SoSpression Blog

G- Growth in the Kingdom

Growth in the Kingdom is:

1. Seeking God’s Kingdom within You!

2. Adding souls to the Christian Lifestyle!

YOUR Growth in the Kingdom

The Kingdom of God is WITHIN YOU!

….The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: 21: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you! -Jesus, Luke 17

The Kingdom of God is IN YOU through your Knowledge of Jesus and of his Word, and you are always growing in that by studying, saying, obeying, and doing his Teachings, (the Bible).

But what are some other shortcuts & accelerators? How else can you grow in the kingdom?

Seek the Kingdom! Jesus instructions on seeking the Kingdom are in Matthew 6:

3: But when thou doest alms..
7: But when ye pray..

16: Moreover when ye fast..

19: Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth..

31: Therefore take no thought, saying, what shall we eat.. Drink.. be clothed?

33: But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness..

Matt 6

Read the rest for more details; but this is the basic outline on the “Seeking the Kingdom“ chapter..

1. Giving– giving to the poor and to the ministry and to brothers/sisters shows you how to seek heaven`s treasure more than earth`s, And THEN YOU`LL GET HEAVEN`S TREASURES.

2. Praying– Giving time in prayer will DEFINITELY make God`s Power & Favor overflow in your life. You will also Hear Him more! This is Exciting!-)

3. Fasting- Giving your energy to God by giving up food for a day or few will make your soul humble and give you more Kingdom Power and Supernatural Energy. You will also Hear Him a LOT more! This is Very Exciting!-)

4. Don`t Lay Up Treasure on Earth– just use what you need to support yourself and your family.

5. Don`t Worry about food and clothing!- God will provide!

OUR Growth in the Kingdom

We see a model for OUR Growth in the Kingdom of God in Acts 2:42. There was a great number of people getting saved AND PARTICIPATING in the LifeStyle. God didn’t say 3000 people just answered an altar call, He said 3000 souls were ADDED to them. This means they had 3000 additional People participating in their Doctrine Studies, Fellowships w/food, and Prayer Meetings.

41: Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
42: And they continued steadfastly in the apostles` doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.

46: And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
47: Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

Acts 2

This means they joined the Kingdom`s continual lifestyle of Loving God and loving Each Other. Before that day, there were only a few (like 120, Acts 2:1) people who were really following Jesus, meeting and praying together. After the Holy Ghost came and the Word was preached, 3000 people were added to that group of people that were studying the Teachings of Jesus, having fellowships with Food, and having Prayer Meetings. In Acts 2:42 I see 3 elements to that lifestyle:

• apostles` doctrine – teachings from Jesus and about Jesus and His Kingdom
• fellowship & breaking of bread – togetherness, and eating
• prayers – meeting together and praying

42: And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.

Acts 5

In the Temple AND House to House

In Acts 5:42 we also see a similar principle. Its important not only to go to a temple or church building, but also to open up your house to Jesus and to people!

9: Use hospitality one to another without grudging. 1 Peter 4

1: Let brotherly love continue.
2: Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Hebrews 13

2: A bishop then must be.. given to hospitality..1 Timothy 3

Do Bible Studies, fellowships with food, and prayer meetings at your house! You will be helping the Kingdom of God to grow!

The Lord of hosts also commands YOU to do this! Especially now in the last days!

7: But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.
8: And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.
9: Use hospitality one to another without grudging.

1 Peter 4

definition of watch – Strongs # 3535 – nepho

1. to be sober, to be calm and collected in spirit

2. to be temperate, dispassionate, circumspect

definition of charity – Strongs # 26 – agape’

1. brotherly love, affection, good will, love, benevolence

2. love feasts

definition of hospitality – Strong’s # 5382 – philoxenos

1. hospitable, generous to guests

This scripture shows the atmospheres that Christians are to be setting in the last days. It’s a sober atmosphere of prayer, brotherly love, love feasts, and generous hospitality. If you read the next two verses (1 Peter 4:10,11), you’ll see that it’s an atmosphere where everyone should use their gifts with God’s confidence and power!

