INTRODUCTION
 
From God's view, there are only two kingdoms. In one, you “follow Him” and obey His will and ways. In the other, there is only “worship of self”, which is always in competition against God's ways, which are selfless. In this season, we need to align ourselves to the culture of His Kingdom and not make the mistake of thinking that western “Christian” culture and Kingdom culture are necessarily the same!
 
NUMBER ONE
 
As we progress in these times, there is a monumental clash coming between these two Kingdoms as they compete for the souls of humanity. Competition first originated in Heaven as Lucifer decided to strive against God to become number one. The same powerful spirit is alive in the world today, motivating people or groups to compete with one another to try to become number one.
 
Competition is an integral part of life in Western cultures. It has been accepted and celebrated as a very necessary ingredient for a successful life. However, competition ultimately is self-seeking and involves covetousness, which leads to envy, which results in all kinds of strife and war.
 
The first earthly competition was between Cain and Abel. Cain had had his own ideas on how to do offerings. However, when Abel's offerings were acceptable to God and Cain's were not, Cain become very angry and murdered his brother. Cain's competition with Abel was really his competition with God over who would be number one in his life (see Genesis 4:3-8).
 
Genesis 4:3-8:
3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord.
4 And Abel also brought an offering – fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.
6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast?
7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”
8 Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.”4 While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
 
King Nimrod, who built the original city and tower of Babylon, was the great-grandson of Noah. He discarded the faith of his fathers and tapped into the occult. He was the first to put competition to work within his army to train and toughen his troops. He enticed and controlled men by using immorality, competition, and sorcery.
 
The Babylonian culture gave rise to the Greek civilization, which gave rise to the Roman empire, which in turn laid the foundations for Western civilization today. Competition can serve a valuable purpose in our culture. It balances greed and encourages quality service because businesses must compete with one another to survive. In a similar way, it can motivate individuals to greater performance. Competition is also generally believed by many to increase production, and for the short term, it can stimulate production between individuals and groups. However, over the long-term and in the bigger picture, competition decreases production and efficiency, due to the inevitability of strife and war as a result.
 
KINGDOM ECONOMICS
 
“Cooperation and collaboration are the ways of His Kingdom.“
 
In the end, cooperation and collaboration will always prove to be more productive than competition. Competition is not a Kingdom of God principle. Cooperation and collaboration are the ways of His Kingdom. Competition in Babylonian-style cultures is like the law of the jungle! Only the strong survive.
 
The Kingdom of God is not a competition-oriented economy based on greed. The Kingdom of God is a service-oriented economy based on love. Jesus said in Matthew 22:39, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” He told the disciples to love one another as He had loved them, and that men would know they were His disciples by their love (see John 13:34-35).
 
John 13:34-35:
34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
 
Competition leads to unnecessary strife between individuals, families, tribes, and nations. It has its root in a fear of not having enough. Whether it is not enough land, food, jobs or business, or whether it is not enough praise, acceptance, affection, love or some other need, the fear is “I will not have enough unless I strive against you to get more.”
 
A belief that there is not enough for everyone leads to wars and strife of every kind. I must strive to get mine before you get it or from you if you already have it (see James 4:1-2).
 
James 4:1-2:
1 Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask.
 
Faith is the fertilizer of the Kingdom of God that brings increase!
 
Competition is striving against God and against others to be in control. In the Kingdom of God lifestyle there is no striving (see 2 Timothy 2:24-26).
 
2 Timothy 2:24-26:
24 And a servant of the Lord must not strive but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, 25 in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, 26 so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.
 
There is no strife or competition between individuals or groups in the Kingdom of God. Everyone desires to take care of himself and others on an equal footing.
 
NO LOSERS
 
In the Kingdom of God, there are no losers. Play is for fun, and work is for serving, meeting the needs of others. No one must be made a mockery or ridiculed for someone else to win. The only competition in the Kingdom of God is with the devil! Every person on earth is involved, whether they know it or not, in the great conflict between the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness! The only strife in the Kingdom of God is directly, or indirectly, against Satan and his kingdom of darkness.
 
