He Rules and Reigns: Citizenship in Kingdom Government
For you to be a citizen in good standing, you must allow the King’s Word to govern your life. You must allow His Word to rule in your conduct and behavior. He doesn’t seek to control us, but for us to choose to be guided by His Word and standards. This only comes from a transformed mind.
The world and the religious call things they can’t explain “miracles”. But it is the government of the Kingdom at work in the person who received the “miracle”. When the Lord Jesus sent the seventy-two disciples out, two by two, He gave them these instructions: The Lord now chose seventy-two other disciples and sent them ahead in pairs to all the towns and places He planned to visit. These were His instructions to them: “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So, pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields. Now go, and remember that I am sending you out as lambs among wolves. Don’t take any money with you, nor a traveler’s bag, nor an extra pair of sandals. And don’t stop to greet anyone on the road.
“Whenever you enter someone’s home, first say, ‘May God’s peace be on this house.’ If those who live there are peaceful, the blessing will stand; if they are not, the blessing will return to you. Don’t move around from home to home. Stay in one place, eating and drinking what they provide. Don’t hesitate to accept hospitality, because those who work deserve their pay.
“If you enter a town and it welcomes you, eat whatever is set before you. Heal the sick, and tell them, ‘The Kingdom of God is near you now.’"
Yes, what the world calls miracles are meant to be a standard way of living in the Kingdom. When you view people being delivered from a disease or affliction, the Kingdom government is operating in their midst. When you see demons cast out, the blind given their sight, the lame walking, the deaf receiving their hearing, know this: The Kingdom government is in operation. The Lord Jesus made it quite clear: But if I am casting out demons by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God has arrived among you. The Lord Jesus has a Kingdom school of thought. His home was from above. He operates from His Kingdom government, not from this world’s school of thought. So, to have “the mind of Christ”, is to have a Kingdom mindset. Read what He said, speaking to Pilate:
Then Pilate went back into his headquarters and called for Jesus to be brought to him. “Are you the king of the Jews?” he asked Him.
Jesus replied, “Is this your own question, or did others tell you about me?”
“Am I a Jew?” Pilate retorted. “Your own people and their leading priests brought you to me for trial. Why? What have you done?”
Jesus answered, “My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world.”
Keep in mind, Jesus was born a King. Pilate said, “So you are a king?”
Jesus responded, “You say I am a king. Actually, I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true.”
He was born into royalty and those of us who are born into the Kingdom government are citizens of the Kingdom of God. We aren’t part of any religious group or organization. Religious people have membership, Kingdom citizens have citizenship. We have legal rights. Our home base and citizenship are in heaven. Ambassador Paul said it this way: Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example. For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth. But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.
Now, let’s talk about possessions and finances and everything we think we own. The reality is, you own nothing. The Lord Jesus has given you access. Kingdom citizens are aware of this, which is very different thinking from the world— “I’ve earned it, it’s all mine” or the Christian world “I and in good standing because I give 10% of all I own to God”. Read here what the Lord God spoke through His representative Asoph. “O my people, listen as I speak. Here are my charges against you, O Israel: I am God, your God! I have no complaint about your sacrifices or the burnt offerings you constantly offer. But I do not need the bulls from your barns or the goats from your pens. For all the animals of the forest are mine, and I own the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird on the mountains, and all the animals of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for all the world is mine and everything in it.”
The Lord God had to remind His people, Israel, that they didn’t own anything. It was all His. The problem comes when Christians think they own what they have in their charge. That is why they fight to protect and keep it. Even worse, that is also why they hesitate or even say “no” when the Holy Spirit urges them to give away something they “own” or give money to someone in need. Why hesitate if you believe that it is all God’s and you are merely a steward of what He has given you? Kingdom citizens know that their King and Lord of the earth and heavens, provides for all their needs. That is the reason I don’t sweat the small stuff. My faith is in His Word, not in things or people.
