 THE
KINGDOM CHANGE
The ills of this society will not be healed through tax reform or
more give away programs. What this nation desperately needs is Jesus Christ and The
Kingdom Of God as it's number one priority. For this or any society to have the moral
power to change, it must first be changed. There is no provision in society to do this.
Society must look outside itself for hope, and solution. Instead of looking out toward the
Kingdom, man looks out toward psychology or psychiatry or social help programs. For nearly
60 years, they thought the answer would be found in bigger government that took care of
people from birth to the grave. It should be clear that the social programs have miserably
failed. This new round of social programs will also fail. The reason is so simple it is
amazing why it has not been seen. Social programs have no power to take hold of the crisis
and change people. The reason is because it cannot impart a higher life. Without the new
birth experience and the invasion of God's own life there can be no new beginning. Without
the new beginning, all things stay the same even though the mechanics change. Man searches
for the meaning of life without seeking the source of all life. Man, through his
artificial intelligence, has created more power than he has the moral character to use.
Man will destroy himself with the instruments intelligence has created. As the mechanical
power of the secular world increases, the essential nature of man must increase or that
power will cause society to become more uncivilized. The truly Kingdom person can handle
power. The un-Kingdom person will pervert power whether he stands in the pulpit or in the
secular society. Man has an inherent desire to be good. Even the worst person puts on a
front of being good. Even Thomas Dillon, who killed so many men with a rifle for no
reason, said he was really a good person. It was just that he had this desire to shoot
people. Most people want to be known to others as a good person who does good things. Even
the war lords of Somalia think they are helping the people even though they have caused
the deaths of thousands and bankrupted the country. If man wants to do good, why doesn't
he? It is because man does not have the power to enact his inherent desires. His fallen
desires are too strong for him to conquer. Even if man is helped by some temporary social
program, he still has these overpowering fallen desires. What man must have is some power
from heaven that will cleanse and eradicate these perverted desires, whatever their
nature. Whatever experiences God has restored to the church since the reformation, all are
fulfilled "IN THE KINGDOM". This could include bible salvation, water baptism,
sanctification, missions, baptism of the Holy Spirit, etc. Bible salvation must hold the
Kingdom in view, if it is to have it's fulfillment in the Kingdom. It is clear that bible
salvation is not complete with forgiveness of sins. Many who are "born again"
will not participate in the Kingdom because of lawlessness. Therefore the Kingdom must be
the goal for this life and not just seen as a place we go when we die. Each person has
their own unique problems and no social program can focus upon each unique problem. These
programs must be more universal and designed for the average. The social programs can
supply for the needy but can't discriminate against the lazy and worthless. In fact
"No discrimination" is the key phrase. It is not socially acceptable to
criticize a welfare mother for continuing to have more children. That is considered her
civil right. In fact welfare is now called " Entitlement programs". It is your
civil right. You are entitled to welfare, regardless of whether you are lazy and
worthless. It appears the Government has become sentimental about these things. Now the
Kingdom is not sentimental. The Kingdom requirements are not modified by our hurt feelings
or our excuses. It goes right to the root of the problem and begins a change, if we are
willing to change. If we insist on keeping our spiritual welfare mentality and demand our
entitlement, we still won't change. If we are willing to lay down our old life, we can
find that new life from heaven. Redemption that doesn't convert is not connected to the
Kingdom. Conversion means to convert from what we were to what we should be. To convert
from the old life to the new life " In the Kingdom". To be born again but
outside the Kingdom is like owning a can of gasoline but have no car to put it in. You are
still not going anywhere. There is potential if you find the car. The vehicle of change is
the Kingdom. Within the Kingdom, even though we stand helpless and hopeless to change, the
Holy Spirit will work miracles to change chaos to order when we seek the Kingdom. All
things can be added, and others taken away. JOH 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him,
"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of
God." There are no exceptions because this is the Kingdom requirement. There is no
sentiment involved. JOH 3:5 Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one
is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. No exceptions
because this is a Kingdom requirement. There is no sentiment involved. MAT 7:21 "Not
everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does
the will of My Father who is in heaven. There is no room for excuses and sentiment about
mercy and grace, and forgiveness does not apply. Doing the will of God is the minimum
requirement to enter the Kingdom. But Lord I didn't understand and I had no power to do
your will, is not acceptable. The Spirit of truth and reality has been freely offered to
assist us in whatever the requirement. The Holy Spirit is God Himself intervening where He
is invited. He is willing to break forth within us to accomplish all the Kingdom requires.
God demands that we be born again. We can't do that for ourself. Therefore God does it. We
must be birthed in the water and in the Spirit but we can't cause the birth. Therefore God
does it. The Kingdom demands that we do the will of God. However we are weak and ignorant.
