Transcription
We're going to talk about the kingdom because nobody explains and really can can minister to us about the kingdom of God like Pastor Miles Monroe. Now, if you've written some amazing books, actually three of them, I think, or more. Yes. Uh, this is the first one here that we wrote, "Rediscovering the Kingdom."
Yeah. May I ask you, before I ask you any any question, why did God give you this tremendous truth? I mean, there were a whole lot of preachers out there that don't preach that.
Yeah, I think it's because of where he had me conceived, you know, what has a lot to do with it. Yeah. Uh, he also made sure that I was able to experience both sides of the human drama. And that is, I was born in a kingdom, 1954, and then we became independent as a nation, which means I also experienced democracy. And that unique experience prepared me to understand scripturally in an experiential way, yeah, what is the difference between a kingdom and a democracy.
Uh, Pastor Benny, one of the things that's very interesting is that most of our theologians that have produced a lot of our work were never born in a kingdom. So they don't have the experience of the biblical concepts of Kingdom. So much of our theology was written by people who never experienced Kingdom life. And the Bible is about a kingdom. Since ever since I've heard you, I have had to readjust my mentality about the Bible. 'Cause now when I read the Bible, I'm thinking King, kingdom. Yes. And boy, it just puts a new light on it. We got about 30,000 letters and emails in one week when people heard just a little bit about the kingdom. And most of those are from pastors. They are from people who are Bible teachers. And they say, you have caused us to go back and reexamine the Bible.
Could we talk about the concept of the Kingdom? What do you mean by that in your book? You know, in this book, yeah, I introduced a book talking about ideas because ideas control everything. Everything we see around us used to be an idea. The shirt that we wear used to be an idea in someone's mind. The shoes on our feet used to be an idea. These cameras used to be an idea. Uh, everything that we see, our houses used to be an idea. Ideas not only control the world, but the world is run by dead men's ideas. Wow. Oh, you, how right. Aristotle, Socrates, Plato, they created democracy as an idea. And so they ruled the world from their grave. Well, the concept that a person has determines how they see life. The Bible has a different concept. And what we've been preaching and teaching, for example, Kingdom concept is opposite to democracy concept. Uh, so if your concepts are wrong, your conclusions will be wrong. If your conclusions are wrong, your theology is okay.
Now, explain that. Explain the concept of a kingdom. Yes. A kingdom concept is the eye of God. Invented. God was the first king. Matter of fact, the Bible says he's the king of glory. Bible calls him the Ancient King, which means the oldest one that in existence. It, and he produced the idea when he first created the heavens and the earth. He's called the king of glory, which is an invisible country, Heaven. Wow. Then he wanted to extend his kingdom beyond heaven. So he created a physical universe. And he created the, the heavens and the earth so he could extend his kingdom. All kingdoms want to expand. And that's why Kingdom concept is so critical. God not only is the first king, but he produced children who he created to be kings over the earth. So he not only became a king through creation of invisible world, he became the king of kings, who are his kids. So we are kings over the physical realm of earth. He is our king. So he's the king of kings. So he established the first kingdom. And in this book, I talk about the concepts of kingdoms. And you'll find, uh, in this book, the concepts of 26 concepts of a kingdom, which we're going to talk about. Right. We're going to talk about that. The 26 concepts. Then in this book, I talk about the nine principles of a kingdom that makes those concepts work. And this is why the two books are so important together. This one deals with changing a person's mind to think like a kingdom, which is what you talked about earlier, that when you heard it, you have to change your thinking. For example, all kingdoms have kings. Kings are also automatically lords. They are Lord. All kingdoms must have a constitution. They must have laws. They must have what they call symbols. Every kingdom must have a, um, a code of ethics that people live by. Every kingdom must have a body of law that creates keys through which kingdoms work. So when Jesus says, "I will give you the keys of the kingdom," yeah, he wasn't talking about, you know, uh, like things we used to open doors, even though that's what the principles do. He was talking about authority to have access to government power. That's power. The laws of the kingdom. That is power. The concepts of a kingdom are critical. And there are 26 of them. I talk about in this book. I would recommend that when people read this book, they read it last chapter first. It's the only book I say read the last chapter first. Because in the last chapter, for example, I list the 26 concepts. Wow. That's wonderful. And to understand the Bible, you must understand the 26 concepts. For example, the first concept of a kingdom is.
