In this lesson we study when the bible says the kingdom will come. Is the kingdom now? Where is the kingdom? We also take a look at the prodigal son parable. Who are you? Are you the prodigal son who has returned and received gladly what your father has given you? Or are you the religious elder son who has been saved a long time but never takes on the purpose your father meant for you to have?
How busy are you? How much more can you fit in your agenda each day? It may feel like you barely have time for a restroom break- no need to even consider adding to your day.
It’s amazing though what happens when we line up with the kingdom. When me and my wife turned to the Lord we didn’t think we had enough money to buy even a box of Nutty Bars at the store- let along pay tithes. But we knew it was the law so we followed it- even if it meant having the power turned off. All of a sudden we had more money than before and were able to pay extra on our debts. (Which is another kingdom culture- being debt free)
There is always a resistance to kingdom culture. When someone starts trying to have the Word manifest in their life, the enemy comes against it. He knows once you understand a benefit of the kingdom he cannot hold you back from that anymore because after all- culture is just normal- your lifestyle- it becomes a right. But satan also knows that activation of these rights in your life is a product of belief. You have to believe that you are supposed to live debt free, or be in good health, or prosper as your soul prospers.
One of the things I want to focus on in this post specifically is your work. One of my favorite quotes by Dr. Myles Munroe is “Your job is what they hire you to do, your work is what you were born to do. You can be fired from your job, but you can never be fired from your work.” Your work, which is your purpose, is what satan fights against the most. He sidetracks us by thinking it’s just about keeping you out of heaven. What he really doesn’t want is God’s purpose being revealed in His children and the kingdom of Heaven being manifested in the earth. If you get saved and you die and go to Heaven (by the way we’re coming back to the earth) then that affects just you. However if you get saved and seek out God’s purpose for you and you spread your seed, your gift, your work- then you ultimately affect tens of thousands, millions or even billions of lives. So which of these scenarios impacts the earth with the kingdom? See to carry out God’s purpose in your life is to “BE A PRAISE” to God.
Now for the resistance to your purpose. The enemy will try to keep you so busy and overwhelmed that you feel you don’t have time to do anything else. No time to work on starting my own business- I’m busy enough with my job. I can’t go to school to further my education- I don’t have the monetary resources or time. Can’t work on my dreams, I’m too busy with reality.
Listen to me- Life is more than just keeping a job to pay bills, adding to your savings, so you can retire and die. If we think we have to keep a job or we will not eat- we missed a kingdom concept.
Matthew 6
26) 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?
So the enemy keeps us preoccupied with trying to provide these things all of our life and keeps us from our real purpose. There is a WORK that is inside of each and everyone of you that God wants to bring out of you. God doesn’t make anything without a purpose- it’s there. The thing is we have to work out purpose. We say “God has great thing’s in store for me” but we don’t work towards it. We say “The Lord has a better tomorrow for me” but our lack of work shows a lack of faith. After all if it’s already been established- might as well work on it.
If I was cooking and I realized I was missing an ingredient, and I called a neighbor to ask them if they might have it. They tell me “sure, I’ll be right over.” I don’t sit on the couch and worry, fret and cry thinking “Are they really coming with the ingredient? I know they said they were- but will it really happen? What will I do if it never gets here!?!” Noooo- I continue on with my recipe and prepare as if I already have the ingredient in my cabinet because it’s on the way. Why waste time waiting for everything to be here when I know it’s coming? Isn’t God more faithful to His word, than another person is to theirs? So why do we show more faith in people’s promises than to God’s? IF HE SAID IT’S YOURS – IT’S YOURS! Start working as if it is. This is active belief. It’s showing faith through works. Because without works faith is… (James 2:26)
So work it! Work out your gift. Don’t let the enemy remind you how hard your day was when you get home. Be about your work. The job is temporary- your work is permanent. So why let the temporary keep us hostage from our work? God gave you the job, so do it- do it well (after all you are a kingdom representative)- But when you get home get busy on your work. Remember the enemy wants to keep you busy, or tired, or overwhelmed- this is all overcome by reading of God’s Word and prayer. Remember this is the same as knowing and understanding the laws and promises of the kingdom so you will know your rights- and then bringing your petitions to God’s courtroom and presenting His evidence- so you know you’re going to win.
