Lessons From The Tent

As the title says, this is a podcast about just one thing. Each lesson is roughly six and a half minutes long with the focus on what is the purpose of life. Please don’t confuse this with a religious podcast because it certainly is not. This is a podcast about life from God’s perspective – what He created it to be. Unfortunately, whenever God is mentioned, people instantly think we are talking about religion. That’s a shame because God hates to be confused with man made religion. God is the author and giver of life. Mankind created religion I suppose to help soothe their frustration/discomfort with their personal struggles. And because religion doesn’t solve those issues, we keep creating more religious expressions under the guise that this one is better than that one. I will not be picking on any religious group during these podcasts. I only hope to introduce you to the whole purpose of life on earth according to the Creator of all things and how He designed us to live. I hope you will give these Lessons From The Tent a try and get to understand the purpose for your life. 

If you have any questions feel free to contact me at mike@lessonsfromthetent.com

Episodes

Apr 13, 2026

7 min

SECTION 3 
In this section I would like to point out some of the amazing concepts of the kingdom that make it unlike any government, culture, kingdom or religion that has ever existed. Once again we will have to apply faith and believing to these special characteristics that make the kingdom so unique, because as you will see there is nothing like the invisible kingdom of God in this world. 
LESSON 32 The uniqueness of the kingdom – The hungry and thirsty life  
Bible References: 
Matthew 5:6 (1) 
Hebrews 11:6 (2)  
Ephesians 4:24 (3) 
Good morning and welcome to another Lesson From The Tent. Today we will look at another attitude Jesus wants to produce in us that makes the kingdom so unique. While the previous attitude of gentleness is a submissive attitude, this one is an aggressive one. It’s an attitude that pushes you to accomplish something because you want it so strongly, you feel as though you will die if you can’t get it. 
This is an attitude of intense desire for righteousness. Listen to how Jesus described this.  
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” (1) 
As you can see this fourth attitude of intense desire for righteousness also brings you the happiness that Jesus referred to in the previous three attitudes.  
One thing about life in the kingdom, it doesn’t work the way life does in the domain of darkness. Strong passions in that world can be ugly and out of control while this intense passionate attitude to be full of righteousness brings true happiness. In fact, Jesus says this passion will cause you to be “satisfied,” which is unusual for our normal human passions. They seem to never be satisfied. 
When you connect this “satisfied passion” to what Jesus wants those in His kingdom to hunger and thirst for, you have got to wonder − how can a transgression corrupted sinner, enslaved to sin ever be satisfied with righteousness? Only a kingdom this unique could produce this type of contentment in its people.  
The original words for hunger and thirst really do mean to intensely want this so much that you feel as though you will die if you can’t get it. You can certainly see why this is another attitude that can only come from the Holy Spirit because no poor in spirit human could ever desire righteousness like this. We are incapable of producing this passionate attitude therefore we are in need of applying faith and believing to this promise if we ever want to experience what Jesus said here. And that is right where we must always be with God, because without faith it is impossible to please Him. (2)  
What would this look like if someone were to passionately hunger and thirst after righteousness this much? It would look like the life of Jesus. So then how is this even possible?  
We have an idea of this through the world we live in. Everyone is familiar with the idea of cutting and pasting. Computers have brought that phrase regularly into our vocabulary. This is what we need to think of when considering this attitude of hungering and thirsting. The only way this is possible is if Jesus pastes His desire for righteousness into our unrighteous soul, which is exactly what He did when He gave us His seed causing us to be born again.  
Because those in the kingdom have the righteous seed of Jesus living inside them, they can hunger and thirst for righteousness anytime, anywhere. But this is not just actions of righteousness, this is the very essence of God, that we crave which is why the Bible says, “Put on the new man, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.” (3) 
So then how do we put this new righteous man on? I assume you got dressed today. What you did to put your clothing on is what the words “put on the new man” actually mean. You literally get dressed with the righteous seed of Christ God gave you for being one of His favored ones.  
When you were thinking about getting dressed today you paused to consider what you wanted to wear. That is very similar to how you get dressed with the new man.  
If you think about the day ahead of you, there is probably some situation that will be a challenge for you to respond with a righteous attitude. Maybe you will be working with someone who seems to cause you an enormous amount of stress. It also could be you must do something today you don’t want to do and even as you think about it an attitude of frustration is already forming inside of you. Things like this occur regularly in our lives.  
And this is why God says to “put on the new man which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.” In other words, God wants us to respond to life through the new man He gave us rather than our old domain of darkness freewill. And the only way we will do this is if we consciously take the time to mentally choose by faith to do the actions of believing and put the new man on.  
If you have become one of God’s favored ones then you have the new man inside of you that comes from the seed of Christ. But the language used when God says to put on the new man means this is something you must consciously do, as often as is necessary every day.  
You can understand the need for this because what clothing you put on this morning may not be appropriate for something you want to do later in the day, which means you will need to change your clothes based on the situation you have before you.  
That is exactly how you must learn to function with your new man. Different things that come into your life should cause you to pause and get redressed repeatedly, throughout the day. And what will drive this redressing is the attitude that hungers and thirsts for righteousness because your new man doesn’t want to respond to life with unrighteous behavior or bad attitudes. Your new man craves to respond to life righteously. 
What a unique way to live but this is how God wants those in His kingdom to live and remember; His ways are not our ways. And this intense passionate desire for righteousness proves it.  
Well, that’s it for today and once again there is just one thing – don’t walk around spiritually naked, put on the new man which hungers and thirsts for righteousness before you take on the challenges you face today. 
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Guitar by Cole Criske 2020 All rights reserved
For great coffee order Cole's coffee here: https://colescoffeeco.com/
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Produced by Dereck Bradley
Contact us at mike@lessonsfromthetent.com

