Heavy Artillery of the Spirit

Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting (Mt. 17.21).

What a testimony is here of the efficacy of fasting, when added to fervent prayer!

- John Wesley

I have asked the Lord to indulge me in this passage during this time of prayer. "Father, in Jesus' name, I call out to you, who gives understanding, who has caused me to realize the truth of this, to help me communicate this truth to men you wish to use for your purpose."

"I believe, the few who read this blog are in no need of my persuading them to understand the importance of fasting and prayer since they live that truth and I have need of sitting under their tutelage in this matter.

I know now Pastor Howard of Bethel Assembly in Bristol believes this as he is leading his church in three days of fasting and prayer for the unsaved in Bristol, CT.

"There is nothing fancy in all of this, just simply trusting in you to do the work. There's no fancy activity at that assembly to save souls in this time of fasting and prayer, it is a time for calling out to you in humility for all human activities fail. You, O Lord are, alone, capable of quickening our mortal bodies and you, alone, are capable of bringing the lost into your kingdom. We, thus, pray, 'Thy kingdom come, thy will be done.'"

The Lord's Promise to Answer Prayer

In seeking the face of Almighty God in prayer, I find myself interceding for a group of neighbors I meet with monthly. Some in this group believe in New Age spirituality, some are Catholic, some agnostic and others atheistic.

I believe those people are my neighbors in order to have their names written in Heaven. Two people, speaking for this group, insist I speak no longer in the name of Jesus. I must be tolerant of other religions (though that doesn't stop the most foul talk from proceeding out of the mouths of those seated near me). In short, Jesus is not allowed.

When asked to give the invocation, I imagine many think I'm indicating they are going to hell.

If I were to insist they are going to hell, I'd not be believing in my intercession and the Lord's promise to answer my prayer. I have asked the Father to cause each person to draw near to Jesus and be saved safe within Him. I've asked the Father to ensure their names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. I've stood before the Father and stand now with chutzpah, brazenly stating Jesus' promise, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you (Jn. 16.23).

"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened (Mt. 7.7,8).

"Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven (Mt. 18.19).

"And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive (Mt. 21.22).

"Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you (Mk. 11.24).

"So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you (Lk. 11.9).

"Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son (Jn. 14.13).

"If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

"You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you (Jn. 15.7,16).

"In that day you will not question Me about anything. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you (Jn. 16.23).

"And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him (1 Jn. 5.14,15)."

My case has been made, O Lord. Your promises are cast in the framework of eternity. Yeshua came to seek and to save that which was lost (LK. 19.10). I'm asking you now, O Father, to save those people for whom I have been interceding. You have stated, it is not your will any should perish but all come to repentance (2 Pe. 3.9).

I stand before you, Father, washed in the blood of Jesus with Jesus as my advocate (1 Jn. 2.1) who is seated at thy right hand ever living to make intercession for me and is completely able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him (He. 7.25). He is at your right hand, O God, interceding for me (Ro. 8.34). What is more, the Holy Ghost maketh intercession for me in groanings that cannot be uttered (Ro. 8.26).

I have the perfect case for the fact the names of those for whom I intercede must be in Heaven: Your Word and Your Promises, O God.

No one comes to the You but by Jesus (J. 14.6) and no one can come to Jesus except You draw him (Jn. 6.44). You will draw those for whom I have interceded and you must draw them for you will never go against your Word.

Now unto Him who liveth forever and ever with no beginning of days nor end of years,

The Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and End

In whom time is but a drop in the ocean of eternity

and eternity is but a wisp of vapor within God's permission,

Be all praise and worship. Amen.

Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
In light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
Most blessèd, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
Almighty, victorious, Thy great Name we praise.

- Walter C. Smith (1867)

Deeper Things of God

I knew a man who wanted to draw so much nearer to YHWY as to be distressed with being confined to living in his earthly body on this terrestrial ball. Though reading the Word of God and listening thereto, prayer, fellowship with believers, ministry to others and worship effectively brings one into the presence of God, he still felt this carnal life to be a "ball and chain" preventing him from experiencing fully the presence of Christ.

A question he asked, as do all honest believers, "What is the Lord's will?"

The model of our prayer is, "Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done."

In answer, "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (2 Pe. 3.9)."

In Psalms we read, "Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession (Ps. 2.8)."

