#517 – The Essential Nature of the Ministry of Melchizedek in the Eternal Church.
The Kingdom of Priests After the Order of Melchizedek.
The King / Priesthood Of Righteousness and Peace
The Inner Illumination Of The Holy Place; The New Inner Man
June 26, 2012
Over the last 30 years I have written many documents about the New Covenant Ministry and Priesthood of Melchizedek, Himself. These folders are under the name “THE HOLY SPIRIT.” However, I feel that this doctrinal TRUTH, as necessary and great as it is for any recovering church, has not yet reached my experience so as to produce the LIFE that is designed to be included in this understanding. This is serious problem with the fallen church system also! Doctrinal knowledge has substituted for the Life that is supposed to be experienced within the reality of each of these foundational doctrines.
It is now clear that this ignorance has also been part of my personal failure in “ministry” over these past many years. Too little of what I have written has actually been my experience as an inner Life reality. This document may be no different because it points to a higher life than I currently possess. Now, that our concept of the Priesthood is being joined to the Kingdom and the Eternal Government of God, it seems much more important to connect these various understandings to our personal experience in order to manifest the LIFE of these doctrines! Why? It is because these Kingdom things are NOT doctrines to be learned but Life realities to be lived. When we connect the personal dimension of the Bondservant with the Priesthood and the Kingdom and link this to this Inner Life Journey into the Reality of the City of God, the message of Mount Zion and the King / Bride dimension becomes much clearer! However, if we stop at the tree of the knowledge relevant to these things and fail to obtain the Life of these things, we will be making the same mistake as the first Adam. One of the dominating features of the New Jerusalem is that the Tree of Life is in direct contact with the River of Life that flows from the Throne of God. Those who have attained to the New Jerusalem have their names inscribed in the Lamb’s Book of LIFE! This indicates that this higher dimension of God’s Eternal Purpose is dependent upon this Higher dimension of Zoe, Life!
The NEXT restoration MUST bring the Holy Place Life and Ministry into our practical ministry experience. The “reality” of all doctrine is NOT in the knowledge but in the experience of that doctrine and it is the experience itself that is Life changing. This next “progressive experience” MUST involve the pure Gold Lampstand Church and the ministry of our High Priest and the full function of the Priesthood after the Order of Melchizedek. Since this is also a ministry of the Kingly dimension of Priesthood, it integrally links the function of the Priesthood to the Altar of Incense. It is at the Altar of Incense that we BEGIN to rule with Christ in the present age! This, along with the revelations of the Show Bread, brings this function into a sharper focus that is 100% God centered! This Altar of Incense function is where we cooperate with God to get His will done on earth as it is being done now in heaven. Burning Incense is the work of the Priest but the Ruling in His Authority is given to the Kingly aspect of this ministry. Ruling with Christ returns man to God’s original purpose of giving man dominion over the earth and things upon it. This dominion was lost but was not removed by God from His purpose. This dominion is now restored to Christ Jesus. He is now both King / Priest after the Order of Melchizedek and has been given ALL authority in both heaven and in earth. My opinion is that the Sons of the High Priest, who participate in His body, will BEGIN to function in this ministry of dominion once again. Why? The deteriorating conditions of the visible church and the world systems demand it if there is going to be a solution!
Since the Ministry of Melchizedek involves BOTH the King and Priest dimension it is clear that BOTH ministries (King and Priest) can and MUST participate in the Show bread and both must function at the Altar of Incense. The “power and authority” that we have heard proclaimed for the last 42 years may soon be demonstrated by those who are able to function (by our actual Life experience) in the Holy Place Life and Ministry. Since this “ministry” is limited to the Priesthood after the Order of Melchizedek, attaining to this Priesthood function becomes the greatest priority at the present time for the Church that He is building. However, this doesn’t seem very important for the outward, visible church that men are building!
