Speaker: Dr. Harold J. Sala | Series: Guidelines For Living | On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.  Revelation 19:16

Suppose that Buckingham palace made an announcement, a strongly worded one, saying that it is the pleasure of Her majesty, the Queen, that henceforth, all British subjects should live in peace, that all citizens should immediately stop hating each other, that marriages should be harmonious, and that all criminals should cease and desist from all illegal activity immediately?

“Ridiculous!”  “Is this a joke?” people would respond, and rightly so.  Why?  Because righteousness can’t be legislated, even by royalty. The heart of the problem, no matter where you live, is the problem of the heart, even my heart and your heart.  That’s why, until God changes hearts, there will be police, armies, border patrols, and courts where people who can’t live in peace and harmony try to find justice for wrongdoing.

Jesus told the crowd who came to hear Him teach near Galilee to seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness.  But what does that mean?  He spoke of an invisible kingdom.  He called it, “The Kingdom of God,” one in which righteousness dwells.  God’s kingdom is a kingdom of righteousness as opposed to a kingdom in which evil is present. We’re not there yet. We’re living in the nasty, here-and-now, not the sweet by-and-by.  The battle goes on every day. If you publically stand for something, you’ll have a hard time standing at all!  “What’s happened to decency?” we ask in a world that seemingly grows more debased, more uncivil, and more dangerous with every passing year.

Jesus taught that the problems of society are really the problems of the heart.  “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander,” (Matthew 15:19), said Jesus. Jesus put it bluntly. Discouraged, you may wonder how it’s even possible to be salt and light, to have any positive influence at all on our world that’s gone so wrong. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” explained Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:17.  This means that God brings an internal transformation in the lives of those who are citizens of the God’s kingdom. We acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, King of our lives personally, and that we are controlled not by our old natures which war within, but by God’s Spirit.

This invisible kingdom of God is also a kingdom of love and those whose lives are touched by God are changed, allowing them to love, whereas they would have hated, or at least been indifferent to others. Napoleon called Jesus, “The Emperor of Love,” and one of the most remarkable things about those who seek God’s kingdom and His righteousness is that they love people.

When the God’s kingdom love fills your life, by the power of His Spirit, “There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 2:28) Kingdom love knows no divisions.

One day Queen Elizabeth of Britain will be succeeded, perhaps by her grandson; and when that happens, following the centuries-old tradition, all eyes will focus on the Archbishop of Canterbury as he places the royal crown on the head of the kneeling prince and says, “Sires, I present to you, Your rightful King.  Are you ready to pay homage?”

Have you, as a spiritual affirmation said, “Jesus, I want you to rule and reign in my heart and life!  I crown you as my King and place you over the kingdom of my life?”  When you do that, you become a citizen of the invisible kingdom, the kingdom of God.

Resource reading:  Revelation 22: 1-21