Patience and Pressing Into The Kingdom

Our Savior said that “The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it”. showing us that our acquisition of things from “Gods Kingdom at hand” is a persistence. And may we say we are still pressing in today. That salvation is more than a confession or a professing but a lifestyle of reaching a completion. Even as Paul said ”Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on to lay hold of why Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do is forget those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are placed in front of me, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

These were the words of Paul earlier on in his development that started with him being an antagonist as a Pharisee. It was him who was chosen from that lowly estate to give us all hope that anyone can be saved. For you see him authorizing and standing watch over the persecution and death of Stephen before Christ apprehended Paul as “The Bright Light from Heaven”. And lucky for us because if Paul from that “brood of vipers) can be saved, then anyone can. This is why Paul referred to himself as “the least of the apostles”, and “one born in my own time” after the other 11 to replace Judas Iscariot.

The word he used for “born” in the Greek was “ektromah” from trauma and meant an abortion. That was quite likely because of the forcefulness of his being born again, because of his struggle against Christ who said “Saul why do you kick against the goads? As if to prod him into the right direction

We see that Paul was seasoned from the beginning, that this would NOT be an easy transition. Yes, the very one Paul opposed, grabbed him by the proverbial scruff of the neck, blinded him and had him led by the hand to the other disciples who just happened to be avoiding Paul. Even as Paul said “ However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life.
Meaning that Paul had to start from the furthest point from grace to be used for this example for an anti-Christ, because Paul was out to kill the followers of Christ. Even as he inquired “who are you Master?” To which Christ answered “I Am the one whom you persecute. Isn’t it hard to kick against the goads?” Christ was referring to His body of beliverers of which He is the Head even in our day.

So what does this all mean? Well number one, it means that everyone is within reach of the grace of our Heavenly Father because Paul was a “chief sinner”. And two, that Paul’s journey and ours, is NOT an easy task. That “to press in to attain to Christ’s fullness” was NOT to be taken lightly and why Christ said that “now the Kingdom is preached and the violent take it by force”. Showing us a certain type of aggression needs yo be used.

So for us this portrays more of a military type of training and effort. Even as Paul told Timothy 2.1-7. You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ. 2 And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. 3 You therefore must endure hardships as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that they may please him who enlisted them as a soldier. 5 And also if anyone competes in athletics, they are not crowned unless they compete according to the rules. 6 The hardworking farmer must be first to partake of the crops. 7 Consider what I say, and may Christ give you understanding in all things.

And again This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may (be empowered to) wage the good warfare,” Showing us the seriousness of our purpose as becoming a saint. Which is to “lay hold of why Christ laid hold of you”.

You may think that this is NOT for you. To which we say maybe, but follow the “unction of the Holy Spirit”. You may be right because this is not for everyone. But we also don’t want to be categorized with the lazy or the slothful steward, or worse yet as “those who are rich and have need of nothing” or are “poor blind and naked”. Or just carried about by the concerns of the day”. Meaning your health, wealth and your current comfort.

We see that Paul acknowledged and understood that part of his role was to endure discomfort saying “11 to which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. 12 For this reason I also suffer these things (which is a measure of resistance while pressing in); nevertheless I am not ashamed (however foolish this may appear to observers), for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day. Showing us that Paul fully understood his responsibility, duty and aware of the help he would receive where and when neccessary.

And again “10 But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, long suffering, love, perseverance (pressing in), 11 persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra—what persecutions I endured. And out of them all YHVH delivered me. 12 Yes, and all who desire to live according to God in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

And “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Then we see Paul referring to a more firm grip of his accomplishments while he sojourned here where the obstacles that bring about our maturity are in abundance saying “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Finally, there is (collected and) laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His (multiple) appearings.

Meaning that Christs appearances are not just first and second as many suppose for His appearing’s are many. As Paul and Barnabus were sent to  “strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God”. And not to sit and wait like for a second coming. That is a “slothful steward” approach.

That  Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them. And if He should come in the second watch, or come in the third watch (or the 30th or 400th), and find them so (watching), blessed are those servants. But know this, that if the master of the house (you with your body) had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

Who also said that He would come as a thief and take all they had, and others “what I say to you, I say to all WATCH!

