1 Peter 2
Witness order throughout the Bible: H6186 `arak--to arrange or set or lay in order, arrange, state in order, set forth (a legal case), set in place
Psalm 40:5 Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order H6186 unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.
The Torah: Genesis 22:9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid H6186 the wood in order, H6186 and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.
The Prophets: Jeremiah 46:3 Order H6186 ye the buckler and shield, and draw near to battle.
The Writings: 1 Kings 18:33 And he put H6186 the wood in order, H6186 and cut the bullock
in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood
Isaiah 44:7 And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order H6186 for me, since I appointed the ancient people? and the things that are coming, and shall come, let them shew unto them.
1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, the King’s cohanim, a holy nation, a people for God to possess! Why? In order for you to declare the praises of the one who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
BREAKING DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS
When man lost the Spirit of God, the Kingdom of God could not come fully on the earth. After Adam sinned, he was like an ambassador with no power, a man without a country, enslaved in HaSatan’s kingdom of darkness. There is a kingdom of darkness ruled by HaSatan, and a Kingdom of light ruled by God. All of us were born into the kingdom of darkness.
That is why we could not help sinning. Satan’s power was now ruling instead of man. He had successfully reduced man to a state of impotency. Yeshua came to destroy the works of the devil and to deliver us from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of light and give us power to take our rightful place.
We are used to trusting ourselves to control our lives. Most of us have done a pretty miserable job with that trust. Once we turn our trust toward God we are introduced to a new power to live our lives.
That power also enables us to fulfill the commission as ambassadors of the heavenly Kingdom, a commission that He will never rescind. As true sons of God we are now connected to the government of God. Now begins the process of tutoring us to rule as royalty. This grooming process is the work of the Holy Spirit
1 John 3:8 The person who keeps on sinning is from the Adversary, because from the very beginning the Adversary has kept on sinning. It was for this very reason that the Son of God appeared, to destroy these doings of the Adversary.
1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, the King’s cohanim, a holy nation, a people for God to possess! Why? In order for you to declare the praises of the One who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
1 Thessalonian 5:5 for you are all people who belong to the light, who belong to the day. We don’t belong to the night or to darkness
1 John 1:7 But if we are walking in the light, as he is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of his Son Yeshua purifies us from all sin.
PREPARING FOR THE HOLY SPIRIT
From Adam until Yeshua, the Holy Spirit did not dwell inside anyone. He could not, because the government of God is holy, but the human vessels designed to carry it were unholy. Prior to Yeshua, no sacrifice was ever offered that was good enough or sufficient to make us holy again.
From Adam until Yeshua, the Holy Spirit did not dwell inside anyone. He could not, because the government of God is holy, but the human vessels designed to carry it were unholy. Prior to Yeshua, no sacrifice was ever offered that was good enough or sufficient to make us holy again.
He came upon Gideon, who then defeated an army of thousands with 300 men. The Spirit came upon King Saul, who prophesied with the prophets. In each case, however, the Spirit came for brief season and then departed, because none of them were yet fit vessels for His abiding presence.
A NEW ORDER IS COMING
Although none of the Old Testament prophets experienced the Holy Spirit as an indwelling presence, some of them did receive glimpses of this future relationship.
Joel 2:28-29 28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: 29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.
JOHN AND THE NEW WORLD ORDER
As great as John was, he still represented the old order. The arrival of Yeshua inaugurated a greater period, the period of the Kingdom of heaven on earth.
“From the days of John the Baptist” the Kingdom had been “forcefully advancing” until it arrived with Yeshua. Prior to John, the Kingdom had never been present on earth in such a powerful, visible state as it was with the coming of Yeshua. No one from Abraham to John clearly understood the Kingdom. They talked about it and prophesied about it. They had little peeks into the future but never saw its manifestation in their times. John was an Old Testament prophet with a New Testament revelation. He introduced the King who was to reintroduce the Kingdom, but he never experienced it for himself. The Kingdom was of a new era, and John was passing away with the old.
VIOLENCE IN THE KINGDOM
Again, in Matthew 11:12, Yeshua said, “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the Kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.” In other words, ever since the days of John, an invasion has been under way.
