The Way of the Kingdom

            Our earthly assignment is often referred to as the dominion mandate, based on Gen. 3:28. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
            God’s Word is “His-story” with mankind from Heaven’s perspective. It reveals the 3 W’s: His will, His ways, and His wants for the human race. It is also the Manufacturer’s Manual for operating on this earth as His Kingdom representatives. It is a picture of the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in Heaven.
            Does that sound familiar? It’s the second line of the model prayer Jesus unveiled when the disciples asked Him to teach them how to pray. Prayer is relationship. It is accessing Heaven. It is communion with the Godhead.
            What we commonly refer to as “The Lord’s Prayer” reads like a prophetic declaration of God’s timely chronos agenda. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one (Luke 11:1-4).
            This model declaration is very telling. It names the Author: Our Father in Heaven. He is not just the Almighty God, He is God the Father—the first Person of the Godhead. It reveals the theme or purpose of the story—His Kingdom come. It hints at the “how” of this assignment—by the Bread of Life (God’s Word) that reveals the power of forgiveness through the blood of Jesus the Son of God. It reveals our individual authority through the name of Jesus to resist the evil one.
            The Chronos Lesson: As believers we are graciously delivered from the power of darkness and conveyed into the kingdom of the Son of His love—Jesus Christ our Lord. This is why the true grace message is so important in these times.
            The love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us (Rom. 5:5). One of the fruit of the spirit is love. That God-kind of love is within us. When we walk by the Spirit, that love will naturally flow out of us no matter what the world throws at us. We are to respond with love, in grace and truth, and not react in the same way that the world does, stooping to their fallen ways.
            If you are a believer, the fruit of the Spirit is already in you. But you have to partake of it in your daily life. You may not feel loving, patient, at peace, joyful, or longsuffering. That’s okay because your spirit isn’t based on feelings; it is based on knowing God and Christ. It is activated when you walk by the spirit instead of the flesh.
            For example, if you feel overwhelmed, as if you can’t take it any more, then that is a signal that you’re walking by the flesh instead of the spirit.  If you aren’t at peace or joyful, then you’re probably spending more time focused on this world’s news and media than on the Word of God.
            Jesus told us in Matt. 28:20 that He is with us until the end of the age. Yet after His resurrection, He left and ascended to Heaven. What gives? God the Father gave us the Holy Spirit to live within every believer. This outpouring of the Spirit is one of the distinguishing kairos traits of this chronos time. It is how Jesus is still with us. In fact, Jesus said that having the Spirit within is far better for us. How? Now we have all access 24-7!
            That takes us to the end of the age—this present age that we’re living in, the nearly 2,000 years or two great Days of the “Church Age.” Then what? Then comes the Age to Come, which begins with the rapture. Our Lord takes us back to Father’s House in Heaven as promised, and we are with Him for all eternity. For now, in this age, the way of the Kingdom is to live in such a way that we draw others to the Savior. In the age to come, our assignment will shift to reigning with Christ from above and executing God’s justice over Israel’s enemies and putting all things under His feet (1 Cor. 15:25).