WHAT KINGDOM DO YOU BELONG TO?
Part 4

And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another,
as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.”
(Matthew 25:33).

10. I BELONG TO A KINGDOM PREPARED FOR ME BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD

Matthew 25:34: “Then shall the king say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom PREPARED FOR YOU from the foundation of the world.”

How amazing. Not only is this kingdom prepared before the foundation of the world, but it is prepared personally for me. For you. Jesus said in John 14:1-3: “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so I would have told you. I go to PREPARE A PLACE FOR YOU. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”

Although this kingdom is prepared before the foundation of the world, Jesus must still be working on it as He says He is continuing to prepare it for us. Our mortal mind will never fathom the glory of the eternal kingdom that we have inherited through Jesus’ death and His precious blood poured out for us.

This kingdom is not prepared for everyone. It is prepared for God’s sheep. Matthew 25:31-33 says: “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.”

Those who belong to Him will go to the right where Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father. The goats, those who do not belong to Him will go to the left to “everlasting punishment” (v. 46).

The sheep inherit the kingdom of God; the goats do not belong to the kingdom. That’s one of the reasons why I don’t like to refer to children as “kids.” Why put them in the goat company that does not belong to God. I want them to be part of the sheep company.

11. I BELONG TO A KINGDOM OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, PEACE AND JOY

Romans 14;17: “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink: but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.”

If we belong to God’s kingdom, these attributes should be part of our lives. Joy should be the hallmark of my life. Righteousness should personify my character because the righteousness of Jesus dwells in me. How can we belong to kingdom of righteousness and live an unrighteous life? That does not add up.

Romans 1:8 tells us that righteousness is the scepter for God’s kingdom. Read also Psalm 45:6; 47:8; 97:2; and Isaiah 9:6).

12. I BELONG TO A KINGDOM OF JUSTICE AND JUDGMENT

Psalm 89:14: “Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne.” Although God is loving and merciful, He is also a God of justice and judgment. He cannot tolerate sin, and yet He waits with patience to bring His judgment. But one day all sin, personally and nationally, will be judged and Jesus Christ will bring all rebellion into subjection to His glorious kingdom.

If we belong to God’s kingdom, we will also understand justice. We will not belong to the “tolerant church” of this society where they tolerate anything and everything. We are commanded to hate sin (Psalm 97:10; Proverbs 8:13; Amos 5;15. To abhor and shudder at sin (Romans 12:9). To reprove sin (Ephesians 5:11 and 1 Timothy 5:20; and Titus 1:13).

For further understanding about justice, go to: http://tinyurl.com/PermissionToJudge and
http://aboverubies.org/JusticeintheHome

13. I BELONG TO A KINGDOM THAT IS EXALTED

Balaam’s prophesy in Numbers 24:7 about Israel says: “And his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be EXALTED.”

Rejoice today that you belong to an exalted kingdom.

Be blessed. Nancy Campbell

PRAYER:

“Dear Father in Heaven, I know that Your kingdom is a kingdom of justice and judgment. Please teach me Your justice. Your justice is perfect whereas mine is often biased. Please show how to show mercy and justice in a godly way. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

I belong to a kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy. Therefore I live in righteousness, peace, and joy in every circumstance.

WHAT KINGDOM DO YOU BELONG TO?
Part 3

“And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are
called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb”
(Revelation 19:9).

8. I BELONG TO A KINGDOM WHICH CANNOT BE SHAKEN

Hebrews 12:28: “Whereby we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.”

What a hope to belong to a kingdom which will never be moved. Can you say, Amen?

9. I BELONG TO A KINGDOM WHERE WE WILL EAT AND FELLOWSHIP

Isn’t this amazing? We often don’t think about eating and feasting in Heaven, do we? And yet while Jesus was here on earth He often talked to His disciples about eating and sitting at His table in Heaven.

Luke 13:29: “And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God.” Many other translations say: “sit down at the table in the kingdom of God,” or “recline at the table in the kingdom of God.”

The Passion translation says: “You will see people streaming from the four corners of the earth, accepting the invitation to feast in kingdom.” One commentary says: “The banquet imagery is a way to describe the fellowship and celebration accompanying those who are included in the kingdom of God.

We read in Luke 14:15 of another incident: “And when one of them that sat at meat with him heard these things, he said unto him, blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.” Yes, you will eat food in God’s kingdom.

What wonderful glimpses we get of God’s heavenly kingdom. What feasting. What fellowship. What food! Tastes so heavenly we will hardly be able to contain them.

What joy we have as we sit at the table and eat and fellowship with one another now. Some of the most precious times of life. How much more in the eternal kingdom. In fact, if you want to bring Heaven down to earth, practice this heavenly lifestyle now. Jesus said: “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matthew 5:10). Sit around your table with your family. Invite guests (friends and hurting and lonely people) to your table. This brings the atmosphere of heaven to your home.

This is what Jesus did while He was on earth. He gave much of his teaching as he sat at the table with friends and publicans and sinners. Jesus said of Himself: “The Son of man is come eating and drinking” (Luke 7:34). Robert Karris, the author of “Eating Your Way Through Luke’s Gospel” says: “In Luke’s Gospel Jesus is either going to a meal, at a meal, or coming from a meal.” He was fulfilling the lifestyle of Heaven and showing us how to do it. The more we do this in our homes, the more we bring the kingdom of Heaven to our homes.

Read about some of the feasts that you will enjoy in God’s kingdom—Isaiah 25:6 and Revelation 19:7-9.

Be blessed and encouraged today.

