June 30, 2025 • 32 mins
*** Editor's note: David gave a Scripture referrence in point #4 concerning "Patience & Endurance". He said it was found in 1 Corinthians 3:4-8 and it should be 1 Corinthians 13:4-8.... woopsi... hey, at least we caught it... LoL *** The Kingdom of God stands as the central teaching of Jesus's ministry—a revolutionary concept that transforms how we understand our purpose on Earth. This episode unpacks the profound truth that Earth was created to be a physical demonstration of God's heavenly rule, where His will would be done "on earth as it is in heaven."
What does it mean to live as citizens of God's kingdom? Just as fish swim in water without realizing their environment, we often navigate our daily lives unaware of the cultural frameworks shaping our existence. The kingdom has its own distinct culture with specific values, practices, and priorities that often challenge worldly systems. When we surrender completely to God, we discover we've been empowered to live in ways impossible through human strength alone—as one guest colorfully puts it, "It would be easier for a fish to yodel than for us to live the Christian life without God's power."
We explore four essential kingdom practices: seeking God's will through complete surrender, engaging in service and mission (because "it's easier to steer a moving vehicle than a parked car"), cultivating trust and dependence that invites supernatural provision, and developing patience and endurance that reflect Christ's character. These practices don't just change our behavior—they transform our identity as we become living demonstrations of heaven's reality in everyday situations.
Whether you're a seasoned believer or curious about what kingdom living actually looks like in practice, this episode offers both theological depth and practical wisdom for experiencing the fullness of life Jesus promised. Ready to move beyond mere church attendance to authentic kingdom citizenship? Listen now and discover how your life can become a colony of heaven on Earth.
Loving Yeshua/Jesus, Loving people... Come as you are and you will be loved!
Feel free to check out our website by typing in lifearoundthefire.com or Life Around The Fire ... We think you'll find some beneficial stuff to look at and apply to your life.
Shalom to you and your home.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Recently, we've been looking at one of the chief
teachings that Jesus cameproclaiming while he was walking
on planet Earth, and itinvolves the kingdom of God, the
rule, the reign, the very realmin which God functions.
(00:25):
The kingdom of God or Matthewputs it this way he calls it the
kingdom of heaven, and somepeople consider the fact that
there's a differentiationbetween the kingdom of God and
the kingdom of heaven anargument for both.
(00:47):
But for the sake of our podcastepisode and what we're looking
at right now, we're going to bereferring to the kingdom of God
and the kingdom of heaven assynonymous.
But for the record, I know thatthere's a difference in
discussion and in some debate,if you will, concerning the
differentiation between the two,but for now, we're going to be
looking at the kingdom of Godand the kingdom of heaven as one
(01:10):
and in saying that, we'relooking at the fact that the
kingdom of God is the invisiblerealm in which God functions,
his rule and his reign in heaven, and his desire is for that
(01:33):
rule and that reign to functionon planet Earth.
In fact, the reason for Earthbeing created was so that there
would be a physicaldemonstration of God's kingdom
on earth as it is in heaven.
Thus, when Jesus was asked byhis disciples to teach them to
(01:58):
pray, one of the key things thathe mentioned in his outline
that he provided for them andfor us, by the way is this that
we would pray.
That God's kingdom would comeand that his will, or the things
that please him, the way hedoes things, his will, his will
(02:23):
would be done on earth as it isin heaven, or in the earth as it
is in heaven.
That the earth would colonizethe kingdom of God in a visible
way and it would cover the earth.
(02:43):
That the knowledge of the gloryof the Lord would cover the
earth just like the waters coverthe sea.
That we would colonize planetearth with God's kingdom, we
would subdue this earth and takedominion over it, and that
(03:07):
God's kingdom would be manifestto us and through us, and that
the world that we live in wouldbe impacted by his kingdom and
we would colonize earth so thatheaven and earth would join
together as one.
Heaven and Earth would jointogether as one.
(03:29):
What a powerful plan.
And it's been that way from thebeginning.
And so the initial mandate wasgiven to Adam and Eve to
colonize planet Earth and thenentered into that whole event,
(03:56):
sin and with that death and withthat, the wrath of God, meaning
God needed to deal with theeffect of sin, because God is
just and it's not just anythinggoes.