There is never strife against any person. There is never competition with any person for any reason. God is no respecter of persons (see 1 Samuel 16:7b-c).
 
1 Samuel 16:7b-c:
… 7b-c The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
 
Everybody has the opportunity to acknowledge God and seek the Kingdom of God. The way is open for everyone to come to Christ, and God is not willing that any should perish (see 2 Peter 3:9).
 
2 Peter 3:9:
9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
 
Any person seeking the Kingdom of God must turn away from the kingdom of darkness, and let go of it.
Repentance is not an apology; it is turning from one kingdom to another. The real sin is that we are still in love with the kingdom that crucified our Lord.
 
We can forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.” – Plato
 
THE CULTURE OF THE KINGDOM
 
As the Kingdom of God is coming forth into our world, more and more people are seeing the value of living according to God's Kingdom principles. More and more are seeking the Kingdom of God, who is the true number one, rather than seeking to be number one.
 
Half the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important. They don't mean to do harm, but the harm does not interest them. Or they do not see it, or they justify it because they are absorbed in the endless struggle to think well of themselves.” – T. S. Eliot
 
God's Kingdom only knows one direction – forward (see Daniel 4,34b).
 
Daniel 4:34b:
… 34b For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His Kingdom is from generation to generation.
 
Jeff Beacham ♱ 2013, Founder and Director
Firepower Ministries International
 
(Note: The article was already published on our website in February 2007. Due to its importance for today's time it is inspiring to read this article again.)

The following message is a summary of a sermon from Dutch Sheets which he preached on the occasion of the Biblical New Year 5780 at the ministry of Glory of Zion (note: Chuck D. Pierce).

The Year 5780, a Strategic Year

The next year will be one of the most significant and strategic years. It is a year in which it is crucial to be sober, to observe procedures and to hear exactly what God is saying because we are in a time of quick changes.

Herein is a great emphasis on the Word from Amos 9:13-15.
 
Amos 9:13-15:
12 so that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations that bear my name,” declares the Lord, who will do these things.
13 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when the reaper will be overtaken by the plowman and the planter by the one treading grapes. New wine will drip from the mountains and flow from all the hills,
14 and I will bring my people Israel back from exile. “They will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit.
15 I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them,” says the Lord your God.
 
The biblical year 5780 is not a so-called ‘chrọnos time frame’, but a ‘kairọs moment’ which must be recognized in due time in order to act accordingly.
 
=> In the New Testament, time is categorized into different time characteristics. The first is the Greek word ‘chrọnos’, which refers to the general process of time or chronological time. The other characteristic of time is ‘kairọs’ and refers to the right time, the right moment, the right strategic time, the current time.
These two periods of time contain different phases of the same process. ‘kairọs’ is in many ways an extension or continuation of ‘chrọnos’. When the process unfolds from God's plan, ‘chrọnos’ becomes ‘kairọs’.
The new is connected with the old and is often the result of what has happened in the old. ‘kairọs’, the ideal time is literally born from ‘chrọnos’, the general time. When you are in a non-strategic general time phase of daily life and move forward in the time of ‘chrọnos’, God does not begin completely anew with a ‘kairọs’ time. His agenda does not change. He leads through the phase of a process in which the perseverance and fidelity of a person allows God to move that person into the next phase, which is a strategic time phase.
He changes the time as well as the time phase and transforms ‘chrọnos’ into ‘kairọs’.
Another characteristic of time is ‘pēlrọō’, which means the fullness of time (see Galatians 4:4). This fulfillment contains something to complete or accomplish entirely.
While ‘kairọs’ offers the opportunity to accomplish a task or bear fruit, ‘plērọō’ means that it has already been accomplished. This is synonymous with the process of the birth of children.
After conception, a woman goes through all three stages of time: ‘chrọnos, kairọs and plērōma’.
For nine months, the woman goes through the challenging but important phase of development during the ‘chrọnos’ period. Much happens in the hidden place of the womb, but the woman cannot yet hold her child in her hands or enjoy the fruit she knows is coming. Then the pregnant woman enters into the ‘kairọs’ time of the contractions and the birth. She has not yet reached the end of her fullness, but she is about to enter. This ‘kairọs’-time is however very difficult and dangerous. The opportunity to give birth does not have to guarantee success. To reach the birth stage, the woman must go through much physical effort, pain and pressure necessary to receive the fullness of the fruit. Finally, the woman goes through the ‘kairọs’ time phase and then enters the ‘plērōma’ stage of abundance associated with the birth of the child. <= (The text set in ‘=>’ is an analogous excerpt from the book ‘God's Timing for Your Life’ by Dutch Sheets, Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 2001, pp. 26-27).
 
