The coming Kingdom o And like any other government it has territory, it has people and it has laws. It has rules of behavior. Laws to protect the weak and the innocent. Laws to ensure the smooth running of the government and the economy.

                                    The ruler of the Kingdom of God, like leaders or rulers of any other government expect their laws to be obeyed. For the good of the kingdom, the good of the government and good of all the people.

                                    It is in any government, in any kingdom, in any national entity, the first responsibility of all people to obey the laws of their particular government. The same is true in the Kingdom of God. God's government, God's kingdom is no different than any other. It is ruled by a system of laws.

                                    We call these the commandments of God. It is the responsibility of everyone within that government, within that kingdom, every citizen to keep the commandments of God, to keep the law of God, which is the law of the land.

                                    It is the absolute duty of ministers, of governments or persons in authority or occupying positions of leadership to set an example for the people by keeping and obeying the laws of the land.

                                    The same is true in the government of God. Through the last 6,000 years of human history, God has been calling up various individuals to train for and prepare for, having a part in the leadership or ministerial positions within the government of God.

                                    These people are learning to occupy these positions of responsibility by learning to keep the commandments. Learning to obey God, learning to be loyal to the king of the coming Kingdom of God. In this life we all hold positions of responsibility. Whether it is as mothers, teaching our children or husbands and fathers taking care of our families or various offices in business or as ministers within the church.

                                    Ministers in the church are only elder brothers within the congregation tasked with the responsibility of helping their younger brothers. And like any other elder brother, their principal function is to focus the attention of the younger members of the family upon the Father.

                                    In the kingdom we call the king, God the Father, and thorough him, by His authority;  Jesus Christ will rule all nations. It is the responsibility of the ministry to focus all people upon the Father. It is the responsibility of human fathers to focus their families upon God the Father and to teach them to keep the laws of the coming kingdom.

                                    It is the function of both parents to diligently teach their children to keep the commandments to prepare them for the day when the kingdom will come. And they will be citizens within that kingdom. And in that kingdom, they will be expected to keep the laws of that kingdom.

                                    Last time; I talked about the keys of the kingdom of heaven which were given to Peter. In Matthew 16, Jesus said, I will give to you the keys of the kingdom. We covered  throughout that talk the various aspects of those keys. The keys to the kingdom are the gospel of repentance, baptism and the acceptance of the applied sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God for our sins.

                                    When those steps have been taken and completed, the door to the kingdom will be opened and we will have direct access to the King of that kingdom, to God the Father through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Having direct access to the throne of the great king of the universe, the Father himself.

                                    Our access to the Father is only through repentance from breaking the commandments. It is only through the application of the sacrifice of Christ for our past commandment breaking, for our sin.

                                    The sacrifice covers sins repented of. It does not justify continuing in sin, anymore than paying a fine for going through a traffic light justifies a person continuing to break that particular traffic law.

                                    When we are sorry, we repent and the penalty is paid; for breaking a law. That is not license to go out and break the law again. We must now continue in law abiding, in law keeping. And not go back to the crime of law breaking, which resulted in the need for punishment.

                                    The fact that Jesus Christ paid our punishment, paid our debt that we owe to the King and to the kingdom for having broken the laws of the kingdom, in no way justifies our continuing to break those laws. If we continue to break those laws, we make a mockery of the sacrifice of Christ and we make a mockery of God's forgiveness.

                                    To go and break a law and claim to repent and claim to be sorry and break it again and break it again. Going through the cycle endlessly is just a shameless mockery and God will not put up with it for long.

                                    The keys of the kingdom which Jesus Christ gave to Peter and to the other disciples was the Gospel. The good news of the coming Kingdom of God and the good news of how we can have a part in that kingdom. Our part comes through repentance. It comes through turning away from law breaking. It comes through embracing the word and commandments of God, the law of that kingdom. And it comes through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ who paid the penalty for our past law breaking.

                                    These are the keys of the kingdom. These are the things which will open the door and get you into the Kingdom of God. Belief in God, repentance of sins which is commandment breaking and embracing Jesus Christ and his sacrifice being applied to us as a result of our repentance.

                                    These are the keys given to Peter. These are the keys which have been given to the ministry all down through the ages. That is the duty and responsibility of the ministry. First, to keep all the commandments of God and to set a godly example for all men. And second to teach repentance, forgiveness, conversion and acceptance of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, to teach the keeping of the commandments of God, the law of the kingdom.

                                    That is the prime responsibility of the ministry, to teach these things to the whole world and especially to feed my sheep. As Jesus said, teach these things to my sheep, feed my sheep, feed my people. The responsibility of the ministry is to teach the good news of the coming Kingdom of God and the good news of how we can have a place in that kingdom. Of how we can we can enter that kingdom. The good news of the way to salvation.

