Wednesday, 10 April 2024

Kingdom Principles (part 3)

Chapter Ten 

KINGDOM CONCEPT #7 

UNDERSTANDING THE KINGDOM CONCEPT OF CITIZENSHIP

Isaiah 9:6-7


Citizenship is the most valuable asset of a nation and is not easily given because of its power and impact. All governments defend the right of citizenship with the same fervor because of its implications. Citizenship is not membership. Religions function on membership, while nations and kingdoms function on citizenship.  Citizenship has great power as well as great privileges. That is why people are willing to risk their lives and cross borders even to the point of death to pursue the hope of citizenship. Citizenship is not only sacred, but sanctified—set apart. A citizen is part of an elite, privileged group.

When it comes to matters of citizenship, the Kingdom of God is no different from any other country. Remember, the Kingdom of God is not a religion. It is a government with a country. Heaven is that country, and Jesus Christ is its King. Referring to Christ, the ancient Hebrew prophet Isaiah wrote: For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders….Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever… (Isaiah 9:6-7, emphasis added).

Why then, someone might ask, do we not see people clamoring to get into the churches? Why does the church as a whole seem to have so little impact on our culture? The reason is simple—and sad. Most pastors don’t understand the Kingdom, so they don’t preach it or teach it. Consequently, most of the people in the churches don’t understand the Kingdom either, so they don’t model Kingdom living. My experience has been that once people know about the Kingdom and see it modeled, they want it! Such is the power of the lure of citizenship in the Kingdom of Heaven. 


BECOMING A KINGDOM CITIZEN

We emigrated from a foreign country—a “dominion of darkness” (see Col. 1:13)— where we as a race had been “exiled” ever since Adam’s rebellion in the garden of Eden. At that time, the human race lost citizenship in heaven. We lost our citizenship because we lost our Kingdom, and we lost our Kingdom because we lost our property—our territory. Don’t forget that without territory, there is no kingdom; and without a kingdom, there can be no kingdom citizenship.

We enter the Kingdom of heaven through the process that Jesus called being “born again” (see John 3:3)—changing our mind and turning from our rebellion against God, placing our trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of our rebellion, and acknowledging Him as Lord (Owner) of our lives. This “new birth” gets us into the Kingdom of Heaven.

Many believers call this “being saved,” but I think it is more helpful here to think of the new birth as the “naturalization” process by which we become Kingdom citizens. The new birth makes us naturalized citizens of the Kingdom. It also “naturalizes” us in the sense that it returns us to our original “natural” state of authority and dominion over the earth as God intended from the start. When we become citizens of God’s Kingdom, it means that we voluntarily align ourselves with a new government and a new country, embracing its language, its ideals, and its values. The Kingdom constitution is explicit regarding our citizenship: Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household (Ephesians 2:19, emphasis added). But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body (Philippians 3:20, emphasis added). Giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves (Colossians 1:12-13, emphasis added).

Why is this so important? Here’s why: Religion postpones citizenship to the future. Religious leaders tell their people, “You will be a citizen…someday. You will be in the Kingdom…you will have joy later…you will be a full citizen. But not today. Not yet. The Kingdom has not yet come.” They are wrong. The Kingdom has come. Kingdom citizenship is never postponed. The Kingdom of God is present and functional on the earth right now. If you have been “born again,” then you have been naturalized and are a Kingdom citizen right now. And that means that all the rights, benefits, and privileges of Kingdom citizenship are yours right now. 

You can never appropriate what you postpone. That’s what you call “locking up the Kingdom of God” to those who want to get in. It is for this reason that I am convinced that the greatest enemy of the Kingdom is religion.

In a very real sense, that’s what the church is (or what it is supposed to be): an embassy! The church is not a religious place. When Jesus established His ecclesia, He did not have a religious institution in mind. His purpose was to set up an embassy of His Kingdom—a place where Kingdom citizens (new and old) could receive aid, be trained in the ways, laws, language, and customs of the Kingdom, and be equipped with the Kingdom resources they need for effective life in the Kingdom colony on earth.

All Kingdom citizens are simultaneously citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven as well as citizens of the earthly nation of their birth or their naturalization. We don’t give up our earthly citizenship when we become citizens of the Kingdom. The Kingdom constitution says that we are in the world but not of the world. When we are born again, our names are written in Heaven’s “official registry” as valid confirmation that we are now citizens of Heaven, even though we still live in the colony. So even though we are physically away from the Kingdom “country,” we are still citizens of the Kingdom.

My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, My servants would fight to prevent My arrest by the Jews. But now My kingdom is from another place (John 18:36).


INVISIBLE CITIZENSHIP

Someone may ask, “If the Kingdom of heaven is here now, why can’t we see it? Why isn’t there more evidence of it all around us?” The answer is very simple: We cannot see the Kingdom of Heaven because it is invisible. And so are its citizens. In fact, all colonial governments and citizens are invisible

In the same way, the fact that the Kingdom of Heaven is invisible does not mean that it has no impact. Jesus taught this truth about the Kingdom more than once. On one occasion He illustrated it this way: What shall I compare the kingdom of God to? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough (Luke 13:20-21). That’s how yeast works—slowly but inexorably until all the dough feels its influence. Once mixed with the dough, the yeast is invisible, but if you think that means no impact, just try baking bread without it! People have been debating the nature and timing of the coming of the Kingdom of heaven for centuries. It was no different in Jesus’ day. One day He spoke of the invisibility of the Kingdom in response to a question from some of the religious leaders: Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the Kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:20-21).

In other words, they should recognize us by our distinct culture. Culture is a product of the language, ideals, and values of a people or a nation. Even though people cannot recognize us as Kingdom citizens by our outward appearance, our distinctive language, ideals, and values should give us away. Our culture should reflect and reveal our citizenship as being here but not from here, as being in the world but not of the world.


Chapter Eleven 

KINGDOM CONCEPT #8 

UNDERSTANDING THE KINGDOM CONCEPT OF CULTURE


As we have already seen, for example, every country has land— territory. Without land there is no country. Historically, the land a people inhabits significantly influences the culture they develop. Desert dwellers, for instance, are unlikely to develop a maritime culture unless they live along the coast. Their culture will reflect the arid environment in which they live. A second key component of every country is language. A country is not a country unless it has one major language. Many nations of the world have numerous sublanguages and dialects. But every nation always decides on one major language because language identifies you as a country. Language is the key to unity. It is also a key factor in a nation’s culture. Again, as we saw earlier, all countries have laws. Every nation draws up a body of laws that everyone must obey to ensure peace, order, and security for the citizens. Without law there is no country  because the absence of law leads to chaos, and you can’t run a country or maintain a stable government on chaos. The laws of a nation reflect the culture of that nation and vice versa. Culture and law each affect the other. Every nation also utilizes specific and unique symbols to represent it and to help inspire unity, patriotism, loyalty, pride of nation, and a strong sense of national identity. The most familiar symbol of any nation is, of course, its flag. A nation’s flag symbolizes its history, the sacrifices, suffering, and triumphs of its people, and what the people have constituted themselves to be. All of these things relate also to culture. Few national symbols are more powerful than the flag. Another element that all nations share in common is a constitution. As we saw in Chapter Six, a constitution is a contract between the people and their government. In many ways a constitution is a cultural document because it contains in codified form the laws, ideals, and values of the people (or of the king, depending on who wrote it). Furthermore, all nations have a moral code. A nation’s moral code embodies the moral standards under which the people have agreed to live and by which they have chosen to govern themselves. In most cases, a moral code consists of both written and unwritten standards. The written standards are expressed through laws and statutes while the unwritten standards are transmitted primarily through traditions, customs, and culture. Respect other people’s property; do not bear false witness in court; do not steal; do not murder; do not commit adultery—all of these are part of the moral code in virtually every nation and government on earth. A seventh common characteristic of all countries is shared values. In order to have a country that runs effectively, the people must share the same values in common. The people as a whole must agree that they all value the same thing, such as life or peace or freedom. Every nation also develops its own customs. Customs derive from a nation’s shared values. A custom is a customary way of doing something, a behavioral pattern that is not only commonly accepted but also expected. Overall, customs generally are consistent throughout a nation, although there are many regional variations. Quite often a nation’s customs are so distinctive that they become a point of identification for that nation, such as certain traditional manners of dress or kinds of foods. Finally, there are social norms. These are similar to customs but have greater force and authority within society. Social norms are standards of speech, thought, and behavior that are accepted by the wide majority of the people as right and proper. Violate a custom and you may be thought eccentric; violate a social norm and you risk being ostracized.




All of these together—land, language, laws, symbols, constitution, moral code, shared values, customs, and social norms—comprise what we call culture.

WHAT IS CULTURE? 

So what is culture specifically? 

First of all, culture is the act of developing the intellectual and moral faculties by education, expert care, and training. In other words, culture is the developing of a people’s intellectual capacities and moral awareness through a combination of formal instruction and informal modeling. Parents and society teach children the elements of the culture, and as the children learn and internalize those cultural elements, they begin to live them. 

