ACCESSING THE KINGDOM OF GOD

This chapter is about access to the Kingdom of God. Accessing the kingdom of God is never a problem to the born again – those who are connected with the Word. The Word has revealed the Kingdom, and connected you to it, and also gives you the key to enter through its doors – the gates of the Kingdom. The Kingdom has gates.

Reading from the book of Psalm 24:3-4, “Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false.” In the Old Testament time, the people who lived were natural people. Meaning that they were sense-ruled, dominated by what they could see, hear, feel, smell, and taste. The five senses dominated the people of the Old Testament time. So in the worship of God, who is a Spirit, they tried to access Him through the medium of the senses (the body, the flesh). The reason for the question: “Who will ascend to the hill of the Lord? Who will stand in His holy place? And the answer came: “The one whose hands are clean and whose heart is pure, and who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false.” Praise be to God! That answer is very rich. The man or woman who will ascend must have clean hands. He or she must have a pure heart and must not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false. What are the clean hands? What is the pure heart? What is the soul that is not lifted with pride? And who does not swear or live in falsehood? The clean hands are the body (the flesh). The Old Testament people were natural people. They went through regular cleansing – self-cleansing, abolition, washing of hands, washing of the legs, washing of the head – and they were doing these things in the natural, thinking that when they do them, they will be able to ascend into the hill of the Lord. But in our own time, the clean hands have to do with your body, your flesh. And the Bible says in the book of Romans chapter 8:5-8, “Those who live according to the sinful nature set their minds on what that nature desires; but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on what the Spirit desires. The mind of the sinful man is dead, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace. The sinful mind is hostile to God and does not submit to the laws of God, nor can it do so. The mind controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.” Let me digress a little bit. “Who will ascend to the hill of the Lord? He who has clean hands and a pure heart.” Your pure heart is your spirit. That verse 4 has to do with your spirit, soul, and body. Your pure heart is your spirit; your soul is your mind; and your hands are your body. The three dimensions telling you that you are a spirit, you have a soul, and you live in a body. Your body is your house. It is the one that is physical; the one everybody sees. Nobody sees the mind. Your soul is your mind, your will, and your emotions. He who has clean hands, a pure heart, and does not lift up his soul to an idol, or swear by what is false; your spirit, soul, and body. Now to your spirit.

John 3:3, 5, “In reply, Jesus declared, ‘No one can see the kingdom of God unless he’s born again.’ And in verse 5, He answered, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he’s born of water and of the Spirit.” The topic is Accessing the Kingdom of God. How do you access the Kingdom of God? Jesus said, ‘No one can see the kingdom of God unless he’s born again.’ The person who has a pure heart is the one that is born again. The person that will ascend to the Lord’s hill, and stand in His holy temple, must have a pure heart; he must be born again. And how do you get born again? Romans 10:8-13 says, “The Word is near you; it is in your mouth and your heart, that is, the Word of faith that we are proclaiming: If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with the heart that you believe and are justified, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, ‘He who trusts in the Lord will not be put to shame.’ For there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles, for the same Lord is Lord of all, and blesses all who call upon Him. For, ‘whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” This passage tells you how you will become born again. It doesn’t even say you should confess your sins; it’s redemption. In redemption, it’s not because of anything you confess; it is what Christ has done. The person who seeks forgiveness is the born-again. If we sin and we confess it, He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1st John 1:9). That is for the person who is already born again and falls into error, makes a mistake or commits a sin. If He confesses them, his sins will be forgiven. But for the unbeliever: “For all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Jesus Christ. God presented Him as a sacrifice for atonement by faith in His blood, to demonstrate His justice, so that in His forbearance He has left sin previously committed unpunished, to demonstrate His justice in the present time, so as to be just and be the justifier of the one who believe by faith in Jesus.” (See Romans 3:23-26). Our sins were removed; they were completely cleansed. There was remission; Jesus paid for our sins with His blood. Once you believe that, you receive salvation. Once you believe what Jesus has done, salvation comes to you. For if one confesses with the mouth that ‘Jesus is Lord’ and believes with the heart that God raised Him from the dead, that person is saved. Once you believe in your heart, you have become righteous, for with the heart, man believeth unto righteousness. That is, you become justified and innocent. And with the mouth, confession is made, and you are saved. If you trust and believe in what Christ has done, you will not be put to shame. That verse 13 says, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” You see that there is no mention of forgiveness there; it’s redemption. The redemption took you from being spiritually dead to becoming spiritually alive; from being in union with Satan to becoming in union with God; from being a child of Satan to become a child of God; from being an old creation to become a new creation; from being separated from God to be one with God and filled with His Spirit. He cleansed us, washed us clean with His blood, and came inside to live in us. You are filled with the Spirit! Then you tasted of the heavenly gifts. That is redemption. When you do all that, you have become born again.

