THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND THE BLESSIING OF THE LORD !

THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND THE BLESSIING OF THE LORD ! THE DAY THE LIGHT WENT OUT: "For if by one man's offense death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ... That and sin hand reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 5:17--21). Had it not been for the devil, and man's Cooporation with him, the Bible could have been a very short book. It could have ended with (Genesis 2). In the scriptural records written after that would have been filled with stories about God and his family laughing together, loving each other, and co-creating throughout eternity----stories about how everyone (except Lucifer and his crew) lived happily ever after. Had it not been for the devil, we would never have seen the serious side of God. For years, I thought that was the only side God had. I thought he was 100% serious. I'd seen so much bawling and squalling religion and being around so many people who thought that if you're not crying and emotionally distraught, you're not getting anything from God, I just figured He had a solemn temperament. I knew that He is gracious enough to put up with us when we're lighthearted and having fun, but I had the idea He wasn't a fun kind of person Himself. For the most part, we spend most of our lives pretending and trying to cover up the hurt and shame the disappointments and setbacks by playing church dress-up never having any real victories. One morning some years ago, however, I discovered I was wrong. During a time of prayer, I broke through into a spirit of praise and started enjoying the presence of God so much that I forgot myself and got giddy. I started giggling, laughing, hollering and jumping around... And right in the middle of it all, the devil broke in on me. "Do you have any idea how dumb you look right now ?" He said. I had to admit, I didn't look very dignified or religious, and for a split second I was tempted to feel sheepish. Then, the story of David flashed across my mind. I remembered how he God sold carried the away once when he was praising The Lord, that he leapt, danced and threw off his robe right in the middle of the street. He embarrassed his wife so much that she accused him of being vulgar. But David didn't care. He answered by saying, "I am willing to act like a foll in order to show my joy in The Lord. Yes, and I willing to look even more foolish than this...." That just means, "Woman, you ain't seen nothing yet !" Following David's example, I ignored what the devil has said to me. I just shouted louder and kept on rejoicing. When I did, I heard The Word of the Lord in my spirit. He spoke to me in a strong, sweet voice that on the inside of me was audible and said, Bobby, if it hadn't been for sin, I never would have had a serious thought. That statement came as a shock to me. It sold contradicted the traditional concept of God, that I wasn't sure if I should believe it. But the more I thought about it, the more sense it made. It dawned on me that according to the Bible, heaven is the place where God's will is done. And there isn't anything in heaven to be serious about. There is no bitterness there, no sorrow there, no danger, no death. In a place like that, you can just have fun all the time. But Brother Bobby, this is earth ! You might say. There's lots here to be serious about." I know it. But that doesn't change God's nature. It doesn't make Him any less a joyful, fun-loving Father. It doesn't change His will, either. He wants His will done on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10). No wonder the Bible tells us again and again to rejoice ! No wonder, even under the old Covenant, God set up feast days and told His people to spend them enjoying themselves, praising Him and having a good time ! That God's nature. That was His original plan--- not to set up some sad, sorrowful religion, but to have formed with His family forever. I know that religion has given us a distorted view of God. If Adam and his wife had obeyed God, they could have spent eternity just having a great time. But, they didn't. They deviated from God's instructions, and the results were catastrophic. In the Garden of Eden, as today, everything depended on obedience to God's WORD, so when they turned their backs on that WORD and try to act independently, they messed up God's plan and things got serious--- fast. Notice, I said they tried to act independently. They didn't succeed because, as glorious as they were, the man and woman were not sovereign in there own right. They were not created to be independent. They were designed to operate under the authority of a spiritual Head----to draw their life from God, to be connected to Him and joyfully submitted to His loving authority.