The Christian Doctrines that have been preached from the pulpit have left us informed but with so little actual experience of the Eternal Realities inherent within these doctrines. The question always exists of how much of these realities are we supposed to experience? Is it mandatory that we actually experience these things if we already know them? The answer generally comes back that the difference between the doctrine and the experience is of little importance. However, the difference between the doctrine (knowledge) and the Life is STILL revealed in these two original trees that confronted Adam and Eve. Are we going to live by knowledge (doctrines - gnosis) or by the Tree of life (experience- Zoe Life). These Two Trees are the very challenge and Truth that confronts us in this understanding about Melchizedek and the Eternal Priesthood. The scriptures are clear that this Priesthood after the Order of Melchizedek is after the Power of an Indestructible Life! Those who eat from the Tree of Life will live forever and those who choose to live by the Tree of knowledge will surely die.
Since the Kingdom was revealed and manifested in the Prototype Son, who was the first Priest of this higher order who was taken from among men, we should examine His Life and how He functioned. He is our prototype / Son who is a Priest after the Order of Melchizedek. Much is revealed in Luke 4th chapter. In these scriptures we are introduced to the Holy Spirit and His involvement in Jesus’ Ministry. Here His Anointing is inherently linked to preaching the Kingdom of God in the other cities of Israel. Why? This WAS the very purpose for which He (Messiah) was sent.
Isa 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, Because the LORD has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives, And freedom to prisoners; 2 To proclaim the favorable year of the LORD, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, 3 To grant those who mourn in Zion, Giving them a garland instead of ashes, The oil of gladness instead of mourning, The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified. 4 Then they will rebuild the ancient ruins, They will raise up the former devastations, And they will repair the ruined cities, The desolations of many generations. 5 And strangers will stand and pasture your flocks, And foreigners will be your farmers and your vine dressers.
Isa 61:6 But you will be called the priests of the LORD; You will be spoken of as ministers of our God. You will eat the wealth of nations, And in their riches you will boast.
Luke 4:20 And He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed upon Him. 21 And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
Luke 4:43 But He said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose.”
There should be no question that this is speaking of Jesus and the New Covenant ministry but here in verse 6 the “Priests” are plural. This confirms that He desires to bring many Sons to this same glory! Within this same context quoted in Luke 4, He says Isaiah 61 all links to the Kingdom of God, which He was sent to preach in all the cities of Israel.
Therefore, to continue to just spell out doctrines about Melchizedek but without the Kingdom Experience or the Priesthood Life is a big waste of time. The reality of finally obtaining the Life and the actual and experiential function of the Holy Place Priesthood ministry MUST be more fully realized NOW! Why? This “priesthood” is what makes the church the real one that He is building! Also, more doctrines, messages or talk about Priesthood and the Kingdom will produce NOTHING more than what we have seen in the last 42 years.
The question that will surely be asked is this; “What must I do to participate?” Over the last several years we have tried to emphasize that ALL the seven foundations must first be experiential in each of our lives as preparation for this critical time of restoration. Most of us have learned the “doctrine of preparations” but have not even checked to be sure we have the actual experience of all the seven foundations. Why? It is because that has Not been our first priority and second we just do not know how to do it or third we are just too busy with other irrelevant things to be bothered about being prepared!
What we do understand is that Jesus, the prototype Son, has already entered into the ultimate position of High Priest after the Order of Melchizedek and He did it as a Man, born of woman and born of God. He was a genuine man and one of us. Just because we may “think” that we have come to sonship maturity because we know something or because we are born again, there is still something called having been made perfect. I am assuming that if this refers to us today it would mean coming to the Outer Court perfection and not the highest perfection. Why? Because, He had to come to the Perfection of High Priest but we must come to the perfection of a member of the Body of the High Priest. That requirement is that there MUST be No Definable Defect in any member of His Body.
Heb 5:8 Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. 9 And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation, 10 being designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.