Apr 13, 2026

7 min

Apr 6, 2026

7 min

SECTION 3 
In this section I would like to point out some of the amazing concepts of the kingdom that make it unlike any government, culture, kingdom or religion that has ever existed. Once again we will have to apply faith and believing to these special characteristics that make the kingdom so unique, because as you will see there is nothing like the invisible kingdom of God in this world. 
LESSON 31 The uniqueness of the kingdom – the gentle life (part 2) 
Bible References: 
Genesis 1:27, 28 (1) 
Genesis 24:11 (2) 
Genesis 12:3 (3) 
Galatians 3:16 (4) 
Colossians 1:13 (5) 
2 Peter 3:7 (6) 
Good morning and welcome to another Lesson From The Tent. Today’s lesson will be part 2 of the gentle attitude Jesus wants to produce in those who live in His kingdom. I would like to start by asking a question. How important do you think this gentle attitude is? Here is my answer to this question - everything wrong in this world is the result of us humans not having this attitude of gentleness. So, I would say this makes it essential to life.  
I would like to take you back to the day God created humans where we can learn a lot about being gentle from the first day of Adam and Eve. Here is what the Bible says about this.  
“God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them and said to them. ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on earth.’” (2) 
We need to understand this word blessed for everything about God’s intention for the gentle attitude flows from this word. The original word means to kneel in respect and honor to someone you recognize as superior. But this is far more than physically bowing down because anyone may bow to a king while completely not respecting them.  
This word blessed is focused on the heart kneeling to God in a respectful and honoring way as the result of recognizing Him as far superior to you.  
When God first created Adam and Eve and breathed life into them, they would not have known what their new life was all about. So, the first thing God does is establish the way He wants their relationship with Him to work and what their role in this world is. As you can see, humans were to populate the world, rule over everything in it while honoring, respecting, and submitting to God as their creator. 
There are many uses of this word blessed throughout the Bible that add even more meaning to this word. For example, when Abraham sent his servant to go back to his homeland and find a good wife for his son Isaac. The servant rode on his camel, which was the typical way to travel in those days. When he arrived in Abrahman’s homeland the Bible says the servant “kneeled” his camel and then went over to observe some women as they drew water from a well. (2) The original word translated “kneeled” here is the same word translated blessed.  
When the master of a camel kneels his camel, it will sit in that position until the master comes back and raises it up. What an important lesson to learn concerning our blessed or “kneeled” relationship with God our Master. 
Another very important usage of this word is when God told Abraham that one day in the future the promised Messiah would come from his seed and He would “bless” all the families of the world. (3) This “seed” was a prophecy referring to Christ. (4) And this prophecy explains that Jesus would restore all the families of the earth to the original blessed relationship with God so they could once again relate correctly to God and function in the world the way they were first created to. 
This “blessed” attitude is the same as the “gentle” attitude that Jesus teaches in the Beatitudes. What we learn from all this is Christ came to restore us fallen humans back into the original relationship we were meant to have with God so we can also rule over our world correctly.  
It is only when a person surrenders in respect and honor to God that the purpose of life can be experienced. 
This is why the gentle attitude is so important to all that God wants to do in our world. Remember, this can only take place when someone is rescued from the domain of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of God’s beloved Son. (5) 
I hope you can see why the kingdom is so unique. There is no other way for us fallen humans to become what God originally created us to be without the powerful reign of the Holy Spirit inside us.  
With these first three attitudes God allows His favored ones to inherit the kingdom, to be comforted by the Holy Spirit, and now Jesus said the gentle get to inherit the earth.  
What earth is Jesus referring to that the gentle inherits? He is not talking about our present earth ruled by the domain of darkness, for who wants to inherit a world always opposed to God’s will? The earth that Jesus is referring to is a new earth that the Bible says He will one day in the future create after He destroys the earth we live on. (6) This new earth will never have opposition to God’s reign.  
Our world has never been without resistance to God’s will because as perfect as it was when first created, Satan and his demonic followers were cast out of heaven down to this earth because of their rebellion against God’s will. Their domain of darkness influence in this world substantially influenced human freewill to make wrong choices.  But it also opened the door to the amazing wonder of God’s grace.  
If you remember, God’s grace means He gives us what we don’t deserve. We fallen humans certainly do not deserve to be restored to the righteous way we were originally created to be, but God does things no one would ever expect Him to do. And one of those gracious things He does is restore the attitude of gentle surrender in His favored ones.  
This is why the kingdom is so unique for it is only when someone surrenders to God in respect and honor that we can become what we were meant to be. 
Well, that’s it for today and once again there is just one thing – this attitude of gentleness is the very foundation of everything God wants to restore in our lives. 
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Guitar by Cole Criske 2020 All rights reserved
For great coffee order Cole's coffee here: https://colescoffeeco.com/
-------
Produced by Dereck Bradley
Contact us at mike@lessonsfromthetent.com