Therefore God gives power and wisdom. The Kingdom demands that we change. We may want to
change but can't. Therefore God puts in us all that is necessary to change. That is what
we could call Kingdom Grace. We can't do it, therefore God does it in us and for us. God
demands that we go into all the world and preach the gospel to every nation. We have no
ability to do that, therefore God gives the anointing. That is God's grace. God's grace
doesn't excuse us when we don't have the ability. God's grace gives the ability. Walking
in the Kingdom is not a sentimental journey. God demands that we change. Since God has
offered everything that is necessary to change, there is no room for excuses or sentiment.
When the 5 unwise virgins finally got their lamps burning and knocked on the door, no pity
was offered. No forgiveness. No sentiment. MAT 25:11 "And later the other virgins
also came, saying, 'Lord, lord, open up for us.' MAT 25:12 "But he answered and said,
'Truly I say to you, I do not know you.' MAT 7:22 "Many will say to Me on that day,
'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in
Your name perform many miracles?' MAT 7:23 "And then I will declare to them, 'I never
knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.' This whole "Gospel of
sentimental grace" is a big deception. The Kingdom operates within a higher life.
Therefore it can demand a higher morality. If we look at the demands of the Kingdom, we
must recognize that the Christian is a new kind of human being. The Christian is a
superior type of person who has tremendous capacity to function on the higher plane of the
Kingdom of God. If the Christian was not a superior human being then the demands of the
Kingdom would be just more condemnation. MAT 5:27 "You have heard that it was said,
'You shall not commit adultery'; MAT 5:28 but I say to you, that everyone who looks on a
woman to lust for her has committed adultery with her already in his heart. MAT 5:21
"You have heard that the ancients were told, 'You shall not commit murder' and
'Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.' MAT 5:22 "But I say to you
that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever
shall say to his brother, 'Raca,' shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever
shall say, 'You fool,' shall be guilty {enough to go} into the fiery hell. It takes a
superior person to control lust and to control anger and to control the tongue. Therefore,
the Kingdom person must be a superior person. Above and beyond the normal, natural born,
human being. Conversion then, must be a conversion from an inferior person to a superior
person. There was a Psychiatrist who had examined a man who had a terrible inferiority
complex for several months. Then he discovered the man didn't have an inferiority complex
after all. The man really was inferior. The Christian should not have a superiority
complex. The Christian should really be superior. Why? Because he is born differently and
God has installed within the Kingdom Christian the power of the Holy Spirit and worked in
his life. The Christian who is just like everybody else needs to get converted to the
Kingdom. He may be converted as far as the church of even as far as public opinion, but
NOT as far as the Kingdom. If we are just converted as far as the life and goals of a
church, we may never enter the Kingdom. Being converted to the life and goals of the
Kingdom is quite different. We could say of that person: The Kingdom has come. The church
has developed it's own pattern and formula for their brand of salvation. This varies from
church to church. Some have even taken their pattern from the secular world. Some have
developed a pattern of "Say these words after me". Some have developed a pattern
of : Conform your dress and your ways to our ways. Some have worked it out as : Join the
church and start living right. We can join a denomination and change our label but our
character may remain uncleansed and unchanged. We may have a horizontal
"conversion" but not a vertical conversion. Bible salvation is presented as a
revolution where old things pass away and all things become new. The danger is to conform
to a certain church's pattern of salvation and totally miss the Kingdom conversion. MAT
18:3 and said, "Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like
children, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. It is possible to conform to a system
and live in lawlessness, which excludes us from the Kingdom. Then true conversion must
deal with our lawlessness. "Be converted" means a transformation. "Become
as little children" means to be of a new spirit willing to learn and obey. This is
the realm of a new beginning. A second chance with a clean slate. The past is brought to a
conclusion and we start out innocent. "Enter the Kingdom of heaven" means the
realm of God's government, His laws and a different sphere of existence. Of life and of
living. Of participating with Him. We should ask the question. Salvation? On what pattern?
