Where are the real men--I mean the Kingdom men--The men that God has called to represent Him in honor and truth?  Where are the Kingdom men that God has called to represent Him in holiness and righteousness?  If you take a few minutes to view the situation around you, you will see that many of our males have traded their manhood for something that God hates and calls an abomination.

    You shall not lie with a male as with a woman.  It is an abomination. (Leviticus 18:22)

    There are plenty of religious males in this society, but not many real men.  I am speaking of men that walk with integrity.  Men that are always aware of who they are and their purpose in this world.  God wants males who will be men.  There is a serious distinction between a male and a real man.  A real man lives and walks with caution.  His life is an example for other young and old men alike.

    Many of our young males dress and act according to the environment in which they reside.  That is because they don't know who they are in God.  Also because they fail to re-evaluate their position in this life.  Jesus made it very clear:

    You are the salt of the Earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?  It is good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.  14) You are the light of the world.  A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.  (Matthew 5:13-14)

    Now these are the words of our King.  My question to you is this:  Who are you representing and what standard of laws are you operating by?  Those of us who know the way should lead by example according to the king's constitution, what you call the Bible.  If you aren't effective, then you are ineffective.  Meaning a hindrance.  Jesus continued by saying:

    Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.   16) Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.  (Matthew 5:15-16)

    Is God getting the glory out of your life or are you representing someone else or even worse, yourself? 

    Once again, God is after building on Earth a kingdom of kings and priests; not to separate classes as castes, but to offices combined in the same person.  Except for Jesus Christ, such a combination has not existed since Adam.  A king is a royal executive, an administrator who exercises rule and judgement over a domain, while a priest is a spiritual representative between God and His people and is responsible for the spiritual well being of the nation.  Adam needed neither a king nor priest because he was already both.  Before the fall, Adam was a king with administrative authority over the earthly domain, but was also a priest who enjoyed immediate, direct and open fellowship with God.

    God's original plan was for both king and priest to be the same person, but every since the fall, mankind has been trying to keep the two separate.  When God delivered the nation of Israel from slavery in Egypt and called them to be His own people, He told them this:

    Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the Earth is Mine.  6) And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.  These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel. (Exodus 19:5-6)

    It was God's desire to bless all the nations and peoples of the Earth through Israel, as He had promised Abraham centuries earlier.  That is why He called the Israelites a "Kingdom of priests"; they were to be His representatives before the rest of the world.  Although the nation of Israel as a whole failed in this regard, God did not abandon His original plan and design.  In the fullness of time, Jesus came, in the flesh a son of Israel, but in the Spirit, God's promised blessing to the world.

    God has always wanted a priest with a crown.  Now keep in mind, the problem with democracy, republic, monarchy, dictatorship, or any other system of human government is that they separate the offices of king and priest.  Remember the devil is the deceiver and he has blinded the people from the truth of God's original plan.  In a fallen world, it is probably a wise and necessary concession, because with sinful people the power of the state combined with the power of religion easily becomes overwhelmingly oppressive.  Look at the state that this present world is in now.  Separate offices of king and priest can serve as balances against each other.

    Now, the Psalmists such as David and the sons of Korah were not the only people of Old Testament time who understood the Kingship of God and how the kingdoms of men related to it.  Many of the prophets also received powerful visions and insight into the glory and splendor of God and His Kingdom.  One of the most familiar of these visions is found in Isaiah:
    (Please note Isaiah was called to be a Prophet)
    1) In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple.  2) Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.  3) And one cried to another and said, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole each is full of His glory!"  4) and the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out and the house was filled with smoke.  5) So I said, "Woe is me, for I am undone!"  Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of the people of unclean lips.  For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.  6) Then one of the seraphim flew over me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. (Isaiah 6:1-6)

    Now, it would be difficult to find more powerful depiction of a king on his throne than Isaiah's picture of the Lord surrounded by a host of angelic attendants who were ceaselessly praising Him and hastening to do His bidding.  Isaiah recognized immediately that he was in the presence of absolute holiness and glory.  He had "seen the King, the Lord Almighty" and the majesty of his vision so overwhelmed him that he feared for his life.  His own human sinfulness stood out suddenly in such starkness against the awesome purity and holiness of God that Isaiah expected to be struck down  at any moment.  Instead, he experienced the merciful justice of God:

    6) Then one of the seraphim flew over me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar.  7) He touched my mouth with it, and said "Behold, this has touched your lips.  Your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged."  8) Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?"  Then I said, "Here am I!  Send me" (Isaiah 6:6-8)

    Isaiah's vision of God the King precipitated a spiritual crisis in his life.  Once he had experienced the cleansing of his sin, the power of his vision inspired  him to respond to the King's call.  Isaiah became an ambassador for the Lord Almighty, called and appointed to proclaim the message of the Kingdom of God to a wayward people who ignored and rejected it.

    In another place, Isaiah recorded the insight he had received regarding the King's heir and the nature and character of His Kingdom:

    6) For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder.  And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  7) Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end.  Upon the throne of David and over His Kingdom.  To order it and establish it with judgement and justice from that time forward, ever forever.  The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.  (Isaiah 9:6-7)

    The question is: What is the Kingdom of God like?  It is a realm ruled by a God who is mighty and everlasting and who is a Wonderful Counselor (a wise and just Judge); a realm characterized by peace, justice and righteousness.

    Please note Jeremiah was another ambassador (if you will) who had a profound understanding of the kingly nature and lofty statutes of God.  He said:

    (Idols and the True God--Jeremiah 10:1-16)

    6) Inasmuch as there is not like you, O Lord (You are great and Your name is great in might), 7) Who would not fear You, O King of the nations?  For this is your rightful due.  For among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like You.  10) But the Lord is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King.  At His wrath the Earth will tremble, and the nations will not be able to endure His indignation. (Jeremiah 10:6-7, 10)

    To Jeremiah, God was "King of the nations" the true God... the living God...the eternal King whom people of all the nations should revere and honor.  As King, God sat rightfully as judge of the Earth, and under His wrath and anger the nations could not endure.  What a powerful picture of God!  Jeremiah knew God as King, who was truly sovereign over His entire domain, both spiritual and physical.  The strongest and most fearsome of human kingdoms are nothing in comparison to the Kingdom of God.

    Now how important is the Kingdom of God?  It is so important that our lives depend on it, literally.  That is so true!  All that we are, all that we see and hear, the air that we breathe, and the food we eat, the water that we drink; this physical world of ours issued forth from the Kingdom of God by His hand at creation.  The Kingdom of God is at the center of everything.  God's every action and activity is motivated by His desire and passion to see His Kingdom established on the Earth.

    Now my question to you... How important to the Body of Christ is the message of the Kingdom of God?  Frankly, we have nothing else to preach or teach.  The message of the Kingdom is good news, and the Church exists to proclaim it.  Now, if we are doing our job, everything we are about will be Kingdom-focused:  every sermon we preach, every Bible study we teach, every ministry we perform, every activity we accomplish and every worship service we celebrate. 

    Keep in mind, that the Kingdom of God must be our highest priority; Jesus gave us no other commission. When He said, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit." (Matthew 28:19)  He was commanding us to proclaim the Kingdom of God to a world that knew it not.  He wasn't commanding us to spread another religion called "Christianity".  Although the world is very familiar with the regimes of men, it is essentially ignorant of God's Kingdom.  People of every nation need to know that God's Kingdom has come to Earth, and that faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord is the way in.

    Now normally, when we talk about the Kingdom of God, we think only of what Jesus said about the subject as recorded in the four Gospels. Although it is certainly true that in His life and words Jesus revealed the Kingdom more fully than ever before, they were simply the culmination of all that God had been working toward from the beginning, as was His life in general.  Everything that God says and does relates to His Kingdom.  Keep in mind, that the entire Bible deals with the Kingdom of God.  From Genesis to Revelation, Scripture reveals God as the great and almighty King of heaven and Earth resolutely at work on His plan of the ages.

