from his sin though he was so sorry about what he did. Losing the grace for repentance is scary. And see how Paul can simply hand over to Satan an unrepentant offender [1 Corinthians 5.5]. See how Peter left Sapphira's and Ananias' fate to God.

This is the kind of power and authority the church needs today---not arrogant and showing off but gracious, yet deadly in the end. And this can only come if you understand the Kingdom standard of meekness and knowing who you really are in Christ.

GOD's Kingdom: The Smallest of All Seeds

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It's odd that Jesus should compare God's Kingdom with "the smallest of all seeds." A lot of ministers today would brag about their "big" ministries (although when you see them they're really small) and would compare them with large, known, international ministries. I often hear them talk like that---as if their ministries were as big as the Roman Catholic's or Inglesia ni Cristo.

But the world always talks like that. It wants to talk big. It loves to talk about its greatness. Hence, I was intrigued when I realized how Jesus compared God's Kingdom---which is really big and encompassing---to a small mustard seed.

The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch on its branches. [Matthew 13]

Before being the "largest of garden plants," it was a single small seed, the smallest of all. And mind you, it grew in an abnormally big size. This connotes something supernatural. Something spiritual. It is not literal physical growth that a lot of preachers think it is, like how a church grows in membership and income and building. Because if this were the case, then the Roman Catholic Church alone has the right to claim it.

But fact is, it is not. The passage is about how God uses something that cannot grow big to grow wildly big. It's a fact that a mustard plant never grows into a tree, much less a big one. I did a lot of gardening and I know that for a fact. So, if you tell a farmer you'd like to grow a really big tree and he asks what tree you'd plant and you tell him "a mustard plant," he'd say it will never happen. He may even think you're nuts.

And in fact, it won't. And that's why this is all about the supernatural move of God. God uses what the world sees as small, ineffective and won't work (or nuts) to bring about his big, huge plan for the Kingdom. God uses the weak to shame the strong. God uses the foolish to shame the wise [1 Corinthians 1.27]. Jesus emphasized that the least is the greatest in God's Kingdom. 

And yet, the church at large keeps going the opposite direction. It talks about being big and large and great and the best. They all run the rat race of who's the greatest and has the most number of members and income. That's why they are all after titles and degrees attached to their names and positions. They will never be in the center of God's will as long as they sound and look like the world. 

God's plan is that his Kingdom will grow so big that birds would come and perch on its branches. I notice the words "come" and "perch." The Kingdom never forces people to its membership. Instead, people "come" to it, as we have seen in Jesus' ministry. And "perch" connotes alighting and resting. Thus, I see something figurative and supernatural here.

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The growth God shows here is spiritual growth, not physical or numerical. Jesus invites those who are tired to "come" and he will give them "rest," [Matthew 11.28]. Hebrews talks about the "rest" every believer must make sure to enjoy in life. 

Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience. [Hebrews 4.11]

It is not growth in numbers, income or structural building that Jesus wanted to teach about the mustard seed but authentic spiritual growth in believers who understand this Kingdom principle of being like "the smallest of all seeds." It's also not about thinking small or remaining small. It's about being God's small and seen by men as being impossible to become big. 

When I talk to pastors or church leaders about doing ministry exactly as Jesus did it---like never following up those you evangelize or not doing visitations or keeping a membership---they'd say your church will never grow that way. Well, Jesus NEVER followed up or visited or kept a membership. He never registered his church's name with the government (in fact his ministry never had a name). But church people today will laugh at you for having a mustard seed mentality. 

But the growth God wants is more spiritual than physical. The only way we can really radically influence people today is by not looking like the world. Private corporations and cause-oriented groups like the Rotary Club all do follow ups, visitations, and keep memberships. They do medical missions and feeding programs. They promote themselves. 

Jesus never did these things. We think that doing ministry his way is small-time, so we rather use the ways of this world that yield physical or material rewards. We think Jesus' ways will give little results, if any. Because our physical eyes can only count and appreciate physical or material things. All our church efforts have resulted only in producing more religions, especially more "born-again" religions. 

But little do we know that if we keep up with the mustard-seed principle of God's Kingdom, we will grow into a wild, abnormal "mustard tree," something the world cannot imagine and have never seen---but something that gives genuine spiritual and radical rest for exhausted souls. 