                                    The primary function of a minister is to lead by example. To keep the commandments of God and to teach God's people and to preach the good news of repentance and salvation and the coming Kingdom of God to the whole world.

                                    So, how then should a minister behave? We find instructions in 1 Timothy 3, This is a true saying, if a man desire the office of a bishop, he desires a good work. A bishop then must be blameless. He must be free from law-breaking. No one should ever be able to accuse him of breaking the laws of the kingdom, the commandments of God.

                                    He must be the husband of one wife. This can mean that he should have only one wife and not many. And it can also mean that he should have a wife, that a minister should not be a single person. Now, if a man's been married for a long time and he loses her, perhaps being widowed, he still has had a wife. He has had the experience of marriage. The experience of learning to relate to and get along with a wife. So that he is better able to counsel, advise and assist others who are married with their problems.

                                    If one hasn't experienced these things, it is almost impossible to really understand what people are going through and to really be able to give wise advice. Wisdom comes through experience in keeping the commandments of God.

                                    A minister or bishop should be vigilant. That is, always alert and aware of temptation and of the commandments and what is going on. He should be sober, that is sober-minded. He should not be given to extremes of behavior or attitude, in anything. He should be balanced, sober-minded.

                                    He should be of a good behavior. That is, his conduct should be consistent with his office. He should not only keep the commandments of God but he should be aware of the dignity of his office. And the fact that he should not by being foolish or doing stupid things bring disrepute upon his office and upon himself and upon the church.

                                    He should be given to hospitality. That is, a hospitable man. A man who thinks about the needs of others, who is concerned about the welfare, the needs and the feelings of others. A hospitable person tries to bring comfort to his guests and to his friends. He should be apt to teach. He should be able to speak to people in a way and at a level that they could understand.

                                    He should not be trying to impress people with all the big words he knows or the complex way that he has of expressing himself. His purpose, his responsibility is to get through to people, to get the point of across to  the people, to teach people to help them to learn and to grow.

                                    His responsibility is not to impress people with how great he is or how smart he or how educated. His responsibility is to pass knowledge  to others, so that they too can be educated in the ways of faith.

                                    In verse 3, this bishop or any minister should not be given to wine. Certainly not be a drunkard and not be an alcoholic. He should not want to drink alcohol on a regular basis. On a rare special occasion perhaps but certainly not regularly and not to drunkenness.

                                    He should be no striker. That is, he should not be a fighter and one quick to quarrel. He should be patient and not a brawler, not covetous and not greedy of filthy lucre, greedy of personal wealth or advantage. He should be one that rules well his own house. Having his children in subjection with all gravity.

                                    That does not mean that he brutalizes his children or over disciplines them or smacks them or spanks them every time they do something which he doesn't like. He must learn to rule his children, his household wisely.

                                    He must learn to rule his household in the same way that our Father in heaven rules his household. Is our Father quick to punish us or is He patient? Is He loving? Is He kind? Is He forgiving? Or does He brutalize us hour by hour through the course of the day and through our lives?

                                    That is not how to treat children. We should be treating our children in the way that our Father treats us. With patience, with wisdom, with common sense, with discipline where it is necessary but more often with compassion and love.

                                    Now, in verse 5, For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God. He should not be a novice or someone new in the faith. He should be someone with experience lest being lifted up with pride he fall into condemnation. A young person who is promoted too quickly tends to become a little proud, a little arrogant. He should pay his dues. We all need to pay our dues through experience in order to establish and develop the kind of wisdom needed to properly oversee the church of God.

                                    Verse 7, he must have a good report of those who are without; outside the faith. He must have a good reputation of all men. So people outside the faith look at you and say, "Well there's an honest man. There's a good man. I don't agree with his beliefs but he's a fine man." But when they look at him and say, "What a sleazebag" he brings disrepute to this way.

                                    You know, your reputation, when you have an office in the church becomes the reputation of the church. You must be of good reputation to be a minister in the church. And if you are not a good of reputation, you'd better repent quickly and take some time off to learn how to do things right and to develop a positive reputation.

another person. Not givtsomeone else. Not given to wine, not greedy of filthy lucre and holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. That these also first be proved and then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless. The same should be said about any minister or bishop or anyone who holds any kind of office within the church.

                                   
Jesus Christ said to Peter and through him, he spoke to all the ministry. He said, feed my sheep. So, what happens when a minister is more concerned with feeding himself than feeding the sheep? What if he heaps burdens on the people in order to live the high life? What if he does covet filthy lucre, if he does want the good things of life, if he does want to have a grand house, a great car and all the best of everything. If he does want to exalt himself instead of humbling himself. If he does look at it as the sheep serving him, instead of the him serving the sheep.

