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Take Your Place in God’s Kingdom: Getting Started

by Suellen | Kingdom of God, The Church Awakening

Do you realize that God’s kingdom is here on earth right now? And do you realize that you have a special place in that kingdom?

Many Christians are confused about this issue. They think that the Kingdom of God is for a future time. Yet when Jesus went to the cross on our behalf, and rose again from the dead, He ushered in this great Kingdom.

We are going to discuss this in the next few posts – and explore the what, the how, and the why. If you are a Christian, you have a place in this Kingdom. Your Father has a special plan for you and wants you to fulfill that purpose.

So let’s get right to it.

When Jesus walked the earth, He repeatedly emphasized a new kingdom which was coming: The Kingdom of God. Yet then, as now, most people misunderstood.

Some thought that He was talking about Heaven, where people would go after they died. Others just thought he was talking nonsense.

Well, He was speaking about now – and He certainly wasn’t speaking nonsense. He made the way for God’s Kingdom of Heaven to be with us today, and If you are a Christian, you are a citizen of that Kingdom.

In fact, if you are a Christian, you are called to be an Ambassador representing that Kingdom.

What is that Kingdom? What does it mean to be a citizen of that Kingdom? And how do I operate my life so as to live on earth and in that Kingdom also?

Today I want to begin with prayer for all of us. Read the prayer out loud to yourself and concentrate on what you are saying.

Dear Father,

I am asking for our eyes to be opened to what you want to say to us. We know that your Word contains so much more than we have understood or manifested in our lives. Open the eyes of our hearts so that we can truly grasp what you want us to know. We love you. Amen

When you read the Gospels, you see many scriptures which talk about this.

One of my favorites is this one…

II Corinthians 5:16-20 (NIV)

So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do no longer.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old is gone. The new is here.

All this is from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. That God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting peoples’ sins against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

We are therefore, Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: be reconciled to God.

God has made Him who knew no sin to be made sin for us so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

Throughout the Old Testament, the Jews were taught that a king would come to rule and reign forever. Of course, they understood this in earthly terms. They weren’t ready to receive the spiritual significance of what was to come.

But they were looking for this Messiah. A coming king.

So it had to bring lots of confusion to some of the Bible scholars when Jesus came on the scene and began talking about the Kingdom of God. Besides, He didn’t seem like the king they were expecting. He was a carpenter’s son.

What was this Kingdom? What could He mean?

He repeated the term over and over. (That exact term is mentioned 68 times in the Gospels).

There was a Kingdom of God which was about to spring to the earth, and natural men could not enter it – or even understand it.

Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can see the Kingdom of God unless they are born again.” John 3:3 (NIV)

But it was clear that it was Good News that this Kingdom was about to come. Mark introduced it as the “Gospel (Good News) of the Kingdom.” Mark 1:15

Today that Kingdom is still here. It has been here for more than two thousand years, and we are still trying to figure it out. Even those of us who know about this Kingdom and are attempting to live there are not fulfilling all that God has for us.

Nobody has grasped all of it yet.

So looking at it bit by bit…

The first requirement is to be Born Again. We have to be Born Again to enter this new Kingdom.

God created mankind in three parts. Spirit, soul and body.

Our spirit is the part of us that communicates with God – hears His voice and understands what God has for us.

Our soul is what most people recognize about us. Our mind, our will, and our emotions. Our personality. Our gifts to excel in math, languages, or sports. Our creativity.

And our body – our “earth suit” is what we need to stay here on earth. When our earth suit gets too damaged, we have to leave the planet.

Now God created man’s spirit to be alive and well, communicating with Him. Yet because of the fall of man, our spirits were disconnected from God. They became dormant. Our spirits were supposed to rule over our lives to guide us into the paths God had for us. But in the absence of God’s connection, our soul became the ruler.

The soul of man can be very gifted, but without God, it is always selfish. Without God’s guidance and empowerment, every man is self-centered.

Even when we are doing heroic things, we want to be noticed. We want people to admire us. We want wealth and we want power.

My husband has a great analogy which compares man’s predicament to an air tool such as an air wrench.

A mechanic, when changing a tire will employ an air wrench. He hooks the wrench to the air hose and uses it to quickly and easily remove the bolts without having to exert much pressure. The power from the air hose does the trick.

If you were to purchase an air wrench from your local store and attempt to use it right out of the box, you would be disappointed. It wouldn’t work.

It looks like an air wrench and connects like an air wrench, but without the power of the air, it doesn’t work.

We people were designed to have God’s Spirit – His breath – blowing through us. The source of wisdom – or power – of true life. When we are disconnected from God, we no longer have that intended power. We are like the air wrench which is not hooked up.

We aren’t working properly.

So when we receive Jesus as our Savior, we get Born Again. Our Spirits come alive and reconnect with God, our source of life and breath. We can see what God is doing for us and through us. We are new creations. Our sins are forgiven. New things have come – and all of these new things are from God Himself.

A new world awaits us. A new Kingdom – with a new King – who happens to be our Father!

Oh yeah! Galatians 4:6 says as new born people, we are children of God and our spirits cry out “Abba, Father”. (Which means Daddy)!

No longer are we selfishly trying to control things to our advantage. We submit our lives to our Creator, who loves us and cares for us.

