Morung Express News
Kohima | May 14
Bringing the word of God on the closing day of the SWAG (Saved With Amazing Grace) Christian Music Festival, the first of its kind in the state held under the theme “In the Kingdom” at The Heritage Kohima, Denny John spoke about how living in the kingdom is an integral part of one’s life, belief and attitude.
In the kingdom of God, he noted that “there is no separation of knowledge from behaviour when it comes to following this king” and that is what sets apart citizens of a kingdom and tourists who visit the kingdom wherein tourists can come and go but citizens live there by the ways of the kingdom.
“We show with our lives, our lifestyles which king and which kingdom we belong to,” he highlighted while emphasizing that the way to live life in this kingdom is “by his word.” He said that, “we cannot have faith without faithfulness, we cannot have growth without depth, we cannot have knowledge without application,” and urged that “we need to allow God to plough like a farmer ploughs the soil, for Him to plough our lives, our hearts and our minds so that our lives are ready like the good soil, ready and prepared for the on-going receiving and the nurturing and the growing of God’s word in our lives and through our lives.”
Earlier, he had remarked that the SWAG part of being a Christian is important while reiterating that “we are saved by amazing grace and it must never be forgotten or taken lightly.” Very often, he said, “we take it lightly because it’s free; we assume it’s cheap.” In the meantime, referring to Jesus’s teachings in the New Testament of the Bible, he highlighted that, “we also see that getting saved is only one part of the gospel.”
“We are saved from the power of sin and death and we know what we are saved from, but have we considered what we are saved for?” he further posed while adding that “we are saved out of and we are saved into.” “Saved into”, he pointed out is the other part of Jesus’s gospel. Stating that Jesus’s gospel is primarily the Good News of life in the kingdom, he also dwelt on the kind of kings and kingdoms. Jesus, he added, had much to say about living life in his kingdom while putting across that “we don’t enter his kingdom because we are good but because of his life, death and resurrection.”
“God’s amazing grace is what allows us to enter this kingdom,” he said but maintained that entering the kingdom is just the beginning, and further highlighted how one should respond to this king and how they should live as citizens of the kingdom. “This is what we are saved for. That we may live fully, fruitfully as citizens of the kingdom and in faithful obedience to Jesus’s teachings. That is what it means to live in the kingdom,” he expressed.
The second day of the Christian Music Festival also featured Grace and Valentina, Roro, Benile, Yapang Pongen, Sowers, Kikru Kechu, Pen Kikon, LC Sekhose, Praise Fountain Worship Band, Fifth Note and Powerfaith.