Look at this scripture…
Ecclesiastes 11
6) Sow your seed in the morning,
and at evening let not your hands be idle,
for you do not know which will succeed,
whether this or that,
or whether both will do equally well. (NIV)
Whew! Work it! One of them is guaranteed to succeed…(I could shout right there.) One is guaranteed to prosper you- but it might even be both! What a blessing. His word says “you don’t know WHICH one will succeed” So something is going to succeed. But let’s not shout before we understand the key. Sow your seed in the morning, so do your job God has given you- and at evening don’t let your hands be idle, so work on your purpose. Eventually the work will out perform the job and you’ll have to quit your job to do your work. How awesome is that? Man I love the kingdom!
So don’t be lazy, don’t get tired- Get to work! Seek out your purpose- you will never be happy, never be fulfilled until you find your purpose. Seek out purpose, seek it out daily- then WORK IT!
We often get the misconception that to be in God’s favor means we are not in a storm at that time in our life. But this would imply that we are in God’s favor in the good times but during the bad times God has removed his favor. The enemy actually gets us on this reverse thinking- but it’s not true!
When your child comes home and has an “F” on his report card- do you not love him anymore? Of course you love him. It’s a process- you go through those times with them. You spend more time with them, work with them on their homework, encourage them- WHY? Because you are not looking at that moment when they bring that report card home as eternal. You see their future, what they will become. You push them to achieve greater! Your favor is always on your children. God is the same way, but He’s even better- after all “we being evil…”
So God’s favor is always on His people, you just have to make sure you’re His people.
I was going through a little storm myself, wondering why I was facing some of the things that I was when I am in God’s favor. I mean why are unfavorable things happening when I am in His favor this seems contradictory. But the Lord spoke to me and reminded me, as He always does, of His word. He said…
“Even David was anointed to be king, but had javelins thrown at him.”
This thought God impressed upon me was enough to change how I was feeling. I had never thought about it and compared it to my life. Samuel had anointed David king. Saul had already been rejected. Yet Saul still sat in a position of authority and threw javelins at the true anointed king of Israel. David played the harp for him and then had to flee on several occasions to escape death. I mean can you imagine? Here you are- you’re supposed to be king. (That’s what this old renowned prophet said!) But you are having to play music for a rejected king and then you get attacked. You have to run from the very person who has your position… and HIDE! It just doesn’t make sense to us. But look at Saul’s perspective in this situation.
1 Samuel 18
12) And Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with him, and was departed from Saul.
I LOVE IT! The enemy wants you to feel like those coming against you ‘know’ they have power over you. He wants you to feel destitute. But remember God’s favor has not parted. God is hostage by His own word. What He has said He will perform. He is an AWESOME God! Don’t let the devil fool you. Don’t get caught up in what you ‘think’ others are thinking about you or toward you. They are afraid- because the LORD is with YOU!
I love this part…
1 Samuel 18
13) Therefore Saul removed him from him, and made him his captain over a thousand; and he went out and came in before the people.
David got a promotion! Saul wasn’t trying to bless him. He was just afraid of him. Before he was over the men of war, but now he’s the king’s captain over a thousand. God was providing David with his own army. But here is the key…
1 Samuel 18
14) And David behaved himself wisely in all his ways; and the LORD was with him.
15) Wherefore when Saul saw that he behaved himself very wisely, he was afraid of him.