(04:18):
There are things that have anorder to them, and part of the
order is that with an actionthere's a consequence, whether
that's good or bad, and so theconsequence of rebellion was
death and the wrath of God.
(04:39):
But Jesus, hallelujah, butJesus.
But Jesus came to take ourplace and to fulfill what no one
else could fulfill, and thatfulfillment was to perfectly
(05:03):
live out the law of God as givento Moses.
Jesus was and is the only humanbeing who perfectly lived out
the law and then, on our behalf,took our place of wrath so that
(05:31):
we would receive his lifeinstead of the wrath of God,
because God so loved the worldthat he gave his only begotten
son that whosoever would believein him would not perish or
experience the wrath of God, butthat he would have everlasting
(05:54):
life.
What a powerful plan.
And the fact that we've beengiven cleansing, forgiveness,
redemption from our sins, butalso we've been called into
citizenship in this kingdom andwe've been called to colonize
(06:18):
planet Earth, just like theoriginal mandate was given and,
just like Jesus, portrayedperfectly while he walked on
planet Earth, the way that helived, the miracles, signs and
wonders, the words that heproclaimed, the truth that came
(06:42):
through him is the samelifestyle that we've been given
not just permission to live, butpower from God to fulfill, to
live out.
We've been empowered by God'sspirit, his very life.
(07:06):
We have the opportunity ofbeing filled with his power so
that we can fulfill the mandategiven to us, which is impossible
for us to do without his life.
Without his power, we can'tlive out the Christian life on
(07:29):
our own strength, with our ownenergy.
One person said that it would beeasier for a fish to yodel than
it would be for us as humanbeings to live out the Christian
life without the power of God,because it requires us being a
(07:52):
different species.
Just like a fish needs to be adifferent species in order to
yodel, so we need to be adifferent species in order to
live out the Christian life, andthat species is, by us having
the divine nature given to us,making us a new creation.
(08:12):
Once again, powerful plan,wonderful encouragement for all
of us who are believers toreceive, but also great insight
for those who are listening andhave not yet come into a place
of faith in Jesus.
But by the words spoken rightnow, holy Spirit, drawing you
(08:36):
into a place of relationship,can make that covenant real.
It can be ratified right now byyou placing your faith in the
fact that Jesus took your placeon the cross and he resurrected.
He was resurrected, he becamealive again on our behalf and is
(09:00):
now seated at the right hand ofthe Father on our behalf and is
now seated at the right hand ofthe Father on our behalf, so we
too can have that life.
And so we've been looking atthe kingdom of God because, as I
said earlier, that's one of theprimary teachings that Jesus
came proclaiming.
(09:23):
And so, in order for us tofunction in his kingdom, it's
important for us to understandthe culture of his kingdom.
Born, you're born into aculture, and just like fish are
(09:58):
in water, people are in aculture, and fish don't even
realize they're in water, theyjust swim in it.
Much the same for us as peoplewe live in a culture and we
really don't think about it, wejust live in it.
The language we speak, theclothes we wear, the food we eat
(10:22):
, the art that we have, themusic, the list goes on.
The values that we have, thepractices and the priorities all
make up the culture withinwhich we live, and the kingdom
of God is a real kingdom thathas a real way of doing things,
(10:48):
known as the will of God, theway that God does things, how
God is comfortable doing things.
You see, he is central to allthings.
Worship is our highest prioritybecause he is central.
(11:15):
We are created, he is thecreator and he is worthy of our
worship and our praise, and heis central to all things, and so
for us to understand what comesfrom his heart, his ways, his
(11:37):
will, it's high priority for us.
In fact, we're commissioned toseek first his kingdom and his
righteousness, meaning the waythat things are right within his
kingdom and in relationshipwith him and one another.
(11:59):
Where things are right, we'rerighteous, the righteousness of
God.
We're to seek that first, andeverything else will be added
unto us.
And so, in the last episode, welooked at the values found,
(12:20):
such as love, humility,righteousness, faith,
forgiveness, peace, joy,integrity, right Things that
make up the value system in thekingdom of God.
And now we're going to belooking at the practices, and
(12:46):
we've listed out four practicesthat are common in the kingdom
of God, and the first one thatwe're going to be looking at is
seeking God's will.