Should we put our trust in anything less than the Kingdom change and the Kingdom
government personally in our lives? It is beginning to seem foolish to trust in an
isolated scripture that doesn't include the Kingdom change. For example, death bed
repentance and The Kingdom conversion are in totally different realms. One is a crises
attempt to escape the fire. The other is a decisive discipline that includes a
governmental change in life and character. What was perverted becomes converted. The final
destination of these two is different. The one who has lived within the government here
will participate in the government there and govern with Christ. The other at the very
best will be one of the governed. If we are going to rule the nations, we must have
someone to rule over. The nations of the New Earth are those who are saved. REV 2:26 'And
he who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, to him I will give authority
over the nations; REV 2:27 and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of
the potter are broken to pieces, as I also have received {authority} from My Father; Many
times, after we have been born again, our life is still fragmented. Some seek to heal the
fragmentation by counseling or now through psychology or psychiatry. Sometimes this takes
years and still doesn't help. We have to wonder how the church handled these problems
before these things were invented. Some dismiss fragmentation as a modern curse and not
applicable to the early church. The fact is that all lives outside the Kingdom are
fragmented and all lives within the Kingdom are undivided and whole. Otherwise heaven
would be just like earth except in a different location. It is different because the
Kingdom demands conversion. In past surveys it was found the number of people who were
born again ( or had a religious experience) on the west coast was a far less percentage
than in other states. About 2/3 less. The pacific north west was even lower. In recent
surveys they found only about 2 to 3 % were Christian. The reason has been baffling. Now
some recent surveys have found that of those who had migrated, very few had any "
religious experience". Therefore they were restless and dissatisfied and wanted to
try some other place. Therefore they migrated. Christians, on the other hand, have a
tendency to be more satisfied. They tend to settle down and prosper where they are. For
this reason, if the Christians stay and the unconverted migrate, the percentages are
affected. If all the unconverted go to Hollywood, it is little wonder there is so much
perversion. The law is : Either conversion or perversion. In Hollywood or in the church,
it is all the same. Conversion is the law of creation. Everything is in the process of
conversion. Sunlight, water and air are being converted to natural life. Natural life is
being converted to spiritual life, for better or for worse. Raw materials are being
converted to finished products. Coal is being converted to electricity. Natural life and
energy is being converted into labor. The Christian also must be in the continual process
of conversion. He must be converted from what he was, to what he should be. Since we are
not yet what we should be, we must still be converted. If we are converted as far as the
church, we still must be converted to the Kingdom. Some liberal churches no longer believe
in conversion. Therefore they can no longer believe in creation because all of creation is
in the process of conversion. The point is this: After one is born again, he still must be
converted. To speak of forgiveness of sins as "conversion" is much too shallow.
If we could be permitted a little liberty, we could speak of five "kingdoms".
Here we are speaking of a "kingdom" as a realm of existence. In that context, we
see there is a mineral kingdom, a plant kingdom, the animal kingdom, the kingdom of man
and the Kingdom of God. They are listed from the lowest to the highest. Each kingdom could
very well consider itself as the highest kingdom with nothing above it. The mineral
kingdom might think it was all there is. Everything begins and ends with me. In reality
there is a kingdom above the mineral kingdom. In fact the mineral kingdom is being
converted into the plant kingdom by a continual process. That which is organic is being
converted into a higher life form. Now the plant kingdom may think that it is the highest
life form and everything ends with it. However the plant kingdom is being converted into
the animal kingdom. As a cow eats grass it supports itself and produces milk for another
kingdom higher than itself. Even nature teaches us about the things of creation and
creation teaches us about God. The kingdom of man obviously is of a higher life form than
the kingdom of animals. Therefore man assumes there is nothing higher than himself.
Everything ends with man. Secular humanism says that man sets and determines his own
destiny. Man is the highest life form, therefore there is nothing higher. Because of the
natural man's arrogance, he refuses to acknowledge there is a higher life and he is
designed to be converted into the Kingdom of God. He can accept that the kingdom of plants
and the kingdom of animals are there for his benefit but refuses to acknowledge that man
was created for God's benefit. Man was designed to be converted into the Kingdom of God.
Man was predestined for God's eternal purpose. He can accept it or he can reject it but he
cannot change it. It was designed by a much Higher Life and everything really does begin
and end with that Higher Life. As long as the mineral just remains a mineral it is not
realizing it created potential. That mineral can be converted to a plant, that can be
converted to an animal, that can be converted to a man, that can be converted to the
Kingdom, that becomes a part of the Creator. From mineral to creator. What potential! Man
is predestined to be converted to the Kingdom. The law is this: Either conversion or
perversion. If man refuses conversion to the Higher Kingdom he will revert back to the
lower kingdom. Man stands between two kingdoms. The animal kingdom below and the Kingdom
of God above. Man is being pulled by both kingdoms. The Kingdom of God is trying to lift
man into the higher life of God and the animal kingdom is trying to pull man down to
conform to the lower, animal life. It is easy to see how society, in general, is
responding. Most are giving into the animal life. God has put the responsibility on the
regenerated man to preach the gospel of the higher Kingdom and the Higher Life. The church
is to preach the Kingdom above the kingdom of man. The purpose is to inspire man to
convert to the Higher Kingdom. In order to emphasize this point I will present a parable.
