01/11/2015

THE CITIZENS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD

Ephesians 2:12-22; Philippians 3:15 -21

A kingdom is a realm, a territory under the rule and the reign of a king. All who are under the rule and authority of God are in the kingdom of God. To be in the kingdom of heaven is to be under the rule, leadership and control of the laws originating from heaven rather than to be controlled by laws originating from earthly sources. To belong to the kingdom of the world is to come under the control of the rules and laws of the earth. To enter into the kingdom of God, you need to deny yourself those sinful things you find profitable in the world. Citizenship of the kingdom of God carries with it great privileges as well as great responsibilities. It is very important that we know what it takes to be a citizen of the kingdom of God.

Outside of Christ, we were without God, aliens and strangers from the commonwealth of Israel. We were far away and didn’t have any covenant with the Lord. We had no hope also. But by the blood of Jesus Christ, we’ve been made to come into the family of God. Now, the guilt and the punishment of sin have been taken away from us. We are reconciled with God and have become “fellow citizens with the saints, and the household of God.” We are tied together in relationship with other brothers and sisters in the Church. Together, we have become a holy temple inhabited by the Lord.

If you have been born again, you are not to remain isolated. We have the same King. We have the same Lord that is ruling over us. We are in the same kingdom of heaven and the laws coming from heaven control our lives. If it is true that we are under the same King and the same Lord, if it is true that we read the same Bible and believe the same doctrine, then, let us walk by the same rule. Let us mind the same thing. Let us not break the rank. This is what separates the genuine, bona fide children of the kingdom from ordinary church goers. Which are you?

There is an earthly phase of the kingdom of God and there is the celestial phase. Termination of the earthly phase of the Kingdom ushers us into the eternal phase where He will change our vile body, our sickly body, our body that is susceptible to death and to disease “that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.”

1. THE GATEWAY OF CONVERSION INTO CHRIST’S KINGDOM

Matthew 18:3,4; 5:3; Mark 1:14,15; John 3:3-8; Galatians 5:19-25;

1 Corinthians 6:9-11

What is a gate meant for? A gate is meant to allow someone in and to shut some people out. So it is with the gateway of conversion. Conversion is the gateway into the Kingdom. It is what determines who goes into the kingdom of God and who goes not. To be converted means to have a change, a transformation and a lifestyle that is different from what it used to be when one lived in sin. The King of the Kingdom wants us to realize that the kingdom of the world is different from the kingdom of Christ. He expects a remarkable difference between the people in the kingdom of the world and the people in the kingdom of God. The gateway through which we enter is the gateway of conversion. Except a man is converted, transformed and become humble as little children, he cannot hope to make it into the Kingdom. Pride marks out the people of the kingdom of the world. Humility marks out the people who are in the kingdom of Christ.

The gateway into the kingdom of the world is through the natural birth. But the gateway into the kingdom of God is the new birth. We see the action of the Spirit by the change He brings into the converted. The fruit of the Spirit is ever manifest in the lives and families of the people who have crossed from the kingdom of the world into the kingdom of Christ. They are washed, justified and sanctified in the name of our Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of God. A mighty change takes place when you come into the kingdom of God. What a great privilege to be under the reign and rule of Christ. It gives you protection and provision as you submit to the lordship and kingship of Christ. If you are genuinely converted, it will show forth in your godly character.

2. THE GODLY CHARACTER OF CITIZENS IN CHRIST’S KINGDOM

Romans 14:17-19; John 18:36; Luke 22:24-27; Matthew 7:21; 5:20; 23:28;

2 Peter 1:5-11

In many Christian assemblies, there is a kitchen attached to the church where old members and new members gather to eat and drink together. But “the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” What shows that you have come into the kingdom is not the feast that was organized to welcome you but a godly character that shows the inward change that has taken place, a godly character that edifies, builds up and challenges other people into living a godly life.

There is a difference between the kingdom of the world and the kingdom of God. There are some people who transfer what they were in the world into the kingdom of God. When we really come into the kingdom, our actions, attitudes and behaviour become different from what they were in the world. To maintaina godly character, the patterns of the world should not be brought into the church of the living God. There is a lot of lip service and superficial worship in the world. Are you doing the revealed will of God? Is there any remarkable change in your life to show the difference between the life you were living before and the life you are living now? The will of the Father for you is to walk in the Spirit and not to walk in the flesh, to think the thoughts of God and not the thoughts of man. The Lord’s revelation to you week after week should make you to walk in the way of the Lord. To get into the Kingdom finally, demands that we live a righteous life.

3. GOD’S COMMAND TO CITIZENS IN CHRIST’S KINGDOM

1 Thessalonians 2:12; Ephesians 5:1-8; 1 Peter 1:14-16; 2:9-19;

Matthew 6:33

God calls us to a consistent, righteous and life-time walk. As citizens of the Kingdom, He calls us to walk worthy of our calling. That walk includes everything about our lives. It includes our talks or conversations, our discussions, interactions and relationships with the opposite sex, relationship at home and in the office and our comportment in everything that we do. If you say that you are in the Kingdom, does your conduct or character represent the Kingdom properly? Do you walk worthy of your heavenly citizenship? In the kingdom of the world, men fight for their rights. But in the kingdom of God, “this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully.” The King wants you to have a change of life, to enter into the Kingdom through the gateway of repentance and conversion, to remain righteous and to seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness. In many assemblies today, members seek “all these things” rather than the kingdom of God and His righteousness. What they look for, all through the week, is praying for healing, deliverance, money, prosperity, wife and children. But the calling and commandments of God for us who are citizens of the kingdom is to “seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness....”

GHS: 75, 8449