A military takeover is in progress, which no one knows about except those who have been captured. Have you been taken over? I have been taken over—by the Kingdom of heaven. It has taken over my heart, mind, soul, body, and my entire future. It has taken over my attitude and made me a dangerous man—to the kingdom of darkness.
Gone are the days of trying to overcome without going through. In spite of the affliction and opposition of the world we have learned to overpower the enemy by the power of the One who lives in us. The Kingdom of which we are a part is so powerful that we need not fear any potential opposition. Kingdom men and women say, “Bring on the problems,” and we will advance right through them. Our Kingdom does not run and it does not retreat; our Kingdom stands firm, advances, and overcomes.
REPRESENTING THE KING: THE POWER OF OUR POSITION
Being Christ’s ambassador is a wonderful privilege, but it also comes with tremendous responsibilities, which are:
• Speaking the words of the King;
• Being concerned with only the interests of the King; and,
• Speaking only on behalf of His government;
• Maintaining connection and communication with the King; and
• Carrying out the policies established by the King.
Yeshua followed that course without exception, which is why He was so successful in His earthly ministry and example.
John 8:28 “I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me”;
John 5:17, 19 “My Father is always at His work to this very day, and I, too, am working.…I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by Himself; He can do only what He sees His Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does”.
An ambassador who understands his role will simply communicate the position of his government, regardless of his private views. It is no different in the Kingdom of God. As ambassadors of our King, our opinion is not important. The only opinion that matters is that of the King.
CARRYING OUT THE POLICIES OF THE KING
The only responsibility we have as Christ’s ambassadors is to make sure we are connected to our King in such a way that we can know and understand what He says, and then speak and act accordingly.
It is not our job to decide what we believe and think. Our job is to learn and discern what our King thinks and then to come into agreement with Him. As long as we concentrate on our King’s interests and in representing Him faithfully, He will take care of ours. This He has pledged to do in a promise that can never fail.
Matt. 6:31-34 (CJB) 31 “So don’t be anxious, asking, ‘What will we eat?,’ ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘How will we be clothed?’ 32 For it is the pagans who set their hearts on all these things. Your heavenly Father knows you need them all. 33 But seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Don’t worry about tomorrow — tomorrow will worry about itself! Today has enough tsuris already!
SUPPORT FROM THE HOME BASE
We should not focus on other things even in our prayers, but our concentration should be on the will of God and the coming of His Kingdom. An ambassador’s home government provides him with everything he needs to live and perform his official function: office, home, car, staff, funding, etc. In the same way, as we seek God’s Kingdom and His righteousness as our first priority, He will supply everything we need for daily living and accomplishing His will.
Such faith grows from an increasing understanding of our position as ambassadors of Christ. Yeshua’s assignment was to reintroduce the Kingdom of God on earth. He preached it and He demonstrated its reality and power through the signs and wonders He performed.
CHAPTER FOUR PRINCIPLES
• Yeshua’s purpose was twofold: to proclaim the arrival of God’s Kingdom and, through His blood, provide entry to the Kingdom for all who would come.
• Yeshua’s assignment was to reintroduce the Kingdom.
• Being born again is the way into the Kingdom—it is the necessary first step—but the gospel of the Kingdom involves much more.
• The Kingdom of heaven is a jurisdiction over which the influence of God has full authority.
• As Christ’s ambassadors, we represent the Kingdom government of God.
• The arrival of Yeshua inaugurated the period of the Kingdom of heaven on earth.
• Yeshua’s ultimate assignment was to get the Holy Spirit back into us.
• As citizens of the new spiritual order, we are greater than those Old Testament men and women who went before us, not because of any particular merit of our own, but because of the indwelling Spirit, which they did not know.
• The Kingdom of heaven is advancing forcefully, and we who are citizens of that Kingdom are part of the “advance force” that is storming the stronghold of the enemy.
• Our Kingdom does not run and it does not retreat; our Kingdom stands firm, advances, and overcomes.
• As ambassadors of Christ, we should be concerned only about the interests of our King.
• As long as we concentrate on our King’s interests and in representing Him faithfully, He will take care of our interests.
Shema Selah, cease from operating in the order of the world, now is the time to shift to the order of the King!! Kingdom of heaven upon the Earth is how we are to operate and order our lives!!
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