Secondly, culture is the enlightenment and excellence of taste acquired by intellectual and aesthetic training. Simply stated, we all come to think like the environment we grow up in. Our intellectual interaction with our environment literally produces a way of thinking in us that becomes our way of life, and so we become trained in our culture. None of us are born with a culture. We are born into a culture, but we are not born with a culture

Culture may also be defined as the integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon man’s capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations. From a sociological perspective, culture is the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group. In the business world, culture defines the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterize a company or corporation. As for a scientific definition, culture means to grow in a prepared medium. That’s a powerful image. Each of us arrived on earth in a prepared medium—the country and culture of our birth. Immediately we began to grow in that medium, shaped and influenced by the customs, values, moral code, and social norms of our parents, community, and society. We learned the language and the laws. This growth medium is also where we learned our prejudices and our hatreds, our jealousy and our greed and our pride.

As for a scientific definition, culture means to grow in a prepared medium. That’s a powerful image. Each of us arrived on earth in a prepared medium—the country and culture of our birth. Immediately we began to grow in that medium, shaped and influenced by the customs, values, moral code, and social norms of our parents, community, and society. We learned the language and the laws. This growth medium is also where we learned our prejudices and our hatreds, our jealousy and our greed and our pride. Then one day we discovered the Kingdom of Heaven. We were born again and became citizens of God’s Kingdom. And that’s where the challenge really began. After spending 20, 30 or 40 years in a certain medium that trained us to think a certain way, we suddenly find ourselves in a whole new culture—a new growth medium—with a whole lot of new things to learn and a whole lot of old things to unlearn. And therein lies the problem: How do we get rid of the old culture in our hearts and minds to live in the new one? That’s the universal challenge for every dual citizenship believer.

The Bible says that as a man thinks in his heart, so is he (see Prov. 23:7 KJV). This means that the way we think determines who we become. In this context, the heart is the mind. And the Kingdom of God is a kingdom of the heart. Therefore, the King of Heaven is battling for the minds of the creatures He created in His own image.


MANIFESTATIONS OF CULTURE 

Culture manifests itself in a number of ways.

1. Values. 

Shared values are a defining characteristic of a culture and a nation. What we value reveals who we are. Our values reflect our character. Basically, a value is a belief or conviction that is considered worthy in and of itself by a person or group. It is a standard or ideal that regulates conduct or policy. Values also relate to one’s personal philosophy. Our values define our attitudes, behavior, and view of the world. If we want to learn how to live in the culture of the Kingdom, we must learn the values of the Kingdom. Jesus the King articulated His value system at the very beginning of His public ministry: 

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. 

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:3-10). 

This particular portion of Jesus’ teaching is commonly known as the “Beatitudes,” or “blessed sayings,” from the Latin word beatus (blessed). We could even call them the “Be-attitudes” because they describe the way Kingdom citizens should “be” in character, attitude, and behavior. Values are extremely powerful and form the foundation for behavior. They guide the people of a nation in identifying what behavior is acceptable or unacceptable. Whether explicitly stated or unspoken yet recognized, values form the foundation of nations and profoundly shape the lives and daily experiences of their citizens. Society depends on certain values in order to function, such as cooperation and honesty. Businesses also depend for their function on such values as integrity, honor, fairness, and kindness. 

2. Priorities. 

Culture manifests itself in the things we regard as most important. In other words, whatever we prioritize in life reveals our culture. If we prioritize the sanctity of marriage, our culture will reflect it with laws, customs, and social norms that strongly discourage and even penalize divorce, adultery, and other “marriage busters.” Prioritizing the sanctity of human life will produce a culture that protects the elderly and the unborn and refuses to sanction the harvesting of human embryos for stem cell research. Jesus got right to the heart of priorities when He said: So do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (Matthew 6:31-33)

 3. Behaviors. 

The way we behave reveals our culture; it’s that simple. 

4. Standards. 

The standards we apply in everyday life reveal whether we have a culture that indulges and encourages mediocrity or a culture that inspires excellence. Do we take pride in the appearance of our houses and churches and businesses and cities and streets? Do we place a high premium on quality in all things? Or are we satisfied with just enough to get by? Either way, our standards reflect our culture. In fact, our culture will never rise higher than our standards. 

5. Celebration. 

Our culture is revealed in the things we celebrate as well as in the manner that we celebrate. Are holidays and other celebrations opportunities for fun and laughter and togetherness as families, or excuses for drunkenness and other kinds of excess? As Kingdom citizens, we need to take our cue from our King because His attitudes and responses reveal Heaven’s culture. Whatever makes Jesus angry should make us angry and whatever makes Him happy should make us happy. Whatever fills Him with joy should make us joyful also and whatever brings Him sorrow should grieve our spirits as well. 

6. Morality. 

The level of our moral conscience and consciousness reveals the level of our culture. Do we shrug our shoulders at adultery and other forms of infidelity? Do we turn a blind eye to pedophilia and other kinds of sexual abuse? Are we willing to “normalize” perversion in our society? Or are we committed to standing for, supporting, and promoting the highest standards of moral purity in every area? 

7. Relationships. 

Who do we relate to? How do we relate to them? How do we treat people? How do we handle the destitute, those who are hurting, and those who are abused? What is our attitude toward the poor? There’s a culture in Heaven that is revealed when poverty is around. When people are hungry, the culture of Heaven feeds them. When they are thirsty, the culture of Heaven says, “I’ve got something for you to drink.” Our culture is revealed in how well we take care of each other. 

8. Ethics. 

Is honesty our best policy, or is honesty our only policy? If someone overpays us, do we keep the money or do we take it back? Kingdom ethics is always proactive. Jesus said, “Do to others as you would have them do to you” (Luke 6:31). This “rule” applies to every area of life. Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times” (Matthew 18:21-22). In response to Peter’s question, Jesus pulled a number out of His hat to make His point. “Seventy-seven times” is not a literal figure; it is seven times extended indefinitely. In other words, in Kingdom culture, forgiveness is ongoing. We forgive as often as necessary, just as we would hope to be forgiven as often as necessary. Again, we take our cue from our King—as He has forgiven us, and keeps on forgiving us, so are we to do with others. 

9. Social norms. 

Whatever is regarded as normal in our society reveals our culture. Is shacking up “normal”? Are out-of-wedlock pregnancies and births “normal”? Is cheating on taxes “normal”? Is corruption in government “normal”? Are honesty, integrity, and fidelity both at home and in the workplace “normal”? Is sexual purity “normal”? What are the “norms” of the Kingdom of Heaven? Here are a few that Kingdom Ambassador Paul called “the fruit of the Spirit”: …love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law (Galatians 5:22-23). 

10. Dress. 

Culture also manifests itself in the way the people dress. How we dress speaks volumes about our values and ideals as well as how we feel about ourselves. All of these relate to culture. Of course, since Kingdom citizenship and Kingdom citizens are invisible, there is no such thing as a Kingdom “uniform” or prescribed manner of dress. But there is such a thing as a certain demeanor that Kingdom citizens are to carry themselves with that identifies them as children of the King. Simon Peter’s instructions to female citizens of the Kingdom applies equally in principle to every citizen: Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight (1 Peter 3:3-4). 

11. Foods. 

Food has always been a cultural distinctive. Certain dishes, certain ingredients, and certain seasonings are associated with certain regions of the world or certain regions within nations. Curry is a distinctive of Indian cooking. Beans and rice are staples in Mexico. Hot dogs are undeniably American. In the Bahamas, it’s peas and rice, conch chowder, and guava duff. As Kingdom citizens on earth we need food to strengthen and nourish our bodies, but we also need heavenly food to nourish our spirits. Jesus said: Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4b). At another time, He told His inner circle of followers: My food…is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work (John 4:34). 

12. Permits. 

We reveal our culture by what we permit. Remember, what we bind on earth is bound in heaven, and what we loose on earth is loosed in heaven. If we “loose” lewdness and immorality, those things will characterize our culture. If we “loose” corruption and dishonesty, we will have a corrupt and dishonest culture. On the other hand, if we “loose” love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, and the like, our culture will reflect these traits. As Kingdom citizens, we have the authority to bind and loose for the social, moral, and spiritual good of our fellowmen. This is why it is important for us to be involved in and to engage the popular culture and challenge it with the culture of Heaven. 

13. Acceptance. 

Our culture is defined also by what we accept. More and more people who claim to be believers and even Kingdom citizens are buying into the popular culture to such a degree that by their language and lifestyle it is impossible to tell which Kingdom they belong to—the kingdom of the world or the Kingdom of heaven. The more often we hear about new cultural, social, or moral ideas, the more accepting we become until eventually it’s not new to us anymore. We have accepted it, and now it has become a cultural norm. That’s why we need to be always alert and ever careful to evaluate all the new ideas and philosophies that come down the line. Some of them may be fine. But many, perhaps most, will be contrary to the culture and values and ideals of the Kingdom of Heaven. When this is the case, as Kingdom citizens we have the duty and responsibility to refuse to accept them. 

