Kingdom Dynamics for 2024 (5)
Notes
Transcript
Kingdom Dynamics for 2024 (5)
It is most important to note that God chose the concept of a kingdom to communicate His purpose, will, and plan for mankind and earth to us.
The message of the Bible is primarily and obviously about a Kingdom.
If you do not understand kingdoms, it is impossible for you to understand the Bible and its message.
However, over the past 2,000 years the true concept of kingdom has been lost, especially since the advent of modern governments built on new concepts of governing, e.g., democracy, socialism, communism, and dictatorships.
For the most part, people in the Western world know very little about kingdom and the concept of royalty and monarchy.
This is further compounded by the idea that kingdoms are designed to elevate one family above all families and subjugate and oppress citizens.
While it is true that many kingdoms have dark histories of atrocities and oppression, prospering at the expense of the dignity and value of their citizens, the original concept of kingdom, as introduced by God Himself, stands alone as the perfect prototype of government built on righteous judgment.
All the kingdoms of the earth were mere attempts to imitate this perfect Kingdom.
Today our modern democracies are attempts to achieve the goals of the perfect kingdom, without the necessary raw material—the Holy Spirit.
WHAT IS A KINGDOM?
WHAT IS A KINGDOM?
There are certain characteristics common to all kingdoms.
The Kingdom of God, according to Jesus, also possesses these components.
Here are some you will need to know in order to understand the concepts of Scripture.
All kingdoms have:
All kingdoms have:
• A King and Lord – a sovereign;
• A Territory – a domain;
• A Constitution – a royal covenant;
• A Citizenry – community of subjects;
• Law – acceptable principles;
• Privileges – rights and benefits;
• A Code of Ethics – acceptable lifestyle and conduct;
• An Army – security;
• A Commonwealth – economic security; and
• A Social Culture – protocol and procedures.
The King is the embodiment of the kingdom, representing its glory and nature. Authority flows from the king and the word of the king is supreme.
The Territory is the domain over which the king exercises total authority.
The territory and its resources and people are all personal property of the king. The king by right owns all and, therefore, is considered lord over all.
The word Lord denotes ownership by right.
Lord is only given to one who is sovereign owner. This is why the Scriptures declare,
1 The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein.
The Constitution is
the covenant of a king with his citizenry and expresses the mind and will of the king for his citizens and the kingdom.
It constitutes the intent of the sovereign for his people as well as containing the benefits and privileges of the kingdom.
The constitution is the documented words of the king.
The Bible contains the constitution of the Kingdom of God which details His will and mind for His citizens.
The Citizenry is the people that live under the rule of the king.
Citizenship in a kingdom is not a right, but a privilege, and is a result of the king’s choice.
The benefits and privileges of a kingdom are only accessible to citizens and, therefore, the favor of the king is always a privilege.
Once one becomes a citizen of the kingdom, all the rights of citizenship are at the citizen’s pleasure.
The king is obligated to care for and protect all of his citizens, and their welfare is a reflection on the king himself.
The number one goal of a citizen in a kingdom is to submit to the king, seeking only to remain in right standing with him.
This is called righteousness.
This is why Jesus said the priority of all men is to seek His kingdom.
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
The Law constitutes the standards and principles established by the king himself, by which his kingdom will function and be administered.
The laws of a kingdom are to be obeyed by all, including foreigners residing in it.
The laws of a kingdom are the way by which one is guaranteed access to the benefits of the king and the kingdom.
Violations of kingdom law place one at odds with the king and thus interrupt the favorable position one enjoys with the king.
The laws in a kingdom cannot be changed by the citizens, nor are they subject to a citizen referendum or debate.
Simply put, the word of the king is law in his kingdom.
Rebellion against the law is rebellion against the king.
King David understood this principle of the royal word when he stated,
2 I will worship toward Your holy temple, And praise Your name For Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.
3 In the day when I cried out, You answered me, And made me bold with strength in my soul.
2 I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.
The Privileges are the benefits the king lavishes on his faithful citizens.
This aspect of kingdom is very different from other forms of government.
In a kingdom, citizenship is always desired by the people because, once you are in the kingdom, the king is personally responsible for you and all your needs.
In addition, because the king owns everything within his kingdom, he can give to any citizen any or all of his wealth as he desires.
A Code of Ethics is the acceptable conduct of the citizens in the kingdom and their representation of the kingdom.
This code includes moral standards, social relationships, personal conduct, attitude, attire, and manner of life.
The Army is the kingdom’s system of securing its territory and protecting its citizens.
It is important to understand that in a kingdom the citizens do not fight in the army, but enjoy the protection of the army.
This is why, in the Kingdom of God, the angels are called the host of heaven.
This word host means army and identifies the angels as the so-called military component of the Kingdom of Heaven.
This kingdom concept presents a challenge to our religious thinking of the Church as an army.
A careful study of the biblical constitution of the word will show that the Church, as Jesus established it, is not identified as an army but rather a citizenship, a family of sons, and a nation.
49 He cast on them the fierceness of His anger, Wrath, indignation, and trouble, By sending angels of destruction among them.