Now, that's a very, very commonconcern and question for most,
(13:10):
all believers, and that is whatis the will of God for my life?
We want to know what's God'swill.
Is it God's will for me to getmarried?
Is it God's will for me to havethis job?
Is it God's will for me to goto this particular part of the
(13:31):
world?
You know, to go to thisparticular part of the world,
you know what is God's will, andthe fact of the matter is,
god's will is what pleases God.
It's the way that he goes aboutdoing things and for us to
participate in it.
For us to participate in it.
(14:04):
The Apostle Paul gives a realkey insight in the book of
Romans.
In Romans, chapter 12, verse 1and 2, the Apostle Paul writes
(14:29):
to this group of people and inand pleasing to God this is your
spiritual act of worship.
Do not conform any longer tothe pattern of this world, but
be transformed by the renewingof your mind.
(14:50):
Then you'll be able to test andapprove what's God's will, his
good, pleasing and perfect will.
So what is it that we can do tofind God's will for our lives.
(15:12):
Number one give ourselvescompletely over to God
Everything, everything you are,everything you own, your friends
, your family, your possessions,your life everything becomes
(15:36):
the Lord's.
It's a living sacrifice,everything.
That's such a beautiful placeto be, and yet it is oftentimes
one of the greatest challengesto give everything over to God
your past, your present and yourfuture.
(16:01):
And when you do when I dosomething happens, there's a
freedom that takes place and Godactually receives that from us
and in receiving it, he impartsto us his life, which contains
within it his will.
(16:22):
We inwardly know what it is toplease God, because his heart is
within us and he knows whatpleases him.
And so when we have his heart,his life, beating inside of us,
we know, without anyone tellingus and without any questions.
(16:47):
We know what his will isBecause he gives us his life and
within his life is his will.
And when we offer ourselves tohim completely, we discover the
(17:10):
will of God.
And we do this, hallelujah.
We do this on a daily basis,and when we do, we become some
of the most radical people onthis planet, people filled with
the Holy Spirit, filled with thelife of God, filled with the
ability to do things that wecan't do, couldn't do, wouldn't
(17:33):
do on our own.
But now that we're filled withGod's Spirit, his life, we can,
and we know it for certainty,and no one can convince us
differently.
You see, if somebody can talkme into something, somebody else
can talk me out of it, but whenI know it by virtue of
experience and the reality oflife within me, nobody talked me
(17:56):
into it and nobody can talk meout of it.
Hallelujah, hallelujah.
Seeking God's will is apractice, meaning presenting
your life as a living sacrificeto God is the way of seeking
God's will.
Practices number two Serviceand mission.
(18:24):
Interesting.
James talks about this in hisletter to the people in the
first century, but once again itmay as well have been written
(18:45):
to us.
He said do not merely listen tothe word and so deceive
(19:06):
yourselves.
He said he's like a man wholooks at his face in the mirror
and after looking at himself, hegoes away and immediately
forgets what he looks like.
But the man who looks intentlyinto the perfect law that gives
freedom and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has
(19:27):
heard but doing it, he'll beblessed in what he does.
He'll be blessed in what hedoes and, I might add, and he
won't forget what he looks likewhen we become doers.
You see, for myself, one of thehardest things to do is to start
(19:53):
.
Sometimes it involves writing.
If I have a blank piece ofpaper and I don't know what to
put down on it, sometimes I'lljust start writing stuff and
before long what I'm writingbegins to take shape.
(20:13):
But it's starting instead ofjust thinking about it, excuse
me, because I can think myselfinto doing nothing.
I can overthink myself so muchthat I end up doing nothing.
I have a thousand things thatI'd like to do, but I don't do
(20:34):
any of them.
But when I focus on excuse me,when I focus on doing just one,
one simple act of service, suchas supporting an orphanage, you
(20:57):
say well, how do I go aboutdoing that?
That's not hard.
If you need help, we can helpyou find a good orphanage to
support.
But if you have a listing infront of you from a good
missions organization, you canlocate orphanages all around the
(21:22):
world and you can startsupporting one.
Beginning to do something willlead you into doing other things
that become more and more partof your lane, part of who you
(21:47):
are.