Apr 6, 2026

7 min

Mar 29, 2026

7 min

SECTION 3 
In this section I would like to point out some of the amazing concepts of the kingdom that make it unlike any government, culture, kingdom or religion that has ever existed. Once again we will have to apply faith and believing to these special characteristics that make the kingdom so unique, because as you will see there is nothing like the invisible kingdom of God in this world. 
LESSON 30 The uniqueness of the kingdom – the gentle life (part 1) 
Bible References: 
Matthew 5:5 (1) 
Matthew 11:28-30 (2) 
Galatians 5:22, 23 (3) 
Matthew 21:12, 12, 13 (4) 
John 19:26, 27 (5) 
Galatians 5:17 (6) 
Galatians 5:16 (7) 
2 Peter 1:3, 4 NLT (8) 
2 Chronicles 16:9a NLT (9) 
Good morning and welcome to another Lesson From The Tent. As we look at the uniqueness of the kingdom, we also need to examine the attitudes that Jesus wants the people in His kingdom to have. The passage we will be looking at is referred to as the Beatitudes.  
We have already looked at two of these attitudes; one in Lesson 4 about the necessity of becoming poor in spirit if we want to inherit the kingdom. And Lesson 5 about mourning for our poor in spirit condition so the Holy Spirit can comfort our sorrow. 
These two attitudes should naturally be produced by our transgression corrupted sinful man. The next several attitudes Jesus talks about though are the result of the seed of Christ in us and the fruit that comes from the Holy Spirit.  
Our natural man does not possess the ability to produce these attitudes. It has fallen much too far.  But, since the people in God’s kingdom are reborn with the seed of Christ, a new attitude can now be expected.  
Those in God’s kingdom have the powerful and righteous Spirit of God living and ruling inside them and the Spirit is not shy about what His role is. He actively works to grow us into people who reflect the uniqueness of God’s kingdom to this dark world we live in.  
Life in the kingdom is a continual process of learning how to live this new life God gave us and it all begins with the third attitude Jesus teaches which says, “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.”(1) 
Sometimes this word gentle may be translated as meek. It is too bad we think of meekness or gentleness though as a wimpy, quiet way to live because this couldn’t be any further from the truth. The original word for gentle is an attitude Jesus said He has (2) and it is also a fruit of the Spirit. (3) And there is nothing wimpy and quiet about Jesus or His Spirit.  
We often see Jesus exhibit superior character strength such as when He saw the Temple overrun by charlatans trying to squeeze money out of the poor. Jesus single handedly overturned all their tables of merchandise and threw the greedy sellers out of the Temple. (4) And while being beaten, whipped and crucified Jesus never cried out in pain. But He warmly spoke to His disciple John in the middle of His suffering about caring of His mother Mary. (5) 
There was nothing about Jesus you would ever refer to as wimpy. And remember, this strong character attitude He wants those in His kingdom to have.  
The original word gentle is a descriptive word focused on our relationship with God. It means we surrender to the reign of God’s Spirit letting Him have His way with us without fighting or resisting what He wants to do in our lives. And we are to do this joyously with whatever He wants to do in you. 
 As you can see, gentleness requires a significant attitude change for us fallen humans, because God says our natural man fights and resists whatever the Spirit is trying to do with us. Listen to how God describes this. 
“For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.” (6)  
The flesh is our freewill, and God says our flesh does not like His Spirit ruling and making decisions for us. He will fight it tooth and nail. But remember the Spirit is the powerful reign of God and our human spirit has no authority over Him.  
So then, how is it we still find ourselves doing things the Spirit doesn’t want us to do as the Bible says? The way this happens is when we just naturally make our own decisions without considering how the Spirit wants us to respond. And yes, God does allow this.  
Listen to what God says concerning how He wants us to do this. “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.” (7)  
First off, this is a promise of God so then whenever we do something our flesh wants it means we are not walking by the Spirit. Instead, we are responding to life from our natural flesh’s freewill.  
Living in the kingdom is a uniquely different way to live because the attitudes that God wants His favored ones to have only come when we have an attitude of joyful surrender to the reign of the Spirit. It is the Spirit of God that naturally has this gentle attitude of obedience to doing what is right. We certainly don’t.  
Surrendering to the Spirit’s reign allows the new seed of Christ to grow within us. One of my favorite passages about this says,  
“By His divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all this by coming to know Him, the one who called us to Himself by means of His glory and excellence. And because of His glory and excellence, He has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share His divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.” (8) 
Once again, it is impossible to live the way God wants us to without His powerful invisible Spirit. This means we must apply faith and believing to His promise of living in the Spirit. When we do, God is greatly pleased and will do everything to support us just as He said He would in the Old Testament. Listen to this.  
“The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him.” (9) What a special promise God makes to His favored ones. 
Well, that’s it for today and once again there is just one thing – Being transferred to the kingdom of God’s beloved Son opens a door to a whole new way living. 
I hope you will join us next week for part 2 of this challenging new way to live.  
 
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Guitar by Cole Criske 2020 All rights reserved
For great coffee order Cole's coffee here: https://colescoffeeco.com/
-------
Produced by Dereck Bradley
Contact us at mike@lessonsfromthetent.com

Mar 29, 2026

7 min

Mar 23, 2026

7 min

SECTION 3 
In this section I would like to point out some of the amazing concepts of the kingdom that make it unlike any government, culture, kingdom or religion that has ever existed. Once again we will have to apply faith and believing to these special characteristics that make the kingdom so unique, because as you will see there is nothing like the invisible kingdom of God in this world. 
LESSON 29 ─ The uniqueness of the kingdom – greatness is a lowly servant 
Bible References:  
Luke 22:24-37 NLT (1) 
Colossians 1:15 (2) 
Luke 4:43 (3) 
Good morning and welcome to another Lesson From The Tent. The uniqueness of the kingdom that we will look at today is a response from Jesus to another question from His disciples concerning which one of them did He regard as the greatest. This time their question comes from an argument they were having about this. It doesn’t appear they learned anything from their last lesson about greatness. I think it is safe to say His disciples struggled with their egos. This time Jesus will cut a little deeper though with His teaching and in the process reveal more about Himself when He does. 
When you read the books of the Bible called the gospels, which are Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, one thing that stands out very clear is that the disciples were very human. By that I mean they were just like us – full of self-righteous pride and very ignorant when it comes to the ways of God. 
One thing I find fascinating is these same self-righteous, full of pride, ignorant people were the very ones God used to preach the good news of the kingdom to the world. But, because of their obedience, and dedication, even against strong opposition, we are still talking about the kingdom of God today.  
Because they believed what Jesus said and through the power of the Holy Spirit that lived inside of them, these very flawed human disciples, changed the world.  
So, there is hope for us because we are no different than they were. We can also be Christ’s ambassadors and plead with those in the domain of darkness to come back to God. And maybe God will use us also to change our world. 
Let’s look at what Jesus told His disciples when they once again posed this foolish question concerning greatness to Him.  
“Then they began to argue among themselves about who would be the greatest among them. Jesus told them, ‘In this world the kings and great men lord it over their people, yet they are called friends of the people. But among you it will be different. Those who are greatest among you should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant. Who is more important, the one who sits at the table or the one who serves? The one who sits at the table, of course. But not here! I am among you as one who serves.’” (1) 
One thing that separates Jesus from the rulers, bosses, and kings throughout history is Jesus lived exactly what He taught. And He didn’t just live as an example – how He lived was really who He was. 
Remember, the King of the Kingdom is the image of the invisible God in a human body. (2) Yet, He said He came to serve His creation, not rule over them with an iron fist.  
As God, He certainly could have ruled that way for Jesus is – by far – the most powerful being in the universe but He is also the humblest servant who ever lived.  
Those two concepts are contradictory in the world of the domain of darkness, but they are the way of life in the unique kingdom of God’s beloved Son. 
I love the question Jesus asked His disciples in His response to them, “Who is more important, the one who sits at the table or the one who serves? When Jesus answered His own question and said, “It’s the one who sits at the table, of course,” He showed that the world hasn’t changed in two thousand years because that is still the way it is today. Those who serve receive very little honor. 
Can you imagine what the sudden infusion of kingdom truth did to those self-righteous followers when He responded, “That is not how it is here. I am among you as one who serves. They had seen Him do miraculous things that only God could do, yet He said He came to earth as a lowly servant.  
Those same words Jesus said to His disciples should also speak loudly to us. We may not argue outwardly with our friends about who is the greatest, but we do it in the quietness of our minds as we think of ourselves at least better than most other people. It seems we are always trying to elevate ourselves to a higher position on the pole of greatness and that is not the way it is to be in the kingdom of God. 
I also like how Jesus started His response to the disciples when He said, “In this world the kings and great men lord it over their people, yet they are called friends of the people.”  
Jesus knows us better than we know ourselves. We still call those who lord it over us “friends of the people.”  
The powerful and rich are not shy when it comes to taking advantage of those “below them.” Yet we love to call those regarded as wealthy or important as, “friends of the people.” Especially if they have ever simply appeared friendly in front of a crowd of people. It obviously doesn’t take much to be considered a friend in the domain of darkness. 
According to the King of the kingdom those who are greatest should take the lowest rank, and leaders must be like servants. Jesus is the greatest person who has ever lived on earth, but the majority of those in the world today don’t consider Him a “friend of the people.” And that’s probably because He was poor and came as a lowly servant. 
No, it’s not the kingdom that is upside down; it is the domain of darkness that is all messed up. The kingdom is how things were meant to be and would have been if sin had not affected our ability to make choices in harmony with God’s will.  
We are so fortunate though that God had a plan at the beginning of the world to correct our flawed way of thinking back to the way it was supposed to be when He sent His Son to tell us about the good news of the kingdom (3) and demonstrate that servanthood is the way to greatness in His kingdom.  
Well, that’s it for today and once again there is just one thing – you will never see things the way they were meant to be until you understand that greatness is a lowly servant.    
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Guitar by Cole Criske 2020 All rights reserved
For great coffee order Cole's coffee here: https://colescoffeeco.com/
-------
Produced by Dereck Bradley
Contact us at mike@lessonsfromthetent.com

