"Preference Or Kingdom" (October 2008)
Last month’s newsletter talked about being a “follower of Jesus” verses being a “Christian”. You might say, “What's the difference?” Actually there is none- or should be none- unless you substitute the misinterpretation of a Christian as defined by today’s society with the true definition. A Christian by true definition is one who believes in, adheres to, imitates and followers the teachings and example of Jesus Christ. Today’s definition of a Christian can mean anything from A to Z, and doesn't necessarily have anything to do with true Biblical Christianity. Let me show you what I mean. When you think of the word “gay”, what comes to mind? The true definition for “gay” means- having or showing a merry, lively mood- but that’s not what comes to mind when you hear the word, you automatically think of a homosexual. It wasn’t until the 1960’s when the word “gay” started meaning something entirely different. Has the meaning of the word changed? No. Has society’s definition and association of the word changed? Yes. So it is with the word “Christian”- it’s definition is still the same but people don’t associate the true definition with it when they hear it. Having said that, let me get into this month’s message. Why the change? Why aren’t we seeing a true definition of a Christian in the lives of a majority of those who profess to be one? Why were the Christians in the early church a “living” example with no conflict between what they did and what they professed? Why is the term Christian today “up for grabs” to anyone who wants to use it?
Recently I heard Bishop Joseph Garlington talking about God’s Kingdom. What he said made so much sense and gave a pretty clear indication of what is happening in the modern day “Christian” world. Let me preface what he said with a few comments before we get into it. When Jesus came to earth, He preached about the Kingdom of God/Kingdom of Heaven. His first public message was about the kingdom. “From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17) Jesus’ whole message while on earth was about the kingdom- even the signs and miracles He did were a demonstration of the kingdom. “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.” (Matt. 4:23) Jesus talked about the Kingdom of Heaven/the Kingdom of God ninety-nine times in the four gospels. The very first thing Jesus said when He taught the multitude in the sermon on the mount had to do with the kingdom. “And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt. 5:1-3) Jesus gave us the key to having a successful and fulfilled life and it was attached the kingdom. “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matt. 6:33) What did Jesus command His disciples to preach? “And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matt. 10:7) Jesus even said that once the gospel of the “kingdom” was preached in all the world then the end will come. “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” (Matt. 24:14)
What is this kingdom that Jesus put so much emphasis on? The Kingdom IS the King. In his book, “Principles of the Kingdom”, Miles Monroe defines God’s kingdom as this, “There is only One way to the Father’s kingdom: Jesus Christ, who IS the king. The kingdom of God can be reduced to a ‘thing’ if separated from the King and reduced to only a set of beliefs. It can be made to seem a “law” of spiritual life or a “Christian ideal”. The Kingdom of our Lord is not a system, a doctrine or a rule. The Kingdom is the person of Jesus! The Kingdom centers on Him, serves Him, reveals Him. The Kingdom is FOR Him and about Him.”
Jesus did not come only to show us the kingdom but provide access for us to enter into the kingdom. “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6) When we receive Christ as Savior, we have invited Him to set up His throne (the kingdom- since He IS the kingdom) in our lives. This is why He said that the kingdom of God is within you. “And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17:20,21) So we are in the kingdom and the kingdom is in us.
Back to what Bishop Garlington said. He said that when people come to Christ, when they come “into the kingdom”, they bring with them a lot of other things- they bring in their preferences and their culture- and mix it with kingdom teachings. Then John Paul Jackson, who was on the program with him, carried it a step further. He said that when you bring in all this excess baggage- preference and culture- and start mixing it in the teachings of the kingdom you begin legislating; legislation turns into legalism, and legalism turns into religion and you get away from the kingdom. When I heard what these men said, I began to understand what is happening in the “body of Christ”. Let me now share my thoughts about what I received from what they said.
What these men said helps answer a lot of questions: why are so many who are truly born again Christians not following Christ in every area; why are they so “right on” in some areas but “miss it” in others; why are there so many denominations when we all say we believe in the same Jesus; why does one say that God told them one thing and someone else says that God told them the opposite? The reason is because when people are saved into the kingdom they don’t always follow the rules, commands, teachings or principles of the kingdom; they are still living by their own preferences and cultural upbringing. They are, therefore, allowing something other than the King of the kingdom to govern them in certain areas. So when it comes to making certain choices, decisions or responding to certain situations they do it according to what they do or don’t prefer or what their environment tells them.