Have Your Heard of Jesus' "Heavenly Things"?

Views of the Solar System

When Jesus came to earth, he presented people with his earthly things. And a glimpse of his "earthly things" can be seen in what he said in John 3. 1-12: God's love, eternal life, born-again, born of spirit and of water, being like the wind.

Though earthly (designed by God for easy understanding of people on earth) yet, many of those who heard them found it hard to believe them, including Nicodemus. To this day, churches and denominations still debate over the "earthly things" of Jesus Christ and still partly believe them. They also debate over speaking in tongues and eternal security and holiness which are also part of Jesus' earthly things.

Earthly things are those that benefit us while we're on earth---salvation, repentance, church administration, church ministries, spiritual gifts, etc. Heavenly things are those that we need or have when are in heaven already---unfading glory, ever-increasing glory, surpassing glory, immortality, perfection, our share in the divine nature, etc.

And the most wonderful part of heavenly teaching is how we should have the heavenly things now while still on earth---"your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." The church has not yet walked in this truth. They have stopped with denominational things which are nothing but worldly (not included in Jesus' earthly things).

Jesus told Nicodemus that unless we believe Jesus' earthly things we can never understand his heavenly things.

I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? [John 3.12]

As long as churches still have their differences in their denominational doctrines, they will never be fit for heavenly things. So all they have today are their beautiful church buildings, properties, church income, worship programs. worship teams, choirs, titles and degrees, denominational doctrines, human theology, and things like that. All earthly. All temporary and physical. What the physical eyes see are temporary and often just lies.

Join Unseen Glory on this spiritual quest and get past everything carnal and human to learn Jesus' heavenly things. Then you begin to see wonderful things in the Gospel, things earthly people will never see. To them, it's the Unseen Gospel. To us, by God's grace and mercy, it's Jesus' heavenly Gospel.

The Secrets of the Kingdom are Not for Everyone

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It's a shocking revelation from Jesus--not all are privileged to get a peek at the secrets of the Kingdom. What the majority gets are mere parables that seem to mean nothing. They just sound like ordinary stories.

Honestly, if you were among the crowds around Jesus and you heard him tell about the Parable of the Sower, you wouldn't automatically get the lesson of the story. And you'd probably come home thinking all you got from Jesus that day were tips on how to plant a seed properly. You wouldn't get a clue that the story was all about how the Word of God was received by people who heard it being preached to them.

Of course, today we know the story and its meanings because we can read how Jesus explained it to the disciples. Back then, the crowds just got the story and went home with some tips on gardening. And the disciples were puzzled--why speak in parables when Jesus could have just talked to them directly and plainly?  Why not just get to the point? The crowds could have understood it better and been saved.

Didn't God want all men to be saved?

But Jesus told them the shocking truth--God intentionally withholds the light of revelation from the crowd.

"Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them." [Matthew 13.11]

Another translation puts it this way:

"You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not."

You see that? Truth is, permission is only granted to some, though God wants all to be saved.

No wonder then that only so few--even in "Christian" churches--can understand the secrets of the Kingdom. By this then, we see who the real Kingdom people are (citizens of the King's Kingdom) and who are just passing visitors who merely see the gates of the Kingdom--and think seeing the gate makes them citizens.

The secrets were given to the disciples because they believed in Christ and surrendered their lives fully to him while he was still unpopular. See that?

While he was still a nobody---a guy ridiculed by the honored and titled religious leaders of his time, dumped by the rich and belittled by guys with big ministries (like the Pharisees)---his disciples decided to put all their stakes on him. It was like betting your all on a losing candidate.

It seemed a stupid thing to do---but the disciples put their 100 percent trust and confidence on Jesus. This is the reason the secrets were given to them, and not to the crowd.

When you are that desperate for Jesus---believing all his Word and willing to risk your all to obey them (even look stupid doing it), especially his unpopular Word (Word of God that people, especially religious leaders, find foolish or too radical and reject)---then God favors you with the secrets of the Kingdom.

God's "unpopular" Word is what I sometimes call the Unseen Gospel. Church people intentionally fail to see it. Fact, they hate it.

Here's one example of his radical Word:

Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. [Luke 12.33]

Would you really risk all to obey this Word from Jesus? 

