JOURNEY INTO THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM – Ron McGatlin
For many years I read and studied the Bible. It was the focal point of my life, my guide and source of direction. The living Word continued to amaze me day by day as old familiar passages continued to yield new light and meaning. To some degree I was accustomed to this wonderful phenomenon.
From time to time, as fresh revelation shed new light on the Word, it seemed that my whole Bible became new. When I was born again, the Bible suddenly spoke clearly of salvation by grace through faith in the cross of Jesus Christ. Later when a deeper experience occurred in my life, suddenly passages became alive to me that I had some way not even noticed before. Many scriptures about healing, miracles, powers of darkness, casting out demons, healing the heart, and the baptism of the Spirit, “appeared” in my Bible.
These and other experiences, as great as they were, had not fully prepared me for what happened to me in January of 1986. I had left the ministry where I had been serving and had no other occupation at the time. My days were spent in a nice quiet travel trailer beside the house praying and studying the Word.
I had begun again to read the book of Matthew. This time one word seemed to be on almost every page, and again and again came from the lips of Jesus as He seemed to preface many of His teaching with this word. I knew I had read it hundreds of times, but it had never really “been there” before. It had always just seemed to flow “under” or “behind” what was being said without adding meaning to the passage.
Because this word had suddenly “appeared,” and because I knew little or nothing about it, I became curious. So, I prayed a simple prayer. The answer to that prayer changed my entire life forever. Suddenly in a moment of time, it seemed everything I had ever known was shaken and began to take on a whole new light, a new meaning.
Mysteries began to clear up about things I had wondered about for years. Pieces began to fit together that I could never get to fit before. A deep satisfaction began to come into my heart as things began to become real and make practical sense for the present instead of religious ideas and doctrinal systems from the past or for the future.
I had simply prayed, “God, what does this word “kingdom” mean? What is the kingdom of God—kingdom of Heaven? Why did Jesus talk about it so much? That simple phrase, “kingdom of God” that did not even appear to be there before, has become the focal point of my life as it was with Jesus.
In the days that followed this prayer, the heavens were opened to me. God was closer to me than ever before. Every question that I asked was instantly answered with staggering impact and clarity. I was amazed again and again and often overwhelmed, my mind reeling as God poured simple profound revelation of His kingdom into my heart. I became very careful about the questions I asked.
One of my reactions to all of this was that of thinking that people would surely come against me because many of the things God was revealing to me were different from the way my church had
taught them. I had never heard a word of the kingdom message like God was giving it to me. I was afraid that I would be the only person with this radical message.
Then God told me He was giving this message to certain men around the world and that it would eventually seem to come up from everywhere like the grass in a field. In the years that followed, He allowed me to receive tapes from men in various parts of the world who had received the same message. Now, there are many churches preaching the gospel of the kingdom that Jesus preached. Praise the Lord!
Apparently, this is the season for the restoration of the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom. According to biblical research of the generations, the history of man is completing its sixth millennium and beginning the seventh millennium.
Please do not let your mind begin to recall your version of end-time theology at this point. I do not know for sure what all this means relative to end-time understanding, and I am not bringing forth any particular “pre or post” view of anything. However, there does appear to be some relationship between the time in history and the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom.
Matthew 24:14: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world to all nations, and then the end will come.”
When Jesus preached the gospel of the kingdom, many religious people had a hard time receiving it. The message He preached did not fit their system of theology. Jesus warned them not to try to fit the new revelation into their old system.
Luke 5:36-39: “Then He spoke a parable to them: No one
puts a piece from a new garment on an old one; otherwise, the
new makes a tear, and also the piece that was taken out of the
new does not match the old. And no one puts new wine into
old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled, and the wineskins will be ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved. And no one having drunk old wine immediately desires new; for he says, ‘The old is better.’”
Our wineskin is like a filing cabinet system. We each have within us a theological filing system, a system of mental file folders with headings and sub-headings. As an example, some of our headings might be something like: salvation, the cross, resurrection, Pentecost, Holy Spirit, baptism, healing, deliverance, second coming, and many more.
Each piece of new theological data, when received, is analyzed, compared to the data in the system, and then filed under the proper heading.
The new wine of the gospel of the kingdom will not fit the old file systems. We do not have a folder for it. And the revelation of the kingdom will not fit under any of our headings. We cannot simply make a new folder and stick it in somewhere. It will not fit under any other heading.
The gospel of the kingdom becomes the system into which all other revelation and truth of God will fit. The kingdom that Jesus preached is the major heading under which all other God-given doctrine can be filed.
We must have a new wineskin. If we try to patch in the gospel of the kingdom, we may become frustrated and burst our old wineskin, spilling out the contents with a big splatter.
THE PAST MOVES OF GOD
All the other men that I know of personally who first began to receive the restoring of the gospel of the kingdom were over fifty years old and some over seventy.
They were all men who had experienced the moves of God over the past forty years or so. All were apostolic, in the nature of their lives and ministry. Some had planted hundreds of churches. Others had started Bible colleges. Some were prominent Christian educators in the secular educational systems of their nations. Some were Christian businessmen who had started many businesses.
All were still actively involved in serving the Lord. They all seemed to be men with pure hearts toward God and no motives left except to serve Him. All these men spoke of a deep inner satisfaction as they received the kingdom of God revelation. Their souls were satisfied as different words and moves of God began to fit together in their minds. They seemed to have a more well-defined understanding of the purpose of man and our planet.
