Christian Living

Bring the Kingdom Before You

by Thomas Kirkpatrick
10/19/20
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“Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10)

Last evening I was loafing around in my kingdom wondering what decrees I should pronounce in the morning. Perhaps I should decree that my domestic help should weed the garden. What do you say? Do I have a kingdom, you ask? Why yes, I am the king of my castle and the hired help. A kingdom definition is a territory that is ruled by a king. My only problem is that I not only the king but also the domestic help. In our text, the word kingdom in the Greek is basileia. Which means a territory that is royal and has a king that has authority over it.

My kingdom is relatively small in what most think of as a kingdom, which would make me a little and mostly insignificant king. But my home is a kingdom by definition, and when I step into it, I am the sole ruler. Kingdoms usually comprise large territories, and many cities, such as the United Kingdom made up of many towns and regions across the globe. The Kingdom that our Lord is addressing is much larger than that. There is none larger, as it encompasses all of God’s creation. In this verse, the reference is the Kingdom of God, Heaven.

On the day of Jesus’ crucifixion, He was brought before the Roman Governor to be questioned by Pilate, and Jesus explained to him that He was a King but not of this world. “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.” (John 18:36) Jesus came from the Father to work His will, and His home is in the Kingdom of God.

When Jesus came to the world and began His ministry, the opening message was clear and to the point. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17) God’s point will reclaim this part of His creation, and man must repent of his disobedience and be restored to the original image that he was created in, or he would experience the second death. The Kingdom of Heaven is one of influence and authority, and thus if a man is to reside there, he must be redeemed from the sinner he is. Paul explains to us that the Kingdom of God does not consist of idle words of men’s desire for twisted truths but in the power of God’s Word. “For the kingdom of God does not consist in words but in power.” (1 Corinthians 4:20)

The proof of the Kingdom of God is not only on Sunday morning when the faithful join together to praise and worship their Lord, to come and patiently learn more of Him as to how we should live. The proof comes when the congregation is in the marketplace, at their homes, and in their prayer closets. The Kingdom of God is not about how loud it is proclaimed only but how faithfully it is lived in each member of the Church body’s lives.

The world is watching to learn or criticize, and a Christian’s call is to display their faith for those who observe. The followers of Jesus are called to be a royal priesthood. “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2:9)

When the Christian allows sinful transgression to take hold, a conflict will come into their life. Discontent will reign their movements, and patience will wither away, and the fruits of the Spirit will evaporate. The love within will dim, and the joy will falter, and the weight of sinful behavior will bear down, destroying kindness, goodness, and gentleness. Sin is a barrier in the conduit of faith that allows the Spirit’s fruit to flow into the Christian’s life. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23)

The world will see this in a professing Christian, and their testimony will be damaged, and their word not reliable.  They will seem as a witness to the Kingdom to the world as false, and the world will question if they are as they claim to be, a child of God. Paul exhorts the believers with these words. “So that you would walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory. For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe.” (1 Thessalonians 2:12-13)

Paul has gone on to tell us that we accomplish this walk in the Kingdom’s light by receiving the Word of God and implanting it in our hearts. When the Christian accepts God’s words, it begins to perform its work in the power of the Holy Spirit, which renews our mind. When our minds are renewed, we become aligned with the Kingdom of God’s truth, and everything in our life changes. “For as he thinks within himself, so he is.” (Proverbs 23:7) Our way of thinking, our way of speaking, and how we act are different from the worlds. By this new person within us, we are enabled to spread the Kingdom of God and expand its influence. It is here that the Christian becomes a true Ambassador to the Kingdom of God. “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” (2 Corinthians 5:20)

We are not to abandon the state we are in and focus completely on this verse’s eternal aspects. Neither are we to be slack in our eternal perspective, as this is the world we long to receive. Having an eternal viewpoint, we are better suited to manage our stewardship of the temporary world we are involved in. living in this world becomes more than just what we can touch, see, and hear. We become able to build our lives on an unshakeable foundation of the Rock of God’s Word.

The Kingdom of God is in His Heaven, but our prayer is also that His Kingdom come. We desire that Heaven is our eternal home, but we need not die to receive the benefit of living in His Kingdom now. It may seem simple to say, but it is also very profound when we pray, Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. This is when we are in His Kingdom, when we live in His will, when we prove our love by keeping His commandments. “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” (John 14:15)

God’s will is clearly defined in His Word, and by keeping His commandments, we are living a righteous life in His Kingdom. A sinful man affects the lives of all those around him, so to the life of a righteous man. Seeing a person living a righteous life is a beautifully shocking thing to the people around them. People of the world move around desensitized by this world’s wickedness, and see a righteous life amongst them is like a blind person suddenly seeing the light of God’s truth.

Believers in Jesus are walking around amongst the hopeless in the power of the Holy Spirit. They can and do touch others around them with the supremacy of the Kingdom of God. It’s the witness of their action that opens an entrance of hearing the truth of the Word of God. The power of God is within us, the Holy Spirit, and we can, we will, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Thomas N Kirkpatrick

First Baptist Church of Durant, April 10, 2019