14. Rejections. 

On the other hand, our culture manifests also in what we reject. Modern popular culture has reached the point where it rejects almost nothing. An attitude of “anything goes” prevails in many circles. Political correctness rules the day with its calculated and deliberate determination to be nice to everybody, avoid hurting anyone’s feelings, and refusing to take a stand by judging anything as evil, immoral, or improper. Today’s culture rejects the very idea of absolute standards; everything is relative. Kingdom culture, on the other hand, rejects relativism in favor of the absolute standard of the unchanging Word of God. If some things are right, then other things are wrong and must be rejected. Jesus said it this way: He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters (Matthew 12:30). We can’t have it both ways. We can’t play both ends against the middle. There is right and there is wrong, and Kingdom citizens must reject the wrong and embrace the right. 

15. Distinctions. 

Culture manifests also in our distinctions. What distinguishes us from other cultures? What makes the Kingdom culture distinctive from the culture of the world? I’m not talking about outward things like clothing or hairstyle as much as inner qualities of character, values, and norms. Paul said: For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (Ephesians 5:8)

 16. Quality standards. And finally, culture manifests in our standards of quality. God never does anything halfway, and neither should His children. In everything we do, Kingdom citizens should always be on the cutting edge of excellence, leading the way for everyone else rather than following in the world’s wake. In Kingdom life we don’t have to be perfect in what we do because we are imperfect people, but that is no excuse to accept shabby work, half-finished projects, or a just-enough-to-get-by attitude. Our King demands our best. And He deserves nothing less. For this very reason, it should be our joy to give our very best to the King…and to give it freely and willingly.


Chapter Twelve KINGDOM CONCEPT #9 UNDERSTANDING THE KINGDOM CONCEPT OF GIVING TO THE KING


As we have seen throughout this book, God is the King of a supernatural realm called Heaven that is invisible but very real. In fact, Heaven is more real than the natural realm in which we humans live, breathe, and have our being because it existed before the natural realm and is the source from which all nature originated.

His original purpose and plan was to extend His heavenly Kingdom to the earth—to bring His invisible supernatural rule into the visible natural domain. It was for this reason that He created mankind—male and female—in His own image and clothed them in physical bodies of flesh and blood and bone made from the same stuff as the earth itself, that they might exercise dominion over the earth just as He did in Heaven. They were to be His vice-regents, ruling in His name and under His authority.

King and kingdom are concepts that are of heavenly, not earthly origin. God chose these concepts to describe His plan and program for mankind and the earth. Thus, in order to understand God, we must understand the concept of kingship and kingdom. That has been the purpose and intent of this book.

Adam was created as king and ruler of the earth. This is only natural. God created man in His own image and likeness, and because God was a King, man was to be a king as well. As king of the earth, man possessed certain unique qualities and characteristics that set him apart as distinct from all other creatures on the earth. One of these qualities was self-determination. Man possessed the ability to reason—to frame his own thoughts and ideas and to make his own decisions. In this he was like his Creator. He was endowed also with the capacity for face-to-face, one-on-one intimate fellowship with God, a privilege that no other creature on earth enjoyed. The Creator gave Adam the earth as his domain because a king is not a king unless he has territory over which to rule. Through inappropriate use of his power of self-determination, Adam rebelled against God and lost his earthly kingdom. Man’s rule over the earth was usurped by an “unemployed cherub,” a rebellious and fallen angel who had no right or authority to take it. Man became a slave in his own domain. But the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable (see Rom. 11:29). God’s original plan and purpose were still in place. Man’s destiny was to rule the earth, so he had to get his Kingdom back. When the time was right in history, the King of Heaven sent His Son to earth to reestablish Heaven’s rule here. He sent His Son to restore man to his earthly Kingdom. Jesus Christ entered the public eye proclaiming a simple but profound message: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near” (Matt. 4:17b). As a human as well as the Son of God, Jesus had the authority both to restore the Kingdom and to rule it as King. Kingship was His birthright.

Kingship is always a matter of birthright or genealogy. You will remember that when Jesus stood before Pilate the morning He was crucified, and Pilate asked Him if He was the king of the Jews, Jesus answered, “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born…” (John 18:37b). 

Jesus was not the only one to recognize His kingship. Even as early as His birth, there were those who knew who He was and why He had come: After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him” (Matthew 2:1-2). 

The coming of Jesus Christ as King demonstrates another important characteristic of God: He is a giver. First, He gave man the earth to rule. Then, after man lost his Kingdom, God gave His Son so that He could get man’s Kingdom back. Jesus gave Himself, even to the point of death, to salvage man from the effects and consequences of his rebellion against God. In the coming of Jesus, and throughout the Bible we see over and over that giving is a fundamental principle of the Kingdom of Heaven. God is a giver. In fact, His honor as King of Heaven demands a gift. As God, He gives because it is His nature. As Kingdom citizens, we give because we are like Him, created in His image and likeness, and because giving is a proper way to honor a king. 

THE SIX ROYAL KINGDOM PRINCIPLES OF GIVING 

1. The power of kings is displayed in their wealth. The wealthier the king, the greater his power (or at least the perception of his power in the eyes of others). This is why kings are always seeking to increase their wealth and expand their territory. The most obvious way that wealth displays a king’s power is in his ability to give generously, lavishly, and even recklessly of his wealth to his citizens as well as to outsiders who visit his kingdom. Kings who rule over lands that are sparse in resources and whose citizens are poor are judged to be poor kings, lacking in power and influence and therefore dismissed as unimportant. They may even be perceived as unable or unwilling to take proper care of their citizens and subjects. Poor kings, therefore, develop a poor reputation, which brings us to the second principle. 

2. The purpose for a king’s wealth is to secure his reputation—his glory. Every conscientious king wants to be known as good, benevolent, magnanimous, and just. He is constantly concerned for the complete welfare of his people. He wants to be able to show the world that he can provide his citizens with anything and everything they need. Want in a kingdom is a shame to the king. So a king’s reputation is tied to his ability to take care of his citizens, and that ability is directly related to his wealth. A king whose people are secure in his benevolent provision will be loved by his people, respected by other kings and rulers, and will enjoy a stable and secure reign. His reputation is firmly established, and his glory shines to all around. 

3. The glory of a king is his power to out-give another king. This is another reason why wealth is important to a king. Kings are deeply and continually concerned with their reputations, and no king likes the thought that another king might be richer, more benevolent, or more giving than he. Consequently, kings will give freely in response to a gift given to them, or from pure beneficence, often wildly out of proportion to the value of the gift received or the merit of the recipient.  Kingdom Principles 206 This is definitely a characteristic of the King of Heaven. As owner of literally everything, God is the richest King that was, is, or ever will be. No one can out-give God. And He gives lavishly without regard to our merit or our ability to repay. Don’t forget that Jesus assured us that it was His Father’s pleasure to give us the Kingdom. And He did not demand that we make ourselves “worthy” first. 

4. Giving places a demand on the king’s wealth. Wealth that is not used for anything serves no purpose. Righteous and benevolent kings do not seek riches simply for their own enrichment and pleasure. They don’t acquire wealth just so they can sit atop the pile and say, “Look at me! See how rich I am!” Good kings use their wealth to bring prosperity to their people and improve the quality of their lives. This way the king’s riches do not stagnate or rot away. In keeping with a fundamental principle of wealth-building, good kings know how to make their wealth work for them—they give it away in order to receive more. It is a principle of reciprocity—giving begets giving. The principle of reciprocity works both ways. Giving to a king places a demand on his wealth because a king cannot allow himself to be out-given. Whatever he receives as a gift he must return in multiplied form. This brings us to the fifth principle of giving. 

5. Giving requires a response from the king. When you give to a king, he is obligated not only to respond to your gift but also to exceed it. When the queen of Sheba visited King Solomon of Israel, her gifts to him of spices, large quantities of gold and precious stones, was fitting protocol. However, she was not prepared for the magnitude of wealth she found in Solomon’s court: When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon and the palace he had built, the food on his table, the seating of his officials, the attending servants in their robes, his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he made at the temple of the Lord, she was overwhelmed. She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. But I did not believe these things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told me; in wisdom and wealth you have far exceeded the report I heard.…And she gave the king 120 talents of gold, large quantities of spices, and precious stones. Never again were so many spices brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.…King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired and asked for, besides what he had given her out of his royal bounty (1 Kings 10:4-7,10,13a, emphasis added). As lavish as the queen’s gifts to Solomon were, his gifts to her in return far exceeded hers to him. The King of Heaven is the same way. When we give to Him, He responds in kind but in much greater measure. Jesus said: Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you (Luke 6:38). We can never out-give God. Give, and He will give abundantly and overflowing in return. It’s a principle of His Kingdom. Besides, His reputation and glory are at stake. 

