Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.

Matthew 13:44

The selling of everything can be perceived painful at times, it really can.  That is, in pursuit of this treasure of the Kingdom, which we have seen, while we are attempting to make it completely ours, there is that which is difficult and even hurtful, nearly to the point of death it can seem at times.  But, it is the nature of the Kingdom, however, that it is always worth the effort.

For the children of Israel in the desert, they complained that their trials were hard (Numbers 11:1).  Yet, what they couldn’t see was who the Lord was in their midst, and the wonderfulness of all of His great promises towards them (Hebrews 4:2).

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Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.  For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.  And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.

Isaiah 60:1-3

Revival and judgment often go hand in hand.  Jesus Himself said that the city of Jerusalem was judged and set for destruction, although the actual destruction took another 40 years from His pronouncement, simply because they missed the day of their visitation (Luke 19:44).  He, at the beginning, and notably in the midst of the greatest revival ever, announced judgement.

Judgment will come to America, and to the world.  It must.  There will be great revival, there will be great turning, but not all will turn.  Many, many will choose the darkness, and many, many will persecute, and turn others from the truth.

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He told them still another parable: The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough.

Matthew 13:33

It is no large observation to note that people do not usually fully understand all aspects of the Kingdom immediately at the time of salvation.  That which is planted grows, flourishes and multiplies, until greater and greater light is revealed within.  For, surely, the path of the righteous is like the growing dawn, it grows brighter and brighter until the full light of day (Proverbs 4:18).  So, the Spirit comes to reveal to us all truth, to be our counselor, and to help us.

Salvation is not an agreement with a doctrinal statement, but it is an introduction to a person, Jesus Christ.  It is meeting Him, and realizing that there is no other name under heaven whereby men might be saved, and that living with faith in this man, belief in who He is, is the doorway to Eternal Life.

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For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Romans 8:6

The life of the Spirit is life and peace.  The difference is whether you believe.

Living as the world lives, or as any false cult or religion, is always death.  It can only rely upon the basic principles and elementary principles of this world.  But the life of the Spirit of Christ transcends all the natural.

There is no natural law, no elementary principle, nor anything else of the created order to which a believer, ultimately, is subjected to.  Not even death.

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 Shout joyfully to God, all the earth;
Sing the glory of His name; Make His praise glorious.
Say to God, “How awesome are Your works!  Because of the greatness of Your power Your enemies will give feigned obedience to You.

Psalm 66:1-3 NASB

A shout of victory for the Lord our God.  The raising of the voice, the shattering of strongholds.

For, out of the mouth of infants, He has ordained strength, He has perfected praise.  For out of the mouths of babes and sucklings, out of those who could not lift up their own voice, He has shattered the stronghold of the enemies that were very great.

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That you may show yourselves to be blameless and guiltless, innocent and uncontaminated, children of God without blemish (faultless, unrebukable) in the midst of a crooked and wicked generation [spiritually perverted and perverse], among whom you are seen as bright lights (stars or beacons shining out clearly) in the [dark] world,

Philippians 2:15 AMP

Those who teach righteousness will show as stars in the heavens for all of time. Surely, even as Jesus said that the one who breaks the least command and teaches others to as well shall be the least in the kingdom, righteousness and justice truly are the foundation of His throne.

He is the Father of lights, and His children are children of light. As we walk in the light as He Is in the light, we have fellowship one with another.

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See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.

Colossians 2:8 NIV

You see, we are not of this world, if we will only believe.

This world consists of the things that can be seen, can be touched, can be handled.  Hence, Paul writes of the rules and restrictions of this earthly life that we are no longer subject to, calling them, “Do not handle!  Do not taste!  Do not touch!” (Colossians 2:21).  These are the ordinances of this life, and have no bearing on the life of a Christian, having no proper benefit to any man, ultimately.

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Clouds and thick darkness surround him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.

Psalm 97:2

The question of the ages, of the universe, and of the world, is that of righteousness.

When we approach what I like to call the million dollar question, why do born again believers not behave according to their new-creation nature, we have come to the very bedrock of the Christian faith, and also the most pressing issue of the universe, period.

The issue is righteousness.

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They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy [corrupt]: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

Psalm 14:3, emphasis added and edited

There is no one in this world that is righteous outside of Christ.  The quicker we see that this world is completely condemned, that there is not a single person who seeks the right outside of His Spirit, and hate it, the quicker we will realize that the only good we have is in Him.

They have all turned aside, and they have all become corrupt, of filthy.

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But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.

Galatians 6:14

The freedom from this life is the freedom from all of its desires, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.  Yet, this is not asceticism, or the simply turning away from the things of the world, as if to nothing, but it is turning to a greater thing, a thing of true worth, and a thing of lasting enjoyment.

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