Are we living in His kingdom? Do we act like it? Have we surrendered to His lordship over us?
Today I am going to continue along with the theme of surrendering to God and His will for us. Little did I know when I started this blog where it would take me, or even why I picked the title that I did, just happened that it was very fitting for the scripture I was reading at the time. Now I have continued my studies, and what a surprise, it is a topic that continues to flow in with the theme, on a much larger scale. A friend of mine posted a series of interviews, where pastor Benny Hill interviews another pastor, Dr. Myles Monroe. (you can find the video here: Interview and I do encourage watching it, however you need to study the scripture they use yourself, some of the theology seems a bit off) I was a bit skeptical going in, I hadn’t heard much about Benny Hill, but what I had heard wasn’t the most positive of things, so I think it is honest for me to say I started the video with my defenses higher than was fair. It did not matter, the views spoken about and the perspective this man, Myles Monroe, looks from was mind blowing. I have spent the last couple days cross referencing what I found in the videos with scripture and double checking all of their references. We say that we are working for the glory of God and His Kingdom. But do we even know how to live in a kingdom? As Myles Monroe puts it, we have a tendency to carry our knowledge of government structure and impose it onto the Bible. For us, this means a republic. And many read it and pick and choose as if we have some sort of say in it. And that is not what a kingdom is, not at all. Now I know this is a very long post, and I apologize as that was not my original intent, but there was a lot to cover. If you wish a quick summary, the last couple paragraphs do that, but whereas they brought up some very interesting points, and have a lot of good information; I did unfortunately find some misuse of scripture, so I want to use this to separate the truth from the confusion. I am going to leave this intro with a quote from Myles Monroe, then I am going to dive into the scripture used or referenced in the video, I will get back to the quote again later, but I want you to start thinking about this now:
“A kingdom is not a democracy, not a religion, and not a republic. A kingdom is a governing influence of a king over his territory, impacting it with his will, his purpose, and his intent, producing a citizenry of people who express his culture and reflect his nature.” – Myles Monroe
“The earth is the LORD’s, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods. Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah. Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah” Psalm 24
A common reference to God is the King of glory. I just used this one example here as we have a clear example that not only directly tells us who the King of glory is, but also does it in a way that shows His might, power, and everlasting quality. God created it all, everything belongs to Him. We are a part of His creation, we are His citizens.
Another name that is used in referring to God is as the Ancient of days. We see this use in Daniel chapter 7. This is prophesy, and in it we see reference to Jesus(called the Son of man) The first part of the chapter is describing some of the beasts in Daniel’s vision, I shall pick up in verse 9, after their description.
“I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened. I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame. As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time. I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled me. I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things. These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever. Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet; And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows. I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints o the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.” Daniel 7: 9-23
This series of verses has so much to say and is used often by those looking to preach the end times. However that is not what I want to draw attention to today. Mainly I want to show how the Ancient of days has ultimate power, no matter how great the beasts were He was able to subdue and judge them. Those that were referred to as His saints inherited the kingdom. This leads into then next verse I wish to show you, revealing more of the names that God is referred to as.
“Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the king of kings, and the Lord of lords;” 1 Timothy 6:15
God is referred to here as the King of kings, and the Lord of lords. Again we see reference to His supremacy over all. And as we saw in the verse in Daniel where He gave His saints the kingdom, God has the ultimate authority even of the kings and rulers of this world. His is the ultimate power and authority, and it is to Him that we should surrender and submit.
I want to take this time now that we have seen that God is our king, to talk a little about kings in general. The video, and world history, tells us that Kings rule by birthright. You can not choose to vote for a king, or even to vote to remove a king. On earth if kings are removed it is because they are overthrown, which as we see in Daniel chapter 7, simply is not possible with the Ancient of days, our King of kings. So, God is our King, always has been, and always has been. That is great, but what do I do with this information? How do I react to it? Well let us just take a quick look at a few more things. We owe God our reverence, unlike other forms of government, in a kingdom everything is owned by the King. The lands, animals, even the people, belong to the king. We also see that the king’s word is law, and irrefutable. You don’t argue with your king, you submit. So what do we do? We obey. I know obey isn’t a word we like to hear, but here it is, I said it. Jesus didn’t walk around asking people to do things; He TOLD them what to do. Everywhere He went this remained consistent. That is because Jesus has the authority, and doesn’t have to ask. Submitting to God’s authority doesn’t make us pathetic, on the contrary it is very powerful, and I want to show you something. Let us take a look, at Matthew, chapter 6.
“Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? Or, What shall we drink? Or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” Matthew 6: 25-34
How awesome is this? God is our authority, He is our king. And thus He takes care of us. God cares for us like a father, and like a king. A good king will always take care of his people; we will talk more of that later, but first let us cover what Jesus commands us to do in this verse. We are told to seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness. This is because to be a part of a kingdom, we need to seek its ruler. So how do we do this? Jesus tells us in quite a few places how, let us look at a few of them.
“And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life, for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father wit the holy angels.” Mark 8: 34-38
“And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.” John 6: 35
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.” John 14: 6-7
Jesus commands us to give up ourselves and our worldly ways, to turn and follow Him completely. In that same verse He makes a reference that matches up with the verse we read in Daniel earlier, and calls himself the Son of man. Jesus calls himself the bread of life, and by believing in Him, we shall never hunger or thirst. This looks like an answer to what we saw him speak about in Matthew. Then Jesus clinches it. We are told that if we have known him, then we also know the father. So by knowing Jesus, by following and becoming one with him, we meet our King.
Next in the video, Myles Monroe talks about what he refers to as the Governor. When Myles Monroe says this he is referencing the Holy Spirit. We can return to John, chapter 14 for more detail on this, and the role of the Spirit. I will pick up in verse 16, after Jesus explains to the disciples that He won’t be with them much longer.
“And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but you know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.” John 14: 16-17
Jesus calls the Spirit of truth a Comforter. He shall be with us forever. Monroe mentions the day of Pentecost, when all of the believers there received the Spirit. The Spirit is what transforms our lives, replacing and cleansing the old, filling us with our new birthright, as citizens of God’s kingdom.
On that note I want to dive back into more about kingdoms. This is the area of the video that Myles gives us the quote that I showed you at the beginning. A kingdom is not a religion. Jesus didn’t behave like the religious men of the time, because Jesus came to introduce us to the kingdom of God. When Jesus was taken and was about to be crucified, look where the governor in Jerusalem and the Pharisees were questioning Jesus, note how Jesus responds to Pilate’s questions, but not to those of the Pharisees.
“And straightway in the morning the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council, and bound Jesus, and carried him away, and delivered him to Pilate. And Pilate asked him, Art though the King of the Jews? And he answering said unto him, Thou sayest it. And the chief priests accused him of many things: but he answered nothing. And Pilate asked him again, saying, Answerest though nothing? Behold how many things they witness against thee. But Jesus yet answered nothing; so that Pilate marveled.” Mark 15: 1-5
Jesus wasn’t responding to the Pharisees because they had no say or part in His job there. Jesus wasn’t coming to revive the religion of the time, but to establish a kingdom; therefore he only answered Pilate, the governor of the earthly kingdom.
Another thing Myles Monroe said is that religion produces a system, while a kingdom produces a culture. As long as we are trying to follow a religion, we are bound to laws and rules, seeking only to appease God, which is a task none of us can accomplish. Stepping into a kingdom and becoming a part of that, gives you inherent rights, and you develop a culture which pertains to the kingdom. Therefore, by living for the kingdom of God, we will develop a culture, befitting that kingdom. We are not members of a religion; we are citizens of a kingdom. If there is any doubt as to which mindset is preferred by Jesus, just take a look at this next verse.
“And a certain centurion’s servant, who was dear unto him, was sick, and ready to die. And when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto him the elders of the Jews, beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant. And when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly, saying, That he was worthy for whom he should do this: For he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue. Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that though shouldest enter under my roof: Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed. For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And they that were sent, returning to the house, found the servant whole that had been sick.” Luke 7: 2-10
Jesus marveled at the faith of the centurion. Not because of how religious he was, but because he understood how things worked in a kingdom. He knew that Jesus carried authority, and simply by speaking things happened. If you would like more evidence that Jesus came to bring a kingdom, simply look at Isaiah chapter 9.
