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"Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and
hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son."
Colossians 1:13
The kingdom of God is a spiritual kingdom that operates by the law and order of heaven. It has purpose. It has a divine mission. It is ruled by the authority of a king. His name is Jesus. And this kingdom is marked with the power and dominion of his Lordship. It may appear as an unseen kingdom, but its function is very real and dynamic.
The kingdom of God dwells in the heart of every believer. Jesus himself said,"Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" (John 3:5).The moment you accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, you are translated out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of his dear Son.This is part of your calling.You have a purpose in Christ. Yes, one day you will enter into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ where all the departed saints have entered. But make no mistake about it; the kingdom of God is much more than just our heavenly abode.It involves our heavenly citizenship and a heavenly occupancy where we are to become engaged in a kingdom lifestyle that empowers us to live a kingdom life.
When the Pharisees asked Jesus when the kingdom of God was to come, he simply answered, "...the kingdom of God is within you" (Luke17:21).Obviously, he was trying to draw their attention to the condition of the heart and not merely to a literal, visible kingdom that will one day be present on this earth. There is a kingdom coming! One day Jesus will set foot upon the earth and all the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our Lord and Christ (Revelation 11:15). But in a very real and spiritual sense, the kingdom has already come! Paul said, "The kingdom of God is not meat nor drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost" (Rom. 14:17). We are not waiting to one day have righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.We already have that through Christ coming and living in our hearts.
When we entered into a relationship with our heavenly Father we became subject to the laws of the kingdom. That doesn't mean so much that we are bound by these laws as it means we have the privilege to function within the power of these laws. There are various laws within the kingdom of God that we need to become familiar with. Our enemy, Satan, is always seeking ways to upset the balance of these laws in our lives. Take for instance the law of love. James called it the royal law (James 2:8, 12). This is the highest law we have within the kingdom. It sets the stage for every other law. The law of faith works by the law of love (Galatians 5:6). You can have all faith so that you can move mountains, but if you don't understand and operate in the law of love it profits you nothing (1 Corinthians 13:2). This is why you have to guard your heart and never let anything take you out of the love of God. It is also why the enemy seeks so hard to attack your love walk. If he can affect your commitment to walk in love, he can affect all the other laws that you are seeking to see change your circumstances. The law of faith, the law of sowing and reaping, the law of life, the law of power and victory, even the law of seeing and knowing all hinge on the jurisdiction of love. Your mind, your emotions, your health, and your finances are impacted by how willing and obedient you are to being ruled by the law of love.
If we will be mindful of the strategies of the enemy and keep our heart with all diligence, then not only will we see a powerful demonstration of God's laws changing the conditions of our life, but we will experience the life of heaven influencing and impacting everything around us. So let us make a conscious effort today to become kingdom minded, kingdom ruled, and kingdom occupied, so that we can see the kingdom manifested!*
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