Matthew 3:1 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,
Matthew 3:2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

What John the Baptist was saying here is that, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ WAS at hand(meaning : Christ's death and resurrection was near)

Note: I'm using past tense WAS because this thing does not in anyway refer to any time in our present day or in our future.


Matthew 10:6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Matthew 10:7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.

This instruction WAS given to the disciples, not today Christians, so Christians today have no business saying the kingdom of God is at hand because that expression WAS for the period of the old covenant and because the kingdom of God(the new covenant) is already here with us today by the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Colossians 1:13

So, we are not expecting anything like rapture or end time.

SOME BENEFITS OF KNOWING THAT YOU ALREADY HAVE THE KINGDOM OF GOD IN YOU TODAY

1. It makes you to be free(and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free)
2. Knowing that you have no inheritance anywhere else makes you fight for your right here on this earth.
3. You will never be cajoled, confused and cheated by your pastors
4. You will always stand for the truth and oppose evil at all times .
5. You will have no choice but to truly take education very seriously reading wide to develope yourself.
6. You will become expert away from religious issues in your carrier, taking charge of everything at your disposal in your office or working place without fear of one rapture or end time.
5. You will become indispensable. Consequently you will have favour and financial breakthrough

GOD BLESS!

hmmm

Education is the key

The kingdom of God was the promise of the Second Covenant which is Jesus Christ. Upon His death on the Cross(when He said it was finished), so also were the details of the second covenant finalized for all who will follow Him. By details I refer to the Blessings, Curses/Woes, Commandments, and the seal of the Covenant.

paxonel:

SOME BENEFITS OF KNOWING THAT YOU ALREADY HAVE THE KINGDOM OF GOD IN YOU TODAY
1. It makes you to be free(and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free)
2. Knowing that you have no inheritance anywhere else makes you fight for your right here on this earth.

huh?

paxonel:
3. You will never be cajoled, confused and cheated by your pastors

The veil in the temple was torn apart, giving you freedom from all the so-called pastors/pharisees/sadducees as far as learning about God Almighty.

Jeremiah 31 vs 31-34
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31. This is what the Lord said, “The time is coming when I will make a new agreement with the family of Israel and with the family of Judah.
32. It will not be like the agreement I made with their ancestors. I made that agreement when I took them by the hand and brought them out of Egypt. I was their master, but they broke that agreement.” This message is from the Lord.
33. “In the future I will make this agreement with the people of Israel.” This message is from the Lord. “I will put my teachings in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
34. People will not have to teach their neighbors and relatives to know the Lord, because all people, from the least important to the most important, will know me.” This message is from the Lord. “I will forgive them for the evil things they did. I will not remember their sins.”

In Jeremiah, God declared that when His makes the new covenant, no longer will a man depend on his neighbor(pastors, preachers, sadduccees, con-men, wolves etc.). Why do you need anyone to fill your ears with lies when God Himself promised He will tell you all about Himself?

paxonel:
5. You will have no choice but to truly take education very seriously reading wide to develope yourself.

You will have a choice -- there will be those who choose to loose their place in the Kingdom in the end.

paxonel:
6. You will become expert away from religious issues in your carrier, taking charge of everything at your disposal in your office or working place without fear of one rapture or end time.

That is not true !

paxonel:
5. You will become indispensable. Consequently you will have favour and financial breakthrough

That is not the truth either.
I think you better get yourself caught up on what became of the disciples -- the very ones that walked with Jesus Christ Himself while He was here on earth. Most of them did not see to enjoy any of the so-called benefits you have listed above for those who are bound for the kingdom of God, at least not in the worldly terms you apply it.

Kobojunkie:
You will have a choice -- there will be those who choose to loose their place in the Kingdom in the end.

that has nothing to do with them taking their education very seriously and becoming relevant here on this earth.
Whether they choose to loose their place in the kingdom, that is their own cup of tea

That is not the truth either.
I think you better get yourself caught up on what became of the disciples -- the very ones that walked with Jesus Christ Himself while He was here on earth. Most of them did not see to enjoy any of the so-called benefits you have listed above for those who are bound for the kingdom of God, at least not in the worldly terms you apply it.

so?
We should exclude ourselves from these benefits simply because the disciples did not enjoy them in their time?

paxonel:
that has nothing to do with them taking their education very seriously and becoming relevant here on this earth.

Jesus never told you He needed you to become relevant here on earth to the world, because what you do may have absolutely nothing to do with His plan for you.
Remember His disciples? They each had careers-- some were educated by the system of their time too. But when Jesus showed up, they all had to abandon their careers in choice to pursue instead the plan that God had for them. The same was the case with Paul, and many of those who were with Him.
Christ does not promise a doctor for example that He will be used as a doctor by God... on the contrary, what God wants is that each submit to His plan. Jesus said that anyone who does not die to self(give up his life/die to his career goals, ideas of self, etc. to follow Him) is not worthy of Him.

paxonel:
Whether they choose to loose their place in the kingdom, that is their own cup of tea
so?

Since it is possible to do so, then it is a choice. The Spirit of God does not imprison those who He breathes on.

paxonel:
We should exclude ourselves from these benefits simply because the disciples did not enjoy them in their time?

Your list of benefits should align with what Christ Himself said is to be expected, and lived.