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.” Isaiah 9: 6-7
This is prophesying regarding the birth of Jesus. He came into the world, born into the line of David. He came and the government shall be upon his shoulder. That was His burden, and His job. Jesus brought to us the government, the kingdom of God. As Myles Monroe puts it, God is colonizing the earthly kingdoms. God created everything and owns it. When you colonize somewhere, such as what the British did in the Bahamas, you erase the past culture of the people there; remove their language, history, and culture. The people living in the Bahamas are of African descent. However, very few could tell you much of anything about their ancestry there. However, they can all recount to you the history and mannerisms of England. In fact, you will find they follow the same customs and many of the same cultural traits. The kingdom of God is similar, Jesus comes to us and teaches us the ways of His kingdom, which we are reborn into. And we are told to forsake the ways of this world, and follow Him. Notice the similarity? Again we must mention that in a kingdom, the king owns everything. If you look back at Psalm 24 which we read earlier you see why God owns everything, He created it all, even us. This is I think the key to why David was a man after God’s own heart (see my last blog post for more on this). David praised God continually, because he understood that God was responsible for all that he had, and everything belonged to God anyway. It is for this very reason, David’s character and response to God, that David’s line was chosen to lead Israel. If we look in the book of Mark, we see a blind man who calls to Jesus for healing. But look at how he does this:
“And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jeus, thou son of David, have mercy on me.” Mark 10:47
This man recognized that Jesus had royal authority. He linked his lineage to that of a king, and submitted to Jesus, calling for mercy. For this act of faith and reverence, the man is healed. We are called to submit to the authority of Jesus, as we are citizens in His kingdom. Jesus owns it all, the trees, rivers, food, earth, the air we breathe, and yes, even us. Realizing this is a key to gaining a proper mindset. We don’t own anything, not even our own bodies. That is why we are called to be a living sacrifice, give up our own will, follow his. Everything we “own” belongs to God; we are simply stewards of it. That is what tithing teaches.
“Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herwith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” Malachi 3:10
Now this is where what I see in the scripture, differs a little with what the video says. I agree that there is a difference in tithing, and in giving, which I will get into in just a second. However, they say that tithing does not produce a blessing, only giving. This scripture clearly states otherwise. Tithing does keep us in good standing with our King, and opens us up to receive His blessings. However, there is something they mention that I agree with completely. This verse in Malachi does mention that the tithe is simply for maintaining the Lords house. So if you wish to see your church grow in what they can do and to spread their ministry beyond where it currently sits, giving beyond a tithe is how to see that happen. And another thing they were right about on this topic is that I haven’t found Jesus speaking on tithing, only on giving. And the language for the two is quite different. Now on to what the New Testament says about giving:
“But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he puposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work: (As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever. Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;) Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God. For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God; Whiles by the experiment of this ministration they glorify God for your professed subjection unto the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal distribution unto them, and unto all men; And by their prayer for you, which long after you for the exceeding grace of God in you. Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.” 2 Corinthians 9: 6-15
Here we see giving being mentioned. None of what is written here is speaking about maintaining, rather it speaks about growing. This is giving unto God, not tithing. Here we see mention of multiplying your seed sown, and increasing your fruits. This verse says that when you take what God has blessed you with, and bless others with it; it can grow into something beyond what you would ever have thought possible of your gift. For if you give unto others of what God has blessed you with, he will multiply the fruits of your labor, and do great things with it. Note that it isn’t you who does these great things. They were God’s resources to start with, and He does the work with them. The fruits of the gift are multiplied because this shows that it was more than just what we gave, God’s hand is present. Another thing is that this verse does not speak just on finances. When you give you can do more then send someone some money. It speaks of sowing. That involves work. When you plant you don’t just casually toss some seed out on the ground. You prepare the ground, removing the weeds, tilling the soil, carefully planting your seed, and then watering it. You can give of your time, with patience and love listen to someone in need. You can use your resources; perhaps you pass a homeless person in the street on a hot day and give them some water. Giving of yourself is an example left to us by Jesus, who even though a king, washed the feet of His disciples.
As kingdom citizens were are told to be in the world, though we are not of it. We are to forsake the ways of the world. Looking at things as a kingdom certainly makes verses like this, make even more sense.
“Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.” 2 Corinthians 5:20
The title of Ambassador makes so much more sense if we view things as though we are representing a country, or in this case, a kingdom. We are to be citizens whose culture and point of origin are clear. We are to live in such a way that Christ is visible in all of us.
The next concept they discuss is something that was briefly mentioned by me earlier in the post. And that is this, you don’t argue with a king. The words of a king are not up for debate, they are simply to be obeyed.