UNITY

Unity is important for the Body of Christ. It was one of Jesus’ last prayer requests’ that His people would be set apart by the truth and that they would be ONE!

19: And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.
20: Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
21: That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

John 17

Notice in that verse 21 that Jesus said if we are One, the world might believe that the Father has sent Jesus! To me, that’s a Great Promise, and it shows that Unity is a HUGE Evangelism tool!

Unity is in the Mind

Unity does not necessarily mean that everybody has to be in the same place, or go to the same church.. There’s not a building big enough to hold everybody that loves Jesus! BUT true Unity is in the mind, when everyone knows and believes and speaks the same truth about the Kingdom of God.

5: Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus:
6: That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 15

Out of all the attributes of God, why did He describe the God of Patience and Consolation to be the one that grants us to be likeminded towards one another? I’m so glad you asked!-)

WHAT DO WE DO?- to increase Unity in the Body of Christ?

Exhortation & Consolation

Exhortation- consolation, `calling near` or to encourage, urge, give advice

When you talk to someone in a consoling or encouraging way, call someone to come to a fellowship, or send them a letter, an email or text message, you are `calling them near.` It is much easier to have Oneness of Mind when there is open communication, edifying communication, and `calling near.` God told us to consider each other, and to provoke each other to walk in love and good works as we exhort or `call near` one another.

24: And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
25: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. Hebrews 10

Consider Others- Provoke Love and Good Works- Exhorting (Calling Near) Others– Don’t Forsake Others!

Patience, Humility, Forgiveness, & Hard Work

Whenever you have relationships, you’re going to get hurt. Friendship is Bloody. Jesus gave his Blood and His Life so we could be his friends. So it`s important to work in forgiveness and forbearance if you want to have Unity…

..walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
2: With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
3: Endeavouring to keep the Unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Ephesians 4

Look at all the words that surround the scripture on Unity:

Vocation: Calling, Invitation

Lowliness: Humbleness of Mind, Lowliness

Meekness: Gentleness, Mildness, Meekness

Longsuffering: Patience, Endurance, Steadfastness, Slowness to Avenge

Forbearance: to Endure, Hold Up, Suffer, Bear With

Endeavoring: Work Hard, Labor, Diligence, Haste, Exertion

Wow! Wherever you find Unity of the Mind & Spirit, you’ll find humility, forgiveness and people working hard!

You really need a God of Patience and Consolation for all that! Let’s Call Him Jehovah El Patience & Consolation!-)

M.usic to Fill your Heart with the Word&Spirit of God

Music Helps you to live out God’s Commandments.

Make up songs and sing them to the Lord, and it will be a lot easier to live right.

Good Scripture-Based Songs also can renew your mind and teach you how to think.

Good Music fills your soul with the Spirit of God, as we can see in Ephesians 5:

18: And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
19: Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;

Ephesians 5

That means you can use music to fill your heart with the Spirit!

Good Music fills your soul with the Word of God, as we can see in Colossians 3:

16: Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

Colossians 3

That means you can use music to fill your heart with the Word!

When you have The WORD of God AND the SPIRIT of God, you have a POWERFUL COMBINATION!-)

That should give you an idea of the Power that can flow through music!

Make sure you use your music well!

If the Word of God, and the Spirit of God fill your soul through your use of music, are there other ”words” and other ”spirits” that can fill your soul also? YES! Watch out for music inspired by false understandings and wrong attitudes.

The music you listen to is very important. Never submit your soul to music that is not Biblical or spiritually right.

I used to use some of these excuses:

”But I don’t believe it; I just listen to it”

”I don’t listen to the lyrics; I just like the beats because they sound good”

The Bible Says: Faith comes by hearing (Rom 10:17)..

So if you continually and willfully HEAR music with lyrics that are unbiblical, you will BUILD UP YOUR FAITH IN A LIE. Then you will wonder why you have become spiritually stupid, desensitized, and unmotivated to live fully in the Kingdom. I’ve seen this happen to brothers & sisters in Christ over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over.. and over again.

Keep Your Soul Clean!

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