The King and the Kingdom IX

Sunday 10/18/15

Series: The King and the Kingdom IX

Message – The Millennial Kingdom II

Last week we ended with…

We were reading through and commenting on the promises God has made to the Patriarchs and the nation of Israel through the prophets throughout scripture. We ended in Revelation 19 which speaks of the triumphant return of Christ at His second coming to establish His millennial kingdom here on earth with His saints!

2Thess. 2:1-12,

(1) “Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you,

(2) not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come.

(3) Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,

(4) who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

(5) Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?

(6) And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time.

(7) For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.

(8) And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.

(9) The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders,

(10) and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

(11) And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie,

(12) that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”

Summarized conditions of His return…

The great apostasy
Man of sin (antichrist) is unveiled (discovered to the church and perhaps the entire world)
The début of the antichrist is one of the things that is being waited for – vs.6
The mystery of lawlessness is already at work and it appears that the antichrist will not be revealed until the Spirit’s ministry to the church in the time of the gentiles is at an end.
1. Some see this as the end of a dispensation: “The special presence of the Spirit as the indweller of saints will terminate abruptly at the parousia as it began abruptly at Pentecost. Once the body of Christ has been caught away to heaven, the Spirit’s ministry will revert back to what he did for believers during the Old Testament period.”
The lawless one having been revealed – will come with all of satan’s works and authority in power, attesting signs and lying wonders and unrighteous deception among those who perish because they did not receive the love of truth.
God gives them over (Rom. 1) to believe the lie, so they will be condemned since they loved unrighteousness.
But WE chose salvation THROUGH sanctification by the Holy Spirit and full reliance upon the truth – to obtain glory.

1 Cor. 15
1 Thess. 4:13-18

Ruling and reigning of Christ & us with Him

Psa 2:1-12,

(1) Why do the nations rage, And the people plot a vain thing?

(2) The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying,

(3) “Let us break Their bonds in pieces And cast away Their cords from us.”

(4) He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; The LORD shall hold them in derision.

(5) Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, And distress them in His deep displeasure:

(6) “Yet I have set My King On My holy hill of Zion.”

(7) “I will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.

(8) Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession.

(9) You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’ “

(10) Now therefore, be wise, O kings; Be instructed, you judges of the earth.

(11) Serve the LORD with fear, And rejoice with trembling.

(12) Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, And you perish in the way, When His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.

Gen 17:7-8,

(7) And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you.

(8) Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”

Num 24:16-18,

(16) The utterance of him who hears the words of God, And has the knowledge of the Most High, Who sees the vision of the Almighty, Who falls down, with eyes wide open:

(17) “I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; A Star shall come out of Jacob; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel, And batter the brow of Moab, And destroy all the sons of tumult.

(18) “And Edom shall be a possession; Seir also, his enemies, shall be a possession, While Israel does valiantly.

Deu 30:1-14,

(1) “Now it shall come to pass, when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the LORD your God drives you,

(2) and you return to the LORD your God and obey His voice, according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul,

(3) that the LORD your God will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the nations where the LORD your God has scattered you.

(4) If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under heaven, from there the LORD your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you.

(5) Then the LORD your God will bring you to the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it. He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers.

(6) And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.

(7) “Also the LORD your God will put all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you.

(8) And you will again obey the voice of the LORD and do all His commandments which I command you today.

(9) The LORD your God will make you abound in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your land for good. For the LORD will again rejoice over you for good as He rejoiced over your fathers,

(10) if you obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this Book of the Law, and if you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

(11) “For this commandment which I command you today is not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off.

(12) It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’

(13) Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’

(14) But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.

Gen 49:8-11,

(8) “Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise; Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; Your father’s children shall bow down before you.

(9) Judah is a lion’s whelp; From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bows down, he lies down as a lion; And as a lion, who shall rouse him?

(10) The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes; And to Him shall be the obedience of the people.

(11) Binding his donkey to the vine, And his donkey’s colt to the choice vine, He washed his garments in wine, And his clothes in the blood of grapes.

Psa 72:3-20,

(3) The mountains will bring peace to the people, And the little hills, by righteousness.

(4) He will bring justice to the poor of the people; He will save the children of the needy, And will break in pieces the oppressor.

(5) They shall fear You As long as the sun and moon endure, Throughout all generations.

(6) He shall come down like rain upon the grass before mowing, Like showers that water the earth.

(7) In His days the righteous shall flourish, And abundance of peace, Until the moon is no more.