Mar 23, 2026

7 min

Mar 16, 2026

6 min

SECTION 3 
In this section I would like to point out some of the amazing concepts of the kingdom that make it unlike any government, culture, kingdom or religion that has ever existed. Once again we will have to apply faith and believing to these special characteristics that make the kingdom so unique, because as you will see there is nothing like the invisible kingdom of God in this world. 
LESSON 28 ─ The uniqueness of the kingdom – It’s upside-down  
Bible References: 
Matthew 18:1-4 (1) 
Isaiah 55:8, 9 (2) 
 Good morning and welcome to another lesson from the tent. It is cold this morning. And I suppose it should be because this is our winter. But the air today has a strong chill to it, and I just happened to be waiting for another control board for my pellet stove because a lightning strike burned out the other one. So, it is going to stay cold today. Such is life in the tent – there is never a dull moment here. 
This week’s lesson is titled “It’s upside-down.” Once again it is about something Jesus said. As you should have learned by now, whenever Jesus speaks, His words seem to describe something in a different world. But there is a good reason why, because He is always talking about the good news of the kingdom and the kingdom really is a different world. Here is what He said. 
“At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, ‘Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, ‘Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.’” (1) 
Jesus told us that the least significant person in the kingdom is greater than anyone naturally born of a woman and now He adds a little more to this by saying the greatest in His kingdom is someone who humbles themself like a child.  
Life in the kingdom is truly upside down compared to the world of the domain of darkness. And if we take this to its natural conclusion, once again we need to radically change the way we think about greatness in the kingdom. 
So, what does Jesus mean that we need to humble ourselves and become like a child? To help us understand this let’s begin by comparing this concept to the way things are in the domain of darkness. To be considered great in that world someone needs to be bigger, better and have more. For example, your education must be from a bigger, more well-respected college than your peers. That will make you better educated and therefore smarter. And this should give you more money, more respect, and certainly a whole lot more stuff. Bigger better and more. This is the world of greatness in the domain of darkness. 
And then comes along Jesus who sets a small child in front of Him and tells all His followers that greatness in His kingdom is determined by humility. The original word humble means to be ranked below others who are honored or rewarded; it’s a condition of low degree; you are to have a very modest opinion of yourself; and to squash one’s pride.  
To Jesus, greatness doesn’t look anything like what it does in the domain of darkness. Mom and dads, can you imagine raising your children – purposely – to be someone ranked lower than others; to be thought of as lesser than their peers; to have a modest opinion of themselves; and to squash their pride?  
The contrast is enormous, but then again, we are comparing this world run by Satan’s powerful right to make choices and our fallen, defiled freewill – to a world run by the righteous reign of God. The kingdom of God’s beloved Son should be completely different; its foundation stands upon righteousness and holiness not greed and arrogance. I find myself often going back to something God said in the Old Testament that helps me keep a right perspective of greatness and humility. Listen to what He said.  
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.” (2) 
That is why the kingdom of God is so uniquely different than the world of the domain of darkness. God does not think like everyone in the domain of darkness does. His ways are much greater. There is just no comparison to how He thinks and acts and that is another reason the kingdom is so unique.  
This is also what makes the kingdom such good news. The domain of darkness world we live in is not a nice place. Far too often the wealthy get rich on the backs of the poor. Beauty is only measured by physical looks. Honor is awarded to titles regardless of character. Status is determined by popularity no matter how absurd someone’s life may be.  
This is not so in the kingdom of God. Childlike humility is the way to greatness. In the domain of darkness no one sends their children to school to learn how to be ranked lower than others. 
Are you beginning to see why the kingdom is upside down from the normal world we live in? So, how does someone become like a child? It begins by being truly poor in spirit. Jesus said you must become like a child if you want in the kingdom and He also said if you are poor in spirit, you inherit the kingdom. If A equals B and B equals C then A equals C. That is just common sense. If poor in spirit and becoming like a child both get you into the kingdom then becoming like a child is also like being poor in spirit and vice versa. 
As we learned in Lesson 5, “How To Become Favored By God,” what God wants from us is we must have the right perception of ourselves, and that’s according to how God sees us not how we see ourselves. Jesus doesn’t tell us we need to become better to be the greatest in His kingdom. He says we need to become insignificant, like a child no matter how great you are thought of in the domain of darkness. God’s ways are truly not our ways.  
Well, that’s it for today and once again there is just one thing – if you want to become great in God’s kingdom, become someone unimportant in the domain of darkness. 
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Guitar by Cole Criske 2020 All rights reserved
For great coffee order Cole's coffee here: https://colescoffeeco.com/
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Produced by Dereck Bradley
Contact us at mike@lessonsfromthetent.com