This is why we were instructed to preach the Kingdom at hand because Christ comings are many and why He comes as a thief as He further instructs:

And the Lord said, “Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due (meaning their own) season? Blessed is that servant (maybe you) whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you that he will (incrementally) make him ruler over all that he has. But if that servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming, (or is found waiting for a second coming)’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he who did not know (or understand), yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.

So yes, Christ may come in the first, second or third watch and Blessed are those servants who He finds watching.” Even now!

And as often as you need and as often as you “reach out to lay hold of why Christ lay hold of you”? You can see that we are to always watch. And however many are watching for a man from the sky to come and save again? What did Christ look like when He saved Paul? Wasn’t it a blinding light that dropped him to his knees? What was it you were hit with when you first believed? Well this is how we define all revelations. As blinding lights that spot light one thing after another until His Testimony is confirmed in you. That you “reach out to lay hold of why Christ laid hold of you”. Which is a proverbial carbon copy of Him. Except the carbon was the old you, and the light? Is the new you. That “we walk in the light as He is in the light” because we become that light too. This is the new you that you get to keep because “flesh and blood does NOT inherit the kingdom“, but the re-spirrited mind of faith does. This makes useful our time here as sojourners here in the faith, to “put on Christ” one revelation after another until our personal transfiguration is complete. “For you are complete in Him who is head of all principality and power”. Amen!

This is The Kingdom of God at hand. As for the others who sit and wait? Where is there kingdom? Is it on hold keeping you in limbo? You’ve got the wrong savior.

Oh King we have NO need to answer you!

These were words in Daniel 3.16  that  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego said to the king who threatened them with death. They did not physically respond to the threats of the king because they considering their riches from God to be immeasurably more safe and of greater value to keep them from being concerned about being thrown into the fire or the lions den. But more so showing us that they considered the provisions from God to be a strong tower against their threats.

As scripture says “And our God is able to make all grace abound toward you, so that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, to have an abundance for every good work.” And however scary it may have been for them to be threatened with death by the ruler of that kingdom, they still took control over the situation by employing their confidence in the promises of The Almighty God. So you can be certain that those who stand firm in the word of God? THEY DO NOT STAND ALONE!!

This account like all accounts in scripture has eternal value for us. To fortify our mental and spiritual resolve, to hold on to the assurances of the gifts from God “in Christ”. Which is our new selves re-modified and re-fitted by scripture with His word. Meaning, Gods Son called “The Word of God”. This is the genetic information we need to be like God, then broken down into pictures, pieces, sound bites and parables, for us to understand, assume, assimilate and put to use as co-owners and “joint heirs” of the things of God “in Christ” as outlined in scripture, being things from “The Kingdom of God at hand!”

It is for us to understand, and to receive assistance from the Holy Spirit in our endeavor to be modified by such to become more and more godly. This is how it works. What would Jesus do? This is it. This is our Savior and saving process because this is how we learn to appropriate what is cryptically splayed out in scripture and given to us for our retrieval as becoming saints. And then by the power of The Holy Spirit to implement what you’ve discovered. Here is your empowerment!!

This is how the trade off takes place, Old for New, speaking of covenants, promises and natures. And just as Adam felt naked and exposed and took the first offer to cover himself for the “just in case” with fig leaves, so too, many cover themselves with all types (as adulterers and idolators). It is because of papyrus and contracts, and authorizations of writ, by subscribing authorizing and even paying for services that come freely with salvation and revealed to us from the Gospel. Just read the accounts in scripture of those who were healed, helped, saved and made victorious in various situations and learn to believe too.

Christ would not bow down to such demands and neither should we because “as He is, so are we in this world”. Then that means what you may be thinking that He takes care of later, that later is NOW! Let Him be your dread, let Him be your fear, let Him be your only provider, Because “Today is the day of salvation” of your full coverages in all His various forms, placed over us like Gods tent or tabernacle that the feasts taught us about. None of the provisions did you have to sign up for or pay for. Just profess Him as your only “provider”,lest you find yourself at the end of yourself being “poor blind and naked”. Think of Adam and the apple. Get it? Apple? Is that the right kind of being made wise in Gods eyes?? The God of this age Satan thinks so, because in doing so he can minimize your time with the Father.

