Life In God’s Kingdom

Life in the Kingdom of God starts with submission to Him and a choice to follow biblical principles.

Jesus said “Your mistake is that you don’t know Scriptures or the power of God.”(Matt 22:29)

Christians wouldn’t argue that Jesus lived a powerful life here on earth.  His job was to do the will of His Father which included: healing the sick, casting out demons and dying to pay for our sins. Then after He did the will of His Father, God raised Him from the dead!

Jesus said: “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.”(John 9:4 KJV)

Jesus modeled how to live a powerful life by submitting to His Father’s authority. We too will live a powerful life by submitting to Jesus’ teachings in the Bible.

“Why do you call me Lord and do not do as I say?”(Luke 6:46 NIV)

After we sincerely seek the Lord’s teaching by reading Scripture, we have a choice. Will we or won’t we decide to follow the will of God. If we make the choice to follow the Lord, the Holy Spirit empowers us to do so and we will be “raised from the dead” so to speak. This is called being born again- we have chosen to be born spiritually.

“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”(John 3:3 KJV)

This choice to follow Christ’s teachings will supernaturally cause us to understand Scripture in a greater and deeper way. The Holy Spirit within us can take the Scripture we have read and move it from our head to our heart so that we are completely convinced of its truth. That is why it is called “The Truth” and Jesus described Himself as the “Way, the Truth, and the Life.”

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”(Ezekiel 36:26)

The Kingdom Of God

Okay my friends, I am going to let you in on a secret.

The Kingdom of God has been started here on earth and it is a place of miracles. These miracles happen through our prayers. Therefore, being born again (in other words, choosing to live life God’s way) lifts our life out of the world- in a spiritual sense. Through our born again status we now exist in the spiritual Kingdom of God which is complete and lacks nothing.

“And He raised us up together with Him [when we believed], and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, [because we are] in Christ Jesus” (Eph 2:6)

We can access God’s help, power, provision and protection through prayers aligned with Scripture and asked in Jesus’ name. Jesus is the doorway to the Father. Belief in Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross for our sins, allows us to stand in the spiritual presence of God and ask for help.

Let me give an analogy. If a child of a wealthy well known man was in trouble with the law, the father may use his incredible wealth, power and connections to perhaps pay someone off to free his son’s guilt. Then the son would be back in rightstanding with his father and enjoy all the benefits of that wealthy family life. When we accept our heavenly Fathers payment on our behalf and decide to live by His precepts, we are born again into the kingdom of God and this comes with blessings.

“I would have fainted, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. (Psalm 27:13)

The life we live prior to being a born again Christian, is a life of darkness. We are positioned spiritually in the kingdom of darkness. Our bodies are here on earth but our soul which includes our mind, will and emotions, are being lead by Satan. I personally didn’t know this when I was in my 20’s and 30’s. I was simply living life any way I chose. I was being lead around by Satan’s ideas and didn’t even know it!… And so are you-if you haven’t given your life to Christ.

We aren’t fully protected by God without full surrender to His way. We also can’t enjoy a powerful prayer life.

There are only two choices in life. A life following Christ or a life following Satan’s agenda.

“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.”(Luke 9:24)

Obedience To God Leads To Kingdom Blessings

The seat we have in the heavenlies due to our desire to live in obedience to Christ, is one of power. When people fully understand the authority Jesus earned for us by dying on the cross we can take our position In Christ and use it. Prayers become powerful and miracles start to happen as we pray God’s words back to Him.

For instance, a mother who would like a Christian husband for her adult daughter can pray God’s word back to Him. “Lord, you said be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth…Genesis 1:28 ) Therefore I am asking for my daughter to find and marry a Christian man so they can obey your word and raise Christian children.”

Or, if you are at a loss as to what your future holds, you can pray: “Lord, you said “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not harm you. Plans to give you a future and a hope.” (Jer 29:11) What are your plans for me Lord? Please lead me so that I know what path to follow.

Hanging on to our secular life means we will have more problems. These problems will require us to backtrack, which wastes years of life. God can’t bless our choices if they oppose His ways. We may randomly have what we feel is a good life, but we have no guarantee that our choices will end up serving us or destroying us! Yes, this is that serious.

Following God Requires Faith

By handing our life to Christ, we will be blessed and protected. The dichotomy of the situation is that we won’t feel like God is leading us correctly. This is because following God requires faith. In contrast, following the world requires intellect.

We must remember that God’s ways are counterintuitive and He always leads us down the best and safest path.

“He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”(John 3:18 KJV)

We must believe on Him- that is not a typo. Jesus and His Word are synonomus. Unlike humans who speak things we don’t mean and misrepresent things- our word cannot be counted on at all times. Jesus’ means exactly what He says.

“In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” (John 1:1)

Placing our faith on Jesus’ Word and His alone will guide us out of darkness into life.

In the Old Testament, the Lord finally got Pharaoh to release the Israelites out of his slavery and let them leave Egypt to follow the Lord. God moved this massive group of humanity slowly towards the land He had promised them. He performed many miracles along the way to build up their faith in Him. He knew that the final move- conquering the promise land of blessings- would require faith.

The Lord was leading the Israelites into a land flowing with milk and honey. It was a lush land full of everything good. This final conflict meant to conquer the evil people living there, would definitely require faith. The people in the land were powerful and some were even giants. These potential opponents frightened 10 of the 12 spies who spied out the land. The ten spies were too afraid to go in and take the land. Their fear was based on what they saw and not based on God’s Word, thereby keeping them from experiencing God’s finest blessings. That generation (except the two faithful spies) never entered the promise land. Lack of faith is how we miss our blessings as well.

Submission to God’s will is required for Kingdom blessings.

Human beings are limited. We rely on our senses and intellect to lead our life. What we think, feel, hear and see, determines what most of us do. But our senses are part of our bodies which are perishable.

On the other hand, our spirit communicates with God’s Spirit and is eternal. God knows the beginning from the end and can perfectly lead us into the desires of our heart. God’s omniscience comes from the fact that He is the author of life. We, on the other hand, see only part of the picture so we need to have faith in God and His Word for guidance.

Scripture  guides us as God would have us live. Verses like:

These are just a few examples of the Lord’s teachings. But please know that every act of submission will bring us Kingdom blessings here on earth.

Won’t you join me in submitting to God and leading your family to do the same? In doing this we become a doer of the Word and not simply hearers. Once we make this choice, the Holy Spirit will gain more of our heart and better guide us towards a life of continual blessings, peace and a powerful prayer life.

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”(Matt 7:24)

God created the family and desires to bless the families that follow Him.

Lisa

This link brings you to my favorite Bible with excellent teaching points. Click here.