6. Giving to a king attracts His wealth to the giver. Giving begets giving. This principle works both ways. Kings give away wealth in order to gain more wealth. But when we give to the King, it begets giving back to us because our generosity attracts the King’s wealth to us. This is directly related to the concept of stewardship versus ownership. As long as we feel we own what we have, we tend to cling to it and hold it close to our chest. In that posture, it is impossible to receive more. We can’t receive anything with closed fists and clenched fingers. On the other hand, when we approach the King open-handed with our things, not only can we lay them at His feet as a gift, but we are also in a posture to receive. Giving to the King attracts His wealth because He is a giver and is attracted to those who share a like spirit. 

SEVEN REASONS TO GIVE TO A KING 

1. Royal protocol requires that a gift must be presented when visiting a king. This is why the queen of Sheba brought such lavish gifts to King Solomon even though he was richer than she was. It was royal protocol. He would have done the same had he visited her. This protocol of presenting a gift to the king reflects a principle of heaven. When God gave Moses the Law for the nation of Israel, He made it clear that whenever the people came before the Lord, they were to bring an offering or a sacrifice of some kind, depending on the occasion. They were never to approach Him with nothing. God commanded Moses: And none shall appear before Me empty-handed (Exodus 34:21b NKJV). The principle still applies. We should always approach the King with a gift of some kind to offer: a tithe or 10 percent of our income, praise, thanksgiving, worship; just not empty-handed. The best gift we can give Him is our heart and life, freely and completely. 

2. The gift must be fitting for the king. Worse than approaching a king with no gift is to bring a gift unworthy of him. An inappropriate or inadequate gift amounts to an insult to the king. It shows that the giver does not properly respect the king or his authority. This is why the sacrificial laws of the Jews (which prefigure the sacrifice of Christ, the perfect Lamb of God who took away the sin of the world [see John 1:29]). stipulated that only spotless, unblemished, unflawed animals could be offered in sacrifice. The people were giving a gift to the King, and their gift had to be worthy of Him. When King David of Israel set out to build an altar to the Lord, he sought to buy a threshing floor owned by a man named Araunah as the site. Araunah graciously offered to give the threshing floor to David for his purposes: But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekels of silver for them” (2 Samuel 24:24). David was trying to stop a plague in the land caused by his own disobedience to God. After he built the altar and made sacrifices, God responded to his prayers and stopped the plague. Give a gift to the King that is worthy of Him. Don’t offer something that costs you nothing. 

3. The gift reveals our value or “worth-ship” of the king. The quality of what we offer the King and the attitude with which we offer it reveal much more than our words do of the value or worthiness we attach to Him. Quality doesn’t mean expensive or fancy necessarily, but it does mean offering our very best. And our gift does not necessarily have to be of monetary value. Of much greater value to the King is the gift of a heart that seeks first His Kingdom and His righteousness. The Hebrew prophet Isaiah  records the Lord’s complaint against His people who devalue His “worth-ship”: The Lord says: “These people come near to Me with their mouth and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is made up only of rules taught by men (Isaiah 29:13). Our gifts to the King should always be offered from a sincere heart and a humble recognition of His greatness and awesome majesty. 

4. Worship demands a gift and giving is worship. “Worthship” is where we get “worship.” To worship the King means to ascribe worth or worthiness to Him. And, as we have already seen, that always involves bringing Him a gift. There is no genuine worship without gift-giving. But giving is itself an act of worship, and worship is always fitting for the King. The Magi who saw His star in the east understood this, which is why they brought gifts when they came to find Him: On coming to the house, they saw the child with His mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrhh (Matthew 2:11). Worship demands a gift, but it may be a gift of praise, a gift of thanksgiving, a gift of confession, a gift of surrender, a gift of forgiveness, or a gift of a tender and obedient heart as well as a monetary gift. 

5. Giving to a king attracts his favor. Kings are attracted to people who give with a willing and grateful spirit. Like anyone else, a king likes to know he is loved and appreciated. The King of Heaven is the same way. The Giver is  attracted to the giver and extends His favor. Gifts open doors to blessings, opportunities, and prosperity: A gift opens the way for the giver and ushers him into the presence of the great (Proverbs 18:16). Those who know the protocol of giving gain access to the throne room, while those who do not, remain standing outside the gate. Giving from a generous heart with no thought or expectation of return particularly attracts the King’s favor because that is the attitude closest to His own. And He rewards that kind of spirit: Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward. And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is My disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward (Matthew 10:41-42). To “receive” a prophet or a righteous man means to care for and supply that person with no expectation of repayment. Giving with no ulterior motive and with no strings attached—that is the kind of giving that attracts the favor of the King. 

6. Giving to a king acknowledges his ownership of everything. Remember, kings are also lords; they own everything in their domain. So giving to a king is simply returning to him what is already his. That’s why in the Kingdom of Heaven we are always stewards and never owners. This truth is embodied in the Bible in the principles of the firstfruits and the tithe. Every harvest the Jews were required to bring the “firstfruits” of the harvest and offer them to the Lord. The same was to be done with all the firstborn of the animals: sheep, goats, cattle. In addition, a tithe—10 percent—of one’s increase, one’s income and produce, was to be given to the Lord. All of this was for the purpose of recognizing God’s ownership—His Lordship—of everything and His benevolence and love in allowing them to use and prosper from His resources. These same principles apply today, at least in the spirit of acknowledging God’s ownership. Kingdom citizens should still give the tithe regularly as an act of faith and of worship in recognizing not only God’s ownership but also His daily provision of our needs as well as abundant blessings. 

7. Giving to a king is thanksgiving. One of the best ways to express gratitude is with a gift. Gratitude expressed is in itself a gift. Look at the word “thanksgiving.” Turn it around and you have, “giving thanks” or “giving gratitude.” Everyone likes to know they are appreciated. Sometimes the best gift we can give a person is simply to express heartfelt thanks for a gift given or a kindness received. God is the same way. Expressing our thanks to God from a sincere heart for His blessings, kindness, and favor toward us is to offer Him a gift that He receives with delight. 

FIVE REASONS TO GIVE 

Giving is natural for kings. As Kingdom citizens and children of the King, we too are kings. That being the case, several principles follow: 

1. If we all are kings, then we should give to each other. Remember, you never approach a king without a gift. 

2. When we give to the Body, we give to Christ the King. Because Christ lives in us through the Holy Spirit, every time we give to each other, we are giving to Him. 

3. Every time we meet one another, giving should be automatic. If we are to be like our King, who created us in His image and likeness, a giving spirit should be second nature for us. 

4. The wise men knew there was a greater King on earth. That is why they brought Him gifts and worshiped Him. He is still on earth—in the hearts and lives of His citizens. So whenever we give, we do so as if giving to Him. 

5. When you give to a king, you make a demand on what he possesses. Giving begets giving. When we give to the King of Heaven, we obligate Him to give in return. This is not a presumptuous statement but the expression of a principle He established. When we give, He gives; when we withhold, He withholds. THE ULTIMATE GIFT The ultimate and greatest gift the King wants from us is summed up in these words: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength (Deuteronomy 6:5). Giving activates royal obligation. Give Him your life and receive His life. …remembering the words the Lord Jesus Himself said: “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).



Sunday, 31 March 2024

Kingdom principles (Part 2)

 


Chapter 5 

KINGDOM CONCEPT #2 

UNDERSTANDING THE KINGDOM CONCEPT OF LORD




The word dominion refers to a king’s authority—his power; the word domain refers to the territory, the property, the geographical area over which his authority extends. A king exercises authority (dominion) over a specific geographical area (domain) and within that area his authority is absolute. Without a domain there is no king. To put it another way, if kingship has to do with authority, then lordship has to do with ownership.


Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is He, this King of glory? The Lord Almighty—He is the King of glory (Psalm 24:7-10).

If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9). By “saved,” Paul means redeemed, bought back, salvaged, restored from the estrangement of our rebellion against God the King into a right relationship with Him. 

But if we say, “Jesus is Lord,” what does that mean in practical terms? What does it mean to live under a “lord”? The only experience most westerners have with a lord of any kind is with a landlord. If you now live or have ever lived in rental property, you know that the landlord is the landowner (or the landowner’s direct representative who exercises the landowner’s authority, which amounts to the same thing), the person you pay rent to and to whom you are accountable for the way you treat his property. Why? Because you do not own the property; the landlord does.

If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me (Luke 9:23b).
If Jesus is Lord, He must receive first priority in your life. He is above every other love and every other loyalty. He is above every goal, dream, and ambition. You cannot be a disciple and say, “Lord, first let me…” He must be first…in everything.

 
Living under a Lord also means giving up all concepts of personal ownership. This does not mean you have to sell your house or sell your car or give away all your personal possessions. It does mean learning not to take a proprietary view toward these things.

