Radical Disciples – A Remnant Revolution

Stepping Inside the Circle

Many of us today are experiencing a transition that is taking place in us and among us. We are moving from a membership in the kingdoms-of-men mentality to a citizenship in the Kingdom-of-God mentality; from living in bondage to the world system to living vibrantly in the Kingdom of God. We are being taken out of her (the institutional church system and the world systems) and are being established into Him (Jesus Christ). This book intends to hold up a few signposts along that path to help us know where this journey is taking us.

THE AHA! THE CIRCLE

A few people were invited into our home to hear Brother Sam Rahi share the incredible stories of Gods miracles, signs, and wonders in him, through him, and through others that he had personally witnessed. He told how he was miraculously spared from a tragic death while still in his mother’s womb, How he was healed from stuttering speech and twisted legs, How a bright light appeared to him in a dream and a voice told him, This is my way and Jesus is my Son,

How God orchestrated his conversion experience while in a land foreign to his homeland, How he had to count the cost of endangerment to his life from his Muslim relationships, How God used him to raise a woman from the dead, heal a blind girl, heal a deaf and dumb boy, and related several other miraculous acts, including how God physically caused him to grow four inches as an adult in answer to prayer.

Sam told how his father trapped him into returning home that he might coerce him into renouncing Jesus. When Sam refused, his father imprisoned him in his own home and attempted to kill him. He told how two angels miraculously escorted his escape.

Numerous other stories were told, leading up to how God miraculously made the way for him to launch The Bible Channel that reaches millions of people with the gospel all over the world.

As he told his stories, I suddenly had a revelation. An Aha! I jumped to my feet and addressed my visitors seated around the room, gesturing with my forefinger to an imaginary circle on the floor. Imagine if you can that inside of this circle is all that pertains to the Kingdom of God. Outside of that circle is all that pertains to the world in which we live. It is the natural, physical world of fallen men and corrupt systems. God has not called us to live outside the circle and reach in, but to live our lives out from within that circle.

Following that day, I continued to receive more understanding and clarity regarding the difference between the world we live in and the Kingdom of God.

All that pertains to the world is on the outside of that circle. Everything that pertains to the Kingdom of God is within that circle.

Most Christians live on the outside of that circle in the world rather than from within the Kingdom of God. We have been standing in the world and, at best, reaching over into the realm of the Kingdom of God in the hope of making our worldly lives more comfortable.

We ask God for this or that. We pray for healing. We pray for help. We pray for jobs. We pray for wellbeing. We pray for protection. We pray for peace. We pray for blessings. We pray for finances. We pray for things like that. We stand outside and ask God to do these things for us.

We may be interested enough at times to want to know His will in our lives and pray for that, but we rarely take the time with Him to find out what that might be.

Perhaps this is why, more often than not, we do not see the answers to those prayers and we wonder why. We ask God to bless our flesh and our own wills. This level of Christian living is so minimal. In fact, it misses the mark.

We now find ourselves hungering for more than this. There has to be more than this and, thankfully, we are finding there is.

The Kingdom of God presents a whole different reality in which we can live. The outcome of such a life is radically different.

Once we begin to really see the Kingdom of God, the cares of this world will grow strangely dim and we will be better able to enter in. We desperately need eyes to see and ears to hear.

The New Testament speaks of three ways we initially relate to the Kingdom of God.

1. We can see the Kingdom.

Jesus answered and said unto him [Nicodemus], Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God. John 3:3.

But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, who shall not taste of death, till they see the Kingdom of God. Luke 9:27.

2. We can enter the Kingdom.

Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. John 3:5.

Verily I say unto you, Except you are converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Matt. 18:3.

For additional study read: Matthew 5:20; 7:21; 19:23-24; Mark 9:47; 10:23-25; Luke 18:17, 24-25; and Acts 14:22.

3. We can inherit the Kingdom.

Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Matt. 25:34.

There are numerous scriptures that list those individuals who will not inherit the Kingdom. For additional study read: 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; 15:50; Galatians 5:21; and Ephesians 5:5.

I think these three seeing, entering, and inheriting occur in the order listed. We have to see it before we can enter it. We have to enter it before we can inherit it. Yet, in some mysterious way, the very instant we see it, we enter it. The very instant we enter it, we inherit it.

The goal of our inheritance is to reign and rule with Christ in His Kingdom. For now, we are taking the land little by little until one day suddenly we will have come into the fullness and glory of the Kingdom. We will be perfected. And [He] has made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. Rev. 5:10.

In addition to seeing, we are to receive the Kingdom of God if we are to enter it. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the Kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. Mark 10:15. It is my prayer that this writing will arouse within you the deep desire to love not the world, rather to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you. Matt. 6:33.
Moreover, may this writing open the way for you to move from being focused on the world to truly seeing, entering, and inheriting the Kingdom of God. It can happen! It must happen! It will happen because our Lord has appointed for many of His sons to be brought to glory.