                                   
A certain minister once came to Vancouver and he was a new minister and he gave us his first speech. He stood up there and he says, "Let's get one thing straight brethren. I'm not here to serve you. You are here to serve me." That is an appalling attitude. But it was an attitude extent in the Worldwide Church of God in the 80's, as it is extent in most of the various groups of the Church of God today. The ministry do not want to serve the people. They want to be served by the people.

                                   
What does Almighty God have to say about that? We find his answer in Ezekiel 34, And the word of the Lord came into me saying, Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus said the Lord God unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock? You eat the fat, the good things and you clothe yourselves with the best wool, you kill them that have fed: but you feed not the flock. The diseased have you not strengthened, neither have you healed that which was sick, neither have you bound up that which was broken, neither have you brought again that which was driven away, neither have you sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have you ruled them. And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered.

                                   
What can we say about the church today, are not the sheep scattered? Are there not hundreds of groups and perhaps hundreds more standing alone and why is this? Because the shepherds make merchandise of the sheep. And they seek preeminence and they fight amongst themselves for positions of power and the sheep are scattered; what a sad, sad state of affairs.

                                   
Verse 6, My sheep wandered through the mountains, upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did seek or search after them. Isn't that the truth today? People, ministers are so interested in their own little group, in fleecing their own little flock that they can't be bothered caring about anyone or anything else. They can't be bothered with looking after or taking care of the scattered sheep.

                                   
Therefore you shepherd, you ministers in the Church of God today, hear the word of the Eternal, As I live, saith the Lord God, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock;

Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord;       Thus saith the Eternal God; Behold, I am against the shepherds, the ministry of the Church of God, and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock out of their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.

                                   
For thus saith the Eternal God; Behold, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out. As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. And will bring them out from, among people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country.

                                   
And I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down in safety, saith the Eternal. I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away and bind up that which was broken and strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.

                                   
As for you, O my flock, saith the Eternal God; Behold, I will judge between flocks and flocks and between the rams and he-goats. Does it seem a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but you must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? You shepherds, you have drunk of the deep waters and you must foul the residue with your feet? And as for my flock, they eat that which you have trodden with your feet; and they drink that which you have fouled with your feet.

                                   
Therefore thus saith the Lord God unto them; Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle. Because you have thrust with the with side and shoulder, and pushed the diseased with your horns, so you have scattered them abroad; I will save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle. And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall deliver them.

                                   
This whole chapter is talking about the nation of Israel and how they will be scattered by their enemies because they had lost sight of God. And how God will eventually deliver them and a resurrected David shall be king over all Israel. But this is also talking on a different plane, on a spiritual plane.

                                   
It is talking about God's people at this time, His church and how the ministry abuse and make merchandise of God's sheep and divide them and scatter them. And God says He will not hold those shepherds guiltless, should they not feed the sheep and instead feed  themselves.

                                   
This is what God wants. He wants his ministry to set an example of keeping God's commandments. To set an example of righteousness, of not being guilty of desiring filthy lucre or monetary and physical advantage and gain, not guilty of drunkenness and lewdness and bullying and dominating.

                                   
He wants his ministers to be faithful to Him, to follow the example of Jesus Christ, who gave himself for the sheep. Who gave himself totally, fully, completely, pouring out his blood, his life's blood for the sheep. That's how He wants the ministers to behave. To keep the commandments of God. To teach the ways of God. To set an example, following the example of Jesus Christ and living in a godly fashion. Giving himself for the sheep. Not using the sheep for his own advantage. Never ever, ever, saying the sheep are here to serve us. Rather than saying that he is there to serve the sheep.

                                   
This is what God expects of his ministry. He expects a life of godly service. Teaching people to keep all God's commandments. Teaching them to love one another. Teaching them to love God and teaching them to follow the example of Jesus Christ. And doing a good part of this teaching, not with words; but by their own example.

                                   
This is the shepherd that God will accept. This is a ministry that God will accept. A ministry of service to the people of God. A ministry of obedience to the commandment of Jesus Christ who said, feed my sheep.

                                   
God the Father created physical things in a certain way, to teach us lessons about himself. To what then shall we liken God and to what shall we liken the church and the kingdom? Is it not the family? Did God not say that we should call him Father? Did He not provide a son? Did He not tell us that we should marry husband and wife? And did He not say that such a marriage was an allegory of Christ's relationship with the church?

                                   
If the church is to become the bride of Christ, a chaste virgin to be presented to Christ. You know these scriptures. There are very many scattered throughout the Bible. But let us first turn to Ephesians in chapter 5, starting in verse 20. We should be giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.

                                   
Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and He is the savior of the body. Therefore as the church is subject to Christ, so let wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it.

