Foundations of Freedom 3/5 | Kingdom of God

Re-Listening to Dr. Bob Hamp's Foundations of Freedom courses. Starting over at lesson 3/5, Kingdom of God. These are my notes from this go-around:


There were two book ends of Jesus teaching:

• The Kingdom of Heaven/God is like...
• We often hear this as instructions on "how we should do earth"; but Jesus said The Kingdom of God is like...
• For those who have eyes to see and ears to hear...
• We often hear this as try harder to believe; but this actually has to do with seeing things from a new perspective, hearing a new way, having a new way of thinking (process/perspective) that causes you have new thoughts (content) afterward.

Jesus had a single message during his ministry, with multiple ways it plays out. The gospel Jesus shared on the earth may not be the gospel you've heard all your life.

You've heard: "You are a sinner. Jesus came and died on the cross so you can be saved from your sins and go to heaven when you die." This is truth, and this is a gospel, the Gospel of Atonement... but it's not THE gospel.

Consider: None of that had happened yet when Jesus was in his ministry. Yet, his ministry worked without his death and resurrection having happened yet. Jesus shared the gospel and healed them all, yet had not gone to the cross yet. So what gospel did Jesus preach?

Matthew 3:2 - Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.

We see this message as "Straighten up, wait until your Father gets home..." but that's not what repent means.

Before the earth or universe ever was, the Kingdom of Heaven was. Everything that was God, everything he is and is in his Heart to do or be is all that was.

The Love of God is so immense, that there it would never stand in the face of anything that would harm the object of His Love, even if the thing harming the object of his love is the object of his love.

The Power of God operates through the Love of God.

So when Jesus steps into the planet, the power and love of God operated through him. Out of the compassion/love of God, flowed the power of God.

The Peace of God is a tangible part of His atmosphere. If you simply breath it in, it will overpower anything causing your harm/stress.

We tend to think of "righteousness" as the things we should do. But, the righteousness of God is simply the way he designed things to work/function/operate.

We tend to think of the Kingdom of God coming as "won't it be great when there's no more...." but in fact there is so much of what God is that those things that won't be, won't be because they burn away in the presence of what IS.

LIFE existed before living things.

We are to be his Re-Presentatives, to be his likeness on this earth, to be to the earth what He is over The Kingdom.

*28:11 - Repent Defined

For too long we've applied self-effort and religious pressure to Repent.

• Repent does not mean to turn and go the other way, but that is the fruit of repentance.
• Repentance does not mean to change the content of your mind. Replace one thought with another. I was going to sin, but I think I won't.

Repent: Metanoeo: To think differently afterwards -- Thinking changed after being with HIM.

• 3340 metanoéō (from 3326 /metá, "changed after being with" and 3539 /noiéō, "think") – properly, "think differently after," "after a change of mind"; to repent (literally, "think differently afterwards").

We change the way we see/think because we become aware that the Kingdom of God is AT HAND, right there in front of you, at arms length, just reach out and take it, it's here already, right now.

Don't change the content of your mind, change the way you think/see. Your perspective. Once you change the way you think, you'll think differently afterwards.

If you Practice His Presence, continually being aware of the fact that The Kingdom is here, now, with you, in you, in your grasp; you will see things from a new perspective and your way of thinking will be different; which will cause you to then think differently afterwards.

The Problem Jesus Came To Solve

Genesis 2:9: Two Trees, The Tree of LIFE & the Tree of Knowledge

• 2416: ha·ḥay·yîm / chay: age / life / Living Force / fountain of life / source of LIFE
• 1847: had·da·‘aṯ / daath: knowledge / cunning, ignorantly, knowledge, unawares wittingly

Jesus did not say: I came that they might do better, and do better abundantly.
Jesus said: I came that they might have LIFE, and LIFE abundantly.

Life is not measured in on/off, yes/no, life/death...
Life is measured in quantities, you can have more of it or less of it...

Sickness, disease, pain, disorder, brokenness (bodies and minds)... are signs of a lacking, in part, of this substantive source called LIFE. The answer to all healing is an inflow of LIFE.

Genesis 3: Describes The Fall

If I loose my glasses, I have two problems. I lost my glasses, but I also lost the source of finding my glasses.

Sin is no-where mentioned in Genesis chapter 3:7. The fall:

• Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

The results of disobedience were eyes opened to knowledge.

They lost their source, LIFE, and they had to work out of Knowledge (a lower form of knowing/being).

His knowledge of evil showed him something was wrong, but his knowledge of good was insufficient to take care of it.

We lost LIFE through Knowledge, and we try to return to our source through Knowledge.

Science and Religion both fail us because they are based on Knowledge, and not LIFE. Their solution becomes the very problem they are trying to solve.

The Pharisees knowledge of good was the enemy of LIFE himself.

Jesus said to the woman at the well, in Samaria, "If you knew who I was, you'd ask and I'd give to you living water,.... then he addresses her source... ".

The woman said:I perceive you are a prophet, searching her knowledge of good for an answer.

Jesus' invitation was for her to surrender to his lordship.
She perceived religion/religious debate, better behavior.

I cannot know enough good things, or avoid enough bad things, to become the person He made me to be. I need LIFE, and more and more of it.

*1:00:09/chapter 3

Jesus came to do for you what you cannot do for yourself. No leper can decide to be whole, Jesus had to do it for him.

The fulfillment of the Kingdom of God is about the power of God expressed to you; then in you; then through you to others.

Your knowledge of good/evil will not give you power, only data. Power comes through LIFE.

The Kingdom of God is like a Radio

You were created to be a receiver. If you are not hearing/receiving the Kingdom you are not:

• Plugged In
• Turned On
• Tuned In

• You can have a quiet time, seeking the knowledge of good, and get nothing but a religious exercise.
• Or
• You can have a quiet time, seeking the Presence of God; plugging in, turning on, tuning in.

What are you doing, right now?
What are you saying, right now?
What are you intending, right now?

The Kingdom of God is like an Oven/Microwave

The kingdom of God has it's own power and presence and imposes its nature on whatever is in its presence.

However, if there's a mixture of people in his presence, we can all cook at different rates/speeds.

So if I want change, I need to put myself into His Presence.


So, broken or whole, "right or wrong", that's what I'm thinking about today,

Darrell W.