Mt. 13:44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

What is the kingdom of heaven? In order to understand what the “kingdom of heaven” means, we need to look at the early days of mankind.

Ge. 2:7 The LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

God created man as an earthly being and later anointed man with His Holy Spirit. God created mankind with the structure or potential to become like God. Mankind could grow in godliness or divinity. There are seven stages or levels of divinity. When God breathed His Holy Spirit into man, this placed man at Level one of divinity. Man could rise up to higher levels of divinity by fulfilling necessary conditions.

Ge. 2:8 Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed.
Ge. 2:9 And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground — trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Having started man off at the first level of godliness, God created an environment where man could rise up in godliness and thereafter put man in it. The environment is the Garden of Eden. One third of God’s angels, led by Lucifer, were not happy with this variability of man’s divinity. The angels apparently feared that this variability could lead to mankind rising up to become greater than some angels in the scheme of things. These angels therefore rebelled against God and decided to prevent mankind from growing in divinity.

Ge. 3:4 “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman.
Ge. 3:5 “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Satan deliberately misinformed Eve by telling her that the way to grow in divinity was by doing the very thing that God warned them never to do. Mankind followed the word of Satan and lost their divinity—they became spiritually naked. Mankind therefore lost the capacity to grow in divinity.

The hidden treasure is to become like God, by rising up to the seventh level of divinity. It is hidden to mankind by Satan and his angels. They are still scared of human beings growing in divinity. Due to the fall of man, the kingdom of darkness has had total control over the human race and so keeps the idea of human beings growing in divinity hidden. Instead, it encourages mankind to seek for worldly prosperity, which leads them nowhere. They mount great opposition against any human being who moves towards growing in divinity.

Salvation of Mankind

Adam and Eve were headed towards becoming like God; Lucifer didn't want that to happen and so came and scuttled the process. God brought Jesus into the world to save the old mankind. As soon as God began the process that would make Jesus to become like God, by anointing Jesus with the Holy Spirit (Mt 3:16), Satan once again went into action with the aim of scuttling the process. This time around, Satan lost the battle and Jesus successfully went through the process and became like God.

Jn. 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Jn. 3:17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

What God has done in order to save mankind from ungodliness is to send a new man into the world to save the old mankind. God placed the new man (Jesus Christ) at the first level of divinity (He. 2:9; Mt. 3:16), just as He did to Adam in the beginning. God then moved the new man to an environment where he could grow in divinity—desert where he was tempted by Satan (Mt. 4:1). Tribulation is always an opportunity for a human being to grow in godliness. Jesus handled the desert experience very well and God promoted him to higher level of godliness. It is in this higher level that Jesus began his earthly ministry.

Lk. 4:14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside.

Jesus’ earthly ministry ended with him dying on the cross for the salvation of mankind. The salvation of mankind by Jesus Christ is the basis upon which any human being could grow in divinity.

The Full Armour of God

Even though Jesus Christ has redeemed mankind by providing the way for us to grow in divinity, the process of growing in divinity is still not easy. The kingdom of darkness mounts great opposition against any attempt to grow in divinity. The worst part of the opposition involves the use of human beings by the evil forces. Consequently, any person who wants to grow in divinity must be capable of overcoming every satanic opposition. It is satanic opposition that made Adam and Eve to fall. But Jesus triumphed over satanic opposition.

Ep. 6:11 Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.
Ep. 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

In order to overcome every satanic opposition, one must put on the full armour of God (Ep. 6:14-18). One component of the full armour of God is the knowledge of the truth. Knowledge of the truth prevents a person from being ensnared by lie of the devil. It is a belt we use to hold our divinity; if we lose our divinity we become spiritually naked. Have you ever seen yourself naked in dream?

Another component of the full armour of God is righteousness, which is the desire to please God. Determination to please God guards one’s heart against enslavement by Satan. Satan conquered Eve by convincing her to displease God, thereby capturing her heart.

The next component of the full armour of God is preaching the gospel. This is an offensive action, as it seeks to enlarge the kingdom of God and shrink the kingdom of darkness. The person who goes to preach the gospel must prepare himself well with both knowledge of the truth and righteousness.

The next component of the full armour of God is faith. Faith is being certain of what we do not see (He. 11:1), or as Ro. 4:17 puts it, calling the things that are not as though they were. Faith serves as a shield, by which we overcome whatever weapon the evil one fashions against us. Faith enables us to take hold of God’s promise, even though the promise is not yet manifesting. Divinity takes some time to manifest in a person. During the latency period before divinity begins to manifest, one needs faith in order to continue to believe and confess that God will surely fulfill His promise.

He. 10:36 You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.

The next component of the full armour of God is salvation, which simply means that one is baptized into Jesus Christ; in water and in the Spirit. Salvation serves as a helmet, which protects your mind. In my early days of committing my life to Jesus Christ, I suffered great instability. I went through cycles of having wonderful time with God, followed by suddenly falling out of the faith. Some years later, I wondered how the spiritual instability ended. I was able to trace it to my baptism by immersion in water in the Deeper Life Bible Church. That was when I really obtained salvation by being baptized into Christ. The minister who baptized us prayed for God to fill us with His Holy Spirit. I can definitely tell you that if you are not properly baptized into Jesus Christ, even though you commit your life to Jesus, the evil one can easily capture your mind and throw you out of the faith.

