Walking in Kingdom Grace: The Story of Humankind Fulfilling the Eternal Purpose of God

By Roderick W Cole

Walking in Kingdom Grace is a thoroughly biblical exploration of the term the kingdom of God. Tracing the concept of the kingdom of God from pre-creation to the future eternal state, you will clearly understand Gods intention for humankind as never before.

You will discover such things as:

What is the kingdom of God?

How does it relate to your eternal purpose in God?

How does it relate to the New Covenant?

How does it relate to the church?

Exactly how does Christ build His church?

If Jesus was God, why did He need to be anointed by the Holy Spirit?

What does the anointing upon Jesus have to do with believers today?

These and many more questions are answered from the Scripture. Complex questions are unraveled and explained in an illuminating way, which will provide many Aha! moments as complicated subjects become crystal clear.

One reader commented, Pull up a comfortable chair, clear your schedule, and turn your cell phone off because you are not going to want to put this book down once you get started!

Len Harper, Pastor

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Mar 19, 2015
• ISBN: 9781490871974

Roderick W Cole

Roderick W Cole has served as a pastor, evangelist, and event speaker for over thirty years. His unique ability to identify and explain core principles of a concept or truth can energize and enlighten believers in order to prepare them for greater and more fulfilling service in Christ. He resides with his wife, Cathy, in Dothan, Alabama.

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Copyright © 2015 Roderick W Cole.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

WestBow Press

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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ISBN: 978-1-4908-7196-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-7198-1 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-7197-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015904397

WestBow Press rev. date: 03/17/2015

Contents

Foreword

Introduction

1 The Kingdom of God Defined

2 The Kingdom in the Eternal Purpose of God

3 The Kingdom in the Process of Redemption

4 The Nature of the Kingdom of God

5 The Kingdom and the Cross

6 The Kingdom and the New Covenant (Part I: The Shadow)

7 The Kingdom and the New Covenant (Part II: The Substance)

8 The Kingdom and the New Covenant (Part III: Relationship)

9 The Kingdom and the Church (Part I: Christ Builds His Church)

10 The Kingdom and the Church (Part II: The Mission of the Church)

11 The Kingdom and the First Coming of Christ

12 The Kingdom and the Second Coming of Christ

Glossary

Notes

This work is affectionately

dedicated to my mother, Ruby Cole, who has always stood by me, often in very difficult times;

To my wife, Cathy Cole, who has modeled walking in kingdom grace before me;

And to my friend and mentor, Len Harper, who taught me many of the principles of which I write.

Foreword

Walking in Kingdom Grace is an inspiring book that will capture your attention from the very first words. You will be refreshed in your spirit as you drink of the truths expressed in this book. Your eyes will be opened to an entirely new way of seeing the Church, the Kingdom of God, and His grace. You will finish each page with an increasing hunger for more. God’s plan of the ages will begin to make sense to you, and like pieces of a puzzle, it will all come together. God’s grace and His Kingdom will come alive in your spirit. You will shake off the shackles of the law and walk in new freedom. You will then want to share what you have learned with others, and they too will want to take hold of this book and not let it go. I have known Pastor Rod Cole for well over ten years, and I have said to him on many occasions, There is a book inside of you just waiting and wanting to come out!

Well, it finally has, and it is more life changing and stunning than even I would have thought! Find a comfortable chair and put on your seatbelt—because you are getting ready to go on a wonderful journey. Turn off your cell phone and clear your schedule because you are not going to want to put this book down once you get started!

Pastor Len Harper

South Brandon Worship Center

Valrico, Florida

www.southbrandon.org

Introduction

I came to Christ in July 1970 while living with my family in Whittier, California, a small town in Los Angeles County.

My uncle, Orville Cole, came to visit our family during one weekend of the three-week Bible camp he was attending in Eureka Springs, California. He was the pastor of a small Pentecostal congregation in Butte, Montana. While visiting, he asked me if I wanted to go back with him to Montana and go camping in July. I responded enthusiastically that I would be thrilled to go. My father had taught me to love the outdoors. Had my uncle disclosed the fact that the camping trip was actually a Christian Youth Camp, I’m quite sure I would not have consented. I’m glad he did not make that disclosure; as you shall see, the trip changed my life forever.

We arrived at the Bible camp late in the evening. We were to remain there the next day, attend the graduation ceremony in the evening, and leave for Montana the following morning. It is amazing how the Holy Spirit orchestrates things when He is in pursuit of your soul. A series of related events took place in my life the few weeks prior to my uncle’s visit. I can now see the Lord was preparing my heart for the harvest of my soul.

I was attending a weekend party at a friend’s home from high school. The home was the residence of two very popular and pretty twins; their mother would frequently allow their friends to gather together at their home as long as she could chaperone. It was a drug-free zone, refreshing for that day. I was sitting at the kitchen table, talking to a few friends and also to the girl’s mother, our chaperone. Suddenly, the girl’s mother looked at me and asked bluntly, Rod, are you a Christian?