Lev 21:17 “Speak to Aaron, saying, ‘No man of your offspring throughout their generations who has a defect shall approach to offer the bread of his God.
Then what has these foundations to do with removing all the defects we inherited from first Adam and the ones we developed on our own? As we have been warning for many years, each foundation has it own work to accomplish in us to either add something essential to us or remove something from us that will hinder us in His Kingdom Government! Even though I have created many doctrines about defects, I still wonder how many defects I still have that will prevent me from taking my place in the body of the High Priest.
It is my opinion that we must first become HAMMERED into the Pure Gold Lampstand Church and out of that will come the PURE members of the Body of the High Priest. Since no WOOD can be part of the Lampstand, we must first become pure Gold. My definition of pure Gold is the old “I” is no longer living but now having just Christ living in us. The flesh man can NEVER be more than just wood, hay or straw (earth material) but the Christ Life in us is certainly the Pure Gold. Purified through fire to remove all dross is the process called Christian Growth which includes getting rid of Adam and his defects! Quantity is one thing but this standard of quality is quite another! Pure Gold indicates that all the dross or basic defects have been removed and we are ready to be hammered into the Corporate Lampstand. This “hammered unity” cannot be found in any of the Outer Court Preparations where many are expecting to find it. Many are asking; “Why can’t we all just love one another and all get along so we can become ‘one’ like Jesus prayed?” The obvious lack of unity is because we have too much wood, hay and garbage in us. This garbage is what has not yet been removed of the first Adam (the old natural life) by the actual experience of the first six foundational experiences. Hopefully, the seventh- the Consecration Offering- will bring us to the Outer Court Perfection that is essential to make the transition into the Holy Place Life and Ministry! A further perfection in the Holy Place is seen in Revelation 2 and 3 where He is building / correcting and perfecting the Church that He is completing there. Out of this realm comes Mount Zion, the New Jerusalem and the bride!
The Pure Gold in the Lampstand Church, the one He is Building, also supplies the members for the body of the High Priest (without defects) and also to qualify them to become the mature SONS of the High Priest. It is ONLY His Body that can function within this Priesthood after the Order of Melchizedek. The Head is already perfected and complete but the assembly of members” for His Body is now in the process. This process we could call “the transformation to the full Christian Life.” It is this “process” that we are indicating by the term “the next restoration.”
But how can we discern where we each are in this process of removing the dross from our life? (This total process should be completed within the Seven Foundations) But, how can we know? Well, if we have just two foundations completed in our experience, we should suspect that we are not ready for the Lampstand Church or for the Holy Place Life and Ministry. But isn’t that a judgmental attitude? No! That is Truth! The Kingdom is NOT given based upon a positive confession or good testimony but it is given based upon our bearing the fruit of the Kingdom. No matter how much we confess that we are Priests of the Lord, we are NOT priests until we begin to function as priests. Herein lies the secret to the next restoration. It will demand the actual experience rather than just a knowledge of the facts and information about the truth.
Nevertheless, the attitude in the visible church is; why should we be concerned about our condition but just casually commit that to God because He knows our heart? He said that He would finish the work in us that He began for the day of Christ so let us just trust Him to do it. [Besides, He knows that we would if we could but He also knows that we can’t!]
Therefore, let us begin to examine this Priesthood after the Order of Melchizedek. He is both a King / Priest but He functions in specific realms of God’s ultimate purpose. For example; He is the King of Righteousness.