But you begin by doingsomething because it's easier to
steer a moving vehicle than itis to steer a parked car.
If you start moving, you cansteer into something.
That's then more of your lanethat you'd stay in.
(22:07):
But if you aren't moving at all, man, it's hard to steer a
parked car.
Plus, you aren't going anywhere.
There is something significantabout us not just being hearers
(22:32):
only.
There's something unique alsothat takes place when people
that are not really even thatwell educated begin functioning
(22:53):
in the power of God's kingdom.
Even those who are educatedwill stand up and take note
because of the supernaturaldynamic.
Take note, because of thesupernatural dynamic that is
(23:14):
conveyed through you.
Some of Jesus' followers werefishermen.
They were not really highlytrained men academically, men
academically, but under thepower of the Holy Spirit.
Scripture said that when theyspoke, they spoke with such
boldness that people recognizedthey'd been with Jesus by the
(23:37):
way they spoke and what theysaid was so significant they
couldn't believe that it cameout of the mouth of unlearned
fishermen.
And sometimes God takes thefoolish things of the world to
confound the wise.
Sometimes he'll take us, thoseof us who might not have any
(24:02):
formal education, and empower usin a way, if we become doers of
his word, not just hearers, wedon't just sit down and let
someone talk to us and we gohome and basically do nothing,
but we come back again and letsomeone else talk to us and we
(24:22):
call that church.
And let someone else talk to usand we call that church.
It's part of it, but that'sactually a small part of what it
means to be the church.
Next in the practices trust anddependence.
(24:44):
Proverbs, chapter 3, verses 5and 6, says this Trust in the
Lord with all your heart andlean not on your own
understanding.
In all your ways, acknowledgehim and he will make your paths
(25:05):
straight.
Now, back in the 1980s, myfamily and I were one night
looking at what we were going tohave for dinner, and I had
three children all under the ageof six and our cupboards were
(25:30):
bare.
We had yeast flour and we hadtap water.
That was it.
Our grocery supply had gonedown that low, but we had those
ingredients.
I sat down with my children andwe prayed and we thanked God
(25:57):
for the meal that we were goingto have that evening.
And no sooner did we get donepraying than we got a phone call
and a friend said hey, we'rethinking about having dinner
tonight, and what were you guysdoing?
And I said, ah, funny, we werethinking about the same thing.
(26:18):
He said well, how about this?
How about let's make somehomemade pizzas?
You make the crust and we'llbring the toppings and we'll
bring something to drink.
I said I think we can do that,let's do that.
And we didn't tell them thatthat's all we had the ability to
(26:38):
do was to make the crust.
God knew the situation and hesaw us trust and depend on him
when we sat down and prayed andthanked him for the meal that we
were going to have.
Sometimes it doesn't look likewe have everything we need, but
(27:05):
if we thank God for what heprovides, he will provide it,
because he said he would.
It might not come exactly theway we thought it was going to
come or the timing in which wewant it to come, but when it
comes it's enough.
(27:25):
He said give us this day ourdaily bread.
When he taught us how to pray,and he gives us our daily bread,
he said don't fret, don't worryabout what you're going to eat,
what you're going to drink orwhat you're going to wear or how
(27:46):
you're going to live.
God knows these things.
As we seek his kingdom and hisrighteousness first, everything
else will be added unto us.
(28:07):
So we looked at the aspect ofhaving the element of knowing
God's will, service and mission,trust and dependence and, last
but not least, patience andendurance.
I love this.
1 Corinthians, chapter 3,verses 4 through 8 once again,
(28:31):
the apostle Paul said concerninglove he goes.
Love is patient.
You see, one of the practicesin the kingdom of God is
patience.
Love is patient, love is kind,love does not envy, it does not
(28:58):
boast, it is not proud, it isnot rude, it is not self-seeking
, it is not easily angered, itkeeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evilbut rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, alwaystrusts, always hopes, always
(29:21):
perseveres.
Love never fails.
Patience and endurance arepractices found in God's kingdom
.
His values, practices andpriorities are components that
(29:47):
make up his culture.
As we learn the culture of God,we learn how to walk in it and
we find that our life takes on acompletely new and richer
meaning.