DON’T YOU LOSE YOUR SELF CONTROL! I know that this is going to speak to somebody. You might want to quit, you might want to wish something bad upon them, you might want to disrespect them, you might have thought to get revenge- BUT DON’T DO IT! This is the KEY! David behaved himself wisely in ALL his ways- and so the LORD was with him. I cannot express how important this is. Our flesh wants to bring resolve in ways that God will not honor. Your ultimate goal is ‘respect’ from that person- look at what David’s behavior brought. When Saul saw David was behaving wisely- he was afraid! See by yourself, you are just like them, what do they have to fear? – but if the Lord is with you…
We all have positions and places in life that are determined for us to go. We have been predestined to be kings in the earth and to have dominion over the earth. (Genesis 1:26) So why do we think we must defend that? Why do we think we need to respond to others disbelief in us and of where we are going? If it is to be… it will just be! David was wise. David knew- if God is God then He owns the country, he owns the place of authority, he even owns Saul. So I will run away from the very kingdom I have been promised because, after all, it’s already been determined that I am the king of Israel. Now moving along with this analogy- Don’t fret what others say to you, or how they treat you, or what they say you’re going to become, or what position they try to stick you in, or even if they fire you- after all it’s already been determined. Imagine the one who is coming against you. They may seem to be blocking you from your promise- your success- your goal. Now imagine them throwing a javelin at you to kill you. (Makes you smile thinking about this actually happening right?- But it actually happened to David.) Now- you have a decision. You can pick the javelin up and throw it back at them… or you can trust the Lord’s favor and promises. If you trust Him- why fight?… you’ve already won! The end is determined, you just have to stay steady and behave yourself wisely. Stay in His favor, stay in right standing with the kingdom.
The Saul’s of our lives may think there is only one path to succession. A standard process to be king- but remember who made them king… THE KING OF KINGS!
Trust the Lord, the Owner!
Are you caught off guard when the power bill arrives every month? Not because of the bill itself, but just because the power company sent you one?
Are you surprised by Christmas just showing up?
No. We expect to receive bills for our utilities- and we know that Christmas is on December 25th every year. We expect it.
However we seem surprised every time a trial hits our lives. Like we just totally didn’t expect it. I mean what is a trial doing, showing up, in our lives when we serve God?
We love to claim the good things in the bible- blessings, favor, overcoming…
But in order to have blessings you have to have went through rough storms, in order to have favor you had to have been at the bottom. How could you recognize overcoming if there wasn’t something to overcome?
We claim the good- but we skip over the parts in the bible that tell us to be prepared for the trials. Jesus said ‘you shall suffer persecution’. Why do we think we are exempt? Why are we surprised by attacks of the enemy.
It would be like getting my paycheck and spending every bit of it- and then be surprised when bills show up at my house and I say “Where did these come from? How am I going to pay these?”
We cannot be ignorant of satan’s devices. We have to know that trials will come. We have to be prepared for the storms that will hit. But there is good news in a storm’s arrival. It means it’s testing time. It means God sees you are ready for the next level- and you only get to the next level by way of an enemy or a trial. -Don’t focus on the perilous sea, Peter!-
Realize that these times must happen- but you are GUARANTEED to win! You are guaranteed to overcome. There is a parable which most should know. Two men built houses, one on the sand, one on a rock. The same storm hit both homes- the same rains came down upon them, the same winds blew against their homes- but only one stood. That is the guarantee we have. If we build upon the foundation of God’s word, we can ‘outlast’ any storm or trial.
We worry when we doubt God’s promises. We expect thing’s not to change- and so we are caught unaware- and we suffer for it. If we prepare our self with prayer, the Word, and good management in our lives- then we will be ready when bad times come. We will see an increase when others are barely keeping their heads above water or sinking.
God and His word are the only constant in life. God will not change, and His word will not change. So don’t hold onto comfortable places or positions in life- they WILL change. It is inevitable that change will come. Your life will change. Your job situation will change. Your friends will change. Your family will change. Your finances will change. This is all for the good and the bad.
Enjoy the good times and stock up during them for the bad that will come. In the bad times don’t fret, after all you should have known it was going to come, the good thing is it’s guaranteed to go. Everything changes. Praise God it changes. If we hold onto material, earthly things because we think it’s ours forever we are going to be distraught when that stuff leaves us. But if we live in the kingdom everyday- then everything we have belongs to the King. Even the time belongs to the Lord. The place in our life is His and He does not change. I can still trust His word in the midst of every battle. I can still trust Him when everything is stacked against me. So if finances begin to dwindle, but I have been managing correctly, it’s OK. Because He owns that too. He’s allowing that time to hit, that storm to come my way. But I will get promotion on the other side, an increase when I make it through- I am guaranteed to come out of the situation. It’s just a season. It’s temporary.
He’s the God of change- but He Himself will not change- so all I need is His word. His promises. Him. After all He IS everything. He is the I AM.