Heb 7:1 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham as he was returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, 2 to whom also Abraham apportioned a tenth part of all the spoils, was first of all, by the translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, which is king of peace.
righteousness G1343 δικαιοσύνη dikaiosunē Thayer Definition:
1) in a broad sense: state of him who is as he ought to be, righteousness, the condition acceptable to God 1a) the doctrine concerning the way in which man may attain a state approved of God 1b) integrity, virtue, purity of life, rightness, correctness of thinking feeling, and acting. 2) in a narrower sense, justice or the virtue which gives each his due
Melchizedek is the “KING” of righteousness or the ultimate authority about
righteousness. He is the commander in Chief, the Sovereign Head and the Lord of His realm. The Holy Spirit, the King of Righteousness, will convict of all unrighteousness. He is the “King” or the present government of righteousness! He is the one who establishes the Laws of Righteousness and it is His purpose to enforce these laws within the Laws of the Kingdom. Since Jesus said The Holy Spirit has been with you but He shall be IN YOU, it should be clear that this King of Righteousness, who enforces the Laws of Righteousness, does His work within us. This even deals with the thoughts and intentions of the heart and with our wrong motives or ANYTHING that is unrighteous.
John 16:7 “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper shall not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. 8 “And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgment; 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you no longer behold Me; 11 and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.
Since we do many things that are NOT righteous by His standards, He is immediately on hand to notify us and convict us of these things. These Laws of Righteousness are not negotiable and do not vary because you are a minister or pastor but LAWS which have been established from the foundation of the world. If we think we are getting away with doing unrighteousness things because we feel NO CONVICTION we are deceived. Why? It is because, obviously, we are no longer sensitive to the Holy Spirit or we have hardened our heart against Him and His Inner Work of conviction. We can be certain that He WILL DO His work in all the integrity, virtue and purity of the God Head. If this is NOT happening within our experience, the problem is NOT with Him but with us! Our ONLY solution is to repent and change our mind and the our direction. He will NOT fall in step with you to encourage you if you are going in the wrong way. He will stand across your path to prevent you from going farther toward destruction unless you insist upon continuing.
The Holy Spirit is the Ultimate Authority on righteousness and He is the Ultimate Judge of what is righteous and what is unrighteous. If how we live or what we do that does NOT rise to His interpretation of righteousness there must be a provision for us to know that and to correct the defect. If He is condemning our unrighteousness but we don’t know it, how will we be able to develop our place in the Body of the High Priest?
Eze 36:26 “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 “And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.
Jer 31:33 “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the LORD, “I will put My law within them, and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 “And they shall not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the LORD , “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”
Therefore, if His intention is to put His Laws within us and to cause us to walk in His ways that we might be His people, it is our responsibility to learn to live by these laws. “For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more” is dependent upon obeying the Laws that are written within. We should NOT depend upon “high handed sin” being forgiven. If we can still lie, cheat, steal, deceive and pretend to be Christian without this convicting work of the Holy Spirit, we are in severe danger and have a real eternal problem. Those who live in this ignorance are attempting to function outside the Laws of the Kingdom and therefore, outside the Government of God. But what if I am a teacher of the Bible? Then you come under double condemnation! This is NOT an idle warning but is the way the Kingdom works.
But what about grace and forgiveness? We need to grow beyond all the baby excuses for living a carnal life and begin to change with a vision of eternity and God’s Ultimate Government requirements! If we cannot hear, understand or read the Laws of God written in the New Inner Man, that becomes the very first priority to participate in the Kingdom of God.
Then, if all this be true what is the result of living within this New Covenant provision? Living in the realms of the Kingdom and under its Sovereign Government is how the bride is perfected.
Rev 19:6 And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude and as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.7 “Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.” 8 And it was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. 9 And he *said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’” And he *said to me, “These are true words of God.”
There is a great multitude in heaven who are rejoicing over the Lamb, the bride and the wedding feast but they are just the invited guests, NOT THE BRIDE! The bride stands out from the multitude simply because she walked in experiential RIGHTEOUSNESS. Her experiential Righteousness has created wedding garments for her and prepared her to become the bride of the Lamb. She is also bone of His bone and flesh of His flesh, which is His body. His flesh being the Living and Abiding Word of God by which ALL true Christians are born anew.
We may be deceived into believing that we can break the Laws of the Kingdom without consequence. However, we will soon learn they CANNOT be broken because they are fixed in Eternity. However, if we live any other way we will certainly break (destroy) ourselves upon the Laws of the Kingdom. Why? They cannot be abrogated!
