The Kingdom Of God "Kingdom Riches”

Pre-Service Message:

Come Breath of Life

Watch on YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-tD-Mct5n8

 Can these dry bones live? This was the question presented to the prophet Ezekiel when the Lord took him to the Valley of Dry Bones. The Lord told Ezekiel to say to these dry bones.

“Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.” And the word of the Lord was, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” (Ezekiel 37:4, 9)

The Lord made it known these dry bones represented His people, and what was true back then is true today. Today the church is pretty much a valley of dry bones. The power and passion have dried up, and all that’s left is the cold embers of a fire that once swept across this land. And so, the church today is a pale comparison to what it was.

So the Lord is saying, “Speak to the Breath, speak to the Holy Spirit and say, ‘Come Holy Spirit, and breathe Your breath of life so that Your people can once again live and be a holy fire.’”

The Apostle Paul said to Timothy, “I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God.” (2 Timothy 1:6 NIV)

The spark is there. What we need is to ask the Holy Spirit to fan that spark into flame, and fill the church with His power

This is what the Lord did with the first church as Jesus told them to wait in Jerusalem until they were endued with power from on high. And as they were praying “there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.” (Acts 2:2 NKJV) And it fanned into flame the spark inside them, and there appeared a flame of fire over each one.

Prayer: “Come Holy Spirit, come O Breath of Life, and breathe new life into these dry bones, and fan into flame the spark within.”

The Kingdom of God

“Kingdom Riches”

Mark 10:23-25

In our past studies, we’ve seen the various difficulties about the Kingdom of God and the many misconceptions concerning its nature and character and what a person must do to enter it.

The Bible clarifies God doesn't allow unrighteousness within His Kingdom's borders. (Revelation 22:15; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Galatians 5:19-21, Ephesians 5:5)

Let me quote the first part of 1 Corinthians 6:9 so you can see it for yourselves. “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God." (1 Corinthians 6:9a NKJV)

But here’s the catch: not only is unrighteousness not allowed, but as we will see …  goodness isn’t either. And we find this in what Jesus said in our signature verses in Mark's gospel.

“Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, ‘How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!’ And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, ‘Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.’” (Mark 10:23-25 NKJV)

Now you may wonder about my statement because Jesus is talking about riches, not goodness. But stay with me. It gets good.

Again, what we see is that Jesus isn’t all that seeker friendly. Jesus is here commenting on what just happened when a rich young ruler came seeking what it would take to get into God’s kingdom. But once Jesus tells him, the guy left sorrowful.

People seem to have this idea that the one thing necessary to enter the Kingdom of God is to be a good person. Forget about doctrine, forget about what Jesus and the Bible have to say. If you’re good enough, you’re in, and if you’ve lived a good and moral life, that’s all God demands

The case of the rich young ruler is extraordinary and also misunderstood. Misunderstood because many think that this is a message against riches seeing how Jesus condemned the rich guy. But this message is for everyone, rich and poor.

Out of all the people who came to Jesus, this is one of the most surprising. Here we think we have the type of guy Jesus would want to have following Him.

This guy is practically perfect in almost every way. A Mary Poppins sort of guy. Yet he is outside God’s Kingdom. This is so astonishing that even the disciples couldn’t wrap their minds around it. This guy was one of those people where you’d say, “This is a perfect example of a Christian, and if he’s not one, then I have no idea who could be.”