Becoming A Kingdom Citizen

Last week we were introduced to eight kingdoms. I would like to do a short review of these kingdoms.

In the beginning we saw the Garden Kingdom that God gave to Adam. Due to his sin he was banished from the Garden Kingdom and there was a flaming sword placed at the entrance to keep anyone from reentering this kingdom.

After Adam’s excommunication we saw that Adam was the father of the Kingdom of Sin. This Kingdom was destroyed by God through a flood that recreated the entire earth. Even though the kingdom of sin was destroyed every person born into this world is born of Adam. This makes them a citizen of the kingdom of sin and they must be redeemed if they are going to live in God’s true Kingdom.

Noah and his family were saved through the flood by obeying God’s instruction to build an ark of salvation. After exiting the ark Noah was the father of a new kingdom. This kingdom became a Kingdom of Self-righteousness. God confused the people of this kingdom and they began to migrate to all parts of the world to build kingdoms of their own. People who are trying to enter God’s kingdom by way of their own self-righteousness are confused as to how God has called us back to Himself.

Then God spoke to Abram who God renamed Abraham. In Abraham we saw the Kingdom of Faith established. This kingdom, like the others with exception of the Garden Kingdom, is still expanding and people who are coming to belief in the Lord and His true kingdom are being admitted.

In Jacob we saw the birth of a Nation Kingdom. The nation of Israel is still with us today. They believe they are God’s chosen nation but many of the Israelites no longer believe in the way that God has established for people to come back to Him by faith in their King.

In Moses we saw the Kingdom of Law established. Many people today are quick to follow the Law and through the Law they believe they will enter the true kingdom but the law shows us that we need a Savior to enter God’s true Kingdom. So we must come to God by faith in the way He has called us to come. Following the Law is good and those who live by faith will follow the Law but following the Law is not the way of salvation.

In David we see the King’s Kingdom. The King’s kingdom was a kingdom established upon lines in the sand. It was defended and expanded by force. Warfare was the way to maintain and increase the kingdom. Many are still involved in this activity today. It seems to be the way of this world. Due to sin we have a tendency to set ourselves up as kings and try to force others to be a part of our own little kingdom.

The only kingdom that seems to be enduring is the Kingdom of Faith that was looking beyond this earthly realm for its fulfillment.

None of the other kingdoms seem to fulfill the true desire of the people. They all seem to be flawed at some point and leave people disappointed. Our world’s kingdoms all seem to fall short of what we are really seeking. There must be something out there somewhere that is the fulfillment of the lost paradise that always seems to be just out of reach.

I believe this was what Abraham was looking forward to. He desired a kingdom not of this world. He was looking forward to a promised land that was better than this world had to offer.

So let’s look a little deeper at Jesus’ Kingdom which is the Spiritual Kingdom.

I have in the past used an illustration that I would like to expand upon as I put it before you once again today.

I have tried, at times, to get everyone to imagine a huge walled city. The city was guarded at every entrance to make sure that only those who knew the ways of the King and were willing to submit to the King of the kingdom could access the Kingdom.
Now, this Kingdom is available to all who would come. Everyone who is seeking rest and relief from all the other kingdoms of the world has been given a verbal invitation to come to the King who has established the perfect kingdom.

The catch is you must submit to the King and His ways and plans. This King will not allow any rebels to enter His kingdom. You must be willing to trust and obey the King following Him by faith.

Now, this King has offered to pay the price to redeem you from the king of your present kingdom. It doesn’t matter which kingdom you are presently residing in. If you desire your freedom and want to exit your present kingdom and enter into His, He will make the provision for your redemption.

The only requirement is that you must submit your will, your ways, your desires and wants to the King. You must come empty handed fully trusting the King.

Now, this King knows your true heart. He knows why you are coming to His Kingdom. He knows what you are truly seeking. If you are seeking Him, His Kingdom and His righteousness, He will pay the price and command the guards to let you enter His gates. If you are seeking for self, there is a kingdom that already exists for you and it is not this King’s Kingdom. You will be forced to stay outside the Kingdom with the dogs and all who will not submit to the King.

The only way to enter this kingdom is by knowing, following and trusting the King, submitting your person to the King, and by faith, following the King’s Rule and Reign over your life and His Kingdom.

