Has_Your_King_Died-FCover

Co-authored by Larry Chkoreff and his wife Carol Chkoreff

“In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.”  (Isaiah 6:1)

It is clear to many that we are in a time when greater challenges and sufferings like war, financial failures, horrible natural disasters, and diseases  will confront us.  The world’s system and most religions have failed to solve life’s challenges since ancient times.  The Bible speaks about an end time world government that will promise peace and security to all.  This new world government will be like all in the past, a walking corpse. 

If you happen to be Jewish there are portions of this book dedicated to you. It is not about changing your Jewish roots. I have had a great love and respect for Jewish people and their calling from God all of my life.

I simply want to share the amazing encounter I had with The Lord when “my kings died” in 1979.  I also want to share what He has taught me since, including how He guides me through very challenging circumstances with victory. 

This book will reveal how you can begin to live your life in God’s Kingdom now, and remain under His care as I have.  Living your life as this book describes will convert your challenges into eternal blessings and will prepare you for eternity, no matter what the future on this earth holds.



 
 

 

 

Has Your King Died?is published by and is a discipleship curriculum of the International School of The Bible

Marietta, GA USA

 
Email address This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. -www.isob-bible.org
 

 

 

Copyright © 2010 by Larry Chkoreff

 

Published by International School of the Bible, Marietta, Georgia, U.S.A.

 

ISBN 978-0-9676731-7-2

 

 

 

All rights reserved. This book is the sole property of the author. It may not be reproduced, altered, or transmitted in whole or in part without the express written consent of the author. Any unauthorized reproduction, alteration, transmission, or printing of this book, or any material contained in this book, is strictly prohibited. Permission to reproduce, alter, transmit, print or reprint this book, or any materials contained in this book, may be requested at the above email address.  Any reference to the materials, ideas, or direct quotations taken from this book must be cited appropriately to this published edition.

 

 

 

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from the NKJV of the Bible. Copyright 1979,1980,1982 by Thomas Nelson, publishers. Used by permission.


Table of Contents

 

Introduction   Scroll down to read the intro for this book

1 - What Is This World Coming To?

2 - Most Kings Come and Go

3 - Humanism and End Times

4 - Religion and Politics Ride Together

5 - The History of The Kingdom of God

6 – Two Kinds of Wisdom

7 – Why Our Kings Need to Die

8– Kingdom of God Not For Everyone

9 – Spiritual Agriculture

10 – The Seeds We Sow

11 – Building On The Foundation

12 – Secret Of Afflictions

13 – You Choose

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

Has Your King Died?

Introduction

 

We all live in a kingdom.

The Bible makes it clear that there are invisible kingdoms under which each and every person’s life is governed. Jesus’ own words tell us that there are only two kingdoms, that being the kingdom of this world and the Kingdom of God. The kingdom of this world is headed up and ruled by Satan. The Kingdom of God has a king, and His name is Jesus. Surprisingly, many believers are not aware of the choice that they are called to make, not just for eternity, but also for this life now on the earth.

Luke 4:5-8 says,

5 “Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.

6 And the devil said to Him, ‘All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.

7 Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.’

8 And Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, “You shall worship the LORD your God and Him only you shall serve.”’”

 

If you do not make an intentional choice, you will by default be living in the kingdom of this world. However, everyone has an opportunity to choose, but it must be intentional. Also, choosing the Kingdom of God is more often than not very uncomfortable, but eternally profitable for those who make that choice. In later chapters I will give more definition to both of these kingdoms, their histories and how they function. This book will be more than philosophical; it will be very practical even for the uneducated and simple minded.

The Word of God is clear that there is a battle for the proper choice.

Matthew 11:12 (Amplified Bible) says,

12 “And from the days of John the Baptist until the present time, the kingdom of heaven has endured violent assault, and violent men seize it by force [as a precious prize—a share in the heavenly kingdom is sought with most ardent zeal and intense exertion].”

 

Acts 14:21-22 says,

21 “And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch,

22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, ‘We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.’”

