NO LONGER APPLIES

Table of Contents

1. Perpetual Forgiveness and Cleansing
2. God’s Kingdom and the Lord’s Prayer
3. The Apostle Paul and New-Creation Realities
4. What Belonged to the Past No Longer Applies
5. Disobedience as Unbelief and Disbelief
6. Delivered from Darkness and Transferred into the Kingdom
7. Repentance Means Thinking Differently
8. Believing, Receiving, and Experiencing Healing
9. Jesus Preached and Demonstrated the Kingdom
10. The Soul as a Garden
11. Transformation Through Renewing the Mind
12. Jesus Washes His Disciples’ Feet
13. The First Kingdom Principle: Believe
14. The Second Kingdom Principle: Love
15. The Third Kingdom Principle: Humility
16. Enjoying the Kingdom’s Benefits and Blessings

Perpetual Forgiveness and Cleansing

Pastor Leonard begins by emphasizing that the believer’s forgiveness is perpetual. The Greek language conveys the idea of something constant and continuing. Through the finished work of Jesus, believers are cleansed and kept clean now, tomorrow, and in the days to come. The cleansing Christ provides is not temporary or dependent upon believers repeatedly earning it. It is perpetual, and believers have been cleansed forever.

This establishes the grace-centered foundation for the rest of the teaching. What Jesus accomplished continues to apply to the believer, while the old condition of condemnation, separation, and spiritual uncleanness no longer applies.

Pastor Leonard then explains that he had already prepared other messages and had spent the week reviewing them. He was excited about preaching the Scriptures God had given him. However, at 4:45 that morning, the Lord awakened him and told him that He had something different for him to preach. The new message would remain connected to the ongoing series about the kingdom of God, but it would approach kingdom living primarily through the writings of the Apostle Paul.

God’s Kingdom and the Lord’s Prayer

Pastor Leonard returns to the Lord’s Prayer, which had provided the foundation for the series. Jesus taught His followers to begin by recognizing and praising their Father in heaven:

Matthew 6:9-10- “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”

The words “Hallowed be thy name” demonstrate the vital importance of praise. Almighty God is worthy of praise simply because of who He is. Believers also praise, worship, and honor Him because of everything He has done and everything they know He will do.

As believers praise and worship God, something happens within them. The faith God has deposited in every believer begins to rise, and the anointing rises with it. Jesus then leads His followers into praying for God’s kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Pastor Leonard reasons that Jesus would not have instructed believers to pray this way if the prayer could not become a reality. God’s kingdom and will can be present in believers’ lives here on earth. The more people understand the glorious gospel of grace, the power of that gospel, and the power of Jesus Christ within them, the more they recognize that they can live in this truth. This is not merely a hope for the distant future. Kingdom living is intended to become a present reality in the lives of God’s children.

The Apostle Paul and New-Creation Realities

Pastor Leonard expresses his love and appreciation for the Apostle Paul, joking that if he did not know better, he might imagine that he had lived during Paul’s time and that Paul had received his teachings from him. He quickly reverses the joke, acknowledging that he receives many of his own teachings from Paul.

Paul proclaims the good news of Jesus Christ, the power of God for salvation, and the realities of the new creation. He teaches believers the truth about who they are because of what God has made them to be.
Pastor Leonard points to Paul’s words in Romans:

Romans 8:29-30- “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestine to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestine, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.”

Those whom God foreknew were predestined to be conformed to the image of Jesus, His firstborn among many brethren. Pastor Leonard discusses the word “image,” explaining it through the idea of an icon or exact duplicate. He recalls a company known for producing exceptionally high-quality copiers. Its advertisements would place two printed pages beside each other and ask viewers to identify the original. The reproduction was so precise that people could not distinguish it from the original. Pastor Leonard uses this illustration to explain what it means for believers to be conformed to the image of Jesus.

God determined that believers would be made into the image and likeness of His Son. Those whom He called, He completely justified and made righteous, and He also glorified. Pastor Leonard says that if people embraced this powerful truth, they would stop thinking of themselves as merely sinners saved by grace. They would also understand that statements describing humanity apart from Christ are not descriptions of the believer’s new identity:

Romans 3:10- “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one.” In its context, that verse describes humanity’s condition apart from the righteousness supplied through faith in Christ. Believers are now united with God through Jesus. They are members of His family, partners with Him, and united with Him in the glorious gospel of grace.

Because of this union, believers are holy, righteous, perfected, and sanctified. Their need is to believe these realities and renew their minds to them. This is what kingdom living is about: believing the truths of what God has already made His children to be.

