THE KINGDOM OF GOD

THE KINGDOM OF GOD

John 3:1-5

Literally, a kingdom can be referred to as a country, state or territory ruled by a king or queen. A kingdom can also be seen as a realm, domain, dominion, sovereign state, territory, etc.
Someone defined the word ‘kingdom’ as a combination of two words, ‘king’ and ‘domain’. Simply put, the word ‘kingdom’ connotes, “king’s domain”.

The kingdom of God is the manifestation of the supernatural (or the spiritual) which establishes the reign, lordship and total dominion of God…It’s a process which starts from within (our hearts); it must be generated within us before it can manifest around us (Luke 17:20-21).

Your kingdom come! Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven (Matt. 6:10).

Nicodemus, one of the Pharisees, a ruler of the Jews came to Jesus in the night, saying ‘Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher sent from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him’…
This implies that they actually knew that Jesus was sent from God, but they failed to identify with Him as the Son of God. They saw all the things that Jesus did, they coveted those things within them. Moreover, they knew that one could only achieve those great feats through the power of God, but they were unwilling to forsake their old ways of life.
However, this man called Nicodemus took a bold step! He came to Jesus, but he chose to come in the night…

Jesus said to Nicodemus, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God’.

Through this, Jesus gradually introduced the message of the kingdom of God to Nicodemus. Just like many of us today, this man was entirely kept in the dark about the dynamics of God’s kingdom, even though he was very ‘religious’ and well lettered in the teachings of the law. He was completely ignorant of the real substance…

Many times, we are familiar with the ‘presence’ of God, we come to church regularly, we perform our religious rites, we observe our traditions…yet, the mysteries of the kingdom are hidden from us, because in our hearts, we dwell amongst the crowd (Matthew 13:10-13).

Furthermore, they (the Pharisees) were concerned about ‘doing’, while Jesus was concerned about ‘being’.
In the real sense, the kingdom of God is not a function of what you do, it’s a function of who you are…What you do is a by-product of who you are in Christ!

Nicodemus said to Him, ‘How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?’

The same question has lingered in the hearts of many folks for long. Many believers and professing Christians have never tasted the experience of rebirth (new birth) in Christ. They just know that they are serving God and they are church workers, regular church goers, tithe and offering givers, project donors, philanthropists, etc. While all these are good, there is more to the kingdom of God…

Jesus re-emphasized the same point in another way, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God’.

Let’s look at these:
John 3:3 – You must be born again
John 3:5 – You must be born of water and of the Spirit

What do these mean?
For anyone to be a bonafide citizen of earth, you must be born after the order of Adam, following the normal reproductive process (between a man and a woman) as ordained by God.
Furthermore, for you to be a bonafide citizen of God’s kingdom, you must be born after the order of Christ. You must be born of water and of the Spirit. You must be born again! In other words, you must experience the second birth…

The water here is the Word of God and the Spirit is the Holy Spirit. Unless we experience spiritual transformation through the Word of God and the Spirit of God, we can never experience the kingdom of God, neither can we experience the fullness of His power (Ephesians 5:25-26; John 15:3; 1 Peter 1:23; John 1:12-13; Titus 3:5; Romans 8:14-16).

As we open our hearts today, may we experience the quickening power of the Word and the Spirit, in the name of Jesus Christ. May His kingdom be established in our hearts today and forever!

Open up your heart to Jesus! Receive with meekness, the engrafted Word which is able to save your soul…The Word of God will break you and remould you. The Spirit of God will form you. The breath of the Almighty will give you life!

Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom – Luke 12:32 

PASTOR NATHANIEL SADELA

        Resident  Pastor

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