There’s a new movie called “The Kingdom.”
Not long ago another came out entitled, “The Kingdom of God.”
It amazes me how often God uses the things of the earth as a reminder of his concerns.
It has often done this in the past as well. Start to notice. maybe you have heard
many more teachings, like the ones I have lately, pertaining to His Kingdom.
I was quite surprised when, not long ago, an elderly Christian asked me:
in all seriousness, to explain the Kingdom of God.
That theme became very clear to me several years ago, although
I was in the ministry for years. At that time, it was like the eyes of a blind man.
opening suddenly. EXPENSIVE! Maybe I’m a little slower than the others, but,
Instantly, it all made sense. These days, it’s one of my favorite subjects. Maybe
You too will benefit from this simple explanation.
The word “Kingdom” comes from the Greek “basel”. There’s nothing to do
with a place that can be seen, like the building of the State Capital, for example, for Jesus
He said: “The Kingdom does not come with observation.” He added, “nor
people say: ‘Here it is’ or ‘There it is’, because the kingdom of God is within
you” (Luke 17:20-21). The word literally refers to the King’s dominion.
dominion goes wherever the King goes. His domain is within you for
Romans 8:11 tells us that “the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead
dwells within you.” As a result, where YOU go, so goes the Kingdom.
Strange as it may seem.
Jesus went around proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom. “Repent! For
The Kingdom of God has drawn near!” he said. He said to his disciples: “While you go, preach,
saying, “The Kingdom of God has drawn near” (Matthew 10:7). The Kingdom of God will come
still “playing in Peoria”. It involves five simple things:
1) There is a King
2) He has a Kingdom
3) He wants you inside
4) He wants to take care of you there.
5) He wants to work WITH you and THROUGH you to bring others into that Kingdom.
Simple, huh?
SPIRIT SON
We hear a lot about “sonship” these days. How does this “filiation” manifest itself?
in the Kingdom of God?
It manifests itself through service. (Matthew 20.28; John 13.13-17) – through
obedience – and by exercising our God-given authority over “principalities,
authorities, the powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil in the
heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).
Our sonship is to glorify ONLY our Father in such a way that unbelievers
see our obedience and commitment to God to such a degree that they will glorify
He, (Matthew 5.16). We must make people jealous for what we have found in Jesus.
Is that happening?
THE PURPOSE-DRIVEN KINGDOM
The purpose of the Kingdom of God is for its citizens to do God’s will on earth.
as His will is done in Heaven. “Your Kingdom come: Your will be done on earth
as in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). Think of earth as a mirror of what is to come.
in heaven. It became easier for me to do this when I remembered that
the moon shines only because of the reflection of the son in the blue planet, the earth.
Excuse me… that should say “the reflection of the SUN”. as i usually say,
as it is in the natural, so it is in the spiritual.
Yes, there is a spiritual counterpart to everything we see with our eyes;
by way of example, wars and fatherless children come easily to mind. as you grow
interested in this, you will see these parallels everywhere you look.
The Kingdom of God influences the world and the society in which the citizens of
the Kingdom resides. After all, Jesus referred to us as “Salt and Light” (Matthew 5:13-16).
Salt heals, purifies, seasons and is worth nothing when it loses its flavor. the light brings
exemplify a new day, a promise of warmth and providence, clarity, hope and a
absence of darkness
We influence society through our lifestyle and manifesting the Light of Christ in
our hearts through our values and decision making. We cry out against injustice,
and bear witness to Jesus Christ as the only path to reconciliation with God, realizing
that the ONLY solution we offer to injustice and sin is this: Reconciliation with God
through Jesus Christ. We are witnesses of what we have experienced through our
relationship with God through Christ. Our testimony is revealed through our Character
as well as our Testimony, that is, we cannot experience Jesus without being changed.
Galatians 5:22 reminds us that there will be “fruit” from having Christ residing within
us. Our testimony cannot be divided; we cannot speak it without walking it. We will find
us making disciples as others WANT to follow our example and learn
of us.
SPIRITUAL THINGS vs. MATERIALS
As citizens of the Kingdom of God, what is our relationship to the material
possessions, personal talents and our relationships? In short, we are stewards,
not owners. We are so often bogged down with so many earthly “things” that
limit ourselves to the true availability of the Kingdom. Don’t get me wrong; it’s not a sin
have things Too often, however, our things have us.
