Seek first the Kingdom of God, and his Righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.

Matthew 6:33

The Kingdom is invisible, in the heavens (John 3:3).  It is the unseen dominion, greater and more sufficient than the natural, which, from its excess, overflows into what we can see.

What we can see, feel, and experience is not the Spirit.  What we can see is not the Kingdom.  What we touch with the soul and body is but our response to God.

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Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Hebrews 11:1

Faith in God is a real, active, and living thing.  God is alive, and powerful.  Faith sees Him, and the word of His power overcomes what cannot be otherwise overcome, and carries a person with it through otherwise impossible situations.

It was by faith in God that David conquered the giant, and it was by faith in God that Jonathan, his friend, along with his armor bearer, single-handedly took on an entire Philistine garrison.  It was by faith that overcame their weaknesses and came to be firmly established in the land.

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Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart.

1 Peter 1:22

But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith (1 Timothy 1:5).  This is what we are aiming for.

We are called to love.  The verse at the beginning indicates our problem.  We cannot love without God (1 John 4:7).  Why?  Because our souls are corrupt without Christ.

We are called to love from a pure heart, because it is only out of pure, sincere motives, that we can truly open up and be open to others, without being hurt.  It is in the place of His perfect love, with no fear, that we are able to truly be brothers.  This is the mark of the authentic gospel.

And, this cannot happen without sincere, gospel faith.  It simply can’t.  When you walk by the Spirit you do not gratify the desires of the sinful nature (Galatians 5:16).  It is by faith that we come to know and believe in God’s great love for us (1 John 4:16).  It is in the secret place of Him that we are able to live.

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If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple

Luke 14:26

Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  Heaven and Earth will pass away before any one of His words passes away.  Many people would like to interpret this passage into obscurity, equating it with similar, albeit, related scriptures, such as this one.

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Give yourself to the Master.  Unreservedly.  Whole-heartedly.  He is a treasure worth buying.  He is a pearl worth selling all for.

Absolute bondage to the Spirit is absolute freedom from sin.  Self seeking, self promotion, and selfish ambition are slavery, and provide for nothing.

Until you are willing to die, you will never live.  Until your life ends, you life, not Him.  Unless you hate your life, you are NOT His disciple.  Luke 14:26.

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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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The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light.  But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

Matthew 6:22-23

The eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye is clear, your whole body also is full of light; but when it is bad, your body also is full of darkness. Then watch out that the light in you is not darkness. If therefore your whole body is full of light, with no dark part in it, it will be wholly illumined, as when the lamp illumines you with its rays.

Luke 11:34-36

The teaching of the Kingdom is a simple thing.  It is, actually, the smallest of all seeds, even though it produces the biggest plant.

You could put a whole lot of effort into studying the teachings of Jesus, and cataloging them, and indeed, many have, and many of these works have been profitable.  However, whether they are understood and lived is an entirely different matter.

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