LIVING IN THE KINGDOM NOW
THE SPIRITUAL LAWS OF THE KINGDOM
The most important being: The law of the spirit of life
in Christ
It is a kingdom with a King
It is a kingdom with a constitution
The capstone of this Kingdom on earth is Christ. Not the Vatican
or Lambeth Palace etc.
The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus enables us to live
in the Kingdom.
The character of this kingdom is
Righteousness, Peace and Joy.
The currency of this Kingdom is faith.
Its boundaries are without restriction.
Its authority absolute.
Its existence timeless for it has always been.
We entered the Kingdom by new creation birth to become a permanent
part of its structure as living stones.
We are not here to build it that is preposterous.
We have the responsibility, privilege and joy of declaring it.
All creation is subject to the King, the Creator of all things John
1:3.
There has never been a time when the King was not in total control.
Satan may claim to be the God of this world system but although
I reside in the world he is not my God.
The new covenant law is spirit and life
“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ
Jesus has made me free from the
law of sin and death” Rom 8:2,
Deut 5:2-3. We were not included in
the grinding bondage of the law that was given to Israel via Moses.
We are New Covenant people saved by grace through the repentance
and the gift of faith and; and have been translated through baptism,
by the operation of the Holy Spirit into the Kingdom of God, to
live by “the law of the Spirit of Life” in Christ Jesus.
To live within its boundaries on earth requires that we spend time
with the Lawgiver Jesus Christ, in meditation; in conversation (prayer)
– in listening, (Prov 8:34) and
especially in the use of His word.
The kingdom whereof Jesus is both King and Lawgiver is not just
a kingdom of this world: It cannot be found geographically, it is
Universal; by that definition it covers all time past present and
future, and the reaches of space.
Luke 17:20 After having been asked by
the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied,
“The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation,
nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it
is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.”
John 4: 21-24, nor would it to be monopolized
by one nation or class of people, or denomination.
On earth the KOG would be found located within the hearts
of men and open to all.
The New Covenant Heb 8:10 is about living
in harmonious union with Him in His Kingdom. Our salvation is far
more than an insurance policy to escape hell. It is an invite to
enter the kingdom via the “door” that is Christ through
repentance and living faith. It’s called the “Gospel”
or “Good News”. The extent to which His kingdom rules
on earth now is according to the measure of our individual submission
and obedience. But when Christ returns His rule will be absolute,
(as by a rod of iron) and universal. Our usefulness in the Kingdom
on earth is determined by our acceptance of and individual submission
to the “Apostles doctrine”. Ultimately His rule will
cover the whole earth as “the kingdoms of this world become
the kingdoms of our Lord and He shall reign for ever”, Rev.
1:15
The reason He has delayed His absolute rule on earth “as
it is in heaven” is because He is not willing that any should
perish.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
Matthew 6: 9-10
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be your name.
Your Kingdom come,
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Where is the Kingdom of God?
Is it just in Heaven?
Is it now on Earth?
Is it come into the hearts of men down here yet?
The answer to all the above is “yes”.
The objective of our Lord and Supreme commander is three
fold.
1. Matthew 6:9. That the establishment
of His Fathers Kingdom and His Father’s will to be done on
earth just as it is in Heaven.
2. Ephesians 3:10. “To the intent
that now unto principalities and powers in heavenly places might
be made known and demonstrated in His saints the
manifold wisdom of God"
To realize this goal His throne will be established in the hearts
of His people so that when He comes every eye will see His manifested
handiwork in us.
3. The following is His Ultimate intention
for His subjects?
“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us,
that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does
not know us, because it did not know Him.
Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed
what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall
be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself,
(Peter said “save yourselves” (Acts
2:40) just as He is pure. 1 John 3:1
They met for spiritual maintenance.
Our destiny is the highest possible, “we shall be like Him”.
For this cause we were created, redeemed, and sanctified; that we
should be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the
first-born among many brethren.
To see Christ face to face and be with Him in unbroken fellowship
and be like Him is the three-fold destiny of every Kingdom citizen.
The first step towards realising His intention
It is for you and me to begin to submit to the King.
We do this by steadfast continuance in the “Apostles Doctrine”
acknowledging His supremacy over us.
The Supreme command is not mere idealism. It is not just some official
thing, it is vital that we recognize that He is not just a figurehead;
a remote individual somewhere, He's God. He's supreme and over all.
His word is final in every respect.
No warfare can be fought without recognition of a high command,
to ignore it is to court disaster and certain defeat. There can
be only one in that position; and that one is Our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ the final authority in everything. Next there are the
rules of engagement. He has left us in no doubt in His holy word
as to what these are. A wise commander will make certain that his
troops know him. He makes it his business to get out and make himself
known, so that they might get to know him. He will not be aloof
but personal in his dealings with all ranks.
