Message 1
Minister: Barr Femi Jemilohun
Jesus is the king of the kingdom. In Matthew 6, Jesus taught us a pattern of prayer that an average Christian should be familiar with. This model prayer contains fundamental principles that concern the kingdom.
The understanding that the kingdom is the Lord’s must be settled in us and that every subject in the kingdom must live as dictated by the king. You cannot come into the kingdom as you are and remain as you are. You must change to live by the principles of the kingdom as instructed by the king.
There is a pattern of the kingdom and there is a process that will bring us into alignment with the expected manner of life of the kingdom. Every product has to go through a process.
In Genesis 41:14, there was an urgency in the kingdom that required urgent attention and a young man (Joseph) who had the capacity for adequate interpretation was sought for. Joseph didn’t go hastily before Pharaoh; first, he shaved and ensured his face was fit to appear before the king. He knew there was a proper way to appear before the king. Unfortunately, we take God’s presence for granted and appear as we like before Him. Though Joseph’s heart was right, he also had to ensure that his face and raiment was right for an appearance before the king.
The establishment of the kingdom will require that men cooperate with God. Satan understands that men are important in the kingdom agenda and he tries to sell alternatives to us by all means. He seeks to sell another kingdom to men so that the plan of God can be terminated.
We must understand our roles in the establishment of the kingdom and strive to play our part. While persons can change, the eternal project can never change. God can jettison man but He cannot jettison His project. Daniel 2:31-35 – Nebuchadnezzar tried to alter the plan of the kingdom but he did not know that God’s kingdom plans cannot be uttered.
The preposition “in” in the statement, “thy will be done in earth” in Matthew 6:10 suggests that God is not interested in this world but in the heart of men dwelling in the earth. God’s kingdom cannot be established on earth, it has to be established in earth, in earthen vessels. Every time we pray that the kingdom comes, we raise opposition in the spirit.
God will not force man into His kingdom. Every time God wants to start something, he invites men and expects us to obey. As we obey, we are strengthened with increased capacity for more obedience.
One of the challenges with our generation is that our physical sensors are so active that our spiritual sensors have been hacked. Through the eyes and the ears, the soul is corrupted and the enemy understands this and so he presents to us all kinds of distractions through sight and hearing.
1 Chronicles 11:10 – No kingdom is established by weak people; kingdoms are established by strength. Many do not establish kingdom authority because they are weak. Therefore, Christians must sit and build themselves in the word and through prayers.
The expression of the kingdom is supposed to be seen through us on earth. However, this will not happen if we only learn and do not practice. All the spiritual energy that we have is for usage on the earth not in heaven. In essence, we have the responsibility to exert all that has been deposited in us.
You cannot pray that the kingdom be established when you live in rebellion. Jesus knew that Satan has a tremendous capacity to lure men away and give them a contrary kingdom so He asked us to pray that we would not be led into temptation but that we are delivered from evil.
We must be extra careful that our hearts are not stolen. As long as you allow your earthly nature to dominate you, you will never express the kingdom’s nature. We need our minds to be moved out of this earthly nature so that we may extend the kingdom of God. Until our hearts get to that level that we cannot say God owns everything and we will keep on serving and submitting to other kingdoms. We ought to seek the kingdom first but we are seeking the other things that ought to be added unto us instead.
We must begin to see beyond this earthly realm, otherwise, we will labour for another kingdom. It is high time we shifted our focus from overvaluing ephemeral kingdoms; we need to be sold out to the establishment of God’s kingdom that is full of these awesome riches and glory