The modern church system, which insists upon some perceived “freedom in Christ,” has taken a verse out of context concerning the Law of Moses and insists that “I am free” and there are no more Laws to constrain me. The perception is; I do not accept the laws of morality because the Sacrifice of Calvary and the shed blood that has set me free from the law. Now I can do what I want, whenever I want, to anybody I want and there will be NO CONSEQUENCES because I am forgiven forever. The error is this; When He said “It is finished” He wiped out all my sins, past, present and future, so I am free! Multitudes are drunk on the Matra “I am Free” without any thought or any fear that what they do is NOT RIGHTEOUS. Why? Simply because they have no concept about the King of Righteousness or how He convicts of these Laws. Why? They have paid little attention to what Jesus or the scriptures have said but just accepted what some preacher has told them about grace. We condemn the Catholic Church when the priests says something that is not scriptural but then our ministers do that same thing and we accept it as true.
If Jesus and the Kingdom are “THE WAY” then any other way is NOT “THE WAY.” Then why didn’t the Kingdom come in the very beginning? It did but man ignored it and listened to the devil. But why didn’t the Kingdom come at Mount Sinai when God came down on the Mountain? It did but the people could not enter in because of the fire.
What was needed was a Living example and a visible representation of that invisible Kingdom that would come in the flesh! Why? It was because the Kingdom is not just a doctrine to be learned or a message or a document but the Kingdom is a LIFE manifested. The Kingdom expressed is Christ-likeness being manifested. Also, it was because, before Calvary, the Holy Spirit was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified and the New Covenant was not yet ratified in His blood. BOTH the Word and the Spirit must be actively involved in the Kingdom dimension to make it known but also to make it real in our experience! BOTH must be IN US to lead us, guide us, teach us, correct us, sanctify us and cause us to walk in His ways and according to His Laws. This is obviously a big job so it has not been entrusted to some carnal ministry or human pastor. This is NOT part of the five fold ministry because none of these are IN US!
These TWO ( the Spirit of Christ and the Holy Spirit) are the two anointed ones that stand before the Lord of the whole earth and are the two Olive Trees that pour the Golden Oil from themselves into those who are of the Pure Gold Lampstand dimension. The Lampstand is not a THING but a converted, transformed and consecrated people who have come to the Pure Gold perfection! The source of this illumination ( seven flames of fire) upon the Lampstand, (that means the oil for the seven flames of fire), is NOT coming from the pulpit but from the Two Anointed Ones that stand by the Lord of the whole earth. When the visible church chooses to ignore the active ministry of these TWO Olive Trees, this signals a disaster waiting to happen. This is openly revealed in Revelation 2 and 3 where we see the One who is walking among the seven Lampstand Churches correcting, warning, threatening and teaching them about the Kingdom Life. The perfection of the lampstand is NOT YET the perfection of the City or the perfection of the Bride but the perfection of the Lampstand MUST come first. This also precedes the function of the Sons of the High Priest operating within the Priesthood after the Order of Melchizedek. Attempting to go on to this Holy Place Perfection without the Spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit and the Kingdom Government of God within will certainly fail. Repenting at this Lampstand dimension is not just a suggestion but a irrevocable command. The “church” that does not hear “the One who was dead but is alive forevermore” will also not repent just because they hear another message from the pulpit.
THAT” deafness” is the weakness of this current system of having preaching and singing meetings which we call “attending church.” The Kingdom Government of God is actively working in the Church that Jesus is Building which is revealed in Revelation 2 and 3. Unless this is primary, learning about the anti-Christ, the great tribulation, the disasters that are coming, or of the failed systems of human governments is a big waste of time. Trying to convince the casual believer of this is also a big waste of time. The average “Sunday message” has nothing to do with the Kingdom or God’s Purpose and does nothing to prepare the believers for the radical change essential for them to participate in God’s ultimate plan. Messages can warn and instruct us about the next restoration and the requirements of the Kingdom but only the inner working of God can actually prepare us to participate in it!