Be thankful for the promise of change.
Who are you supposed to be?
What’s keeping you from becoming?
What’s stopping you from being?
Sometimes we think people decide who we are, or at least we act that way. We don’t take risk because of the fear of criticism. Because if we fail at trying, then maybe it would mean we are not who we thought we were. But that’s not true.
The enemy doesn’t want you to realize who you are. If you realize then you might discover something that would save millions of lives and that would be more purposes that could be fulfilled. You might discover some new way to grow crops that is healthy and causes people to live longer lives and the devil would have to deal with them on the earth that much longer. But being successful is the product of many failures. It’s diligence and perseverance that brings the fruit. Look at this scripture the Lord brought to me this morning.
1 Corinthians 2:8
Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
If they had known who He was they would not have treated Him the way they did.
So don’t worry about those around you- what they say, or how they treat you. If they knew what you were going to become they wouldn’t do it. If they knew who you were they’d follow you for the leader that you are going to become. Jesus didn’t let them persuade Him. He knew who He was and what He was here to do. Find out your purpose- you have one! We all do.
So I challenge you- seek purpose everyday until you find it. Then once you have vision, TAKE IT! You might have to hear some things you don’t want to hear, you may have to push on even though the balance is tipped against you- but be diligent.
When the odds seems against you, your coworkers are negative, or even if family and friends seem doubtful, just remind yourself with this saying-
“It’s OK, If they only knew who I was… -But they’ll find out”
I was speaking to a friend the other day. He asked me, “How can I increase my faith?”
This is a common question we have all asked ourselves. I started with the scripture I think most know ‘Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” But then we delved into this a little bit deeper.
See we sometimes get this idea of faith being like God’s ‘fairie dust’ that He sprinkles on us when we’ve been really good, or read a lot of the bible, or prayed a lot or something. So our concepts are wrong because we have associated faith with something we’ve seen in movies, or read in books. Therefore we have setup a road block on the way to our understanding faith, and that sets us up for failure and feeling inadequate as a believer.
Faith is simply this- ‘Believing in or for something, based on God’s word, regardless of circumstances or opposing information or views, knowing that God’s word is the only evidence you need to substantiate your claim while continuing to trust in Him until it comes to pass.’
See what happens is we believe for a little while. Then when nothing seems to happen or change, we put worry and doubt into the equation. Then we say things like ‘Things like this always happen to me’.
Be careful- remember your words are powerful. You speak and then you end up what you spoke. See faith is powerful and it works both ways. Now I know some who would say “Ohhhh, God’s going to take care of you- we all say negative things sometimes.” -THAT’S NOT BIBLICAL!- That’s not kingdom. The bible say’s ‘without FAITH it’s impossible to please God.’
Did you read that? I-M-P-O-S-S-I-B-L-E! That means you cannot obtain the favor of the one who has the answers – the very One you are asking to intercede and move! We have got to get this! God is Holy. That means He cannot violate His own word, He does not lie, cannot lie, and never will lie. So when we doubt His word, we are doubting Him. And because of His word, the laws of the kingdom, He cannot act without violating His word if He moves in your situation and brings an answer to which you didn’t believe would happen. Now He may cause some things to happen to get you back in line with the kingdom, but He will not intervene until you are in line with His word. He’s just that holy.
He couldn’t make Jonah go to Ninevah- but He could influence Him with a whale. He couldn’t make Paul serve Him- but He could influence Him with blindness. God has His ways to get his children in line with His word so He can act in the earth. But who wants to have to get struck with blindness, or swallowed by a whale before saying “OK God, I’ll listen.”?
When you pray- you need to come to the court room of God prepared with His word. *Remember it’s the law of the kingdom. Ask Him according to His word.
“Lord you said this in YOUR word… , Lord here it is right here in YOUR word God… , Lord I didn’t say this, YOU did.”
See it’s about trusting His word regardless of the story your life is currently telling you.
1 John 3:22
22) And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
He’s a king. We remind Him of His word. God said ‘prove me’ (Malachi 3:10). He’s not a God that lies. We must continually believe for what it is He has promised- based solely on the fact that He said and so it’s just because He says so.
