There are 45,000 denominations of Christianity as of today. They predict by 2050 there will be 64,000. Friends, this is a sad sign of a fractured church. And to give you perspective, in the year 1800 there were 500 denominations.

Which one of these churches are the true Kingdom of God church? If you have listened to me any length of time, you know where I am heading right now…to the words of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

He alone is our Source and our faithful Foundation. If we want to know the Truth we must know Jesus.

“You have elevated your tradition above the words of God.

(Then quoting from Isaiah 29) These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. They worship Me in vain, their teachings are merely human rules.”

Then Jesus turned to the people and said,

“Come, Listen and Open your heart to understand…”

Matthew 15:6-10

God’s Kingdom has come. It is living and flourishing on earth. To be operating in the Kingdom of God is to understand the gift of Jesus Christ. He brought us back to the heart of the Father. We can now know the mind of Christ and the LOVE of the Father through the Holy Spirit. The church is the gathering of the Kingdom on earth and we respond to Jesus above all else. The true Kingdom church has the inward fire of relationship with Jesus always burning.

Jesus is calling us, “Come to Me. Listen to My words. Open your heart to understand.”

So, which denomination looks like this?

Before we gathered as a church for the first time in the upper room in Acts 1:14, Jesus gave us the answer in Matthew, chapter 25. In the parables and teachings of this chapter, He leads us to the Truth of who we are.

#1 Jesus teaches us that the Kingdom of God can be compared to ten maidens with individual oil lamps. The ten maidens are representative of believers on earth, living natural lives as Christians. (Please read Matthew 25:1-13).

Five were ready and waiting for the bridegroom, Jesus, to return. They were expectant. Their lives were filled with His precious gift of the Holy Spirit. They were acquainted with His navigation in every area of their lives.

Five were nominal (in name only) Christians and unprepared. The Truth that Jesus spoke didn’t motivate them. They took lightly His gift of the Holy Spirit and followed their own voice. They possessed a lamp of outward faith, but had no inward fire of relationship.

When the time came for the Bridegroom to call, five responded to Him immediately and joined Him. The other five were in the dark. That is where they stayed…

It is a sobering parable. It is not a story representing the believers and the unbelievers. These are two groups of Christians. The message Jesus has for us now is this:

Position yourself in daily expectation. Every word He spoke will come to pass.

Value His precious gift of the Holy Spirit. Let Him navigate every area of your life.

Focus your heart on the King. Focus on His perspective, His purpose, His movement, and His mind. Have the heart of the Shepherd in the center of your radar.

Where He goes, you go. When He rests, you rest. When He speaks, you listen. When He calls, you run to Him. Encountering Him in every season is your purpose.

#2 Then, in Matthew chapter 25, Jesus teaches the parable of the talents. (Please read Matthew 25:14-30)

This is a parable about several servants being given individual treasures by a King. They could manage the financial treasure-gift any way they wanted. The first two doubled the treasure by investing it. The third received it, never used it, and hid it away for fear of losing it.

Jesus has given you and I the greatest treasure ever given to humanity. It is access to an intimate, personal relationship with God as Beloved Father. The question to every believer is, “What did you do with it?”

His heart is your treasure. Your heart is His treasure.

When we invest time in prayer, we invest the treasure of personal relationship with the Creator of all that is seen and unseen. Every moment spent under His counsel increases our intimacy with Him.

#3 Finally, in Chapter 25, we find Jesus’ final teaching before the account of His crucifixion and resurrection. He answers our question, “Which denomination is the true Kingdom Church?” :

“When the Son of Man (Jesus Christ) appears in His majestic glory, with all His angels by His side, He will take His seat on His throne of splendor, and all the nations will be gathered together before Him.

And like a shepherd who separates the sheep from the goats, He will separate all the people. The ‘sheep’ He will put on His right side and the ‘goats’ on His left.

Then the King will turn to those on His right and say, ‘You have a special place in My Father’s heart. Come and experience the full inheritance of the Kingdom Realm that has been destined for you from the foundation of the world!

