Dirt and cobblestone mark the road leading to the King’s castle. Horses, wagons and chariots line the streets of the weathered wood and brick building fronts. Vendors selling their harvest to the poor inhabitants of the kingdom.
The people, dressed monochromatically in the same frayed rags they’ve been wearing for years. The three-year famine has taken its toll, raising desperation and tension between the kings Palace and common poor. Soldiers, fitted with the king’s emblem upon their chest plates, bully order amidst the growing chaos at hand.
Without notice, war trumpets are sounded. An opposing king has been spotted in the distance with mounted soldiers ready to give their life in the pursuit of kingdom expansion. Aroused from his slumber, the king quickly prepares himself, his guard and his army. Fear floods the streets. The people begin ravaging the vendors and rush off with all the plunder they can before hiding themselves away.
In just a few short moments the army is stationed at the kingdom’s entrance ready to defend their king and his kingdom till the death. The two opposing kingdoms now stand, face to face, ready for the fight of their life. To the victor will be great treasures and life. To the defeated will be gnashing of teeth and death.
When we think of kingdom this is often the picture that comes to mind. Ancient kings and dominions. Stories of long ago and once weres. We think those days are far behind us but in reality, we are in the midst of the greatest kingdom battle ever recorded.
It’s not a battle of flesh and blood but of the spirit. The world is the battle ground and whether we want to be or not, we are involved. We are either active participants or “innocent” bystanders. There are no neutral observers. We fight for one kingdom or the other and to the ones who chose not to fight (or go unaware of the fight) do as Pilot did. He was given the authority to choose the innocence or guilt of Jesus as He stood before him. And instead of choosing a side, he washed his hands of the situation saying I leave the verdict up to the people. And in doing so, allowed Jesus to be crucified.
This is a war between light and darkness, good and evil, heaven and hell. This is a war between the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of God.
We are all born into the kingdom of darkness. That is the kingdom of this world. But when Jesus walked the earth, He proclaimed and initiated a new Kingdom. A Kingdom of joy, peace and righteousness. A Kingdom with a King that answers to no one A Kingdom whose foundations are unshakable. A Kingdom that has already won. A Kingdom whose treasures are eternal life.
The questions that are raised:
- What is the Kingdom of God?
- How do I know I am a part of it?
- What does it mean to be a part of it?
The Kingdom of God is now (in our midst and in us) as well as still coming. If we actively walk in and participate in the spiritual nature of the Kingdom now, we will also inherit the physical Kingdom when this life and world has come to its end. But as of now, we enter into God’s kingdom by our union with Him through the Holy Spirit.
Jesus said we cannot be a part of His Kingdom unless we repent and are born again. This is not an argument for reincarnation but of a spiritual rebirth that happens when we give our lives to Jesus. When we repent of our dead works, connections to this world and its dark kingdom, we receive the very spirit of God within us, giving us access to His Kingdom. Jesus is the door and repentance is the key.
If we abide in His Spirit, we also abide in His Kingdom. John the Baptist told us to bear the fruit of repentance. Good trees cannot produce bad fruit, and bad trees cannot produce good fruit. If all the fruit in our life is good, we can rest assured knowing we have full access to the Kingdom of God. When good fruit is evident, our conscious does not fail us, and we will receive anything we ask for through prayer in Jesus’ name. But if our conscious fails us because there is bad fruit still in our life, we are like the waves of the sea crashing about, double minded in all we do.
The question then, that many of us have asked, what does the Kingdom of God (in this life) look like? Paul tells us that the Kingdom of God is not of talk but of power. He also tells us that the Kingdom of God is peace, joy and righteousness.
So here we have four clearly, distinguished characteristics of the Kingdom of God:
- Righteousness
- Peace
- Joy
- Power
We are made righteous by the blood of Jesus. He removed our sin and has forgiven us all our trespasses. Jesus (who knew no sin) became sin so that we could become His righteousness. He has made us positionally righteous before God. He freed us from the bondage of sin so that we could become tools of righteousness. The grace that He gives enables and strengthens us to be obedient to the will of God, sanctifying us from glory to glory. He has made us at peace with God.
Before Jesus was crucified, he told his disciples that He would leave them peace and Paul added that this peace would surpass all understanding. This peace of the Kingdom of God is unshakable. It is present in every trial and through every tribulation. It is present in the presence of our enemies. It helps to give us clarity and a sound mind. This peace He gives becomes the foundation of our joy.
In His presence there is fullness of joy. It is easy to tell when someone is filled with the presence of God because they are filled with joy. Joy does not depend on our circumstances. It is a byproduct of living in God’s Kingdom and a kingdom is where the Kings presence is felt. We can have joy in the middle of suffering because we have hope that our momentary sufferings cannot compare to the future glory that awaits us. The joy of the Kingdom gives us strength to persevere in any situation.
Luke testified of Paul that he continually grew in power. When Paul heard of people in Corinth running their mouths in pride, he said he would find out if these people were the real deal or not by the power they walked in, because the Kingdom is not of talk but power. When Jesus proclaimed the good news of His Kingdom, He healed all that needed it. As He sent out his disciples, He told them to proclaim His Kingdom, heal the sick and cast out demons.
Just about every time the preaching of the Kingdom was mentioned it was followed by the working of miracles. Jesus restored to us the authority originally given to man in the garden, to be fruitful, multiply, govern and reign. We are to do the same in His Kingdom and He has given us the authority and power to remove any obstacle and hindrance to the spread of His Kingdom. Whether that be sickness, blindness, demon or mountain.
May His Kingdom come upon us so that we can spread the atmosphere of Heaven throughout the world!
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