If you are in a ‘chrọnos phase’, it may occasionally feel like nothing is happening or you feel like you got stuck, which is not the case. A ‘chrọnos phase’ includes the time of preparation.
 
1. The Time of Acceleration
 
In connection with the new biblical decade of ‘Pe’ (note: The biblical year 5780 has heralded the decade of ‘Pe’.), there is also an important significance on the passage from Daniel 2:20b-22.
 
Daniel 2:20b-22:
… 20b “Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his.
21 He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.
22 He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him.
 
We have arrived at an appointed time by God where great and sudden changes are emerging. During this phase it is important to be flexible and fluent (in the form of competent). Therefore, it is important to get to a flexible place with the Lord in order to be able to move forward with the Lord quickly and dexterously.
 
The acceleration will take place at high speed, so that it is necessary to reflect on the given strategy of God during the acceleration process and what to do while moving forward with the Lord.
  • The Lord takes us out of our comfort zone and brings acceleration and sudden changes. Therefore we should prepare ourselves to quickly enter the change in the spirit.

  • In addition, the Lord is changing some of our schedules and projects. This will lead us into the phase of expansion that is needed. As we move forward, we should cultivate the things that the Lord gives into our hearts.

  • Furthermore, the Lord surprises us with sudden assignments that we did not know we were meant to do.

2. The Harvest is Coming, and the Kingdom of God will Manifest Itself on Earth in Incredible Ways.
  • There will be an amazing change and a special spiritual warfare associated with incredible victory (see Ephesians 6:12).

  • The Lord will involve us in these matters and we will be surprised by sudden commissions.

This is about the gospel of the Kingdom of God including the dominion of God instead of merely the gospel of salvation. God's good news has unfortunately been reduced in the past to the ‘gospel of salvation’. However, the gospel of salvation is only the point of entry into the Kingdom. The gospel of the Kingdom includes the dominion of the king. And it is the authority of the Kingdom of God to rule and lead. – It is God's intention that the victory of His Kingdom should be seen through His people on earth. This visibility of victory will affect all levels of society, not only personal but also entrepreneurial. All cultures, societies and nations will be touched. The gospel of salvation is a thorn in Satan's eye and he even trembles at the gospel of the Kingdom of God.
  • It is the Kingdom power of God that manifests itself over a continuous period of time through signs and wonders of the Kingdom on earth, as it has been appointed in heaven. As a result, the nations will be positively shaken!

  • It should be noted that Jesus Christ did not preach the gospel of salvation in the first place, but the gospel of the Kingdom, which includes repentance and not ‘only’ the message of love of Jesus Christ or the Heavenly Father (see Matthew 4:17).

Matthew 4:17:
17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
 
This leads to the time when there will be more people saved by the gospel of the Kingdom than by the gospel of salvation. Though this may sound confusing to some believers, God will take care of these persons.
  • The Kingdom of God includes the dominion of God, with the ‘Church – ekklēsịa’ being part of it and not the other way around. (note: Jesus Christ brought the ‘church – ekklēsịa’ to birth on the cross through His side in order to preach the Kingdom; see John 19:33-34).

  • This knowledge will increase, but it will certainly come along with spiritual warfare.

3. God is Working on the Reworking of the Old Wineskins.
  • God is in the process of reworking the old wine skins through the influence of wisdom and today's revelatory truth (note: revelation). This happens on a personal as well as a common level.

