The development of the internal kingdom: there is an internal kingdom and an external kingdom. The internal kingdom is the rule of God in Christ in our heart. The external kingdom is the demonstration and the product of the internal kingdom.

Until God brings us to the stature of the fullness of Christ, which is to say, to the full development of the internal kingdom, there will be no external kingdom through which the peoples of the earth can be blessed.

Perhaps the most intense focus of the Holy Spirit today, as far as the Christians are concerned, is that of replacing our self-will with the will of Jesus Christ. God permits Satan to put us in one sort of prison or another that our self-will might be destroyed and the will of God exalted in our life.

If we are to be the Kingdom of God, the perfect rule of Christ must be established in our heart.

The Kingdom of God is at hand: the internal kingdom is being perfected now as Christ is formed in us and dwells in us. The external kingdom will descend from Heaven when we are ready to appear with Jesus Christ.

Why it makes a practical difference whether we preach the Gospel of the Kingdom or the gospel of going to going to Heaven when we die: when people are taught that their goal is to escape Hell and go to Heaven when they die, and their ticket is Divine grace and their conduct is not a critical part of their salvation, and given the demonic pressure that is on us, what do you think is going to happen? You've got it. The result is going to be believers who are easily overcome by Satan.

The Gospel of the Kingdom is not like this. It goes to work every day, challenging us to take a step further into the Kingdom of God by gaining victory over worldliness, lust, and self-will. Entering the Kingdom of God is something we do now, not a hope concerning when we die.

If Satan were to scheme for many years, trying to think of a plan of salvation that ruined the work of God in people, he couldn't come up with a better system than what currently is being preached in Christian churches. It is totally unscriptural, a masterpiece of deception. It really is "another gospel."

The Kingdom of God and the saved nations: we cannot possibly understand the Bible, or what God is doing with His Church, until we realize the Church is His Kingdom that He is going to place on the earth. The Church is the dwelling place of the Father in Christ. Through the Church, God will bring peace and joy to the people He saves from destruction.

It really is "good news" for the peoples of the earth.

To be continued.