Too often, we are downright handicapped by it.
KINGDOM of GOD vs. KINGDOM OF HEAVENS
In the Gospel of John, the concepts of the Kingdom of God on earth are
called “eternal life”. In most of the Gospel of Matthew, the author
refers to the Kingdom of God as the Kingdom of Heaven, out of respect for
the Jewish reverence for the Name of God. He was being everything to everyone in
an effort to win some. In Paul’s writings, it often refers to Kingdom Life.
how to be “in Christ”.
It’s all the same.
A simplified definition of the Kingdom of God could be: the government of God in the
hearts and lives of those who have been born of His Spirit.
How is that?
WHO CAN BE A CITIZEN OF THE KINGDOM?
What Jesus presented about the Kingdom, different from the religious man.
understanding of the Kingdom until His time, was that the Kingdom was
available for “whoever wants”. This included Gentiles and the poor. They
they entered its gates, not by their own efforts, but by putting total faith in God’s will.
provision – the Bloody sacrifice of Christ. They would fulfill their purposes
ONLY through living in the Spirit and following the Spirit (following Jesus
example) in all things.
Many Christians disagree with any insistence that discipleship and
Kingdom citizenship requires total and exclusive allegiance to King Jesus. others will
argues that this prevents any political activity on behalf of Kingdom Kids
(I remember 1 Samuel 8 when the Israelites demanded a king when
I ALREADY had one in Almighty God.) Can we seek political solutions to life’s problems?
problem we face as believers? Sure we can. But when we have the power
and the Presence of God that resides within us, why wouldn’t we just trust
that truth? Selah. After all, there are no natural answers to spiritual problems.
Are we REALLY “salt and light” in our communities? Are we thermostats or
thermometers, setting the temperatures of our environments or simply reacting
to what has already been established by others among us? If that’s the case, who is it?
influencing who? The Christian social action program is carried out through:
1) moral lifestyles in relation to God
2) personal assistance of the poor and oppressed
3) prophetic resistance to social ills (sin)
4) make followers
POINTS BY WEIGHT
This is an interesting thought: The People of God (in the Old Testament) never
it included ALL or ONLY the Israelites. You have noticed? look at jesus
genealogy and see how many Gentiles (non-Jews) are included. See also
How many Jews did the Pharisees exclude from the Kingdom: the poor, the sick,
debtors, etc. In fact, if you were one of them, or suffered a natural disaster
and you lost your crops one year, you were considered cursed according to
Deuteronomy 28. How contrary to what Jesus taught. as they should have
I hated it!
The first Church (ekklesia) of Jesus Christ was founded with 3,000 Jews
members It was not until Acts 10 that the Holy Spirit was poured out upon
Kind believers. I always found it interesting that Lydia (Acts 16) was
perceived as “a worshiper of God” by Paul (what god, by the way?). So the Church
(the People of God) is clearly the representation of the presence of the
Kingdom of God on earth, through the immanent Presence of God through the
Holy Spirit who guides us into all truth and corrects us in our Doctrine and
thought.
When the Kingdom of God is active in the heart of a Believer, the will of
God is made on earth BY that Believer. Remember the Our Father (the
“Our father”)? (Matthew 6:10).
When the Kingdom of God is the source of our citizenship and loyalty,
will pursue peace, do justice and love mercy, walking humbly before
our king.
When we do the work of the Kingdom, we will help the poor, homeless, sick
and deprived of rights. Not through a representative human government,
but with our own hands and resources.
When we realize that we are part of a victorious Kingdom on earth, we will be
to be about our Father’s business.
In the Reverse God Realm, you have to lose your life to find it.
You must give to receive. You must give everything to find the treasure. You
You have to be meek to be strong. And the last will be the first.
There is no competition between the kingdom of darkness and the Kingdom of
Light. Jesus has already won the battle and the war. Our job is to recover the
territory that the devil has been occupying and gaining by deceit and fraud.
WE are to advance the Kingdom and we have been given everything we wanted.
we need to fulfill the mission through the Holy Spirit within us.