We are truly expected to ask of the Father: And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive (Mt. 21.22).

And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight (1 Jn. 3.22).

It seems pretty conclusive, we are to remain here as long as YHWY wills. While here we are to do our part that His Kingdom come. We are to do His will, while we have breath.

I knew a man who found no way of drawing nearer to Yeshua than to spend time in secret prayer and be led of the Holy Spirit to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ, who became our curse that we might live, to many at any opportunity made available.

In this he found the deeper things of God.

Having Prayed for you to Pray

After having spent a good time in prayer and intercession, I would like you to know what is happening in the heavenlies.

First, your most urgent need is God’s protection. Yeshua shed His blood to cleanse you and make you approved before God, the Father, making you a partaker in His glory. Next, you must be guided and directed by His Holy Spirit. You believe His Spirit will guide and lead you.

Our Lord wants to be glorified in your life and work, in all you say and do. All of your ministry must proceed from His throne. Since His ministry in and through you must come from your communion with Him in diligent, focused, solitary prayer, you must get to that time and place of prayer (your prayer closet) every day.

Please know it has pleased the Father to post angels at your place of prayer for you to come before Him unhindered for that time in which you, as Moses, draw near into the thick darkness where God is. Those angels have been posted because of the work God is pleased to do through you for His kingdom to come. Through your times of prayer, you will behold His glory with open face, as in a glass. As you spend time beholding His glory He will transfigure you into the glory and image of Jesus Christ. As you are transfigured into that holy vessel, nothing will prevent you from doing His will.

As you perform His work, your ministry, His angels will be posted about you for your protection.

When Christ, [who is] our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory (Co. 3.4).

God’s blessing you.

Your servant in Christ,

Christopher Dart

Must I Go to Church Today?

Times Square Church receives letters from all over the nation, by the thousands, "Pastor Dave, I hate to wake up Sunday mornings; I hate to go to my church."
What a tragedy! Persecution is not needed to keep those seeking the One True God from meeting together. The direction of the churches are doing that job well.
I make entries in my journal when going to prayer meetings, teachings and church services. Last Sunday I wrote. "The speaker has resorted to jokes for he has nothing from thy throne, Almighty God, to speak. Please forgive those who regard that pulpit as a place to entertain. The words proceeding from that place are not to be idle but the very keys to life and death to the listeners. Please forgive me, O God, if I am missing you in these entertaining words. I find nothing being said to be pertinent to what is happening in the world today.
"O God, break through and use those spoken words to cause the listeners to be chosen by you and caused to approach unto you. Lord, pour out your oil for the lamp which seems to be extinguished. You promised, 'I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy lampstand out of his place, except thou repent (Re. 2.5).' Lord, cause the words spoken to move the listeners to seek your face diligently on a daily basis so they may have pure oil olive to bring for the tending of the lamp that it may burn continuously."
The oil signifies the Holy Ghost. The lampstand signifies the angelic vessel for the oil. The flame represents the presence of the Lord.
Now, Lord, I pray for the speaker today, to be even in your presence now, receiving of you a message to resound in the halls of eternity. I pray those leaders, elders and music ministers of the church be before you in humble prayer that their ministry may be of you, O God, and not of the flesh. Let all of us pray without distraction or disturbance. Cause us, O God, to get into your presence without compromising our time with you. Cause us to fear you to the extent that we will not expect our intimate time with you to be shared with our mundane activities throughout the day.
Forgive me Lord, where I feel church leaders neither care nor believe my intercession for them is any more than breath lost in the wind. Forgive me for regarding leaders as uncrucified with you, alive to this world, its prince and his watchers.
Forgive me. Lord, for finding every church in this state as vastly unconcerned for the coming of Thy Kingdom.
Lord, must I go to church? I even wrote the question last week, "What am I doing here?" The speaker even said, "I am worried about my lack of results."
O God Most High, please cause your Church to understand she must simply be faithful to you as your bride? We must be contrite and of a humble heart, let the Word dwell in us in all wisdom, seek your face and pray.

Lack of God's Presence

I believe it true, all men truly desire to know the Lord. I don't know if there is a single person who has not desired an encounter with Him. Too often, however, people have been caused to believe, "You can't experience God."

Jim Morrison of the Doors said, "You can't petition the Lord in prayer."

Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull said, "God is not the kind you wind up on Sundays."

Because men in the churches have chosen to not wait on the Lord and follow Christ's example of departing to a solitary place (as was his manner) well before dawn to pray, the Holy Spirit has left the churches. If someone goes to a church to find an experience with God, he finds only religious structure. The Holy Spirit has left. God's presence is not there. God can't be wound up on Sundays.

The presence of the Holy Spirit in a man's life can only be evident as he spends intimate time with Him. It was said of the disciples, "they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus (Ac. 4. 13)." Follow His example, watch and pray as He said, "Can you not watch with me for but one hour?" God's presence will become undeniable in you.

Jim Morrison had it wrong. You CAN petition the Lord in prayer. You MUST petition the Lord in prayer and be contrite and repentant before Almighty God. Living that way will cause you to move the hand of God in prayer. To any person who stays out of the place of defilement and regularly waits on the Lord, will the Father send a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. The presence of the Holy Ghost will be undeniable in his life.

Since this is an individual event, all those in each church must similarly wait on the Lord every day for the presence of God to be evident in their lives and in their church once again. I pray, O God, those leaders in the churches will live this way and teach the people accordingly. Your message to the churches is, "Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent (Re. 2. 5)."

Cause them, O God, to see the candlestick (from which comes the presence of the Holy Ghost) has been removed. Cause them to remember from whence they have fallen. Grant them, O God, repentance. May each individual be of a broken heart and a contrite spirit. Every day, O Lord, you remind me how far I had fallen, the shame of choosing the pleasures of Egypt and you show me your mercy. I'm no better than anyone. I'm simply a beggar who has found where there is food.

My presence will not be taken lightly.

Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain: for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain (De. 5.11).

The name of the LORD is representative of all He is. Without Jesus having been on the cross, becoming sin for us, the best experience we could have of God's existence would be academic knowledge of His name, which He commanded to be kept holy.

Now, after the cross, after Pentecost, we have the presence of the Holy Ghost. The command is still the same. We, however, realize His presence is, indeed, represented by His name. His presence is not to be taken in vain.

We are called to be taken into His presence. Jesus said, no man cometh unto me, except the Father draw Him. Psalm 65.4: Blessed is the man whom Thou choosest and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts. Having been with Him is the only way the World will hear our message because His Truth cannot be revealed in the flesh. It must be revealed by His Holy Ghost which dwells in His holy temple. Our bodies are His temple. Our flesh resists the Spirit. The only way His Spirit can be recognized is from intimate fellowship with Him.

His Word to us, "My presence will not be taken lightly." We are to become less like the world, that is, transfigured into His likeness from glory to glory, as by the Holy Ghost. Our lives are to be a living sacrifice. Not a blemished offering half devoted to the world and half devoted to Him, an impossibility, yet ever attempted among us.

Our call, as with Moses, is to come near. And he said unto Moses, Come up unto the LORD, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off. And Moses alone shall come near the LORD: but they shall not come nigh; neither shall the people go up with him (Ex. 24. 1,2).

You have been chosen. You are called to come near, to be shut in with God, to shut out the world. It takes time, determination and effort, as Moses had to ascend the mount, giving no concern for time, food and water.

As the presence of the LORD was obvious on Moses, afterwards, so the presence of the Lord will be obvious on us. Beloved, this is up to each of us individually, not for us to expect the pastor and music minister to have it. Tragically, a blemished sacrifice and strange fire before the Lord seems to be all we get anymore.

We come casually into the place designated as His House of Worship. Conversation is seldom of the Lord but of all things other than our Lord. We choose, in our flesh, who we like and dislike. Are we not the temple of the Living God? How can it be that we ignore some, disdain others and love whom we will? It seems the presence of the Lord is not considered or will be considered at 10:00 o'clock, maybe 10:01. I'm pleading with you, beloved, let not our entry to His House be casual. Almighty God will meet with us but we must expect Him to be there and not grieve His Holy Spirit.

Lev. 24. 2: Command the children of Israel, that they bring unto thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamps to burn continually.