20 Bless the Lord, you His angels, Who excel in strength, who do His word, Heeding the voice of His word.
21 Bless the Lord, all you His hosts, You ministers of His, who do His pleasure.
So it will be at the end of the age.
40 Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age.
41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness,
42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
A Commonwealth is the economic system of a kingdom which guarantees each citizen equal access to financial security.
In a kingdom, the term commonwealth is used because the king’s desire is that all his citizens share and benefit from the wealth of the kingdom.
The kingdom’s glory is in the happiness and health of its citizens.
Consider carefully the word of the King of the Kingdom of God, Jesus Christ,
22 Then He said to His disciples, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on.
23 Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.
31 But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.
32 “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
The Social Culture is the environment created by the life and manners of the king and his citizens.
This is the cultural aspect that separates and distinguishes the kingdom from all others around it.
It is the culture that expresses the nature of the king, through the lifestyle of his citizens.
This distinction in Kingdom culture is evidenced in the words of the Lord Jesus, when He repeatedly said in the Book of Matthew, “you have heard that it was said… but I tell you,” (Matt. 5:21-22), and again, “it shall not be so among you” (Matt. 20:26KJV).
Kingdom social culture is supposed to be evident in our daily activities and encounters.
KINGDOM COMPONENTS
KINGDOM COMPONENTS
All kingdoms are comprised of a number of components necessary for them to function effectively.
All kingdoms, including the Kingdom of God, have:
A Health program – Healing;
• An Education program – Teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit;
• A Taxation system – Tithing;
• A central Communication system – Gifts of the Spirit;
• A Diplomatic Corps - Ambassadors of Christ;
• A System of Administration – the Ministration of the Spirit through mankind called the Church; and
• An Economy – a system of Giving and Receiving (seed time and harvest time).
A careful study of the biblical message and the presentation of the message of the Kingdom of Heaven by Jesus will illustrate the presence of all these components and characteristics of life in the Kingdom of God.
However, the most outstanding element distinguishing the Kingdom of God from every other kingdom is the concept that all of its citizens are relatives of the King, and are kings themselves. This was the message brought to earth by the Lord Jesus Christ.
Restoration!
Restoration!
The loss of heaven’s Kingdom on earth through Adam’s disobedient act and, subsequently, the loss of its earthly envoy, the Holy Spirit, demanded restoration.
This required a heavenly program for earth preservation.
This program became known as the redemptive work of God.
The goal of the program is the recovery and reestablishment of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth and the reinstatement of mankind as its legal kingly representative.
This divine strategy involve the coming of the Messiah/King to redeem, restore, and reconnect man back to heaven’s government once again.
This promise of a royal seed in Genesis 3:15 established the coming of God in the flesh as a legal redeemer with all the rights to enter earth’s realm to achieve this goal.
This declaration was known as “the promise” and activated the long historical expectation of a Messiah King destined to redeem all men and restore them back to their kingly position.
This process included the calling and appointment of a specific line through which this great king would come.
Divine prerogative then chose an obedient man named Abraham (see Genesis 12:1-4) to whom the promise was given of the coming of the Kingdom seed to redeem and restore, not just his nation, but all the nations of the world of mankind.
2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
THE PROMISE OF KINGDOM REDISCOVERY
THE PROMISE OF KINGDOM REDISCOVERY
The Old Testament is earth’s file of heaven’s record of the promise of the coming of the King and the Kingdom.
All the prophecies were about His arrival and what He would bring; the laws given to Moses foreshadowed the laws and principles of the Kingdom. There are thousands of references to this specific announcement and a few are worth reviewing:
Moses predicted it:
15 “The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear,
David spoke of the Kingdom:
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.
Isaiah saw the coming of the King and the Kingdom in detail:
6 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
Daniel saw the King and the Kingdom in graphic detail:
13 “I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him.
14 Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed.
16 I came near to one of those who stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of these things:
17 ‘Those great beasts, which are four, are four kings which arise out of the earth.
18 But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.’
21 “I was watching; and the same horn was making war against the saints, and prevailing against them,
22 until the Ancient of Days came, and a judgment was made in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom.
26 ‘But the court shall be seated, And they shall take away his dominion, To consume and destroy it forever.
27 Then the kingdom and dominion, And the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, Shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And all dominions shall serve and obey Him.’
28 “This is the end of the account. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts greatly troubled me, and my countenance changed; but I kept the matter in my heart.”
It is incredible to read these few scriptures and see, without a doubt, that the message of the Bible is about the coming of a kingdom, not a religion.
However, the announcement of the Old Testament was about the coming of a prophet who would prepare the way and introduce the Messiah King to the world personally. This was referring to John the Baptist.
Let’s read the prophecy from Malachi:
4 “Remember the Law of Moses, My servant, Which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel, With the statutes and judgments.
5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
6 And he will turn The hearts of the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.”
So we see that the restoration plan of God was in motion from its earliest announcement to the adversary in Genesis, chapter 3.
The prophecy stated that He would come and prepare the people for the entrance of the King and the Kingdom.
THE LONG WAIT—4,000 YEARS
THE LONG WAIT—4,000 YEARS
According to biblical chronology,
God waited for 4,000 years before He sent His Messiah King to earth. The question is why?