For some reason, the question really shook me. The question had no context, coming seemingly out of nowhere. It was its content as well as its bluntness that startled me. As I recall, I did not even know a Christian at the time. I attended a high school of some 2,500 students, but I don’t remember any claiming to be Christian although I’m sure there were many. The question made me uncomfortable, but I wanted to answer it. I thought for a moment, and then I asked my hostess and inquisitor, Are you?

She answered without hesitation, Yes, I am.

Then I blurted out, Well, then I guess I am too! I don’t know how something can trouble you without you actually contemplating it consciously, but this incident stuck with me on an involuntary level and had an effect like yeast kneaded into dough.

The Holy Spirit was just getting started. Our social studies teacher gave us an assignment to write a short paper and express our opinions on religion. I wrote the usual jargon about religion being for weak people who couldn’t stand up to life for themselves, and so they invented a god to lean on. I wanted to present myself as a hard guy as we were identified in our clique, but for some reason, I felt guilty for having written that piece… Hmmm.

Then our history teacher gave an assignment to each of us classmates to write about the history of a country he would assign to us. I don’t have to tell you that my assignment was the nation of Israel. During my research, I was confronted with the God of Israel and the concept of monotheism, the Old Testament, Abraham, Moses, David, and even Jesus the Messiah! I found out that some (apparently weak people) even thought that the reestablishment of Israel as a nation in 1948 was a response to prophecy! Many apparently still believed Israel was God’s chosen people. This was not long after Israel’s six-day war with the Arab nations. I found several writers in my research who suggested the miraculous had an influence in the outcome of the war. I was running into God at every turn. Also about that time, I developed an interest in reading the Bible. I didn’t know where to start reading, so I looked through the table of contents and found a book with my father’s name on it (Amos). So I read it. I can’t say I got a jolt out of any of it, but here I find myself reading the Bible.

It didn’t stop. My buddies and I piled in a car one weekend night, and as we were backing out of the driveway (trying to find some mischief to get into), two teenage girls appeared out of nowhere. One of the girls leaned into the window opening on the driver’s side and said, We just want you to know that Jesus loves you! Then she said, Do you want to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? It seemed as if she was looking right at me sitting in the back seat, and had singled me out for some reason. It’s a good thing it was dark and the place where I was sitting was covered in shadows because I got all choked up and moisture started filling my eyes (it must have been the smog or something). I couldn’t answer. Finally, one of the guys said chidingly, Well, do ya, Cole?

That snapped me out of it, and I shouted, Naw, let’s get outa here! We took off, laughing, with the sound of the girls shouting Jesus loves you! fading in the background.

Then the time came when my uncle said we would have to leave the next day to get to the graduation of the Bible Camp. I was ready to get away; things were getting weird after all in my little world in Whittier, California! We arrived at the Bible camp in the evening, planning to attend the graduation the following evening and leave for Montana early the next morning.

The Bible camp was attended by Christians from Central California and from all over the Northwestern States. There were perhaps 150 students, many of them in their teen years. The following morning, I saw a group of about a dozen or so young people; and when I approached them, I thought, These are the biggest bunch of sissy-looking kids I’ve ever seen!

I was used to the street kids of LA, and although we weren’t gang related, we were definitely street tough. These were Pentecostal-holiness people. The guys dressed very conservatively, and the girls wore long skirts and no make-up. There was one big guy in the crowd. I was a skinny kid of sixteen, but I thought I was a tough guy.

I marched up to the group, singled out the big fella, and said something insulting to him. Instead of getting the laugh I expected from the crowd and some kind of smart retort from him, I got nothing—just an awkward, deafening silence. He just stood there, looking at me. I mumbled another slur. Then I remember the fourteen-year-old giant named Rick Frasure from Pocatello, Idaho, looking at me with tears beginning to run down his face. He responded, If I knew that you would live for God, I would die for you.

I muttered another insult or two about how lucky he was that I was in a good mood and walked away, shaken. That wasn’t exactly the comeback I was expecting.

Later that afternoon, as the students gathered for the camp service, Rick sought me out and invited me to the service. I declined. As they filed into the building, I walked up the hill into the woods and found a stump to sit on and thought about my all too empty life. After a few moments, I heard a noise that sounded like a distant waterfall roaring and rumbling. It turned out to be the sound of the Pentecostals engaging in congregational prayer. I would grow to love that sound.

I got on my knees by the old stump, and I prayed a prayer with which I’m sure God is very familiar. I prayed, God, if You are real, I want to know You. Then I told Him I would wait there about fifteen minutes. There was never a more humble, sincere prayer. I don’t know why I prayed that way, but I waited the fifteen minutes. I waited and listened intently. For what, I didn’t know, and… nothing. I thought, It’s about as I expected.

Then suddenly, something came crashing through the woods! My heart started pounding, and I thought, It’s the Lord! I didn’t know what to do; it came nearer. It turned out to be Rick Frasure. He said, breathlessly, I was in church and something said, ‘Go find that young man,’ so I came up here looking for you. He must have seen that I was shaken. He then said, Do you want to pray? I told him I didn’t know how to pray. He told me to kneel with him and repeat a prayer after him. It was there, in the woods, by that old stump, that I prayed the Sinner’s Prayer, led by Jesus disguised as a fourteen-year-old soul winner named Rick Frasure of Pocatello, Idaho.