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” Matthew 7:21-29
In this passage we see that simply doing good works in the name of your king is not enough. God wants us to obey Him. Another thing I would like to note is at the end of this passage. Jesus wasn’t teaching like the established religious leaders, He was speaking as one with authority, as a King.
The next topic covered in the video is a Lord’s responsibility to their charges. It does not reflect well on a king if their citizens are in poor shape, barely surviving. I would like to reference again to Matthew chapter 6 where it is discussed that submission, surrendering, to God means that He will take care of you, and you need not worry about anything. I am reminded of Solomon, at how well he took care of his servants. Look at this passage from 2 Chronicles:
“And when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built, and the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel; his cup-bearers also, and their apparel; and his ascent by which he went up into the house of the LORD; there was no more spirit in her. And she said to the king, It was a true report which I heard in mine own land of thine acts, and of thy wisdom: Howbeit I believed not their words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the one half of the greatness of thy wisdom was not told me: for thou exceedest the fame that I heard. Happy are thy men, and happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and hear thy wisdom.” 2 Chronicles 9:3-7
Solomon took great care of his people. They were dressed in the nicest of garments and they were happy. Obviously his people were well taken care of. And yet, Solomon had many flaws himself, we can expect much greater from the King of kings. Myles also makes mention of the relationship of husbands and wives as an example of this. In the Bible wives are asked to submit to their husbands. However, this isn’t in the western idea of submission, which would make them lesser, far from it. All that it simply means is that the husband is now responsible for the wife, and for providing for her. They used 1 Peter chapter 3 as a reference to this, I will go ahead and quote that here as well, along with some of the verses surrounding what they mention which helps to clarify:
“For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands: Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement. Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.” 1 Peter 3: 5-7
We see here that it was the husband’s responsibility to care for their wife, and to take great care of them, “that your prayers be not hindered”. This isn’t just a suggestion; this is a command, a man who does not treat his wife with honor and respect, risks losing their window of communication with God.
Next we can discuss what our responsibility as a citizen is. Like in any modern country, the civilians are not warriors, they do not fight. Jesus never asked us to fight for the kingdom; he has his own servants for that. In fact, that is the role of the angels; they are the Lord’s army. I am reminded of 2 Kings 19. Here we see the power of God in action, with the use of just one angel:
“Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a bank against it. By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the LORD. For I will defend this city, to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake. And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the LORD went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh.” 2 Kings 19: 32-36
God has an army far more powerful than anything we could develop, just waiting for His orders. God will fight those battles for us. Now Myles uses four other verses to reference that God is more than capable of fighting battles for us. The first three are these:
“Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?” Matthew 26:53
“Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause cam I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.” John 18: 36-37
“Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.” John 19: 11
In the video they mix up these scriptures a little. Myles says that while talking to Pilot (which is the John verses) Jesus says that he could call down legions of angels. However, this was not said to Pilot at all, but to Peter when Jesus was taken. The message is the same however, Jesus has not asked us to fight, but rather simply that we pray, and allow God to fight our battles.
“Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about. And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, and host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! How shall we do? And he answered, Frear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horse and chariots of fire round about Elisha. And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the LORD, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. And Elisha said unto them, This is not the way, neither is this the city: follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek. But he led them to Samaria. And it came to pass, when they were come into Samaria, that Elisha said, LORD, open the yes of these men, that they may see. And the LORD opened their eyes, and they saw; and, behold, they ewere in the midst of Samaria. And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them? Shall I smite them? And he answered, Thou shalt not smite them: wouldest thou smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master. And he prepared great provision for them: and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. So the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.” 2 Kings 6: 14-23
In these verses here we see Elisha, not fearing an entire army because he knew the power of his King. Elisha did nothing more than pray, and God conquered an army for him. And that is all that we are asked to do as well, which brings me to my next verse.
“Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel.” Ephesians 6: 13-19
I love this, all the prep work putting on the armor and gathering the sword, just to pray. We are to outfit ourselves to enter the presence of our King. But it is He who will ultimately do battle on our behalf.