Mar 16, 2026

6 min

Mar 8, 2026

6 min

SECTION 3 
In this section I would like to point out some of the amazing concepts of the kingdom that make it unlike any government, culture, kingdom or religion that has ever existed. Once again we will have to apply faith and believing to these special characteristics that make the kingdom so unique, because as you will see there is nothing like the invisible kingdom of God in this world. 
LESSON 27  The uniqueness of the kingdom –  absolute power 
Bible References: 
Mark 2:1-12 (1) 
Job 1-Job 2:10 (2) 
2 Corinthians 4:4 (3) 
Matthew 4:8, 9 (4) 
Mark 5:1-20 (5) 
Luke 11:20 (6) 
Mark 4:35-41 (7) 
John 16:7 (8) 
Good morning and welcome to another lesson from the tent. Today’s lesson is going to take us further into the authority of Christ the King. Last week we saw Jesus heal a paralyzed man and forgive His sins – two things that declared His authority as all those who witnessed this found out. (1) 
Today we will see Jesus take His authority and power to another level. This time He is going to reveal His authority as absolute power. And when He does, we will see that mankind’s greatest enemy is no match for the powerful authority of God and His kingdom. 
What we learn today is worth more than all the riches in the world, because the reign of God can do things that even the greatest wealth cannot do, which is squelch Satan and his angels.  
Let’s contrast Satan’s limited power with Christ the Kings ultimate power. Satan can control the weather. He can cause large groups of people to kill and destroy other people. He can cause sickness. He can influence someone to murder another person. (2) He can influence people to not believe in God. (3) He controls entire governments. (4) He can even completely take over a person and turn them into an uncontrollable monster. (5) As you can see, Satan and his fallen angels can do things we humans cannot come close to doing. 
But let me show you the powerful authority of Christ and how insignificant the authority and power of Satan is against the King of this unique kingdom. Listen to what Jesus once said after He cast out a demon. 
“If I cast out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” (6)  
If you have ever had a bugger on your finger, you know it is a nuisance, but a mere flick of your finger will cast it away. That is all Jesus said He needs to do to cast demonic beings out of people. God’s authority is so much more powerful than Satan’s. In fact, Satan’s power and authority are nothing more than a tiny nuisance to God − something that can be cast away by the mere flick of God’s finger.  
Here is another instance in the life of Jesus that demonstrates the absolute authority of Christ over Satan. One day Jesus and the disciples were traveling in a boat to the other side of a large lake. Those who earn their living on the water as several of the disciples of Jesus did, have a great respect for storms, but are rarely ever intimidated by them. On this day though, such a large storm came up that even the experienced fishermen were afraid their boat may capsize, and they could drown in this powerful storm.  
Where was Jesus you might ask? He was lying down in the back of the boat asleep because He probably was exhausted. The disciples woke Him up and said to Him, “Don’t you care that we are about to perish?”  
That shows how bad this storm really was because these experienced fishermen were scared for their lives. Did Jesus care? Of course He did, but we can learn much from how He responded. He rebuked the storm and said, “Hush, be still.” And when He did, this powerful storm instantly stopped and the wind and waves became calm. 
The fact that the Bible says Jesus rebuked the storm means this storm was brought about by Satan and meant to destroy Jesus and His disciples.  
After this Jesus said to His disciples, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” The response of His disciples shows how amazing what Jesus did because they now became afraid and asked, “Who then is this, that even the wind and sea obey Him?” (7) 
Be sure to catch what I say next. This same powerful authority that Jesus displayed over demons and this storm now reigns inside God’s favored ones.  
To illustrate this amazing truth even further listen to what Jesus told His disciples just before He was crucified. He said, “I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.” (8) 
These same disciples were in the boat when Jesus told the storm to “Hush and be still,” and they had also seen Him cast out numerous demons by a mere flick of the finger of God. But they had to wonder how life could be better if Jesus left them and went back to His Father in Heaven.  
The reason this is true is because, in God’s plan the Helper, who is the Holy Spirit would not come to live inside them until Jesus was crucified, went back to heaven where He would then send the Spirit to live inside His favored ones. 
Here is a question for you, would you rather have Jesus driving in a car with you or inside of you? How you answer that question will make all the difference in how you deal with the storms of life that you encounter. 
Because of the domain of darkness, storms occur in everyone’s life. And I am not referring to weather storms. I am speaking of those things that cause your life to feel out of control and make you feel helpless.  
During these times you may find yourself desperately wanting Jesus to be standing right next to you and yet, Jesus said it is better that He leaves and goes back to heaven so He can send the comforting Holy Spirit to live inside of you.  
What I am about to say next is not meant to be disrespectful, but it is challenging. The Spirit of God living and reigning inside you is better than having Jesus’ walking next to you. That is something we need to apply faith and believing actions to, because that truth makes the kingdom more than unique. 
Well, that’s it for today and once again there is just one thing – God’s authority is the greatest power in the universe, and it lives and reigns inside those in His kingdom. 
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Guitar by Cole Criske 2020 All rights reserved
For great coffee order Cole's coffee here: https://colescoffeeco.com/
-------
Produced by Dereck Bradley
Contact us at mike@lessonsfromthetent.com

