Welcome to God’s Kingdom (Luke 17:21 KJV)

By Harrison H. Jones

We make decisions in everyday life that are pleasing to the Lord, so often, we do what we don't want and don't do what we want.

Paul of the Bible had the same problem as he wrote in Romans 7:15 (ESV): "For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very things I hate."

Reading this book will help a person to understand the motivational forces that drive the human creature to act and respond to the world around them. This book explains how the inner man and the outer man are at war with God's will in each of our lives. By understanding the problem each person faces is within themselves, they have a better chance of overcoming their problem of doing the right thing. The right thing is what God's will is in their life. Choosing the right actions requires a person to overcome themselves and follow God's will.

This book explains finding and doing the will of God. This book teaches the three wills of God to direct a person to the perfect will of God.

The author uses his own life story to explain how he turned his life around and has learned how to deal with himself to overcome himself and Satan's roadblocks keeping him from the Paul dilemma.

This book teaches a person how to become unselfish and to be concerned about others and their needs. This is what God wants all of His human creatures to become, more selfless.

This book teaches how to overcome the self-motivated human creature to be more serving of others and to be more pleasing to God.

This book makes us more heaven-ready when God chooses to take us home to be with Him.

Reading this book will do the following:

Explain how to be saved.

How being saved is the only way to heaven.

How Jesus was and is the best example of unselfishness.

How our Jesus loved us more than Himself.

This book helps to prepare a person to spend the rest of their life (on this earth and eternity) walking in the Kingdom of God.

This book will help its readers to live in God's Kingdom. Christianity is living a life of being Christlike. This book teaches believers to live a God-pleasing life in God's Kingdom. God's Kingdom is inside every believer (Luke 7:12). Every person is invited to accept Christ and receive the Kingdom of God to indwell them. This book will explain what is expected of them. Each saved person has the responsibility to live their life as a citizen of God's Kingdom--living a life that lets others know they are welcome to God's Kingdom. Don't miss reading this book if you want to know how to please the King of kings, our Lord, and how to live in the perfect will of God.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jan 2, 2023
• ISBN: 9798885401609

Book preview

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Welcome to GodaEUR(tm)s Kingdom (Luke 17:21 KJV)

Harrison H. Jones

ISBN 979-8-88540-159-3 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-88540-160-9 (digital)

Copyright © 2022 by Harrison H. Jones

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Introduction

Selfish Versus Unselfish

Desire: The Root of All Sin

Learning to Walk with God

Becoming Unselfish

The Three Wills of God

Personal Testimony

Accepting Jesus

Becoming Unselfish Takes Time

The Problem with Forgiveness

Serving Without Selfishness

Loving Without Selfishness

Accepting Responsibility

It's Not about You

Being Successful and Serving God at the Same Time

About the Author

Introduction

This book explores how self-centeredness is the beginning and root of all sin. How it began with Satan and how what Adam and Eve did was based on self-centeredness. How people are motivated and act on the desire for some reward. This book will distinguish between the natural man and the spiritual man. How the natural man and spiritual man are constantly at war with each other.

Self-centeredness and the natural man is the basic nature of all life forms. An explanation of the physical drive for survival and how this drive is the root of desires and lust that draw us away from God and into self.

How Satan tempts us and leads us into sin by using the natural self-centeredness that is in each human being. The way God uses His love to cause the human spirit and soul to desire to serve Him unselfishly. This unselfish desire makes it possible for people to walk with God, in the Spirit of God.

How to accept Jesus and become a child of God is discussed. After a person is born again (saved), he begins a new growth process and has to choose which part of man he wants to go through life with, the natural man or the spiritual man. How to strengthen the spiritual man to live a life that is God-centered. Become a subject of the kingdom of God.

Living for God by explaining the basic wills of God are reviewed in this book. The permissive will, purposed will, and the perfect will of God and how they work together to live a life of unselfishness that will be pleasing to God and to mankind.

This book reviews and explains how a person can be successful in this life and pleasing to God at the same time.

This book will basically explain what God wants from us humans. This book examines the human being and the self-centeredness that drives the human creature. This book ultimately shows how to give God control of a person's life.

Selfish Versus Unselfish

Selfishness and self-centeredness are the hardest actions to overcome. Actions that originate from the desire to satisfy and maintain self. These actions are caused by our natural instincts. They don't have to be thought about to carry out. Therefore, the change from the natural man to the spiritual man means to change from self-centeredness to God-centeredness and that requires thought, understanding, and sacrifice. The end result of being God-centered is being godlike but not God. Natural actions occur to promote self and self-desires for self-gratification and preservation. That natural action is best seen in a baby that when born, as precious as they are, they are 100 percent self-centered because of that natural drive for survival.

