 During the time that the Lord Jesus was among the people here on earth, they had a religious mindset. To understand the Kingdom mindset, one must be born again of the Spirit. Born again doesn’t mean to believe in the Lord Jesus. It is being filled with the Holy Spirit. King Jesus spoke this to Nicodemus: Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again (“born from above”), he cannot see the Kingdom of God.” John 3:3 When you are born again in the Spirit it is very similar to when you were born in the natural sense. You have to learn how to live and operate in the Spirit…meaning you have to be taught by our Kingdom Governor and His Word. The Lord Jesus made it very clear when He said “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” John 3:5-6 We must learn how to live and operate here on this earth while being a citizen of His Kingdom. Many religious people think that they are born again because they believe and have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. But salvation isn’t being born again. Being born again is when we are filled with the Holy Spirit—our Kingdom Governor. There are millions of people who attend church who think they are born again because they have accepted Jesus, when in reality they are of the same religious mindset as Nicodemus. He continued speaking to Nicodemus, showing the difference between salvation and being filled with the Holy Spirit: “How are these things possible?” Nicodemus asked. Jesus replied, “You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don’t understand these things? I assure you, we tell you what we know and have seen, and yet you won’t believe our testimony. But if you don’t believe Me when I tell you about earthly things, how can you possibly believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ever gone to heaven and returned. But the Son of Man has come down from heaven. And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in Him will have eternal life.” “For this is how God loved the world: He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent His Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through Him.” John 3:9-17 NLT Being born again is a process, just as it is in the natural. We must read and study His Word, and then you will receive His gift of the Spirit. If you truly love the King, He will give you His Spirit. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. 1 John 5:3 “If you love Me, obey My commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive Him, because it isn’t looking for Him and doesn’t recognize Him. But you know Him, because He lives with you now and later will be in you… Jesus replied, “All who love Me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and We will come and make our home with each of them. Anyone who doesn’t love Me will not obey Me. And remember, My words are not My own. What I am telling you is from the Father who sent Me. I am telling you these things now while I am still with you. But when the Father sends the Advocate as My representative—that is, the Holy Spirit--He will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you. John 14:15-17, 23-26 NLT When you truly embrace His Word in your heart and seek His righteousness, no religion can hide His Kingdom from you! But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Matthew 6:33 The secret is you must really want it with all your heart and mind. That is what seeking is! Seeking is not casual. Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Matthew 7:7-8 God’s Kingdom government is our top priority. The Government of God’s Kingdom doesn’t fit in religious and denominational boxes! Religion and its leaders are a hindrance to seeking the Kingdom of God. Do you recall when the Lord Jesus stated this? “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the Kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.” Matthew 23:13 If you ever have any doubts about how Jesus felt about the religious in that day, just read all of Matthew 23! Here is just a short example: Then Jesus said to the crowds and to His disciples, “The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses. So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach. They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden. “Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear robes with extra long tassels. And they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the seats of honor in the synagogues. They love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi.” Matthew 23:1-7 NLT When the Son of God arrived on this earth, He promoted only one thing…His Father’s Kingdom. He never gave a thought to promoting a religion. He was single-minded with only God’s Kingdom government being reintroduced into the earth. He and His cousin—John—promoted His Father’s government. In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand!”…From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matthew 3:1-2, 4:17 To proclaim and promote a religion called Christianity was an idea by religious men. The first time in God’s Constitution we heard of the name Christian was when some religious men called Saul and Barnabas Christians in the city of Antioch. Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to seek Saul. And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. Acts 11:25-26 Remember, if people can name you, they will define who you are! It was because of the Kingdom that the Lord Jesus came to earth. It was His purpose. Now when it was day, He departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them; but He said to them, “I must preach the Kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent.” Luke 4:42-43 Preaching about the Kingdom of God was and is the last chance for mankind to be saved and led into His Kingdom. I want to encourage you to evaluate your life concerning religious traditions and bylaws. Are they keeping you from the full revelation of what life as a citizen of God’s Kingdom can be? What religious strongholds are hiding God’s Kingdom government in your life? Once you have figured that out, God’s Kingdom will be revealed to you much more clearly! Once you see it, you will not be able to go back to religious traditions. God’s Word is not a religious document called the Bible. It is a binding legal document. It is God’s Testaments to His citizens. It is His “Last Will and Testament” to His children! It is a binding contract to His people. And remember, your faith in the King’s Word is your greatest asset in His Kingdom. All scriptures are NKJV unless noted W.R. Luchie www.kingdomcitizens.org |