What Belonged to the Past No Longer Applies

Pastor Leonard turns to Ephesians 2:2:

Ephesians 2:2- “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.”

He repeatedly emphasizes Paul’s words “in time past.” Paul is distinguishing between what believers once were and what is true of them now. They once walked according to the course of this world, but that former walk no longer describes the new creation. Because of their faith and union with Jesus Christ, something is different now. The former condition no longer applies.

Pastor Leonard examines several words from the passage. The word translated “past” refers to something that formerly occurred. It points to the way believers used to live, not to their present identity. The word translated “walked” refers to making one’s way, progressing, and making use of opportunities. Believers once walked in ways contrary to God’s kingdom. That former manner of life produced only the opportunities laid out by the prince of the power of the air.

The word translated “course” carries the idea of an age, an unbroken period, or perpetuity. Pastor Leonard observes that many people, including children of God, seem unable to escape the world’s established course. The reason is that the necessary shift in their thinking has not occurred. Their minds have not been renewed to their new identity and kingdom reality. The word “world” includes the present world system and its inhabitants. Most of the world walks in an inferior mindset shaped by unbelief and by the prince of the power of the air. Believers, however, are new creations with new identities, new mindsets, and new belief systems. The old course no longer applies to them.

Disobedience as Unbelief and Disbelief

Pastor Leonard focuses on the phrase “children of disobedience”:

Ephesians 2:2- “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.”

People commonly understand disobedience as refusing to carry out a command. Pastor Leonard illustrates this with a parent instructing a child to mow the lawn. The parent leaves for work and returns to find that the lawn has not been mowed. The child may have spent the day playing video games or sleeping.

The parent repeats the instruction the next day, reminding the child that the family provides a home, food, and care. Nevertheless, the child again refuses to mow the lawn. That is the ordinary picture people associate with disobedience.

Pastor Leonard explains that the Greek word in Ephesians carries the sense of disbelief, unbelief, or an unwillingness to be persuaded. He connects its sound with the English word “apathy,” which describes an attitude of not caring. He wishes English translations made this meaning clearer. If the verse said that the spirit now works in the children of unbelief or disbelief, many Christians would understand its warning differently. A person may insist that he is not disobeying God because he tries to observe God’s commands. That same person, however, may still live in disbelief concerning God’s promises, Christ’s finished work, healing, righteousness, or his new identity.

Paul is saying that believers formerly walked according to the world’s mindset and according to the prince of the power of the air. That mindset continues operating in people who remain in unbelief. Believers should not participate in that old system because Paul identifies it as their former condition. It no longer applies.

Delivered from Darkness and Transferred into the Kingdom

Paul explains where believers now belong:

Colossians 1:13- “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.”

Believers have already been delivered from the domain and power of darkness. God has transferred them into the kingdom of the Son He loves. This kingdom is now where believers live, dwell, move, and have their being. They are children of the kingdom and should participate in kingdom realities. This is why Jesus instructed His followers to pray.

Matthew 6:9-10- “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”

God desires His kingdom, will, rule, and reign to become evident in believers’ lives on earth. The kingdom is the realm in which they now live. Their thinking and expectations should agree with that spiritual location rather than with the darkness from which they have already been delivered.

Repentance Means Thinking Differently

Pastor Leonard returns to the opening proclamation of Jesus’ ministry:

Matthew 4:17- “From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

He explains that the Greek word translated “repent” means to think differently or change one’s mind. The victory in kingdom living, kingdom blessings, and kingdom realities is found in thinking differently. Repentance in this context is not merely feeling sorrowful. It is replacing old beliefs with the truth of God’s Word. Believers must learn to walk by faith rather than allowing their physical senses and former programming to determine what they believe:

2 Corinthians 5:7- “For we walk by faith, not by sight.”

Walking by faith means accepting the truth taught by Jesus, revealed through Paul, and established by what God has created believers to be. Walking by sight means allowing what can presently be seen, heard, touched, or felt to have the final word. Pastor Leonard clarifies that walking by faith does not mean believers should never expect to see, hear, touch, or experience supernatural results in the physical world. The promises of God are intended to produce tangible manifestations. Faith does not deny the physical result; it brings the kingdom’s provision into visible experience.

Believing, Receiving, and Experiencing Healing

Pastor Leonard rejects the idea that someone should indefinitely claim to be healed without expecting healing to appear in the body. He quotes Jesus’ teaching about believing and receiving.

Mark 11:24- “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”

The verse does not stop with believing that one receives. Jesus says the believer shall have what was received through faith.

