Kingdom Living More than a Fairy Tale

“Kingdom Living”

More than a Fairy Tale

And as I look at the church of America, I often think that the Bride of Christ has turned into the beast of Revelation, or at the very least, the bride of Frankenstein. The politics. The hypocrisy. The infighting. The distorted witness. The lack of impact. 

---Chip Monick

There are times when things can get so off track, so complicated, so confusing, even. . .dare I say. . .so messed up, that the best way to coach it through is to get back to the fundamentals. The basics.

Matthew 3:1-2 (NKJV)
1 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”

John, the “wild” priest, not in priestly garments, on in a priestly temple, not eating priestly food; but in the wilderness dressed in camels “hair” & and eating wild honey and grasshoppers.  John did this outside of the typical culture & tradition of his forefathers.  He was representing something brand new, a new approach to the “Kingdom of God”.  In order to fulfill our “priestly & kingly” ministry we must get beyond the culture & tradition of religion and proclaim the presence of God in the “wilderness”

Revelation 1:4-6 (NKJV)
4 John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

The duty of the “priestly ministry” is to lead people to God, and introduce the “King” John did this.  He led repentant people to God, and introduced the “King” who would lead God to people.  Throughout the Old Testament we see the ministry of both the “Priest” and the “King”.  The priest led people to God, and the king led God to people.

Jesus came to bring God to people! 

Jesus Christ is the “King” of the kingdom He came to establish.  Where you have a “King” and a people you have a kingdom.

Matthew 6:10 (NKJV)
10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.

Was this just wishful thinking on Jesus’ part?  Is this just a nice little prayer?  Do you think maybe Jesus’ really believe the fact that God’s kingdom, and will could be done on earth?

Jesus’ prayer was that the authority & rule of God would be lived and be done on the earth.

Matthew 9:35-36 (NKJV)
35 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. 36 But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.

Remember that “kingdom” thinking is about a “King” and authority.  When we live our Christian life, according to our on rules & authority then we are under the kingdom of self and darkness and not under the kingdom of light.

Just has Britain is a “Kingdom” because of it’s government, rule & authority.  It is also a “kingdom” because it is a place on the earth.

The Kingdom of God is in existent from eternity past to eternity future, but in the Gospels we find Jesus referring to that “kingdom” being known and lived out on the earth. 

The “gospel of the kingdom” though-out Matthew is about our need to be under the “kingship” of Christ, and if not to repent!

The life of fallen man is absolutely according to his thinking. Everything he is and does is according to his mind. When you were a fallen one, you were directed by your mind. Your mentality, logic, and philosophy governed your way of life. Before we were saved, we all were under the direction of our fallen mentality. We were far away from God, and our life was in direct opposition to His will. Under the influence of our fallen mentality, we went farther and farther astray from God. But one day we heard the preaching of the gospel telling us to repent, to have a turn in our thinking, philosophy, and logic.

We can’t enter into the “kingdom of God” until we repent (have a change of mind). Only then can we be led to God, and God can be led to us.

When we were converted, we turned our back upon our past and turned our face to God. This is what it means to repent, to experience a change of our mind.

The goal of our pursuit has been toward other things; now our pursuit must turn toward God and His kingdom, which is specifically and purposely called in Matthew the kingdom of the heaven.  “Christ rule & authority”

Jesus said that the “kingdom” is within you! Also He said that the “kingdom” was not meat or drink but “Righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit”.

Luke 17:20-21 (NKJV)
20 Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; 21 nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”

Romans 14:17 (NKJV)
17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Righteousness is to be right by living, walking, and doing things in the way God has ordained. 

Back to John’s proclamation “repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”

Matthew 3:1-2 (NKJV)
1 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”

This “Kingdom of heaven” is the manifestation of the “Kingdom of God” in the earth.