What happens when we think of ourselves as owners? In our dog-eat-dog culture it means we feel we have to fight for what we get, hoard what we have, and guard it anxiously from fear that someone will take it away. And our neighbors do the same thing. We live in fear of economic downturns, inflation, downsizing, and never having enough. This is not Kingdom thinking!

In the Kingdom of Heaven, there is no economic crisis and there are no shortages. With a King who owns everything, how could there be? When we relinquish our sense of ownership and acknowledge God as the Owner and ourselves as stewards, it relieves us of the pressure of having to worry about how we are going to make it because we are now depending on Him for our welfare. And He is a benevolent and generous Lord of infinite resources. Relinquishing ownership then also puts us into the position of full access to those resources. As we learn to give and receive and transfer at His will, He shares with us freely and abundantly. But a hoarding sense of personal ownership that shouts, “Mine!” cuts us off from those same resources. Which position would you rather be in? Letting go of personal ownership also nourishes and releases a generous spirit within us. If we are only stewards and not owners, we can give freely as the Lord has given freely to us, knowing that He, who has no limitations, can replace what we give to others. His reputation as King and Lord rides on how well He cares for His citizens and He will give special care to those citizens who reflect His character by giving as He gives.

As a matter of fact, the best time to give is when things are tight personally because that is when you acknowledge that He owns even what you don’t have. The greatest sign that you truly believe that Jesus is Lord is by how much you are willing to get rid of. You have learned how to live under a Lord when you can give freely without regret, or fear and say to the Lord of all with a joyful and willing spirit, “It’s all Yours! It’s all Yours!” 

Chapter 6
KINGDOM CONCEPT #3 
UNDERSTANDING THE KINGDOM CONCEPT OF TERRITORY

The word kingdom derives from the phrase “king domain.” Domain refers to the property, the territory over which a king exercises his dominion.
Heaven is a real Kingdom with a real government. The fact that its primary realm encompasses the spiritual dimension of creation does not make it any less real. But the realm of the Kingdom of Heaven also takes in the natural world. God designed it this way when He created the earth and then fashioned man in His own image to rule it for Him. The sequence of events here is very important. God envisioned man to be a king in his own right, but a king is not a king unless he has territory over which to rule. So God prepared the territory first—the earth—and then brought forth man. God placed man on the earth and told him, “I am giving you dominion over this physical domain. You have authority over every acre of land and sea and over every creature that inhabits the earth. Rule it freely as My legal representative.” A careful review of the model prayer of our Lord Jesus reveals that it specifically identifies the location of the Father and King of Heaven: “Our father who is in Heaven….” His location is the key to our power and authority on earth. If He comes to earth, we lose our privileged position. Mankind was designed to serve as a corporate rulership of kings representing their Father, the King of Heaven, in the colony called earth.
 That ideal arrangement was shattered, however, when man  Kingdom Concept #3 115 rebelled against God, abdicated his regency, and passed control of his realm to a demonic usurper, a fallen angel who had no right or authority to take it. God’s purpose isunchanging. He created man for rulership, and so immediately set into motion His plan to restore to man the Kingdom he had lost. The Bible lays out a detailed record of the historical outworking of God’s plan
The domain of earth is mankind’s legal right, power, and authority of rulership. When God said, “Let them have dominion,” He transferred the legal rights to the earth to us. He did not say, “Let us have dominion,” including Himself, because He already had His dominion in heaven. He said, “Let them have dominion over that territory called earth. I’m going to rule heaven; My kids are going to rule earth. I’m going to be King of heaven; they’re going to be king of the earth. I’m going to be Sovereign of heaven; they’re going to be sovereign of earth.” The dominion of earth is our legal right. We have a right to be here and God gave us that right. So many believers look forward to going to heaven, but I look forward to coming back to rule the “new earth” that God will fashion when this earth passes away! (see Rev. 21:1). Heaven is fine, and it will be a glorious place, but ultimately it is not where we belong. In heaven we have no legal authority to rule; it is God’s domain. We were made for the earth, and that is where our place of dominion will be in the life to come.

BINDING AND LOOSING 

This transfer of ruling authority over the earth from God to man has major implications for all of us regarding our daily circumstances and our relationship to our society and culture Every human being on earth who is a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven. God is not to blame for human evil and suffering. We brought these things on ourselves by our own selfishness and rebellious spirit. God wants to help but won’t intervene unless invited to do so by Kingdom citizens who know their dominion authority. Through prayer we invite God to act in our domain. This is what Jesus meant when He said: I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven (Matthew 18:18).

Seeing life from this perspective will require a major change of mind-set for most people. We have to learn, we have to train, we have to be taught to think this way. A change of mind is what the Bible calls “repentance.” So now the words of Jesus become much clearer when He says, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near” (Matt. 4:17). He is saying, “Change your mind! Stop thinking like the world with its inadequacies and inequities, and start thinking like a Kingdom citizen! Stop operating from a worldly mind-set of “never enough” and start operating from a Kingdom mind-set of “more than enough”! The Kingdom of Heaven is here and everything has changed!”


Chapter Seven 
KINGDOM CONCEPT #4 
UNDERSTANDING THE KINGDOM CONCEPT OF CONSTITUTION

The constitution of a kingdom is the documented will, purposes, and intent of the king. It expresses the king’s personal desires for his kingdom and sets out the principles under which the kingdom will operate as well as establishing the manner and conditions of how the king will relate to his people and they to him. A kingdom constitution is stamped with the essence of the nature, character, and personality of the king.This is why it is always good to have a king who is righteous, benevolent, and compassionate, with a genuine concern for the welfare of his citizens.

. A contract generated by the people is a democracy, the complete opposite of a kingdom. A royal contract, on the other hand, originates completely and exclusively in the heart, mind, and will of the king. His citizens have no input concerning the terms or conditions of the contract.

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, in Our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground” (Genesis 1:26-28).

This is why God would make a statement like: For I know the plans I have for you…plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me , and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart. I will be found by you… (Jeremiah 29:11-14).

That is why I call the Bible the constitution of the Kingdom of heaven. It is even divided into two sections called the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Bible, then, comprises God’s documented thoughts concerning His citizens—His expressed will, desire, and intent for the human race.
SEVEN PRINCIPLES OF THE KINGDOM CONSTITUTION 
1. The source of the constitution is the king, not the citizens. Whereas the Constitution of the United States begins with the words, “We the people…” the constitution of God’s Kingdom says, “I, the Lord…” We who live in democratic states can always amend our constitution because we, the people, created it. But we cannot change God’s constitution because we didn’t write it. That is why I believe the biggest conflict in the coming years will be between the Kingdom and religion. Religious people keep trying to adjust God’s constitution. They debate it and discuss it and become embarrassed or angry over parts they don’t like. Sometimes they even change it or water it down to make it more palatable for modern spiritual tastes. This is absolute foolishness. The King of Heaven established the constitution for His Kingdom and only He can change it. But He won’t. He is eternally unchanging, and so is His Word, because the King and His Word are the same. It says so right in the constitution:

2. The constitution contains the benefits and privileges of the citizens. It spells out the advantages that come with being a Kingdom citizen as well as everything the citizens can expect from the King. In the Bible, these often take the form of promises. Here are just a few: Do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (Matthew 6:31-33).

3. The king obligates himself to the tenets of the constitution. A king and his word are the same, and when he speaks, his word becomes the constitution. So when a king’s word is spoken (or written down), the king is obligated to carry it out. That is why the Bible states that whatever God says, He will do and whatever He promises, He will bring to pass. Once the King of heaven speaks, it is as good as done. God cannot fail to keep His Word, for if He did, He would cease to be God.

4. The constitution contains the rights established by the king for the citizens. In addition to the benefits and privileges accruing to Kingdom citizens, the constitution also delineates and sets forth their rights. Rights in a constitution are important because they are the grounds for making law, which is the next stage. If I said to you, “I give you my car, my house, and my boat,” I have just expressed my will. If I then document it on paper, it becomes a testament and your constitution.

If God says, “I will bless you, I will prosper you, I will make your name great…” that’s constitution. If He then says, “…if you obey Me and keep My word, and walk uprightly,” He has given you laws that set the conditions for the benefits and privileges to apply. The government says you are free to do commerce, to lease, to buy property, etc., as long as you pay taxes, do not break the law, obey the social order, and respect people’s property. They give you all these constitutional rights, but they are contingent upon your honoring the laws. The Kingdom of Heaven is no different

5. The constitution cannot be changed by the citizens—only by the king. This principle should be perfectly clear by now and needs no further elaboration.

6. The constitution is the reference for life in the kingdom. How are Kingdom citizens supposed to live? What are the values, the ethics, the moral code, and standards of behavior for citizens of the Kingdom, and where can they be found? In the constitution. God’s standards for life in His Kingdom are found throughout the Bible. Such standards as these: You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol.You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God….Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy….Honor your father and your mother….You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. You shall not covet… (Exodus 20:3-17).