 

The kingdom of this world is a real spiritual power.

James 4:4 says,

4 “Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

 

Those are strong words! God is jealous of His people. Spiritual adultery is committed every day by Christ’s believers without any sense of remorse. When we place anything, any ideal or belief above our Creator, we are like an unfaithful wife that sleeps with other men. When we live our lives in the kingdom of this world’s system, we are adulterers.

Watchman Nee said, “The world has advanced to the very door of the Church and is seeking to draw even the Saints of God into its grasp.”

 

Does God love the world?

Yes, He does according to John 3:16. However, that Scripture is referring to the people in the world and not the satanic system of spiritual government. The world’s system is a spiritual government that covers every aspect of our lives if we allow it to. The Kingdom of God replaces that government for our lives if we choose it.

 

The purpose of this book.

People of all kinds and in all nations struggle to make life work. Even in the “prosperous nations” millions are struggling financially, socially, and mentally. Life seems like a bad joke that one cannot laugh at. Jesus knew that people would suffer because of the path they have chosen to live, that being a path that does not include a personal relationship with Him and living within His Kingdom while still on earth. Some people seem to escape this desperation and even feel that the purpose of life is to “enjoy life.” While there is nothing wrong with enjoyment and God loves it for us, it is certainly not the primary purpose our Creator had in mind. Jesus promised “abundant life,” which is far better than just “enjoying life.” Later in this book, we will cover the subject of suffering, which many believers misunderstand.

 

The creator God did indeed give us the solution. This book will talk about that solution.

All that most people have available to meet their needs is what the Bible calls the “world system.” It is what we can see and hear. It is what most of our parents and the media has taught us. This is referred to many times in the Bible, in both the Old and New Testaments. It is a system of government; it is a monetary system, a system for relationships, morals, even religion, and everything else in life. It is also referred to in the Bible as “the Harlot,” “the Whore,” and “Mystery Babylon.” Unfortunately, many believers in God do not know better than to try to operate in this system. In Revelation chapter 18, the Lord tells His people to “come out of her.”

This book will go into detail on the alternative system that any of us may operate in, called the Kingdom of God. Some believers do indeed operate in the Kingdom of God, but without a real knowledge of what they are doing. That is fine, but I believe that we all need to know how to function intentionally in that Kingdom. I will go into detail about it in this book.

A quick summary of the difference between the lifestyle of these two kingdoms can be put this way.

Before Adam sinned, or claimed his independence, God had given him the godly way to live, which was by bearing fruit. Adam could bear physical fruit within the garden God had provided. Adam could bear spiritual fruit because he would meet God daily, the Tree of Life, and listen to Him speak. Those words of God would then be planted in Adam’s heart, and spiritual fruit would be a result of it. That spiritual fruit would also govern the natural fruit of the Garden of Eden. However, when Adam sinned, or declared his independence, God informed him that he forfeited his right to be a bearer of fruit.

Genesis 3:17-19 says,

17 “Then to Adam He said, ‘Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, “You shall not eat of it”: Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life.

18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field.

19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return.’”

 

Notice, Adam went from fruit to sweat and thorns. Now Jesus gives us the opportunity to go from sweat and thorns back to fruit.

 

Isaiah’s king died.

Isaiah was one of God’s key prophets in Old Testament times. However, he really did not see God’s kingdom until the king in whom he was trusting died.

Isaiah 6:1 (KJV) says,

1 “In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.”

 

A king is someone or something that rules your life.

We all have various kinds of “kings” in our lives that we trust in. Self-sufficiency, worldly religion, money, family, and even our self-made fantasies of what we expect in our future, called dreams.

When these “kings” die, that is when Jesus best reveals Himself to us. When that happened to me in 1979, not only did I see King Jesus, I saw His Kingdom and began to live my life in the Kingdom of God under His care and rulership. Actually, many smaller “kings” have continued to die since that happened, and while it is not comfortable, it always results in eternal and earthly benefits for me and for the Kingdom of God.