From what we see in the scripture and from the Life of Jesus, it seems obvious that God will back up the Kingdom Life and character with His Sovereign Power and Authority. Why do we think that? Because of what came to the earth dimension when the Kingdom arrived two thousand years ago. That is the New Covenant, the indwelling Spirit of Christ, (the Living and abiding Word of God), the indwelling Holy Spirit, the Church that He Is Building, the opening up of the way into the Most Holy Place and the Priesthood after the Order of Melchizedek! When the Kingdom came, the Lampstand Church, the Bride of Christ and the City of the Great King, the New Jerusalem and Mount Zion came into view. The Power and Ability to participate in the Eternal Purpose of God finally had arrived. NOW is the time when ALL things spoken by the prophets could at last be fulfilled. All this hinged upon the coming of the experiential Kingdom Government of God as an inner Life reality.
Some groups have attempted to receive the “blessings” but ignore the Kingdom, however, all these “blessings” come within the package. Some groups only consented to receive the Spirit of Christ but ignored the Holy Spirit and the rest of the package. There is little wonder that the visible church is in this miserable condition. Some have only participated in about 15 % or less of the total provision that God has given within the New Covenant.
The Kingdom of God and His Sovereign Government is our native land, the place of our origin, our home land and the location of our final journey! This is the normal reality of our final existence and the driving zeal for us to attain to this Life. It is the predestined purpose of our growing up in all things and going on to Perfection. Growing up in all things into Christ is growing up into the Kingdom Government of God. Growing up means being able to live within the discipline, correction and demands of God’s Sovereign Dominion.
It is when we live within His Dominion, which is within the Body of the High Priest, that we can exercise Dominion over the earth and things in it as a corporate body of the High Priest. We BEGIN this apprenticeship training by submitting to and in obedience to the Head of the Body of the High Priest. To think or preach that there is NO apprenticeship training in this life is just rank ignorance of the Purpose of God. Discipleship training is similar to apprenticeship training but suggests something different now because discipleship has become a cliche associated with going to Sunday School for training or even attending the Sunday night meeting in the church. Pastors used to announce how many disciples they had by adding up how many people were in the pews.
When we see the results or fruit of a selfish and self-centered “Christian” life, that is common in the visible church system, it seem obvious that these results are the total opposite of what we expect to see in the Kingdom dimension. How can we judge that? By understanding the demands and restrictions of the Kingdom that Jesus shared in Matthew 5 - 6 and 7. No one can live, experientially, in these demands unless he has grown up into the Kingdom Life. Matthew 5- 6 &7 explains how we will be able to live when the King and His Kingdom becomes our Life.
When we share these things, the same questions we are asked in various places is what are you doing as an outreach ministry? Do you knock on doors? Do you have street meetings? Do you help the poor or feed the hungry? Don’t you even have a food and clothing ministry? How do you evangelize the lost?
Our answer is similar to this: The Kingdom is not an outward Law to be kept by human effort. The Old Covenant, established at Mount Sinai, was a Moral Law for the guidance of the natural man descended from first Adam. This “evangelization” and outreach ministry of the Kingdom is exceedingly moral but the source is entirely different. This is a much higher morality than can be achieved by any outward moral law. Why? It is because it originates and extends from a much higher Life. Since this Life comes from God it can only be of the Highest degree of Morality.
Mat 25:34 “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 ‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ 37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You drink? 38 ‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39 ‘And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 “And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’
Mark 3:32 And a multitude was sitting around Him, and they *said to Him, “Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are outside looking for You.” 33 And answering them, He *said, “Who are My mother and My brothers?” 34 And looking about on those who were sitting around Him, He *said, “Behold, My mother and My brothers! 35 “For whoever does the will of God, he is My brother and sister and mother.”