What are the results of living by preference or culture instead of by the word of God (which is foundation of the kingdom)? 1) It produces religious behavior instead of cultivating a relationship with the King. The Kingdom is about a relationship with the Father through the Son. “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” (John 1:12) 2) It breeds legalism and diminishes grace. “For they (Pharisees) bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.” (Matt. 23:4) “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8,9) 3) When you mix the kingdom teachings with your preferences, then the word of God ceases to be the truth- it is a mixture of that which is holy spoken by God Himself and the desires of the flesh. It is no longer the truth- half truth is not truth. It’s a mixture that causes misunderstanding and confusion. “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” (John 17:17) “A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.” (Galatians 5:9) “Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, and saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.” (Matthew 4:5,6) 4) It places self above God because you are following what you desire above what God desires. “He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30)
Preference means the right or chance to choose; to choose that which you like better or value more highly. What are the consequences of living by preference or culture? Let’s look in the Bible at some examples of those who put their preferences above the kingdom. Balaam preferred the wealth he was offered to obeying the Lord’s instructions not to go to Balak. “And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed. And Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went with the princes of Moab.” (Numbers 22:12,21) The consequence- in the Book of Revelation the Lord has something against the church at Pergamos because they held to the doctrine of Balaam. (Rev. 2:14) God’s testimony of Balaam was that he ‘loved the wages of unrighteousness; and was rebuked for his iniquity’. (2 Peter 2:15,16) God also pronounced a “woe” on those who run ‘greedily after the error of Balaam for reward’. (Jude 1:11) The next example is that of the children of Israel in the wilderness. God supplied the Israelites’ need for food by sending them manna each day. After a while they desired to have meat. “And the mixt multitude that was among them fell a lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat? And say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow, and ye shall eat flesh: for ye have wept in the ears of the Lord, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt: therefore the Lord will give you flesh, and ye shall eat. Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days; But even a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you: because that ye have despised the Lord which is among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt? And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord smote the people with a very great plague.” (Num. 11:4,18-20,33) They were consumed with their own lustful desires causing them to prefer meat instead of what God had chosen to meet their need. He gave them meat, but a plague came upon them as a result. Another account of the children of Israel that I want to share was during the days of Samuel. “Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.” (1 Samuel 8:4,5) The people preferred to be ruled by a man instead of by God. They preferred to be like everyone else instead of a nation that had been called holy and set apart to the Lord. There were consequences to their preference of having a man rule over them instead of God rule over them. God spelled it out for them. “And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee. Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them.” (1 Sam. 8:7-9) Read the rest of the chapter, God told them that a king would take their sons as soldiers, daughters as maidservants, houses, property, vineyards, gardens for his own and tax them on the moneys they would make. Yet, they still preferred- even at the risk of loss- having an earthly king rule over them instead of their God. One last example I want to share (there are too many to talk about) took place at the crucifixion. “Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all. But ye have a custom, that I should release unto you one at the passover: will ye therefore that I release unto you the King of the Jews? Then cried they all again, saying, Not this man, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber.” (John 18:38-40) To me this is the saddest one of all- the people preferred to release a thief instead of Jesus.
