Coming Back to the Kingdom of God

Prelude

My name is Bill Mitchell. I have been a member of the Lord’s body for over 25 years. I am married and have 3 children who are all grown. I did not grow up knowing God, but instead I grew up outside of what God has prepared for all people to know. This has cost us a great amount of understanding. We have had to endure what a lack of Godly behavior brings to the innocent. This lack of Godly behavior is what emboldens generations of people to act out against what our Lord has purposed in Himself and that is to bring us to God. So it is our convictions we must learn to change and we must be willing to turn back to God.

What I have written, I have done for the purpose of telling all who will read this book that we have been given instructions to get back to God. This is for all people. God gave two conditions for those who would obey; repent and die to sin. This means a person needs to live to God and be baptized. As the Jews were the chosen of God before, we all now have the ability to come back to God for the purpose of our salvation through Jesus Christ. This is to all who will obey.

In Luke 24, after the crucifixion of our Lord, Jesus was raised from the dead and walked amongst the disciples. Jesus asked them, “What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?” Then Cleopas answered Jesus whom the disciples did not recognize and said “Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem and have you not known the things which happened there in these days?” Jesus said, “What things?” And the disciples said “The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him. But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel.”

It was Jesus who actually gave all people the ability to be redeemed as was told to Abraham back in Genesis as one of the promises given to him by God.

Later, while Jesus was still with the disciples, Jesus said “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” And Jesus opened their understanding that they might comprehend the Scriptures. Jesus then said, “Thus is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things.” “Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”

Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven and they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God.

Verses of Luke 24

What a great faith! The joy we should have knowing our God has made it possible for us to be with Him! Now, read that you may understand. There was a criminal who mocked our Lord upon the cross suffering the same condemnation as Jesus and another criminal who hung beside the first criminal and our Lord who rebuked the first saying “Do you not fear God seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

Verses of Luke 23

We should live to obey our Lord, be repentant of our sins and submit ourselves to growing in understanding how to live in the Spirit of God. We need to learn to sacrifice for the growth of others. What Jesus did is known throughout the entire world and is not a secret. The facts of what happened in those days are still with us. Jesus lived, died and was buried to be raised in newness of life never to see corruption. Jesus did this willingly so that when we hear the message of salvation He came to give that repentance and remission of sins be preached, we could be with our Lord and our God in the Paradise of God, the Kingdom of God.

Jesus came to give us this way and all we need to do is to accept the terms He has put forth for us so that we may be with our Lord in Paradise. You may say all we need to do is believe in our God and we will have our salvation, but this is incorrect. Jesus is God and He can save those who come to Him as He has said. Not as you have said. So, as I have written this story, for us to get back to the Kingdom of God, we must do as our Lord has said. Therefore, we must understand Jesus’ message is consistent and does not waiver. “…seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you,” Matthew 6.33. But this is the seeking most are not willing to do.

So, what I have written is for those who want to know God. I did not write for those who say they already know God, but instead, I wrote this for all who desire to find the way to be with God in His Kingdom. Seems to be easy, but most will not understand being with God requires a change be made. The change you make is up to you, but this change needs to be in accordance with what God has given.

As such, I have come a long way in the life I have been given to understand the gift of love our Lord has bestowed upon us. I have made sacrifices and thought little of my worldly wealth as I lived to find God. I took on the monumental task of building my faith in a world that measures your stature according to the amount of money you have and I have done this by trusting what God has said.

Though I point out the blatant sin of those who willingly or unwillingly walk outside of what God has given to us, I do not do so because I hate the people who do as such. I point out the sin of those who walk contrary to the word of God so that these may learn and understand it is God who has made right and wrong. I am simply a messenger and I hope you will heed what God has given through what has been written about holy men and women in the past. I am not miraculously inspired by God to be a messenger, but I have decided to teach what I know about God by reading God’s Word to help our world understand we all must serve our God and this according to what we have as written.

Thank you for reading this book.