Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:14-15)
Jesus began His ministry on earth preaching the gospel and telling people to repent. To repent is from two Greek words that when put together mean to change your mind by changing your thoughts, focus, and perspective, which results in a change of place, condition, and perceived reality. In this case Jesus is talking about also changing your government, and the reality you are subject to. When you repent, change your old way of thinking to the way Jesus does, you will see things in His light and understanding.
Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.” Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” (Joh 18:36-37 NASB)
The Kingdom of God is a spiritual Kingdom, it is in your Spirit. This is why Jesus says the Kingdom of God is within you (Luke 17:21). The teachings of Jesus, including the parables, are instructions on how to live in the Kingdom reality. The laws of the Kingdom are the words of Christ because He is the King. There are many promises and blessings attached to His Word. When we live in His Word and His words are living in our heart, we are living in the Kingdom—His Government. What is in our heart will flow out from our heart and will affect the world around us.
Because the heart is naturally deceived and deceitful, the heart-soul must be transformed. This begins when we believe the gospel and receive Jesus into our heart. His Word in your heart creates a dwelling place for Him. Repentance is the process of transformation. We reject our old way of thinking and accept His Word as Truth. In this way we are transformed, coming into agreement with His Word and His will.
This is not easy, because denying your will is giving up your godship (your old life) and accepting Jesus as Lord of your new transformed life. The process of transformation is repentance. We are not alone in this journey, we have much help: the encouragement of our Father, the continuous guidance and strength of Jesus in every step, and the Holy Spirit working to complete the will of God in you and in the Earth.
Jesus tells Pilate “I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”
The word of means origin, out of, or from. The word testify means to be a witness and give testimony. Truth means “true reality.” Things that are eternal are reality; things that are temporary are not. We know that we are created by our Father in Christ Jesus with a destiny. (Eph 2:10) When we hear Jesus’ voice, our Spirit recognizes it because of who we are created to be. (John 10:27)
Just as deception is spiritual and comes from the father of lies, Truth is spiritual, and is spiritually discerned from our Spirit that testifies with the Word of God. The Spirit Himself testifies with our Spirit that we are children of God (Rom 8:16). Knowing your Father—your origin—and the Word of God are keys for walking in Truth and discernment. We know that our minds and hearts are easily deceived, but our Spirit is not.
Since the beginning of 2020, the voice of the world has become very loud. There was a united effort to impose worldwide control and restrictions, an antichrist system. As we look back, we now know much of what we were told was deception. Knowing the Truth sets people free. This is the time for the people of God to come into realization of the Kingdom of God that Jesus spoke about. It is time to advance the gospel of the Kingdom and push back the kingdom of darkness.
It is not the time for the full manifestation of antichrist. However, we have had a good practice session. Hopefully, the church, the body of Christ, has learned much in this time.