 

God told Isaiah, that one of his assignments was to preach an amazing message.

Isaiah 6:8-13 (KJV) says,

8 “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.

9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.

10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.

11 Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate,

12 And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.

13 But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.”

 

Why would God want to hide Himself and His truths about life from people? We will discover that answer in the first few chapters of this book.

 

My “kings” died. That is my testimony as well. In the year the Larry’s kings died, Larry also saw the Lord, the King, and His Kingdom!

When the Lord came into my life, I had already attempted to succeed in the world’s system with everything that I had. I was 39 years old, it was 1979, and although on the surface things looked okay, inside I knew that I was not making life work. The “kings and kingdom” in which I had been living my life had died to me. They were lifeless idols. They failed me. They were dead.

I will never forget watching a minister on television teach on Mark chapter 4, and how the Word of God planted in a human heart would bear fruit for everything we need, for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). I grabbed that idea and lived by it. Little by little I could see God producing His fruit in my life, and that it would produce things and situations that I would not have had the power to do on my own. I knew this was Truth.

I also saw how this fruit did not grow quickly. Satan would war against the production of fruit in powerful ways. There was much suffering, but my wife Carol and I would not give in or give up because we knew that God meant what He said. Actually, the suffering for the Word’s sake was part of entering into the Kingdom of God.

Eventually things got better, little by little, and God showed up in marvelous ways. Now, as I write this, 31 years later, I can testify not only by the Word of God, but also by my own experience, that living life by bearing fruit is indeed the mystery of the Kingdom of God.

Best of all, during these past years since 1979, by focusing on hearing God speak and keeping my relationship with Him fresh and vital, my personal intimacy with Jesus has become very deep and satisfying. Even if I had nothing else in this world, just knowing Him at this deep and intimate level is more than enough!

The Lord made some changes in my life, both in my relationships and in business, in order to put me on His path for my life. As of this date, I have been in a godly marriage since 1982.

Even then, I knew that I did not have the resources to make life work. I cried out desperately to Him for help with finances, family relationships, and ministry. I knew He had a calling on my life, but had no idea what that meant. I knew that God wanted me to have the “abundant life,” and all I could do was to believe and invite Him to take over 100%. I loved the Word of God and spent hours every day consuming it. It began to change my life in many ways.

What I am writing in this book is based upon my personal testimony during the past 31 years, all of which is also confirmed and supported by the Bible and Biblical principles. I do not claim to be an expert in anything. I am not an expert in Biblical end time doctrine, nor have I attended seminary or Bible school. While I have studied end-times doctrine extensively, and even encountered the Lord in 1979 by reading a book about the Book of Revelation and end-times events, the more I know the Lord, the more I know that I do not know the details and timing of end time events.

I am like the blind man to whom Jesus restored his eyesight as recorded in John chapter 9. Onlookers challenged the man who had received his sight regarding how it happened and who was the person who healed him. He replied, “One thing I know; that though I was blind, now I see” (John 9:25b). That’s me. I used to be desperate in all areas of my life, in my relationships, in my finances, and in my purpose. I used to live in fear and guilt. I used to wonder how I would make enough money just to make it to old age, and then I did not know where I would go when I died. When I asked the question of where I would go when I died, Jesus not only came in like a mighty rushing river, with the answer, but He also supplied abundantly in all the other areas of my life. He continues to amaze me with more and more, even 30 years later!

 

Don’t miss the best!

One of the most tragic things I can imagine is to live your life, missing the best for it, and not even have any idea of what you have been missing. The Old Testament prophet Isaiah did not know what he was missing until his king, King Uzziah, died. That was a tragic event for Isaiah. However, the Bible says that Isaiah also saw the Lord (KJV version) in His Kingship at that time. Isaiah had been a religious Hebrew, even from a royal family, but when He saw the Lord as King, his life entered into a new dimension. He saw what he had been missing. See a short biography of Isaiah in the endnotes. [i]