TOS067 Lenten Logos VII – The Kingdom For audio TOS067: Lenten Logos VII – Kingdom – Truth of the Spirit (podcast) | Listen Notes
Final episode of the Lenten Logos series on Truth of the Spirit with Patti Brunner. Jesus came upon the earth to restore you to the heavenly kingdom. Jesus came to give freedom to the captives—even those who have created their own prison and those who are oblivious to the fact that they are not free in their lives. The difficulty with living your life in the world is that you were created for eternity. The world can never satisfy in the ‘long run’. You worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear?” Jesus tells us, “Seek ye first The Kingdom of God and all this will be given unto you.”
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TOS067 Lenten Logos VII – The Kingdom
The difficulty with living your life in the world is that you were created for eternity. The world can never satisfy in the ‘long run’. You worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear?” “Seek ye first The Kingdom of God and all this will be given unto you.” (Mt.6:31,33) Jesus tells us this in the Gospel of Matthew. You will not be satisfied until you are in heaven. The world keeps perfect union from taking place but as you seek His Face, as you are in His Presence you will know God.
You are listening to Truth of the Spirit, I’m Patti Brunner. This is the final episode of the series based on my book, Lenten Logos. Today we are going to talk about The Kingdom of God.
There is confusion among God’s people of this generation concerning The Kingdom of God. We think of a far off heaven and hope that God’s mercy will allow us entrance when we die. We may only hope to “make it to the purgatory bench” or spend our lives as if we have an ‘ace in the hole’—God’s mercy. We leave God out of our daily lives except for a few moments on Sunday as we make an effort to be obedient by attending mass. But in the Lord’s Prayer Jesus taught us to pray: “Thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven!” Only the heavenly perfection of The Kingdom of God must wait until the end of time.
The Lord’s advice is this: Continue to reach beyond your grasp of things. As you stretch you shall grow.
Grace can work slow and fast. It is the freewill which sometimes makes the distribution of grace like a ‘slow-drip I.V.’. His grace provides the life-giving nutrient of grace, but to turn it on full before the sick person could handle it would not be the Will of God.
God created us with the choice to love him; He does not force himself upon us. We were designed to live in his fullness but through sin we are blinded to God’s goodness. Grace opens our eyes.
Before our eyes are opened we are like a blind man who cannot comprehend the beauty of color. We have no comprehension, no frame of reference. We live in a “black and white” world. When grace fills us abundantly, it is like waking up in “Technicolor”. Accepting the grace that will transform our lives is our choice.
For your eyes to be opened, one thing we can do is continue to raise your praise. Continue to work for the freedom of the captives of darkness. Continue to allow His grace to be absorbed until it permeates every cell of your body and all your soul. It is then that you will know true peace and freedom from the effect of sin.
The philosophies of the ages have contemplated what brings peace to the people. The Lord says to you “My Peace be with You.” His supernatural peace is beyond the world’s understanding. His peace is not of the world but it is in the world. Draw near to him to share His Peace.
Remember the Sacred Scripture from chapter 8 of 2nd Corinthians that one gives from his plenty until the one who is lacking is able to do the same. Is that the way you give? Is that the way you give of your faith? Is that the way you give of your time? Your prayer? Your life? Your money, your talents?
Majority rules in choosing our freewill actions. The difficulty in knowing the will of the Lord is that your own thoughts, your own heart’s desires, your own will has the majority. You must empty self to receive the fullness of Christ, of the kingdom.
Jesus became a man to show us the way to receive the fullness of the Kingdom. Jesus overcame the fear of suffering and death. Jesus overcame the fear of ridicule and rejection. He stepped out of the “acceptable norm” to do what was just and what pleased the Father. He did not judge others but always treated even the ‘public’ sinners with love and compassion. True, he did speak bluntly to those who closed their hearts and minds to the truth, but even this bluntness did not sharpen the senses of those whose hearts were set against him.