A baby only wants to be taken care of as the natural need of survival. The only thing that makes a baby happy is to be catered to their every desire and need. It doesn't matter what time of night or day. It is irrelevant what the caregiver is doing when baby wants something. A baby is totally wanting and must be satisfied to bring peace. This is self-centeredness in its purest innocent state of being. That is why the parents with their total Godlike love for giving and caring, demonstrate agape (Godlike love) love. Notice as a toddler grows and becomes more agile and able to do the things that satisfy their wants and desires, they find the potential for satisfaction based on their own actions. Watch a toddler when they see someone else with something they want; they will go after it until they get it.

Then the teenager arrives, hormones suddenly appear, and we parents wonder what kind of selfish person we have created. The teenager doesn't even understand what is going on; they just have feelings that must be satisfied. Those feelings are self-centered and selfish for the purpose of self-gratification and self-preservation. Some of these feelings are natural and are for the propagation of the species. If left untrained and unchanged, mankind would no longer exist because no one would care about anyone else unless there was something in it for them. The lessons of being concerned about others must begin. The lessons of nurturing others and looking beyond self must be present. As maturity approaches, the base of mankind seems to look for ways to get others to do things for them. Some people want more things done for them than others. Some people get self-satisfaction from following and others by being followed. Some like being cared for and others get satisfaction by being recognized as the leader. This is the natural hierarchy order. This order seems to occur in many species. The order of what we refer to as society.

The self-centeredness in a baby will continue as long as the baby is alive. The baby changes from being a helpless wanting baby to becoming a toddler. Becoming a toddler is an experience of transforming from being totally dependent to being able to move oneself around by crawling to walking to even running. As that ability to move around develops in the toddler they learn to do some things on their own. One thing a toddler can do is to begin walking instead of being carried. The desire to be carried comes from self-centeredness and self-satisfying nature to let someone else do it, that comes from within. Some children are just the opposite and carry an independent nature about them. They want to do things themselves to have the ability to fulfill their natural survival needs quicker. It doesn't matter which personality is displayed from Baby to Toddler, they are motivated and driven by an inner force that fulfills the preservation of them. This is the basic example of human nature and its desire to sustain life. Teenagers and their development of a society. No one has to teach or inspire this hierarchy development. This can be seen in examples demonstrated by bullies and the bullied.

Someone wants to be top dog driven by self-centeredness. This also fulfills the desire to be recognized as important. Others feel important by having someone willing to take care of them and tell them where and how to go. These people are known as followers. There are still others that fall somewhere in-between. The main thing to realize is that the place a person ends up in life is naturally motivated by their desire to feel important and self-preserved. This occurs whether an individual is happy being looked up to, or looking up to someone that leads and takes care of them. Both are having their human needs fulfilled just in different ways.

Another example of self-centeredness is when it comes to the process of a child eating and learning to eat. The baby wants something to satisfy the hunger they feel and cannot explain or understand. So someone puts something in its mouth and a natural sucking occurs, and the baby is suddenly being fulfilled. This lesson has taught the baby that they can feel better and their stomach will stop hurting by putting something in it. So suddenly they learn that if they cry, they get to eat something and the pain goes away. So now the pain comes at all hours. It makes no difference to the baby, l:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m., 6:00 a.m., noon, 7:00 p.m., when the hurt comes, they expect to be fed, and they will let mommy or daddy know it. The baby grows and suddenly gets coordination with eyes, hand, and mouth and is able to learn to feed themselves. Some are independent and receive satisfaction from feeding themselves. Others want someone else to continue to feed them. Either way, it is self-centeredness and the natural desire for satisfaction that motivates all animals, including man, to survival. The point is that we are motivated by self-interest from the beginning of our very existence.

Our very nature has an interest in self. All life begins being interested in self-existence and self-preservation. As life develops learning develops and slowly begins to notice that there is something outside of self. The learning begins figuring out how to use what is outside of self. The natural self is drawn to only notice themselves as the new life develops.

Without the new life making every effort to survive, it would die. Also, the effort to survive makes the life stronger. Life will develop and mature both in life energy and in biological development until physically maturity is complete. This is a natural process and is necessary for all biological life.