I laid it out to my friend like this. If you had a video camera in the front of your car and you were at a red light. The light goes green you accelerate and a cop then pulls you over for running a red light. You explain to him you accelerated after the light went green, but he refuses to change his decision. So you look at the tape from the camera (which is the evidence) and you decide to challenge the decision in court. From the tape you can see beyond a shadow of a doubt you’re at the light, it goes green and then you can the see the car is accelerating. You see clear evidence and know you are going to win. People tell you to just ‘pay the fine’ but you continue to wait until the court date. Friends and family may say ‘nothing will be changed in their decision’, but they don’t know about your evidence. If they knew about your evidence they would believe too. So you go through all of the constant advice ‘to just forget about it and pay for the ticket’, but you KNOW you’re going to win because of the evidence. You are going to court knowing the verdict because your evidence is completely solid. There is no way you can lose. Court time comes, the situation is laid out in the courtroom and then it comes time for you to state your defense. You play the tape and it is conclusive you are innocent and the ticket is dropped. The jury, the officer, the people in the courtroom may have had a made up mind before you even came in but the evidence changes everything. You win!
Hebrews 11:1
1) Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
God’s word is the evidence. In fact, it is all the evidence you need. When God’s word enters the courtroom and is presented as evidence all other evidence is THROWN OUT! And to quote Dr. Munroe “and with the Father being the Judge, the Witness being your elder brother Jesus, and the Holy Ghost as your counsel- How can you lose?”
It’s fixed! How awesome is it to be in the kingdom. We just have to get our mentality changed from being of this world- and realize we’re from that world. Get in the book, understand the laws and promises and then show up to the court (prayer) and state your case.
My God shall supply all my needs according to His riches in glory! – He’s able to keep that which I have committed unto Him! – He’s able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that I may ask or even imagine! YOU said it Lord! I’m just trusting in You! My Owner, My Provider!
I love the kingdom!
It can be easy sometimes to let the fluctuations of life’s events and circumstances determine our mood. But you need to make up your mind to stop that today. It’s your mind.
Do you know how powerful your mind is? You were made in the image of God. (Genesis 1:26)
Let’s look at something interesting- Mass Hysteria. Mass Hysteria is a very interesting phenomenon. It is a display of the power of the mind. It happens when a group of people form similar symptoms of another individual because they believe it is contagious. It occurs mostly with disease or sickness but has occurred with other triggering events. There have been times when a mysterious substance has been found (chemical, or powder) and one person thought they were getting sick from it and then an entire staff was hospitalized because they all thought they had exposure to what was later found out to be non-toxic. People suffering from mass hysteria have formed all symptoms up to strange spots on their body of similar nature and even loss of consciousness. The mind is a powerful thing. You are what you believe!
What does the bible say about this?
Proverbs 23:7
“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he…”
So if you believe you’re supposed to be poor, you will be poor. If you believe you are supposed to be an employee, you will never run a business. If you believe you are to follow, you will never be a leader. If you believe you are where you deserve, you will never have better.
If you believe how others define you, you will never discover who you are!
So as a man thinks… so he is. It’s time to change- but you first have to convince someone, yourself. You can make up your ‘mind’. You can decide to be different. You can decide to change your family tree. You can decide to do the opposite of what you normally would do. You just have to change your mind. Once you get your mind set to something, nothing can stop you. People can define you all they want to- but they will not be able to stop you from becoming who you were born to be unless you allow them to. It’s your mind, make it up. Don’t look at your surroundings, or current position in life, or on a job- that’s temporary.
I was listening to Myles Munroe speak recently about President Abraham Lincoln. Before he became president he was in an insane asylum. Who knew? The next president of the United States of America would come out of the insane asylum, and he was a good one! Paul was a murderer, David was a sheppard boy- but one would write virtually the entire new testament and the other would become king of Israel. What if they had let their positions in life define them. Joshua arose from the prisons of Egypt to become the second in command of the superpower of his day. What a difference when we don’t believe our circumstances but have a vision of something greater.
Remember your current place in life may not be what you want it to be, but it’s only seasonal. Seasons come and seasons go. Nothing stays the same. The only thing that is constant is God and His word.
