Because understanding the Kingdom is so critical to our spiritual lives, let's take some time to absorb the core message of Jesus when it comes to building in a manner that is pleasing to Him. We have already mentioned that the Kingdom is mentioned in the Gospels over 100 times and the church only twice. So the Kingdom message was clear to Jesus and to His disciples. In the book of Acts after the "church" (called out assembly) begins to emerge:
"To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God." Acts 1:3
CONTEXT
The world was corrupt and dying, and the Father, Son, and Spirit moved to save us. The King would need to come and willingly sacrifice Himself. King first. Then He would bring the message of the Kingdom to all who would listen, and build this Kingdom work through His own followers - who will become His Bride at the end of the age. The word ecclesia literally means a called out assembly. So the Church (the Bride) is called out of this lost world to enjoin the work of the Son of God Himself.
Because of this, Fourthstream.com is built around the biblical Kingdom model. We take great care to accurately represent the King through everything He taught and did. We preserve the purity of this by allowing the Bible to interpret itself. The complete Word of God is an intricate and robust series of woven threads of truth, unfolding in all 66 books of the Testament of the Living God (note: nowhere in the Bible are the books identified as the old and new testaments - and yet we accept this idea from tradition and history - like so many things). The scribe who takes the time to process the Kingdom message of Jesus operates from a considerably different vantage point than much of what we see in secular and even church history. We are often obsessed with preserving tradition (and preferences and distinctions) rather than searching out the truth that has been so carefully brought to us.
As we look deeper through the lens of the Kingdom we see many patterns and teachings emerge, such as the one in the diagram at the top. As Jesus explains the Kingdom (Matthew 5) He teaches us how the pure in heart are the ones who see God. What this means is we are to subject everything through the lens of humility rather than human business-as-usual (pride/self-absorption).
When we experience a pure heart (Jesus' words, not mine) we are made free to know God as He IS rather than who we want Him or shape Him to be. Then we become able to do kindness in the Spirit, where the works of God begin to flow through our own lives into the people and souls around us. And so - we become His instruments to grow life. We call this the Kingdom Circle. It is quite superior to religion in that it is powered by Jesus and the Spirit of grace.
So to apply the Word of God properly we must set aside religion and tradition and embrace the power of the King and His Kingdom. Fourthsteam.com carefully sifts through what is authentic to find connectivity with Jesus that changes us from the inside out, rather than the outside in. This is why Jesus said: "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you." John 16:13-15
To find authentic King and Kingdom Church we must go to the Source. "He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of death will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven." Matthew 16:15-19
Think how often this passage is represented to be understood regarding tradition, yet we fall short of understanding its meaning. The goal of Kingdom structure is to let the King tell us how His Kingdom operates and grow this Kingdom within His Church
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