STEPPING INSIDE THE CIRCLE
For many years the Kingdom of God was a mystery to me. I would read the parables and note that Jesus said they were not to be understood by those who were outside of the Kingdom. Mark 4:11. After all, the Kingdom of God is a mystery to the natural man. It is even foolish to him. The Holy Spirit is the only one who can teach the things of the Spirit. He teaches Spirit to spirit, not spirit to the natural mind of man. Therefore, the natural man cannot receive the things of the Spirit: for they are foolishness to him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 1 Cor. 2:14. (Also, vs. 11-13.)

There I was. I could not reconcile the above passage in my own mind. I believed in Jesus with all my heart and thought I was spiritual, yet I did not get the point of many of the parables. I would hear what others thought the parables meant and think, Well, that may be right, but it still isnt insight to me. Then, it occurred to me that I was the one making a big mystery of the Kingdom of God. That is why I could not see it. It was a mystery to me because I was looking for something mysterious. The mystery of it all, however, is in its simplicity. It was there all along in plain view. It is there in the Bible from beginning to end. It is revealed in the life, words, and works of Jesus and of His original followers. It is all there in these writings of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, Peter, and Jude.

On several occasions, I asked my audience to name things that characterized the world as they understood it. I randomly wrote these on a flip chart around the outside of the circle. Together, we listed such things as: evil, darkness, sin, sickness, death, rebellion, occult, bondage, sorrow, fear, doubt, disbelief, curses, hatred, murder, lies, deception, manipulation, control, witchcraft, lusts of the eyes, lust of the flesh, the pride of life, religion, and various human endeavors.

Then, we randomly listed inside the circle a few of the multitude of characteristics that pertain to the Kingdom of God, characteristics that can be lifted straight out of the New Testament. Among them were: life, Holy Spirit, righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit, power, health and healing, faith, light, deliverance, miracles, signs and wonders, fruit of the spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control justification, redemption, sanctification, glorification, mercy, forgiveness, gifts of the Spirit, ministries of the Spirit, prayer, authority, taking dominion, ruling and reigning with Christ, headship and submission, divine order, liberty, blessings, discipleship, praise, worship, revelation, wisdom, knowledge, understanding, the laid-down life, discipleship, persecution, and martyrdom.

Those things listed of the world and of the Kingdom are obvious, but what about charity work, hiking, music, art, reading a good novel, picnics, sports, laughter, playing, watching TV, games, pets, gardening, cooking, hobbies? Many things could go in either circle, depending on the source from which they come. Take laughter. From where does the laughter come? From a merry heart? A merry heart doeth good like a medicine. Prov. 17:22. That is Kingdom laughter. Or does the laughter come from scornful ridicule of another? That is worldly laughter. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. Luke 6:45. Who we are, who is in us, and whose life is being lived out from us makes the difference.

The rule of Christ All that pertains to the Kingdom of God, including those items listed, is within that circle. One way or the other, they all relate to the life of God in Christ. Of all that can be said of the Kingdom of God this one thing stands out the Kingdom of God is all about Jesus, the King of that Kingdom.

These are the kinds of things that pertain to the Kingdom of God and are manifestations of the Kingdom because:
The Kingdom of God is the reign and rule of Jesus Christ in the hearts and lives of believers with whom and through whom the government of His Kingdom will be manifested and established in the world.

Once Jesus has taken dominion of our spirits, souls, minds, and hearts, we will take dominion of the earth in His name. Whoever has dominion of the hearts of men has dominion of the earth and the kingdoms of this world. That is why Satan can claim dominion over the kingdoms of this world. Until now, he has had dominion over the hearts of men. As Satan loses his grip on the hearts of men, he loses his jurisdiction over the kingdoms of the world.

The day is coming when all men will bow the knee to the kingship of Jesus either in judgment or in adoration. At that time the seventh angel will sound, and there will be great voices in heaven saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign forever and ever. Rev. 11:15. He will be fully known for who He has always been: the King of kings, Lord of lords, the possessor of heaven and earth, Lord of all. He will reign and rule through His people. Therefore, all that pertains to the Kingdom of God is already at work within us. The Kingdom of God is all about Jesus Christ and His Lordship in our lives. He is at work within us and is performing His life, word, and works through us.

When we are standing in the world, we are living out of the flesh. When we are standing in the Kingdom of God, we are living out of the Spirit. We are being called forth by the Holy Spirit today to step over into that circle and begin living our lives out from within the Kingdom of God from within Christ and not from outside of Him.

By Charles E Newbold Jr.

This article is excerpted from Charles Newbold’s newest book now available for FREE Download. Go Here: http://www.charlesnewbold.com/books/Circle.pdf

“Stepping Into The Circle – Of all That Pertains To The Kingdom Of God” – “Living our lives out from within the Kingdom of God”
Charles’ Website http://www.charlesnewbold.com/