1st Peter 1:23, “We are born again not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible, through the imperishable and living Word of God.” It is the Word of God that enacted your new life. “If anyone is in Christ, He is a new creation.” (See 2nd Corinthians 5:17). It is the Word you heard, you believed, and you applied to your life. You become born again not through money or anything that is material. It’s not something you can see; it’s a spiritual experience. The Word of God made it to be possible. Titus 3: 5-6, “He saved us not because of any righteous thing we have done but because of His great mercy. He saved us through the washing of re-birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit whom He has poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Saviour.” So our redemption is not because of any righteous thing we have done, for it is by grace we have been saved through faith. Once you set aside the grace, then you will be living by works of the flesh, self-righteousness and by the law. And then you don’t have a share in Christ. He who goes to God and wants to enter the Kingdom through the law or by His own works has no share in what Christ has done. For the Bible says in the book of Galatians 2:21, “I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, then Christ died in vain!” Now we have a share in Christ because we accepted the work Christ has done for us. He brought an abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness into our lives, perfecting our redemption (Romans 5:17).

Proverbs 3: 5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.” Now we don’t live the life we live in our own power or strength. It is not your offerings or gifts to the brother or to the sister that saves you. Those acts of love and kindness are the fruits of your salvation, not what gives you salvation. It’s not through those things you do that takes you to heaven or opens your access to the kingdom. They are just the fruits, the evidence, and the testimony that you are saved. They are the things you do with prayer, that you enjoy doing with all your heart. You don’t get tired of it. You cannot say, ‘I am tired of loving and showing kindness,” because you are doing it not by your own power but by the Spirit that is teaching you to do those things. You are doing them in obedience to the Word but they are not the reason for your salvation. Now that is the spirit that will ascend into the Lord’s hill and stand in His holy place; the one who has clean hands and a pure heart and does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false. Your spirit, soul and body is fully expressed. Seeing the Kingdom has to do with your spirit, number one.

Secondly, it has to do with your soul; your mind, your will, and your emotions. Now, Romans 8:5-8, “Those who live according to the sinful nature set their minds on what that nature desires; but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on what the Spirit desires. The mind of the sinful man is dead, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace. The sinful mind is hostile to God and does not submit to the laws of God, nor can it do so. The mind controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.” That is the mind controlled by the sinful nature. There are two minds; one is controlled by the sinful nature and the other is controlled by the spirit. The one controlled by the spirit is the born again, while the one controlled by the sinful nature is controlled by the flesh. The mind controlled by the sinful nature is controlled by the body (the flesh), and your body (the flesh) has to do with your senses. The man who is not born again does not have the Spirit; he is spiritually dead. He only has a soul and body. And the body controls his mind. But the one that is born again is spiritually alive. He has a soul: mind, will, and emotions, and he lives in a body. So the mind of the sinful man is dead. The mind controlled by the sinful nature is dead. He cannot reach God or access the Kingdom of God. He only does what his eye can see. What he sees, he does; what he hears, he obeys; whatever he feels dominates him. He doesn’t have the Spirit’s leading. He cannot say ‘I am led by the Spirit’, because he doesn’t have a spirit. Whereas the man who has the Spirit, who is spiritually alive, a child of God, born of the Spirit, will be led by the Spirit. Romans 12:2, “Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing and perfect will.” The man that is not born-again, who is spiritually dead, is controlled by the world; he follows the way of the world and the ruler of the kingdom of the air. Ephesians 2:2, “…in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.” So you see that the man who is living a sinful life doesn’t have the spirit and so he follows the way of the world. He doesn’t see anything wrong with what is happening in the world. If he can kill, he will kill; if he is to steal, he will steal – he can do anything because it is normal with him. That is about the sinful man. So Paul is saying in Romans, “Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing and perfect will.” It is through the Spirit you know what God’s will is; what is acceptable and pleasing to Him. The Spirit will open your heart to what the Word is saying. That transformation comes when you’re in contact with the Word. The Word is so important in our lives, and that is why we must feed on the Word daily. The same way we feed on the physical, natural food for the flesh. The food we buy every day is for the body; it nourishes the flesh. The food of the Spirit is the Word of God. The more we eat the Word, the more we continue to grow and develop spiritually. Ephesians 4:23, “Be renewed in the attitude of your mind.” The kind of life the person without Christ lives is not strange to you. Such a person can steal, kill, commit crimes, rituals, fornicate, tell lies, and do all sorts of things. But when you are born again, your mind is renewed by the Word, then you will know what God wants from you. Your attitude to life will change. Before you do things, you must test them; “Is it supported by the Word? Is it in agreement with the Word? Is it approved by the Word?” When it is approved by the Word and you go ahead to do it, then the Word backs and supports you. You are inspired by the Word to do it then you grow daily. When you do what He has told you to do, the Word takes the risk. You will never be put to shame because you trust in the Lord. So our minds must be renewed; then the way we do things, people will notice that yes, it’s different.

