Prepare to Enter the Kingdom of God

Good morning to all of you. Welcome to the Kingdom of God Bible Seminars. It's certainly a pleasure to have you here today with us. Daily headlines warn us about financial uncertainty here in the United States. We often hear about terror threats, such as the recent bombing at the Boston Marathon. We have continuing cultural wars here in the United States. So I'd like to ask you a question.

How can you be prepared for the next turn in world events? We really don't know what is going to happen next in world events, but we can be sure that something is going to happen.

And of course, the Bible prophesies some very cataclysmic and tumultuous times that will come upon the earth before Christ returns. So how can you be prepared for what's coming in the future? How can you prepare for what lies ahead? God really does want us to survive. He wants our families to succeed. Today, let's learn how you can prepare for the challenges and also the opportunities that will lie ahead for us.

This seminar will give you hope, which comes from the living of God's laws. If we live by the principles of God's law and way of life, we can rest assured that God will take care of us, that God will protect us and be with us. So today, we're going to ask and answer four essential questions. In the first session, we'll cover the first two questions.

Why don't we have world peace? Why, after all these many years, haven't we figured out how to live together in peace? And the second question is, why is the kingdom of God the solution to that problem, to peace here on earth? And then in the second session, we'll cover two other questions. One is a major underlying crisis of our time.

A lot of people don't even realize what that crisis is. But there is a major underlying crisis that's going on around us. And we frankly are unaware of it for the most part. We'll talk about that in the second session. And also, what is Jesus Christ's plan for your success and your future in God's kingdom? Understanding the answers to these questions from the Bible and the wonderful news about the kingdom of God will certainly enlighten us. He will also empower us and encourage us to continue and to live life as God would want us to live.

So let's ask this question. Why don't we have world peace? Worldwide permanent peace among all nations and all peoples. It's been a very elusive goal throughout human history. It has been an ongoing hope and dream of mankind throughout all of human history. It's the stuff of countless stories, of countless sermons and various songs, and also a lot of wishful thinking.

Endless strategies to promote peace have been proposed. They've been tried. Just think of all the peace demonstrations, all the peace talks, all the peace treaties. Sadly, even sincere negotiations have generally been fruitless for the most part. Peace really is hard to come by on this earth.

God inspired the prophet Jeremiah to write a poignant portrayal of world history. In Jeremiah 6, verse 14, and I'm going to be moving very quickly. That's why we have a PowerPoint presentation, because we really don't have time. I do have a Bible. I use it all the time, but really don't have time to turn to all the scriptures today. So if you'll just follow along with the scriptures that we have outlined for you. And then, of course, you can look them up and check me out later. But in Jeremiah 6, verse 14, scripture says, "...they have also healed the herd of my people slightly, that is superficially, saying, Peace, Peace, when there is no peace.

Some have claimed that there would be peace on earth, but there never has been peace on earth. Human beings on their own cannot discover lasting solutions. In Isaiah 59, verse 8, the scripture says, "...the way of peace they have not known." And that's certainly true today. People just don't know how to make peace. Sadly, people are spiritually blind, and that's behind all of our problems. The conduct of nations reflects the behavior of people. The fact is, international relations will be peaceable only when all people learn to be peaceable, when they learn to treat one another with respect.

However, the inspired scriptures do promise that this will eventually come to pass. It's something we can look forward to because the Bible does prophesy world peace. But what will it take to achieve world peace? Frankly, it's going to take a new heart and a new spirit, as it says in Ezekiel 18, verse 31, a new heart and a new spirit, and only God can give us that new heart and that new spirit. For the people God is calling now, He is offering a drastic change. When Jesus Christ returns to earth, that offer will be extended to all people. God isn't calling everyone now, but He is calling some, some who've had their minds open to the truth of God.

When Christ returns to earth, again, that offer is going to be extended to everyone, but that is not the case today. Most people are blinded spiritually, and they simply don't see because they can't see. Unknown to many people, during Christ's first coming, He was not trying to bring peace on the earth. People say that, especially around Christmas time, but that really wasn't what Christ was doing when He first came to earth.