                                   
You husbands, do you love your wives to the point of giving your lives for your wives? Are you willing to submit yourself and your needs to the needs of your wife? Are you willing to serve your wife as Christ served the church? Christ taught the church. He served the church. He humbled himself, to give himself to the church that He loved. The church was His wife.

                                   
Do you husbands, do you serve your wife? Do you give up your own special desires for your wife? Do you give up going to the pub every night to have the money to buy her a new dress? Do you care about her enough to spend time with her? Do you really follow the example of Jesus Christ in how you lead your wife?

                                   
Yes wives are to submit to their husbands. But also as in verse 21, Submit yourselves one to another in the fear of God. You must love your wife. Take care of her. Fulfill your vows that you made on your wedding day.

                                   
A whole lot of marriage problems could be solved instantly if people, both husbands and wives were to simply realize that when they stood on their wedding day and repeated those vows, they were not making vows to one another.

                                   
They were making vows to Almighty God. They were telling God, I will love and serve and obey my husband. And the husband is telling God, I promise you God, that I will love and take care of and give myself totally and completely for my wife. Subjecting all my desires to her needs. And the wife saying, I will subject all my desires to his needs.

                                   
So that both parties were to have the attitude of total commitment and total love and total service toward the other. Following the example of Jesus Christ who totally committed himself to the Father and through the Father totally committed himself to serving the church. Giving himself for the church, feeding the sheep, caring for them, being a good shepherd and leading them to green pasture.

                                   
In Ephesians 5, Therefore as the church is subject  to Christ, so should wives be subject to their husband. And husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church, and gave himself for it; That He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That He might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So, ought men to love their wives as their own bodies, their own lives. He that loves his wife loves himself.

                                   
How many men say, my wife should submit to me. Maybe she's not submitting to you because you are an overbearing, cruel tyrant. And the example you set is offensive and puts her off and destroys any respect that she might have for you. If she is submitting to you it is because you should be a leader. And a leader leads by setting a godly example.

                                   
If you love her the way Christ loves the church, then you will give yourself for her good. If you respected her needs and  respected her ideas and opinion and spent time with her. And when making a decision you discuss it with her and got her input and reasoned it out together with her and made the decision together, you would find that she would start having some respect for you.

                                   
To be loved, you must be loveable. To have friends, you must show yourself friendly. To have respect, you must be respectable and you must respect others. You must lead the way by setting the example. If you set an example of being mean or bullying or dominating, your wife will pick up on that and she will be offended by that and turned off by that and it will definitely affect your relationship.

                                   
Any man who bullies his wife or abuses her or hits her, deserves to be taken out, in my opinion and have the same thing done to him. If you beat your wife, you should be taken out and lashed, as far as I'm concerned. And I think God feels the same way. There are not going to be any bullies in his kingdom. You have to learn to treat your wife the way Jesus Christ treats you. The way He treats His people, His church.

                                   
If you are going to be in God's kingdom, you must be full of love, which is a gift from the God of love. And if you are a bully, if you are dominating, it just proves one thing; you are very, very far from God. And you are not setting a godly example.

                                   
Now, you wives don't blame your husbands for everything you do wrong either. Try your best to be cooperative and loving and caring toward your husbands and if both sides were committed to each other and committed to considering the other to be of more importance then their own selves, to be more important than their own personal needs, most problems will be resolved. Both parties, man and wife have to learn to submit to one another and cooperate with one another and love one another and give themselves for one another as Jesus Christ did for and gave himself for the church.

                                   
And one of the big problems in the Church of God today has been that men have followed the example of erring ministers. That, dominating personalities in the ministry have affected by their example and their instruction; the attitudes and behavior of husbands. Which in turn have affected the attitudes of and behavior of wives in relationship to how they teach their children.

                                   
Husbands abuse wives. Wives abuse children. Husbands abuse children. It is an endless cycle because children grow up knowing nothing else. And so they treat their wives and their children the same way that they were treated.

                                   
Friends it is up to us to put a stop to this, to end this vicious cycle. It is up to us to repent before God, to go on our knees before him. Ask him to fill us with his spirit of love, of faith, of patience, of courage to do what's right and the wisdom to know what is right. It is up to us to study His word and to break this vicious cycle. And learn to be loving, to be affectionate, to be forgiving, to be  caring.

                                   
How many marriages break down because somebody holds a grudge? They just can't forgive some perceived slight. We have to learn to forgive each other as Christ forgives us. For only as we forgive others, will we be forgiven.

                                   
In verse 28, So, ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. For he that loves his wife loves himself. No man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourishes and cherishes it, even as the Lord nourishes and cherishes the church: For we are members of His body, that is the church, and of His flesh, that is the body of Christ, the church and of His bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. They shall be considered as one entity, one family.