KINGDOM OF GOD
Some people had difficulty with the word “kingdom.” At that time, there were many connotations attached to the word, “kingdom.” Many religious views and some perversions may come to mind when we hear the word. Yet it is a very prominent Bible word. The Greek word “basileia” is translated “kingdom” in English, over one hundred times in the Gospels.
The enemy would like for doubts and fears or religious views to enter our minds when we hear the word, “kingdom”, because he greatly fears the kingdom of God coming forth in God’s people.
One of the wonderful men of God who first began to hear the gospel of the kingdom said he had trouble with the word, “kingdom”. He asked God for another word to replace kingdom. He heard the word, “government.” A kingdom is a government ruled by a sovereign. Perhaps it will help us to think of the kingdom of God as the “government of God.”
Most of the teachings of Jesus were aimed at defining the kingdom (government) of God, how it works, and how to enter it. For us to fully grasp the kingdom of God, we would need to digest all the teachings of Jesus and much of the rest of the Bible. But, the Holy Spirit, speaking through Paul gives us perhaps the most clear, concise definition of the kingdom of God, in Romans 14:17:
“For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.”
It is interesting to note that the time of the Holy Spirit being our place of righteousness, peace and joy is NOW IN THIS LIFE.
The word translated “kingdom” in the New Testament is the Greek word “basileia” and comes from the root word “basis”. “Basileia” means “foundation of power, realm, rule, or royalty.
“Basis” means to walk, to pace, or foot.”
K I N G / D O M
“King” means “ruler or sovereign” “Dom” is the root from which we get words like “dominion, dominant, domain and dome”. Thus, the kingdom of God means the “sovereign ruler/dominion walk of God, the ruler/dom of God”.
The kingdom of God is a realm or walk, a lifestyle, sovereignty ruled by the foundational power of God, through which God’s ruler/dominion is established on earth.
The “kingdom walk” or lifestyle is produced by the appearing or manifesting of Jesus by the Holy Spirit within God’s people. When the character and nature of Christ is developed in the hearts of God’s people, they bring forth the purified bride of Christ. God’s love flowing in and through His bride produces obedience, and righteousness prevails. Righteousness always leads to peace and joy.
The bride or wife of Christ carries out her part as pictured in Proverbs 31:10-31, and the ruler/dominion of God is functioning in the world.
The secrets of how to rule our planet God’s way are contained in the revelation and understanding of the kingdom of God. They are extremely potent and can indeed produce the overcoming of any negative force in the world. There is nothing impossible to those who possess the understanding of the practical working of God’s government on Planet Earth.
These powerful principles can be stolen or counterfeited and misused for personal gain, either willfully or unknowingly, by natural minded thinking in unbelievers or miss guided believers. Without the love and understanding of the reality of the kingdom of God now within us, these powerful principles can be used by man to attempt to build his own kingdom.
The kingdom of God begins with the purification of the motives of our heart. Only a pure heart can hear the secrets of God’s kingdom. This means a heart free from any other allegiance above God, a heart healed from the enemy’s wounds, a heart that not only desires to serve only God, but that also has the freedom to truly do it. It is a heart that has no needs or desires apart from God.
Jesus saves the lost, heals the brokenhearted, and proclaims liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound, to prepare us as His Bride and army of Sons to bring forth His kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. God will give us ears to hear His kingdom truth to the level that we are purified.
PERSONAL CLEANSING
For about two years before I began to hear the word of the “kingdom.” the Lord dealt with me extensively in what I called the personal ministry of Jesus. He led me to people who had gifts and anointing to assist in appropriating the ministry of Jesus to heal my broken heartedness and bring about my deliverance.
For many years I had sought to serve the Lord with great zealousness and commitment. Yet, areas of serious lack and defeat were in my own life. The best I could do with all the help I could get was not enough.
The zealous application of all the Biblical doctrines I knew could not keep me on track and bring me through. The firm directives to adhere more firmly to doctrine by my well-meaning brothers in Christ only worsened my condition.
It took a bold, fresh revelation from God to set me free from my bonds and set me on a road to restoration and greater heights than I’d ever before known. I will ever be indebted to those who have given of themselves to bring the personal ministry of Jesus to me, the ministry of healing the brokenhearted and setting the captives free.
It has been my great pleasure to give of myself to carry this ministry of Jesus to others.
When the Lord revealed “kingdom” to me and commissioned me to plant the seeds of the kingdom in His people, it seemed He was directing me in two directions at once. One was the kingdom-now lifestyle, and the other was personal ministry. He has since shown me they are not at all different directions.
The personal ministry of Jesus is the cleansing process that we must go through before we can walk into the purified Bride of Christ, life of the kingdom of God now. Personal ministry and kingdom life revelations are not separate directions, but are aligned in one direction toward the kingdom-of-God lifestyle.
The goal of personal ministry is to eliminate, remove, or heal all hindrances to the manifesting or appearing of the life of Jesus in the person. There are many needs, and stresses in the wounded hearts of people that drive them and hinder or prevent the appearing of Christ to produce the kingdom of God lifestyle in them.
“For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.” Colossians 3:3-4.
“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” Galatians 2:20.
As Jesus (appears) manifests His life in us, we walk in obedience to, and in harmony with the universal laws of God. Aligning with God’s ways produces the favor of God in our lives, and overcoming in all areas of living becomes the norm in our lives.
Father God! I pray, help us to hear and see clearly the revelation of Jesus in us, establishing your kingdom now on earth. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10).
Ron McGatlin
OpenHeaven.com
basileia@earthlink.net