We went into the camp meeting and sat near the back. I was dazed throughout the whole service. Something had happened to me, but I didn’t know exactly what. The preacher, Bishop E. J. Bias from Paramount, California, began to give an altar call at the end of his sermon. I had no idea he was calling people up to the front who wanted or needed prayer. Rick was wise beyond his years. He whispered to me, That man up there wants to talk to you. After wrestling with my discomfort with the thought of walking down to the front of the building in the presence of all these strangers, and through Rick’s persistent urging, I got up out of my seat and walked down the aisle. As I walked toward the preacher at the front, I felt the weight of the world pressing in on me. It grew steadily until I stopped in front of the preacher.

He said, Yes? Can I help you? I couldn’t say a word. He then said, Would you like to kneel and pray? I nodded my head in the affirmative, and the place erupted as I knelt in prayer. I cried and prayed and asked God to forgive me of my sin and to take my life and use it. The weight of my life lifted off me, and I felt an unexplainable joy. I felt I had been transported somehow into a brand-new world.

That was forty years ago. Jesus has never left me and has been faithful to me since that day. I have learned a great deal since then. I have been down many, many roads. Some of those roads have been filled with joy, and others have been very painful. However, the basis of my relationship with God has not changed since that long ago prayer by that stump and my crying out to God at the old time altar in the Bible camp. I still have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, which is continuing to grow. Oh, I have learned to pray a little more fluently, and yes, my relationship with Jesus has been tested and has grown exponentially. Yet through it all, one thing has remained constant: Christ has used my experiences in life to explain Himself to me more fully and to make me more like Him. Even during a period when I underwent a trial so traumatizing that it shook my faith in Him, His love for me never wavered. He never left me, nor did He forsake me. He has proven Himself my closest, most reliable of all friends. I love you, Jesus!

In this introduction, I want to personally thank a few people for being the hands and voice and love of Christ to me. Of course, at the top of the list are the aforementioned Rick Frasure and my uncle Orville Cole, who had the sensitivity to cooperate with the Holy Spirit in a conspiracy to rescue a single soul. I would also like to express my appreciation for my first pastor, Bishop M. T. Loftin, who instilled within me single-mindedness for Christ as well as a passionate love for God’s Word.

I met Len Harper and his wife, Robin, during the time of great trauma I mentioned earlier. Len is the pastor of South Brandon Worship Center in Valrico, Florida. I have never heard God speak audibly, but I have heard Him speak in a very loud impression two or three times. One of those times was when I was on my way to visit Len’s church for the first time, and as I neared the driveway of the church, I distinctly heard the Holy Spirit say, Go there and learn a new foundation. I did go there, and Len, Robin, and the church family faithfully loved me and taught me much of what I now know about walking with Christ. While there, God taught me the promised new foundation, mostly through Len’s patient instruction and friendship. That new foundation is much of the insight shared in this book.

After leaving SBWC, I spent a couple of years with Pastor Gary Washburn, his wife Pam, and the loving folks at Grace Tabernacle in Wildwood, Florida. I received a lot of needed healing there and developed more of the concepts I relate in this book. I wrote much of the first draft while at Grace Tabernacle.

I then moved back home to a small community in Northwest Alabama, where I now reside. God allowed me the privilege of spending a little time with my father before he tragically passed one afternoon in a farming accident. For the last three years, I have been very close to my long-time friends, Skip and Janet Alexander. Skip is the pastor of Grace Community Church in Hamilton, Alabama. Some of you might be familiar with the Ramp, a national youth ministry founded by Karen Wheaton, which is located in Hamilton, Alabama. Karen had moved back to Hamilton, and she was attending church where Skip and Janet were serving as shepherds. Karen wanted to help the young people of her hometown, so she started working with the youth in a back room of the store-front church… Who knew?

I have greatly refined my understanding of walking in kingdom grace the last few years. Skip, Janet, and I have walked out the principles in this book together. I would tell them what I was writing about and some of the things the Lord was teaching me. They confirmed and validated many of the refinements, which have evolved into this the final draft.

I write this book to inspire Christians to throw off anything in their lives that would hinder them from knowing the Master better. I write to inspire Christians to embark on that soul satisfying journey to know the Lord Jesus Christ more intimately as He desires to be known. I write to inspire Christians to go beyond being mere believers and become wholehearted disciples. I write to inspire Christians to trust Christ when He challenges them to loose themselves from the encumbrances of their life for His sake and allow those nonessentials to drift away down life’s river, somewhere far, far from themselves. I write to inspire Christians not to despair when they find themselves being crucified to the world and the world being crucified to them. I write to inspire Christians to throw off the Western mind-set with its overemphasis on the material and temporal and put on the mind of Christ and adopt His long view of eternity. I write to inspire Christians to search for the kingdom wealth deposited within each of them by their loving Savior and to seek an outlet to share that wealth. I write to inspire Christians. I write because I have experienced the ultimate pain of detours and the side roads of which