In the next episode we'll lookat the priorities found in God's
(30:09):
kingdom, but right now let'spray.
Father, I thank you once againfor who you are, for what you're
doing and for how you're doingthem, and I ask that you would
reveal to us, by your spirit,your kingdom.
(30:37):
The Holy Spirit teaches us towalk like Jesus, how he walked,
how he navigated his life inconjunction with the ways of his
Father, the ways of our Father.
Teach us your ways, o Lord.
(30:59):
Show us your paths, help uslive out things that.
Help us live out things that wecan't live out on our own.
We place our trust and ourdependence on you and we stand
here in the name of Jesus and wesay so be it.
Amen, amen, amen, amen.
(31:20):
All right, folks, we love you.
If you have any other thoughts,questions, concerns, please
feel free to drop us a line atlifearoundthefire at gmailcom,
or type in Life Around the Fire.
Look us up on the web.
We'd love to hear from you Inthe meantime.
God bless you.
Adios amigos.
Recently, we've been looking at one of the chief
teachings that Jesus cameproclaiming while he was walking
on planet Earth, and itinvolves the kingdom of God, the
rule, the reign, the very realmin which God functions.
(00:25):
The kingdom of God or Matthewputs it this way he calls it the
kingdom of heaven, and somepeople consider the fact that
there's a differentiationbetween the kingdom of God and
the kingdom of heaven anargument for both.
(00:47):
But for the sake of our podcastepisode and what we're looking
at right now, we're going to bereferring to the kingdom of God
and the kingdom of heaven assynonymous.
But for the record, I know thatthere's a difference in
discussion and in some debate,if you will, concerning the
differentiation between the two,but for now, we're going to be
looking at the kingdom of Godand the kingdom of heaven as one
(01:10):
and in saying that, we'relooking at the fact that the
kingdom of God is the invisiblerealm in which God functions,
his rule and his reign in heaven, and his desire is for that
(01:33):
rule and that reign to functionon planet Earth.
In fact, the reason for Earthbeing created was so that there
would be a physicaldemonstration of God's kingdom
on earth as it is in heaven.
Thus, when Jesus was asked byhis disciples to teach them to
(01:58):
pray, one of the key things thathe mentioned in his outline
that he provided for them andfor us, by the way is this that
we would pray.
That God's kingdom would comeand that his will, or the things
that please him, the way hedoes things, his will, his will
(02:23):
would be done on earth as it isin heaven, or in the earth as it
is in heaven.
That the earth would colonizethe kingdom of God in a visible
way and it would cover the earth.
(02:43):
That the knowledge of the gloryof the Lord would cover the
earth just like the waters coverthe sea.
That we would colonize planetearth with God's kingdom, we
would subdue this earth and takedominion over it, and that
(03:07):
God's kingdom would be manifestto us and through us, and that
the world that we live in wouldbe impacted by his kingdom and
we would colonize earth so thatheaven and earth would join
together as one.
Heaven and Earth would jointogether as one.
(03:29):
What a powerful plan.
And it's been that way from thebeginning.
And so the initial mandate wasgiven to Adam and Eve to
colonize planet Earth and thenentered into that whole event,
(03:56):
sin and with that death and withthat, the wrath of God, meaning
God needed to deal with theeffect of sin, because God is
just and it's not just anythinggoes.
(04:18):
There are things that have anorder to them, and part of the
order is that with an actionthere's a consequence, whether
that's good or bad, and so theconsequence of rebellion was
death and the wrath of God.
(04:39):
But Jesus, hallelujah, butJesus.
But Jesus came to take ourplace and to fulfill what no one
else could fulfill, and thatfulfillment was to perfectly
(05:03):
live out the law of God as givento Moses.
Jesus was and is the only humanbeing who perfectly lived out
the law and then, on our behalf,took our place of wrath so that
(05:31):
we would receive his lifeinstead of the wrath of God,
because God so loved the worldthat he gave his only begotten
son that whosoever would believein him would not perish or
experience the wrath of God, butthat he would have everlasting
(05:54):
life.
What a powerful plan.
