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  KING IN HIS KINGDOM
  by G.W. North
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Summary: The sermon emphasizes the importance of operating in God's
power and according to His will, as seen in the true function of the
gifts of the Spirit and the failure of the Corinthian church.

Topics: "Authority of Christ", "Spiritual Gifts"
Scripture References: Luke 9:54

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DESCRIPTION
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G.W. North emphasizes the necessity of seeking God's will for the
operation of spiritual gifts, illustrating that even the apostles
recognized Jesus as the absolute King in His kingdom, requiring His
permission to act. He reflects on the early church's experience,
particularly Peter's and Paul's ministries, where the gifts of the
Spirit were intended to function under divine authority. However, he
warns that the Corinthian church, despite their blessings,
misappropriated these gifts, leading to spiritual weakness and failure.
North highlights that the gifts, when detached from God's will, become
mere human efforts devoid of true power. Ultimately, he calls for a
return to recognizing Christ's kingship and the proper administration of
spiritual gifts according to His will.

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CONTENT
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There is a further lesson to be learned from Luke 9 concerning the true
function of the gifts, and it is this: although the two apostles
apparently had the means and power to call down fire from heaven, they
dare not attempt to do so without permission from the Lord; they said,
'Lord, wilt Thou?' In His day apparently, except it be His will, the
gifts could not function; His will must be sought and permission granted
before they could operate. He was at that time recognised by His
disciples as absolute King in His own kingdom. Now that He is glorified,
the Lord is not less King in His own kingdom than He was previously. To
this day in His kingdom nothing other than His will may be done. It must
therefore be true that the gifts of the Spirit to be spirituals can only
function by His power, and may only operate and be administered
according to His will.

Further to this, we find that when in the beginning of the gospel Peter
was given the keys of the kingdom, he opened the door of faith to the
Gentiles. This was accomplished through the outpouring of the Spirit in
Cornelius' house at Caesarea, the Jewish province with the gentile name.
Ever since then, given the right conditions under all true gospel
ministry of the Spirit, Gentiles may enter directly into the kingdom.
Some time later, following Peters s ministry, Paul visited Corinth and
at that time also many entered the kingdom, for under his ministry, as
well as Peter's, they were baptised in the Spirit into the Body of
Christ. Drinking into His Spirit, they first received and then
functioned in all the gifts He gave them, and following the departure of
the apostle they had reigned as kings. But although this had been so
with them then, at the time when Paul wrote to the church, many of them
were weak and sickly, and many slept.

With all their blessings and privileges, the Corinthian church was a
failure. They had aspired to kingly authority (Paul said 'would to God
ye did reign, that we might reign with you') and with carnal audacity
many of the members had expropriated the gifts of the Spirit, making
what were originally the priceless gifts of God the worthless
possessions of men. The result was that the oral gifts when in use
became nothing more than sounding brass and tinkling cymbal; likewise
all the other gifts had become devoid of power. They were just mere
human attempts at trying to make something work. The Spirituals had sunk
to psychicals and had become Carnal(s), man's abilities and not God's.
The Church's misappropriation of God's properties can only result in
mishandling and misapplication to man's needs, whether to the Church or
to the world of men outside it.

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Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/gw-north/king-in-his-kingdom/
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