The Kingdom and You: Sermon. May 1 & 2, 2010

One tangible political manifestation of the Kingdom of God in conflict with the Kingdom of the God's Enemy was the fall of Communism in Soviet Union. In the Soviet Union all aspects of life were controlled, most freedoms concerning free speech were prohibited; from religion to pornography. My father raised as a baby boomer was taught to fear the Soviets, yet when Communism fell, he was one of the first U.S. pastors in the country to freely preach the Gospel of Jesus (a Gospel of hope and freedom). He decided to "love his neighbor" Mathew 22:38-40 buys a plane ticket and does the uncomfortable. Going to the USSR was an impression in his heart that he could have chosen to ignore, but he didn't. The Fall of Communism was more that a political shift of power, it was a shift in the powers that we don't see. As soon as the soviet oppression was lifted and there was relative freedom, a small window that people could see hope through. The Gospel pored into the USSR through evangelical/charismatic pastors, missionaries and aid workers (the Russian orphans were starving at that time). But the children of God weren't the only ones busy; drugs, pornography, the occult, and organized crime also pored into the void. It was a classic example of what Pastor has been talking about, a "kingdom clash".
Pastor is in Russia right now, invited to witness a special ceremony.

One of the young Russian pastors he discipled and that we financially supported was honored with the position of Head Bishop of all the Charismatic/Pentecostal churches in Russia.
Eduard Grabovenko wanted to make sure that our Pastor was there!


The first miracle in the book of Mark was casting out of a evil spirit. Jesus begins to teach in the synagogue. His first sermon was interrupted by a demon possessed man.

"Have you come to destroy US? We didn’t expect you so soon, it’s not fair."

Exorcism was not new. The Rabbis did it too. Took forever, cost money, and they had to know the secret  word.  Jesus was quit and to the point. He was the secret word!!! Come on!!! This is why Mathew used Kingdom of Heaven for his Jewish audience

-Jesus choking the devil is the active word, word and deed. Or actually the word is the deed!

The Word: Rhema and Logos.  And your Heart

The Lord's utterance/saying remains forever” (1 Peter 1:25). Rhema "saying" in this context bears a different meaning than Logos "word".

Rhema: Some Pentecostal Christians view Rhema as the voice of the Holy Spirit as he speaks to the believer at the present moment. In this sense, the Christian should be guided by the Holy Spirit as he/she is guided through inner feelings, impressions, dreams, visions, and signs. God's Rhema, the direct words of God to the individual, can also be imparted through the words of others, such as a preacher in a worship service, or a friend who counsels them. In this sense, God's direct guidance can be determined by a variety of means. The test of the authenticity of a Rhema from God is simple... How does it compare to the whole of Scripture? Orthodoxy says that God will not speak a word that contradicts His written word, the Scriptures, so there is a built-in safeguard to prevent misinterpretation. Wikipedia


Parable of the sower. If you don't understand the seed it gets eaten. Keep as a concept and not put into practice. It's not removed from your mind, but from your heart. We live at a high level of theory but a low level of experience.
If I have "heard" gonna change the way I live.
Birds are Demons.

The Parable of the Sower is not just a salvation parable, it is a primary Kingdom parable, meaning that God's word or his seeds are still being sown in us believers. How is our soil? How is our heart. If God's word is sown in fertile soil the bird can't get to it and their are no weeds.

Heart has to be humble.
Take of what you have and serve, it will sink your your seed deeper and the birds can't get it.