In John 3:5, Jesus answered, “ I tell you the truth, no one can enter the Kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit .( Please note that any time and every time the word SPIRIT begins with a capital letter then the Bible is simply talking of the Holy Spirit. On the other hand, if you see SPIRIT begin with a small letter, then what is been referred to is the human spirit or any other spirit. Different translators of the English Bible use capital letters to distinguish things pertaining to God- like ‘Word’ of God begins with a block letter while ‘word’ of man small letter).

Also in Hebrew 4: 9, the writer of the book wrote by the inspiration of the Spirit thus:

There remains then a Sabbath rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his work, just as God did from His. Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience (please read that book for yourself, I mean you have it don’t you?!)

Could God’s rest be His Kingdom or is His rest contained in His Kingdom?

Mutant Matthew wrote the exact Words of Jesus in his book: “but seek ye first The Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you. Matthew 6: 33. By ‘these things’ he was talking about the usual things that bother humans and other living things. And please what is even this whole righteousness thing ‘God’s righteousness’ all about? Do I have to continue trying my best so that God would approve of me? Let us take a peek into the Bible.

Romans 3: 10 “ There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God… so this means that my best or my righteousness isn’t good enough, in fact ‘some’ Scripture calls it ‘filthy rag’. Now from verse 21, “but now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believed. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus”

Also in Romans 5: 17: For if, by the trespass of the one man(Adam), death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the obedience of the one man(Jesus, second Adam) the many will be made righteous.

In mathematical terms, let us do some simple substitutions:

If The Kingdom of God =/ ≡ God’s rest/ Rest of God,

And

If Grace = God’s gift of righteousness

→ Matthew 6: 33 =

But seek ye first the rest of God and accept His Grace and all these things will be given to you

Also     =

“But the first thing you should do is to enter God’s rest and accept His grace which is simply by believing, then all those things that bothers an average human being would just come as a mere consequence”.

It is established that we enter God’s Kingdom or Rest by faith.

NB: the symbol ‘=’ means ‘equal to’, /, means ‘or’, ≡ means ‘equivalent to’, and → means ‘this implies that’.

 

Finally, Jesus called out in Matthew 11: 28 (MSG):

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me- watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythm of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill- fitting on you. Keep Company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly”.

Jesus promises a life free from the works and struggles of life and religion. However, the only work required from God is in John 6: 29:

Jesus answered “the work of God is this, to believe in the one He has sent” (NIV)

What an easy yoke, GLORY!

 

 

 

 

 

His Rest is a place, His kingdom is a place too. His Rest is The Secret Place where Jesus reigns. The Rest is the kingdom where the rested entered by Faith in Jesus’ NAME. This Rest, which is the Kingdom is our Goshen- it is ‘the safe place’. The Rest is our Canaan, the place of abundance and peace. Shalom reigns in the Kingdom- the peace that surpasses human understanding.

Jesus spent most of His ministry days introducing this place, the Kingdom of God. All the parables and stories that He ever told was to illustrate how things work in that place, the Kingdom which is His Rest and which also represents His secret place.

The kingdom, the Rest of God has come and we lay hold of it by faith in Jesus’ Name.

There is no heavy burden in the Kingdom. The rested are not burdened by the same burdens that burden the unrested.

“Do not be equally yoked together with the unbeliever” the Bible recommends. We have an easy yoke, and that yoke is to just believe. In the Kingdom, the rested just rest in the Secret Place of the Most High, in the place where Immanuel remains with them forever!

Only the rested can live in Eden, the land of utopia because only the rested see it. The Kingdom is Eden, Canaan, and Goshen, the Old Testament pictures of that which was to come, that which has come. “The Kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, ‘Here it is’, or There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.”- Luke 17: 21 (NIV). It is just a function of seeing it. So how do we see it?

