The Promise Of Understanding Series

Two kingdoms are at war with each other, the kingdom of sin that leads to death and the Kingdom of Jesus that leads to life. Two kingdoms in an epic battle for each of us. Last week I declared that the battle has begun against the illegal actions that sin has taken toward the will of God. Last week I declared that we would begin winning the battle against sin. Last week I declared that the time has come for the Kingdom to rise up. Now I will begin preparing you for Kingdom living so that you will be equipped to fight this battle.

Last week we established that the Kingdom of God was already here on earth. (Luke 17: 20-21) Jesus declared it to be so. We also discovered the plea that Jesus lifted up to his Father that the subjects of this Kingdom would soon go into action and deliver the will of God for this planet as it was already being done in the spiritual realm. (Matt 6:10) It was further established that we have been given the spiritual keys to unlock the secrets to this Kingdom. (Matt 16:19, Matt 13:11-13)

We will begin today with a question. “How did I or do I become a part of the Kingdom of God.?”

Colossians 1:13 “For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.”

These are the two kingdoms in battle here, the kingdom of sin and the Kingdom of Jesus. You are a subject to one of these kingdoms. You cannot be a subject to both of these kingdoms at the same time. Moreover, you are not a citizen of these kingdoms. Citizenship implies you have a right to refuse to abide by the law, even if doing so results in punishment. In a kingdom, you are a subject. You have no individual right to disobey the king. In a kingdom, disobeying the king makes you a rebel, subject to expulsion or death.

The kingdom of sin is fine with you crossing back and forth between the two kingdoms. The king of that kingdom realizes that he still has rule over you. You are still subject to his commands. He is not threatened by your weekly visits to the Kingdom of Jesus.

However, Jesus will not tolerate our visits to the kingdom of sin. We are his subjects and under his authority. When we disregard this fact, we are in rebellion and run the risk of expulsion or spiritual death.

We were born into the kingdom of sin. We were subjects to our fleshly desires. However, Jesus purchased us with his blood on the cross. And when He did, He moved us to his Kingdom. He counted us among his beloved. He established us there. We became his subjects.

The next question is “What happens when I become a part of the Kingdom of God?”

He begins to nourish us with his presence and his word. Peter tells us in 1 Peter 2:2 “Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment,”

Often we keep the twins and nothing soothes them but a bottle of formula. Believe me, if they do not get it, they cry out for it. We are to be like that. The passage says that God’s Word is pure. It has no bad taste nor is it unsatisfying. The word “spiritual” also means “logical” in the Greek language. God’s Word is logical. It makes sense. It is simple. When something is logical, it cannot be ignored. It is illogical to ignore something that is logical. We need the logical Word of God so that we can increase in wisdom about God’s Word in order for us to grow spiritually.

As this “milk” nourishes us, we should begin to grow to handling some stronger teaching. Sadly, the church seems unprepared to move to this next step. This problem is nothing new. The church in Corinth struggled with this situation and Paul had to address it.

1 Cor 3:1-3 “Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in the Christian life. I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready, for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world?