In the parable of the wedding feast the invited guests made excuses and did not show up. The servants then gathered everyone in the fields and brought them into the feast. The one thrown out at the feast was the one not wearing the wedding garment. Our wedding garment is Christ. To be acceptable in the Kingdom, which is the feast of the Church as bride, we must choose to take off our garments of “self” and put on Christ!
As you put on Christ, the judgement in your heart of others fades away. It can be a barrier—guard your heart against it.
Jesus overcame the world’s “acceptable norm” to heal, to drive out demons, and to manifest God’s glory. He demonstrated God’s kingdom on earth and taught you to pray each day for the Kingdom to be manifested on earth as it is in heaven.
The truth will set you free. Many have not heard truth even though it has been taught to them.
In an earlier episode we discussed Choosing Repentance. Repentance first involves awareness of sin and its destructiveness. Sin destroys the relationship between God and man. It destroys all life, eventually. Conversion of heart through faith and hope clears the path for repentance.
Sorrow and the determination to change avail the sinner the means to repent. Repentance opens the heart to forgiveness. Forgiveness restores relationship. The Presence of God, the grace of the sacrament, repairs the soul, the heart, the mind and all is good again. The righteousness of Christ restores life.
Jesus came upon the earth to restore you to the heavenly kingdom. Jesus came to give freedom to the captives—even those who have created their own prison and those who are oblivious to the fact that they are not free in their lives.
Seek ye first The Kingdom of God. To this end you should live your life. Always weigh the consequences, the effect upon others when you make your daily decisions and especially the difficult and ‘important’ decisions.
When sin entered the world through Adam, our perfect spirit to Spirit relationship with God was severed. Sin distorted our view of God and shattered the control of the soul over the body. We were so totally blinded by sin that we were ruled by death, fear, and reliance on our five physical senses. The Divine Mercy of God became man and rescued us by his cross. (Jesus became the bridge to reconnect us to the Father.) The Cross covers the chasm that separated us.
Receiving the Spirit to spirit reconnection is the gift from God we receive through Baptism. Confirmation strengthens the connection as the “Baptism of the Holy Spirit” brings us understanding. In Baptism original sin is erased and grace immediately begins to build up our weakened nature in the spiritual battle. Acceptance of God’s grace is possible and each time we choose to trust God, The Kingdom of God manifests and we receive the freedom won for us at such a dear cost.
We are in the midst of a generation of Catholics who have truth before us, available in Scripture, in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, in the teachings of homilies, yet our eyes are closed; our ears hear but do not comprehend. Until by the sovereign grace of God we seek the Lord with all our hearts, we shall remain captives in a jail that has been unlocked because we have been pardoned by the Divine Mercy of God.
Many seek not in truth for truth for they have no reference for it yet, but the Spirit of the Lord comes to teach truth and bestows grace and blessings upon those who ask and are open to His Word.
We seek The Kingdom of God most simply in Prayer and reading the Word of God. We then seek The Kingdom of God by applying his Word to our lives.
What is in a word? It can be the difference in life and death—the difference in eternity.
Fear not the terror of the night. Jesus brought the day to all eternity. His Light is given to all. The world has not yet seen the fullness of the glory of the Lord. He has chosen you to bring His glory to the people.
Jesus chooses this generation to open the eye of the blind and the ears of the deaf. By the stripes of Jesus you are healed. It’s time, it is time for truth to be known. It has been hidden from the hearts of man in fear and in confusion. He is not the god of chaos but the God who creates order and overcomes the chaos brought about by sin.
The days of tomorrow are wrapped from your view. The days of yesterday fade like the dew. It is today that the Lord has given to you.
The definition of time requires the passage of that time. Yet in eternity all time is now and forever.
Jesus redeemed you, Jesus redeemed all from the Effect Of Sin! When we deeply trust God we cannot explain the peace that flows within us when in the “natural” things are so bad. In a natural order we should truly be destroyed. In the sweet surrender and trust of God His Spirit calms us and fills us with joy. We have an attitude of gratitude in all things. Hope restores us in the midst of destruction.