Now, are you going to talk about this right right now about the concept?
I'm going to talk about two of them. Okay. Please. Like the kingdom concept of kings. A king is never voted into power. That's why he can't, can't vote Jesus out of power. A king's authority is in his birthright. You don't make Jesus king. That's right. He was born once. A king cannot be voted out of power. So whether we dislike or like Jesus, all the discussions about Jesus on the CNN network and all the other networks, they cannot touch him because his authority is not voted in. You can't vote him out. A king's word is law in his kingdom. Wow. Love it. That means the laws in the kingdom are not a product of Congress and Supreme Court and Senate. The mind of the king. Completely different. Thirdly, a king personally owns everything in his kingdom. That's a law. The president of the United States doesn't own the country. The prime minister of my country doesn't own the Bahamas. But in a kingdom, the concept is the king owns the country and the people and the animals and the ocean. He owns everything.
You know, can we on the program tomorrow talk about all of these concepts?
Absolutely. And on this one, I want to ask you some questions. First, I want to ask about God's priority. What is God's priority? That's probably one of the most important questions because we have been focusing on what I call the minor and we've been missing the major.
Well, how true. How right. Priority has to do with what's the most important thing on earth. And Jesus stated God's priorities. Listen, precious people, this is powerful. It's found in Matthew chapter 6. He began first of all by telling us what is not our priority, which we've made our priority. Our priority as humans is food, clothes, water, house, land, security, and self-actualization. Exactly. Which is what Maslow talks about. Every human being watching the program right now, they go to a job or they go to the farm, wherever they're watching this, to get food, water, clothes, covering, protection, security, and self-actualization. Jesus began his statement by condemning all of that. He says, "Why do you worry? Why do you make priority of food and clothes and land and and car and house?" He says, "That Father knows you need those things. They are not your priority." Then he says, "Only pagans prioritize those things." Then he says this: "But seek ye first." In other words, first means priority. Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all of these other things," he says, "will be added to your life." So God's priority is only two things. Spend the rest of your life seeking His kingdom. That means studying it, exploring it, pursuing it, trying to understand it, getting to know how it works. He says, "You do that with your life." And then he says, "Seek righteousness." Righteousness is not a religious word, Pastor Benny. It's from the courts of law. To be righteous means to be rightly positioned with an authority of government. So if you stop at a red light, you are being righteous because you are literally obeying the Lord to stay in line with the government. If you run a red light, that's an unrighteous act because you've broken relationship with the government. That's right. So he says, "Seek the government of God first and then seek to stay in line with the government." Do those two things. Don't sin. Don't break the law. Don't violate the covenants. Stay in line with the government. Stay positioned properly. And everything you need will be added to your life. That's the most powerful message of Jesus Christ. That's why his first announcement was, "Change your thinking. The Kingdom of Heaven has returned to Earth."
So how do people seek the kingdom?
Exactly what I said. Number one, they got to get to the king. Absolutely. I said, because the center of a kingdom is a person, not an organization. Hear that. This is the key right here. A king is the source of a kingdom. It comes out of his very own birthright. Wow. So you could first seek the king. That's why Christ says, "If you come unto me," that's right, "then you'll know the kingdom of God." One time he told disciples, he says, "The kingdom of God is with you." That means he was with them. He said, "But it shall be in you later." That's right. Why? "I'm going to take the spirit of the governor of the kingdom and put him in you later." Jesus on the day of Pentecost, he breathed on them. They literally received the kingdom because the kingdom is a person first, then it is lived out in administration.
I would like you to define the kingdom to someone who may have never heard and understood it. And by the way, precious, be ho, it's lovely here. It's raining a little bit, so we're we're getting splashed and are loving it. Just hope it doesn't mess my hair.
All care. No, it won't. What is a kingdom?
I love this. First of all, define a kingdom. First, let me tell you what it is not. Please. A kingdom is not a democracy. It is not a religion. And it is not a, a republic. A kingdom is a governing influence of a king over his territory, impacting it with his will, his purpose, and his intent, producing a citizenry of people who express his culture and reflect his nature.
