Life Learning Series

Before we delve into spontaneity, please think about the alternatives: intervention that requires action on our part versus intercession that is done without our involvement. A particular figure of history said it this way, “God helps those who help themselves”. Sometimes that is true; however, sometimes it is not. For instance, in a certain event, the intervention for the sake of the wayward kings that reigned in Israel, from time to time, was preceded by an inspiration for the king to humble himself before the LORD. The following is Scripture that describes king Ahab’s humility in a petition for intervention, and lets us see the disposition of it in the Kingdom of God. First, the king was given ample reason to turn his heart toward humility. And yet, the king was also too corrupt, it seems, to merit a good return from the LORD as an answer to the king’s humility.

And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, which is in Samaria: behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he is gone down to possess it.And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine.

And Ahab said to Elijah, hast thou found me, O mine enemy? And he answered, I have found thee; because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the LORD. Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away thy posterity, and will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, And will make thine house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked me to anger, and made Israel to sin.And of Jezebel also spake the LORD, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel. Him that dieth of Ahab in the city the dogs shall eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat.

(1 Kings 21:17-24) However, even with a corrupt beneficiary, still the LORD gave the humility greater weight than the corruption.

– Explore the Kingdom of God:  Part Ten –

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The first intercession that is recorded in the Bible was not a voluntary one, as far as we can see with human eyes. Yes, the object of substitution may have volunteered their services to the LORD, but there is no mention of such an intervention by this particular portion of creation. In the text, it seems that the LORD volunteered this particular portion of reality to be the intercessor for mankind.

And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. (Genesis 3:17-19) In most cases, intervention that is of the LORD is a fixed matter of ordinance. In such situations, there is no negotiation. Considering this, let us not think of the discussion in Heaven about Job as being a matter of Satan’s persuasive abilities. The intervention of Satan in the life of Job was by ordinance of the LORD. The same is true of all interventions in the kingdom of man. In general, we accept the LORD’S presence as being present when things are positive. However, the ordinance of the LORD is indeed the power source even when it is a negative event, one that could trigger a desire for negotiation with the LORD. The patriarch Job explains:

– Explore the Kingdom of God:  Part Nine –

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Recall this Scripture, which we presented earlier in this exploration of the Kingdom of God, in the matter of Interaction; it is one that precedes this one.

For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming. Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

For he hath put all things under his feet.

But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.

And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all. (1 Corinthians 15:21-28) The words, all things shall be subdued unto him, describe a foundational flow of grace in the Kingdom of God: Intervention. A summary of the transitional outpouring of Intervention in the kingdom of man, as released from the Kingdom of God, is a significant part of the mission that was assigned to Christ. The prophet Isaiah introduced us to this ultimate intervention. First, Isaiah tells us why intervention was needed.

– Explore the Kingdom of God:  Part Eight –

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As far back as the time of Moses; according to His word, the LORD revealed God’s scheduled actions, as pertains to His most charismatic messenger. Among these actions is an interruption of the independent acts of struggling to understand the LORD. For, even though the Israelites, and in time, the entire world, too, had the law of Moses; still, we were struggling to see how it could flow through us, individually. We needed a Living Example, of a human sort. We needed an example that would consume both us, and our struggling for understanding of our place in the Kingdom of God. This is the declaration of the existence of that example, in and for all reality:

The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken; According to all that thou desiredst of the LORD thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not.And the LORD said unto me,They have well spoken that which they have spoken.

I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him. But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.

And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him. (Deuteronomy 18:15-22) The new Standard of righteous behavior is a most magnificent one.

– Explore the Kingdom of God:  Part Seven –

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Interruptions, as they come from the Kingdom of God, are not necessarily recognizable as being beneficial, according to the feeling of man. Some of the things that are of the Kingdom of God will be thought of as being negative, when they are seen only through a lens that is only able to pass through it principles and practices of the kingdom of man. In the following Scripture, the LORD declared that there are such concepts in His Kingdom; concepts that require us to go beyond our comfort zone.

I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else. I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things. Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the LORD have created it. (Isaiah 45:5-8) For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. (Isaiah 55:8-11) We told you this because some of the things that befell the nation of Israel may seem to be purely negative for them, if they are reviewed in isolation. However, when one studies them as a part of the whole, then their positive fit becomes apparent; for, the things of Scripture are all tending toward a collective good. One of the ways that this was expressed was during a sermon of a New Age apostle.

