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  THE SPECIFIC GOSPEL

  (From Chapter 9)

  apostlematt@dominionchurch.net

  Matthew Hester

Note from Doug Fortune:
This is an excerpt from my good friend, Matthew Hester's new book entitled BORN TO BE KINGS. You can purchase it on his website at www.DominionChurch.net.

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Matthew 9:35
Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. (NIV)

Luke 4:43
But he said, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.” (NIV)

When Christ came to earth He taught a very specific gospel. As the Church we confess that Jesus is our pattern, but it would seem that we are no closer to that which He was doing than we were five hundred years ago.

We have to go back to Scripture and see what Christ was interested in. From the Gospels we see that everywhere Christ went and all that He did had a direct emphasis on the message of the Kingdom of God. If Christ dedicated His earthly ministry to teaching the message of the kingdom, it is probably a strong indication that we should be teaching it as well.

The Kingdom of God is about a King and His domain. If there is no domain in which a King rules, then there is no kingdom. All creation, including the earth, is the Lords and the fullness thereof. This means that all things are found encompassed by the Kingdom of God. In order for us to abide successfully in this kingdom, we must follow the rules and edicts of the King. Whether or not we are aware of the King or His kingdom makes no difference.

Salvation Is The Entrance

There should never be a day that goes by that we are not thankful for the sacrifice Christ made on the cross for the remission of our sins. If it were not for this pivotal point on the landscape of time none of us would be here today. Salvation should be taught because it is the beginning of our journey in Christ. In the Church of today, however, salvation is all that has been preached, and there is little emphasis on what is demanded from the believer after the initial first step.

In the first day we must pass through the veil of the flesh of Christ and His blood in order to be born again. This gives us the ability to enter into the Kingdom of God. If you were to enter into a kingdom would you just set up camp at the entrance and explore no farther? The Kingdom of God is not solely about the salvation of the spirit. In the Kingdom of God there is a demand that desires the fullness of the process as it is pointed out in the book of I Peter.

I Peter 2:2
Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, (NIV)

It is vital that the Church begin to examine the fullness of salvation. From the world’s perspective all that is necessary to get into the kingdom is the mere recitation of a “salvation” prayer. This belief has been formulated because we have supported it by the majority of our own actions. We have fostered a generation that does not value discipleship because we have neither lived it in our own lives nor offered it to them. Beyond salvation the real meat of the journey in Christ is found and the chaff begins to be separated from the wheat. (Isaiah 40:24)

Being Filled With The Spirit

Acts 2:4
All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. (NIV)

Acts 9:17
..."Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit." (NIV)

Salvation is the entrance in to the Kingdom of God through the veil of the flesh of Christ Jesus. Once we recognize Christ as King we must receive His anointing and power which is found in the second day of our journey in Him. In the second day we are filled with the Holy Spirit and sup at the Feast of Pentecost. In this feast there is faith coupled with the Word, experience coupled with the logos, power coupled with confession and intimacy coupled with the marriage vows.

Being filled with the Spirit is the next logical step in our journey with Christ. The impartation of the Spirit was paramount to that which Christ had in store for us as He so boldly instructed those who witnessed His ascension.

Acts 1:8
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. (NIV)

The Feast of Pentecost is a wonderful place! Indeed, it is where the party is right now in the Church. This is the place of praise, anointing, laughter, deliverance, healing, works and so much more. A major problem is that this is still not the place of fulfillment the Father desires to bring His people to. Despite all of the good things in the second day there are still dynamics attached to this realm that must be purged out of the Church. In the second day there is a great mixture of opinion in man. There is often an emphasis on the “big” devil and the cosmic battle that occurs between him and Christ.

We operate in the power of the King of kings and continue to fear the future “anti-Christ” that will come to wage the “last great war.” Simultaneously, this is the place where there is so much joy and yet so much fear of what is yet to come. If you get comfortable or over confident in this day, you will die with a two thirds experience of that which God has made provision for concerning your life in Him. The party is great, no doubt, but there is still more to come.