(8) He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, And from the River to the ends of the earth.

(9) Those who dwell in the wilderness will bow before Him, And His enemies will lick the dust.

(10) The kings of Tarshish and of the isles Will bring presents; The kings of Sheba and Seba Will offer gifts.

(11) Yes, all kings shall fall down before Him; All nations shall serve Him.

(12) For He will deliver the needy when he cries, The poor also, and him who has no helper.

(13) He will spare the poor and needy, And will save the souls of the needy.

(14) He will redeem their life from oppression and violence; And precious shall be their blood in His sight.

(15) And He shall live; And the gold of Sheba will be given to Him; Prayer also will be made for Him continually, And daily He shall be praised.

(16) There will be an abundance of grain in the earth, On the top of the mountains; Its fruit shall wave like Lebanon; And those of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth.

(17) His name shall endure forever; His name shall continue as long as the sun. And men shall be blessed in Him; All nations shall call Him blessed.

(18) Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, Who only does wondrous things!

(19) And blessed be His glorious name forever! And let the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen and Amen.

(20) The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.

Blessings!

I hope this teaching will challenge you and encourage you to place your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

You have a special place in God’s family & kingdom. If you do not know Him, please use our ‘Contact Us‘ page and reach out so we may have the privilege of introducing you to the Lord. Attendance at our church will NOT even be mentioned nor will money.

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Blessings!

Pastor Mark

View posts by Pastor Mark

Hi my name is Mark and though I am opposed to titles, I am currently the only Pastor (shepherd/elder) serving our assembly right now.

I have been Pastoring in one capacity or another for nearly 30 years now, though never quite like I am today.

Early in 2009 the Lord revealed to me that the way we had structured our assembly (church) was not scriptural in that it was out of sync with what Paul modeled for us in the New Testament. In truth, I (like many pastors I am sure) never even gave this fundamental issue of church structure the first thought. I had always assumed that church structure was largely the same everywhere and had been so from the beginning. While I knew Paul had some very stringent things to say about the local assembly of believers, the point of our gatherings together and who may or may not lead, I never even considered studying these issues but assumed we were all pretty much doing it right...safety in numbers right?! Boy, I couldn't have been more wrong!

So needless to say, my discovery that we had been doing it wrong for nearly two decades was a bit of a shock to me! Now, this "revelation" did not come about all at once but over the course of a few weeks. We were a traditional single pastor led congregation. It was a top-bottom model of ministry which is in part biblical, but not in the form of a monarchy.

The needed change did not come into focus until following 9 very intense months of study and discussions with those who were leaders in our church at the time.

We now understand and believe that the Bible teaches co-leadership with equal authority in each local assembly. Having multiple shepherds with God's heart and equal authority protects both Shepherds and sheep. Equal accountability keeps authority and doctrine in check. Multiple shepherds also provide teaching with various styles and giftings with leadership skills which are both different and complementary.

For a while we had two co-pastors (elders) (myself and one other man) who led the church with equal authority, but different giftings. We both taught in our own ways and styles, and our leadership skills were quite different, but complimentary. We were in complete submission to each other and worked side-by-side in the labor of shepherding the flock.

Our other Pastor has since moved on to other ministry which has left us with just myself. While we currently only have one Pastor/Elder, it is our desire that God, in His faithfulness and timing, may bring us more as we grow in maturity and even in numbers.

As to my home, I have been married since 1995 to my wonderful wife Terissa Woodson who is my closest friend and most trusted ally.

As far as my education goes, I grew up in a Christian home, but questioned everything I was ever taught.

I graduated from Bible college in 1990 and continued to question everything I was ever taught (I do not mention my college in order to avoid being labeled).

Perhaps my greatest preparation for ministry has been life and ministry itself. To quote an author I have come to enjoy namely Fredrick Buechner in his writing entitled, Now and Then, "If God speaks to us at all other than through such official channels as the Bible and the church, then I think that He speaks to us largely through what happens to us...if we keep our hearts open as well as our ears, if we listen with patience and hope, if we remember at all deeply and honestly, then I think we come to recognize beyond all doubt, that, however faintly we may hear Him, He is indeed speaking to us, and that, however little we may understand of it, His word to each of us is both recoverable and precious beyond telling." ~ Fredrick Buechner

Well that is about all there is of interest to tell you about me.

I hope our ministry here is a blessing to you and your family. I also hope that it is only a supplement to a local church where you are committed to other believers in a community of grace.

~God Bless!