Especially when it comes to our new selves, God has provided to us in scripture, to have and to hold till death do you part” because we’ve re-conned it so anyway. This is why we are told, “in your patience posses ye your soul.” So that you can hone in on what is your role and goal is in the grand scheme of things of what is really important from an Eternal standpoint. And that is? The salvation of your souls. For your invisible part to be fitted with “everything that pertains to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who calls us to His Glory” by His very words we employ. And being blessed with “every spiritual blessing in Heavenly places “in Christ”, who is our new heritage. This is the only you, you get to keep and the things that are written on your heart (your core and not the one that goes thump thump), if you haven’t sold yourself out through subduction to services from the god of this age and Satan, by placing yourself under other providers provisions (think of a tent and tabernacle here) by what you subscribe to, where you sign off to be subject to others and subdued by using your God given personal sovereignty to another all with your own cognitions. Satan knows that he distributes the wrath of God on willing participants when he has you blindly submit. You have been warned!

Who is your covering and what contending over lapses of multiple coverage’s do you have? This is what spiritual adultery is. This is what idolatry is. To depend on false powers of Gods of this age that come to nothing.

Any form of authorization you give to any provider of ANY sort puts you in subjugation as inferior and having to perform and serve that form of writ. Why are there more sick and dying? And with each subjugation you submit to, your covering from God becomes smaller and smaller and you become more and more exposed. Because the more you get bound up by their submission forms, the blinder you get to see who provides for whom.

You may say about some, well it didn’t cost me anything. Not in money, but your soul is subjugated to terms and conditions which has spyware for manipulation and profit benefits for them. “You can not serve God and money, for you will love the one and serve the other”. That is pretty black and white.

That is what they want because they know that as they plant these”conditions of service” and sowing them all together, to provide a full covering of “services”, that in so doing they come between you and God Himself. That’s why they call it “the internet of things” because this is the net of their harvest of the things they’ve subdued from God with your permission because when God made you in His image,, He gave you your own sovereignty to grow into to be like Him. And you go and squander that unspeakable gift submitting (like bowing) yourself to the things that you think are your protection. But what you don’t know is that God’s Word and Holy Spirit are the only providers that are interested in the salvation of your souls. To be whole for your own benefit. For “God has given us everything that pertains to life and Godliness…

And you may think of us like Agrippa said to Paul: you are beside yourself! Your much learning is driving you mad!”

But the true Savior, saving and safe place becomes more and more distant as you invest yourself elsewhere. Then you become numb and unresponsive to the inner unction and motivator of The Holy Spirit. And be more and more subject to the harms, distractions and ills of this age because you sought other forms of protections that in reality exposes you to the very things they say they will save you from. You will know them by their fruits”? That is how it works.

That is why the healers and savings and saviors are huge businesses in our day. And the health, wealth and safety plans keep getting more and more expensive. Like the giants of old they are gobbling up peoples savings with their insatiable appetites.   And like a snowball rolling down hill that becomes bigger and bigger, is indicative of their lust for more and your lack of resistance to the lies. If you can see yourself being sucked into these lies, for this we have a remedy called “repent” which really means just to turn and go the other way towards God. To start whittling away to dissolve their interest in you by coming out of them. You can be sure it’s a soul trap…. You will be met by the warmest most reassuring loving God who is standing with His hand extended to reverse the draw on your soul even now but not for long. Remember Noah and the Ark, and Sodom and Gomorrah. They were living life normal until the door was closed.

So now, how do we put this in context for our lives?

Well simply put, to posses our souls is to first remove the debris and the inroads sown into us by the enemy Satan, described as “the god of this age”, showing us that he has been given control over certain factors as a tool of the True God to exercise our resolve. And for God to “separate the wheat from the tares”. of those who don’t respond. There are those who succumb, and those who rise up to challenge and break the yokes of bondage. For every service they offer, there are scriptures and promises of God that work better because they are Gods plug-in-and-play remedies. Just as simply as people are put under subjective agreements, terms and conditions, so too they break the chain by opting out as an act of repentance. And it is incumbent upon each one of us to exercise our God given sovereignty to rise up (insinuating a resurrection) to them like those in Daniel and say “no more”. And, “get behind me!”. And break free from the tools you agreed to for them to operate on your behalf. Whenever you accept these services, if you read THERE ARE NO TERMINATION DATES whereby they expire their sovereignty over the appointed matter. In essence they are Eternal!!!