Seek ye first The Kingdom of God and all these things shall be given unto you. What things? Joy, peace, love, wealth, power, riches in relationship, and health according to the perfection of creation before the taint of the first sin. Jesus bore the sins of all and has redeemed you from them.
Be free in the Word of the Lord. Be Free in the Joy of the Lord. Know the Truth, the Word, The Light and you shall be healed, you shall enter God’s glory, you shall know The Kingdom of God. It shall be your home forever.
During the course of this series we have focused on various topics of the Lenten season: The Cross, the Effect of Sin, Repentance, Light vs. Dark, Divine Mercy, Prayer, and now the Kingdom. Each of us has the opportunity to look to the Light of Christ empowered in our lives. Although personal relationship with the Lord is unique, it is available to all who seek his face. The Light of Christ is within each of our hearts, almost ‘trapped’ within, choosing to shine out to enlighten the heart within and to open the doors of the Kingdom through grace, peace and understanding of the Word of God.
Sometimes we see the moral issues around us and we throw up our hands, especially when those around us do not see a problem. We see the natural disasters and wonder if the very earth is crying out due to the Effect Of Sin. Fear grips us and keeps us behind locked doors and isolates us into narrow comfort zones. Yet, we can look around us, past the darkness and see a sharp contrast. We see healing, supernatural gifts of the Spirit, and the beginnings of a great awakening of the people of God. His grace is reestablishing order from the chaos wrought by our sin. Divine Mercy indeed!
As your mind is renewed and opened to the Lord, more and more will Truth be made clear. The Holy Spirit is upon you, teaching you in wisdom and in faith so you may go into the world and teach others. We thirst for knowledge of God but until our minds are renewed and darkness is cast out we cannot know him. Our lack will change in time. God’s love conquers all. Those that cooperate with the Holy Spirit will come to understand the meaning of life and death and will come to know the Father’s Glory as they join in communion with the ancients in giving praise to the Father.
Turn your face to the Lord. Seek his presence in your lives. Reach out to him in Prayer and supplication. Continue to walk in His ways; if you do not know the Way, learn it; if you cannot find the Way, ask for help; if you cannot follow the Way, repent. Grace is a communication of God’s love upon your life.
I’m going to end this last podcast of the Lenten Logos series with a poem the Lord gave me for the Lenten Logos book when I asked for the words to open the eyes and hearts of His people.
“Await O sleeper for the awakening—
The Great Awakening!
Hearts shall turn unto the Lord
Lives shall be set upon the road to Salvation!
Come with Me, into the meadow of healing,
Into the stream of the anointing,
Into the sky of wonders and awe.
My children shall awaken as at the dawn of creation—to
Know, Love, and Serve the Creator—
Once again, we shall be One.”
Let us pray:
†Father, we pledge our commitment to follow the course of our faith. Thank You, Lord, for bringing us to You in this moment. Every day we will lift our hearts and minds to You. We promise to seek You with all our hearts. Come Holy Spirit; fill the hearts of your faithful. Enkindle in us the fire of your love! As You change us in fire and love, so too the world will never be the same. Open our hearts, break all barriers, and set us free from sin, O Lord. We seek your divine help, we rely on your love and we trust in your goodness. Heavenly Father, grant to us the understanding of your kingdom, of your plan for us. Bless us as we continue the course laid out before us. May the glory of the Lord be upon us and we shall be changed for in the fullness of your Holy Spirit we are free and we are united as one in your kingdom. Amen!
You been listening to Truth of the Spirit. I’m Patti Brunner. Much of this podcast is taken from my book Lenten Logos with things the Lord shared with me in past seasons of Lent. Lenten Logos is now available for download at Amazon. You can check out the details at Patriarch Ministries.com. And come back for more. With the Holy Spirit there is always more!
Amen.