  • For this He takes the old wineskins and combines them with wisdom and today's revelatory truth. It is important to apply the wisdom of what God has spoken to you in the past and at the same time to be careful not to get stuck in what the Lord spoke ten years ago.

  • One can be influenced by the revelation and things the Lord did in the past, but one should apply God's revelatory truth for that time and pay attention to what He is speaking at this time. It is important to allow the Holy Spirit to renew our wineskin where it is necessary. Otherwise one will not be able to keep the new wine (see Mark 2:22).

  • Since the LORD comes with fresh, new wine, we should use and listen to the wisdom of the old and pay attention to His revelatory truth today.

  • The transformation of the wine skins will be much greater than what we saw in the last movements 40 years ago.

  • The Holy Spirit is tired of being put into boxes by believers.

  • He will not stay there nor be imprisoned by human reason. Therefore, we should allow the Holy Spirit to build us up and let us walk more spirit-filled.

  • At this time, Paul's prayer, which he prayed for the Ephesians by asking for them to be filled with the spirit of wisdom and revelation, becomes more crucial (see Ephesians 1:17). Here the Lord will reveal to His people how to dance the daily dance of wisdom and revelation.

  • It is the time of the highest level of prophetic anointing of wisdom and revelation that leads to the full equipping in order to reveal the power of the Kingdom.

  • The Holy Spirit gives us wisdom and revelation, so it is necessary that we obey and listen to Him daily as we move forward and begin to preach from the ‘river’.

  • GOD is tired of being reduced to Sunday worship service and also that the movement of His Spirit is put into a set schedule or programs.

  • Signs and miracles have an important component in the Kingdom of God, so it is important to be open to them and welcome them (see John 10:38).

  • At this time the Holy Spirit emphasizes the ‘watchman’ or rather His task, because it is a matter of observing things from the walls and listening carefully (see Song of Songs 3:3-4 i.c.w. Isaiah 62:6-7). God will use this to bring us as His people to the next stage of destination.

Amen and Amen.

The Celebration of the Biblical Feasts
 
For us as body of Christ, the celebration of the biblical feasts doesn't mean the celebration out of legality but a celebration from the perspective of freedom and the revelatory knowledge in Jesus Christ.
 
Ezekiel and the Approach to the Temple Spring
 
For example, we can recognize a reference to the appointed biblical feasts through the approach of Ezekiel as he approached by the command of the angel the temple spring in the vision by God.
The biblical feasts are linked to the increase of the Holy Spirit – the presence of God on earth (see Ezekiel 47:1.3-5 i.c.w. Exodus 34:23-24).
 
Ezekiel 47:1.3-5:
1 The man brought me back to the entrance to the temple, and I saw water coming out from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was coming down from under the south side of the temple, south of the altar. …
3 As the man went eastward with a measuring line in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits and then led me through water that was ankle-deep.
4 He measured off another thousand cubits and led me through water that was knee-deep. He measured off another thousand and led me through water that was up to the waist.
5 He measured off another thousand, but now it was a river that I could not cross, because the water had risen and was deep enough to swim in – a river that no one could cross.
 
Exodus 34:23-24:
23 Three times a year all your men are to appear before the Sovereign Lord, the God of Israel.
24 I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your territory, and no one will covet your land when you go up three times each year to appear before the Lord your God.
 
The Rising Phase of the Water of the Temple Spring
 
Every stage of the rising of the water of the temple spring was linked to Ezekiel's obedience and the measure of the divine order, because the angel held a measuring line in his hand with which he measured 1000 cubits after each step of Ezekiel.
 