– Explore the Kingdom of God:  Part Six –

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The intermediate phase of the third world of Creation started with the LORD’S call to an interpreter. First, though, here is the start of the third world.

And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him,I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.

(Genesis 17:1-2) Here is the intermediate portion of the third world, and the election of its first interpreter of things of the Kingdom of God.

– Explore the Kingdom of God:  Part Five –

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Here, we make a rather gradual and possibility inflammatory statement: the Kingdom of God was not brought forth from the heart of God for the purpose of teaching man how to worship. Though this is a rather gradual and possibility inflammatory statement, it is also a somewhat obvious statement; for, the Kingdom of God preceded man, and can, therefore, not be anchored on the human condition. Yes, it would be nice to think that God, in His foreknowledge, prepared for an event that had not happened yet, in a time-based way of thinking. Indeed, Scripture support this Capability of the LORD God.

Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.Hearken unto me, ye stouthearted, that are far from righteousness: I bring near my righteousness: it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry: and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory.

(Isaiah 46:9-13) However, even though Scripture supports the fact the God’s Foreknowledge allows Him to Plan ahead; it does not center this on to the community of man. For instance, the LORD included aspects of His Kingdom that are for the benefit of other portions of Creation. To illustrate this, let us begin with an interaction of God with another portion of Creation, in an action that was for the benefit of man: cursed is the ground for thy sake.

– Explore the Kingdom of God:  Part Four –

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Let me see if I can locate the first proposition of the Bible. Okay, I think this is it: an either-or, in parts. This is the first part of the either-or choice; it involves concentration on being a part of a perfect environment.

These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.

The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.

And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.

And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria.

And the fourth river is Euphrates.

And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

(Genesis 2:4-15) The second part of the either-or choice is to opt for a less than perfect, but self-constructed environment. At that time, there is a “you can have this, or you can have that” environment that is established.

– Explore the Kingdom of God:  Part Three –

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Our capabilities are neither one-dimensional, nor are they unilateral. Instead, our capabilities are both made up of combinations of God-bestowed components, and they are components of God-ordained processes, in the Kingdom of God. One such combination occurs when there is a blending of an earthly component (sickness) with a Heavenly type of force (sin). In these cases, we see the bridge that moves us from things of the earth, into areas of power in Heaven. Scripture gives us a specific example of a time when this bridge was crossed, in a positive delegation of God’s authority of passage. This is one of the earliest accounts of transfiguration, at the Highest level. This is, too, a prime example of our capability in the Kingdom of God.

And Jared lived an hundred sixty and two years, and he begat Enoch: And Jared lived after he begat Enoch eight hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: And all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty and two years: and he died.And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah:

And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years:

And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.

(Genesis 5:18-24) We feel comfortable referring to it as a transfiguration, even though there is no direct use of the word, transfiguration, because the apostle Paul tells us about the change that must have come over Enoch in order for him to make the passage. The following is the general set of parameters that are a part of transfiguration . . .

– Explore the Kingdom of God:  Part Two –

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The Kingdom of God has always existed, and it has always been complete. Wherefore it is not our intention to map out a progression of development of the Kingdom of God. Rather, we will move through that process of unfolding which gives mankind its very fragmentary glimpse of the Kingdom of God (as much as we can absorb it, at this time). This is, of necessity, a fragmentary view: the entire Kingdom of God has not been made available to our world, at this time. To give you an impression of the magnitude of the Kingdom of God, here is a statement of one of the chosen kings of Israel, of the Old Testament time.

And Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven: And he said,LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart: Who hast kept with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him: thou spakest also with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day. Therefore now, LORD God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel; so that thy children take heed to their way, that they walk before me as thou hast walked before me. And now, O God of Israel, let thy word, I pray thee, be verified, which thou spakest unto thy servant David my father.

But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?

(1 Kings 8:22-27) Actually, the original indication of the tremendous depth and breadth of the realm of God flowed through Moses, in an earlier time than that of king Solomon. It, too, presented the insufficiency of the heaven and the heaven of heavens as, collectively, a container for the expanse of God.

– Explore the Kingdom of God:  Part One –

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