You were born for a purpose. You were created in the image and likeness of the Father in heaven for a reason. God created you with the intent on making you a ruler on earth. You were born to dominate the earth. So why are we letting life dominate us? Why do we continue to live in sin? We are out of order. It’s time to return to the natural order of things. The way God originally made it. The way He originally intended for things to be. Ruling under His authority. Carrying out His will. Return to the Creator’s natural order for your life!
Who are we? Why do we exist? What is our purpose?
We have all asked ourselves these questions or something similar. Sometimes we feel like nothing. We feel like we can’t be anything because of our background, family history, or what we were born into. But that is simply not true. Our lineage goes back to the beginning of time- when we were created- man (male and female) were created. We were made with a purpose in mind. In the mind of God we were designed. He thought it good to create us in His image and in His likeness. You were made for a divine purpose. It’s time to realize who you are, where you come from, and carryout your Father’s heavenly mandate!
So what does the word “gospel” mean?
Religion would explain the gospel as this: “Jesus coming to die on the cross.” That’s what you have heard, yeah?
But, let’s quit listening to tradition and actually study the word.
Gospel comes from the Greek word “euaggelion” pronounced
‘yu-ahn-ge-le-on’ . It literally means ‘good tidings’ or ‘good news’. Please read the above again… make sure you understand this definition for gospel. It’s important to understand because if we use a word incorrectly then the message can be marred from it’s original meaning.
[Quick-Thought]
You ever had someone you knew, who used a word in a sentence where it didn’t belong? You knew what word or meaning they were trying to get across but they didn’t use the correct word.
Example: Someone is explaining to you how much money they have made in their stocks and they say “I’m making a lot of money because of this comparable interest thing.” Then you quickly add “…you mean compound interest?”
You would only know what they meant because you had previous ‘correct’ knowledge. But if you had no idea about stocks or investing- you would think they were right and ignorance would have been passed on to you. Now we have two people using an incorrect term. How dangerous a “well delivered error” can be. Think about it… many religions, with some having only slight differences in their beliefs; But even slight deviations can be absolutely wrong.
So, gospel means “good news”. What good news?… What is the good news?…
Can it be that religion has misunderstood, misrepresented, miscommunicated the “good news”? Well if gospel means good news- then there are a lot of things that can be good news. Right? Remember what the meaning of ‘gospel’ is, not what religion has taught. Jesus used this word when He was on earth based on our definition of the word. He would not have used a word for some brand new meaning that no one would understand. So let’s look at the scripture containing this word.
Matthew 4
23) And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.
I have purposely emphasized what we usually read from this verse. And then everyone says “I go about preaching the GOSPEL!”.
Well… what is it? You have stated you preach the good news, so what is the good news? Come on, Come on- tell us the good news.
Can you imagine reading the newspaper and seeing these headlines.
“A TERRIBLE THING HAS HAPPENED”
“A NEW THING HAS HAPPENED”
“WE HAVE A GREAT STORY”
That would make no sense, because you have told us nothing in this headline. So the fix to these above would be this.
“TITANIC SINKS”
“HUBBLE TELESCOPE TAKES FIRST PICTURES”
“MAN RISKS OWN LIFE TO SAVE NEIGHBOR”
Now we have the headline defined and not just a declaration.
So, what is the good news? If we say, without the understanding, “I preach the gospel!” then we have left off the definition for our declaration of good news. So let’s look at what Christ says is the “good news”.
Matthew 4
23) And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.
Ahhhhh! There it is! Jesus went about teaching and preaching the “good news”… of the kingdom! That was the good news he was preaching! If I got a job making twice as much as I make now- that would be gospel (good news). If my son was accepted for a full scholarship to any college in America paid in full; That would be gospel!
So the important thing to remember is to read the bible carefully. We have allowed some words to be defined for us by tradition. We have made the word ‘gospel’ mean all of these other things. Just because a word becomes synonymous by tradition, does not make it correct. Study the word, then get knowledge of the words. Make sure you understand the definition for a word. Check several reparable sources. An incorrect definition of a word can be detrimental to your understanding of the rest of the book, its meaning, and its message. So with all thy getting get understanding. (Proverbs 4:7)
So if you preach the gospel- preach the gospel Jesus Christ preached… the gospel of the kingdom.