“In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see The Kingdom of God unless He is born again”- John 3: 3 (NIV). Mutant John, also said in the 12^th and 13^th verse of the first chapter of the Gospel he wrote as inspired by the Holy spirit, that for as many as they are that Received Him( Jesus) that believed in His Name, He ( the Father), gave the right to become children of God. Children born, not of the will of man but children born of God (The SPIRIT). It is a genetic thing. In John 3, Jesus told Nicodemus that that which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit, is Spirit. In other words, a child of a goat is a goat, and the child of God is a God. It is a genetic thing. Therefore if I were to translate John 3: 3 I’d translate it thus : In reply Jesus declared, “ I tell you the truth, no one can see The Kingdom( the Rest, the Secret place, The Eden, the Canaan, The Goshen) of God unless He is a mutant ( genetically changed by the Spirit of God), God’s own Gene.

The kingdom is God’s family. The members of this family are the Jesus clones because they were created and predestined to be like Him. Paul wrote to mutants in Rome and said…for those who God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers, and those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified –Romans 8: 28-30 (NIV).

Kingdom people are LIGHTS because The Kingdom is that of LIGHT…. For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us to The Kingdom of the Son He loves. Colossians 1: 13

In the kingdom we the mutants are not wrestling but resting.

In the Kingdom, mutants are brides and Jesus is the Groom. Therefore they obtain their demands in the Name of The Groom because they have received the Name of Jesus, the Groom. Their demands are as powerful as His. The Name of Jesus is a mutant License because His Name is LEGAL! – Even King David who was no mutant knew that. Yesterday, He demanded Goliath’s head from him in the name of God. Today, the Name is more excellent and more specific, Jesus! EVERYDAY JESUS RULES IN THE KINGDOM!

 

Sometimes when we are just too frugal and “economical”, we often think that we are being wise spenders or may be reserving something for the rainy day. The real truth here may be that we are not seeing Jesus every day.

Pour exemplum, if I have just one sachet of tomato paste and four cups of rice, and I know that in every way, two cups of rice is just enough for the day for me, and that one sachet of tomato paste is just sufficient to give me a decent pot of jollof rice for dinner, if I decide to divide that one sachet of tomato paste into two equal halves because I want to reserve a half for the remaining two cups for a “tomorrow”, such that my pot of rice of today becomes what my mother calls ‘win the war’ ( food for survival), then I have simply denied my trust in Jesus as my constant supply.

When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, He encouraged them to ask for their daily bread. He was simply trying to teach us to trust God, Abba Daddy for a one day at a time life.

In the Old Testament, God was called Jehovah Jireh because on the mountain He provided. This is to say that Jehovah Jireh knows how to provide just when we need it. Today, He has not changed His nature but He just changed the relationship with us that makes Him provide. Yesterday, the children of Israel found it difficult to learn that character of God, which their father Abraham learned. They always saved some Manna as a reserve for the next day against Jehovah Jireh’s instructions. They had trust issues and that was very repulsive to Him.

Today, He has become Abba Father, our Daddy. Jesus taught that if corrupt human daddies do well at giving, then our Father should do best. He supplies our needs according to His riches in glory through Christ Jesus. In fact Jesus taught that food, clothes and the like should not be part of what we should ask for because Daddy knows that we need them, we should bother about seeking His kingdom and His righteousness because all the other survival necessities would follow. Today, Jesus is asking us to trust God our Father and His father for supply and abundance every day.

Nevertheless, Jesus does not encourage waste or gluttony (remember the gathering after feeding the 5000 to their full). He wants us to enjoy every day, if we have a natural reserve, we may keep them naturally for the next day, or we could share if necessary, but we must not pass ourselves through a miserly miserable life in the name of being wise- even if that is wisdom, then it must be the wisdom of the world.

Every day Jesus provides just as we need it!

Sometimes when we are just too frugal and “economical”, we often think that we are being wise spenders or may be reserving something for the rainy day. The real truth here may be that we are not seeing Jesus every day.