In his message, John the Baptist told people to repent for the kingdom. He did not say to repent that we might go to heaven or even to obtain salvation. He said that we must repent for the kingdom. The kingdom denotes a kind of reign, rule. Before we were saved, we were not under any rule. If there had been no police force, government, or law courts to tell us what to do, we would have done whatever we liked. And most people do what they want anyway regardless of the law.

When we turned to the Lord, He became our King. We are now all under the rule of this King. With the King there is the kingship, and this kingship is the kingdom. Today we are in the kingdom of this King.  When Jesus the King came into our spirits (hearts) after repenting we not only received the King but we received His kingdom.

Colossians 1:13 (NLT)
13 For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son,

1 Corinthians 15:25 (NLT)
25 For Christ must reign until he humbles all his enemies beneath his feet.

Throughout the years, we have emphasized the importance of 2 Timothy 4:22: “The Lord be with your spirit.” We have always applied this to the matter of life. However, now we must also see that whenever we say that the Lord Jesus is with our spirit, it means that the kingdom is with our spirit. This Lord Jesus is not only the Savior and the life, but also the King with the kingdom. Today we may declare, “In my spirit I have the Savior, the life, the King, and the kingdom!” When we repented and believed in the Lord Jesus as the Savior, the life, and the King with the kingdom, He entered our spirit and was implanted there. Therefore, in our spirit we now have the Savior, the life, and the King with the kingdom.

Titus 2 tells us what this “kingdom’s” purpose is in our lives.

Titus 2:11, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled,

upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.”

Just as every government & earthly kingdom has a constitution, the kingdom of heaven has a constitution also, when we know the constitution of the kingdom of heaven then our lives can reflect the will of heaven on earth.

The Gospel of Matthew, the book on the kingdom of the heaven, also must have a constitution. Chapters 5 thru 7 give us this constitution.  In these three chapters, the words spoken by the new King as the constitution of the kingdom of the heavens, we see a revelation of the spiritual living and heavenly principles of the kingdom of the heavens. The nature is singular, but the principles are plural. The constitution of the kingdom of the heavens is composed of seven sections: the nature of the kingdom people (5:1-12); the influence of the kingdom people upon the world (5:13-16); the law of the kingdom people (5:17-48); the righteous deeds of the kingdom people (6:1-18); the dealing of the kingdom people with riches (6:19-34); the principles of the kingdom people in dealing with others (7:1-12); and the ground of the kingdom people’s living and work (7:13-29). The first section, 5:3-12, depicts the nature of the kingdom of the heavens under nine blessings. It unfolds the kind of people who live in the kingdom of the heavens. The kingdom people must also exert an influence upon the world. The nature of the kingdom people, the very nature of the kingdom, exercises an influence upon the world. The kingdom people also have a law. This law is not the old law, the law of Moses, the ten commandments; it is the new law of the kingdom of the heaven. The kingdom people are those who perform righteous deeds and who have the proper attitude concerning material riches. Because the kingdom people are still on earth in human society, the constitution of the kingdom of the heaven reveals principles by which they deal with others. Finally, in the last section of this constitution we see the ground, the base, of the daily life and work of the kingdom people. All these aspects of the kingdom people are covered in the seven sections of the constitution of the kingdom of the heavens.

Matt 4:12-17

Matt 5

The kingdom of the heaven does not correspond to any natural or religious concept. As we shall see, it refers to something very specific. To understand the kingdom of the heaven, we all must be unloaded of the traditional concepts we received from our background in Christianity. 

Friends, we’ll never be happy children of God until the character of Christ has taken hold of our lives. So, let’s explore the beatitudes.

CONSTITUTION OF THE KINGDOM:

The first part of the kingdom’s constitution begins with nature of the kingdom people.

Matthew 5:3 (NKJV)
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

1. Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of God.

