This week we will complete our study of Pergamos that dwelt “where Satan’s throne is” and seemed to open the church to the biggest gates of hell. We study this to apply the lessons to our own lives and times. How has the church responded recently when they went from being persecuted to being respected? How would we personally respond if marginalized at work for being a Christian but then suddenly the head of the company gets converted and we are instantly promoted? We need to see these lessons on all levels.

This passage states that if we are seeking His kingdom we will not be anxious for tomorrow. If we are anxious it is because we have been distracted from seeking His kingdom.

“There are more instances of the abridgement of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.”

James Madison

        When I first moved to Charlotte, North Carolina in 1988, I received a word from the Lord that Amway, a family-owned international corporation, understood some things about the kingdom that the church did not, but needed to. I immediately determined to find out what Amway knew about the kingdom that the church did not. I still consider these two of the most important principles of the kingdom I have ever learned. This week, we will discuss the first principle.

We are now over two weeks into a visitation of God at Heritage. The power for healing and miracles and the manifest presence of the Lord is not abating, but seems to be still increasing. Deaf ears are being opened, paralyzed limbs are being restored, a woman who was legally blind and could only see people as forms while wearing her glasses, is now able to see people’s faces clearly without glasses. People are getting healed and do not even know it until they get home. Many of those web-streaming the meetings are experiencing the same presence and power of God at home.

         My studies and experience in the body of Christ for the last forty plus years indicate to me that the church today is less than 10% of what God called it to be. This is very encouraging to me because of the incredible upside. Even in its present state, the church is overall the most powerful entity in the world today, by far. What will it be like when we become 20% of what we are called to be? How about 30% or 100%?

One factor that always comes into play when the light of the church grows brighter is that those living in darkness become more threatened by it because they love the darkness more than the light. For this reason, they will attack those who walk in the light. Therefore, Christians must always be prepared for persecution, and those who are not prepared for it are not prepared for the times. How do we prepare for this?

Previously, we began to address the question of why it seems that every host of a great revival gets left in worse shape than before the revival. The answer to that question will give us many important answers that could bring a huge influx of life into the church, as well as enable the church to sustain a level of life and power that could make revivals obsolete and unnecessary. Why is this? Revival is only required when something has to be revived.

In this study of how the church will possess its Promised Land, we are taking a bit of time to examine government, because the kingdom of God is basically and first of all the government of God. Just as many conquerors in history discovered, and just as the U.S. has discovered in Iraq, it can be an easy thing to conquer a land, but an entirely different matter to govern it. As we are coming to the time when we will be possessing and inheriting the kingdom, there are practical issues concerning government in the kingdom that we need to understand.