    And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.  These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.  (Exodus 19:16)

    For the Kingdom is the Lord's, and He rules over the nations.  (Psalm 22:28)

    Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your Kingdom.  (Psalm 45:6)

    They shall speak of the glory of Your Kingdom, and talk of Your power.  (Psalm 145:11)

    And in the days of these kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and shall stand forever.  (Daniel 2:44)

    The plan is to reverse and destroy the works of the devil and fully restore He rule over the earthly realm through His human representatives.

    Remember what we have said: the Bible is not about religion, but about a kingdom.  Everything centered on the Kingdom of God.  All the saints of the Old Testament recognized this fact.  Abraham knew it.  Moses knew it.  Samuel knew it.  David, the King of Israel, knew it.  The prophets knew it.  Jesus knew it.  All the apostles and other believers in the New Testament knew it.  Everyone, it seems, understood the priority of the kingdom; everyone except us, that is.  In recent years the focus in much of the Body of Christ has shifted away from the Kingdom of God to other issues.  The tragic results is that multitudes of believers today know little about the kingdom, and even fewer understand their place and rights as its citizens.

    Keep in mind, even in spite of all our sophistication, education and technology, we of modern and "enlightened" democratic societies are worse off than the people of Old Testament times when it comes to matters of understanding the Kingdom of God and how our world relates to it.

1.  God's Kingdom is founded on eternal principles that will never fade or         pass away.

2.  Jesus' overarching mission on Earth was to reintroduce the Kingdom of God     on Earth to mankind.

3.  The key to man's manifesting the Kingdom of God here on Earth is the     presence of the Holy Spirit.

4.  Jesus came to restore righteousness and holiness to man.

5.  In God's Kingdom economy, blood is absolutely necessary for our
    restoration.

6.  Jesus came to restore the Holy Spirit in mankind.

7.  If we are to exercise our full status and potential in the earthly realm as         ambassadors of our Father, we must be retrained in the behavior and                mindset of the Kingdom.

8.  As royal children of our heavenly Father, we can take charge of our                 circumstances rather than being a slave to them.

9.  Jesus came to retrain mankind for Kingdom leadership.

10.  Jesus came to restore the Kingdom rulership of God on Earth through mankind.

    Now each of us who turn to Christ becomes a "stone" in the magnificent spiritual "palace" of the Kingdom of God on Earth, called and equipped as kings and priests to represent the Kingdom before the rest of the world.
The Apostle Peter made this statement:

    4) Coming to Him as the living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, 5) you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6) Therefore it is also contained in the scripture, "Behold, I lay in Zion, a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame. 9) But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10) who once were not a people but now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.  (2 Peter 2:4-6,9-10)

Also read Psalm 18:22

    Throughout human history, the religious society has generally separated priest and king into separate offices and functions but God did not design them that way in the beginning.  When God created us. He intended for us to be His representative rulers, His ambassadors, over the rest of the  created order.  We were to be priests, kings of the Earth; as priests representing God's nature and character, and as kings, His Kingdom government.

    Through Christ we are a "holy priesthood" a "chosen people" a "royal priesthood" and a "holy nation".  As such, we have been restored to our priestly function of representing and reflecting God's nature and character before the world.  We are also the "people of God" not a nation of subjects, but of sons and daughters.  If God is a King, then we, His people, are also of the royal line.  Therefore, we have also been restored to our kingly function of representing the government of God on the Earth.

    Keep in mind, God is not interested in having subjects in His Kingdom.  He wants only children, royal heirs to His treasures of His domain.  Our mission as ambassadors of the Kingdom of God is to bring those who are enslaved in the Kingdom of darkness to Christ, the door, so that He can set them free to enter into their full citizenship in God's kingdom of light.