Pour exemplum, if I have just one sachet of tomato paste and four cups of rice, and I know that in every way, two cups of rice is just enough for the day for me, and that one sachet of tomato paste is just sufficient to give me a decent pot of jollof rice for dinner, if I decide to divide that one sachet of tomato paste into two equal halves because I want to reserve a half for the remaining two cups for a “tomorrow”, such that my pot of rice of today becomes what my mother calls ‘win the war’ ( food for survival), then I have simply denied my trust in Jesus as my constant supply.

When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, He encouraged them to ask for their daily bread. He was simply trying to teach us to trust God, Abba Daddy for a one day at a time life.

In the Old Testament, God was called Jehovah Jireh because on the mountain He provided. This is to say that Jehovah Jireh knows how to provide just when we need it. Today, He has not changed His nature but He just changed the relationship with us that makes Him provide. Yesterday, the children of Israel found it difficult to learn that character of God, which their father Abraham learned. They always saved some Manna as a reserve for the next day against Jehovah Jireh’s instructions. They had trust issues and that was very repulsive to Him.

Today, He has become Abba Father, our Daddy. Jesus taught that if corrupt human daddies do well at giving, then our Father should do best. He supplies our needs according to His riches in glory through Christ Jesus. In fact Jesus taught that food, clothes and the like should not be part of what we should ask for because Daddy knows that we need them, we should bother about seeking His kingdom and His righteousness because all the other survival necessities would follow. Today, Jesus is asking us to trust God our Father and His father for supply and abundance every day.

Nevertheless, Jesus does not encourage waste or gluttony (remember the gathering after feeding the 5000 to their full). He wants us to enjoy every day, if we have a natural reserve, we may keep them naturally for the next day, or we could share if necessary, but we must not pass ourselves through a miserly miserable life in the name of being wise- even if that is wisdom, then it must be the wisdom of the world.

Every day Jesus provides just as we need it!

This morning I and rummies got ready to leave for lectures-we all had a long day ahead. We wanted to look the best that we could, you know most girls like to look good. Lipsticks were busy, eyeliners popped eyes, mirrors had many things to say, shadows, fragrances, talcum, rouges, were taking turns to make their contributions. And of course wardrobes were either functioning or malfunctioning as all the dresses pleaded for a chance to get picked for the day’s outing.

Soon the activities were dying down because we started leaving the room for lectures one after the other. I and one of my rummies were left and she had been talking with the mirror over and over again- I did not listen to their conversation anyways. It was almost immediately that I heard her say “Favor, tell me that I look nice”. Without thinking I replied “you look nice”. Then came the accusation “you never meant to say that, you just told me that I looked nice because I asked you to”. Without thinking again, I told her I did as she told me to and that I did not expect her to complain. I was shocked when she said “I AM HURT”. I was taken aback. I learned a lesson.

Jesus is a lot like us, or like her. He is totally man yet totally God. He hurts when we do things simply because we think the Bible demands them from us rather than because we were dying to do them. Pour exemplum, if I read my Bible and pray just because it is a Christian rule or duty, then Jesus would hurt because I don’t really enjoy the ‘us’ time. I was merely doing what was necessary. On the other hand, if I take out good time to study the Bible for myself and talk with Him because I really love to learn from Him and because in fact, I just can’t get enough of Him, then do I believe that He like any man, would feel loved and wanted. Jesus is just too gentle to demand things like studying the bible, and praying from us. Doing those things does not make Him love us more but in doing them we avail ourselves the opportunity of seeing things the way He sees them. Jesus wants us to do things when we are ready to, and because we really love to- that is love!

I wouldn’t be happy if my spouse struggles to spend some time with me simply because ‘they’ say he has to. I would just feel like I am a really boring person to be with. Jesus is not too far from being like me- he is still the Son of Man. Every day, Jesus wants me to mean it!

“If you love me, you will obey what I command.” John 14: 15 (NIV)