These were Biblical examples but we are no different. We have these same preferences today and intermingle them with the kingdom. People still prefer to take the path of Balaam- they are drawn away from the kingdom by the idea of wealth, riches, prosperity. If it wasn’t a preference issue Jesus never would have addressed it in such an unmistakable way. “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” (Matt. 6:24) Sadly, you see the evidence of this when Christians base their decisions and make their choices according to monetary value, according to how much it will prosper them and according to what they will benefit from it, even when it goes against the word of God. It is just as prevalent today as it was in Samuel’s day. Christians come into the kingdom with the idea that they can “pick and choose” what they want to obey and what they don’t. They come with the notion that they can reserve their “rights” and have God too. They want God when they want Him- when He can bless them, when they have a need- but otherwise they will do what they prefer to do. Why do you think that Jesus said if you were going to come after Him you would have to “deny yourself”- give up your rights? Now that you are in the kingdom, there can only be ONE king, and we have already established the fact that the King is Jesus. You are not the King, you don’t make the rules, you surrender your will to His will, His commands, His plans, not your own. “And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” (Mark 8:34) Preference above the kingdom is still alive and well when it comes to choosing what we want and doing what everyone else is doing. We are really seeing this in the United States because of the upcoming election. People just want what they want, whether it’s what God wants or not. They are making their decision on who to vote for based on who promises them to most- not on Kingdom principles and values. When Samuel told the Israelites what the outcome would be if they chose against God, they didn’t care as long as they got what they wanted. Preference will do that to you, it will “blind sight” you from the truth- as we said earlier. We often choose our own preference over what God deems best for us, like they did in the wilderness. Preference tends to make you ungrateful, discontent and complaining when things aren’t going to your liking. In those times choosing according to preference instead of the kingdom is the most dangerous thing to do because it will make you want to “bail out” and return to where you once were. “We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick.” (Num. 11:5) I made the statement that the Israelites preference of Barabbas over Jesus was the saddest one of all because He was innocent of any crime other than love. The only thing He was guilty of was loving us so dearly and so deeply- yet a their was chosen over Him. Remember when we said that preference produces religious behavior? It was the religious group that testified against Jesus, wanted Him dead, tried to destroy Him. Religion never wants to take second place to truth- to the Kingdom. It will work to destroy it any way it can. They didn’t want Him telling them they were wrong, they didn’t want to look bad before the people, they wanted the recognition, they wanted the people following them. When we just act religious without having holiness, without having a heart to obey God above everything else, without seeking Him first, without denying ourselves, when we chose preference over His word, His will or His plan for our lives, we become like this same religious crowd that yelled, “crucify Him”. value, according to how much this will prosper them and according to what they will benefit from it even when it goes against the word of God. It is just as prevalent today as it was in Samuel’s day. Christians come into the kingdom with the idea that they will “pick and choose” what they want to obey and what they don’t. They come in with the notion that they can reserve their “rights” and have God too. They want God when they want Him- when He can bless them, when they have a need- but otherwise they will do what they prefer to do. Why do you think that Jesus said if you were going to come after Him you would have to “deny yourself”- give up your rights? Now that you are in the kingdom, there can only be ONE king, and we have already established the fact that the King is Jesus. You are not the King, you don’t make the rules, you surrender to His will, His commands, His plans, not your own. “And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” (Mark 8:34) Preference above the kingdom is still alive and well when it comes to having what we want and doing what everyone else is doing, again like in Samuel’s day. We are really seeing this in the United States because of the upcoming election. People just want what they want, whether it’s what God wants or not. They are making their decision on who to vote for based on who promises them to most, not on Kingdom principles and values. When Samuel told the Israelites what the outcome would be if they chose against God, they didn’t care as long as they got what they wanted. Preference will do that to you, it will “blind sight” you from the truth- as we said earlier. We often choose our own preference over what God deems best for us, like they did in the wilderness. Preference tends to make you ungrateful, discontent and complaining when things aren’t going to your liking. It’s in those times that it is the most dangerous thing to do (chose according to your preference instead of the kingdom plan) because it will make you want to “bail out” and return to where you once were. “We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick.” (Num. 11:5) I made the statement that the Israelites’ preference of Barabbas over Jesus was the saddest one of all because He was innocent of any crime other than love- yet a thief was chosen over Him. Remember when we said that preference produces religious behavior? It was the religious group that testified against Jesus, wanted Him dead, tried to destroy Him. They didn’t want Him telling them they were wrong, they didn’t want to look bad before the people, they wanted the recognition, they wanted the people following them. Religion never wants to take second place to truth- to the Kingdom. When we just act religious without having holiness, without having a heart to obey God above everything else, without seeking Him first, without denying ourselves, when we chose preference over His word, His will or His plan for our lives, we become like this same religious crowd that yelled, “crucify Him”.
We must understand that preference is flesh that is not crucified, self that is not denied, rights that have not been relinquished when it conflicts with the kingdom. Our preference must change until the thing that we choice, value and desire the most is HIM and His will. How do we do that? “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.” (1 Peter 2:2) We must conform our lives to God’s word. We do this by changing our way of thinking. “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.“ (Romans 8:2) “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” (Romans 8:6) To be preference minded is carnally minded which brings death, but to be kingdom minded is spiritual minded which brings life and peace.
