Life Walk Lesson 74 — Worship in the Kingdom of God
Introduction: Worship God in Spirit and in Truth
We have learned in previous Bible Lesson that to have a relationship with God is possible through the indwelling Holy Spirit of God, Who gives us the abilities we need to work as a team in the Body of Christ, until the earth is covered with God’s glory. This comes by baptism in water, and being filled with the Holy Spirit, with evidence of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, described in both Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12.
1 Peter 2:4-5
“And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
John 4:24
“God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
Romans 12:1-2
“Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.”
God’s Gift to His Son
Isaiah 11:2-5
“The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, the Spirit of Wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And He will delight in the fear of the Lord, and He will not judge by what His eyes see, nor make decisions by what His ears hear; but with righteousness He will judge the poor, and decided with fairness for the afflicted of the earth; and He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked. Also righteousness will be the belt about his loins, and faithfulness the belt about His waist.”
The Kingdom of God — God’s best way of living, and doing everything in love — is at Hand
For most people, who have not grown up in a Church, or lived life believing God, or knowing His word, there will be a complete change of lifestyle once they come into a personal relationship with Him. His word changes everything, and makes all things new, hence, the new-birth experience metaphor of being “born again” — born from above, with a Heavenly Father as our new Parent.
John the Baptist preached it. Jesus preached it. The Apostles who walked with Jesus preached it — the message did not change: “Repent.” The outcomes did not change: salvation, healing, deliverance from oppression, and everything else the devil had done against mankind — a better way of life all around, for Jesus said He came to destroy the works of the devil, and to save the world.
Repentance is a choice — Change the way we think about life, and change the way we live life, because God knows the best way to receive the outcomes we all desire; a life well-lived by God’s standards: who wouldn’t want that? Well, here is what it takes to obtain it.
Matthew 3:2
“Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand."
Matthew 3:11
“As for me, I baptized you with water for repentance, but He Who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and Fire.”
Matthew 4:17
“From that time Jesus began to preach and say, ‘Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’"
Acts 2:38
“Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Acts 17:30
“Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent.”
John 15:9-14
9 “Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full. This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you.”
God’s Original Intent
Genesis 1:26
“Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness;…”
Philippians 2:1-11 — Being Like Christ
“Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.
Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, Who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.
Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Wear God’s Armor while He Fights your Battles for you.
God always fights his battles with His Word, the Sword of the Spirit, or the Rod of Iron, as the case may be — which is in His mouth, and in His hand — from His Throne, with us seated beside Him. God makes it clear that when things happen in the earth, there is always a spiritual event behind it, causing trouble for humans. He makes it clear that the battle is not about humans vs. humans, but humans vs. evil spirits, and it is on that level that all of life’s battles must be fought. He has already given us the strategies to win.
So let’s see what God’s Armor, our Divine, Heavenly Wardrobe looks like:
Truth, Righteousness, and the Gospel of Peace; faith, salvation, and the Word of God
Paul adds: Prayer, Alertness, Perseverance, Utterance, and Boldness
Ephesians 6:10-20
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”
In Christ, Use the Sword of the Spirit to fight alongside God by resting in His Word
The mystery of the Gospel which Paul is speaking of, here, is “Christ in you” by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit in a person who has been baptized, so that now wherever a believer is, God is there, and so is His Kingdom, and its affects. [Colossians 1:27-28]
Jesus describes this like yeast penetrating bread-dough until it fills the whole dough. [Matthew 13:33]
Jesus promises, that wherever two or more are gathered in His name, He is there with them. [Matthew 18:20]
And just as He promised, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” [Matthew 28:18-20]
Elijah the Prophet thought he was alone in his journey with God. He was discouraged, and war-weary, and needed some affirmation that God was still with him. God showed him His glory, and affirmed His walk with Elijah by letting him know that He had reserved 7,000 people who had not bowed their knee to the false-god, Baal. We all need some encouragement in the journey with God. Encourage one another with the promises of God in His Word. [1 Kings 19]
Now, Back to the Priesthood of Believers
1 Peter 2:9-10
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him Who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”
You are chosen, by God, on purpose for purpose, with a path marked out for you that is good, and pleasant, but not without its hardships, because we still live in the world, although as believers we are not “of the world” as Jesus said in His prayer in John 17.
The High Priestly Prayer
John 17
“Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, ‘Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, 2 even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life. 3 This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. 4 I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do. 5 Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.
6 'I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. 7 Now they have come to know that everything You have given Me is from You; 8 for the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me. 9 I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours; 10 and all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them.
11 ‘I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are. 12 While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.
13 ‘But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves. 14 I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 15 I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
17 Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. 18 As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. 19 For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.
20 ‘I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; 21 that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.
22 ‘The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; 23 I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.
24 ‘Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
25 ‘O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me; 26 and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.’”
Encouragement:
Go in His Peace, into your sphere of influence, and indeed into all the world, dressed in His gear, with some Good News — the Kingdom of God is at hand.
Additional Reading: 3Enoch