And: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:3-10). 7. The constitution contains the statutes of the kingdom. Statutes are fixed, predictable standards. “Teach me Your statutes,” King David of Israel says. Normally, where the word “statutes” shows up, you will find “laws” in the same sentence. Statutes give the physical image of law. That’s why we call a carving in stone a statue. Or we call it animage. Image is the same as statue. A statue is permanent. A statue means simply a fixed, predictable image or standard. Think about a statue in your town. When it rains does the statue change? What if it snows? What if the temperature tops 100 degrees? If you spit on it, curse it, hate it, does the statue change? Of course not. It remains the same no matter what.

Chapter Eight 
KINGDOM CONCEPT #5 UNDERSTANDING THE KINGDOM CONCEPT OF LAW

I n any civil society, the “rule of law” is the bedrock of order and social justice. In addition to being a constitution, then, the Bible is also the law book of the Kingdom of Heaven.The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the Lord are sure and altogether righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the  Kingdom Principles 142 comb. By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward (Psalm 19:7-11). What does the “law of the Lord” do for us? It revives our spirit, gives us wisdom, and fills us with joy. It enlightens our minds and emboldens us with confidence because of its permanence and uprightness. It enriches us with wealth much greater than earthly riches and leaves a sweet taste in our mouths. It warns us against danger and foolishness that could destroy our lives and places us on the path to “great reward.” If we allow it, the “law of the Lord” will nourish us thoroughly body, soul, and spirit. Jesus said: It is written: “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).

SEVEN PRINCIPLES OF LAW 

1. All creation was designed to function by inherent principles. Inherent means “built-in”; existent from the beginning. Scientists speak of the laws of nature, the laws of physics, the laws of gravitation, the laws of thermodynamics, and many other laws to explain how nature works. In this sense, laws are observable, measurable, and repeatable because they never change. 

2. These principles are called “natural law.” Natural law has to do with laws concerning the nature of a thing. Violation of natural law, on the other hand, leads to dysfunction. Take a fish out of water and it will malfunction. It will die because a fish is designed to live and breathe in the water, not out of it. So natural law is very important; it is the standard for determining effective function. 

3. Laws are the key to successful existence and a guarantee of fulfillment of purpose. Obedience to laws promotes prosperity and ensures success. All a bird has to do to fulfill its purpose is fly and reproduce; both of these functions are governed by natural laws. It is no different with us. As long as we acknowledge the laws of God and submit ourselves willingly to living by and obeying them, we too will succeed and fulfill our purpose in God’s design. We will realize our full potential. 

4. Laws protect purpose. When we obey laws, we protect the purpose for which we were born. As long as a fish stays in water, it will be able to survive and prosper. As long as a seed stays in the soil, it will sprout, grow, and prosper. As long as a bird stays in the air and there is space to fly, it will fulfill its purpose and prosper. As long as we obey the laws of God, we too will live and grow and prosper. Please understand that when I talk about obeying God’s laws in order to live and prosper, I am not suggesting that we can “earn” right standing with God by doing good works or by strictly observing some code of rules or statutes. The only way to be rightly aligned with God is by changing our mind and turning away from our rebellion against Him (which the Bible calls “repentance”), placing our trust in Jesus’ death to remove the guilt of our rebellion (giving up our self-reliance), and acknowledging Him as Lord (Owner) of our lives. By obeying God’s laws, I mean living in willing submission to Him as King and Lord and honoring His Word as the unchanging standard of reference for our lives. So then, what laws of God are we to obey? All of them, of course, and there are many. But here are the two most important: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength (Deuteronomy 6:5). Love your neighbor as yourself (Leviticus 19:18b). Jesus Himself identified these as the two most important commandments in the law of God. Kingdom ambassador Paul, in context with a discussion about the responsibility of Kingdom citizens toward civic earthly authority, commented on this second verse, saying: Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law (Romans 13:10). Obey the law and it protects you. Disobey the law and you risk sacrificing your purpose. 

5. Laws are the conditions of covenant. They are the terms under which, if followed, the covenant will operate. Virtually everything we buy these days comes with a covenant of laws and conditions called a “warranty.” The manufacturer guarantees that if the product is used in accordance with the specified terms and conditions of operation or function, it will perform as designed. If those terms and conditions are violated, the warranty “covenant” is nullified, and if the product then malfunctions, the manufacturer is free of responsibility. It is no different in the Kingdom of Heaven. The King’s covenant with us specifies blessings and benefits for compliance as well as consequences and penalties for noncompliance. As long as we observe the conditions of the covenant, all the blessings and benefits of the covenant are operative in our lives. If we violate the covenant, the “blessings clause” shuts down and the “consequences clause” kicks in. 


THE MEANING OF LAW 

What exactly is “law”? The most basic Hebrew word for “law” is torah, which also means, in addition to “law,” direction and instruction. In time, the word torah was used to refer to the entire body of law that Moses received from God on Mt. Sinai and passed along to the Israelites. In this usage, torah means “the law,” “the direction,” and even “the Law of the Lord.”1 In the New Testament we find two basic Greek words used for “law.” The first of these is nomos, which means “to divide out, distribute” and also “that which is assigned.” It gradually came to mean “usage” and “custom” and, eventually, “lawas prescribed by custom, or by statute.”2 This is the word from which we get our English word norm. Whatever becomes accepted as a norm in our society eventually becomes a law of our society

Depending on the nature of the idea or behavior, this process could be very dangerous because we as a society could end up endorsing and normalizing evil or immorality. This is precisely what has happened and is happening in western culture with regard to such issues as homosexual rights, homosexual marriage, abortion rights, assisted suicide, embryonic stem cell research, and the like.

Chapter Nine 

KINGDOM CONCEPT # 6 
UNDERSTANDING THE KINGDOM CONCEPT OF KEYS


Every nation and social civil society functions on laws and customs that make that society work. These functions depend on the constitution and a body law that create a context and reference for social behavior and relating to the government and other members of the society. The result is a culture of laws and principles that serve as regulations, values, morals, and standards that govern the citizen’s relationship with the authority structure and its disposition as it relates to expectations within the constitutional framework. In essence, all nations and kingdoms contain inherent principles and laws that must be adhered to by each citizen in order for the citizen to benefit from his citizenship privileges and rights. These laws and principles are called by Jesus, “Keys of the Kingdom."

We have a big bunch of “keys” called “Scriptures” that most of us don’t know how to use. We have the keys, but we don’t know which key unlocks which lock. It’s like having all of this information but not knowing how to use it, having all of this power available to us but not knowing how to apply it. This is because most believers lack a proper Kingdom mind-set. Life in the Kingdom is really about returning to the governing authority of God in the earth and learning how to live and function in that authority. Part of understanding the Kingdom is learning how to use the keys of the Kingdom. The Kingdom of Heaven is God’s desire and purpose for us. Jesus said: Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom (Luke 12:32).

Our Father, the King of heaven, has given us the Kingdom. It is ours. In fact, Jesus Himself brought the Kingdom to us. It was His main purpose in coming to earth in human flesh. We receive the Kingdom through His death. The moment we turn from our rebellion against God and place our trust in Christ to salvage us from the consequences of that rebellion, we become naturalized citizens of the Kingdom of heaven, with all the rights, benefits, and privileges that come with it. But how do we appropriate our rights? How do we enter into the full enjoyment of our benefits and privileges? What are the keys to effective living in the Kingdom?

KEYS OF THE KINGDOM 

One day Jesus asked His disciples, His inner circle of 12 most intimate followers, the most important question He would ever ask them. When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” He asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by My Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:13-19).

Then Jesus says that upon the “rock” of Peter’s confession of faith, He will build His “church.” The Greek word for “church” is ecclesia, a word that is widely misunderstood. Because it is translated here as “church,” most people believe that ecclesia is a religious word. It is not. Ecclesia is a governmental term. It literally means “called-out ones” and was used by the Greeks to refer to the senate or other political groups that were chosen by the “democrat,” or government.

In the Roman Empire, the senate—the ecclesia—was like the cabinet in a modern democracy. The senate was the powerhouse. These individuals were handpicked by the emperor to receive his thoughts, his desires, his passion, and his intent. Their job was to take the mind of the king and turn it into legislation that could be implemented in the kingdom. In other words, they were to know his mind and see that everything he wished was carried out. This meant that they had to stay in close contact with him. They had to talk to him, and he had to give them information about what he wanted in the kingdom. The fact that Jesus used ecclesia to describe the body of followers that He was establishing tells us two things. First, the word church itself is a political rather than a religious term. And second, this entire discussion about keys and about binding and loosing is not a religious but a political discussion.

In effect, Jesus was saying, “In the same way that Caesar is lord of his government, and has created his senate, his ecclesia, his cabinet, I also will build My cabinet on the fact that I am the Christ, the “anointed king,” the Lord of lords and Son of the living God.” He said to Peter, “Upon the ‘rock’ of your confession of who I am, I will build My government. I will build My senate, My cabinet, My administrators who will carry out My wishes and My will.” So Jesus established not a religion but a political force.