World peace, however, will take root when the Prince of Peace, when Jesus Christ returns to this earth. At that time, as it says here in Isaiah 9 verse 7, the increase of His government and peace, there will be no end.

So peace will reign on the earth, but not until Christ returns. Christ peacemaking will absolutely not be one of appeasement. That's what Neville Chamberlain tried to do with Hitler back in World War II. That doesn't work. That's granting concessions to enemies in the hopes of buying them off. Of course, Jesus Christ will not operate in such a fashion.

In fact, the Scripture says He will forcibly put down rebellion. He will establish His kingdom with power and might. He will establish His government on this earth. After that, He will set about re-educating all humanity, and He will bring about spiritual conversion for all people. At that time, the nations will be led into peace for the very first time. There will be contentment. There will be joyfulness, as we've never seen before. In fact, war will be utterly banned when Christ returns.

Notice Isaiah 2, where it prophesies that when Christ returns, they will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. Of course, there's war going on now in Syria. In Israel, it seems they're always in a constant state of war or looking out for what's going to happen next. It is going to be a marvelous time, as prophesied here in Micah 4.

In God's kingdom, everyone shall sit under His vine and under His fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid. It will be a time of peace and prosperity, a time of tremendous joy. Yes, one day, the people of the earth will finally witness and experience genuine and lasting peace. Now, did you know that there is a central aspect of the message that Jesus taught, and that His apostles also preached? For example, the apostle Paul referred to the gospel or the good news of peace.

That truly is good news. It is something to look forward to. There's just so much hatred on the earth today and so much abuse. I'm looking forward to a time of real peace on this earth. That's really good news. But again, why is humanity in the terrible state of suffering, discord, and upset that we see today? Why is there so little peace on the earth today? Why so little cooperation among people? Why does fighting, conflict, and confusion often prevail in human relations? Frankly, it all has to do with our sinful human nature.

Not too many people want to talk about sinful human nature, but that really is at the crux of our problem. As human beings, we have what the prophet Ezekiel referred to as hearts of stone rather than compassionate hearts of flesh. Our corrupt human nature and our weaknesses combined with Satan the Devil's influence has led the whole world into a world of hurt, of suffering, and of agony. Now, some of us may be able to hide from that to some degree, but let's face it, this earth is suffering. It's groaning for the return of Jesus Christ for peace on earth for all people, not just some, but for everyone.

Paul explained in 2 Corinthians 4, verse 4, that Satan is the God of this age or the God of this world, and he has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see the light of the gospel. They can't see the good news of God's coming kingdom. The Apostle Paul also reminds Christ's faithful disciples in Ephesians 2, verse 2, and speaking of, again, human nature, he says, "...you once walked according to the course of this world." He's speaking to converted people who have changed their lives. "...you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience." Again, it's speaking of Satan the devil, "...among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and whereby nature children of wrath, just as the others." So we all have to admit that we have sinful human nature, and we have to have God's help to overcome and to grow and to be pleasing to Him.

It's because of Satan's deceptions and the sinful tendencies of human nature that the Apostle Paul also wrote here in Romans chapter 3, verse 23, "...all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." And that includes every single one of us. We've all sinned. We've all fallen short of God's glory. God has never sinned. Jesus Christ has never sinned. But we've all sinned. And we must understand that the devil cannot force us to sin. It's not just the devil who makes us do it. It's also a willingness on our part.

Satan simply influences us through our fleshly weakness. There are major areas of our fleshly nature that are easily manipulated by Satan. First of all, it's our selfish physical desires that often get us into trouble. Surely, Satan is there to stir us up to think in certain ways. Notice here in Galatians chapter 5, verse 19, where it says, Paul says, Paul says, Clearly, we are told that we are to be overcomers. Only those who overcome these things will God grant to sit with him with Christ on his throne. So we must become overcomers. We have to overcome Satan. We also have to overcome our human nature. The Apostle Paul graphically describes this effect that physical desires have on human behavior here in Romans chapter 1, where he says, And we see that happening more and more in today's society here in the United States of America and, frankly, around the world. These prophecies are certainly coming to pass. These are prophecies. They're also statements of fact and of truth. God gave them over to their sinful desires, and they're becoming more and more sinful each and every day. So this world is becoming more corrupt. Let's continue on here. In the same way that men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another, men committed indecent acts with other men and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion. Now this is what the scripture teaches, but that's not what we're hearing today, is it? From our government and from many even religious organizations. They're not speaking the truth. God wants us to tell the truth. So that's what these Kingdom of God seminars are all about, telling the truth of what God is doing and what He expects of us. And continuing on, further more, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, He gave them over to a depraved mind to do what ought not to be done. That's the message that we should hear from the highest offices in our land, but we're not hearing that today. We haven't heard that for, frankly, quite a long time. To do what ought not to be done, they have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity. See, the Bible speaks plainly about the issues that we face today.

