When Jesus was talking about the kingdom, he shared with his disciples, he took them to his home community Nazareth. While visiting the synagogue, He read from the scroll that morning: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord." Luke 4:18-19 When he was done, he handed the scroll back and said, "This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears." In that moment, Jesus was proclaiming, "The kingdom of God has come!" Jesus was saying to His disciples that the kingdom of God was here, and they would know this by miracles and signs and wonders. In today's podcast, we are looking at what the culture of the kingdom of heaven is like so that we can go forth and fulfill the commission God gave us while we live here on earth.

Before the people of Israel conquered Jericho, Joshua warned the nation to not touch the spoil of the city. It was dedicated to God for sacred use, it was the first fruits of the Promised Land. Jericho was the tithe city. They could share the spoil of all the other cities they conquered, but the spoil from Jericho was to go to the treasury of the Lord. There are promises in the Word of God for those who follow God's principles of finance. But, do we still have to live under the tithe in the New Testament? This is what we are looking at in today's podcast.

How do we handle troubles in our life: pressure in our marriage, too much month at the end of the paycheck? Adversity in the life of a believer is normal Christian living, but defeat is abnormal. If we respond to the pressures of life in the same way the world does, how will the world see the overcoming life in us? There are four ways the world responds to the pressures of life that doesn't resolve problems, it only masks them or dulls them for a moment. What is the right way to handle life's pressures so that we maintain a perspective of the kingdom of God in our life and responses?

God's original design was that we be a kingdom of priests, that mankind would be divine royalty. God designed planet earth to be the location of his kingdom and dominion, but sin destroyed that plan. It caused the human race to live beneath what God created it to be. So God made a decision, Jesus became the last Adam The first Adam committed high treason, but Jesus reversed everything the first Adam did and defeated the kingdom of darkness. We have to live right side up with God, and upside down to the world, to make the kingdom of God work. Do you live everyday with the assurance of who you are? Do you know how to walk and talk as royalty of the Kingdom of God? It will never be defeated, we just have to learn how to behave like the royalty we are.

We often struggle with our identity in Jesus Christ. When we were born again, we were adopted into the family of the King of kings and Lord of lords. He gives us the assurance that we are a member of that family. You are an heir and joint-heir of Jesus  Christ. You are an heir of the kingdom of God. He gave you the Holy Spirit to live inside of you as an assurance of that covenant. You are a covenant son and daughter of Almighty God. Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love. Colossians 1:12 When we are born again, God takes us out out of the kingdom darkness and brings us into the kingdom of His dear Son. He adopts us into the family and gives to us His Holy Spirit who is the seal, earnest, and guarantee of our identity and our position in Jesus Christ. Every time you feel His presence and touch it is an assurance that you are royalty. Do you truly know your identity? Do you live everyday with the assurance of who you are Do you know how to walk and talk as royalty of the Kingdom of God

In Exodus 19:5-6 we read that God called the nation of Israel to be a special treasure to God. God was forming a new nation on the earth. God was going to make them kingdom of priests. This was God's plan from the beginning of history when God gave Adam authority over all the earth. Through mankind God would establish His kingdom on earth and He began through the following Biblical accounts AbrahamMosesJohn the BaptistJesus' public ministry The kingdom of heaven is on earth right now in the heart of every person who receives Christ. But the kingdom of heaven is always meeting resistance as Satan looks to overthrow God's kingdom. God's children must take it by force.

This is a turning point in history and men have to lead the way. We need men that know how to meet God. Sir, do you know how to meet God? I imagine Joshua didn't know how to meet God, so he hung out with someone who knew how to meet God. "So the LORD spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle." Exodus 33:11 We need to teach and train the next generation to turn their back on the world and run to Jesus and let Him set their heart on fire.

"If the church is not going to have the power of God and be the healing element that it should be in the community, then take down your sign!" Dr. Tony Evans There are dozens of churches with their doors open and are just holding a holy huddle. In this time in history, the church cannot afford to be church as usual! We must be the healing agent that God told His church to be.

Moses is an example of someone who stood in faith and confidence that God is exactly who He says He is He wasn't always perfect at it: He had faith crises at times He struggled to believe that God could use him He even disobeyed God. But when you look at his life, he consistently and faithfully, followed Almighty God; and even at his points of failure, he believed God is who He says He is and he followed Him. God took an ordinary guy and used him in an ordinary way. God can use you in the same way! I hear over and over that this is a Joshua Generation, but the only way it can be a Joshua Generation is if: There are thousands of Moses' who will rise up They need to be mentors They need to know how to get face-to-face with God They know how to live in the glory of God They fast and pray and They go to the mountain of God They live it out They mentor the next generation Let's believe that God can

Have you ever received an incredible blessing from God in your life on Sunday only for it to have vanished somewhere the next day or a few days later and you think, "Where did it go? I thought I got blessed?" You can't lose a blessing. But you can choose to walk away from your inheritance, renounce your adoption, and walk away from your walk with the Lord. What do you do? Reject the lie that you have to be good enough to receive good gifts from GodRemember that it's all by grace God wants you to live a supernatural kind of life! “These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble." John 1