Next Myles starts talking about the keys of the kingdom. Now here, he does say some things that sound good. But I don’t think it is directly relevant to the passage. First, I will give you the passage:
“He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16: 15-19
Now Myles links this with another verse:
“And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying, Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. Then Jesus answered and said., O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you? Bring him hither to me. And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour. Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard see, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.” Matthew 17: 14-21
Myles links these two verses, and says that when Jesus teaches the disciples apart from everyone else, that this is actually him teaching them the keys to the kingdom. Myles makes claim that the keys to the kingdom are what grant access to such things as healing. I am not convinced by the context in which Jesus speaks about these keys. The context is actually quite different. Allow me to use the other time that Jesus uses these words as an example:
“For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost. How think ye? If a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray. Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish. Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican. Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” Matthew 18: 11-20
When we see this in the midst of this text, we see something different from what Myles preached. Binding and loosing seems more akin to a spiritual response from our Father, based on what is happening on earth. It seems to say that when believers gather what they ask is given to them, or “loosed”. Also in this example Jesus shows how grace was extended several times to a brother who had fallen away, and that if that person would but hear their wisdom, all would be forgotten. As other passages say (which I will cover shortly in response to other verses discussed later in the video), when we extend grace to others, God extends it to us in return, or else, what we loose on earth (grace to others) is loosed in heaven (grace to us).
In the video they next jumped back to the Spirit, and being born again into it. We all know of the call to be baptized into Christ, and that we are “born again”. I am including a bit of Myles’ perspective on what that means in relation to a kingdom concept. Myles states that we need to be born again because we must be born into the kingdom of God in order to receive the “rights” granted to citizens. That is our show that we are surrendered to God’s lordship over us. When we are baptized we are sent the great Comforter (see earlier verses). Myles perceives the Holy Spirit as a sort of Governor for the kingdom of heaven. The job of a governor here on earth is to live among the people, remove their language, history, and culture, and then replace what was taken with the equivalent from the culture of the ruling kingdom. I spoke earlier of how this was done in the Bahamas. And frankly I kind of like this concept. The Holy Spirit is here to make us into one of God’s own, when we let Him guide us, and truly surrender, we see God work in our lives.
The last thing they talked about (yes we have reached the end) is giving, and how that blesses you. Sadly I have to say they didn’t use the right scripture to back this up, and I want to clear some of the misconceptions here. What Myles quotes about what you measure out being measured back to you, can come from one of three places, I will list them all so you can fairly judge for yourself which you think he was using.
“Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” Luke 6: 36-38
“Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?” Matthew 7: 1-3
“And he said unto them, Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? And not to be set on a candlestick? For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad. If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given. For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath.” Mark 4: 21-25
Ok, so in the first two we see a very clear theme against judging others. For what judgments we measure out, will be measured back us. In the third verse we see a slight twist to the theme. Here it seems to be talking about not hiding the light (perhaps God’s truth) Even that which was kept secret was only done so for it to be revealed later. If this verse truly is referring to the Gospel, which is what I read here, then we are showing love and grace by sharing it with all that have the ears with which to hear it. So in a way, this is similar to the previous two verses as well. In all we seem to be asked to extend grace, with the promise that God will in return extend grace back to us. Just one last verse, on this topic, and then I will end with my closing thoughts on the video.
“Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. The servant therefore fell down, and worshiped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.” Matthew 18: 23-25
This verse was also mentioned by them briefly, when talking about tithing, which was used slightly out of context again as Jesus hadn’t been saying this is what will happen to those that don’t pay their debts, but merely used as an example to show why grace should be extended.
Ok, now to sum up this video. I would like to say that overall I thoroughly enjoyed it. The kingdom concept is powerful and I agree that we should be reading our Bibles with an eye out to the fact that God is our King. What God says is not up for debate, and if He said it, it is law. We need to have full faith that our God will care for us, and surrender ourselves to him. With that being said, there was some faulty theology used here, as well as some misuse of scripture. I discussed them as they came up, so don’t really need to go into much detail here, but the financial views presented seem to be skewed. However, this is as I read it, and as I feel the Spirit leading me to interpret. I encourage you to read all of the scripture for yourself with a heart open to God, and let it speak to you. Do not blindly accept either what these men, or me, teach you. I have dug up the scripture they referenced and listed it here plainly to read. If the King James isn’t the translation you are most comfortable with, simply look at what verse was used (all were listed after the quotes) and read it in your favored translation. God gave us the masterpiece of the Bible so that we could all look and understand for ourselves. Let Him speak to you through it.
Now a huge thank you for those of you that chose to bear with me through this massive collection of words!
God Bless
