My kingdom Go!

"I will place no value on anything I have or may possess except in relation to the Kingdom of Christ."
                                                                                                                               David Livingstone

     One of the things that Jesus wanted to teach His disciples was how to pray. Two forms of The Lord's Prayer are found in the New Testament ( in the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke).
Jesus outlines seven petitions- the first three incorporate God and His honor and the last four petitions include our temporal and spiritual needs in this present life.

                                           "Our Father, who art in heaven
                                               Hallowed be thy Name.
                                            Thy Kingdom come; Thy will be done
                                            On earth as it is in Heaven.
                                            Give us today our daily bread.
                                            And forgive us our debts,
                                            As we have also forgiven our debtors.
                                            And lead us not into temptation,
                                            But deliver us from the evil one."
                                                                                                  Matthew 6:9-13
   
     The first three petitions seek: God's glory, God's Kingdom, and God's will. When I reflect on God being glorified in all the earth and His will being accomplished, the centrality of the theme of God's Kingdom seems to be inferred. The Gospel of Mark says it this way, "Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God."  (Mark 1:14).
     The apostle, Paul, also emphasized kingdom. While he was in Rome, scriptures tell us "Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him, preaching the Kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern The Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him." (Acts 28:30-31).
     Jesus also instructed us that kingdom is our first priority when He said, "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these things will be added unto you." (Matthew 6:33). Jesus Christ is the embodiment of God's Kingdom. It seems to me that when He declared, "Thy Kingdom come", He also inferred that my kingdom must go!
     A kingdom is defined as the spiritual realm in which God is The King. It implies the eternal kingship of God and the realm in which God's will for our lives is fulfilled. He is the ruler, and we, as His beloved children, are subject to His rule and reign.
     God's Kingdom is a monarchy, which is a form of government in which sovereignty resides within the triune Godhead. In order for God to truly be preimminent in our lives, all other forms of governance must cease. We cannot simply add God into our preexisting kingdoms- we must forsake all else and embrace only Him.
     When we humble ourselves, confess our sins, turn away from our sins by His power, and invite Jesus into our hearts,  we relinquish the authority of our lives to Him and then the Holy Spirit resides within us. The Holy Spirit then leads and guides us, as well as convicts us of the sins we need to confess. Many people view repentance as a negative experience but it is the most empowering tool God has given to us because He removes our sins and replaces them with more of Himself!
     Many believers live on this earth the way the nation of Israel did- that is, with a divided kingdom. Every moment we focus on ourselves, it is impossible to focus on God. A divided kingdom is one that is weak and ineffective, lacking the resources to have great effect or impact. A divided heart is even worse: it is unfaithful, unfruitful, unforgiving, and unfulfilled.

"Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on Your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name." Psalm 86:11
"Their heart is divided; Now they are held guilty." Hosea 10:2

     Because our culture is saturated with self-centeredness and is a "me" generation, we can miss many of the nuances of our own selfishness. The following are all one hundred and eleven words in our language that have the prefix of self:

self-abasement, self-absorption, self-abuse, self-acceptance, self-advancement, self-analysis, self-assurance, self-assured, self-aware, self- awareness, self-belief, self blanking, self-blood, self boot, self-complacent, self-conceit, self condensation, self-confidence, self-confident, self-congratulation, self-conscious, self-control, self-critical, self-deceit, self-deception, self-declared, self-defense, self-delusion, self-denial, self-deprecating, self-destruct, self-destruction, self-destructive, self-determination, self-distance, self-doubt, self-educated, self-employment, self-esteem, self-evidence, self-evident, self-evidently, self-excitation, self-fertile, self-fertilization, self-flattery, self-fulfilling, self-image, self-immolate, self-immolation, self-importance, self-important, self-imposed, self-improvement, self-incrimination, self-induction, self-indulgence, self-indulgent, self-interest, self-justificatory, self-kill, self-knowledge, self-love, self-made, self-mastery, self-muderer, self-organization, self-perpetuating, self-pity, self-pleasure, self-pollination, self-portrait, self-possession, self-preservation, self-proclaimed, self-promotion, self-realization, self-redress, self-reference, self-referential, self-reliance, self-reliant, self-respect, self-restraint, self-righteous, self-righteously, self- righteousness, self-sabotage, self-sacrifice, selfsame, self-satisfaction, self-satisfied, self secure, self-seeker, self-selection, selfname, self-similarity, self-slaughter, self-soar, selfstanding, self-starter, self-sterile, self-styled, self-suck, self-sufficiency, self-sufficient, self-support, self-talk, self-taught, self-will, self-worth

     Quite a lot of words we have in our language to talk about ourselves! Jesus, on the other hand, lived His life focusing on God's will and meeting the needs of others. His life was the perfect balance of relationship with His Heavenly Father and the extension of God's grace to those around Him who desperately needed it.
     As citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, we are given the privelage of constant access to The Lord where we can exchange all things concerning self  ( fears, pride, needs, etc.) for the peace and assurance of His will being accomplished in our lives. When we put God first in all things, his Word promises that ALL our needs will be met. We can then focus on the main purpose of each of our lives which is the extension of God's Kingdom. Ultimately, we are all challenged with one question, " To what (or whom) will you give your life?"


"How great are His signs, How mighty His wonders! His Kingdom is an eternal kingdom; his dominion endures from generation to generation."                                                    Daniel 4:3