And the fact that we've beengiven cleansing, forgiveness,
redemption from our sins, butalso we've been called into
citizenship in this kingdom andwe've been called to colonize
(06:18):
planet Earth, just like theoriginal mandate was given and,
just like Jesus, portrayedperfectly while he walked on
planet Earth, the way that helived, the miracles, signs and
wonders, the words that heproclaimed, the truth that came
(06:42):
through him is the samelifestyle that we've been given
not just permission to live, butpower from God to fulfill, to
live out.
We've been empowered by God'sspirit, his very life.
(07:06):
We have the opportunity ofbeing filled with his power so
that we can fulfill the mandategiven to us, which is impossible
for us to do without his life.
Without his power, we can'tlive out the Christian life on
(07:29):
our own strength, with our ownenergy.
One person said that it would beeasier for a fish to yodel than
it would be for us as humanbeings to live out the Christian
life without the power of God,because it requires us being a
(07:52):
different species.
Just like a fish needs to be adifferent species in order to
yodel, so we need to be adifferent species in order to
live out the Christian life, andthat species is, by us having
the divine nature given to us,making us a new creation.
(08:12):
Once again, powerful plan,wonderful encouragement for all
of us who are believers toreceive, but also great insight
for those who are listening andhave not yet come into a place
of faith in Jesus.
But by the words spoken rightnow, holy Spirit, drawing you
(08:36):
into a place of relationship,can make that covenant real.
It can be ratified right now byyou placing your faith in the
fact that Jesus took your placeon the cross and he resurrected.
He was resurrected, he becamealive again on our behalf and is
(09:00):
now seated at the right hand ofthe Father on our behalf and is
now seated at the right hand ofthe Father on our behalf, so we
too can have that life.
And so we've been looking atthe kingdom of God because, as I
said earlier, that's one of theprimary teachings that Jesus
came proclaiming.
(09:23):
And so, in order for us tofunction in his kingdom, it's
important for us to understandthe culture of his kingdom.
Born, you're born into aculture, and just like fish are
(09:58):
in water, people are in aculture, and fish don't even
realize they're in water, theyjust swim in it.
Much the same for us as peoplewe live in a culture and we
really don't think about it, wejust live in it.
The language we speak, theclothes we wear, the food we eat
(10:22):
, the art that we have, themusic, the list goes on.
The values that we have, thepractices and the priorities all
make up the culture withinwhich we live, and the kingdom
of God is a real kingdom thathas a real way of doing things,
(10:48):
known as the will of God, theway that God does things, how
God is comfortable doing things.
You see, he is central to allthings.
Worship is our highest prioritybecause he is central.
(11:15):
We are created, he is thecreator and he is worthy of our
worship and our praise, and heis central to all things, and so
for us to understand what comesfrom his heart, his ways, his
(11:37):
will, it's high priority for us.
In fact, we're commissioned toseek first his kingdom and his
righteousness, meaning the waythat things are right within his
kingdom and in relationshipwith him and one another.
(11:59):
Where things are right, we'rerighteous, the righteousness of
God.
We're to seek that first, andeverything else will be added
unto us.
And so, in the last episode, welooked at the values found,
(12:20):
such as love, humility,righteousness, faith,
forgiveness, peace, joy,integrity, right Things that
make up the value system in thekingdom of God.
And now we're going to belooking at the practices, and
(12:46):
we've listed out four practicesthat are common in the kingdom
of God, and the first one thatwe're going to be looking at is
seeking God's will.
Now, that's a very, very commonconcern and question for most,
(13:10):
all believers, and that is whatis the will of God for my life?
We want to know what's God'swill.
Is it God's will for me to getmarried?
Is it God's will for me to havethis job?
Is it God's will for me to goto this particular part of the
(13:31):
world?
You know, to go to thisparticular part of the world,
you know what is God's will, andthe fact of the matter is,
god's will is what pleases God.
It's the way that he goes aboutdoing things and for us to
participate in it.
For us to participate in it.
(14:04):
The Apostle Paul gives a realkey insight in the book of
Romans.
In Romans, chapter 12, verse 1and 2, the Apostle Paul writes
(14:29):
to this group of people and inand pleasing to God this is your
spiritual act of worship.
Do not conform any longer tothe pattern of this world, but
be transformed by the renewingof your mind.
(14:50):
Then you'll be able to test andapprove what's God's will, his
good, pleasing and perfect will.