1. A citizen of God’s Kingdom recognizes his or her spiritual bankruptcy.
   1. Being “poor in spirit” really means one thing—we know we have nothing to offer God.
1. To be poor in spirit is not only to be humble, but also to be emptied in our spirit, in the depth of our being, not holding on to the old things of the old dispensation, but unloaded to receive the new things, the things of the kingdom of the heavens. We need to be poor, emptied, unloaded, in this part of our being so that we may realize and possess the kingdom of the heavens. This implies that the kingdom of the heavens is a spiritual matter, not a material one.
2. When the Lord Jesus came preaching, “Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near” (4:17), not many could receive His word because their spirit was filled with other things. 

1. We cannot bargain with God to get him to accept us; we cannot earn our way into the Kingdom of God—for while we may be able to control our actions, we cannot control our hearts.

Verse 3 says that those who are poor in spirit are blessed because theirs is the kingdom of the heaven. Many Christians are anxious to go to heaven, but hardly any desire to be in the kingdom of the heaven. God’s heart is not on the heavens; it is on the kingdom of the heaven. Those who are poor in spirit are blessed because the kingdom of the heaven is theirs.

1. The good news here, is that we finally understand that we do not have to earn our way in—entrance into the Kingdom of God is all about grace.

We all need to heed the Lord’s word about being poor in our spirit and say, “Lord, unload me. Empty my spirit. I don’t want to store anything in my spirit. Lord, I want the full capacity in my spirit to be available to You.”

John 10:9-10 (NKJV)
9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

If we are poor in spirit, the kingdom of the heaven is ours: we are in its reality now in the church age, and we shall share in its manifestation in the kingdom age.

Those who are poor in spirit are blessed, for theirs is the kingdom of the heaven. (Notice that the Lord did not say, “For theirs is the kingdom of God.”) When we become poor in our spirit, we are ready to receive the heavenly King. When He comes in, He brings the kingdom of the heaven with Him. Immediately after receiving the heavenly King, we are in the church, where the reality of the kingdom of the heaven is. If we are overcomers, at His coming back the Lord will bring us into the manifestation of the kingdom of the heaven. 

Matthew 5:4 (NKJV)
4 Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.

1. A citizen of God’s Kingdom knows sorrow in this life.
   1. Using the strongest word for “mourn” in the Greek language (Barclay, DSB, v.1:93), Jesus pointed to a hard to accept truth—God does not exempt his children from pain.
   2. The sorrow that comes into our lives may come from several source: life itself, loved ones, our own guilt before the Lord.

It does not seem logical to say that those who mourn are blessed and happy. 

The entire situation of the world is negative in relation to God’s economy. Satan, sin, self, darkness, and worldliness predominate among all people on earth. God’s glory is insulted, Christ is rejected, the Holy Spirit is frustrated, the church is desolated, self is corrupted, and the whole world is evil. Hence, God wants us to mourn over such a situation. 

Though we like creation morn because of the condition of the world the pain the suffering and distress we can be comforted because we know that the King is coming, the enemy will be defeated, and the earth will be regained by Christ.

Romans 8:19-23 (NKJV)
19 For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; 21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. 23 Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.

3. The joyful news, God stands ready to comfort our hearts as we turn to him: he helps us to bear the burdens this world brings, and he stands ready to forgive the repentant heart—and once we have been comforted, we can in turn reach out in love and compassion and help someone else find the comfort of God (2 Cor. 1:4)

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NKJV)
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

Matthew 5:5 (NKJV)
5 Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth.

A citizen of God’s Kingdom learns to trust in the Lord’s direction for life.
1. Meekness, or gentleness has nothing to do with weakness.
2. To be gentle, or meek, simply recognizes that Christ is Lord in our lives: here, we find no false pride; here, we find a yielded quality to life: believing that God is in control, we don’t have to “claw” our way to the top—we don’t have to run over others in order to get our own way: we become like a wild horse that has been tamed—strong and spirited, but yielding to the master’s hand.

3. The joyful news, that which is most meaningful. in life will one day come to those who trust in the Lord’s leadership of their lives: the world we will inherit is so much greater than that in which we live today—all because we have learned to trust in God.