If you take radical bible passages like this seriously, people will reject you. They'd say you're nuts and taking it all out of context. And they would do everything to interpret it differently. 

But your reward for believing Jesus Christ is revelation of truth which a lot of people don't have.

Why do so many "Christian" churches not sell their possessions and give to the poor? Why do they keep accumulating properties, possessions and wealth?

Church Still Can't Handle God's Gold [2]

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[Here's Part 1]

Often we ask God for money because we need it for our personal expense. In His faithfulness, He gives us the amount we need, sometimes intentionally making it short of meeting the amount we think we need--and then making us see how the financial needs of others, especially of nonbelievers, are given even over and above what is needed. But rest assured, God always gives us enough, exactly what we need.

When God finally sees in our hearts that we need money only because we need it for building His Kingdom on earth, only then will He bring out pure gold from His inner chambers and take it to the temple court and even beyond the gate. For now, church can only handle bronze. And we have to live with that for a while.

So folks, don't brag about your mega church buildings or posh sanctuaries designed state-of-the-art. However expensive it is, it's just bronze in the spirit.

Even churches and Christians who think they are so "blessed" because they have more money than others shouldn't think highly of themselves. God gives you wealth so you can give them all up. But no one wants to do that today. God blesses them with wealth and they store it up for themselves and make a show of it--their lifestyles become sophisticated, they act and live like the rich and famous of this world, they travel for pleasure, buy costly cars and clothes, build or live in mansions. 

Some even buy private airplanes and jets, and brag about them in their "testimonies" or sermons and sometimes even on Facebook--unbelievable--everything Jesus said in His Sermon we shouldn't do.

God gives you wealth so you can find occasion to prove yourself--that you can give them all up for HIM. Only then will God give you true riches. No church denomination can do this today, that's why God will destroy everything man-made, even man-made "born-again" churches.

When God sees that His gold is safe in the hands of meek and selfless men of God, then He will release His material riches to build His spiritual Kingdom on earth by Jesus' glorious church, which is without spot or wrinkle or any blemish but holy and pure!

The important thing is Christ's simplicity. I and my wife and family still try to live up to this Kingdom principle--it takes some getting used to--because we are daily bombarded with suggestions and brain-washing on what they say we need. Even the church sometimes take the lead in suggesting what non-essentials we need, like church buildings, hi-tech praise and worship, hi-tech sound systems, church vehicles, etc. 

It's sad to see church denomination leaders and "men of God" in their expensive cars and mansions and posh offices--all of which Jesus had none. Once he just rode on a “borrowed” donkey, that's what I read in the Book. The moment church gets to touch even a bit of God's pure gold, they'd use it for their self convenience and welfare, then parade to all how "blessed" they are. They've been doing that for ages.

But God is going to change all that. He is now raising up true servants who are closely and radically getting the Jesus LIFE and ministry. I want to see (and God will let me see soon) true men of God who commute in public vehicles to conferences and crusades, who are in plain t-shirts and cheap jeans and simple sandals or shoes, with plain and simple guitars for worship and who do not plan for evangelistic crusades and advertise them but which just happen and grow big as Jesus and the Acts church had them. 

I want to see true men of God who live in simple, humble homes, almost unknown and faceless and so radically selfless and have no big ambition but just ready to have what God has predestined for them, dying to obey God and join Him in building His spiritual Kingdom on earth. When God sees that His gold is safe in the hands of these meek and selfless men of God, then He will release His material riches to build His spiritual Kingdom on earth by the Jesus' glorious church, which is without spot or wrinkle or any blemish but holy and pure!

We need more of God's enabling grace to really live as aliens in this world, and by God's grace and mercy we are not far away from finally being thus. When God gives you His vision, you will surely see its fulfillment for yourself. You or your descendants (your Joshua generation) will surely accomplish it in His power. 

The unseen Gospel will soon be plain to see by all fully revived souls in Christ!

The Sudden, Surprising Coming of the Lord

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It's sudden and surprising but no one would probably notice it--until it's too late. The first coming of the Lord was like that--everyone in Israel waited for its Messiah to come but when it finally happened nobody knew except Mary and Joseph. If not for the angelic appearance and the divine star, the shepherds and the magi wouldn't have know of it either.

What makes us think the second advent would be different?

