Leaving Religion Entering Kingdom

Leaving Religion Entering Kingdom

By

Bishop Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.

OPENING: When you are traveling down the road regardless of where you are going you will pass a sign that says Leaving (Michigan) so and so and Entering (Ohio) so and so. I am leaving one destination and I am entering into another place. I am leaving where I was and entering where I am going. When I go to Ohio, I see the sign which says leaving Michigan and entering Ohio. I am leaving somethings behind and entering something different. WATCH THIS: I am not a skinny guy I weigh over 300 pounds and in my house in Michigan I have a bed designed for big people. My mattress is made for people weighing 600lbs or more. It is a very comfortable mattress, but when I leave to go to Ohio, I leave that comfortable mattress behind and deal with whatever is waiting for me. When I leave Michigan and go to Ohio, I am leaving my comfort zone and entering something different. Leaving religion and entering Kingdom is leaving your comfort zone, leaving what you are used to and entering what God has ordained.

PRAYER:

SCRIPTURE: Luke 4:18 says “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”.

James 1:27 says “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”

Matthew 23:5 & 13-15 says “But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments. But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves”.

Because people are hurting, struggling, discouraged, and tired of religion I feel I need to deal with this subject of Kingdom for a while. So, until God says otherwise, I am going to deal with aspect of Kingdom. What we call church, the repetitive, ritualistic, services are not Kingdom it is religion. The resurrection of Jesus Christ did not inaugurate a religion but brought Kingdom. Jesus always talked about Kingdom, the Kingdom of God, Kingdom of Heaven, the Kingdom is at Hand, my Kingdom is not of this world. Today when we hear the word kingdom, immediately many different ideas, concepts, and pictures come to mind. Most of our concepts in life are the result of our culture, social development, and education. When you mention Kingdom religious minded people almost immediately draw the conclusion of heretic or here, they go thinking they got some new revelation. The true understanding of Kingdom is often lost because we have become conditioned to religion and traditions and lost the concept of Kingdom and the power of Kingdom. Religion and repetitive rituals have left a void in the lives of people that will only be filled by understanding the Kingdom. Now someone may say just fill up on Jesus and we are Kingdom is what Jesus preached.

Leaving Religion and Entering Kingdom!

Definition: Religion is defined as “an organized system and the adherence to a set of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules used to worship a god or a group of gods that regulate the moral, social, and ritualistic behavior of the individual.” That definition can literally make anything a religion. Atheism – the belief that there is no God is a religion. Buddhism – the belief in a false god is a religion. Hinduism – the belief in many gods is a religion. Some can believe in a television show or performer and that is their god therefore that becomes their religion like Beyonce-ism. I heard someone say once that they practiced the religion of Jedi-ism because they believed that the force was in them, for those that may not know a Jedi is the main protagonists (the leading character or one of the major characters in a drama, movie, novel, or other fictional text) of the Star Wars Movie franchise, they are fictional characters in a movie and to develop a religion out of that and anything other than Jesus Christ is sin. Romans 14:23 says “And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin”.