Apart from the overall salvation that is obtained by being baptized into Jesus Christ in water and in the Spirit, there is also the salvation that comes by invoking the blood of Jesus and by testifying our oneness with Christ. This is the actual practice of faith, which protects us against the fiery darts of the evil one.

Re. 12:11 They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.

The final component of the full armour of God, and the only offensive weapon against the evil one is the word of God. The word of God is the sword of the Spirit.

Ge. 1:2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
Ge. 1:3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

Ge. 1:2 describes an unpleasant situation. Even though the Spirit of God was present in that situation, nothing changed until God spoke His word. Then the Spirit of God drove away the darkness with light. When a Christian is confronted by forces of darkness, the Holy Spirit will not intervene unless the Christian is able to speak the word of God by faith into the situation.

You must trade the world for the great treasure

As we read in Mt. 13:44, you must sell everything in order to be able to buy divinity. Don’t be deceived by modern Christianity; divinity is not cheap.

Re. 3:18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so that you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so that you can cover your shameful unclothedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so that you can see.

Mt. 6:31 So do not worry, saying, `What shall we eat?’ or `What shall we drink?’ or `What shall we wear?’
Mt. 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

In order to be able to put on the full armour of God, you must give a lot of time and thought to spiritual matters. That will greatly reduce the amount of time you could spend on worldly matters. This will limit the kind of job you could involve yourself in and your associations with people. It will negatively affect your worldly wealth. Without much of worldly wealth and influence, people will look down on you and life in the world will not be so easy. That is the price you must pay in order to obtain the hidden treasure.

He. 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
He. 12:2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

In this year 2018, people of God will begin to grow in divinity at a remarkable rate. The kingdom of darkness will also react in a remarkable way, leading to end-time tribulations.

Is. 60:1 “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.
Is. 60:2 See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you.
Is. 60:3 Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

How will this remarkable growth in divinity come about?

Mt. 13:45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls.

Mt. 7:7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
Mt. 7:8 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
Mt. 7:9 “Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?
Mt. 7:10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?
Mt. 7:11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

Why the people of God have not grown remarkably in divinity up till now has been because it was hidden to them by the dark forces that rule this world. The churches have been busy formulating all sorts of doctrines that pursue all sorts of goals. Unfortunately, the only goal that really matters has been sidetracked all along, and it is growing in divinity.

In Mt. 13:45, the merchant knew what he was looking for. When the people of God understand what the ultimate treasure is all about, it is only then that they can ask God precisely for secrets of His kingdom. God's promise in Mt. 7:7-11 is that He will release the secrets if we ask Him with all our heart. If we have in our hearts both worldly desire and desire for the hidden treasure, we may not receive revelation of the sectrets of the kingdom of heaven.

2018: A Year of Light and New Beginnings
Bill Burns, Kremmling, CO

The 8 in 2018 represents a time of new beginnings, and the title of this message is: 2018 A Year of Light. This means that in this year of 2018, God's people will have the opportunity to receive more spiritual light to abide in. This will enable God's people to see more clearly in that which He is revealing.

Isaiah 60:1-2, "Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; But the LORD will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you."

The time of your spiritual light has come. Darkness will cover the earth, but you will have God's light so that you may see more clearly. The Hebrew year of 5778 is also confirmation. Again, the number 8 represents a time of new beginnings.

A Time To See

Luke 9:27-29, "But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Kingdom of God. Now it came to pass, about eight days after these sayings, that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray. As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening."

At that time Peter, James and John saw a greater reality of Jesus in the Kingdom of God. They saw Him in greater clarity than ever before. I believe that we shall also see things differently in 2018 than we have seen before. We will have greater vision and greater understanding of God's purposes from now on.

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2018: The Glorious New Beginning"
Bishop Bill Hamon, Santa Rosa Beach, Florida

For those who are co-laboring with Christ Jesus, it is going to be a glorious and prosperous year. It will be like the original Day of Pentecost, "Suddenly they were endued with power" by the Holy Spirit. Isaiah 60:3 is also being activated as a commission to the Church as we enter the "Dispensation of the fullness of the times" (Eph. 1:10, Rev. 10:7). Now, delay shall be no longer, but all the mysteries and prophecies that the prophets have spoken shall be revealed and fulfilled.

In 2018, the Church will begin to "arise and shine" as they receive the new empowerment and start revealing and demonstrating the glory of the Lord. For the wicked of the world and the lukewarm in the Church—it will be a year of darkness and fearful anticipations. The true followers of Christ Jesus will know how to appropriate the new thing that God will begin in 2018. They will fulfill God's purpose in this appointed time. God is activating the time for the knowledge of the glory of the Lord to begin filling the earth as the waters cover the sea (Hab. 2:14; Nu. 14:21; Ez. 12:26-27; 1 Thess. 5:4-.

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