Continuing on, it says, they are full of envy. Stop and consider what we see on earth today. People who are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice. They are gossips, slanders, god-haters, people that don't even believe in God. Insolent, arrogant, and boastful. They invent ways of doing evil. They disobey their parents. They are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Every day, we read about and hear about ruthless people taking advantage of others. Although they know God's righteous decree, that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things, but they also approve of those who practice them. That's what Paul said many years ago, but it's certainly true today, isn't it? Now, a second major area of our physical, fleshly nature that's easily manipulated by Satan is that of our natural deceitfulness, including self-deception. It is an incredibly great weakness in mankind that we are deceitful. In fact, Jeremiah 17, speaking of man's heart in verse 9 and 10, it says, "...the heart is devious above all else." It is perverse. Who can understand it? Who can understand their own human heart? "...I, the Lord, test the mind and search the heart to give to all according to their ways, according to the fruit of their doings." In other words, we do reap what we sow. God is a just and equitable God, and unless we repent of our own heart and the hardness of our heart, we will reap the whirlwind, as it says in the Bible. We naturally look for ways to justify our own lusts, our own sinful desires, and the behavior that arises from them. It's very difficult to admit that we're wrong, that we've sinned against God, and that we need to change our lifestyle.

But God's Word, the Bible, reminds us here in Proverbs that there is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. In other words, this is what it leads to. It leads to death. If we continue in the ways of the world, it will end in our death, and not just a temporary death, but a permanent death. Death is the end result of living against God's laws and against His ways. Now, the third major area of our physical nature that's easily manipulated by Satan is that we have a natural tendency to resent having our fleshly desires limited by any rules. We don't like to be told that we can't do something, or that we should do something. Even when God is the one telling us not to do something or to do something, we rebel against God. We rebel against authority. It's a natural tendency that we all have. In Romans chapter 8 verses 5 through 8, and this is from the Holman Christian Standard Bible. Typically, we use the New King James Bible, but from time to time we do quote other translations that make it a bit clearer. Here in Romans 8 verse 5, For those whose lives are according to the flesh, think about the things of the flesh, but those whose lives are according to the Spirit. In other words, those who walk in the Spirit or live in the Spirit of God, about the things of the Spirit. For the mindset of the flesh is death, but the mindset of the Spirit is life and peace. So we have to change our mindsets. We have to look to God's kingdom and to His guidance and direction, to His Spirit, if we're going to walk with Him. Then we will have life and peace. For the mindset of the flesh is hostile to God because it does not submit itself to God's laws, for it is unable to do so. So the human nature is something that we really must fight against by the power of God's Spirit. God will give us the victory over our own human nature if we will yield to God. Those whose lives are in, that is dominated by the flesh, are unable to please God. So if you really want to please God, then you must learn to walk in the Spirit, not in the flesh.