So what is it that we can do tofind God's will for our lives.
(15:12):
Number one give ourselvescompletely over to God
Everything, everything you are,everything you own, your friends
, your family, your possessions,your life everything becomes
(15:36):
the Lord's.
It's a living sacrifice,everything.
That's such a beautiful placeto be, and yet it is oftentimes
one of the greatest challengesto give everything over to God
your past, your present and yourfuture.
(16:01):
And when you do when I dosomething happens, there's a
freedom that takes place and Godactually receives that from us
and in receiving it, he impartsto us his life, which contains
within it his will.
(16:22):
We inwardly know what it is toplease God, because his heart is
within us and he knows whatpleases him.
And so when we have his heart,his life, beating inside of us,
we know, without anyone tellingus and without any questions.
(16:47):
We know what his will isBecause he gives us his life and
within his life is his will.
And when we offer ourselves tohim completely, we discover the
(17:10):
will of God.
And we do this, hallelujah.
We do this on a daily basis,and when we do, we become some
of the most radical people onthis planet, people filled with
the Holy Spirit, filled with thelife of God, filled with the
ability to do things that wecan't do, couldn't do, wouldn't
(17:33):
do on our own.
But now that we're filled withGod's Spirit, his life, we can,
and we know it for certainty,and no one can convince us
differently.
You see, if somebody can talkme into something, somebody else
can talk me out of it, but whenI know it by virtue of
experience and the reality oflife within me, nobody talked me
(17:56):
into it and nobody can talk meout of it.
Hallelujah, hallelujah.
Seeking God's will is apractice, meaning presenting
your life as a living sacrificeto God is the way of seeking
God's will.
Practices number two Serviceand mission.
(18:24):
Interesting.
James talks about this in hisletter to the people in the
first century, but once again itmay as well have been written
(18:45):
to us.
He said do not merely listen tothe word and so deceive
(19:06):
yourselves.
He said he's like a man wholooks at his face in the mirror
and after looking at himself, hegoes away and immediately
forgets what he looks like.
But the man who looks intentlyinto the perfect law that gives
freedom and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has
(19:27):
heard but doing it, he'll beblessed in what he does.
He'll be blessed in what hedoes and, I might add, and he
won't forget what he looks likewhen we become doers.
You see, for myself, one of thehardest things to do is to start
(19:53):
.
Sometimes it involves writing.
If I have a blank piece ofpaper and I don't know what to
put down on it, sometimes I'lljust start writing stuff and
before long what I'm writingbegins to take shape.
(20:13):
But it's starting instead ofjust thinking about it, excuse
me, because I can think myselfinto doing nothing.
I can overthink myself so muchthat I end up doing nothing.
I have a thousand things thatI'd like to do, but I don't do
(20:34):
any of them.
But when I focus on excuse me,when I focus on doing just one,
one simple act of service, suchas supporting an orphanage, you
(20:57):
say well, how do I go aboutdoing that?
That's not hard.
If you need help, we can helpyou find a good orphanage to
support.
But if you have a listing infront of you from a good
missions organization, you canlocate orphanages all around the
(21:22):
world and you can startsupporting one.
Beginning to do something willlead you into doing other things
that become more and more partof your lane, part of who you
(21:47):
are.
But you begin by doingsomething because it's easier to
steer a moving vehicle than itis to steer a parked car.
If you start moving, you cansteer into something.
That's then more of your lanethat you'd stay in.
(22:07):
But if you aren't moving at all, man, it's hard to steer a
parked car.
Plus, you aren't going anywhere.
There is something significantabout us not just being hearers
(22:32):
only.
There's something unique alsothat takes place when people
that are not really even thatwell educated begin functioning
(22:53):
in the power of God's kingdom.
Even those who are educatedwill stand up and take note
because of the supernaturaldynamic.
Take note, because of thesupernatural dynamic that is
(23:14):
conveyed through you.
Some of Jesus' followers werefishermen.
They were not really highlytrained men academically, men
academically, but under thepower of the Holy Spirit.
Scripture said that when theyspoke, they spoke with such
boldness that people recognizedthey'd been with Jesus by the
(23:37):
way they spoke and what theysaid was so significant they
couldn't believe that it cameout of the mouth of unlearned
fishermen.