For when you saw Me hungry, you fed Me. When you found Me thirsty, you gave Me something to drink. When I had no place to stay, you invited Me in, and when I was poorly clothed, you covered Me. When I was sick, you tenderly cared for Me, and when I was in prison you visited Me…

When you cared for one of the least important of these My little ones, my true brothers and sisters, you demonstrated love for Me. ‘ ”

Matthew 25: 31-36,40

The denomination Jesus calls the true Kingdom church is called…”His Sheep”. It is not a building, it is a heart posture inside an individual. There are possible “sheep” in every named Christian denomination on earth.

His Sheep are fully attuned to the King Shepherd. His Sheep have an open heart to intimate, personal relationship. So much so, they “see” Him in all humanity because Jesus’ heart is toward every man and woman. His Sheep are responsive to His heart.

Note:

Jesus did not mention,

Groups of more esteemed sheep…

“Types” of sheep or “subdivisions” of sheep…

Certain sheep having more favor because of historical or traditional continuity…

Sheep being rewarded for keeping bad sheep out of their pens…

More “intellectually superior” sheep…

A certain branded sheep accepted because they were born to be pre-destined for God’s favor…

Sheep wearing bands of approval because of miracles and other sheep recognized for following them…

Jesus clearly said in John 10:27, “My sheep hear My voice and I know them, and they follow Me.”

Goats follow themselves.

We let His Word pierce our hearts with light.

“Open your heart and consider My words.

Watch out that you do not mistake your opinions for revelation-light.

If your SPIRIT burns with light (the five maidens responsive and filled with the light of relationship) fully illuminated with no trace of darkness, you will be a shining lamp, reflecting rays of truth by the way you live.”

Luke 11: 35-36 TPT

The original blueprint of a church that changed the world is found in Acts 2:42. “They devoted themselves to the Word (Jesus’ teachings passed on by His followers), to fellowship with one another, to the breaking of bread together, and to prayer.”

The Holy Spirit teaches through the letter of Paul to the Thessalonians:

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (NKJV)

“Let joy be your continual feast. Make your life a prayer. And in the midst of everything be always giving thanks, for this is God’s perfect plan for you in Christ Jesus.” (TPT)

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

The perfect will of God. Read that again.

The true church of God’s Kingdom is knowing Jesus and knowing the Father-the One who is all Light and Love and Life and Truth. It is the gathering of hearts on earth who have individually positioned themselves under the KING’S heart. His church is a place of rest, inside perfect love, through the knowledge of Jesus Christ. His church moves in the freedom of the Holy Spirit who has released us and continues to release us from spiritual ignorance (darkness). Kingdom church is positioning ourselves daily, individually and as a community, right in the middle of our God.

Our lifestyle is communion with Jesus and prayer.

Prayer releases denominational divisions as we cry out together as one, “Our Father!”

The Jewel of Jesus

The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all that he had and bought that field.

Matthew 13:44 NIV

The priceless “treasure” found in the parable of Matthew 13:44 is one-on-one prayer with our loving God… anytime, anywhere. And Matthew 6: 9-13 is the JEWEL of prayer.

Jesus teaches us to “go into your innermost chamber and be alone with Father God, praying to Him in secret” (Matthew 6:9). The innermost part of your being is your heart….your soul. He teaches us our position of prayer is relational, sincere, and humble.

The Aramaic word for prayer that Jesus used when He taught His listeners was “Slatha” and the root of that word means to “capture”. We must be still and open as we “capture” His Presence in prayer. We “capture” His goodness, His thoughts, His Counsel.

It is a beautiful study to look at the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6: 9-13) in Aramaic. Jesus spoke Aramaic to the people. They translated His words to Greek because, like English is today, it was the universal language. Then they translated it to Latin and finally English. When there is an incomplete translation, we can get the wrong impression of God.