Maybe this seems innocuous to you, but what if these terms and conditions are the soft sell to their greater plan of abusing the power you and everyone else gave them by their own submission? If you read the NOT so fine print, they come right out and say that they “reserve the right to change these terms and conditions” anytime they want, And IT IS UP TO YOU to go back and check their updates as often as necessary to make sure that they remain innocuous. That if you don’t then you have zero recourse for rectification and they provide no directions to terminate the relationship if they take advantage of you.

And you say, they haven’t yet and they won’t. Well if you look at the internet as a web, carefully woven overlapping their cross hairs through your various devices on humanity like a net? They have a lot of people pretty well sown up. It is a trap to softly convince everyone that they are safe, until your power to respond is gone and the time to respond was before there was a problem. (It is coming) Think about it! When they do this, they will do it to everybody.

For this reason the mandate went out to “come out of her My people lest you partake of her sins and receive of her judgments for God has remembered her”.

And we say, it is not an “if they do” but “when they do”. Because in truth the internet is a net of capture. Jesus Christ told the disciples “drop your nets and I will make you fishers of men”. For each thing that God has, there is a counterfeit from the enemy for your souls. And as long as he can keep you detained, entertained and maintained, occupied and attached here? Then he can keep you from your salvation, which is your recovery process of your souls that you are suppose to cooperate with the Almighty God on, to become restored images of those who own themselves. That is what it means to be remade into Gods image. Remember those of whom He had said, they were poor blind and naked!! ….. Because they didn’t understand these things. And if you don’t? “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

God should be your ONLY form of dedication, submission, subjection and cooperation. All others are subjective to that one, not the other way around. That “every knee shall bow, every tongue confess that Christ is Lord to the Glory of God the Father.

Meaning when you allocate your time, energy and funds for your day, week or month or whatever, where is God in your line up. Because if He is last, He is likely not there, and you blame Him for things not going as you planned. Then we ask, who serves whom?? Maybe He’s your genie in a bottle? No, you are on your own. But because everything seams to work just fine with those providers, maybe you think that is from God? To this we say, yes, that is your god, and you got what you paid for because “you cannot serve God and money”.  It is because of your contract that you subjected yourself to their promises.  And they will eat you up like fire. When they pull the noose on the net, you won’t be able to get out quick enough. THIS IS THE TRAP. That Mystery Babylon has fallen

Yes there is an invisible harvest taking place and make sure you are being harvested as being a pleasing product to the Father. He has sown His Son into this age, and is expecting His look alikes. Meaning if Christ did not tolerate something, then neither should we. This is also what we learn of through the various pictures of others in scripture. And whereas they had to face literal death in scripture, for the most part we don’t die all at once. But we do have to agree to loose things here to obtain things which are there, which is our trade off of earthen things, in exchange for pieces of Eternity with our new name on it. Even as John the revelator wrote to those who overcome before their body dies “And to them I will give to them a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except those who receive it.” ’

So “in your patience posses ye your soul”? Lets start by recovering it first because you have likely been being bound up your whole life and may not know it. (Parable of the dead and bound coming forth)

And because parables are given to make visible invisible bandages, bondage’s and entrapment’s, we are to learn how to unwrap ourselves from the bondage of this age that deceptively make you feel godlike with the instruments they offer you. And much like with Adam and Eve, the moment they started accepting coverage’s and provisions from another, in our case others (meaning plural), to the degree you have, you have become blinded or dead to the provisions from God for “supposed” temporary empowerment’s from other sources of provisions. And let there be no doubt that the words source, sorcery and out-sourcing have more in common then simply spelling and pronunciation. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

If this comes to you as offensive, then this is NOT for you. You have your providers. Let THEM take care of you. But in the end, we will see who is better off. Those who save themselves in this age, or those who accept the saving from God as seen in His promises, cryptically interwoven throughout scripture,  scattered about for our discovery, consumption, absorption and implementation so that when the storms in this life increase and you have the need, then you too can say like Danial and company, that “we have no need to answer you in these matters”. We don’t need to convince or explain anything to anybody but just say “get behind me Satan for you are not mindful of the things of God but the things of men”. If you haven’t done that already. But you don’t need to keep doing that,, if you’ve learned to see him hanging limp and dead at the cross where he was defeated. This too is part of your salvation package you need to learn to implement.

Thank God. Amen!