God's Kingdom
In Romans 14:17 we read in the KJV of the Bible:
For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
In the Amplified Bible we read:
[After all] the kingdom of God is not a matter of [getting the] food and drink [one likes], but instead it is righteousness (that state which makes a person acceptable to God) and [heart] peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
What is a kingdom?
In Webster’s 1828 Dictionary we see the following definitions.
The territory or country subject to a king; an undivided territory under the dominion of a king or monarch.
The inhabitants or population subject to a king.
In Scripture, the government or universal dominion of God.
In Strong’s Concordance, we see that a kingdom is the foundation or base of power, reign, rule, realm, royalty
So, we can conclude from these points that a kingdom is a place or people under a king, and that kingdom has certain laws or regulations to govern it as a foundation of the power or reign of the king.
God’s Kingdom is under King Jesus and our regulations are found in His Word to govern our lives, to build a foundation for our living. And God is reigning in this Kingdom. He is the one Who has set the Kingdom laws by which we live. Those laws can be found in the Bible. They are specifically stated, such as the law of faith or the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus.
In Romans 14:17 we are told what God’s Kingdom is: Righteousness, peace and joy. And those three are in the Holy Spirit of God.
Righteousness is our ability to stand before God as if we have never sinned. It makes us right with God, with all of the rights, the privileges of being a child of His. We become righteous by being born again, accepting Jesus as our Savior, accepting what He did for us on the cross when He died and was resurrected to sit at the right hand of the Father. When we disobey God, which is called sin, then we have opened ourselves up to the strategies of the devil against us; there is not the protection we had before. All we have to do is to ask forgiveness and we are placed right back in Father’s protection, with access to all that He has for us.
Peace is that wholeness of God that keeps us steadfast and steady, regardless of whether we are in times of “everything going great” or times when things are not lining up as they should. The Peace of God keeps us from becoming broken up, fragmented, in the midst of living our life here on this earth. Jesus told us that He was giving us His Peace and, therefore, we were not to let our hearts be troubled or fearful. He is called the Prince of Peace. When we are in Jesus Christ and He is in us, we have a life of wholeness in our spirit, our souls (minds, wills, emotions) and our bodies.
Joy is that element of God that we can’t always define. It doesn’t depend on us being happy or unhappy. It is a constant state of strength in God that rejoices in the good times and rejoices in the bad times, because we know we have a Heavenly Father Who takes care of us. He is always there to be our buffer in the storms of life and to be our strong support in adversity. He is also there in the times of absolute days of heaven on earth. His Son Jesus has taken the hit for us on the cross when He took our place and took all our sins and sicknesses and diseases and punishment. He is our big brother. And if satan comes against you with his junk, just point in the direction of Jesus, Who steps in front of you and looks at satan. One look from Jesus and satan flees because he remembers the last time he confronted him and lost big time.
And all of these kingdom components are in the Holy Spirit. He is the One Who comes to us and woos us into the Kingdom of God. He is the One Who keeps us on the right track. He is the One Who comes to our aid when we need help. He is the One Who is now here on this earth and dwelling in us with God’s Kingdom. I am firmly convinced that as we pray much in the Holy Spirit, we will become men and women of great might because it will be God’s might, God’s power that we are demonstrating. If I could give you one piece of advice right now in this life, it would be to pray much in the Holy Spirit. He knows all the answers and as you and I pray in the Holy Spirit, those answers will become apparent to us, become obvious to us. We will know how to take what He gives us and take care of situations as they arise in our lives.
What is it today that you are struggling with? Pray in the Spirit. He knows the answer and He will give it to you. The reason we don’t know the answer is because in our humanity, we cannot know the things of the spirit. It is only through the Holy Spirit that we can know God’s MO for our lives. He has a plan. He has the answer. It is there for you today.
For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
In the Amplified Bible we read:
[After all] the kingdom of God is not a matter of [getting the] food and drink [one likes], but instead it is righteousness (that state which makes a person acceptable to God) and [heart] peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
What is a kingdom?
In Webster’s 1828 Dictionary we see the following definitions.
The territory or country subject to a king; an undivided territory under the dominion of a king or monarch.
The inhabitants or population subject to a king.
In Scripture, the government or universal dominion of God.
In Strong’s Concordance, we see that a kingdom is the foundation or base of power, reign, rule, realm, royalty
So, we can conclude from these points that a kingdom is a place or people under a king, and that kingdom has certain laws or regulations to govern it as a foundation of the power or reign of the king.
God’s Kingdom is under King Jesus and our regulations are found in His Word to govern our lives, to build a foundation for our living. And God is reigning in this Kingdom. He is the one Who has set the Kingdom laws by which we live. Those laws can be found in the Bible. They are specifically stated, such as the law of faith or the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus.
In Romans 14:17 we are told what God’s Kingdom is: Righteousness, peace and joy. And those three are in the Holy Spirit of God.
Righteousness is our ability to stand before God as if we have never sinned. It makes us right with God, with all of the rights, the privileges of being a child of His. We become righteous by being born again, accepting Jesus as our Savior, accepting what He did for us on the cross when He died and was resurrected to sit at the right hand of the Father. When we disobey God, which is called sin, then we have opened ourselves up to the strategies of the devil against us; there is not the protection we had before. All we have to do is to ask forgiveness and we are placed right back in Father’s protection, with access to all that He has for us.
Peace is that wholeness of God that keeps us steadfast and steady, regardless of whether we are in times of “everything going great” or times when things are not lining up as they should. The Peace of God keeps us from becoming broken up, fragmented, in the midst of living our life here on this earth. Jesus told us that He was giving us His Peace and, therefore, we were not to let our hearts be troubled or fearful. He is called the Prince of Peace. When we are in Jesus Christ and He is in us, we have a life of wholeness in our spirit, our souls (minds, wills, emotions) and our bodies.
Joy is that element of God that we can’t always define. It doesn’t depend on us being happy or unhappy. It is a constant state of strength in God that rejoices in the good times and rejoices in the bad times, because we know we have a Heavenly Father Who takes care of us. He is always there to be our buffer in the storms of life and to be our strong support in adversity. He is also there in the times of absolute days of heaven on earth. His Son Jesus has taken the hit for us on the cross when He took our place and took all our sins and sicknesses and diseases and punishment. He is our big brother. And if satan comes against you with his junk, just point in the direction of Jesus, Who steps in front of you and looks at satan. One look from Jesus and satan flees because he remembers the last time he confronted him and lost big time.
And all of these kingdom components are in the Holy Spirit. He is the One Who comes to us and woos us into the Kingdom of God. He is the One Who keeps us on the right track. He is the One Who comes to our aid when we need help. He is the One Who is now here on this earth and dwelling in us with God’s Kingdom. I am firmly convinced that as we pray much in the Holy Spirit, we will become men and women of great might because it will be God’s might, God’s power that we are demonstrating. If I could give you one piece of advice right now in this life, it would be to pray much in the Holy Spirit. He knows all the answers and as you and I pray in the Holy Spirit, those answers will become apparent to us, become obvious to us. We will know how to take what He gives us and take care of situations as they arise in our lives.
What is it today that you are struggling with? Pray in the Spirit. He knows the answer and He will give it to you. The reason we don’t know the answer is because in our humanity, we cannot know the things of the spirit. It is only through the Holy Spirit that we can know God’s MO for our lives. He has a plan. He has the answer. It is there for you today.
posted by Rev. Kialeen Potterton @ 9:23 AM
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