Kobojunkie:
Jesus never told you He needed you to become relevant here on earth to the world, because what you do may have absolutely nothing to do with His plan for you.
Remember His disciples? They each had careers-- some were educated by the system of their time too. But when Jesus showed up, they all had to abandon their careers in choice to pursue instead the plan that God had for them. The same was the case with Paul, and many of those who were with Him.
Christ does not promise a doctor for example that He will be used as a doctor by God...

for saying that Jesus never told you to to be relevant on this earth shows you don't know why you were created in the first place.
Do you have anything you do at all that gives you income, what are your means of survival?
So, you want to tell me that you don't work for income at all?

on the contrary, what God wants is that each submit to His plan. Jesus said that anyone who does not die to self(give up his life/die to his career goals, ideas of self, etc. to follow Him) is not worthy of Him.

it seems you are finding hard to process what i have been saying.
I have been saying that submitting to this plan of God you mentioned here has nothing to do with your relevance here on this earth in terms contributing to the economy and become financially empowered, both are very important

Since it is possible to do so, then it is a choice. The Spirit of God does not imprison those who He breathes on.
Your list of benefits should align with what Christ Himself said is to be expected, and lived.

I don't need to align anything, you should have it at the back of your mind that what Christ himself said is not excluded from what I'm saying. So, if anyone chooses to loose his place in the kingdom that is his choice, that has nothing to do with him being relevant here on earth so long he is alive.

paxonel:
for saying that Jesus never told you to to be relevant on this earth shows you don't know why you were created in the first place.

Saul thought he was "relevant" to God as a Sadducee. However, when Christ showed up in his, Paul's, life Paul had to abandon that career that made him relevant in this world as a Sadducee, a career with high pay and prestige that came with it, to become a wanderer of sorts, wondering from one land to another, going where the Holy Spirit commanded him to go.

Levi, one of Jesus' disciples was a tax collector... educated man, with a sure income too. He, Levi, abandoned it all when Jesus called him to followHim.

Peter, and his brother Andrew, where part of a family fishing business. Peter supposedly had a wife too at the time of his calling. When Jesus came calling, they both abandoned job, income, family, and went on the road with Jesus, not caring that there was no place for them to sleep much of the time.
Jesus called and they all answered and they obeyed Jesus by loosing the life they had, in exchange for the life that He had for them. And what was the result of that obedience? They are sitted with Him in heaven today, their lives saved.

Matthew 10 vs 37-39
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37. “ Those who love their father or mother more than they love me are not worthy of me. And those who love their son or daughter more than they love me are not worthy of me.
38. Those who will not accept the cross that is given to them when they follow me are not worthy of me.
39. Those who try to keep the life they have will lose it. But those who give up their life for me will find true life.

If even His own disciples had to abandon all their worldly "relevance" in order that they may follow Jesus Christ, what makes you think that you are a special breed and are not required to obey Jesus' own commandments just as those before you did?

Matthew 16 vs 24-28
24. Then Jesus said to his followers, “If any of you want to be my follower, you must stop thinking about yourself and what you want. You must be willing to carry the cross that is given to you for following me.
25. Any of you who try to save the life you have will lose it. But you who give up your life for me will find true life.
26. It is worth nothing for you to have the whole world if you yourself are lost. You could never pay enough to buy back your life.

Ofcourse, those who try to hold on to their worldly "relevance" will have to loose it in the end. Jesus says that those who hold on to their worldly "relevance" instead of Him will loose it all. So, you get to choose what it will be for you.

paxonel:
Do you have anything you do at all that gives you income, what are your means of survival? So, you want to tell me that you don't work for income at all?

Let's not make this about my person now-- you created the thread and I am trying to keep to the using Jesus's own words and commandments where possible in my rebuttals. I can tell you though that what Jesus said in Matthew 6 vs 25-34 is true.

Matthew 6 vs 25-34
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25. “So I tell you, don’t worry about the things you need to live—what you will eat, drink, or wear. Life is more important than food, and the body is more important than what you put on it.
26. Look at the birds. They don’t plant, harvest, or save food in barns, but your heavenly Father feeds them. Don’t you know you are worth much more than they are?
27. You cannot add any time to your life by worrying about it.

28. “And why do you worry about clothes? Look at the wildflowers in the field. See how they grow. They don’t work or make clothes for themselves.
29. But I tell you that even Solomon, the great and rich king, was not dressed as beautifully as one of these flowers.
30. If God makes what grows in the field so beautiful, what do you think he will do for you? It’s just grass—one day it’s alive, and the next day someone throws it into a fire. But God cares enough to make it beautiful. Surely he will do much more for you. Your faith is so small!

31. “Don’t worry and say, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’
32. That’s what those people who don’t know God are always thinking about. Don’t worry, because your Father in heaven knows that you need all these things.
33. What you should want most is God’s kingdom and doing what he wants you to do. Then he will give you all these other things you need.
34. So don’t worry about tomorrow. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Tomorrow will have its own worries.

Jesus not only stated these are commandments in His covenant and He had his disciples and apostles do the same, showing us what to expect for when we finally make that decision to become worthy of Him.

paxonel:
it seems you are finding hard to process what i have been saying.
I have been saying that submitting to this plan of God you mentioned here has nothing to do with your relevance here on this earth in terms contributing to the economy and become financially empowered, both are very important

Submitting to the plan that Jesus has requires you to ABANDON/render meaningless your so called "relevance" --whether it be your life plans, goals, job, education, career, family, friends etc...Your life... you will lose if you want to belong to Jesus Christ.

paxonel:

I don't need to align anything, you should have it at the back of your mind that what Christ himself said is not excluded from what I'm saying. So, if anyone chooses to loose his place in the kingdom that is his choice, that has nothing to do with him being relevant here on earth so long he is alive.