Are you sure you want to enter the King’s Kingdom?

I never want to force anyone into this kingdom. I never want to use emotions to pull your heart strings to get you to make a commitment to something you don’t really want. I do not want to deceive anyone into make a impulsive decision that they may later regret.

I want to inform you fully so when you decide to surrender your life to Jesus as lord you will know what you are doing.

Matthew 16:25-26

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. 25 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. 26 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?

American Christianity falls way short of Biblical Christianity because we, in America, do not understand Kingdoms that are lorded over by their King.

I was reading an article a few days back where the writer stated that we are co-rulers with Christ. The writer said that we needed to share more and more of our rule over our lives with Jesus. “How much of your personal kingdom is being co-ruled with Him, or are you keeping certain areas under your exclusive dominion? The more you let Him rule with you over all aspects of your health, finances and welfare the more you will reign victorious over every issue in your life.”

I know that this sounds very Christian in our society today. But I must ask who is King? Who is Lord? Who is Master? Who is Ruler? Who is Head? Who sits on the throne? Who purchased you at a high price? Who saved you from eternal destruction? Who gave you this new opportunity? Who is it that is God?

According to this writer I am the king of my own destiny, lord of my own life and ruler of my own domain, then, when I allow Jesus to come alongside and rule with me, I will become victorious. Do you see the blasphemy in this thought process?

We are so self-center and so prideful that we think we are inviting the King of kings and Lord of lords into our lives. We, for some reason, believe that we are on the throne of power. Then we think we are pretty special and deserve God’s recognition when we invite King Jesus to share in the rule of our life.

If this wasn’t such a serious issue I would be on the floor laughing at the thought process of the person who wrote this article.

Isaiah 14:12-15

12 “How you are fallen from heaven, O shining star, son of the morning! You have been thrown down to the earth, you who destroyed the nations of the world. 13 For you said to yourself, ‘I will ascend to heaven and set my throne above God’s stars. I will preside on the mountain of the gods far away in the north. 14 I will climb to the highest heavens and be like the Most High.’ 15 Instead, you will be brought down to the place of the dead, down to its lowest depths.

This is a passage that points to Satan. He was the one who wanted to raise his throne above the Lord’s.

Isn’t this what we have done?

Then we invite the Lord, the true King, to come up to our throne and rule with us. He can be our helper, counselor, comforter and guide but we don’t want to kneel at His throne and ask Him to send us His Helper, Counselor, Comforter and Guide.

Now let’s go back to the thought of entering God’s Kingdom.

Matthew 7:13-14

13 “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. 14 But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.

As we continue to grow in our understanding of the Kingdom of God this morning we are told by the King Himself that the entrance into His Kingdom is narrow. In other words, there is a broad road that seems right to the masses but it will not lead to the Kingdom of God. The road the King will be calling us to travel, to enter His Kingdom, is narrow and it leads to the desired goal.

A narrow road is a road that needs to be navigated carefully and traveled slowly.
I happen to be one who desires to enter the Kingdom of God. I am also one who wants others to enter the Kingdom with me. Due to my desires, and the knowledge that the entrance is narrow, I want to know that what I teach is accurate to the Scriptures we have been given. I want to travel this road cautiously. I want to go slow enough that we don’t put ourselves in danger of accidentally crashing on our journey.

I will be presenting a great amount of Scripture on the subject of the Kingdom of God. I feel this is the only way for us to have the most accurate information as we make our decisions about God’s Kingdom.

Before we go any deeper I want to relay an understanding of kingdoms to you from our world’s viewpoint.

According to Webster’s dictionary a kingdom is, “a politically organized community or major territorial unit having a monarchical form of government headed by a king or queen.”
(a person who reigns over a kingdom or empire as a sovereign ruler)
“a realm or region in which something is dominant”
(such as the king) “an area or sphere in which one holds a preeminent position” (such as God)”

The archaic word for kingdom is KINGSHIP. This would refer to a government ruled by a king

According to Britannica’s Encyclopedia the kingdom of God is,

In Christianity, the spiritual realm over which God reigns as king, or the eventual fulfillment of God’s will on earth.

