DAY FOUR
I wish I could have sat at Jesus feet after the resurrection to hear Him speak about the Kingdom of God. I wish I could have heard Him describe it in all its glory. I can imagine him explaining the power and beauty of the Kingdom in vivid color, living pictures, and in stories of redemption, recovery, and restoration. In His mind, He could see people being healed, broken marriages thriving, joy filling people’s hearts, peace covering and filling His people.
When Jesus rose from the dead, He knew that He had completely annihilated the enemy, rendered Him powerless, stripped him of all his weaponry, and paraded him through town naked. With the eyes of God, He could see shackles being broken, prison walls crumbling, chains dropping to the ground, and freedom being proclaimed over millions of His people.
How could anyone not want to be a part of the greatest movement of all times, bringing freedom, peace, healing, and abundance to so many? This was the greatest news that had ever been proclaimed to mankind. It was an invitation to experience a relationship with God firsthand; and then, to have the privilege of inviting family, friends, and others to experience the same.
This was the good news that Jesus preached incessantly. He wanted people to know the majesty and beauty of the kingdom.
Luke 8:1 says that Jesus…
“…was traveling from city to village preaching and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom of God.”
According to Jesus, the gospel, the good news, was the message of the kingdom of God. The good news was and is that the kingdom of God is here. The gospel is an invitation to live in the fullness of the kingdom of God and never have to leave, to thrive there, to experience the supernatural every single day of your life here on this earth.
Paul understood this when he penned Romans 14:17…
“…for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”
Jesus invites us into the kingdom of God. Then, as the author and finisher of our faith, He gives us the gift of faith to be able to fully trust in Jesus’ death and resurrection to save us and radically change us. Then, He sends the Holy Spirit to live in us and empower us to experience the fullness of God’s kingdom: righteousness, peace, and joy.
Righteousness is everything as it should be in the kingdom, everything the way God designed it all the way back in the garden. Righteousness is not just holiness and perfection. In the kingdom, righteousness is an intimate relationship with God, exactly as He designed it in the beginning. It is life the way God designed it, love the way God designed it, marriage the way God designed it, work the way God designed it. It is abundant life.
Righteousness in marriage is a complete experience of the beauty God designed for a man and woman to enjoy together. In a family, righteousness is beautiful unity, harmony, growth, and laughter together, everything better together. In relationships, it is the trust, love, and honor that God designed for us to share together, everything just the way God intended for it to be. This is the kingdom of God.
Peace is a covering of God’s ultimate protection and provision. It is the SHALOM of the Old Testament. It is far more than just tranquility or the absence of calamity. Peace is serenity and calm in the midst of a storm, and so much more. Peace includes health, wholeness, healing, unity, comradery, blessing, prosperity, provision, and protection. It is both a covering and filling that God provides for His children.
Peace acts as a covering over us, following us wherever we go. It is in front of us, behind us, to the left and to the right. God has gone ahead of us and prepared paths of peace. He stands behind us and whispers SHALOM in our ears so that we are never far from it. Peace fills our hearts with calm when there should be no peace. This is the kingdom of God.
Joy is the ability to enjoy life no matter what circumstances you face. The most basic meaning of enjoyment is to be filled with joy. Imagine the enjoyment of everything possible: enjoyment of love in your marriage, enjoyment of a love relationship with the Creator of the universe, enjoyment of food, wine, and feasting.
Perhaps the most beautiful joy in the kingdom is the joyous shout of victory. God made us to overcome because He is an overcomer. He makes us more than conquerors because He is the greatest conqueror. Whatever comes our way in the kingdom, God has an answer. He has a path set before us that leads us to victory. He makes a way where there is no way. And in the end, He lets out a shout of victory; and we join Him with an overflow of joyous celebration when we experience God’s biggest wins on our behalf.
Imagine the enjoyment of fellowship around the table, the enjoyment of nature, the enjoyment of relationships, the enjoyment of prosperity, the enjoyment of laughter, the enjoyment of a beautiful view of the mountains or ocean. No matter what happens in your life, you will always have something to enjoy when you are walking with God in the Kingdom. You may not always have enjoyment of all these things, but you will always have enjoyment of some of these things. You will always have joy in the Kingdom.
Don’t you want to be a part of the kingdom of God? Don’t you want the righteousness, peace and joy of the Holy Spirit today? Don’t you want to share this amazing news with others? It is too grand. It is too beautiful. It is too wonderful to look the other way and too marvelous to keep it to yourself. What will you do today with the kingdom of God?
Remember what Psalm 145:13 says about the kingdom...
“Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.”
God’s kingdom is everlasting, or more accurately, it is eternal. It is from everlasting to everlasting, from as far as you can go into the past to as far as you can go into the future. And therefore, the righteousness, peace and joy of the kingdom are also eternal. That means these blessings are here today. They were here yesterday, and you might have missed them. They are here tomorrow, and the next day, and on to eternity.
Knowing that the kingdom of God is characterized by righteousness, peace, and joy for all eternity, these attributes become our thermometer. The kingdom belongs to us as children of the king, but we tend to stop surrendering to the king and attempt to do things on our own. In fact, many of us step out of the kingdom and do not even realize what is happening. Now we have a way of knowing immediately. One step outside of the kingdom and we lose our sense of “rightness”, we lose the experience of SHALOM, and we lose the deep joy and enjoyment of walking with God.
The good news is that because of Jesus’ death on the cross and His forgiveness of our sins and selfishness, the kingdom of God is always today and forward. It is here in this moment. In the instant we realize we have stepped out of the kingdom, we can turn around, step back in, and immediately experience the fulness of the kingdom all over again. It is ours today. It is ours now. We are either in the kingdom or one step away. This is the kingdom of God.
It is as if Jesus has prepared a great feast and there is a seat at the table with your name on it. He has planned a great celebration and you are the guest of honor. The banquet is not just for a meal, at the meal He plans to announce that He is inviting you to leave your pauper home in the forest and live in the luxurious quarters He has designed just for you within the walls of the castle. Once you move in, you can live in peace, under His protection and with His full provision.
Why would we ever leave the abundance of His kingdom, even for a moment, when it can all be ours every day, every hour, every moment? Don’t you want to be a part of the kingdom of God?
WORSHIP: Worship Jesus today. Imagine yourself sitting at His feet and hearing Him talk about the beauty of the kingdom of God for the first time. Put all your preconceived notions about the kingdom and the king and let him teach you about the greatness and wonder of it all.
PRACTICE: Write down the areas in your life where you want to see God’s kingdom come, where you want to experience righteousness, peace, and joy. Where do you need to see things transformed and aligned with what God has for you? Or, if you are not experiencing righteousness, peace, and joy, then turn around and step back in. Jesus is calling.
MEDITATION: As the day goes on today, start to search for where the kingdom of God is active in your life. Where do you see things as the should be in the kingdom of God? Where do you see God’s peace around you and in your heart? What does the Father want you to enjoy today?
ABIDING: Go back and read through this teaching one more time. Ask the Father if there is anything in these passages specifically for you. Write down anything you hear from Him. Spend some extra time listening to see if He has anything more to say to you or if there is a deeper teaching for you today. Write down whatever you hear.