KINGDOM COME - Part 1

When some people first hear the term Kingdom, they might think of a Monarchy with kings and queens. That’s not only for medieval times.

Did you know there are still 43 global Sovereign states in the world who have a Sovereign or Monarch as their head?

22% of the countries in the world have an earthly king. However, there is only one of the many monarchies in Europe where the throne in not hereditary and that is in the smallest state of all, Vatican City.

The Pope is the Sovereign of Vatican City and the Holy See, which means that he alone rules over the entire Catholic Church worldwide.

In addition to several monarchies in Europe, there are also some other kingdoms in the Caribbean, Africa, The Middle East and Asia.

A kingdom is traditionally a piece of land that is ruled by a king or queen, often called a monarchy who inherits their position by birth or marriage and becomes the overseer of all the people in that jurisdiction.

There have been thousands of kingdoms over thousands of years.

Did you know that Satan/the devil boasted that he Owns and Influences all the kingdoms of the world?

“the devil took Him (Jesus) up to the highest mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And then he said to Him, “I will give you all of this, if you will fall down and worship me” Mat. 4

While there have been many earthly kingdoms, and some might even care to debate who’s influence they were under, one thing is clear, there is only one Kingdom that has never been, nor will ever be, under the influence of Satan/ the devil, and that is The Kingdom of God.

Lesson to be learned here, is that sometimes Influencers promise things they cannot deliver on. Don’t be fooled, Satan is a powerful Influencer!

The kingdoms that Satan was offering Jesus was not just mere geography and territory. He was also inherently offering the kingdoms of finance and economy, the kingdoms of government and leadership, the kingdoms of entertainment, education, and technology, the kingdoms of animals and creation, the kingdoms of homes and families.

More specifically, Satan was offering Jesus, you and me along with the kingdoms, assuming that we too were under his rule and influence.

That’s why Jesus buffeted him. “Get away from here Satan”. So, he left.

Kingdom is referenced in the Bible 162 times, many of those times it specifically refers to the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom is obviously an integral part of Gods message to his people. Thy Kingdom Come!

Yet how often do you hear believers discussing God’s Kingdom?

Perhaps some don’t fully understand it for themselves.

I’d like to share with you some of what I understand of The Kingdom.

The Kingdom, in God’s Word is seldom spoken of in a static sense like it’s a piece of land, location or territory. It’s alive, vibrant, & expanding.

I know that many people think that the Kingdom is Heaven, but that’s not correct. Others may think that it is the Church, that is also incorrect.

The Kingdom of God is not a physical place. God is eternal and thus his Kingdom is eternal. Not bound by time, materials, distance or mindsets.

Gods Kingdom transcends both time and space, so it cannot be housed in a physical location to be loosely mentioned at a particular time of day.

Translation, Doing Church aint the same as Doing Kingdom!

However, you can’t mention the Kingdom without also mentioning Sin.

Sin is the only real challenger to the Kingdom. Sin is not an action as many believe, but rather a mindset. WE DO the things WE THINK of.

So therefore, the issue is not in what WE DO, but in what WE THINK!

As an example, God told Adam, you can eat from any tree in the garden except for the Tree of Knowledge or the Tree of Good and Evil. The serpent/Satan/devil convinced the man and his wife that God was lying, so they ate the fruit from a tree.

Surely eating was not SIN! God told them to eat. What went wrong? Before this happened, everything was good between them & God.

SIN occurred when they allowed that old crafty INFLUENCER to change their mindset from doing what God said, to doing what he said. Their SIN was the act of thoughts against God. High Treason!

SIN occurs every time we make a conscious effort to be intentional in doing something counter to what our loving, caring, heavenly Father God asks us to do, or not to do. Then we remove God as our Sovereign.

In Genesis 2, Satan convinced the first humans to trust in themselves, rather than in God’s wisdom, which led them to break fellowship with their Sovereign Creator. Instead of operating out of the respect for God’s sovereignty, man decided to trust in half-truths and go his own way.

So then since SIN is thoughts that lead us into acts in the kingdom of darkness, What do you suppose leads us into the Kingdom of God?

Here’s a hint, in Matthew 3:2: “and saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’”

Repent just means Pivot. Have a change of Mind. God wants us to change our mind about Him because society has INFLUCENED who we think He is and who we think we are.

As we Repent/Pivot in our thinking by turning back to the things that God has said in His Holy Word, then we will better understand and know more about the Kingdom of God, ourselves and Our Sovereign.

We have a different Kingdom whereof we are citizens. Our Sovereign loves us and gave his life for us.

The Kingdom is at hand simply means it is available and accessible, but we have to make it applicable. Repent/Pivot!

There are many kingdoms in the world, but you, me, and others together make up The Kingdom of God.

When you consider the social and political climate of today, now is the perfect time for us to begin thinking & living like Citizens of The Kingdom of God.

This is a Thompson Truth