Pastor Leonard explains what “have” means through several concrete examples. It means the tumor has melted and is gone. It means a damaged rotator cuff has been restored. It means a person has been cured of COVID. It means someone’s intestinal system has healed to the point that it no longer needs to be removed. It means a knee has been restored so that the person does not need a replacement. Believers first believe that they receive, and then they have. When they have what was received, they should be able to see it, feel it, and know it.

This is how the kingdom of God works. Healing is not merely something every believer must wait to experience after passing from this life and receiving a glorified body. Healing was provided through Jesus. Believers must change their mindsets, beliefs, and understanding, unite them with God’s Word, and expect His promises to become their experienced realities. This is another reason repentance means thinking differently:

Matthew 4:17- “From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Jesus Preached and Demonstrated the Kingdom

Jesus did more than speak about the kingdom. He demonstrated its presence:

Matthew 4:23- “And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.” Pastor Leonard then cites a similar description:

Matthew 9:35- “And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.”

Jesus went throughout cities and villages, taught in synagogues, preached the gospel of the kingdom, and healed every kind of sickness and disease. Pastor Leonard humorously applies this description to familiar modern locations. Jesus’ ministry would include places such as Dollar Tree, Walmart, local businesses, Main Street, parks, churches, and other places where people gather. The kingdom is not limited to a church building. It is meant to go everywhere people can be found. Teaching, preaching, and healing belong together in the gospel of the kingdom. Healing every sickness and disease among the people was a demonstration of the kingdom’s rule.

The Soul as a Garden

Pastor Leonard speaks about Caprice, a member of the local church who also assists with communion. She works extremely hard in her garden and regularly brings cucumbers, squash, zucchini, and other vegetables to the church. The congregation had received so many vegetables that Pastor Leonard joked he would be eating squash, zucchini, and cucumbers for the next month. Those nutritious vegetables do not appear accidentally. Caprice tills and works the soil, removes the weeds, and carefully maintains the garden. Because of that work, beautiful and nourishing produce springs from it.

Pastor Leonard uses her garden to illustrate the condition of the human soul. The soul is like a garden. It can allow God’s Word, miracles, and supernatural provision to spring into a person’s life, or it can become so filled with weeds, thorns, and thistles that healthy fruit cannot emerge. Many of these weeds have been planted over the years, sometimes through religious systems. They must be removed through the renewing of the mind.

Pastor Leonard and Pastor Lori identify the following weeds: unbelief, worry, fear, anxiety, doubt, and the expectation that God’s promise will never be fulfilled personally.

Other weeds include religious teachings that God heals only certain people He arbitrarily chooses, that healing is entirely up to God regardless of Christ’s provision, or that miracles ended with the last apostle.

Legalistic thoughts such as “I need to,” “I must,” and “I have to” can also become thorns and thistles. They turn a relationship of grace into a system of fleshly striving. God’s Word takes root in the believer’s spirit and seeks to spring forth into the person’s life and body. However, its visible growth can be hindered when the soul remains crowded with contrary beliefs. The garden of the mind must therefore be renewed.

Transformation Through Renewing the Mind

Paul teaches that transformation occurs through the renewing of the mind:

Romans 12:2- “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

Kingdom living becomes visible as believers remove weeds, thorns, thistles, fear, unbelief, and fleshly works from their thinking. The kingdom is already within them, but their minds must agree with what God has placed in their spirits. Jesus taught believers to pray for the kingdom to come and God’s will to be done on earth:

Matthew 6:9-10: “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”

Jesus would not have given that instruction if experiencing God’s will on earth were impossible. Paul similarly teaches that God’s power is already working within believers:

Ephesians 3:20- “Now unto him that can do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.” God can do exceedingly and abundantly beyond everything believers ask or think, but He does it according to the power working within them.

Pastor Leonard says that this power cannot easily spring forth from soil filled with weeds, thorns, thistles, poison ivy, and briars. The believer must renew the mind, remove those obstructions, and experience transformation. He notes that the Holy Spirit had once again changed the message he thought he would preach. He then turns from Paul’s explanation of transformation to an example Jesus gave in John 13.

Jesus Washes His Disciples’ Feet

Pastor Leonard explains that he leads a Wednesday-night Zoom Bible study that is open to anyone who requests an invitation. The group has been studying the Gospel of John and has reached John 13. It took more than thirteen weeks to arrive there because the Gospel contains so much spiritual richness. People can read a chapter quickly and miss much of its revelation and meaning. Pastor Leonard therefore reads from John 13:

John 13:1-10- “Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him; Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God; He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded. Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter. Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.”