“Our Father” (Matthew 6:9) in Aramaic means Our Beloved, our Perfect Parent who cares so well for us, our Source of Life. When we say “our” we instantly become equal brothers and sisters in perfect unity. There is no higher one who can look down on another. We are bowing before Him at the same level. Jesus is positioning us in prayer…under our loving Father. You are a beloved child. Rest. Sit in your beautiful identity. Humility is rest.

“Who art in Heaven” (Matthew 6:9) makes it seem like God is so far from us separated by space and time in another world. The original language does not mean this. The Aramaic could be translated like this: “God, Who dwells within and beyond all things in the realm of Light from which all life flows.” We position ourselves under the ever-present God. He is the Creator of all that is seen and unseen. Where there is Light and Life, God is working.

Everything Jesus taught about the Kingdom of God during His time on earth is in the “Our Father” prayer. I am confident every one of those 45,000 denominations know His prayer, but not all have discovered the lamp burning within it. Jesus is adjusting us for relationship with the Father. He is showing us how to attune to the reality of God’s Kingdom on earth. It can be repeated word for word, but more than that, it is a structure to enter in and be aligned to the will of God.

“Hallowed be Thy Name” (Matthew 6:9) reminds us where we live as a beloved child of God, under His Holy Name. The Passion Translation (TPT) translates the Aramaic like this: “May Your Name be the center on which our lives turn” (Matthew 6:9 TPT). God’s name is His bond. His name is His promise over you. His name and His words are inseparable and unbreakable.

The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous run into it and they are safe.

Proverbs 18:10

We are covered and protected with His powerful name. So much so, we are called by His name-children inherit the name of the Father. His name is our sacred dwelling place. We adjust our lives, and everything crazy in them, under the safety of His name and away from the burden of our own name. The purpose of our lives is to let everyone see that He covers us with His name.

“Thy Kingdom Come” (Matthew 6:10) comes alive when we learn that “Kingdom” in Aramaic means “God’s Counsel”; God’s ways of doing and being right.

Let your Way, your Life, your Truth, come and take over today! His Kingdom has come! Jesus has taught us God’s way of love, His justice, and His peace (authority). His wholeness (righteousness) has arrived through the cross and resurrection of the Son.

His counsel has broken into this present reality! Our part is to position ourselves under the mighty Counsellor. You can also pray it like this, “Let Your Kingdom be seen, let it be known!”

The Kingdom of God was always present with the people of God but they didn’t experience it. Jesus brought us the experience! That just makes me want to shout!

Through Jesus, we have a personal relationship with God and His Kingdom.

Through Jesus, we can see (the eyes of your heart are open to Him) the dynamics and the principles of God’s present Kingdom reality. “Thy Kingdom Come” is “now we have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16) ! Our posture in this prayer is to be present to God’s “possible”!

Remember when Jesus said, “The Kingdom of God is expanding within some of you now” (Luke 17:21 TPT)? He is teaching us in this prayer to position ourselves under all of God’s counsel on Kingdom Truth… And you will experience the Kingdom of God.

Some of those Kingdom truths are:

You are cleansed by the blood of Jesus, not the law. You are forgiven.

You have a peaceful and loving relationship with the Creator of the Universe. He calls you “beloved child” and you call Him “beloved Father”. You are accepted.

You are translated from darkness to light, a new creation in Christ.

You can hold in your heart wisdom and spiritual understanding. You are joined in life-union with Jesus. Rest.

The long awaited Messiah lives inside of you. He knows your triumphs and difficulties. You hear His voice.

The same Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead has taken residence inside of you bringing life and salvation to every part of you. LIFE. LIFE. LIFE indwells you!

We are lights in this world, right now. Jesus promised you darkness will never overcome that light. You are safe.

His words fill us…there is no empty place they cannot fill.

Jesus never leaves you and His own personal joy is yours.

And so much more!

HIS KINGDOM HAS COME!

Join us for next session where we will continue to study the Lord’s Prayer with deeper insight into its ability to position us under the pure LIGHT of His Fatherhood, His perfect will for our lives, His mighty Name, His counsel, and unity as a family of God.

Always honored to have you listen,

Pastor Teresa

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