Jesus, in this instance, dealing with feeding the hungry, visiting the sick, supplying clothing and visiting those in prison mentions those who do these things for His brothers. He explains that “His family, that He recognizes” are those who do the will of God. This eliminates most soup kitchens, food and clothing ministries and outreach to many of the poor groups because they have no desire or intention of doing the will of God and would be offended if that was mentioned.
When we speak of Kingdom Charity we learn that the poor we ALWAYS have with us. When we place these moral concerns within the parameters of the Kingdom everything looks different.
Mat 26:8 But the disciples were indignant when they saw this, and said, “Why this waste? 9 “For this perfume might have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor.” 10 But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you bother the woman? For she has done a good deed to Me. 11 “For the poor you have with you always; but you do not always have Me. 12 “For when she poured this perfume upon My body, she did it to prepare Me for burial. 13 “Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done shall also be spoken of in memory of her.”
Of course this doesn’t mean that we should not preach this Gospel of the Kingdom in the whole world as a witness to every nation as our proper outreach ministry. This also does not mean that there is NO ministry to the poor but this Gospel of the Kingdom is not sentimental or foolish. It does not waste its resources upon the indifferent or those that have no interest in the Lord or His Kingdom.
The ministry of moral justice is certainly part of the Kingdom message because the Kingdom is extremely moral. The source of the ministry is the defining difference! If it is coming out of a human compassion or a sentimental origin and out of a sorrow for the unfortunate, the outreach ministry will be very limited in its eternal fruit! This is because it is wasted upon the ones who are at best the tares that are sown among the wheat and will never bear Kingdom Fruit. Ultimately the tares are destined for the fire. But, brother, isn’t that too harsh?
The morality of the Kingdom is focused upon those mothers and brothers who are pressing into the Kingdom of God and doing the will of God. But, brother, isn’t that too harsh? No! When we finally understand the Kingdom of God, we are shocked by its demands, its severity and its singleness of purpose. The Kingdom gives us the feeling that if anything is not advancing toward the Kingdom, don’t waste your time pursuing it! If you cannot turn their path to include the Kingdom Life and reality, the “ministry” will bear no eternal fruit. This seems very severe and uncompromising but it is the Gospel we have been ordained to preach.
It is certain that this higher morality requires a much higher Life to function according to the Laws of the Kingdom. These Laws are harmonious with the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus.
It is amazing what happened immediately after Jesus said the poor we always have with us as if He had no concern for the poor. However, we know that what Jesus said and did was entirely righteous. However, this concept of Kingdom righteousness is strait forward and must be absolute but this righteous reply will usually offend someone. In this case it offended Judas!
Mat 26:14 Then one of the twelve, named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests, 15 and said, “What are you willing to give me to deliver Him up to you?” And they weighed out to him thirty pieces of silver.
These Laws of the Kingdom were installed in the New Inner Man when we were RE-CREATED as a different and new creation or new species in Christ. The old species will always get offended by the Laws that are governing the New Species. This is the source of much of the disagreements and conflicts today in the visible church. God warned Israel NOT to mix their seeds or sow two kinds of seeds in their fields. The SEED of the Kingdom needs to be kept separate from the other seeds (The popular ones are “Christian” but just another earthly Philosophy). These are the duplicity of seeds that are being sown by popular demand. Is this too harsh? Probably, but what other Truth will bear Kingdom fruit?
Well, brother, we just don’t believe that stuff about the Kingdom! The problem is these Laws work whether we believe them or not. What we believe cannot annul these laws of creation and neither can what we believe alter the Laws of the Kingdom, which are the Laws of Eternity. Since these laws are the laws of our being we must deal with it. Why? Because we can’t change any of these things and there is NO provision for us to negotiate a better deal. They are built into creation whether we believe it or not. Even if you don’t believe in GRAVITY it will still work.