Defining The Kingdom Of God
God wants us to have an understanding and a revelation of His Kingdom which will help us to understand who we really are. If we do not understand who we are in Christ, we are never going to be able to access the blessings of heaven. God wants us to have a picture of why He created us and placed us on the earth so that we can live to our full potential. God wants us to enjoy the best that heaven has to offer while we are doing God’s will on the earth.
Mark 1:14-15 - Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel."
From the time Jesus started preaching the gospel of the Kingdom, a new season of hope was made available to all as Jesus went about describing what heaven was like.
When we are blessed with a wonderful home, we eagerly share our joy and the secret of our success with others. When Jesus preached the Kingdom message, He was actually telling everyone what His home was like. However, He went further by telling everyone that His desire was to share all that was His with others. He also made it clear that this was not for the future, but available in the present to share and to enjoy.
Live like a king
This applies to us today. God wants us to live in the realm of His Kingdom on earth each and every day of our lives. It is available to His people and all we have to do is make the choice to enjoy what is ours.
1 John 4:17 - As He is so are we in this world.
Jesus came to restore our purpose which is to live in the realm of and to rule over our earthly destiny. God’s children should not be enslaved, abused, or down-trodden. We are called to be the head and not the tail and we should ensure that we occupy positions of authority and power. This is our God-given destiny and it should not really be prayed for. We should not engage in spiritual warfare in order to obtain it. No, just take it because it is a finished work that Jesus completed on the cross.
Every born again Spirit-filled child of God who is living below their potential is living as a victim when they should be victors. God’s people who are living in these circumstances cannot blame God or the devil. When Jesus preached the Kingdom message, He explained that there was a much, much better way to do life. God wants His people to have a good quality of life so that they can influence others.
If we do not live under the influence of heaven, we will live under the influence of the devil.
An everlasting Kingdom
Belgian television recently broke into their regular programming with an urgent bulletin stating that the nation had come to an end. The news flash informed viewers that the Dutch-speaking half of the nation had declared independence and the king and queen had fled.
The bulletin was highlighted with footage from a military airport showing dark silhouettes of a royal entourage boarding a plane.
Thirty minutes later the station flashed a message saying, "this is fiction," but it was too late. By that time, many Belgians had already fallen for the hoax. Embassies were calling authorities to find out what was going on while foreign journalists scrambled to get confirmation of the story.
Why did everyone respond in this way? The kingdoms of this world will come and go. We can wake up in the morning to a new government. This happens in so many countries all over the world. Even the strongest and most powerful kingdoms will fall or come to an end. History tells us about some of the mightiest empires that lasted for generations, but eventually ended.
The Iron Curtain held people under communism for seventy years, but it fell in one day. The kingdoms of the world cannot last because they are not under the rule of the King. That is why they will not last forever.
There is a great conflict between the Kingdom of God and Satan’s kingdom which is still present, active, and alive. It is organized and set against God’s people and against God’s purposes for the earth. Everything that opposes God comes from the kingdom of darkness.
The devil hates God, His image, and His creation and that is why he makes war against men and women.
Jesus presides over an everlasting Kingdom. It has no end. It is so sad to see people follow after things that will come to nothing, but they will resist submitting to a Kingdom that is permanent. It makes no sense at all. When we follow Jesus, we access permanent blessings. They are everlasting.
The King’s family
Christians mistakenly believe that the Kingdom of God is all about defeating the kingdom of darkness, but we must remember that God’s Kingdom will be around for millions upon millions of years after the kingdom of darkness has ended. Therefore, God does not focus on the devil, but on His people because He wants us to enjoy His home and wants us to rule and reign with him as we preside over all that is His. Have a long-term view of your life. It is not merely the few years you live on earth, but it continues throughout all eternity.
God’s Kingdom is not only in the future, but is present and accessible today. Every kingdom has a king and the King of God’s Kingdom is Jesus and He came to tell us that there is a better way. He encourages us by telling us that we can live a much better life than we are living and enjoy so many more benefits. God sent the King, His Son, so that we could live an abundant life.
God did not have a family. The citizens of His Kingdom are His adopted children who are heirs and co-heirs with His Son Jesus.
The Kingdom of God has a culture. We are in the world but not of the world. We live in the world but live under a different set of rules.
When there is famine, we will eat because we are not subject to earthly circumstances, but heavenly blessings.
The Kingdom of God has dominion, power, and a standard of righteousness. The moment Jesus started His ministry, He told everyone that the devil is a lair and that he is the source of all sickness, poverty, and misery. Jesus told them that He came as the King of kings to offer everyone a different standard of living.
The gospel of the Kingdom incorporates the true love of a Father. Kingdom benefits are rights of every child of God without exception.
Kingdom characteristics
Every household has certain characteristics and every kingdom has certain characteristics traits which can be defined and each of these differ from the characteristics of other households or kingdoms.
How would we know whether the devil is king of a person’s home? There are certain characteristics that will tell us whether the devil is reigning in that situation or whether God is. Their characteristics are totally different.
These characteristics are clearly defined in Galatians 5.
Galatians 5:19-21 - Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
What is Paul saying here? He is merely defining the characteristics of the devil’s kingdom which is not compatible with the characteristics of God’s Kingdom.
Galatians 5:22-25 - But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
This is really what the church should look like and these characteristics should be evident in the lives of God’s people to show everyone who is Lord of their lives. When we understand this, we know we are not under law because no one can judge us when we have the joy of the Lord, or when we love others, or when we are gentle.
How can we manifest these characteristics of God? It depends on what choices we make for God. That means we can choose to enjoy an environment of heaven or an environment of hell. When the flesh is dominant then all hell breaks loose in our homes, in our churches, and in our work places When the Spirit of God is evident, there is peace and joy.
We can determine how well we are doing and how successful we are depending on how much of God’s Spirit and how much of the flesh is manifested in our lives.
Be part of God’s Kingdom
John 3:3 - Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
When we become children of God, our eyes are opened to the enormous resources that are available to us. When we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, we are born again into His Kingdom which means we do not have to die first before we enjoy Kingdom benefits. They become ours to apply in our lives while we are alive on the earth. We do not have to work for them or to climb up the ladder of success and eventually be promoted to them. No, it is a matter of understanding who we are and what is ours and to renew our thinking so that our minds are aligned to God’s Word.
When we make a decision for Jesus, we accept Him as our King and we should know that He presides over the most powerful Kingdom. When we follow the wrong king, we follow the wrong influence and end up in the wrong place.
God is looking for ways to bless, promote, and exalt His children. We need to have a revelation of this. So many Christians believe that God is looking for ways to condemn and judge them.
This is the wrong picture they have of the King and that is why they do not follow Him with everything fiber of their being.
When you know the heart of your King, you will become bold in accessing and enjoying the blessings of the King.