The last of it is your hands. ‘He who has clean hands.’ That is your body, your flesh. Romans 8:13. “For if you live by the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.” What are the deeds of the body? Your body is your flesh. Galatians 5:24, “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its desires and passions.” We must deliberately put to death the desires of the sinful nature, of the flesh. We must put those things to death to prove that yes, our redemption is true. We cannot live a double life. You can’t be a child of God and be obeying the adversary. You are a child of God, but all your deeds are pointing to the fact that you are a child of the devil. Jesus described those who are children of the devil; “You are of your father, the devil, and the wish of your father you want to carry out. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stay in the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44-45). Jesus also said in the book of John 5:19-21, “The Son cannot do anything of His own; He can only do what He sees the Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the father loves the Son and shows Him all that He does. And I tell you, He will show Him greater things than these, so that you will be amazed. For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whoever that He pleases”. He was only doing what he saw the Father doing; that is the child of God. And he does not sin because the seed of God is in him. He cannot sin because he’s born of God. The child of God does not sin because the seed of God is in him. But if para venture he falls into sin, God has already made a provision for him. And what he’s to do is to confess his sins and forsake them, then he will be forgiven. Before you sin, God knew that you will sin. That is why He made that provision for you so if you sin, confess it, and forsake it, you will be forgiven. That provision is there for the believer. 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, “Do you not know that in a race there are many runners, but only one gets the prize. Run as one who wants to get the prize. For everyone who competes in the game goes into strict training. They do it to receive a crown that does not last, but we do it to get a crown that lasts forever. Therefore I do not run as one who runs aimlessly; I do not fight as one beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” Your hands become clean the moment you are born again that is why whatever you touch is blessed. Those hands are now subject to the spirit. Before you became born again, your hands, I mean your body, was in charge. You were doing those things that were contrary to the Word of God. But the moment you are born again and your spirit is in charge and you begin to read the Word, your mind is renewed. What you see and hear is subject to the spirit. Your spirit and your soul (your mind) will agree; they are working together. If your spirit says read the bible, you will open your eyes and read the bible. If your spirit says listen to the message, you will open your ears and be attentive to the message. Your soul is now under the control of your spirit, so you are now doing what is pleasing to God, then you will rise in the spirit and connect with your destiny. It will not be difficult for you to subject your flesh to the control of the spirit. Your soul and your body will not connive to cage your spirit. If you are born again and you don’t obey the Word, your body will revolt, because it is rebellious. It will connive with your soul to cage your spirit, meaning your body and your soul are working together against your spirit. The real you is your spirit. So in the situation where your body and your soul are working in agreement, conniving to frustrate your spirit, you will not be able to achieve the will of God and your destiny, because there will be chaos and confusion. But when you meditate on the Word and you obey the Word, your spirit will take charge and will not be deceived by what the flesh is promoting and doing. Otherwise, the flesh which is your body, which has been in control over the years, will always want to resist what your spirit desires. But now that you are born again and you read the Word, your mind (your soul) becomes sanctified and purified, and you can now test your desires; what you want to do before taking action. Your spirit will always be ruling and dominating. Then you can always be advancing, progressing, growing stronger, and you will not be living life defeated and frustrated. That is your spirit, soul, and your body. The one that will ascend into the Lord’s hill, the Kingdom of God, must get his spirit, soul, and body involved. The three dimensions must be involved. It’s not only your spirit; your soul that belongs to you must cooperate with your spirit. And your body must be ready to submit itself to the control of the spirit. So that after I have preached to others, I will not be disqualified from seeing, accessing, the kingdom. The problem with many of us is that we are born again but our bodies have been dominating; it’s in charge. That is why you are facing so many challenges, obstacles, and chaotic situations. You are becoming helpless and hopeless, struggling to do the things of the Spirit. You are rising and falling. Some will say, “I have my down moments; I am in my down moments.” When you are in the spirit, you won’t be having down moments, because you are always up. You will be above, never beneath. You will be the head, never the tail. Your spirit is alive. You are not like the man without the spirit, who is spiritually dead.