Jesus knew that the time had come for Him to leave the world and return to His Father. Having loved His disciples throughout His earthly ministry, He loved them to the end.

The devil had already placed the betrayal of Jesus into Judas Iscariot’s heart. Jesus nevertheless knew that the Father had given all things into His hands, that He had come from God, and that He would return to God. With complete knowledge of His identity and authority, Jesus arose from supper, removed His outer garments, wrapped Himself in a towel, poured water into a basin, and began washing His disciples’ feet.

Peter could not understand why his Lord would perform such a humble task. Jesus told Peter that he did not presently understand but would understand afterward. Pastor Leonard connects this statement with the cross and with Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection.

Peter initially refused to allow Jesus to wash him. When Jesus said Peter could have no part with Him unless He washed him, Peter asked Jesus to wash not only his feet but also his hands and head. Jesus answered that someone who has already bathed is clean and needs only to have his feet washed. Pastor Leonard then moves to verse 12:

John 13:12-15- “So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.”

Jesus did not deny that He was their Master and Lord. He affirmed that they were correct. Nevertheless, the Lord and Master humbled Himself and washed His followers’ feet. He gave them an example to follow.

Pastor Leonard identifies three important principles of kingdom living in this passage: belief, love, and humility. These principles help remove the weeds from the soul so that the kingdom and power already within believers can spring forth.

The First Kingdom Principle: Believe

The first principle is belief. Jesus instructed His followers to believe what they had been told, what He had shared with them, and what they had received. Believers no longer walk according to their old identity as children influenced by unbelief and disbelief.

Ephesians 2:2- “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.”

That walk belonged to their past. They now belong to God’s kingdom, to the King of kings and Lord of lords, and to the family of God. Grace helps and enables believers to believe. Grace gives them the power and ability to trust God and live the life intended for them in His kingdom.

Pastor Leonard repeatedly emphasizes the instruction: believe. Believers are to believe God’s Word, believe their new identity, believe the kingdom’s presence, and believe the power God has placed within them.

The Second Kingdom Principle: Love

The second principle is love. John 13 says that Jesus loved His disciples to the end:

John 13:1: “Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.”
Jesus later gave His disciples a new commandment:

John 13:34- “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.”

Pastor Leonard explains that Jesus was not adding another command to the Ten Commandments or to the hundreds of commandments found in the law. He was giving the defining commandment of the new covenant: believers are to love one another as Jesus has loved them.

Love releases the kingdom and the kingdom power within believers. This begins with understanding how deeply God loves them. God demonstrated His love by giving His Son:

John 3:16- “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” God demonstrated His love while humanity was still in sin:

Romans 5:8- “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

The Holy Spirit continually reminds believers of God’s love.

Romans 5:5- “And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”

Jesus prayed that His followers would understand that the Father loves them with the same love He has for Jesus:

John 17:23: “I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.”

The true starting point of love is not humanity’s love for God but God’s love for humanity:

1 John 4:10: “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

When believers understand God’s love for them, that love reflects back as a genuine love for God. It also flows outward as love for other people. This love cannot be produced through commandments, threats, or religious pressure. It arises from realizing and receiving God’s love. Paul teaches that faith operates through love:

Galatians 5:6- “For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.”

Pastor Leonard describes love realized as faith energized. When people realize how much God loves them, faith becomes active, and that faith releases the reality and power of the kingdom.

The Third Kingdom Principle: Humility

The third principle is humility. Pastor Leonard honestly acknowledges that he sometimes has to get out of the way, tend the garden of his soul, and remove the weeds of old programming. He admits that he is sometimes challenged by arrogance and pride. He asks Pastor Lori to confirm this, and she responds that it happens sometimes. He concedes that it happens more often than it should. Jesus provides the perfect example of humility:

John 13:12-15- So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.”

Jesus was Lord, Master, and Messiah, but He washed His disciples’ feet. His authority did not prevent Him from serving. His actions demonstrated how those who live in the kingdom should conduct themselves. God resists pride but releases grace to the humble:

James 4:6- “But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.”

Grace is released in humility. Pastor Leonard then points to Paul’s description of Jesus:

Philippians 2:6-11- “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Although Jesus existed in the form of God, He humbled Himself, took the form of a servant, became a man, and submitted to death on the cross. Because He humbled Himself, God highly exalted Him and gave Him the name above every name. At the name of Jesus, every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Pastor Leonard identifies a kingdom pattern: humility, exaltation, grace, and anointing. Humility does not diminish a person’s kingdom identity. It creates room for God’s grace and power to operate.

Enjoying the Kingdom’s Benefits and Blessings