For the clergy to organize themselves with one rank over another until they are finally headed up by a president is a manifestation of the antichrist spirit, regardless of how wonderful and necessary it may seem. It is nothing but human reasoning taking the place of the Word.

William M. Branham, “A Resume of the Ages”, An Exposition of the Seven Church Ages

Did you know that you can have all the form of “Church”, and not have God?

Let’s take a little walk down history lane.  1 Kings 18 shows a good “church service”.  Two of them, in fact.  Two churches, on the same hill-top, eaching having services.  One service was the first church of the Baal prophets, complete with altar, worship service, sacrifice, and even wood.  I hear they sat somewhere near 850 faithful, plus the general congregation.  The second, was the much smaller one.  It wasn’t nearly as fancy.  In fact, I hear it was all wet.  But, they too, had their altar, their wood, their sacrifice.  And, they only had one minister, instead of the hundreds.  But, they seemed happy, so why not let them be?

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Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.  “He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.

John 14:23-24

What are the teachings of Jesus?  What are the lessons that He gave us?

Have you ever stopped to consider the parables?  Do you know what they mean?

Christianity today has done a good job with the main parts.  Jesus is the Way, there is no other.  No one comes to the Father, but by Him…   But, what of the rest?

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[A]s He is, so also are we in this world.

1 John 4:17 (portion)

The Kingdom is like yeast that fills a whole lump.  The Kingdom is like a seed, which grows to an entire tree.

No where in scripture is the Kingdom ever depicted as incomplete, nor as coming in multiple installments or dispensations.  In fact, from the parables of Jesus, the entirety of the Kingdom is completely contained in its inception, just as with a seed, or with a bit of yeast.

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He who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought.

1 Corinthians 8:2 (paraphrase)

The most interesting thing about the gospel is that, you could have all the words right, you could say all the right things, have all the right demeanor and mannerism, you could know when to shout and how to dance, but you could be just as much of a devil as Judas was.  That’s right.  It’s what’s on the inside that counts.

You don’t have what it takes.  You never have, and you never will.  If you can do it, it isn’t God, and it needs to die.

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An entire oak tree is contained well within a tight, easy to carry package.  It has it’s own leathery cover, and even a handy carrying cup attached to the top.  You could, in fact, carry a hundred complete oak trees just in your pants pockets alone (assuming you’ve got big pockets).  The only thing you need to add, in order to convert your easy to transport oak tree into an immovable pillar is some sunshine, a plot of dirt, some water, and a hundred years or so!

The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed, that when planted, it is the smallest of seeds, but when it grows, it becomes the largest of all garden plants, and the birds of the air make their nest in it.

Matthew 13:31-32

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If you would see the Kingdom, you must be born again.  If you would enter into His life, His Word of life must come into you as a seed and begin to grow.

Everything starts small.  It starts obscure.  We do not despise the smallness, but we understand that everything which is planted, in its full time, grows to maturity.

From the yeast beginning with just a small bit for the entire dough, to the mustard seed which would grow, the life of the Spirit must begin very small, yet grow to its size.

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The Kingdom of Heaven is the eternal reign and realm of God.  It is not God, yet is inseparable from Him and His attributes.  It is the perfect picture of government, as we understand such, in that it is perfectly just and righteous, perfectly merciful, humble, and powerful.  Indeed all true human government derives itself from it.

We must not confuse the Kingdom with the church.  The church is related to the Kingdom, and the Kingdom is related to the church, but we must not look at the outward expression of what we know as “church” and equate it with the Kingdom.

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