For to achieve his purpose He has done two things: He has given
us His Spirit. And He has to given us the “Apostles Doctrine”
made up of 21 letters to the believers all over the Roman Empire.
In addition we have the teachings of the Master Apostle. This is
a far cry from programs designed by religious gurus, to be adhered
to by lazy saints.
DISMANTLING THE MYTH
Some time ago a Pastor friend asked me this question, “what
benefits are you getting from what you believe and the way you now
live, that you didn’t have and couldn’t do before? Can
you be more specific regards what you’re doing?
My response was, yes I can; “I consciously
made a decision to live in the Kingdom of God under the Kings rule.”
It never registered with him; I doubt that he understood what I
meant. Sadly he continues to struggle away urging his flock to pray
for revival? Should I have insisted that he listen to me, or do
what I’m doing? Absolutely not that’s the work of the
Holy Spirit. I’m simply a voice. But I continue to pray for
him, and will try and persuade him as I will to everyone else who
enquires.
Some burning desires that need to burn out.
That His Kingdom needs fixing.
Our obsession with numerical growth at the expense of personal holiness.
Our over preoccupation with missions
The urge to follow the Herd
The adoption of lifeless programs
The embarrassment of having a small church will no longer consume
you.
The hype regards saturation house church planting
We need to stop and reflect on the foundation we are building upon
because everything we do here will eventually be put to the torch.
Is what you’re doing combustible? Is it flammable, like wood
hay and stubble? Kingdom material is fire proof; it’s durable
like silver, gold, and precious stones.
All the efforts of man eventually decompose and fade away.
Go with the prompting of His Spirit in you, and
not with somebody else’s hunches.
Luke 16:16 the law and the prophets
were until John.
Since that time the Kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone
is pressing into it.
You did run well – What’s more to the point is who hindered
you? Was it a saint or Satan?
Many have become enslaved by religious traditions and thereby live
in a rut. We have people drop in on us from time to time to have
a talk, ask some questions, and get excited only to drift away.
Some obviously counted the cost but found the price too high. It’s
disappointing but not to worry because when they become sincere
they will find.
Woe to you lawyers for you have taken away the key of knowledge.
You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering you
hindered. And as He said these things to them, the scribes and the
Pharisees began to assail Him vehemently, and to cross-examine Him
about many things, lying in wait for Him, and seeking to catch Him
in something He might say, so that they might accuse Him. Luke
11:52-54.
Matthew 23:13-14 “woe unto you,
Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You shut the door in the faces
of men seeking to enter the kingdom, and you do not enter yourselves,
nor do you permit those who are about to enter to go in”.
Why did they behave this way? It was because they believed they
had the Keys of the Kingdom and you have to get their approval to
enter. The doctrines of most religious structures are no different.
Luke 17:21 “Nor will they say,
'See here!' or 'See there!' for indeed, the kingdom of God is within
you”. It is not simply a matter of geography, as where to
meet, or what to do when we get there. It has everything to do with
who we are, and what we are when not at the “meet” surrounded
by others doing religious stuff.
I speak for Anne as well as myself when I say we found that our
relationship with Christ took on a dimension such as we had never
known before. I told one friend what a marvellous relief it was
when I realized that He has not called us to build His Kingdom,
but simply live in it and benefit by it. Yes that’s right,
just live in it, down here, right where I am, in the here and now.
What a joy. What a glorious deliverance from the torturous fundamentalists;
the mission driven evangelicals and raving charismatics’ that
are ever insisting that we must go! We must do more! And we must
give more. So to counter this we just began to resist religious
political activists and began to listen to the voice of the Holy
Spirit, and follow to Him and do His bidding instead. To go when
He sends us; and go where He sends us.
We began to live by Kingdom principles as found in the “Apostles
doctrine” in a secure environment that the gates of hell cannot
withstand. We found that much of what we had been taught, and what
we had taught others in former days was not declaring the Kingdom
of God but building our own kingdom.
To be sure the old environment satisfied our ego as it does with
all upbeat pastors, but it didn’t do a lot for the rest of
the saints. Looking back I see it was an extraordinary waste of
time, money, and precious resources that should have been utilized
more effectively; like spending time with the family instead of
at the Christian factory pleading for a reluctant God to save His
world.
Why do I say that, because I have seen how many have grown cold
over the years that were once aglow with the Spirit? Initially there
were aspects that were testing. Some criticism came from friends
who thought we had gone off the rails; more came from those who
lacked the courage of their convictions to do something about their
own spiritual condition. Others threw everything in the Book at
us to try and trip us up, especially those things that they should
have preached but never had the mind of the Spirit or the courage
to do; or they were too chuffed with their own importance. Their
pragmatic arguments seemed logical, (they always do) but the Lord
gave us the wisdom to see the difference.
