You have a passion for other people to also come into the Kingdom of God. “Your Kingdom come your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” [Matthew 6:10].
A natural kingdom on earth is a specific place where a king rules or has control over. In his kingdom he exercises his will, laws and commands and his followers must obey it and carry it out. When you enter the kingdom of this king you must obey his laws and commands. You have a choice if you want to go into his kingdom or not, but once you are in, you must submit to the king’s laws and commands and accept it, otherwise you must not enter. This type of government mostly took place in the olden days, though it still exists today in other parts of the world.
But a natural kingdom is also a specific place where the king’s way of life, his character and that which he promoted are experienced and enjoyed by his followers. The kingdom is the place where his followers can enjoy the specific life he promotes, offers and promises. If you live in an area where an evil and unjust king rules you will experience and feel this king’s unjust laws, punishments and taxes (especially in olden days). His evil plans to make himself rich by stealing from you or destroying you if you stand in his way, will definitely be experienced by you and your family. We can even see in our today’s time in the kingdom of Nepal; the king who had ruled the kingdom for so many decades was dethroned for being a selfish ruler. The people could no longer accept him as their King, but almost became the people’s enemy before he was dethroned from his kingship.
But the opposite is also true. When you live in the kingdom of a loving and a just king, you will experience his loving and just character, because it will come out in his laws and the way he rules the kingdom. People living in the kingdom are of an evil themselves, because it is all they know, the example with which they grew up. As the king is, so his followers will be. The same is true if you live in the kingdom of a loving and a just king. You will become more and more loving and just like him, because that is the example with which you grew up.
The Kingdom of God is also a specific area [but not a physical one you can see] where God rules through King Jesus and where His will come to pass and His commands are obeyed; The Kingdom of God is an area over which He has absolute control and authority. You have a choice if you want to enter His Kingdom or not, but when you choose to enter you must also choose to submit to His commands, His decisions, His laws and His judgments otherwise you must not enter.
Just like a natural kingdom, God’s Kingdom is also a specific place where the life of the King can be experienced and tasted more and more. This life is everlasting and abundant life. The Kingdom of God rules, where His will is done and where His everlasting abundant life can be tasted and experienced. The Kingdom of God is the place where I must constantly choose to bow under the authority of God and live according to it.
THE KINGDOM LOOKS LIKE
The Kingdom of God rules me from the inside and not from the outside [Luke 17: 20-21]. The Kingdom of God is unique. I cannot say: “Look there is his Kingdom” or “Look there is His Kingdom!” because God’s Kingdom [His government, His will] is inside me. “God’s Kingdom rules from the inside where the Kingdom of the world tries to rule you from outside.” The Kingdom of God is God’s government in the hearts of His children. Because God is everywhere, He can have an intimate relationship with everyone in His Kingdom through His Holy Spirit. He knows everything I do and when I break a law in His Kingdom, He will know it immediately, even before. My choices and behaviors have consequences to me and those around me. Through this inner government the Holy Spirit controls my life and brings it in line with the plans God has for my life. In this way my life is coordinated with all the other members of the body of Christ so that there can be ‘Harmony and Unity’ in the Kingdom of God.
*** The Kingdom of God is a culture. A culture is a specific way of life that is lived by a country or a group of people. The Kingdom is a specific way of life [Romans 14:17]. In Matthew 5:7 Jesus describes to us this way of life. Who are the righteous? The righteous are those who come to Jesus in Repentance and Faith. They are washed in His blood and made righteous in God’s sight.
*** The Kingdom of God is a specific group [1 Peter 2:9]. The moment I am born again I become part of this group of people and I am transferred immediately from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of light [Colossians 1:12-13].
ENTER INTO THE KINGDOM OF GOD
Jesus is the Door to this Kingdom of everlasting abundant life and when I accept Him as my Master and Lord He opens the door for me to enter, so I can go into His Kingdom already here on earth. What does it mean to accept Jesus? To accept Jesus as my Master and Lord ‘means’ I give my life and myself totally over to Him and His will and I bow constantly in obedience to His guidance. “I make a choice from my heart that I don’t want to live according to my will anymore, but according to God’s will.” It is a choice I make after I counted the cost. My thoughts change because I move from my will to God’s will. My behavior changes. It is not a “touch me” choice, but a “change me” choice. It is a choice for the narrow road [Matthew 7:14]. This is the first requirement for a life of fullness in the Kingdom of God.
When God has my will He has everything. “He doesn’t want to take it, I must give it.” It is not enough to only know about God, I must give my whole life over to God. He is now the Master of my life and not me anymore. I am born again; He becomes the Ruler of my life. My spirit reconciles with His Spirit, and becomes one [2 Corinthians 5: 18-20, Colossians 1:22] His blood washes me clean and makes me new [2 Corinthians 5: 17]. His Spirit, who lives forever, comes and lives in me and therefore I have eternal life. I must first choose. Although I now have Eternal Life it does not mean that I already experienced His Kingdom on earth. Being born again only opens the door to the Kingdom, it places me inside the Kingdom but to experience the Kingdom I must walk further. To walk in means to be obedient to God every moment of your life, to bow to His commands, to submit to His Will, to obey His leading in my heart.
Without being Born Again (which opens the door to the kingdom) and without the leading of the Holy Spirit (whom I receive when I am born again) it will not be possible for me to experience God’s government of everlasting abundant life here on earth and thereafter [John 3:3,5]. Only when He is in me [when I accept Him as my Master and Lord = born again] I will see and experience His Kingdom. “It is not something outside me, but inside me.” That’s why the Pharisees could not see the Kingdom [Luke 17:20-21], because they were not born again and therefore still outside the “room”. Being born again opens the door to the Kingdom and places me on the inside to live with God always and all the time.
HOW TO LIVE IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD
“The cross is my life that will always lead to the denying of self” [John 12:23-25, Luke 9:23-24, John 3:30]. As I seek God’s will and submit to it more and more, bow to His will and not my own, I will taste His Kingdom life more than before. If I don’t die to self and give full control of life over to Him, I will never experience this abundant Kingdom life. “Only when I freely submit to Him in every area of my life, will I enter His Kingdom and stay there.”
It means He is my Master and I go where He wants me to go and do what He wants me to do. I make no decision without God’s permission.” Only when we submit to God’s authority and rule, will He begin to rule. God’s Kingdom is people who work and live under His rule. “The more I submit to the Authority of Jesus in my life, the more authority Jesus can give me in my life.” From Genesis to Revelation God uses people who are totally submitted to Him.
Commitment: I must first be committed to Him, before I am committed to a task or a vision. Jesus calls me first to come to Him before I can go from Him to serve so that, others may also come to His Kingdom. At His feet I learn intimacy, position and identity and only then can I move to invite others to come in His Kingdom.
Obedience: Obedience is the only way I can keep God’s blessings on my life and make it more [John 14:21]. If I walk in disobedience I lose the blessings of God [Genesis 3:17-19]. Obedience leads to a better understanding of God’s will. The moment I disobey God I “step out” of His Kingdom and therefore out of His blessings. God is more interested in my acts of obedience than just my promise to obey in Him [Matthew 21:28-32].
Dr. Thamsing D. Lamkang