Wait, wait, wait, wait. One more time. This is too heavy. This is powerful and wealthy. One more time. Listen carefully. This is awesome. Really. First, a kingdom is not a religion. I got to say that because we have reduced the Bible to a religion. Exactly. A kingdom is not a religion. Secondly, it's not democracy. So if you're born in the Western world, when you pick up the Bible, the Bible is in danger because you are going to superimpose your cultural experiences on the book. And the book is not a democracy. Secondly, it is not a republic. That means there's no president in a kingdom. You, you don't vote a president. The power. A kingdom is, and I was born in one, a kingdom is the governing influence of a king over his territory, impacting it with his will. My God. His purpose. And his intention. Listen. Producing in. That's right. And purpose and intention. In other words, a kingdom is affected by the mind of the king, not legislation of a group of people. That's why Jesus said, "Thy will be done. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done." A kingdom is impacted by the personal will of the king. What the king desires. What the king manifests. Kingdom manifest. It produces a citizenry. That means people who reflect the culture of the king and manifest the nature of the king.
Now, I want to talk to you about that very important nature. Yes. Are you telling me that God Almighty wants his nature in each one of us manifest? The word nature is the word kabod in Hebrew. Same word is glory. Hey, I didn't know that. I did not know that, Miles. Really. You see this, this little flower here? It's an interesting flower. Uh, if you, if you get another one of these, you might find a bird somewhere. Let me see if I can find it. It's all right. I'm going to take this apart. If you, if this flower was a bud, it would be a green hard boil, right? But this flower would be inside that ball. Would you agree? Absolutely. So the real glory of that, that bulb, the the bud, would be the flower open. So this is the glory. Glory means the full expression of a thing. It means the weight, the full weight of something. Kabod. So God wants to fill the earth with his full nature. The glory of God was put in Adam. Image means nature. Adam lost that nature when he disobeyed God. So the glory has been smothered by our rebellion. That's why all of the planet is waiting for the glory of the manifestation of the sons of God. The plant knew what Adam used to look like. This. The animals are weeping. They're saying, "Why can't we see the true nature of God?" Because the nature of God was covered up by the sin of man. That's why Jesus said, "I came to reveal the glory of God." And then he says, "May the earth be filled with the glory, the nature of God." People need to look at us and see what heaven is like just by our lifestyle, our attitudes, our cultural response, our disposition.
Now, culture. You said culture. That even the culture of God. Talk about that.
This is amazing. You know, you can. To that. Let me get to this, this other book, because that's what it's all about. Please. I want to hear this. Religion produces a system. A kingdom produces a culture. Say that again. A religion produces a system that people try to follow, a list of rules. That's the problem right now. The kingdom produces a culture. That means a lifestyle that is natural. That's why God really hates the laws written on tablets. He says, "I don't want you to be following a list of laws. I want to write them on your mind and in your heart so they become a natural lifestyle." See, we're supposed to love one another because it's our culture, not because He told us. Boy, we're supposed to forgive our enemies, not because we are under guilt, but because it's our culture. In other words, in our kingdom, it's our culture to love our enemies. It's just what we do. It's our culture to give. If we've got to force people to give to this ministry, they are still religious. But if they are in the culture of heaven and they are part of the kingdom of God citizenship, and they see that you, as an ambassador, represent their country, Heaven, taking the good news of the kingdom around the world, then giving to you becomes a cultural act, not a forced act. That's why giving is such a pressure, such a depression in local church because it's a religion. Giving is supposed to be natural.
So you're saying religion is bondage?
Absolutely. Listen, the number one opposition of Jesus Christ on earth was never sinners. That's right. It was religious people. I rest my case. Yeah. He never wooed or rebuked or damned any sinner, but he wooed and damned religious people. Why? Let me read a scripture for you. He said in Matthew chapter 20, "You Pharisees and scribes, you lock the kingdom up in men's faces. You will not enter, neither would you allow those who want to enter to enter." Let me quote that again. He was talking to religious leaders. He said, "You Pharisees and teachers of the law, you lock the kingdom up in men's faces." That means you don't want to talk about it. He says, "Then you don't want to enter it. Then he says, you are also preventing those who want to enter to enter." How? By giving them religion. Religion is the greatest opposition to the kingdom. It's the greatest threat to the kingdom because religion attempts to substitute itself for the kingdom of God. Therefore, religion is not of God. Religion. God was never religious. Jesus Christ was not a religious man.