At that point, there is so much to learn.

Through prayer, spending time with God, and through His Word, we start to understand these new things of His Kingdom.

If we continue in our pursuit of God and His plans, we will continue to grow in our relationship with Him. We never stop learning more. And we never stop needing to feed on His Word.

His Word will bring us understanding and faith. We will be reading His Word and suddenly verses will leap off the page. There will be understanding and direction. Correction when we need it. Encouragement when we need it.

So back to our foundational scriptures: the verses in II Corinthians 5:16.

Paul says, we no longer regard anyone from a worldly point of view. We don’t look at the outward man.

And we don’t regard ourselves as what others can see outwardly.

We are spirit men. We are new creations. All of the new things are from God, who created us. We have a significant purpose, and as we look to God and His Word for our answers, we begin to see this Kingdom of God we are talking about.

This new Kingdom. Made up of citizens from all nations and all walks of life. All forgiven and made new because they have received the sacrifice of Jesus as applying to them.

New Creatures. New Kingdom. New Purposes. And now preparing to be Ambassadors for this New Kingdom.

Next we want to take a good look at this Kingdom. What does it entail?

Are there benefits? O course.

Does it mean we have to act spooky or weird? Of course not!

In the next post we are going to delve deeper into this Kingdom of God and remind ourselves of how our Heavenly Father wants us to live.

See you there…

Note: This series is an adaptation of a series taught by Mickey Estes. Ambassadors for Christ, first taught at Good News Church in Blue Mountain, Mississippi.

Keep the Faith

by Suellen | Bible, Faith

Faith can seem like a strange thing. One day you are on top of the world. You are facing huge obstacles, yet you are trusting God and you know way down deep in that place that’s hard to describe, that you are going to come through this OK.

In fact, you are quite sure that the obstacles are crumbling before you.

Then there are other days. (You know, one of “those” days).

Just getting out of bed in the morning seems like a huge feat – and one that you might not be able to pull off!

So what happened? How can that be?

One day you’re up; one day you’re down. One day you see yourself right up there with David …and Paul! The next day, you’re more like Demas, the loser.

Will you ever be consistent and not wavering? You begin to doubt your ability to walk with God in a reputable way. Can you truly be His person?

Yes, you can. You just have to understand the nature of faith and why it may seem elusive.

One way to grasp the right perspective would be to compare your spiritual strength to your natural strength.

Life is fluid. Health is fluid. Strength is fluid. Strength of any kind is not like an object which you acquire and proudly display. It is part of your living being, and as in any part of life, there are efforts which are essential to maintain it.

Consider an athlete – such as an NFL player. Can you imagine what would happen if he took his strength for granted? He wouldn’t be around very long.

Even when he looks and acts like he has arrived at the zenith of physical perfection, he continues to work out and to practice. And, if he suffers an injury and has to sit out for awhile, his training increases to a new level upon his return. The athlete knows that his strength, endurance, and physical expertise are totally dependent on practice and training. He would never expect to maintain his desired level of achievement while in a total rest mode.

We need to take a lesson from the athletes. We need to honor the precious thing we call faith – our belief in God – our trust in His Word – and our zealous appropriation of all that He has for us. We must realize that our fath is a living thing. It grows or it diminishes. And a lot of the current status of this precious faith is dependent upon our current mindset.

The Bible says that “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” (Romans 10:17) The nutrition which feeds our faith is God’s Word, and if we aren’t nourishing our spirits with his rich food, our faith will be diminishing. Even if yesterday we considered ourselves spiritual giants, yesterday’s food will not keep us full of faith. It’s like the manna in the wilderness which became rancid on the next day. We need fresh food everyday.

Let’s go a little deeper.

“Word” in Romans 10:17 is the Greek word “rhema.” It means the spoken word. The revealed word.

As you read the Bible, verses will seem to leap off the page and “speak” to you. You will sense that God is speaking those verses to you personally, and your faith will be built up by them.

As you meditate on those words, they will become planted in your heart and your mind. They will become yours to believe and to act upon.

Then in Jude 20, we see that faith is built up by praying in the spirit. So how is your daily prayer life? Do you check in with your spiritual headquarters every day, listening for direction, heeding His nudge, and listening for His voice of encouragement and affirmation?

Do you speak His Word into the atmosphere around you, changing the fog of delusion into the clarity of His vision?

Remember, yesterday’s manna is rancid. (Exodus 16: 15-20). Every day we start with a new need for our Father and His Word. Every day we have an opportunity to build on our strength of the past, or to allow that strength to recede.

Staying the same is never an option.

As a pastor, my husband led those in our church to say often, “I believe God.”

That seems so simple, you might think, well of course we do. But as you say those simple words, you will find your spirit leaping within you. A resounding, “yes!” You do indeed believe God and not man.

All of society around us needs us to be true believers, strong in our understanding and faith.

So let me encourage you. Believe God and strengthen your faith continually.

Read His Word. Pray. Do those things which build up your faith, and those things which cause it to continue.

When you find discouragement creeping into your thoughts, run to Gods Word. Ask Him for guidance in what to read. Then read and meditate. Allow that Word to become part of you.

If you do these things, you will keep the faith!