And sometimes God takes thefoolish things of the world to
confound the wise.
Sometimes he'll take us, thoseof us who might not have any
(24:02):
formal education, and empower usin a way, if we become doers of
his word, not just hearers, wedon't just sit down and let
someone talk to us and we gohome and basically do nothing,
but we come back again and letsomeone else talk to us and we
(24:22):
call that church.
And let someone else talk to usand we call that church.
It's part of it, but that'sactually a small part of what it
means to be the church.
Next in the practices trust anddependence.
(24:44):
Proverbs, chapter 3, verses 5and 6, says this Trust in the
Lord with all your heart andlean not on your own
understanding.
In all your ways, acknowledgehim and he will make your paths
(25:05):
straight.
Now, back in the 1980s, myfamily and I were one night
looking at what we were going tohave for dinner, and I had
three children all under the ageof six and our cupboards were
(25:30):
bare.
We had yeast flour and we hadtap water.
That was it.
Our grocery supply had gonedown that low, but we had those
ingredients.
I sat down with my children andwe prayed and we thanked God
(25:57):
for the meal that we were goingto have that evening.
And no sooner did we get donepraying than we got a phone call
and a friend said hey, we'rethinking about having dinner
tonight, and what were you guysdoing?
And I said, ah, funny, we werethinking about the same thing.
(26:18):
He said well, how about this?
How about let's make somehomemade pizzas?
You make the crust and we'llbring the toppings and we'll
bring something to drink.
I said I think we can do that,let's do that.
And we didn't tell them thatthat's all we had the ability to
(26:38):
do was to make the crust.
God knew the situation and hesaw us trust and depend on him
when we sat down and prayed andthanked him for the meal that we
were going to have.
Sometimes it doesn't look likewe have everything we need, but
(27:05):
if we thank God for what heprovides, he will provide it,
because he said he would.
It might not come exactly theway we thought it was going to
come or the timing in which wewant it to come, but when it
comes it's enough.
(27:25):
He said give us this day ourdaily bread.
When he taught us how to pray,and he gives us our daily bread,
he said don't fret, don't worryabout what you're going to eat,
what you're going to drink orwhat you're going to wear or how
(27:46):
you're going to live.
God knows these things.
As we seek his kingdom and hisrighteousness first, everything
else will be added unto us.
(28:07):
So we looked at the aspect ofhaving the element of knowing
God's will, service and mission,trust and dependence and, last
but not least, patience andendurance.
I love this.
1 Corinthians, chapter 3,verses 4 through 8 once again,
(28:31):
the apostle Paul said concerninglove he goes.
Love is patient.
You see, one of the practicesin the kingdom of God is
patience.
Love is patient, love is kind,love does not envy, it does not
(28:58):
boast, it is not proud, it isnot rude, it is not self-seeking
, it is not easily angered, itkeeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evilbut rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, alwaystrusts, always hopes, always
(29:21):
perseveres.
Love never fails.
Patience and endurance arepractices found in God's kingdom
.
His values, practices andpriorities are components that
(29:47):
make up his culture.
As we learn the culture of God,we learn how to walk in it and
we find that our life takes on acompletely new and richer
meaning.
In the next episode we'll lookat the priorities found in God's
(30:09):
kingdom, but right now let'spray.
Father, I thank you once againfor who you are, for what you're
doing and for how you're doingthem, and I ask that you would
reveal to us, by your spirit,your kingdom.
(30:37):
The Holy Spirit teaches us towalk like Jesus, how he walked,
how he navigated his life inconjunction with the ways of his
Father, the ways of our Father.
Teach us your ways, o Lord.
(30:59):
Show us your paths, help uslive out things that.
Help us live out things that wecan't live out on our own.
We place our trust and ourdependence on you and we stand
here in the name of Jesus and wesay so be it.
Amen, amen, amen, amen.
(31:20):
All right, folks, we love you.
If you have any other thoughts,questions, concerns, please
feel free to drop us a line atlifearoundthefire at gmailcom,
or type in Life Around the Fire.
Look us up on the web.
We'd love to hear from you Inthe meantime.
God bless you.
Adios amigos.
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