For example, when a bird is developing inside the eggshell, there are several things the bird will need that will be there. Some sort of food and nutrition will feed the biological part of this life. Meanwhile, there is a life force or life energy that is part of and lives in conjunction with this biological entity. As the biological part grows and develops toward maturity, the DNA gives the guidance for this life to develop as well as what is needed to develop. The full attention of this life is for self-existence and self-development. Nothing matters outside of this effort. No interest lies outside of development and growth of this entity.

As this chicken develops and grows, it soon fills up the space inside the egg and the first thing you know there is no room left. The next step is for the baby chicken to get out of the egg and get more room for growth. So the chicken uses his beak and breaks out of the confining eggshell to find more space for growth.

Now the baby chicken is outside of its shell and it is in the world and has lots of room. However, physical development guided by DNA has now caused new needs. There is now a need for shelter, safety, and food with no idea of how to get these things. So immediately, a search begins for some way to get the needed things for survival. The interest is in self-preservation and not in anything else. The baby chicken begins to look for someone to help fill its needs. So when the baby chicken finds its mother, and she supplies the needed food, safety, and shelter. The baby chicken now receives what it needs and remembers where the source for food, shelter, and safety came from so they can go back for more. There is no interest outside of self at this point with the exception of what this other life force can give to its needs.

This process is same for all life. Of course, not all the processes of conception to maturity are the same. But all life starts at a beginning and develops into a mature state of existence. All life follows the same process of self-interest.

They all have to develop to maturity. The process of development begins with the survival motivation to reach maturity. There is no interest in anything outside of self, other than what those external things can give for survival. This is the attitude that must be changed and developed with maturity. Otherwise, life will cease to exist.

It seems that people are motivated naturally by the idea of personal gain, "What's in it for me?" The more I see people and what motivates them, I see a focus on what they get out of their efforts. Motivation, defined, is the driving force that causes a person to spring into action and move toward a goal. The driving force is the potential a person has once he or she sees the reward that follows. The greater the gain, the more intense the effort becomes. The driving force causes a person to take action. The amount of action a person takes is based on how strong the desire is to obtain the end result. The end result could be physical, spiritual, or some of both.

What is it that causes a person to spring into action? It seems to be something that satisfies a need of some sort. In the immature individual, it will be a personal need. In a mature individual, the desire could be to help others with their needs. What God wants us to do is learn that helping others is the primary thing to do. After that, a feeling of self-worth, satisfaction, and joy will occur. Knowing the end result causes an action to take place. This is the first step to motivation, the cause of springing into action. The next is to move toward a goal.

Goals put direction into a person's life. Seeing that vision of what is to come. There has to be the ability to believe that the possibility exists to reach the desired goal. One way to explain this is that if there is no hope, no action will occur because there is no need. There must be a vision and belief to make reaching the goal possible.

Someone once said, No action will be taken if there is no reward. Some rewards are huge and others are quite small. But there is always a reward.

People are motivated by different things. Some are motivated by money, some by status. Yet others are motivated by what satisfies a want or need. The wants and needs are determined by what is inside a person. If the natural man rules the inside of a person, then the wants and needs are aimed at the natural pleasures and wants that want to be satisfied. If the Spirit of God is the governing part of the spiritual man, then the desires will be God-centered and the reward comes from making God happy. Determining which spirit governs the actions of an individual will be decided by which part of man is the strongest. The one that rules will be one that is fed and used the most. If an individual lives in the spirit of self and determines his or her decisions are based on the natural needs of man, then the natural man, also known as the outer man, will remain the strongest. On the other hand, when an individual spends time with God through prayer and His Word, the God-pleasing, spiritual man, known as the inner man, will become the strongest. So the strongest feelings will rule the actions of each individual. If the Spirit of God becomes the strongest influence, the things of God will motivate them into action. If the natural outer man is the strongest, the things of self will rule and actions will be for self. Some of this is explained in Romans 8:1–16 (NASB):

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, Abba, Father. The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together."

This scripture teaches that flesh (carnal) is the natural influence of our total person. The Spirit from God that dwells in all those that have accepted Christ as their savior lives according to the desires of the Spirit of God. When the desires of the body are secondary to the desires of God, then the deeds that are done will reflect the desires of God and will be life in itself. When a person is led and influenced by the Spirit of God, he or she will walk according to the Spirit of God. The main mark of this walk is the desire to put God and His wishes ahead of our own. There is a reversal of influence,