Notice here in Romans chapter 8 verses 13 and 14, For if you live according to the flesh, you will die. Again, it's not speaking of a first death, but it's speaking of a second death, a death that is permanent. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. So it is possible to overcome. It is possible to change. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. So if we will allow God's Spirit to lead us and guide us, if we will follow that lead and submit to the Spirit of God, then we will become the sons, the children of God. The Bible tells us very clearly that sin is the transgression or the breaking of the law. It seems like not many people want to talk about sin these days. They seem to think that there is no sin anymore. But no, sin is the transgression of the law. It always has been. It always will be. Sin is the breaking of God's law. God has the right as our Creator to tell us what to do, to tell us what He expects of us. So sin is the transgressing, the breaking of God's law. The fundamental laws of God were summarized for us in the Ten Commandments. The commandments are listed in Exodus 20, also in Deuteronomy chapter 5. Now we have a free booklet, and by the way we have an entire table full of booklets to my left against the wall. And you are welcome to take any booklet that you would like. We just have one stipulation. You can take them all, but we just want you to read everything you take. But you're welcome to take every booklet that we have. We have a booklet on that table called the Ten Commandments. It explains God's law more fully. Now the ancient Israelites were told by God that if they obeyed God's laws, everything would go well for them, and their new nation would be truly blessed in every conceivable way.

But they were also warned that if they disobeyed God's laws, that they broke His commandments, His statutes, His judgments, the negative consequences would surely follow. Do these promises and warnings apply on the world scene and in our personal lives today? That's a question you should ask yourself. Does it matter? Do those things still apply today? Is God truly the same yesterday, today and forever, as the Bible says? Or has He gone off somewhere and is no longer concerned about mankind? Frankly, many people ignorant of God's laws have learned the hard way that breaking them, even without knowing them, carries a penalty. For example, the Seventh Commandment says, you shall not commit adultery. And yet today, adultery is commonplace on TV and movies. Very little thought is really given to what's actually happening there. Millions of people have broken this law and learned to their regret that the negative consequences of breaking the law are often endless, leaving a trail of devastated and miserably unhappy people and many children that are greatly affected by this. God's laws cannot be broken with impunity. There is a punishment for breaking God's laws. There are many consequences for sins that we commit. There are always negative consequences, even if it takes decades, to see them clearly. So let's not be deceived. God will not be mocked.

For example, contributing to the breakdown of the traditional family here in the Western world has been what we called the sexual revolution, which overlapped with the expansion of the welfare state some years ago. In the United States, President Lyndon Johnson's Great Society, as it was called in the mid-1960s, coincided with the growing use of the birth control pill. I'm sure we remember that, the introduction of the birth control pill, which revolutionized attitudes toward sex. It changed people's thinking because they weren't so afraid of consequences any longer. The result is accurately described in Hosea 4, verse 10, where it says, "...they shall commit harlotry, but not increase." They won't be blessed for what they're doing.

Abortion is another major factor in this. Even today, so many, I think, 1.3 million babies are aborted every year here in the United States. 1.3 million. That's a huge city every single year.

The Bible says, "...you shall not murder." And the innocent murdering of little babies is indeed a violation of God's law. What is needed is the restoration of the God-given family unit. That's what we need to have restored, making it, once again, the fundamental building block on which society is to be built. We've come a long way since the 1930s, 40s, and 50s. Things have gotten increasingly worse. Of course, the breakdown of the God-designed family unit is not the only problem in our societies. We have a number of problems. Certainly greed has also contributed greatly to our current massive financial problems. I was just listening to the radio yesterday, and a talk show host was saying that there's no way we can ever pay our debt. It's impossible. It's so far out of control and so far out of hand that there will be a day of reckoning one of these days. It is coming.

The idea that we can have something now without paying for it by simply putting it on a credit card, or that the government can pay for its promises to citizens by increased borrowing or creating money out of thin air, you know, it just goes against the spirit of the 10th commandment. God says, thou shalt not covet. We shouldn't covet that which God hasn't blessed us with, that which we can't afford. That people covet things they can't afford all the time, and they go ahead and get them anyway and worry about trying to pay for it later.