So it's satanic, you're saying?
Well, you know, you got to conclude that just by what you're thinking. You see, anything that keeps you out of the kingdom of God is anti-God. Jesus never joined a religious group. He never became a part of Sanhedrin council. And when they even arrested him and put him before Sanhedrin council, he never answered. The word why? That was a religious trial. He's not a religious man. He didn't speak until he went before Pilate because now he's talking to a kingdom.
Wait, wait, wait. Say that again. Spoke before Pilate, but but not before the. When they arrested him, the religious leaders arrested Jesus. Yeah. They put him on trial that night. Correct. He didn't answer them. Why? That's right. Wrong courtroom. He's a king. He's not a priest. He's not a religious leader. Though he went before the, the, the kingdom. And then he could now talk. Oh, my Lord. So when Pilate asked him, "Are you a king?" Brother, I got to stand up and give him praise here. But so ask, ask him a question, Benny. He says, "Are you a king?" She says, "I can talk now." He says, "Who, who, whoa." He says, "Not only am I a king, for this reason was I born." He says, "And he says, my kingdom didn't come from the earth. It came to the earth, but it's not from the earth." It's interesting that the high priest Caiaphas had to adjure him by God, "Speak," and only then did he answer him. Absolutely. While the whole time he was quiet. It was the wrong courtroom. Pilate talks to him. Let me tell you something that may amaze you. That is really amazing. Jesus said he couldn't find great faith nowhere in Israel. Do you know where he found it? With a kingdom man. A centurion. That's right. That's so. Who said, "Lord, speak the word." Right. He was a Roman. That's right. Why? He was thinking kingdom. See, in a religion, you got to appease your gods by giving them gifts. Man, this. In a kingdom, you demand things because you are a members. Members work on emotions. Citizens work on rights. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Say it again. Members, they get things done through emotional fetishes. That's why we cry, we pray to God, or please God, and we never get answers. A citizen doesn't cry before a court or before a judge. They make demands based on a constitution. So when you, so when a soldier spoke to Jesus, he was, he was dealing with constitutional power. So Jesus says, "I've never seen anyone who understood the kingdom like this man, not even in Israel." Because they keep long prayers, begging, much speaking. He said, "This man just simply said, 'Look, if you're a king, your word is law. If you speak it, it becomes law. My servant will be healed.'" Christ said, "This is kingdom thinking." I cannot contain myself. I'm sorry. I'm trying to. Let me give you one more point. Just bless me. There's no such. I can't handle anymore. I love you too. We got to get this right, Pastor. Please say it. There's no such thing as being a man, member of a nation. You're right. You can only be a member of a religion. That's so true. You can be a citizen of a country. See, you can dismember someone, but you can't thecitizen them. All right. That's why the Bible says, "Our citizenship is in heaven." In heaven. Exactly. A king doesn't have members of his country. He has citizens of his country. We got to talk more about this tomorrow. And the concepts of the kingdom. We're almost out of time. Oh, oh, Jesus. We give you. Can you believe what you just heard here? I mean, you're saying basically church membership doesn't exist in the Bible? It doesn't exist. When Paul refers, Jesus never used the word member. Never. I mean, when Paul was using an allegory, he said, "We are a part of a community, just like the body is a part of the body." So when, when, when somebody says, "Well, how many members do you have in your church?" And that's a serious question. Yeah. Exactly. Because it's an illegal question. You never say to anyone, "How, how many citizens do you have in your organization?" My God. Because citizens who don't belong to a pastor, they belong to a government. Listen, we're stirring people up, I'm sure already, and causing to question, but this is powerful, and it's in the Bible. I mean, Jesus never spoke about members. Absolutely. And this is why for those who are watching us today, the reason why their prayers are not being answered, even getting healed, is because they believe if they get emotional enough, God will feel sorry for them. But you don't get healed because God feels sorry for you. You get healed because that woman who went before the judge. Talk about this tomorrow. Because about members get emotional. I, I love it. I have never heard that before. Now, all right, listen. These two. Tell me about all these incredible books you have. This is the first one. Everybody should get it. It's called "Rediscovering Kingdom." Okay. Great. This one teaches you about the 26 concepts of a kingdom. Everyone should read this book to re, to reconnect to a kingdom mindset.