Mar 8, 2026

6 min

Mar 3, 2026

7 min

SECTION 3 
In this section I would like to point out some of the amazing concepts of the kingdom that make it unlike any government, culture, kingdom or religion that has ever existed. Once again we will have to apply faith and believing to these special characteristics that make the kingdom so unique, because as you will see there is nothing like the invisible kingdom of God in this world. 
LESSON 26  The uniqueness of the kingdom – the authority of Jesus the King 
Bible references: 
Mark 1:45 (1) 
Mark 2:1-12 (2) 
Colossians 1:19 (3) 
Good morning and welcome to another Lesson From The Tent. I love today’s lesson. It has always held a special place in my heart because of what Jesus did to teach about His authority.  
Far too often when we read the Bible, we do not approach it with an expectation of learning something that will challenge our way of thinking. And do it in such a way that how we view the world from then on will be significantly different. Such is the uniqueness of the kingdom that is taught in this moment in the life of Jesus. 
It is still early in His ministry, but He has already performed enough miracles that the crowds following Him are so large it made it difficult for Him to travel in cities and teach about the good news of the kingdom. 
On this particular day He had returned to His home where a large crowd of people had gathered so that there was no longer any room to get through the door to see Jesus. 
Suddenly, four men appeared, carrying a paralyzed man on a wooden bed and because they could not get to Jesus, they decided to tear open the roof and lower their friend down through the opening. (1)  
When Jesus saw the faith of these men He immediately said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” (2)  
The Bible doesn’t record how these four men responded but it does let us know how a group of religious teachers felt about it. They were confused and extremely bothered that Jesus forgave this man’s sins saying to themselves, “He is blaspheming, for only God can forgive sins.” (2) 
Jesus knew what these religious teachers were thinking and immediately said to them, “Which is easier to say to this paralyzed man. ‘Your sins are forgiven; or get up, and pick up your wooden bed and walk?’  (2) 
Obviously, these religious teachers had not yet radically changed the way they thought about the kingdom reign of God.   
The King of the promised kingdom was standing right there, and His miraculous actions had continually proved it, for no one can forgive sins but God alone and no one can make paralyzed tissue cells to suddenly become normal just by saying, “pick up your wooden bed and walk.” That is absolutely impossible — unless you are “the fullness of God in a human body” as the Bible says about Jesus. (3) 
Throughout history Jesus has always been considered a good man. No one has ever doubted that. But people often struggle with Jesus being thought of as God just as these religious teachers did. But when you see so many of the things Jesus said about Himself, if He is not God, then He is not good either, but a great pretender and deceiver.  
And this is exactly why Jesus asked these religious teachers, “Which is easier to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven; or to say, ‘Get up, and pick up your wooden bed and walk?” (2) 
I ask you the same question. Which do you think is easier to say? Anyone can say your sins are forgiven and who would know if they really were? But, if you say to a man who is paralyzed, stand up, pick up your wooden bed and walk; if he doesn’t, you will quickly be exposed as a fraud. And everyone around you will also know you do not have the authority to forgive sins; therefore, you will be exposed as a charlatan.  
That is why Jesus looked directly at these religious teachers and said, “But so you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” (4) He tells the paralyzed man to get up and walk. By doing this, He put His authority to the test right then and there and when the paralytic got up and walked it proved Jesus had the right to do what only God can do, which is forgive sins. 
Two thousand years later most people still agree that Jesus was a wonderful teacher and a good man, but at the same time they deny He is God. If He is not God, then He cannot be good if He pretends to forgive peoples sins. Either He really is God, in a human body as this incident reveals or He is not a good man, but a charlatan.  
The word “authority” used by Jesus in this story means He has the powerful right to do whatever He wants to do. And His authority, as He demonstrates so often is unequaled. He can forgive sins and He can tell paralyzed cells to become normal − and they will. His authority is greater than anything in the universe and it abolishes the belief that He is just a good man and not really God.  
As we learn here, if Jesus commands something to occur, it will happen as in the case of this paralytic. 
This is another reason that makes the kingdom of God’s beloved Son so unique. There is no authority in the universe that comes close to the authority of God’s Son. His is special and it is this powerful authority that reigns inside His favored ones. 
What does that mean for His followers? It means that the power of God that did all those miraculous events in the Bible lives inside of you. Does that mean you can do everything that God can do? Of course not because You can’t do anything. But, the Holy Spirit can, because He is the Spirit of God. They are one and the same.  
That is one of the most unique aspects of the kingdom there is – the King who reigns over the kingdom is the most powerful being in the universe. And He reigns over His favored ones from inside them. But make sure you get this; He never uses His power foolishly to satisfy our corrupted freewill. He always uses it to accomplish His righteous purposes here on earth. 
Well, that’s it for today and once again there is just one thing – The authority of Christ is the greatest power in the universe, and it proves He is truly God. 
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Guitar by Cole Criske 2020 All rights reserved
For great coffee order Cole's coffee here: https://colescoffeeco.com/
-------
Produced by Dereck Bradley
Contact us at mike@lessonsfromthetent.com

Mar 3, 2026

7 min

Feb 26, 2026

7 min

SECTION 3 
In this section I would like to point out some of the amazing concepts of the kingdom that make it unlike any government, culture, kingdom or religion that has ever existed. Once again we will have to apply faith and believing to these special characteristics that make the kingdom so unique, because as you will see there is nothing like the invisible kingdom of God in this world. 
LESSON 25  The uniqueness of the kingdom – the new you 
Bible References: 
2 Corinthians 5:17-21 (NLT) (1) 
2 Corinthians 5:15 (NLT) (2) 
Matthew 24:14 (3) 
Matthew 8:1-4 (4) 
 
