Greg’s Posterous Site

The Holy Spirit is the most important person on the earth. He lives in every believer and He is on most. He is in me for my sake and He is on me for yours. 

We just finished a short series on the Kingdom of God. Over the course of the last 2 years, we have spent a lot of time teaching the Kingdom,  and yet I am amazed at how much further we need to go. I heard this once and it applies here, “the more you know, the more you know that you don’t know!” This is especially true concerning the reality of the Kingdom of God.

The realms and depths of the Kingdom are intentionally hidden in the parables Jesus spoke and the life that He lived. His life and teachings on the Kingdom go far deeper than a quick glance at Scripture.  His words need to be studied and breathed on by the Holy Spirit to the reader who really wants revelation.

I have to remind myself often that the Kingdom of God is not a republic (democracy). I am growing in my understanding of how Kingdoms are governed, especially His. His Kingdom appears to be upside down in many ways. Really, God’s Kingdom is right side-up and I am upside-down. That’s why it is so important to keep repenting toward right thinking.

Here are a few things that I find helpful to keep myself focused on Kingdom realities.

    1.    Remind yourself often that you are a royal son/daughter who is a citizen in heaven.
    2.    Experience the benefits of the Kingdom by enjoying God though encountering Him daily in prayer and the Word
    3.    Be thankful that God’s Kingdom is not bankrupt, not in a recession or otherwise depleted. He owns it all.
    4.    Draw from your inheritance through simple faith and radical obedience. He knows what you need for the assignment He as given you.
    5.    Stay connected to heaven while living on earth by leaning into His voice.

According to God’s original plan and purpose for mankind, you and I were created to rule, to have dominion. Our original assignment was to extend a heavenly government on earth. The word Kingdom means “Kings Domain”. His plan was to give us authority to extend His rule and reign.

I like how Myles Munroe puts it:

“God’s original purpose and intent was to rule that which is seen (the visible world) through that which is unseen (the invisible world). He would do this through the unseen (the Spirit of God in man) living in the unseen (spirit of man) and living in the seen (physical body) on the scene (the earth).”

When mankind fell in Genesis 3, the Holy Spirit left man but the primary purpose and assignment never left.  We were kings without a country. We were kings without a territory. We forfeited our kingship and became slaves. We were lost and separated from our purpose.

Jesus came to re-establish mankind’s original ruleship and purpose. He lived showing us what the Kingdom life looks like. He came as a man empowered by the Holy Spirit. He demonstrated the normal christian life.

He was beaten and killed for one purpose. That one purpose was to create a way for the Holy Spirit to get back into mankind through the born-again experience.

When we are born-again, we are awakened to our original mandate; to have dominion on the earth. We are given back our authority to rule and reign. We study the life a Jesus and look to him as our example of Kingdom living.

We now are called to co-labor with Jesus, releasing justice on earth, extending His rule and reign by making wrong things right.

I encourage you to live with this in mind: you were born to rule. Let’s rule well.

1. An Ambassador does not represent a constituency of people nor a political party. He represents and entire nation. When you meet an Ambassador, you meet a nation. 
2. An Ambassador is committed to his governments interest, not his own. He is appointed to represent a President or King. 
3. An Ambassador never gives his personal opinion. On things pertaining to his government he says, “My governments position is....” 
4. An Ambassador personifies the principles, values and freedoms that his government represents. He is an example.
5. All the Ambassadors needs are provided for by the government he is representing. He is completely furnished for His role. He never has to worry.