Gradually we realized that we could stand without the trappings
of services and programs to prop us up and keep us from falling.
That we were able to withstand anything the world threw at us as
long as were clothed in the amour He had provided. We knew we were
not sufficient of ourselves, but that our sufficiency was of God
who enabled us to stand upright against all the onslaughts of the
enemy.
We began talking to Him about every aspect of our lives. Then
we started to find others on the same journey. We opened our homes
to each other, where bread and wine (the Lord’s Table) was
available for any that wished to come and dine. We felt more secure
than we could have ever imagined. We have learned that where He
guides He provides, and as He leads He feeds.
We saw that money is power, and what desolation it can cause personally
and collectively to those who pursue it. How religious building
programs have destroyed more relationships than they ever edified.
I have seen the power it gives to men to promote their ministries;
some even build physical churches for themselves to gratify their
craving to preach. I saw that although money is amoral it takes
on the character of the user. Judas is a good example. I found one
does not need a pulpit to serve God, or money to further His cause;
but that He has brought us into partnership with Himself, and all
that He has is ours and when we do what He asks of us; then every
need will be supplied. I have learned over many years that His supply
is inexhaustible.
Has it ever dawned on you that if the religious structures (including
organic ones) that most Christians rely upon were removed they wouldn’t
know what to do? Many would become panic stricken. Let me ask you,
“What would you do if you had nowhere to go”?
Millions of saints around the world are living underground with
their Lord and King with none of the trappings we in the West have
come to rely upon, such as professional clergy, and church buildings,
yet in spite of all opposition they remain faithful and keep growing
like their Master. It’s happening right now in North Korea,
China, and in other places it has been like that for centuries.
How would you express your faith if this happened to you? Perhaps
you’re doing it already! The institutions of the west are
entertaining weak and insipid saints. Western Christianity is Babylonian
by nature.
Revelation 3:15 “I know your
works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were cold or
hot, but because you are lukewarm, I will spew
you out of My mouth”.
Our knowledge of the Lord will determine our progress in
warfare.
John 17:3 “And this is eternal
life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ
whom you have sent”.
The fact that we are so often defeated is because of our lack of
knowledge of the Lord and His ways. He has certainly gone to great
lengths to allow us to know Him. If we are ignorant of these things
it is because we have voluntarily chosen to be so.
The book of Ephesians is sometimes referred to as the great battle
plan, and we find here that Paul puts tremendous weight upon the
word “know”.
“That we might know what the hope of His
calling is and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in
the saints”.
The word "know" is the governing word
in this whole matter of our warfare. Tried and tested warrior though
Paul was, yet he laid the greatest stress on knowing the Lord. This
is certainly far more important than anything else that men may
regard. Paul said I count all things but dung that I might know
Him.
We certainly need to know our supreme commander. What the hope
of His calling is. What are the riches of His inheritance in the
saints? And what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward
us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, which
He wrought, in Christ when He raised Him from the dead. The purpose
for which the Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost was that
He might take the things of Christ and make them known to us.
Some characteristics of our Supreme Commander
Firstly He has a clearly defined objective. We must be aware of
what it is. So many of God's people haven't got the faintest notion
of what that might be, or why they are here apart from heaven or
hell. Their lives are a dichotomy; with one leg in the world and
the other in a spiritual rut.
I wonder how many of us could express in a few words from the New
Testament exactly what the supreme objective of the Lord is; because
He has declared it in His word.
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven Matt
6:10.
He came to establish His throne in our hearts here on earth and
to demonstrate to principalities and powers His might, power, and
wisdom through His Body which we are.
When Christianity degenerates into formalism and ecclesiastical
systems without spiritual power Satan is not bothered in the slightest.
What God is looking for is a physical expression
of the throne of Christ in the midst of His people.
He wants a practical living expression that
goes to and beyond presenting doctrine and teaching.
He wants a demonstration of Kingdom life and power. Where there
is an organization or institution without spiritual character or
heavenly nature, and there is profession without visible reality,
its course will go on unchecked, and Satan couldn't care less but
is rather pleased.
But the enemy is bitterly opposed to any living organic
expression of Christ in his territory, for such represents the throne
of God in his domain. That's why very often when we start seeking
for a demonstration of the physical presence of that which God desires,
we run into the most tremendous opposition that at times seems so
out of proportion with who we seem to be. That’s because of
Satan’s fury.
Finally we must recognize there is an underlying force, the forces
of hell that seek to destroy this expression of the throne of God
in the midst of His people, for he knows that it represents to him
his greatest danger, and ultimately his defeat.
Not my will but Thine be done
So that the fullness of the Son
May rule within this heart of mine
I have offered Thee
Until everything I do
Becomes, the thing that pleases you
Abba Father I would be a son indeed
Composer unknown
|