Also, breaking the fourth commandment has contributed to our nation's fiscal problems. A lot of people don't really think of it this way, but opening stores seven days a week only encourages overspending. We can go out and spend every single day of the week not thinking anything about it. It has added to our debt load in the United States and around the world. More importantly, ignoring this command, this fourth commandment also contributes to the family breakdown by replacing any semblance of a day of rest or family togetherness with a day when, frankly, family members are running in all different directions. The Sabbath day really is a time of rest. It's a family time. It's a time for us to get together and to worship God and to praise Him, to spend time together as a family. When the fourth commandment is violated, we pay a price for that. Our families pay a price for that. And worst of all, though it adds to the national sin of breaking the first commandment, that's the worst part of it all. The first commandment is, you shall have no other gods before me. When God tells you to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy, that's what He means. He's the one that sanctified the Sabbath day and made it holy at creation. So when we trample on the Sabbath day, we are, in a sense, trampling on God. We are trampling on His will. And we are certainly breaking the first commandment. You shall have no other gods before me. Our God has become our own desires. You know, we want to do what we want to do on God's Sabbath day rather than what God tells us what to do. Whether it's to work or to do certain things, pleasures, pursuing pleasures on God's holy Sabbath day, it all has a price to pay for doing such things. So we need to learn to put God first in our lives. In Revelation chapter 21, it shows the kind of attitude that so many of us have here in the United States. I am rich. I have become wealthy. I have need of nothing. When the reality God says is that spiritually we are wretched. We are miserable. We are poor. We are blind. And we're naked. Okay, that's what the scripture tells us. And frankly, that's how a lot of people really live their lives today. They don't look to God for anything. They think they have all they need. It's only when things are really falling apart for them that they might turn to God momentarily, briefly for some kind of deliverance. But for the most part, they've forgotten God.

So we can see a lot wrong everywhere we look today.

And it's bound to get worse as we progressively turn away from God.

However, while Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28, which are called the blessings and cursings chapters, while they warn us of dire judgment on disobedience, the same chapters also call for repentance, a national and individual turning away from sin. Look at Leviticus 26, where God says, But if they confess their iniquity, their sin, now, of course, this was written about ancient Israel, but it's also true today. It's true for our nation. If they confess their iniquity, their sin, and the iniquity of their fathers, then I will remember my covenant with Jacob, with Israel. For their sake, I will remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt and the sight of the nations, that I might be their God. No, God really wants to be our God. He wants to be your God. He wants you to turn to Him and do what He says is for your good. So, we really need to heed God's warnings. There are many warnings in the Bible. God wants us to heed those warnings because otherwise we will suffer, and God really doesn't want us to suffer. God loves us. He loved us enough to send His own Son to die for us. Now, this promise is echoed here in 2 Chronicles 7 about repentance. In 2 Chronicles 7, verse 14, God says, If my people who are called by my name, God's people, God's children, if they will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin, and I will heal their land. These are promises that God gives us. If we will humble ourselves and turn to Him, then He will forgive our sins. He will heal our land. He will heal our nation. The fact is that our nation and all nations of the world are unlikely to change before the return of Jesus Christ to this earth. But the truth is that you can change. If you have things that you need to change, you can do that because God is calling some today. He's calling a few out of this earth, out of this world, to change their lifestyle, to change their behaviors, and to truly humble themselves, repent of their sins, and seek Him. So you individually can follow Christ. You can do as He requests, you can seek the kingdom of God.

So we've talked about why there is no peace on the earth today. I hope you can clearly see the reason is because of our own sinful nature, it's because of Satan the devil and his influence, it's because we are not seeking God's will, but we're seeking our own will. And as nations we've turned against God. So that's why there's no peace on the earth. So let's ask this question, why is the kingdom of God the solution to this problem? Why is the kingdom of God the solution to having no peace here on earth? Frankly, mainstream Christianity speaks continually about Jesus Christ, yet it never seems to emphasize what He really said. What did Christ really say about the kingdom of God? The truth is that Christ constantly spoke of the kingdom of God to His followers. In parables, He compared this spiritual kingdom to earthly material things so they could begin to grasp its vital meaning and its vital significance in their lives. Jesus stated in Matthew chapter 13 that the kingdom of heaven or the kingdom of God is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and he bought that pearl of great price. It just shows a willingness to surrender to God, a willingness to give up everything to follow God and to obey Him and to serve Him. We must all be willing to find that pearl of great price and forsake everything else as we cling to that pearl, that pearl of great price, which is God's truth and His kingdom. Jesus' clear point is that the kingdom of God is so precious that it becomes worth sacrificing everything else to enter it. Now, the previous parable here in Matthew 13 in verse 44 says essentially the same thing. It makes the same point.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field which a man found and hid and for the joy over it he goes and sells everything. He sells everything that he has to buy that one field, that one field which represents God's kingdom. The kingdom of which Jesus spoke embraces the solution to all of our human problems, all of our dilemmas. Frankly, the kingdom of God answers everything. It answers all questions. There really will be peace on the earth when Christ returns because Christ will rule.