Although rare in pre-Christian Jewish literature, the idea of God as king was fundamental to Judaism, and Jewish ideas on the kingdom of God most likely shaped New Testament usage. The term is often used in the New Testament, and it was a central theme in the preaching of John the Baptist and Jesus. Theologians differ as to whether Jesus implied that the kingdom had arrived in his person or whether it was expected as a future event. Christian orthodoxy now holds that the kingdom has been partially realized by the presence of the church in the world and that it will be fully realized after the Last Judgment.

Those of us who have been raised all of our lives in the democratic republic of the United States have a very difficult time comprehending Kingdoms and Kingship.
We the people are not lorded over but we establish our own governing rule.

We, in the United States, have a form of democracy where the majority rule through elections. This is totally foreign to a Kingship or a governing order ran by a sovereign leader such as a King.

A Kingdom is ruled by a King. What the king says is the rule and the citizens of the kingdom either submit to the King’s rule, acknowledging the King as lord, or they disobey the King’s rule and risk the wrath of the King, or they revolt against the King and try to overthrow his rule and take the kingdom from him.

When we consider the Kingdom of God in this way who is going to try to overthrow God? Who is going to disobey God and risk the consequences of His wrath? Shouldn’t everyone submit to God and acknowledge Him as Lord?

Your first and quickest answer to this line of reasoning would be yes we should. My next question would be why don’t we?

This is a serious question. Most of us don’t submit to the King in our personal lives. Many churches or denominations have taken stands against the King and His Kingdom. As we all know the world doesn’t even acknowledge that God is the Sovereign King so our world exists in rebellion against its own Creator.

Now, we the people of the democratic society desire to take our style of government into the Kingdom of God. This will not work. When we disagree with the King’s rules we do not have the right to form a group and lobby for a change. We do not have the power of the people to vote down that which the King has declared. We either submit to the King’s rule or risk being dismissed from the Kingdom.

God, in all His wisdom, knew that everyone would not submit to His rule. So God has designated a place for the citizens of His kingdom to work out their decision. This place is known to us as the kingdom of the world. God has given each of us time in which to decide if we are willing to submit to the King and live peacefully in His Kingdom or decide to disobey and revolt and receive the consequences of our decision.

The Kingdom of the world is the battle ground. We have been given time to try and test our beliefs on the battle ground of the world. The King’s desire is for us to submit to His rule and reign over our lives. The world’s philosophy is every man for himself. As we make our decision to submit to the King we then must journey the rest of our life on the narrow road being very cautious of the enemy who desires to ambush us with the world’s philosophy.

The Kingdom of God is a Kingdom ruled by a Sovereign King. This King is Lord overall and the citizens will either submit to His rule or be thrown out of the Kingdom. We have been given time to make our decision. Since we do not know the time we need to be making an informed decision now.

Acts 1:1-3

Dear Theophilus:
In my first book‍‍ I told you about everything Jesus began to do and teach 2 until the day he ascended to heaven after giving his chosen apostles further instructions from the Holy Spirit. 3 During the forty days after his crucifixion, he appeared to the apostles from time to time and proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. On these occasions he talked to them about the Kingdom of God.

Luke was the writer of the book of Luke. He is also the writer of the book of Acts. Luke was interested in the accurate recording of Jesus’ life and the beginning of the church Jesus had established.

Over the next few weeks I want to look at the point that Luke says Jesus always seemed to mention. That point is The Kingdom of God.

Luke wrote in Acts 1:3 On these occasions he talked to them about the Kingdom of God. When Jesus appeared to the apostles He talked with them about the Kingdom of God. This tells me that the Kingdom of God was on the heart of Jesus. Jesus wanted His apostles to know about it, understand it, and spread the message of the Kingdom of God.

The King of the Kingdom desired to tell His messengers the Good News of the newly established Kingdom. He wanted them to know firsthand what He had to offer so His messengers could begin spreading the message about the king and His Kingdom.

The Kingdom of God has been placed on my heart of late. Over the next few weeks I want to investigate the Kingdom of God. I want to answer some questions, Who makes up the Kingdom? What is the Kingdom? What is the Kingdom like? Where is the Kingdom located? When will we see the Kingdom come? Why is the Kingdom so important? And, How can a person be a part of the Kingdom?

At some point in this series I’m also going to look at kingdom knights and what it would be like to be a knight in the Kingdom of God.