The Kingdom of God

In an ideal kingdom:
– A king is in charge
– This king is benevolent
– The king has a vested interest in his subjects being happy and prosperous
– The king does everything in his power to keep his kingdom safe and provide his subjects with all the resources they need to become happy and prosperous
– The king expects his subjects to work for what their well-being, and return to him a portion as a testament to the safety and provisions he provides
– The king may at times ask for sacrifice on behalf of his subjects to achieve some greater good
– The king’s rules (the laws of the land) are founded in equity, respect and love for his subjects
– The king will fight his enemies to maintain and also grow the kingdom he has established
– The king will expect his capable subjects to fight his battles for him
– The king will generously reward those who are most loyal, who fight the best, who strive to uphold his kingdom ideals

It’s interesting to me that Jesus did not say in Matthew 6 “Seek me first and all your provisions will be supplied.” After a long dissertation about how intimately His Father cares for us, Jesus advises us to “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness” so that “all these things” (physical provisions for life) will be given to us.

What does it mean to “seek first His kingdom”?

The kingdom of God exists in the realm of the unseen, in that place upon which we are urged to focus in 2 Corinthians 4:18: “We look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” Breaking down the barrier between the visible and invisible realms is the main focus of my book Prayer, Quantum Physics and Hotel Mattresses. I believe that when we are finally able to truly break down that barrier – or more accurately, break down the dam that holds back the kingdom of God from completely flooding our lives – then we will begin to experience the things that Jesus promises us.

Things, for instance, like moving mountains.

I was inspired this morning by the Message Bible’s account of the mountain moving lesson Jesus gave his disciples:

Jesus was matter-of-fact: “…if you embrace this kingdom life and don’t doubt God, you’ll not only do minor feats like I did to the fig tree, but also triumph over huge obstacles. This mountain, for instance, you’ll tell, ‘Go jump in the lake,’ and it will jump. Absolutely everything, ranging from small to large, as you make it a part of your believing prayer, gets included as you lay hold of God” (Matthew 21:21-22, The Message).

We’ve all heard the mountain moving promises before, but we really don’t believe it, even though Jesus himself said it plainly. And as if to emphasize that he wasn’t speaking metaphorically, he gave this lesson on the heels of his little fig-tree-shriveling trick. Yes, this kind of power is meant for accomplishing physical, real-life, flesh and blood miracles in our everyday lives.

Why don’t we see mountains moving more often?

I believe it’s because we’re not living in God’s kingdom. We’re not seeking that stuff first. We are pre-occupied with life in the kingdom of the world. We are too involved in keeping the world kingdom operating as we’ve been taught it ought to – pay the bills, go to work, mow the lawn – these are the primary areas of focus.

More subtly and perhaps more damaging, we even try to pull the kingdom of God into the world kingdom and ask for things as if we were doing kingdom work. We keep our focus fixed firmly on the problems, goals and distractions of this world, asking God to bless those things, while having no clue that we are not subject to the rules that govern the things of the world. We can’t focus on the kingdom by focusing on our problems, which I admit are real and troublesome. But kingdom focus means that we focus on the PROMISE, not the problem. The PROMISE is the upgrade in faith and perseverance that God will provide as you move through the problem with Him.

This is a lesson I am just beginning to learn, and I have a long road ahead. But I know I’m on the right path, because what I’ve been doing the past several decades isn’t working. I am beginning a new journey of learning the rules of the kingdom, the laws of the King, and forgetting – literally ignoring – the rules of this physical world that I’ve been focused on for so long. As disciples who are learning to trust and follow Jesus, we must learn that we are not subject to the rules of this world that govern finances, health and well-being, mental health, emotional health, career success, relationships, or spirituality. God’s kingdom operates on different principles.

Let’s look at our list above once more:

In God’s kingdom:
– God is in charge
– God is a benevolent ruler
– God has a vested interest in his subjects being happy and prosperous
– God does everything in his power to keep his kingdom safe and provide his subjects with all the resources they need to become happy and prosperous
– God expects his subjects to work for what their well-being, and return to him a portion as a testament to the safety and provisions he provides
– God may at times ask for sacrifice on behalf of his subjects to achieve some greater good
– God’s rules (the laws of the kingdom of God) are founded in equity, respect and love for his subjects
– God will fight his enemies to maintain and also grow the kingdom he has established
– God will expect his capable subjects to fight his battles for him
– God will generously reward those who are most loyal, who fight the best, who strive to uphold his kingdom ideals

And God gives us the tools and provisions we need to accomplish all of this with fantastic success. He has given us the Holy Spirit to guide us. He has given us Jesus to advise us and to stand beside us as our warrior King. He has given us the Bible, His instruction manual for the battle. He has given us each other, for support, love and strength in the trenches. He has given us “everything we need for life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3). When we finally learn that the physical kingdom that surrounds us is fake, and that we ought to be seeking first and foremost “His kingdom and His righteousness,” I believe we will see change in our lives and in our world that we have never even dared dream of.

Seek first His kingdom. And all these other things will be freely given.