Luke 10:1-9 Matthew 12:28 John 18:33-38 Philippians 3:17-21 Psalm 50:7-12
All NLT
~~W.R. Luchie
www.kingdomcitizens.org
This article may only be reproduced, in print or on the internet, if the author's name and website address are included at the end of the article as originally placed. Thank you
The world and the religious call things they can’t explain “miracles”. But it is the government of the Kingdom at work in the person who received the “miracle”. When the Lord Jesus sent the seventy-two disciples out, two by two, He gave them these instructions: The Lord now chose seventy-two other disciples and sent them ahead in pairs to all the towns and places He planned to visit. These were His instructions to them: “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So, pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields. Now go, and remember that I am sending you out as lambs among wolves. Don’t take any money with you, nor a traveler’s bag, nor an extra pair of sandals. And don’t stop to greet anyone on the road.
“Whenever you enter someone’s home, first say, ‘May God’s peace be on this house.’ If those who live there are peaceful, the blessing will stand; if they are not, the blessing will return to you. Don’t move around from home to home. Stay in one place, eating and drinking what they provide. Don’t hesitate to accept hospitality, because those who work deserve their pay.
“If you enter a town and it welcomes you, eat whatever is set before you. Heal the sick, and tell them, ‘The Kingdom of God is near you now.’"
Yes, what the world calls miracles are meant to be a standard way of living in the Kingdom. When you view people being delivered from a disease or affliction, the Kingdom government is operating in their midst. When you see demons cast out, the blind given their sight, the lame walking, the deaf receiving their hearing, know this: The Kingdom government is in operation. The Lord Jesus made it quite clear: But if I am casting out demons by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God has arrived among you. The Lord Jesus has a Kingdom school of thought. His home was from above. He operates from His Kingdom government, not from this world’s school of thought. So, to have “the mind of Christ”, is to have a Kingdom mindset. Read what He said, speaking to Pilate:
Then Pilate went back into his headquarters and called for Jesus to be brought to him. “Are you the king of the Jews?” he asked Him.
Jesus replied, “Is this your own question, or did others tell you about me?”
“Am I a Jew?” Pilate retorted. “Your own people and their leading priests brought you to me for trial. Why? What have you done?”
Jesus answered, “My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world.”
Keep in mind, Jesus was born a King. Pilate said, “So you are a king?”
Jesus responded, “You say I am a king. Actually, I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true.”
He was born into royalty and those of us who are born into the Kingdom government are citizens of the Kingdom of God. We aren’t part of any religious group or organization. Religious people have membership, Kingdom citizens have citizenship. We have legal rights. Our home base and citizenship are in heaven. Ambassador Paul said it this way: Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example. For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth. But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.
Now, let’s talk about possessions and finances and everything we think we own. The reality is, you own nothing. The Lord Jesus has given you access. Kingdom citizens are aware of this, which is very different thinking from the world— “I’ve earned it, it’s all mine” or the Christian world “I and in good standing because I give 10% of all I own to God”. Read here what the Lord God spoke through His representative Asoph. “O my people, listen as I speak. Here are my charges against you, O Israel: I am God, your God! I have no complaint about your sacrifices or the burnt offerings you constantly offer. But I do not need the bulls from your barns or the goats from your pens. For all the animals of the forest are mine, and I own the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird on the mountains, and all the animals of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for all the world is mine and everything in it.”
The Lord God had to remind His people, Israel, that they didn’t own anything. It was all His. The problem comes when Christians think they own what they have in their charge. That is why they fight to protect and keep it. Even worse, that is also why they hesitate or even say “no” when the Holy Spirit urges them to give away something they “own” or give money to someone in need. Why hesitate if you believe that it is all God’s and you are merely a steward of what He has given you? Kingdom citizens know that their King and Lord of the earth and heavens, provides for all their needs. That is the reason I don’t sweat the small stuff. My faith is in His Word, not in things or people.
Luke 10:1-9 Matthew 12:28 John 18:33-38 Philippians 3:17-21 Psalm 50:7-12
All NLT
~~W.R. Luchie
www.kingdomcitizens.org
This article may only be reproduced, in print or on the internet, if the author's name and website address are included at the end of the article as originally placed. Thank you
