GOD'S KINGDOM IS IN YOU!
Jesus teaches “WHOEVER HUMBLES HIMSELF LIKE THIS CHILD IS THE
GREATEST IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN” [Mt 18:4 NI]. Where is God's
kingdom? How do we enter God's Kingdom? As Jesus begins His ministry He told
people, "THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS NEAR" [Mk 1:15 GN]. Jesus commands us
to pray daily to God "MAY YOUR KINGDOM COME". In the prayer, the rest of
the sentence or verse is "MAY YOUR WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN
HEAVEN" [Mt 6:10 GN], which would indicate that Jesus is talking about now, on
earth. The location or the coming of the kingdom may appear confusing as it did in
Jesus' day when Jesus clarified, "THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS WITHIN YOU"
[Lk 17:20-21 NKJ]. The association of "KINGDOM" and doing God's "WILL" is
important. Another time Jesus makes it clear that to enter God's kingdom one must do
"THE WILL OF MY FATHER WHO IS IN HEAVEN" [Mt 7:21 NI]. How do we
do God's "WILL" or what God wants us to do? A first step is when God said
concerning Jesus, “THIS IS MY SON, AND I LOVE HIM. OBEY HIM!" [Mk 9:7
IC] Obeying Jesus is a life style of obeying and following His guidance, especially
regarding God.
As we learn God's kingdom is in us and as we are encouraged to do what God wants,
we find that Jesus is a living example of doing what God wants. Jesus said God
"TOLD ME WHAT TO SAY" and that "I DO EXACTLY WHAT THE FATHER
TOLD ME TO DO". [Jn 12:49; 14:31 IC]. One time after people were trying to keep
little children from Jesus and after Jesus corrected them, Jesus stated, "YOU MUST
ACCEPT THE KINGDOM OF GOD AS A LITTLE CHILD ACCEPTS
THINGS, OR YOU WILL NEVER ENTER IT" [Mk 10:15 IC]. Doing what God
wants or being submissive to God is further supported by this comparison with little
children. This comparison with becoming like a little child or starting over, makes the
statement "UNLESS ONE IS BORN AGAIN, HE CANNOT BE IN GOD'S
KINGDOM" [Jn 3:3 IC] more understandable. When we pray every day "MAY
YOUR KINGDOM COME" it may be good to also ask for God's help in being
submissive to what He wants in our lives and help in denying ourselves or
subordinating our "WANTS" [Lk 9:23 IC] so we can do what God wants. Is God's
kingdom in you?
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