The ecclesia, therefore, is a secret group entrusted with secret information critical for the operation of the Kingdom. This group will be so powerful that even the “gates of hades will not overcome it.” Another way to translate that phrase is, “the gates of hades will not prove stronger than it.” Even hell itself will not be as strong as the ecclesia that Jesus is establishing
What is this “secret information” that Jesus gives His cabinet? He says, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” He gives them—gives us—the keys of the Kingdom, not the keys to the Kingdom. As Kingdom citizens, we are already in the Kingdom; we don’t need the keys to it. What we need—and what Jesus has given us—are the keys of the Kingdom—the keys that will unlock the power of the Kingdom and make it work in our lives. Kingdom citizens and only Kingdom citizens have these keys. Citizenship in the Kingdom is a prerequisite for getting them. What this means is that we who are Kingdom citizens are supposed to be operating on a level that blows other people’s minds. We should have access to a power that mystifies those who are not yet in the Kingdom. We are supposed to be living life at a certain level where we are tapping into resources that others cannot explain.

KNOWLEDGE OF THE SECRETS 

The key to keys is not having keys. The key to keys is knowledge, knowing what the keys are for and how to use them. On another occasion Jesus told His “cabinet”: The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you (Luke 8:10a). The Kingdom of heaven is not a secret society, but its keys have to be learned. A secret is anything you don’t know, especially if somebody else does. Miracles fall into this category. A miracle is something that humans cannot explain, an event or occurrence that seems to defy the laws of nature. These men had seen Jesus walk on water, heal the sick, raise the dead, shrivel a tree by speaking to it, calm a storm, multiply bread, and many other “miraculous” things that were beyond the ken of human experience. But to Jesus, none of these were miracles. He said, “These are no miracles; I’m just using keys. I know how to put them in the locks, and they are unlocking prosperity, unlocking healing, unlocking peace, unlocking authority. Watch Me and you will see the Kingdom at work, and also how it should work for you. My Father has given you the knowledge of the secrets of the Kingdom. I will teach you how to use the keys.” Jesus left no doubt that the Kingdom was supposed to work for His ecclesia just as it worked for Him, for on the night before His death He told them: I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in Me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in My name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask Me for anything in My name, and I will do it (John 14:12-14). Jesus’ ecclesia (which includes us) was going to do the same things He was doing—and more—because the Holy Spirit who would come after. He was gone would teach them the keys of the Kingdom and how to use them. One significant key is embedded in this passage: the key to opening the “warehouse” of Heaven. The key that opens that lock is prayer—asking in Jesus’ name—and whatever and anything we ask will be done. That is a wide-open promise, but it is not a way to gratify our own selfish wants and desires. We must use the right key. We must ask in Jesus’ name—according to His will and in line with His purpose. That is what will open Heaven’s floodgates. The twelve disciples of Jesus had already seen this key activated in unforgettable fashion the day Jesus fed five thousand people with fives loaves of bread and two fish. The crowd had been with Jesus all day listening to His teaching. Now it was late in the day, and they were hungry. Jesus’ disciples suggested He send them away into the villages to get food, but Jesus has another idea. He was preparing to teach them how to use a key: Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” “We have here only five loaves of bread  and two fish,” they answered. “Bring them here to Me,” He said. And He directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, He gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children (Matthew 14:16-21 emphasis added). Jesus used this situation to test His disciples to see if they picked up on the secrets. He said, “You feed them.” That was the test. They should have asked, “Which key do we use?” Instead, they said, “All we have is….” They were limited by what they could see. But in the Kingdom of Heaven we walk not by sight but by faith. The lesson Jesus wanted them (and us) to learn is that when you know the keys to the Kingdom secrets, you will never again say, “All I have is….” Look at the progression: Jesus looked up toward heaven and gave thanks. He put in the key of prayer and unlocked the warehouse. Then He broke the bread, gave it to His disciples, and they distributed it among the people. It should work for us the same way. Through prayer in Jesus’ name (the key), we unlock Heaven’s warehouse. The King Himself draws forth from its abundance and gives it to us, and we then give it to others. But we have to know the key that opens the warehouse. That knowledge is Christ’s promise to us: “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you.” 

SEVEN PRINCIPLES OF KEYS 

Knowledge leads to understanding. Once we know the principles behind keys, we can understand how they work in the Kingdom. There are several principles that define the properties of keys.


1. Keys represent authority. 
    If you possess a key to a place, it means you have authority in that place. Suppose your boss entrusts     you with a key to the store or the office. By doing so, he shows not only that he trusts you but also t       that he has delegated a certain amount of authority to you. The key to your house means you have         authority there. The key to your car gives you authority to drive whenever you want to. Christ says,     “I am giving you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. I am giving you authority in heaven, the same     authority I have.” What an awesome gift! Few of us have done more than just scratch the surface in         learning what this means. 

2. Keys represent access. 
     A key gives you instant access to everything that key opens. The secret is in knowing what the key         opens. The keys of the Kingdom of Heaven give us immediate access to all the resources of heaven.     But we have to know how to use them. So often we limit ourselves by trusting or believing only in         what we can see with our eyes or reason out with our minds. A Kingdom mind-set completely                 changes our perspective. When a pagan king sent his army to capture the Hebrew prophet Elisha, the     prophet’s servant was terrified one morning to find the army surrounding the city. “Oh, my lord, what     shall we do?” the servant asked. “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are     more than those who are with them.” And Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes so he may see.”             Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots     of fire all around Elisha. As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, “Strike         these people with blindness.” So he struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked (2 Kings 6:15b-       18).Elisha’s servant was frightened by what he saw around him, but he didn’t have a key. Elisha had     a key, unlocked heaven, and brought down an angelic host to protect them. The prophet tapped into a     principle that took him to a system that made that pagan army look like toy soldiers by comparison.         When you have the keys of the Kingdom, you have no lack and no crisis because the King is greater     than them all. Jesus said He would teach us to walk in that kind of authority, access, and confidence. 

3. Keys represent ownership
Possession of a key gives you de facto ownership of whatever that key opens. Therefore, when you possess the keys of the Kingdom of heaven, you have ownership of heaven on earth. Jesus said, “Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” In other words, you own on earth whatever is going on in Heaven. This means that you should never judge how your life is going simply by your circumstances. Suppose you get laid off from your job. It would be easy to get scared and stressed out because you have a family and bills to pay and no money. That’s your circumstances. As a Kingdom citizen with the keys of the Kingdom, however, you have ownership of heaven on earth. You can be confident and even rejoice in the prospect of a bright future because you have a source of supply and provision that those outside the Kingdom cannot even conceive. So go have a prosperity party! The King is preparing to bless and prosper you from a completely unexpected direction. When you “own” the resources of the King, you are never destitute. 

4. Keys represent control. If you possess the key to something, you control it. You control when it opens, when it closes, and who gets access to it. A key helps you control time. In other words, you decide whether to open it up at 8:00 or 10:00 or 6:00 or whenever. This gives you control over when something comes. If you need something now, you operate a key. One day the Hebrew prophet Elijah met a poor widow gathering sticks at the town gate. This was during a severe drought. He asked her for a drink of water and a piece of bread. “As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.” Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord gives rain on the land.’” She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah (1 Kings 17:12-16). The truth of the widow’s circumstances was that she and her son were about to starve. Elijah approaches and makes a bold, some might even say selfish, request: “I know you don’t have much, but feed me first and then yourself and your son. Trust in the Lord; He will take care of you.” This was not selfishness. Elijah was offering the woman a key. Once she took it, she had control. By faith and obedience she unlocked heaven’s larder and brought down for herself and her family supernatural provision that sustained them until the drought ended. Her entire life and mind-set shifted from the circumstances of want and privation to a Kingdom perspective of unlimited abundance. 

5. Keys represent authorization. This is similar to number 1. Authorization means to be given the authority to act in the name or in the stead of whoever gave you the authority. “The boss authorized me to do this….” Possession of keys means that you are authorized to act in the name and authority of the one who owns the keys. By giving us the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, Jesus gives us the authority to influence Heaven. He has authorized us to act in His name and on His authority to request whatever we wish that is in accordance with His will and purpose. 

6. Keys represent power. Whoever gives you keys gives you power at the same time. This is similar to control. You have control—power—over whatever you possess the keys for. If you know how to use the keys, whatever they unlock is at your disposal. The keys to your house give you the power to come and go and to allow or disallow others to enter. When Jesus gave us the keys to the kingdom, He gave us power in Heaven. Whatever we bind on earth affects Heaven; whatever we loose on earth affects Heaven; whatever we close on earth, Heaven closes. Do we really have that much power as Kingdom citizens? Yes. The King does not want us to live as victims of the earth’s system, so He has given us the ability to tap into a realm that is invisible but absolutely real and can literally affect the physical earth. This is why Christ was able to live an abundant life in times of crisis. He had power from Heaven. And He has given that power to us. 