Jesus is the gate. John 10:9, “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture.” So we enter through the gate. Who is the gate? Jesus is the gate! I am the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father or enters the Kingdom except through me. (See John 14:6) And the one that can enter through the gates is the one whose heart is pure, who is born again, whose mind has been renewed by the Word and knows what God’s will is – His good, pleasing and acceptable or perfect will. He doesn’t follow the way of the world and the ruler of the kingdom of the air, who is the devil. The devil is controlling this world, what was supposed to be under the rule of man. When God created man, He created him in his own image and likeness, and He blessed them saying, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all that creeps on the face of the ground.” (See Genesis 1:28) Man was to rule over all the living things. This place was given to man and put under his control. But what is happening now, man handed it over to Satan, his archenemy, God’s adversary.

And when man became so helpless, God sent Jesus to rescue him, to save him from sin and from death. “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture.” When you are coming in and going out through Him, because you are born again, you are qualified to enjoy the goods, have your increase, the Kingdom increase. We are supplied and blessed. Romans 5:2, “Through Him we have access by faith to the grace in which we now stand and we rejoice in the hope of that glory.” Everything comes to us because we are born again through grace. We stand by the grace; we don’t put it aside. The moment we reject the grace and now depend upon the works of the flesh or the law, we have rejected Jesus, who is the gate; the way, the truth and the life. Ephesians 2:18, “Through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.” Through whom? Jesus. To whom? To the Father by one Spirit. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, the Trinity, is involved. Through Jesus, we now have access to the Father by one Spirit. We are having access to the Kingdom, and the Father is involved, the Son is involved, and the Holy Spirit is involved. The whole Council of God is involved. What will now prevent us from accessing the Kingdom? And in chapter 3, verse 12, it says, “In Him and through faith in Him, we can now approach the Father with freedom and confidence.” Many of us come to church but we are not free. We tie ourselves down; when we dress, we think of what people will say about our dressing. We dress to please people. We sing to please people. To clap is a problem. To sing is a problem. We are not free. And the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 3: 17, “God is the Spirit and wherever the Spirit of God is, there is liberty.” Where is your freedom? Don’t be afraid of making mistakes. When you make a mistake, you will have the opportunity of correcting yourself. Those who are afraid of making mistakes never get to become anything in life; they are weak and failures. You want to play an instrument and you don’t want to make mistake, how will you be able to become perfect, a master? If you want to start being perfect from the beginning, you will never become anything. Even in marriage, there will be misunderstanding, decide to forgive yourselves. That is why there is provision for forgiveness. Wife will offend husband? Husband will offend wife. That is why there is forgiveness. It keeps you going. If you don’t want to offend your wife or offend your husband, don’t bother to marry, because in marriage, there is plenty of offense. I do offend my wife, and she does offend me. Confess your sins and you will be forgiven. Apology is like confessing your sins. Those who cannot accept forgiveness, they will end up in divorce and separation. That is why you see so many broken marriages, because they fail to apply the Word of God, which is to forgive one another, to their marriages. If you forgive, you too will be forgiven. Also learn to forgive yourself. Those who forgive themselves are the strongest people, because they know the secret. Forgive yourself, then you will be strong. Those who are weak don’t know how to forgive. Forgiveness is of the spirit. It’s Christianity that preaches forgiveness. In Him and through faith in Him, we may approach the Father with freedom. Hebrews 4:16, “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” You can approach God, and enter the kingdom confidently, because you are free. Your heart is free. 1st John 5:14-15, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of Him.” You can approach the throne of grace, and come before the Father confidently. And you know that in His presence, there is freedom; He is the gate.