    In the kingdom of darkness we have been under Satan's sway.  Kicked out of heaven for rebelling against God, Satan fell to Earth as a nobody.  Then he pretended to be somebody by tricking Adam and Eve and usurping their earthly authority.  Every since then he has taught mankind to think of themselves as nobodies just as he is.  After a lifetime of feeding on negativity and impossibility thinking, most of us have a certain amount of mental damage that the Holy Spirit must heal.  We have been slaves for so long that we don't know how to handle freedom.  We apologize for getting ahead.  We don't believe that we deserve or are entitled to the best.  That may have been true while we were sinners lost and separated from God.  As believers, however, we have been restored to our place as God's children and are entitled to all the blessings and benefits of that station.

    The retraining of our minds is part of what Paul meant when he said, "give ourselves a living sacrifices to God".  We cannot live effectively for the Lord until we learn to think like Him,  That is what the Apostle Paul meant when he wrote to the Roman believers:

    I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2) And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.(Romans 12:1-2)


    Keep in mind, that Paul is saying that we should not allow ourselves any longer to be molded by the world we have lived in all our lives but to be transformed by renewing our minds to think and conform to the mind of Christ.  Renewing our minds means returning to the original mind that we had before the Fall, a mind that loves and honors God and that understands its rightful place as

    Now the fourth goal of Jesus' mission on Earth was to retrain mankind for Kingdom leadership.  He came to teach us how to think and act like God once again.  Jesus replicated the message that He proclaimed.  By the power of the Spirit we are also empowered to model and preach the message of the Kingdom.  Keep in mind, that Jesus established the standard by the example of His own life.  In every word, Jesus showed us what the Father is like and what we should be like as His children.  Like us, Jesus' disciples did not always understand this easily.

John 14:5-10    5) Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” 6) Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.   The Father revealed 7) “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.” 8) Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.”   9) Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10) Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.

    Retraining us to think and act like children of the King was perhaps the toughest part of Jesus' mission because we tend to be so stubborn, hard headed and slow to learn.  This is dues, in part, to our blindness and spiritual dullness because of our sin and, in part, to the fact that we as a race of people have been separated from God's royal and holy environment for so long.  God created us in His own image as royal sons and daughters, and designed us to rule the earthly realm as He ruled the heavenly realm.  Our sin evicted us from the place we were destined to fill and for millennia we have been like the prodigal son of Luke 15:11-32, living in a pigpen and feeding on the same corn husks that the pigs eat.   We have been out of touch with "home" for so long that we have lost sight, not only of our identity but also of our destiny.  Jesus came to lead us to rediscover both and to retrain us in how to reclaim and live in them.

    Now Jesus accomplished this for us by giving us a perfect model of the Father.  As mentioned previously, if we wanted to know what God the Father is like, all we have to do is take a real good look at Jesus' life.  I said a real good intense look; not a glance.  If we want to know what we should be like as children of the Father, all we have to do is look at Jesus, who is the only begotten Son of the Father.  The Holy Spirit in us enables us to understand what we see in Jesus and what we hear in His teachings and gives us the power to carry them over into our lives.

    Now believe it or not, we need a tutor like the Holy Spirit because our minds and thinking are corrupt and it takes us a while to grasp and genuinely believe the truth about who we are in Christ.  We are royal children of the Kingdom of God, but have spent our entire lives living in the slave quarters.  Our thoughts and behavior won't change overnight, so prepare yourself for a journey.  The Holy Spirit lives in us as a continuing abiding presence; patiently and lovingly teaching us who we are, how to think, speak and act accordingly.

    Royalty such as Prince William and Prince Harry are taught how to walk, talk, sit, stand and eat in a manner consistent with who they are.  Their every action, gesture and mannerism is designed to display authority.  This is evident even at their mother's funeral.  After Princess Diana died so tragically, her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, even as they stood weeping and mourning her death, nevertheless comported themselves as royalty just as they had been taught.  Even in the midst of their tears, they never dropped their aura of authority.

    One of the things that the Holy Spirit teaches us is how to stand in authority as true sons and daughters of God no matter what trouble or difficulties come into our lives.  As royal children of our heavenly Father, we can take charge of our circumstances, rather than being a slave to them.  We can live our daily lives in power and victory, rather than in weakness and defeat.  All it takes is training, and the Holy Spirit is our teacher.