By entering into the presence of the Lord daily, we obtain oil (the presence of the Holy Ghost) to tend the lamp (the evidence of the Holy Ghost in the church). Jesus gave us the example: And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed (Mk. 1.35). Luke indicated rising early and departing to a solitary place was His manner. We ought not think we can do what Jesus would not. He received His power for ministry from the Father by departing to a solitary place. Jesus said, "I do nothing but that which the Father giveth me." As temples of the Holy Ghost, we should present nothing in the church, to one another and to the world but that which the Father gives us. By entering the presence of the Lord, we receive that which the Father will give us.

A Mighty Army

The Church is a mighty army. It is in her power and authority to call on God the Father to fabulously help man on earth. As the Laodicean church sleeps, evil will prevail. God, however, has a mighty Church throughout the world calling on Him, He hears our prayers and is acting in response.
Thank you for your comment.

Fast and Pray

Beloved, the time is perilous. The fields are white and ready for the harvest.
The enemy is at work in all facets of humanity with his intent to steal, kill and destroy.
The above seems as generalities taken from scripture. Jesus said, “When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times (Mt. 16. 2,3)?”
I don’t suggest, for an instant, any form of hypocrisy in the readers nor any spiritual ineptness. As I read the passage, I am reminded how obviously we are approaching the end times.
Heating oil is $2.85/gal., the production of ethanol is depleting grain supplies causing the cost of food to skyrocket, abortion is epidemic and will become even greater with the next administration, today’s generation of youth is the most unevangelized ever to live in this nation. Even more alarming is the Church is irrelevant and powerless to do anything about it. Every denomination is moving toward interfaith apostasy.
The question begs an answer, “What shall the true Church do?”
Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:
And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.
Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the LORD your God?
Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly:
Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet.
Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God (Joel 2. 12-17)?
I’m one person, just a guy on the street. I can only speak to one person at a time. Those who are capable of speaking to hundreds seem only interested in leading their congregations in Purpose Driven Apostasy; the church services seem to have driven the Holy Spirit away. The leaders never seem to address the true issues but are content in keeping people on an ecclesiastical treadmill that keeps the paycheck coming.
There is no anointing on the sermons; nothing to stir the spirit; nothing to convict the conscience; no impetus to follow after God. Just a dose of dead religion for the week.
Every week I enter church expecting and leave disappointed.
Where am I wrong?
I believe we must pray for those in leadership, including music ministers and Sundie Skool teechers to not beat at the air anymore; forsake the gratification of self and seek God as never before. Every one of them should be out of bed by 4:00 a.m., seeking the face of God diligently, every day for their ministry is not a treadmill but that which should be an oracle of the eternal destiny of those they face every Sunday. There is no anointing because men are not serious about prayer. When was the last time you or I heard of the ministers of the Lord weeping between porch and altar?
Don’t even begin to tell me they are. If they were, the churches would not be so dead. The messages would affect the hearts of men. The young people would not be so impatient to get out of church and into their worldly activities. Divorce would not be rampant. Men would be getting saved.
If you have any interest, at all, in the souls of men, you will fast and pray, give up hours of precious sleep, call on God to have mercy and get those leaders into His presence, however He may (even by brokenness, persecution and misery), so that the Holy Spirit return to His church and make her relevant again.

A Question

Did God, yet, call for a man who chose to watch rather than sleep? Would God rather have a man who is consumed with His heavenly kingdom more than simple human pleasures? Would God use such a man who believes he is to seek first the Kingdom of God?
Do yet those who lead the church prize baby sleep more than intense prayer with YHWY?
I pose these questions rhetorically because the readers knows the answer. To say otherwise is the reason the vast majority of the population have found no reason to ever return to church. There were no answers on 9/16/2001, at the greatest test. How could there be answers now?
Oh, God, I continue to intercede for those in leadership, yet they seem to be aborting all attempts to draw them into regular communion with thee.
The question about morning prayer is this: If a person does not pray first thing in the morning, aren't the chances of him having that intense time of private prayer greatly diminished as the day puts ever increasing demands on his attention, his strength and stamina, which is waning every hour? Does an hour or two of intense, private prayer with you require increasing discipline?
A pastor, as a ship's captain, must take his watch on the bridge, that is, private prayer. To not do so is to allow the ship or church be taken over by every wind of doctrine. Currently, strangers have boarded the ship, disguised as crew and officers, to lead her astray.

Draw Near to God

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you (Ja. 4.8).

