"The Kingdom of God" by Kathryn Kuhlman Part 8 of her "Matthew Chapter 6 Series"

Oh, I just love these heart-to-heart talks with you. And when we're talking about the greatest thing in the world, this thing of prayer, conversing with God Himself, and He puts it all on a father and son basis. Oh, I tell you, this is filling to me. I sit here talking with you, so thrilled, and then I stop and wonder, are you just as thrilled about it all as I am? You couldn't be discouraged. You just could not live an hour defeated if you fully realized to whom you belong. I mean exactly that. Why, bless you, when I stop long enough to think that I am His child, that He is my Heavenly Father, I belong to Him, I could literally go out and lick the world. That's right. Oh, sure, I'm nothing. I could well be defeated on many a score. You see, in the first place, I know from whence I've come. Could any good thing come out of Missouri? And then Concordia at that, have you ever been to Concordia? Sure, it's just like that. And then to this very day, if you were to go through Concordia, Missouri, and stop and ask somebody about Catherine Kuhlman, I don't mean one thing to anybody in Concordia, Missouri. They don't give two hoots about Catherine Kuhlman. The first thing that they'll ask you is, do you mean Joe Kuhlman's daughter? Because you see, I'm nothing. I came from nothing. But when I link my nothingness with His bigness, I tell you I have such confidence, I could actually lick the world for God. That's the secret. Oh, that's wonderful. That's why at the very basis of all your praying, you have to fully understand what it means when you pray, Our Father, which art in heaven. There has got to be that relationship. You must have that security. It must be there. That's the foundation. You must know to whom you belong. Now, let's go a little further. How does thy kingdom come? Prayer is not, first of all, a means by which we get something for ourselves, but rather a method of helping God to get something for Himself. When they think of prayer, think of it only in terms of getting something for themselves. Spiritual beggars, yeah, that's exactly what it is. Their idea of prayer is to go with empty pockets and empty hands, a lot of time empty heads, and say, give me, put it in my pocket, put it in my hand, hand it down, Lord. And when you analyze their praying, it's nothing more or less than a spiritual beggar. Oftentimes, asking for things that if God did answer their prayer, it would be very harmful to them. We've got this thing of praying completely reversed. I repeat, prayer is not, first of all, a means by which we get something for ourselves. The very first thing you must realize that prayer is, first of all, God getting something for Himself. The very same law exists in another push of the word of God, but it relates to exactly the same thing. Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. But all that most folks see in this wonderful promise is, all these things shall be added unto you, God giving to them. Let me stop and remind you of something else. You go to the word of God, take all of His wonderful promises, just start doing it, and you will find that without exception, in every promise, there is God's part to the promise and our part. The thing that's wrong with most folks is, all they can see is God's part in giving to them. They close their eyes and their mind to the part of the promise that involves them in their giving to Him, their part of that promise. All this promise has been so abused, and all these things shall be added unto you. And most folks are just waiting for those old things. They want every physical need met. They want every material need met. They want all their spiritual needs met. They want everything. They want more than any politician has ever promised to any people. They want it all. They want the best that God has. They want all that heaven has. They want all the riches. It's give me, give me, give me. All they can see in this glorious portion, the word of God is, all these things shall be added unto you. But they never recognize the first part of the promise, seek ye first His kingdom. First must come God's kingdom and then our need. In this pattern that God has given us for prayer, and remember this is our prayer. We say it's the Lord's prayer. It isn't. It's the way He has taught you and taught me to pray. First that relationship of Father and Son. Then before you ask for a single thing, you must recognize that prayer is not first of all a means by which we get something for ourselves. But it's a way of helping God to get something for Himself. Thy kingdom come. And there must first of all be God's kingdom. And then we can talk to Him about our needs. Let's pause and do something for just a few minutes. Let us discuss this thing of the kingdom. If you have followed me in previous messages, oh, go back, I don't know how long, some time in the past I brought us a series of messages on the difference between the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God. They are not one and the same. As you study the word of God, it's clear from the scriptures that God is going to set up a visible kingdom here on this earth. That is in the