Christ will rule with love but also with a rod of iron. That's what your Bible says. The kingdom today should be our primary goal. It should be your primary goal. It should be the central focus of all of our necessary subordinate goals. It's okay to have other goals, but the main goal is the kingdom of God and seeking first God's kingdom. But as we know, a supremely clever but perverted spirit called Satan the Devil has sidetracked humanity into believing all kinds of other philosophies. In fact, religion is one of the most confusing philosophies taught today.

There is a great wilderness of confusion out there religiously, but the kingdom of God is the vital truth that is taught directly from the Bible. Jesus Christ spoke of the prophets and the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob being in God's kingdom, that that was their destiny to be in God's kingdom. Matthew, in his parallel account, uses the term kingdom of heaven. He uses it a number of times. He does so because, frankly, heaven is a synonym for God here because he was writing to a Jewish audience who avoided even using the name of God. They didn't want to pronounce the name of God because they believed it was so sacred that they ought not pronounce the name so they would substitute heaven for God.

So the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God are synonymous. Just before his suffering and his subsequent death by crucifixion, Christ said to his original apostles in Luke chapter 22, he said, "...but you are those who have continued with me in my trials, and I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as my father bestowed one upon me, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, a literal kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel." God is speaking of a literal kingdom with literal people whom the apostles would judge, people they would lead, they would guide, they would train, and they would teach.

But the kingdom of God will encompass many more than just the Hebrew patriarchs and prophets and the New Testament apostles. The apostle Paul, facing the end of his life, wrote to his beloved friend Timothy, a fellow minister and evangelist, he said in 2 Timothy chapter 4, verse 8, he said, "...there's laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord Jesus Christ, the righteous judge, will give to me in that day, and not to me only, but also to all who have loved his appearing." Do you love the appearing of your Savior Jesus Christ?

Are you longing for that day? Do you think about it each and every day? Are you praying daily, thy kingdom come? This world is groaning for Christ's return. These biblical passages show us that people can definitely enter the kingdom of God. All two Christians will participate in and have their part in the kingdom of God. Jesus Christ is going to return to the earth in power, in glory, and in great majesty.

He will establish his kingdom to rule over all the nations of men. He will put down all rebellion against him. Here's how the Bible says this is going to occur in Revelation 11, verse 15. Then the seventh angel sounded, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever. Again, this is a prophecy that will be fulfilled when the seventh angel sounds. The kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ.

That will be just one kingdom of God at that time. Jesus and his spirit-born children will bring magnificent changes to this world, to this earth. The earth's wilderness areas will be fully transformed into gorgeous, productive lands, according to Isaiah, and in Amos, and Micah, and different places.

The nature of wild animals will be altered so that they become utterly tamed. We'll be able to lead a lion. Even our child will lead a lion in God's kingdom. No one will destroy. Nothing will destroy in God's kingdom. So the nature of wild animals will change. People will experience God's loving compassion through miraculous healings. As Christ healed all who came to him when he was here on this earth, all who come to Christ and his servants will be healed in God's kingdom.

Humanity will never again suffer the anxiety, the cruelty, and the devastation of war. Micah says they will learn war no more. War will be stopped. There will be genuine peace as the knowledge of God fills the entire world. Jesus will use those who have shown they will always be faithful to him to teach others how to live without abuse, without hatred, and without fear. The scripture says that those who serve God today, who yield to God, who receive his spirit, will rule and reign with him for a thousand years here on the earth. And then God's kingdom will expand for all eternity. There will be world peace. Christ is going to bring world peace. Now, we're going to take a short break at this time for some refreshments, for a restroom break, and then afterwards I'll be back for the second part of today's kingdom of God Bible seminar where we're going to focus on one of the main reasons why we have so much so many problems here on the earth today because there's a crisis and people just don't even understand it. They're blinded by the truth.