Good morning and welcome to another Lesson From The Tent. Today I would like to look further into this concept of being born of God because this is as real as any women giving birth to a new child is. Listen to what else the Bible says about this new you. 
“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to Himself through Christ. And God has given us the task of reconciling people to Him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And He gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making His appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, ‘Come back to God!’ For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” (1)  
That is extraordinary. There are some amazing thoughts in this passage. The first one is that when we are born of God, we really do become a completely new person.  
And we are not only new people, but we also have a whole new purpose for life. God wants us to become Christ’s ambassadors speaking for Him, pleading with people to come back to God.  
When He rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, things really changed. We no longer are to live for ourselves. Listen to how God describes this new life.  
“He died for everyone so that those who receive His new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.” (2) 
You can see why Jesus said we need to radically change the way we think about the kingdom. Not only are we rescued from the domain of darkness but now we are Christ’s ambassadors and God wants to make His appeal through us for people to come back to God.  
What a dichotomy between the domain of darkness and the kingdom of God’s beloved Son. In the domain of darkness people live for themselves making choices from their blindly ignorant freewill according to how they want to live; but those in the kingdom have a much higher calling. We now live as Christ’s ambassadors and are to plead with our fellow humans in the domain of darkness to come back to God.  
The original word for ambassador means to act as a representative. This is another reason why even the most insignificant person in the kingdom is greater than anyone born of a woman. Those under the reign of the Holy Spirit represent Christ in this world. Let me say that again – those in the kingdom are now to represent Christ in the world. 
We must apply believing actions of faith to all this so we can conform to how God wants us to now live.  
The best way this is done is through obedience to the commandment Jesus gave His disciples shortly before He went to the cross. Here is what He said. 
“This good news of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” (3) 
 What our new life looks like is pretty obvious, we are to preach the good news of the kingdom throughout the world. Now the big question is, what is the good news of the kingdom that Jesus wants us to tell the world about? If you have listened to these 24 podcasts, you have heard the good news of the kingdom ─ 24 times now. And we have not finished learning about it yet. There is plenty more “good news” to come. That is how rich and full this kingdom treasure is. 
Here is where this new lifestyle gets even more interesting. God wants us poor in spirit, transgression corrupted sinners to represent Christ to this fallen, dark world. At first this seems impossible because how does a sinner represent God?  
When Jesus told His disciples to tell the world about the good news of the kingdom, He said to do it as a testimony. The original word for testimony is often used for someone who was once covered with the disease of leprosy but had been healed by Jesus. (4)  
In the Bible leprosy represented the disease of sin. A person with the disease of leprosy was completely ostracized from society. And there was no hope of fixing this ugly disease. They were shunned by everyone – accept Jesus. He put His hands on them and healed their leprosy, freeing them to once again become regular members of society and live the way they were created to.  
When you consider what Christ did for us poor in spirit, transgression corrupted sinful people – who were separated from God and excluded from the kingdom because of our sin. What Christ did for us is much like what He did when He healed a leper. When we become born of God, we become clean and righteous people with a whole new purpose for our lives. Since we have been rescued from the domain of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of God’s beloved Son, that gives each of us an amazing testimony of all God has done for us. 
This new you is really born of God and no longer sins. You have been recreated in the image of God and He considers you perfect forever. You have been forgiven of all the sin you ever committed and will still commit. You are freed from your guilt, free to enjoy an intimate relational partnership with God and Jesus where they will never mention your sin again. And all this is just the beginning of what God wants to do with you. 
Well, that’s it for today and once again there is just one thing – if you are born of God, you truly have become a completely new person, and what an amazing life He has for you as His ambassador. 
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Guitar by Cole Criske 2020 All rights reserved
For great coffee order Cole's coffee here: https://colescoffeeco.com/
-------
Produced by Dereck Bradley
Contact us at mike@lessonsfromthetent.com

Feb 26, 2026

7 min

Feb 15, 2026

7 min

SECTION 3 
In this section I would like to point out some of the amazing concepts of the kingdom that make it unlike any government, culture, kingdom or religion that has ever existed. Once again we will have to apply faith and believing to these special characteristics that make the kingdom so unique, because as you will see there is nothing like the invisible kingdom of God in this world. 
LESSON 24  The uniqueness of the kingdom – born of God 
Bible References: 
1 John 3:9 (1) 
Hebrews 9:26 (2) 
Hebrews 9:28 (3) 
Hebrews 10:14 (4) 
Romans 5:20 (5) 
Hebrews 12:6 (6) 
Romans 8:1 (7) 
1 Timothy 4:7b (8) 
Hebrews 12:9-11 (9) 
 
Good morning and welcome to another Lesson From The Tent. Today we will continue looking at the uniqueness of the kingdom. Just to remind you of what we looked at so far, Jesus said even the least person in the kingdom is greater than anyone naturally born of a woman. And we learned that the reason for this is because those in the kingdom are born of God and therefore, they never sin.(1)  
The favored ones of God have the perfectly righteous seed of Christ in them, and with this new seed they begin a new relationship with God. This born of God man, is empowered by the Holy Spirit that lives and reigns inside them and is what the eternal life relationship is built upon.  
Here are a few more reasons why those in the kingdom are considered so great. God says, Christ cancelled out our sin by His sacrifice on the cross. (2) And He also says, to all those who eagerly wait for Him He will never refer to their sin again. (3)  
The greatest people who ever lived before the invisible kingdom came to earth never had these promises. And they couldn’t have them because until Christ died for their sins, sin was always an issue keeping them separated from God. 
Another reason why those in the kingdom are considered so great is because God also says: “For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are made holy.” (4) 
Any person not in the kingdom is considered by God a transgression corrupted sinner while everyone in the kingdom is considered perfect for all time. These are God’s words and so we can trust and rely on them whenever our old man sins, no matter how awful the sin is. This is why the Holy Spirits forgiveness and comfort has no limitations. God’s grace is greater than all our sins. (5) And so, He considers us perfect for all time. 
How should that affect us in our everyday life?  
Everyone has guilt, but few people ever let anyone into their inner “guilt” circle. That place is usually too private, too dark, and far too embarrassing to share.  
But God knows more about our sin and our guilt than we ever will, and this is where faith and believing come into the picture. If God says He has forgiven all your sins and now sees you as perfect, what does your continued guilt say about your faith in His promises and forgiveness?  
What it says is yes, you may be sorry for your sin, but you haven’t let the propitiation of Christ comfort your guilt and sorrow as it should. Remember, it doesn’t matter if you are the greatest person in the kingdom or the least; God still considers you perfect and greater than anyone who is not in the kingdom.  
Guilt is one of humanity’s largest issues to deal with and there is nothing that can alleviate our guilt except the complete forgiveness of God. This is another aspect that makes the kingdom so unique. There is no forgiveness of sin and comfort for our guilt outside of Christ, the King of the kingdom. 
So how do we handle the on-going battle between our transgression corrupted sinful man that continually does things not in harmony with God’s will? Does God not care when we disobey Him? Does He ignore our disobedience and pretend it never happened?  
Here again is why we need to learn a different way of thinking about the kingdom. With God there is a distinct difference between our old man and the new one which then makes a difference between God’s punishment and His discipline.  
We humans do not do well at separating these two things. We think if a parent disciplines their children, they are punishing them. And when the Bible says God disciplines those He loves, (6) we often see this as God punishing us.  But here is what one of the more well-known Bible passages says. Listen to this. “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (7) The original word for condemnation refers to punishment, so as you can see, to God there is a difference between His discipline and His punishment, and this difference is something we desperately need to understand.  
Listen to what God tells us about this, “discipline yourselves for the purpose of godliness.” (8) And, “All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.” (9) 
If you have ever found yourself confronted with the need to lose weight you can see discipline in its proper usage. You decide to stop eating certain foods, snacks, soft drinks, etc. until you reach your determined goal. That’s discipline for a righteous purpose. You’re not punishing yourself even though it may feel like it at times as you try to establish new habits. You make a choice to “discipline” yourself because if you don’t, you will never stop eating those things that are putting weight on you.  
That is the discipline God is talking about. It always has a righteous objective to it. It is not designed as punishment because there is “no condemnation to those who are in Christ.” (6)  
God will discipline those in His kingdom to help them become more righteous in the way they think and live. This is a much needed and important change to our lives as the result of living in His kingdom.  
Even though God tells us to discipline ourselves, far too often we get lazy about doing this until one day God steps in and helps motivate us through trials – and remember, if you are one of God’s favored ones, it’s all for the purpose of increasing our righteousness. He is not punishing us, instead He is loving us as a good father should. (9) 
Well, that’s it for today and once again there’s just one thing – change the way you think about being born of God, because if you are God says you are perfect forever.  
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Guitar by Cole Criske 2020 All rights reserved
For great coffee order Cole's coffee here: https://colescoffeeco.com/
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Produced by Dereck Bradley
Contact us at mike@lessonsfromthetent.com