Mary and Joseph were absorbed with only one thing--the coming of their baby. They had no concern about the worries of this world. They were too poor to have them. And in the last days, worries about worldly concerns will take people's attention from things that really matter. Non-essentials will replace Kingdom concerns and have the appearance of being priorities.

Like man's "church" as priority. Well, we'll deal with this later.

In the first advent, everyone was too busy to notice the sudden, quiet entry of the Messiah into the world. In the second advent, it would be the same. Look at how the Lord described it:

And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. [Luke 17]

However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth? [Luke 18]

Will he find faith on earth? Probably scarcely, if any. Why? Because it will be sudden and surprising, like when a thief comes barging into a house--unannounced and sudden. And among the first to be left behind are the religious authorities of a bible-based religion--like what happened to the high priests, teachers of the law, and Herod. They were strictly bible-based--leaders of the chosen people of God--and yet they didn't know that the thing had already happened--that it happened right under their noses.

Yes, there will be a sudden disappearance of believers which would mark the event. And that ought to prepare everyone for the second coming, right? But the problem is, when such things are spoken of repeatedly, they tend to sound like a myth eventually. It's seriously taught in churches and church people devoutly listen to it--but no one believes it. You see it in their lives and characters. You see it in their priorities. 

And their boasted priority is "church." They all think church (as they're doing it) is the priority in the last days. That priority is why Jesus wondered if he'd find faith on earth when he gets back. Because he saw that everyone will be busy with church--especially who's got the most number of planted churches. Who has the biggest mega church.

Evangelism is a must. It's among the few priorities in the last days. But not an evangelism that merely grabs people to church to up the membership and income. It should be an evangelism that ushers souls into the Kingdom of God on earth, not to denominational churches where they learn to do "church" but become aliens to God's very own Kingdom. 

God's Kingdom on earth and church denominations are two different and separate things. You cannot serve both--you will love one and hate the other. 

And to belong to God's Kingdom, you should naturally manifest the fruit of the Spirit daily. In short, the Jesus LIFE. Having planted a lot of churches, having a lot of church members or having witnessed to lots of perishing souls and get them born again is not the gauge. You can do all of them and yet serve only man and never serve God or his Kingdom on earth. 

In the last days, church people will be so busy with their own church affairs and miss the true priorities of heaven. Few will be found to have the right faith--the very faith of Jesus Christ.

Bringing Out New and Old Treasures from Your Storeroom: Winnowing the Inner Man

postcity.com

Nothing is accidental. Everything that happens is for a purpose. "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father," [Matthew 10]. This is not to say, though, that everything is good and beneficial. You have to be accurately discerning about things in your life you should keep or discard. But to be sure, both serve a purpose.

You read a book when you still weren't in Christ or in God's present move. That book wasn't accidental. God purposefully made sure you'd read it and get ideas from it. You took a college course for 5 years and yet later ended up in full time ministry. Nothing in that college course was a waste of time. God intended every moment of it for your maturity in the Kingdom later.

I've read a lot of books--from history to communism and Karl Marx, to romance and drama, to Science and theology. I also loved books on espionage, arts and humanity, human nature and relations, Jose Rizal and other heroes, world affairs, politics, and economy. These weren't just accidental. God gave me interests in them for a purpose.

To be sure, it's not for self aggrandizement or ambition. It's to later humble you and make you wiser for the Kingdom, to become wiser than the enemy [Psalm 119.98]. God has nothing in mind but the Kingdom of his Son. Everything he allows in this world is for Kingdom advancement. So you better align your life priorities accordingly. Everything in your life should be about the King and his Kingdom on earth.

Later, as you grow closer to God and meditate him and his Word more (and as you decrease and Christ increases in you), he starts the winnowing process. It happens in your inner man. He makes you remember a lot of things, especially from books or teachings you heard before and unconsciously stored in your subconscious. We're all, in a sense, like the law teacher Jesus told about in Matthew 13.52. 

We keep in our memory storehouse a lot of ideas and concepts (or human theologies) that quietly process our mindset and mold our thinking. Most of them draw us far from God's Kingdom and closer to men's churches, but some of them give us second thoughts about what we're doing.Later, when we join the genuine present move of God and become "disciples of the Kingdom," God moves us to weigh the contents of our minds and hearts and "bring out new treasures as well as old" from our storerooms.

“Therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”

True Kingdom people become experts about treasures. They know how to use old and new treasures and what among them should be kept or discarded. Old treasures can become new in Christ, and vice versa. Ordinary law teachers who know nothing about God's Kingdom on earth will just keep the old and reject anything new as "dangerous" or "unsound." 

"And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, 'The old is better,'" [Luke 5.39]. No one, except the one who has become a disciple of the Kingdom. Everything is permissible but not all can bring a benefit, says Paul. 

As you become familiar with the Kingdom and mature in Christ, you see the true worth of things. You see in the spirit and easily get rid of useless things and retain what has use in the Kingdom. 

"But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil," [1 Thessalonians 5.21]

The whole idea behind is being wiser in God's Kingdom and the purity of the inner man. In Christ, these are among very few things that really matter. The rest is garbage.

GO FOR GOD'S INVISIBLE REWARDS: Storing Treasures in Heaven

allnationsmin.org

I always say go for the invisible rewards, things unseen by the naked eyes and which cannot be perceived by the unspiritual mind. Material blessings we hear from testimonies are good and should inspire us to praise God more. But more than material blessings are unseen rewards God gives to those up for a Kingdom promotion—things highly unappreciated [if not belittled] by the world, especially the worldly church.

We often watch on TV testimonies about how people received things in return for giving to a mission or ministry. For instance, I once watched on TV how a lady got 3 cars and a lucrative business after giving money support to a popular ministry. Then, the host encouraged watchers to also give to get something in return. It’s like a business or investment to gain a profit. And the impression they create is that your material possessions get doubled or tripled when you support a ministry. In short, go for material rewards, rewards seen by the eyes and easily appreciated in the world.

They Show Only Visible Rewards on TV for Promotion

Giving to God definitely results to rewards, especially material and financial. But I always say go for the invisible rewards than the visible ones. However, some ministries are only after self promotion [to get more donations for their causes--well, which are worthy causes, to be sure] and show only the visible rewards reaped by probably about 10 percent of the givers.

It’s like this. If there are 1,000 donors, only about 10 percent will get visible rewards. The rest won’t. It’s an observable fact—not all who give to ministries get their money or possessions doubled or tripled. So, the rest of those who gave would wonder back in their minds and ask, why didn’t I get blessed as that other person did on TV? Am I doing something wrong? Isn't God pleased with me?

If you're in sin, your giving won't please God, for sure, though you may likewise get material rewards for it. Strange as it sounds but it happens--God rewards both the righteous and the wicked, remember? 

"He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous." [Matthew 5.45]

In fact, sometimes, givers who are in sin seem to get more material rewards. Remember the rich man and Lazarus? Lazarus had God's favor but the rich man got tremendous material blessings. Most times, givers who live in righteousness scarcely get materially blessed. Well, for purposes of discussion, let's talk of righteous giving here.

Back to that Christian TV program where they promote material blessings. Now, if money or material rewards alone get promoted, what would happen? The effect would be either of two things: "unblessed" givers would try again, inspired by the testimony they saw on TV where 10 percent who gave support got money or material blessings. Or, they’d be disappointed and stop [or quit] giving.

The question is, why are we inclined to highlight money or material rewards more than spiritual rewards? Didn't the Master say we should store treasures more in heaven?

Why Go for the Invisible Rewards?

Watch this verse: “Thus, we glue our eyes on [or watch out intently for] rewards that are unseen, not visible ones or those readily seen and appreciated in this world. Visible things or rewards are just temporary. They won’t last. But unseen or invisible rewards are eternal,” [2 Cor. 4.18]. But the way things are, the church today goes for the money value system of the world rather than the Kingdom value system. To God, unseen rewards are definitely superior, but the church rarely promotes them seriously.

If you give money support to a ministry, go for the invisible rewards: like a higher and more secure status in the invisible Kingdom, in God’s eternal and invisible glorious church. In short, desire to be God’s flesh on earth. Jesus said; “Use your worldly wealth [material possessions and money] to gain friends for yourself [share it or support a ministry], so that when it is gone [“gone” means God wants you to give up everything], you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings [a secure place in the Kingdom], [Luke 16]. He didn't say, "so when it's donated, you double your money."