When Jesus appeared preaching the Kingdom of Heaven, He was the culmination of thousands of years of preparation in God’s plan.
What was God waiting for?
Throughout history God was setting the stage and preparing an environment for His Son’s appearance.
Through Moses, He delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, brought them into the desert, and told them,“You will be My people and I will be your God. I will lead you into the land I promised your forefathers.”
In other words, He was saying, “I will be your King and you will be My Kingdom.”
A LONG SUCCESSION OF KINGS
BABYLONIANS, GREEKS, AND ROMANS
Just at the right time
4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
When the situation was ripe!
Jesus came at just the right moment and place in history.
What made this particular time 2,000 years ago right?
Among other things, the time was right because there was a great earthly kingdom in place that could provide tangible, visible illustrations for Jesus’ teachings about the Kingdom.
The Roman Empire served as a model.
Under Caesar, the Roman Empire was a kingdom, not a democracy.
Caesar was a king, not a president. During Jesus’ day Rome ruled most of the known world.
Its government, laws, institutions, and culture were everywhere.
Every word that Jesus spoke about the Kingdom of God had a physical equivalent in Rome, making His message easier to understand for the people who listened to Him.
For example, the Roman senate was called the ecclesia, a Greek word that means “assembly,” or “called-out ones.”
Greek and Latin were both widely spoken throughout the Empire.
Jesus spoke Aramaic, the common language of the Jews of Palestine, but the Gospels were originally written in Greek.
The Gospel writers use the word ecclesia in passages where Jesus talks about building His “Church.”
Just as Caesar had an assembly of called-out ones—the Senate—so also did Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God and King of kings have His assembly of called-out ones—His Church.
IMAGE OF A KING
IMAGE OF A KING
Caesar issued coins stamped with his image and inscription.
People understood that whatever bore Caesar’s image belonged to Caesar and he had every right to claim it.
Likewise, they could understand that whatever bore God’s image and stamp of ownership belonged to God and was His for the claiming.
When we come to Jesus and give Him our lives, the first thing He does is change our name.
He gives us His name and calls us His sons and daughters.
12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
As children of God, we are joined together with Christ and seated with Him on His throne in heaven next to our Father.
The Bible says that as believers we are citizens of heaven.
That remains true no matter where we go.
Right now, we live on earth, but are citizens and ambassadors of the heavenly Kingdom, which is our true home.
YOU ARE A KING!
YOU ARE A KING!
When Jesus stood before Pontius Pilate mere hours before His crucifixion, the Roman governor was surprised at His silence in the face of the accusations that had been brought against Him. At one point
Pilate asked:
“Do You refuse to speak to me?…Don’t You realize I have power either to free You or to crucify You?”
Jesus answered, “You would have no power over Me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed Me over to you is guilty of a greater sin”(John 19:10-11).
As the Roman governor of Judea, Pilate represented the full power and authority of the Emperor himself.
The full force of the mightiest empire in history backed Pilate’s words, yet Jesus said that all that power had come from above, meaning, from His Father.
This was Kingdom talk, and Jesus was saying that His Kingdom was greater than Rome’s because it was from His Kingdom that Rome received its power.
At another point, Pilate questioned Jesus about His Kingdom:
“Are You the king of the Jews?”
“Is that your own idea,”
Jesus asked,“or did others talk to you about Me?”
“Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied.“It was Your people and Your chief priests who handed You over to me. What is it You have done?”
Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were,My servants would fight to prevent My arrest by the Jews. But now My kingdom is from another place.”
“You are a king, then!” said Pilate.
Jesus answered,“You are right in saying I am a king. In fact,for this reason I was born,and for this I came into the world,to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to Me.”
“What is truth?”Pilate asked (John 18:33b-38a).
Jesus answered Pilate plainly, acknowledging that He was both a King and that His Kingdom was “from another place,” that is, not from the earth. His Kingdom is a kingdom of truth, for He came “to testify to the truth.”All who desire the truth listen to Him. Therefore, Christ’s Kingdom of truth is made up of citizens who are not only truth seekers but also truth followers. This alone makes His Kingdom unique, completely different from the kingdoms of the world.
As believers, we live on earth but our citizenship is in the Kingdom of Heaven, and all the resources, authority, and power of that Kingdom are available to us as we seek to live as faithful and responsible ambassadors of our King. When someone asks us, “Where are you from?” we should give careful thought to our answer. The more we learn to think like Kingdom citizens, the more we will act like Kingdom citizens. The more we act like Kingdom citizens, the more we will proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom to a lost world, because that is our primary dominion mandate. It is important that we learn to live distinct Kingdom lives so that others can tell the difference between the kingdoms of this world and the Kingdom of God.
Every human being who has ever lived has faced the same tension: being designed for one kingdom, yet forced to live in another. Most people are never able to clearly define the problem. For them, life always seems somewhat out of kilter, purposeless, and full of misery, as if something just doesn’t quite fit. They are generally dissatisfied and discontented with life, but don’t really know why.
Nothing works accurately when it is removed from the environment for which it was designed.
A fish out of water will quickly suffocate; a human being under water without special breathing apparatus will soon drown.