7. Keys represent freedom. When you have keys, you are free to go in and out. You are free to lock and unlock, to open and close. The keys of the Kingdom give us freedom from fear and all the other limiting emotions of an earthly system. I used to wonder why Jesus was so carefree, so calm, and so in control no matter what was happening around Him. It was because He had the key of freedom. One day Jesus was asleep in the back of a boat while His cabinet (some of whom were fishermen) sailed it across the Sea of Galilee. As happens frequently on that body of water, a severe storm blew up suddenly. The storm was so fierce that even the experienced sailors aboard feared that the boat was going to sink. How could Jesus sleep through such a crisis? Their lives were in danger, and He was snoozing in the stern! The disciples went and woke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey Him!” (Matthew 8:25-27). Jesus said, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” In essence He was saying, “What’s the matter? Where are your keys?” Then He took out a key, locked up the storm, and it stopped. In amazement, the disciples asked, “What kind of man is this?” Just a man with keys. The keys of the Kingdom are the keys to ultimate truth, the knowledge of which brings true liberty. Jesus said: If you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free (John 8:31b-32). By “teaching,” Jesus is not referring so much to Scripture verses as much as the principles, laws, and precepts contained in those verses. Freedom comes in knowing the truth. Truth alone is not what sets you free. What sets you free is the truth you know. The keys of the Kingdom can bring you into the knowledge of the truth. 

SEVEN CHARACTERISTICS OF KEYS 

1. Keys are laws. 
They are fixed, reliable standards that never change. When used correctly, they always work.

2. Keys are principles. 
When Jesus spoke of “the keys of the Kingdom,” He wasn’t talking about literal physical keys to open physical locks. The keys of the Kingdom are principles, systems that operate under fixed laws. When He gives us the keys, He gives us the principles by which the Kingdom of Heaven operates. We gain access to the systems that make the Kingdom of Heaven work. And once we learn the laws, the system, and the principles, all of heaven will be available to us. 

3. Keys are systems. 
Every government runs on systems: the social system, the economic system, the political system, the educational system, the telecommunications system, etc. Knowledge of the systems and how they work is a key to power and influence. Control the systems and you control the government. Disrupt the systems and you disrupt the government. Destroy the systems and you destroy the nation. That’s how powerful systems are. Even more, that’s how powerful knowledge can be. The systems of the Kingdom of Heaven are beyond the reach of those outside the kingdom and are in no danger of being disrupted or destroyed. Kingdom citizens, on the other hand, have access to those systems and can bring the influence of Kingdom systems to bear in earthly situations. That is why Kingdom citizens can rest confident in victory and success no matter what circumstances may suggest. So the most important thing any of us could do is to make sure that we are citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven. 

4. Keys activate function.
A car operates on gasoline. The “key” of gasoline activates the function of the car. Without gasoline, the car will not run no matter how many other keys you have. Likewise, a radio with no receiver cannot fulfill its function of converting radio waves into audible sound waves for you to hear. The “key” of a receiver is missing, and without it, the radio is only an empty, silent box. The box may be pretty, the glass clean and shiny, but it cannot fulfill its purpose because the key to activate its function is not there. To me, religion is like that attractive radio or that stylish but gas-less car that does not work. Like them, religion may look beautiful and impressive on the outside with all its regalia and traditions, but it has no keys and therefore lacks the ability and the power to activate Kingdom function. The keys of the Kingdom activate Heaven so that we can fully enjoy our rights and privileges as Kingdom citizens. This is far more sure and secure than depending on the systems of the world for our enjoyment. On this point, Kingdom ambassador Paul counsels: Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment (1 Timothy 6:17). The keys of the Kingdom allow us to enjoy all the rich and good things of God without measure. 

5. Keys initiate action
Just as the key to a car initiates action by starting the engine, the keys of the Kingdom, when we know how to use them, initiate action in Heaven. 

6. Keys are the principles by which the Kingdom of God operates. 
Not only are keys principles, but specifically, keys to the operation of the Kingdom. They give us access to the blueprints, the schematic, the flowcharts so that we can understand and appropriate the inner workings of the Kingdom of Heaven. 

7. Keys cannot be substituted by feelings, emotions, wishful thinking, or manipulation. If you are locked out of your house without a key, no amount of begging or pleading or wishing will make that door open. If your car is out of gas, you can sit behind the wheel and dream and will all you want for it to move, but it will stay right where it is. Religion is built on feelings, emotions, wishful thinking, and manipulation. It is different with the Kingdom. The Kingdom of Heaven operates on keys. You can wish and feel and beg and plead all you want, but without the right keys, you will still be locked out of all the things God promised you because feelings don’t open doors. Keys do. In the world’s system, you get ahead by killing, robbing, hurting, manipulating, climbing up on people, using people, stealing, gambling—any way you can. But in the Kingdom of Heaven, everything is reversed. To get ahead, you must do the opposite of what you do in the world. Instead of getting, you give; instead of hoarding, you release; instead of grabbing, you give up; instead of hating, you love; instead of every-man-for-himself, you show first regard to others. Yes, this is counterintuitive, but that is the way God’s Kingdom works. 

THE COUNTERINTUITIVE NATURE OF KEYS 

It is this very counterintuitive quality of the Kingdom of heaven that makes it so hard for the world to
understand. The Kingdom of Heaven and the kingdoms of this world operate by completely opposite principles. People raised in the world’s system cannot comprehend on their own the truly otherworldly nature of God’s Kingdom. This is why Simon Peter could not recognize Jesus as the Messiah except by divine revelation. This clash of systems is vividly illustrated by an encounter Jesus had one day with a rich young man who was interested in getting into the Kingdom. As Jesus started on His way, a man ran up to Him and fell on his knees before Him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “Why do you call Me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.’” “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.” Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” He said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.” At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” (Mark 10:17-23). 

Once we get into the Kingdom and start functioning properly, we inevitably become prosperous. Prosperity is a natural product of Kingdom living. But we must live by the standards of the Kingdom in order to prosper in the Kingdom. This rich young man had problems with Jesus’ conditions because they ran counter to everything he had ever heard and believed about success and prosperity. He simply was not prepared for the counterintuitive command of Jesus to part with everything that he thought made him “somebody.” This is why Jesus said that it is hard for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God. The keys, the principles, the systems of the Kingdom are opposite to those of the world, from where they acquired their wealth. In other words, the opposite nature of Kingdom keys makes it difficult for many people to understand the Kingdom. This young man had grown up in a world where you get by taking. He could not understand the principle of a Kingdom where you get by giving. Additionally, it is the power of ignorance of Kingdom keys that can destroy us. Scripture says: “My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6a). Because of ignorance of Kingdom keys, this rich young man did not know how to become richer, so he chose to hold onto wealth that literally was killing him rather than enter into wealth that could give him life. Coming into the Kingdom of God neither makes you poor nor requires you to become poor. But you have to know the keys. This rich man thought he was rich, but was really poor because he did not understand the nature of true wealth. So he went away sad. 

A key principle of the Kingdom of Heaven, on the other hand, is this: The blessing of the Lord brings wealth, and He adds no trouble to it (Proverbs 10:22). Once you get the keys of the Kingdom and learn how they work, the blessing of God will bring you wealth without sorrow. And He can do it in an instant if He is so inclined. 

Another factor in the difficulty people have in understanding the Kingdom is the danger of the fallen nature of human reasoning. Man’s rebellion against God resulted in a corrupted mind and conscience. The way most of us in this world pursue success and wealth and try to get ahead is completely contrary to the principles and laws that God designed into creation. But we are too blinded by our corrupt minds to see it. Like the rich young man, we assume that you must do certain things to succeed—climb the corporate ladder by walking on people’s heads and stepping on their hands, hurt them, use them selfishly, scheme against them, betray them, lie, cheat, steal—whatever it takes to be a millionaire before the age of 40. Then Jesus comes along and says, “If you want real wealth and real success, get rid of all of that. Give it back to the people you got it from and follow Me.” The attitude of willingness to part with it all is as important, and perhaps more so, than the actual act. Remember, in the Kingdom of Heaven we are stewards, not owners. Because of our fallen nature of human reasoning, the principles and keys of the Kingdom of God are completely foreign to the way we have been trained to think. That is why the first word Jesus said when He came to announce the Kingdom was, “Repent.” Change the way you think. Principles work but are not always understood. The rich young man simply could not see how following Jesus’ instructions would get him what he wanted. He could not grasp the principle. The keys of the Kingdom work, but sometimes even after we learn how to use them, we don’t understand how they work. They just do. Principles are established by the manufacturer. Our Creator knows His creation. God knows what is best for us. But because of our fallen nature, we are dysfunctional creatures who believe either that there is nothing wrong with us or that whatever is wrong we can fix ourselves. Counterintuitive wisdom leads us to understand that the keys of the Kingdom, the principles under which the Kingdom operates, are also the keys to bringing the life, law, and culture of Heaven to earth, even when human logic or reasoning says otherwise.