1) You have the Kingdom of God within you.
2) That Kingdom is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Have you ever heard the stories that came out of the time when boats filled with immigrants would come to the United States? They viewed this country as a place filled with hope, promise, and prosperity. It seems as though there were so many people who thought "If I could just get to America..." The fact of the matter is that you carry a much greater Kingdom within you. Can you imagine the people who would be willing to establish the Lord's reign over their heart if they heard about the hope, promise, and prosperity of the Kingdom of God?
Much of the evangelism that has been modeled for us is, quite simply, learning how to bring people into our faith. If we can get them to believe what we believe then everything else will be o.k. But what if we carried more of a kingdom mindset? What if what we shared had more to do with establishing God's reign over a person's life rather than just bringing them into a faith or seeing them escape hell. I realize that this could be a very hot topic for people but Jesus was all about the Kingdom of God. We, as His followers, are to continue what He started. His is a Kingdom that is already established in Heaven but then becomes established in the earth through us. The Kingdom (King's Domain) needs to be firmly established in our hearts so that we can see it established in the hearts of others.
A Kingdom of God mindset will help us get out of a denominational mindset, rid ourselves of a religious mindset, and create a culture where the Lord truly reigns in the hearts of His people. When the people of God become Kingdom-minded, it will also allow us to see one another as a part of the Kingdom rather than a particular sect of Christianity.
Establishing our hearts in the Kingdom of God isn't an easy task. As I said yesterday, it's really easy for us to be so focused on the natural that we neglect the spiritual. From the conversations that I have with many pastors, it's easy to see where we have allowed ourselves to get "off track." Talks of business meetings, budgets, ministries, denominations, etc. seem to rule our time together. If we aren't careful our focus becomes about our church, our position, our ministry, and our denomination. What if every believer was focused solely on the Kingdom of God? Can you imagine the changes that would take place?
Allow me to encourage you with those two thoughts once again. According to Jesus the Kingdom of God is within you. It's not out there somewhere waiting for you to show up. It is found within the very fiber of your being. His Kingdom within you is one that is filled with righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Therefore, to become Kingdom focused means that we must be Holy Spirit focused. We must encounter the Kingdom of God. We must allow Him to establish His righteousness, His peace, and His joy within us. THEN...when we see these things become manifest in our lives...we can begin to express the wonder of what it means to have the King's Domain established in our hearts.
I guess...depending upon your background, this could sound too simple or too complex. What I'm trying to help each of us understand is that the Gospel has always been about establishing a Kingdom and in this Kingdom we get to partake of His righteousness, His peace, and His joy. We get to share in the inheritance of the saints. We get to carry the same quality of life that our King possesses. Do you think there are people around you that would want that kind of life? Do you think there are people that have been drug down by religion, beating up by self-hatred, and sinking beneath the weight of their own choices that would love to hear there is something better available? You have the answer within you. Unlock the greatness of this Kingdom and learn to release what God has given. Enjoy the wonder of seeing His domain established in the hearts and lives of those around you. You will never be the same.
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