The Throne Room

Psalm 46:4
There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High. (NIV)

The Third Day is the place of the Feast of Tabernacles. In this feast the mixture of man is not allowed to enter. Here you will only find the Father and His Son. We cannot bring our compromise into this wedding chamber of the Spirit. It is here that God must be acknowledged as Father in the beauty and fullness of His holiness. Here the striving to “do something for God” ends, and He, working through His people, begins. In the throne room there is only one seat, one opinion, one agenda--whatever the Father wills.

In the Feast of Tabernacles there is an amazing revelation that begins to manifest. Christ truly desires to take up residence in His people. He longs to tabernacle within His temples here on the earth. This can only be accomplished through total abandonment and surrender to the will of the Father in our lives. This is the place to which we have all been heading whether we have known it or not.

Colossians 1:27
To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (NIV)

The fulfillment of this powerful verse in Colossians is found behind the veil of the Third Day. The holiness of God is not designed to be some future event that can only be partaken of once we die and go to heaven. What would be the ultimate purpose of Christ being within us if we were only to go to heaven and serve no effective purpose here on the earth where people need Him most? The Church has become so convinced that we can never be the righteousness of Christ that there is no way we can possibly embrace being His representatives in the earth.

If you look at the floor of each day as represented by the Tabernacle of Moses it is easy to observe that dirt was the chosen element every time. This is not mere coincidence. The Father painted a picture of our effectiveness on the earth. He was showing us that all He has for us is meant to be experienced right here on the dirt of the earth. Everything from the salvation through the blood of Jesus to being baptized in the Spirit--even including the fullness of intimacy and relationship with the Father. Don’t put off as a future event what God is wanting to do in His people now.

The Kingdom Of God

The Kingdom has always been at the center of what Christ is wanting to do in the earth and in His people. We must cast off all of the “themes” that have served as distractions from His good and perfect will. Many of us have focused so much on the good things that God has to offer--healing, finances, miracles and beyond that we have forgotten His best. The best that God has is that all these things will be added to us as we are in hot pursuit of the kingdom, which we should have been running after all along.

Matthew 6:33
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (NIV)

Once we have gotten the message right, I believe with all of my heart that we will see an increase across the board of the supernatural manifestation of the Father within His people. We have all been wanting to be used by God in mighty ways, but it has seemed as if that day might never come. I want to encourage you today that we have never been as close to that which God has been wanting to accomplish! The keys have been revealed to us to unlock the divine potential hidden within each one of us until this time.

Luke 17:20
..."The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation,… (NIV)

The Kingdom of God does not ultimately come from having head knowledge about it. The kingdom must be manifest by the inner working of the experiential Christ who brings renovation both in our understanding and heart motives. The Pharisees attempted to understand what the Kingdom of God would look like based on their historical manuscripts and the word of the law. Christ chastised them for this attitude knowing that they were resisting the fulfillment of the kingdom that was standing before their very eyes.

We must be careful to avoid the mistake of the Pharisees. It is very easy for us to focus so much on that which is accomplished within the kingdom that we lose sight of the Christ who IS the kingdom. The kingdom cannot come through careful observation but by that which is revealed by the Spirit of the Lord. Once again, do not be enticed so much by what is in the hand of the Lord, rather be overtaken by what is in His face. In other words, look beyond what He can give; look to who He is. Take this revelation as your own, and you will see the Kingdom of God be made manifest in your life.

The Kingdom Has Already Been Given

Mark 4:11
He told them, "The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables (NIV)

Luke 9:27
I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God." (NIV)

Luke 17:21
…“the kingdom of God is within you." (NIV)

The Kingdom of God has already been given to His people. It is given by faith to those who believe. The idea of the kingdom must be realized as something that is already resident within us. Once this occurs, it is no great stretch of faith to step out into the dynamics of the kingdom and all the inheritance that the Father has to offer.

The secret of the kingdom has been told to us as a deposit that has been made on the inside of us. If Christ within truly is your hope of glory, then that same glory will be manifest within the Kingdom of God at its appointed time. The kingdom within you is the proof of Christ within you. The kingdom has been given to us as a gift. It has been given the same way as salvation, the baptism of the Spirit, prophecy and many others. It is given freely by God and is received in faith by His people. It is now time for us to unwrap the great gift that God has put in front of us and begin to share the contents of it with the Body of Christ and the world that is so in need.