Two powerful men faced one another. One asked, are you a king? The other replied, “My kingdom is not of this world.”
During His ministry, Jesus often referred to His kingdom. In Matthew’s gospel alone, the term, kingdom, occurs over fifty times (NKJ). Jesus spoke of the kingdom as being mysterious; close at hand; coming upon us; entered, not entered; coming to earth; reflecting heaven; belonging to God; suffering violence; being within us; like a mustard seed, hidden treasure, valuable pearl, leaven in meal, fishing net; and an inheritance. Kingdom life is abundant life found in Jesus. The Roman empire did not cease when rulers changed; there was always another Caesar; but without Jesus, there is no kingdom.
EVERY DAY IS MEANT TO BE LIVED AS A KINGDOM MOMENT
DELIBERATENESS
As believers, we have entered the kingdom, but it takes deliberateness to experience kingdom life on a daily basis. As Paul reminds, “… the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17).”
Eating, drinking and other activities of life need to be enfolded under the larger umbrella of kingdom living. The world intrudes, diverting us from the abundant life of the kingdom.
Anxiousness and worry steal our peace, busyness robs us of serving the King, independence and pride deprive us of partnership, doubt claims us and misguided goals drain our strength.
Deliberateness is required to reject the things that divert, steal, rob, deprive, claim and drain kingdom life. Looking to our own grit and determination will not be sufficient. We will have to rely on the promises found in His word and the Holy Spirit who will steady and reinforce our resolve to live, not in the world, but in His kingdom.
WHAT WE MAY NOT REALIZE IS THAT WE WILL HAVE TO SELL ALL WE HAVE, AGAIN AND AGAIN.
We could go on endlessly naming factors that keep us from kingdom life, but we would do well to remember that Jesus taught us that obtaining the hidden treasure or pearl of great price requires selling all we have. What we may not realize is that we will have to sell all we have, again and again. Living the kingdom life will be costly. If we resist the price, we can be in the kingdom, but experience it at levels far below Jesus’ desire for us.
EXPECTATIONS
Kingdom life will not look the same every day. Some days we will wonder where is the promised peace and joy? Where is rightness when wrongness seems to have taken over. But God still rules even though our circumstances and feelings send different signals. He does not change, nor His kingdom. It is for every moment, day, and season. Kingdom life takes trusting the King, even, especially, when the splendor of the kingdom seems tarnished.
ELSEWHERE
Jesus declared to Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36). Where then is His kingdom? It is, as Jesus described, within us. This is not to say, His kingdom does not impact the world; that’s the whole idea of being in the world, but not of it. The goal is to infuse the world with kingdom values, replacing worldly systems and values not through imposed force, but with changes to the heart.
OUR MODEL
On earth, Jesus lived the kingdom life, doing only what the Father told Him. A servant-leader, He considerably impacted the world around Him. Many of the devotionals in this blog reveal the kingdom life that He lived, describing how he exercised authority over sickness and torment, produced abundance in the face of lack, elevated the nobodies of the world and healed the broken-hearted.[i] He commands us to do likewise. He is our model.
[i] See posts: Something New, Breaking Away, Agreement, Jesus’ Beauty, Holy Honesty, Marked, Expectations and Invention,
REASONABLE
Our lives are not our own. Did not Paul instruct us that giving our bodies to God is only reasonable (Romans 12:1)? Paul’s directive is not punishing when we realize that we are submitting ourselves to the One who calls us His friends, not His servants (John 15:15).
IN THE MOMENT
We are to live every moment in the kingdom. Such an attitude gives significance to all the times when we seem to be just going through the motions of life, doing what we always do. All the moments of our lives begin to matter as we bring God’s rule and sovereignty to the world under our influence.
As kingdom moments, the conversation with a friend or encounter with a stranger in the grocery store will be different, the frustration of dealing with a child’s stubbornness will change, reading a news article of someone else’s troubles may stir a call to our heavenly Father to intervene and planning our day or week will become planning kingdom moments. What is the King saying? What is on His heart?
How do we make the moments of our lives kingdom moments? Instead of leaving Him on the sideline, we see every occasion as an opportunity for Him to accomplish His purposes. We refuse to be deceived into regarding the moments of our lives as too insignificant for God to bother about. We often don’t know what He has in mind, but what matters is living with an awareness that the moment belongs to Him.
THE PAINTING
Fragments of crowns, castles, turrets, shields, parapets, and ramparts populate the twelve panels, suggesting kingdom life, a life of rule and sovereignty, but one that is always in a state of defense against outside threat. Sharp angular forms forbid the outsider. Walled surfaces speak closure and exclusion. Jesus’ kingdom has little in common with wordly rulerships. His kingdom is open and welcoming to all. Inclusivity, rather than exclusivity, marks His kingdom. The painting forms project strength and power, dispatching a certain appeal, but one fraught with intimidation. Jesus’ kingdom manifests appeal, but of a different order. Rather than signaling threat and intimidation, it invites.
Lord Jesus, whenever and wherever You are present, there is the kingdom. You live in us, so we carry the kingdom. The problem is we always carry the kingdom, but we don’t always disclose it. We are too invested in our concerns rather than kingdom concerns.
As You said to Philip, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father…” Could we not also say if we have seen You, we have seen the kingdom? The closer we come to You, the more the kingdom ignites our lives.
You bought kingdom life for us at a great cost, let us not waste what You paid for so dearly. How many moments have we lost because we didn’t listen to the Holy Spirit’s reminder that this moment, right now, is a kingdom moment? You are serious about bringing Your kingdom to earth. NOW!
You commanded us to pray, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. This is God’s heart and He will not be denied.
KINGDOM COME! WILL OF GOD BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN!
You gave your life for the kingdom. Will we do the same?
Sydney Walker, August 24, 2023
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