YHWY's love for you is tremendous. His call is, "Come away with me, be intimate. There are great and mighty things I want to show you."
The fact is, we must make the effort to be with Him. We must make the time and take the step. Becoming intimate with Our Lord takes time: Our time in being intimate and our regularity in meeting with Him.
To consider this time forward, we may say, "It takes 40 days of consistency to develop a habit. Or we may say, "It'll take so many days to build an investment or to build a wall." After having passed those days with consistency, we can say, "In those days of meeting with Him and waiting for Him, I have made an investment which will show dividends in time. I can see now, how I must maintain regular, intimate time with my God to see the fruit of the seed I have been planting in prayer."
When we make that decision to spend time with our Lord, we have decided, as Moses, to draw near unto the thick darkness where God is (Ex. 20.21).

You Must Have Oil

25:1 "Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins
who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.

25:2 Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish.

25:3 Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them,

25:4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.

25:5 But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.

25:6 And at midnight a cry was heard:
'Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!'

25:7 Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps.

25:8 And the foolish said to the wise,
'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.'

25:9 But the wise answered, saying,
'No, lest there should not be enough for us and you;
but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.'

25:10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came,
And those who were ready went in with him to the wedding;
and the door was shut.

25:11 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying,
'Lord, Lord, open to us!'

25:12 But he answered and said,
'Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.'

25:13 Watch therefore,
for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.

As you know, oil is representative of the Holy Spirit. This is obtained by spending time with Jesus. There is no other way.
Little time, little oil. Much time. Much oil.
Little time in the Word results in little indication of the Truth of God in your conversation and life.
Little time in prayer results in little manifestation of Christ in you.
Notice Jesus uses this parable as an end time passage. We are warned not to be caught these days without sufficient bathing in the Water of the Word and spending time in the presence of Christ in solitary prayer.
Oh, you who lead in the church, please lead in the example of maintaining much oil in your lamp.

His Presence in Us Undeniable

Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days [it shall come to pass], that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard [that] God [is] with you (Zec. 8.23).

We, who hold the banner of Christ, have a tremendous responsibility therein. The existence of Christ in us must be recognized by the lost as an undeniable reality. There must be no question we have been with Christ.
"and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus (Ac. 4.13)."

There is an entire generation of youth who know nothing of Jesus (save the few who reluctantly go to church at parental insistence). They are entirely secular, yet, Jesus died for them. I, simply, am not willing to let them slip off into eternity to suffer Hell and the Lake of Fire. The youth are not the only folks facing eternal damnation, where the flame goeth not out nor doth the worm cease. East Hampton and Marlborough have a combined population exceeding 20,000 souls. They all must see the Christians as those who have been with Christ. Christians must present the gospel believably.

The presence of Christ cannot be manufactured in a person’s life. It doesn’t come from academia nor from the insistent demand that it is there. His presence is there only as we spend time shut in with Him in the secret closet of prayer. The defense of hasty time in prayer has been made several times in my listening, “I spend quality time, not quantity time.” Beloved, we’re human. It takes time to quiet the soul, meditate on His word and be still before the throne of God Almighty.
"Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him (Ps. 37.7a)"
"Be still, and know that I [am] God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth (Ps 46.10)."

And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? (Mt. 26.40)

If there is any question as to how much time we should spend before the Lord in prayer, we may use Jesus’ examples and His sayings. How could we go wrong with a minimum of one hour in prayer? That, by the way, will make prayer walks (in which our prayer time is divided with our inability to be still before the Lord of Hosts) much more meaningful. Starting with less time is helpful as prayer requires endurance. We, simply, must diligently seek the Lord in prayer in these days for our own sakes and to effectively be witnesses of Jesus Christ to a world going to hell.

On May 17, 1792, the New York Stock exchange came into being. Since then, our experience has seen the ever increasing strength of the U. S. economy. Our tendency is to believe in the economy more than the Bible. It is now becoming apparent the economy is nothing to put trust in. Presently, a perfect storm is developing in which the economy is being undone. The storm consists of dismantling of the constitution, the destruction of our currency through massive printing of paper money and the pressure toward interfaith tolerance, i.e.: many ways to heaven. If we but watch, as we are called to, we will recognize the forces of evil and rejoice in the appearing of our Lord Jesus. In the meantime, we have the task of being intimately involved in taking part of the coming of His kingdom.