future. There will be what the scripture calls the kingdom of heaven. It will be a visible kingdom here on this same planet on which we live, on the earth. But that is not the kingdom that Jesus is talking about when He taught us to pray, thy kingdom come. He is talking about the kingdom of God, the same kingdom that I referred to a second ago when He promised, seek ye first the kingdom of God. Now the kingdom of God is spiritual and is entered by the new birth. I must give you the scripture for everything I say regarding the kingdom of God. And this too is so simple that even a child can understand all the simplicity of the whole thing. But there is something that's difficult to understand. It is so simple. Read if you will please the 17th chapter of Luke, two verses, the 20th and the 21st verses. That's the 17th chapter of Luke. And when He was demanded to the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, He answered them and said, the kingdom of God cometh not with observation. Neither shall they say, lo here, or lo there. For behold, the kingdom of God is within you. Oh beloved. Therefore, the kingdom of God is spiritual and is entered in by that wonderful experience that we call the new birth experience. Call it anything that you want. Call it regeneration. Call it conversion. Use any term that you want to. I don't know how better to express it than to use the term that Jesus used himself. The new birth. Now it is at that time that the kingdom of God comes within you. The one standing nearest you at that time cannot see that transaction take place. It can take place right there in the kitchen of your home. It can take place at an altar. It can take place at any moment wherever you are. It is a definite time of looking up and saying, Dear Jesus, I take you as my master. Come into my heart. Be the ruler. Be the controller of my life. I surrender myself to you. Forgive my every sin. The kingdom of God cometh not with observation. Jesus said those words himself. Neither shall they say, lo here, or lo there. For behold, the kingdom of God is within you. The kingdom of God is the homeland of my soul. Body, soul, and spirit and the kingdom of God is best described as the homeland of your soul. It's the soul's native air. It's when we find ourselves for the very first time. Do you want to know something? When Jesus said the kingdom of God is within you, he voiced one of the most important things ever uttered. I want you to just sit there for a few minutes and consider something. If man is made in the image of God, then sin is not natural. Please just consider that with me for just a moment. I know that the unbeliever feels that the Christian is just a little off his rocker. He's just a little abnormal one way or another. I can prove to you that it's the unregenerated man, the unregenerated woman, who is the one who is just a little off and is the abnormal one. Isn't it logical that as the mighty creator, God having created man in his image, that sin therefore is not natural? The Christian is the normal person. Everyone else is abnormal. That's the reason you'll find the person who is not a Christian, the unbeliever, the one who has no hope, no faith, no confidence in a higher being, a higher power, who is not trusting a heavenly father, is frustrated. Defeated. Worried. Trouble. All the nervous tension that permeates the very atmosphere in which we are living. Somebody said the other day, you know, I think the whole world's crazy. Well, do you want to know something? The fellow spoke the truth. Because the world is just full of human beings who are living abnormal lives. They're frustrated. This nervous tension that we feel, it's in the very atmosphere. Men are honestly running on borrowed time, insecure. There never was a time, I don't think that there was ever a generation, where so many people were so insecure as they are today. It's because they are insufficient in themselves. You can only find security in a power greater than your own self. And you've got to have faith, you've got to have confidence in something greater than yourself. That's the why of all the frustration. That's the why of all the nervous tension. The anxieties. All of these are inescapable when a man or a woman has not found himself in God. Let me give you an example of something that seems absolutely abnormal, yet it's the most normal thing in the world when one has the kingdom of God within. Jesus, in one of his discussions said, Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. He was referring to perfect love. And he gave as an example, if a man smites you on your left cheek, turn your right. If he takes your coat, give him your cloak also. Love your enemies. You do not get rid of your neighbor by not loving him. By not loving him, you transform him into a problem. And he's back on your hands not as a neighbor, but as a problem. You broke the law of human relationship. In loving your unlovable neighbor, you still have a neighbor, but you have a friend and no longer a problem. That is why, beloved, living the Christian life is the normal life. And you'll find no problems when the kingdom of God is within. And Christ is the kingdom personalized. Thy kingdom come within you. Amen.