This parable involves a lotus flower that grows in the far east in some of the murkiest
and slimiest swamps. There are about 80 varieties of lotus flowers that grow in many
tropical countries. The lily pad is a type of lotus flower. The particular lotus flower
that grows in the far east is quite large and is so unusual because of it's strong
fragrant smell. It's fragrance is nearly as strong as perfume out of a bottle. This lotus
flower grows in a very stagnant and stinking swamp and grows floating on top of the murky
water. It throws it's roots down into the water and as it continues to grow it's roots
reach the stinking mud below. In this parable the stinking and slimy mud speaks to the
lotus flower and says" I am sick of just being mud and I would like to become a lotus
flower. How can I become a lotus flower"? The lotus flower speaks" You cannot
become a lotus flower because you are of a different kingdom. Mud is mud and flowers are
flowers and mud cannot become a lotus flower". "But I want to become a lotus
flower"! The lotus flower says" There is only one way you may become a lotus
flower. If you will surrender to me, I will send my roots down into you and my roots will
draw you up into myself. I will convert you, who are mud, into myself. You will become a
lotus flower in me". The mud asks a question, " Since I smell so bad, how can I
ever become a part of you since you smell so good? I will surely cause you to smell just
like me." The lotus flower responds, " That is the miracle of conversion. I can
take the minerals that are you and convert them into the perfume that is me. I can take
this polluted and filthy water and convert it into perfume. That is how conversion works.
The stink remains and the real you is converted into what I am. Then you are in me and I
am in you. We become one. In that way you really do become a lotus flower. However I can't
convert you into me if you don't totally surrender yourself to me". The application
is this: Jesus Christ is the Lotus Flower from heaven. He has come down into this stinking
and polluted swamp. We are only mud. Mud is wet dust. If we totally surrender to Him he
will send His roots down into us and begin the process of converting us into Him. No
matter how stinking and rotten we are, true conversion will convert us into Him. Then we
will be in Him and He will be in us. The two will have become one. The Higher Kingdom can
reach down into the lower kingdom and convert the lower kingdom into the Higher Kingdom.
It works in the same way as the plant kingdom converting the mineral kingdom into itself.
Or the kingdom of man converting the plant kingdom or the animal kingdom into itself. The
lower kingdom was created for the benefit of the higher kingdom and the kingdom of man was
created for the benefit of the Kingdom of God. We can accept that or reject that but we
can never change it. We were created and predestined for the Kingdom of God. This parable
explains why some can be born again but still not be converted. Born again is a crises
experience where the life of God comes into us and causes our spirit to come alive with
his life. That can happen immediately as we repent and ask Jesus to come into our life.
This is a wonderful gift of God's grace but it is still not conversion in it's fullest
sense. Conversion must produce a new and greater power in our lives or we will remain the
same and not be useful to the Kingdom. As the negative, spiritual power of the secular
world is increased, the essential nature of the man must increase or man will be
overpowered. If the church's power doesn't increase in proportion to the world's power
society will become more uncivilized. One problem in the church has been that the person,
who has not become a "Kingdom person", cannot handle the increased level of
power. The result is the power is perverted. Sometimes the power is just used for personal
gain with name and fame. Whatever God has restored to the church from the very beginning
was to be completed within the Kingdom. Repentance, forgiveness of sins, faith, water
baptism, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, holiness, missions, gifts and ministries were all
to be fulfilled within the government of the Kingdom of God. All these experiences fall
short of their potential when our lives are outside the Kingdom. It is not that they don't
work or are useless outside the Kingdom but they cannot attain to their full potential.
God's revealed will is for each of us to receive power through the infilling of the Holy
Spirit. What we see in our own lives and in the church is that the power is much, much
less than we anticipated. Is God then withholding His power? In a sense, YES! The person
who is not functioning within the Kingdom, can destroy himself and others if God released
His full power through that person. God could do whatever He wished through Jesus because
He was " A KINGDOM MAN". The power did not change Him. God can and will release
His power through the "KINGDOM CHURCH". The army of Joel 2 is a Kingdom army
that is manifesting Kingdom power, and Kingdom discipline. The power is destroying the
enemy, not the army. The church is standing on the threshold of the next move of God. The
church must convert to the Kingdom in order to participate. This may seem like a strange
statement when it is first heard but a lawless church cannot participate in this next move
of God. If we had been saved into the Kingdom instead of just from Hell this would be
clear. Bible salvation is Kingdom salvation. Preaching some salvation outside the Kingdom
government and sovereignty of God has been the root problem. The gospel of the Kingdom is
the authorized gospel! Any thing less is something less.
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