This month special attention will be paid to the topic of spreading the Kingdom of God .
Matthew 6:33: “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well”.
Today we see many zealous believers who are actively involved in God’s work, but eventually lose their enthusiasm, interest and desire to pay the price, and subsequently fall away. They lose not only their first love and the fire of the Holy Spirit, but they lose God altogether. Zeal alone is not enough to spread the Kingdom of God effectively. To do it properly you need first to work on yourself, so that the features of the King (His views, attitudes and behavior) and the values of the Kingdom reign in you. Of course, it is important to do good things, to be compassionate, to care for the needy, but the work on ourselves to imitate the image of God is of primary importance.
Matthew 6:33 says that most of our attention and efforts should be directed towards seeking the Kingdom of God, and all that we need will be given to us in addition. What does it mean to seek the Kingdom of God? Where can we find it? The word “kingdom” has two meanings: 1) the reign of a King and 2) possession and territory, where he reigns. The key word is the king. The King of the Kingdom of God is Jesus, so we must seek Him and crave Him. “As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for You, O God”, – exclaims the psalmist. Our soul must be filled with God and always search for Him. This will help to transform us into the image of a saint. The sons of the Kingdom need to live in constant communion with the Lord, every minute and every day. (Matthew 8:12) “To keep a lamp burning, we have to keep putting oil in it”, – Mother Teresa used to say.
Luke 17:21: “Because the kingdom of God is in your midst”. If we cannot find God deep inside our heart, it is unlikely that we will find Him somewhere outside. We probably would not recognize Him, even if we were to meet Him face to face, hence we cannot manifest Him on earth. That is why Jesus wants us to become like Him, filled with Him, and imitating Him. From Genesis 1:27 we know that God created us in His image and likeness, which should be revealed in our character, beliefs, behaviors and attitudes toward people. If God is love – people need to see that we are like Him. Let them see this feature in your eyes, your sincere smile, by your paying attention to them and desire to help. If God is a spirit, we must be spiritual people. Do not judge anyone according to the flesh, but try to see God’s spark in every man. Do not live byearthly goals and challenges, but be focused on eternity. Let us learn from Jesus Christ to carry the image of the Lord and reflect His nature. Jesus had the fullness of faith, humility, patience, all-conquering love, strength, sacrifice, courage and bravery. Jesus was perfect in holiness. So he became our King. Now it is our turn and responsibility to carry His image, to be effective for God here, on earth.
John 12:25: “Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life”. This verse confirms that we must work on changing our world view, to imitate the image of the Heavenly Father and so become the bearer of His nature.
John 15:1-4: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. … Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me”. We need to be grafted into the true vine, which is Jesus Christ Himself. Only then will we be able to bring the spiritual fruits that cannot be earned by any external effort, but come forth from God’s presence in us. We must pay the most attention to this issue and work on it with the help of prayer, solitude, the Word and fellowship with believers. As a tree cannot grow without soil, so we cannot live without God. As a fish cannot live without water, so we cannot live without Him. God is the source of our holiness, faith, strength, joy, health, relief and prosperity. We cannot live a full and beautiful life without building a relationship with God. Otherwise, we are doomed to a vain, sad and unfruitful existence.
Galatians 5:22-23: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law”. The fruit of the Spirit is the result of our communion with Christ. Let us strive to always stay in the Holy Spirit, to have His words on our lips, so that our words touch the hearts of all listeners, regardless of age, social status or religion. Also, the acts of the flesh are obvious: “sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God”, – Galatians 5:19-21. Acts of the flesh, which originally lived in us, can and should be put to death by the Spirit. “… but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live”, – Romans 8:13.
The mystery or cause of the effective ministry of Jesus Christ is that He understood, loved and then revealed the nature of His Father. So God gave him the anointing more than any other.
Hebrews 1:9: “You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy”.
Our main mission is to reveal the character of Jesus, “the Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation”, – Colossians 1:15, in all our affairs, so that people do not grope for God, but can see Him in us. Let our surroundings learn about the true God from a decent life, which is led by His followers. Our knowledge of the Bible does not convince people that God is alive, but a simple, worthy of imitation Christian life. It refers to our behavior at home and outdoors, at school, at work and in problematic situations. We need to be filled with the need to love and seek God, so that He shows up in us every day. Make such a decision right now.
John 1:14: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth”.
God becomes our nature only when we take the time to work on ourselves, work hard for the word to become flesh. We must strive for it with all our might. No matter how many sermons we have listened to, how many times we have read the Bible and how many conferences and Bible schools we have attended. The Word is dead and useless to us, until we will start to work with it, so that it changes our human nature. Through the Bible pages we should see the soul of God, reflect it, and instill it in the world.
Hebrews 10: 5-7: “Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll— I have come to do your will, my God”. God wants to see us capable of revealing Him, bearing His image and likeness, and reflecting His essence. He wants these more than sacrifices and offerings.
May God help us to become such people, who can say with Jesus: “Here I am, I have come to do your will, my God”. Let everyone, who meets us on our way, receive salvation, blessing and mercy.
For a deeper studying of this topic the following literature is recommended:
“The Whole World Is Waiting”, “Land reducers”, “Life in God’s Kingdom”, “Carriers of God’s presence”, “Understanding God”, “Saved. What next?”, “The greatness of heaven” – by Sunday Adelaja.
May the Lord bless you and your family!
With love and prayers for you,
Senior Pastor of the Embassy of the Blessed Kingdom of God for All Nations “
Sunday Adelaja