In this context, the number “1000” is related to the “full measure of God”.
There have been four phases of increase that should draw our attention to the following appointed time frames of God:
 
  1. the water that went up to the ankles of Ezekiel => Passover (note: forgiveness and salvation through the blood of the Lamb)
  2. the water that went up to the knees of Ezekiel => Shavuot/Feast of Weeks/Pentecost (note: includes the gift of faith to trust God for the coming provision/gift of supernatural revelation – the giving of the Torah/the outpouring of the Holy Spirit)
  3. the water that went up to the thigh of Ezekiel => Sukkot/Feast of Tabernacles (note: the feast of the glory of God/thanksgiving for the God given harvest)
  4. the water that covered the entire body of Ezekiel => the spirit-filled path of the body of Christ in the time frames of God and in the fullness of His glory.
The Going Up of Elijah on Mount Carmel
 
When we consider the going up of Elijah on Mount Carmel and his spiritual birth position (see 1 Kings 18:41-44a) as well as classify his body (note: head, knees and feet) into the three appointed biblical feasts by God according to Exodus 23:14-17, which are:
 
  1. Passover/the victory of Jesus Christ on the Cross, celebrated in the first biblical month of “Aviv/Nisan” (note: Elijah's feet; the foot of Mount Carmel),
  2. Shavuot/Pentecost, celebrated in the third biblical month of “Sivan” (note: Elijah's knees; Elijah's place of prayer on Mount Carmel) and
  3. Sukkot/Feast of Tabernacles, celebrated in the seventh biblical month “Ethanim/Tishrei” (note: Elijah's head; the top of Mount Carmel),

nowadays Elijah can be considered as a representative of the prophetic body of Christ, who draws attention to the three biblical feasts established by God in the temporary time cycle of a year, because the biblical year, according to the biblical – Hebrew perspective, is equivalent to a mountain, where the beginning of the new year in the blessing cycle of God is called ‘Rosh ha-Shanah’, which means ‘peak/head of the year’.

Exodus 23:14-17:
14 ‘Three times a year you are to celebrate a festival to me.
15 ‘Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread (note: Passover); for seven days eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Aviv, for in that month you came out of Egypt. ‘No-one is to appear before me empty-handed.
16 ‘Celebrate the Festival of Harvest with the firstfruits of the crops you sow in your field (note: Shavuot – Feast of Weeks). ‘Celebrate the Festival of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field (note: Sukkot – Feast of Tabernacles).
17 ‘Three times a year all the men are to appear before the Sovereign Lord.

1 Kings 18:41-44a:
41 And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.”
42 So Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees.
43 “Go and look toward the sea,” he told his servant. And he went up and looked. “There is nothing there,” he said. Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.”
44a The seventh time the servant reported, “A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea.” ...
 
Elijah's Going Up and the Seven-Fold Ascension of His Servant
 
Elijah's going up to Mount Carmel is a divine call to be attentive of the value of the biblical feasts within the temporary time of the year.
 
It was Elijah's intercession and the seven-fold going up of his servant to the top of the mountain that brought forth the glorious manifestation of God's creative hand which was a divine sign that pointed out that God would shape His plan on earth through the power of faith.
 
It was no coincidence that Elijah's servant had to go up seven times to the top of the mountain in order to see the hand of God.
 
It is the seventh month of “Tishrei/Ethanim” in the cycle of the redemption of God which contains the beginning of the new biblical year, the Ten Days of Awe, Jom Kippur – The Great Day of Atonement and Sukkot/the Feast of Tabernacles, which is the feast that celebrates the glory of God who is Jesus Christ full of grace and truth (see Exodus 40:34-35; 1 Kings 8:2.10-13 i.c.w. John 1:14).
 
Exodus 40:34-35:
34 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
35 Moses could not enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
 
1 Kings 8:2.10-13:
2 All the Israelites came together to King Solomon at the time of the festival in the month of Ethanim, the seventh month. …
10 When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the Lord.
11 And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled his temple.
12 Then Solomon said, “The Lord has said that he would dwell in a dark cloud; 13 I have indeed built a magnificent temple for you, a place for you to dwell forever.”
 
John 1:14:
14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
 
Elijah, by his spiritual birth position, brought the supernatural sound in his ears (note: the supernatural outpouring of God) into the position of his knees, which is an indication of a repentant and humble heart in order to be enabled to pray or speak the words that the Spirit speaks.
 
Amen and Amen.
 
In His Wisdom,
 
Daniel Glimm