God often calls unlikely people to do extraordinary tasks: David Gideon Nehemiah Disciples D.L. Moody Mary Slessor Founders of the Pentecostal revival Smith Wigglesworth Then He said to them, 'Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things. Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.'” Luke 24:46-49 Endued means to put on garment - jacket God had a promise for them: "You will be baptized in the Holy Spirit and receive extraordinary power to do extraordinary things."" When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." Acts 2:1-4 They received exactly what Jesus promised The simple fisherman had become so powerful that they were turning the world upside down. God took ordinary people and did extraordinary things. God didn't' promise the baptism of the Holy Spirit just to the disciples, but to everyone.“ And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions." Joel 2:28"all flesh" When peter finished sermon, people asked "What do we need to do? Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” Acts 2:38-39 To you To your children (Jewish people were the only ones there) To all who are afar off (Greek: those people that live a far distance away) - all nations of the world - Jew and Gentile Even as many as the Lord our God will call Why would God do this? Because He wants ordinary people to have supernatural power God has a divine assignment for your life, but you can't do it on your own.“ Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father." John 14:12 This verse isn't just for prophets evangelists Benny Hinn Televangelists Mega church pastors Jesus is saying to every ordinary believer that is born again of the Holy Spirit I am going to give to you the baptism of the Holy Spirit and an ordinary person will be able to do the work that I do.

When we received Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, He literally comes and dwells in us by the Holy Spirit. Often when we think about God, we think about God in heaven and try to reach up to Him. We don't have to reach up to God, because He reached down to us. His Word says that when we draw near to God, He draws near to us. Christ dwells in us, therefore We need to be rooted and grounded in His love. How do we do this? We need to wait on the LordWe need to understand the 4 dimensions of God's loveWe need to be filled all the fullness of GodWe need to know that God will do exceedingly more than we can ask or think Is there an area of your life where the enemy still has a foothold or jurisdiction?  God wants to be wider and longer in your life. He wants that territory.

If God has made us kings and priests, he doesn’t want us to pray for luxury for ourselves, but to pray for divine wisdom. There are 8 choices that will completely change your life. My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. James 1:2-4 You win or lose by the way you choose, and you can choose joy over pain. Life’s two basic elements are made up of the decisions we make and the relationships we have. We need to choose wisely. What choices can we make so that we have a really good life?

We can live a life of joy, even when evil things happen all around us. But, how can we deal with life when bad things happen? There are two things we learn from the story about Lazarus and the beggar. 1. No one gets to escape hardship Life isn't fair, but it can be filled with joy. 2. Scripture tells us that we'll go through hardship We live in a sinful, fallen world, so offenses will come. It's impossible for them not to come. How do you deal with life when evil happens? Cling to the hope of heaven. John 14:3Rejoice and leap with joy.  Luke 6:20 Don't waste your pain! Learn how to count it all joy! Instead of focusing on pain, learn how to live in joy from the inside out.

You win or lose by the way you choose; and the most important choice you will ever make in your life is for eternity. There are two things we learn from the story about Lazarus and the beggar. 1. You will live eternally. You are an eternal being made in the image of God. As God is eternal, you are eternal. You will live eternally. 2. Heaven and hell are real. You will spend eternity in one of those two places; and you will chose where you will go. God doesn't send anybody to heaven or hell. You choose heaven or hell, and it's based on what you choose here. Once you die its too late. What will keep you from making the choice today to serve God?

God has the unexpected gift waiting for every person on Planet Earth. The question is, will we receive it? Not everyone is willing. We read about this in the Gospels. Jesus visited many people in many towns and villages, but not everyone received Him. They didn't want His divine encounter, and they missed His visitation. Maybe His divine encounter will be like the Woman at the Well - where He wants to transform your life. Maybe His divine encounter will be like Zacchaeus - where Jesus' love changes you forever. Maybe He wants to visit you with the unexpected gift of the baptism of the Holy Spirit and a spiritual language, because that is the source of power that gives you strength to walk in victory. Don't miss God's encounter for you. Don't miss even one gift that He has for you!

In 2 Timothy 3, Paul lists for us 25 perilous things we will see in the last days, things that we are seeing in our culture today. Sadly, many of these things have crept into the church, as we've seen evangelical leaders and pastors waffle on clear standards God has set out in His Word. Christian families are growing powerless as they buy into worldly psychology that leaves them with a form of godliness but denying its power. If we are going to live as strong disciples of Christ, we have to live our lives in the context of Scripture, not the context of culture.

In Acts 17:6 we read, "These who have turned the world upside down have come here too." The disciples had obeyed Jesus' instructions not to do anything until they received the power from on high. They were to wait for the Promise of the Father - the baptism of the Holy Spirit - and from that moment, they radically turned city after city upside down for the Kingdom. This is what the church today is missing. We can't do this on our own. Programs and music will not turn our culture around. What we need is the glory of Almighty God and that only comes by the baptism of the Holy Ghost and fire.

Did you know that Jesus' command to preach the kingdom of heaven wasn't just for the apostles, but it is for us today? We see the progression of Jesus' command in the gospels. In Matthew 10:7-8 we read Jesus' instructions to His twelve disciples to go and preach the kingdom of heaven. "And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give." Then, in Luke 10:9, he gave these instructions to 70 more apostles. "After these things the Lord appointed seventy others...And heal the sick there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.'" We all know the Great Commission. It is found in Mark 16 and is for every believer. "And He said to them, ;Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.'" There are three questions we have to answer if we are to effectively spread the kingdom of heaven here on earth.

I remember a bumper sticker from the 80's "He who dies with the most toys wins". That's not true. He who dies with the most ties just dies, with a selfish story. What is your story and what story will you leave behind when God calls you home? Do your coworkers know that you have the power and authority of prayer. Do you release that power and authority of prayer over them? Jesus established His church to build war rooms of prayer, where we go and do warfare, subdue the powers of darkness and take dominion. We have the power to take dominion over the enemy so he cannot beat up our families, loved ones, and cities. We have the power to stop him from doing that, and to bring blessing to those around us.