Feb 15, 2026

7 min

Feb 9, 2026

7 min

SECTION 3 
In this section I would like to point out some of the amazing concepts of the kingdom that make it unlike any government, culture, kingdom or religion that has ever existed. Once again we will have to apply faith and believing to these special characteristics that make the kingdom so unique, because as you will see there is nothing like the invisible kingdom of God in this world. 
LESSON 23  The uniqueness of the kingdom – the least significant person 
Bible References: 
Luke 7:28 (1a, 1b) 
Genesis 1:27, 28 (2) 
Genesis 2:17 (3) 
1 John 3:9 (4) 
John 8:34 (5) 
Romans 7:15, 17 (5) 
Ephesians 4:24 (6) 
Good morning and welcome to another Lesson From The Tent. Today we will look at one of the most unique aspects of the kingdom there is in the Bible. And this will also show why we need to repent and change the way we think about it.  
John the Baptist was a special person in history. The Bible shows that he was specifically born to prepare the way for the coming of Jesus the King. John was so special that Jesus said he was the greatest person naturally born of any woman;” (1a)  
That is a significant thing to say about someone, but it means even more because Jesus is the one who said this, which means it is a fact and not an exaggerated compliment. But what Jesus said right after this is what makes the kingdom so unique. Here is what He said. “Yet he who is the least in the kingdom of God is greater than John.” (1b)  
There were some great people who lived before John the Baptist. For example, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and King David to name a few. But according to Jesus, none of them was as great as John the Baptist. Yet, Jesus said the most insignificant person in the kingdom of God is greater than all of them, even John the Baptist. 
You can certainly see why Jesus said we need to radically change the way we think about the kingdom. In fact, if anyone other than Jesus said this, we would have to question it. But all His words are 100% true. He doesn’t exaggerate anything. He only speaks the truth. 
Before I begin to examine this, I want to remind you that we will definitely need to apply faith to this unique concept. 
So how does being in the kingdom make someone turn into such a great person?  
The first thing I want to point out is what we looked at in the first Lesson From The Tent. The kingdom is the whole purpose and plan of God. So, if you miss the kingdom, you miss the reason you are alive. It doesn’t matter how great anyone is in the eyes of those on the earth. True greatness is determined by God and He says the least person in His kingdom is greater than anyone born of a woman. 
The second thing I want to point out is that there could be no kingdom of God until Jesus was crucified for the sins of the world. That means no one who lived before Jesus could have experienced the eternal life kingdom relationship. Sin stood as a huge barrier between us humans and the Holy Spirit living and reigning from inside us. 
The third thing we need to understand is the purpose of the invisible kingdom to the whole plan of God. Mankind was meant to rule the world in the image of God. (2) We were to be His hands and feet and heart on this planet. We were meant to think and act as God would if He were living and ruling on earth. Our ability to do that though died the moment Adam and Eve disobeyed God and sinned. (3)  
But the moment someone inherits the invisible Spirit of God to live and reign from inside of them, this becomes a way of life once again. And that leads us to the reason why someone in the kingdom can be considered so great by Jesus. Listen to what God said about this. 
“No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.” (4) 
Let me say this in the language of the kingdom – When a poor in spirit sinner inherits the kingdom, they receive the seed of Christ inside of them and are now born of God as a new person. Yes, their old sinful man is still there but this new seed will never sin because it is the seed of Christ. 
You and I both know that sometime today you will violate what this says and sin, because all humans are born sinners and enslaved to doing sin, (5) and you know this by your own personal experience. So how can God say this?  
We are looking at one of the most unique aspects of the kingdom and it is also truly miraculous. Every human begins as a “seed” from their father and mother, and that “seed,” because of the fall is infected with sin before they are even born. Sin is in their genes. And of course, they add a million other sins during their lifetime.  
But God gives His favored ones a new seed – one that is perfect, without sin, because it is the seed of Christ, the perfect Son of God. And when someone is born again the image of God has been reborn in them. All the favored ones can now represent His image in this world just as they were originally created to.  
And yet, co-existing with the seed of Christ inside us is that old sin infected human being. Once you become one of God’s favored ones your sinful man will become your chief nemesis as long as you live on earth. God used one of His “great” ones in the kingdom to say it this way –  
“For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.” (6)  
Every favored one of God is truly born again and now has two natures. One a new righteous and holy nature, re-created in the image of God. (7) And the other the old sin infected nature you were born with. Now the issue that faces us, is which person will respond to life in the moments of each day – the old sinful man or the new one created in the image of God? What a unique opportunity the kingdom gives us fallen, sinful people. 
Well, that’s it for today and once again, there’s just one thing ─ in the kingdom, even the least person is greater than anyone not in the kingdom. 
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Guitar by Cole Criske 2020 All rights reserved
For great coffee order Cole's coffee here: https://colescoffeeco.com/
-------
Produced by Dereck Bradley
Contact us at mike@lessonsfromthetent.com

Feb 9, 2026

7 min

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