Nancy Campbell
www.aboverubies.org

PRAYER:

“Dear Father, thank You for showing my what Your heavenly kingdom is like. It’s amazing to know that we will enjoy the richness of fellowshipping, eating, feasting, and banqueting in the heavenly kingdom. Teach me how to live your kingdom lifestyle now. I know You don’t want me to wait until Heaven. You want me to bring Heaven to earth now. Please show me more and more how to do this in my home. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

I’m bringing Heaven to earth as I gather my family and other people around my table. I am living the lifestyle of the kingdom of heaven now.

WHAT KINGDOM DO YOU BELONG TO?
Part 2

“Suffer the little children to come unto me,
and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God”
(Mark 10:14).

5. I BELONG TO A KINGDOM THAT WILL RULE EVERY OTHER KINGDOM

Daniel 7:14, 27: “And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him . . . And all dominions shall serve him and obey him.”

There is coming a day when every nation and every person will bow down before our Lord Jesus Christ who is King of kings and Lord of lords. I think of Philippians 2:10, 11: “That at the name of Jesus ever knee shall bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

If we do not bow now, we will certainly bow one day. There will not be one nation or person who will not bow before Him. Read also: Psalm 103:19; Isaiah 45:23; 60:12; Jeremiah 10:7; Daniel 7:10; Zephaniah 3:8; Haggai 2:22; Romans 14:11; Revelation 5:13; and 11:15.

6. I BELONG TO A GLORIOUS AND MAJESTIC KINGDOM

Psalm 145:11, 12: “They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom and talk of thy power; To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts and the glorious majesty of his kingdom.”

Because we belong to a glorious and majestic kingdom, how should it affect our lives? We must realize that we belong to royalty. We belong to the King of kings and Lord of lords. Therefore, we should live with a sense of royalty upon us. That does not mean we walk proudly. God forbid. The King of kings submitted to grow in the womb of woman and to be born in a crude manger. He came to serve, rather than to be served. But he walked majestically. The people said, “No man ever spake like this man” (John 7:46).

We should speak, act, dress, and walk as representatives a royal kingdom. There is coming a day when the saints will possess the kingdom (Daniel 7:18, 22, 27). We should live like a kingdom of priests and kings now. Don’t you agree?

7. I BELONG TO KINGDOM THE LOVES AND EMBRACES CHILDREN

Many kingdoms on this earth do not totally embrace children, but one thing we know, God’s kingdom loves and embraces children.

Jesus said in Matthew 18:3-5: “Except ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall not enter the kingdom heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.”

Jesus looks upon the way we receive children into our lives as the same way we receive Him? The word “receive” is dechomai and means “to accept deliberately and readily, to welcome, to accept with open arms, minds, and hearts.” What is our attitude to receive children? Do we try to stop having children? Do we push them away? Often when someone finds out they are pregnant, they say, “Well, it was a mistake, but I guess we’ll somehow survive.” How many precious children are called “mistakes”?

How does God want us to receive His children? The same way we welcome Jesus to our hearts and lives. Willingly! Deliberately! “Yes, Lord, I am yielded and willing to receive the precious children You have planned for me to raise for you.” “Yes, Lord, I open my heart, my mind, and my arms to the children You want to give me.”

Mark 10:13, 14: “And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, he was MUCH DISPLEASED and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.” Read also Matthew 19:13-15 and Luke 18:15-17).

Children are at the very heart of God’s kingdom. When we embrace children to our womb, our hearts, our home, and our family we in the very heart of God’s kingdom. As you nurture, teach, and train your children each day, you are in the very center of the kingdom of God. You don’t need to go to some faraway mission field. You serve in God’s kingdom right amongst your precious children.

Be blessed today,

Nancy Campbell
www.aboverubies.org

PRAYER:

“Thank you, dear Father God, for your love for children. Thank you for showing me that my attitude to You and to Jesus is the same attitude I have toward children. Help me to see children like You see them. Amen.

AFFIRMATION:

I belong to a kingdom that loves and embraces children!

WHAT KINGDOM DO YOU BELONG TO?
Part 1

“The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord,
and of his Christ; and he shall reign forever and ever”
(Revelation 11:15).

Do you belong to the kingdom of God? If so, do you know what kind of a kingdom you belong to? I think it’s important to understand the nature of the kingdom we belong to, don’t you? So, let’s look at what God shows us in His Word.

1. I BELONG TO A KINGDOM THAT IS NOT OF THIS WORLD. THE ONLY WAY I CAN ENTER IS BY BEING BORN AGAIN

Jesus answered Nicodemus in John 3:3 (NASB): “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

When Jesus died a soldier pierced his side, and “forthwith came there out blood and water” (John 19:34).

The only way we get into God’s kingdom is by repenting of our sins and being born again by the Spirit of God and through the precious blood of Jesus Christ that He poured out for our sins. Read also Matthew 4:17; Mark 1:14, 15; Luke 8:1 and John 3:5-8.

2. I BELONG TO A KINGDOM THAT IS EVERLASTING AND WILL NEVER END

Psalm 16:10: “The LORD is King FOR EVER AND EVER.”

Daniel 4:34: “I blessed the most High, and I praised and honored him that LIVETH FOREVER, whose dominion is an EVERLASTING dominion, and his dominion is from generation to generation.”

We need to constantly take hold of this truth. On this earth we face trials and persecutions, difficulties and challenges, but this life is only “a vapor, that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away” (James 4:14).  It is transient. Instead, we look forward to an eternal kingdom that will never pass away. This truth holds us in the difficult times. We can endure now because we know we will one day enjoy en eternal kingdom. We can stand fast for God and His truth even in the face of persecution because we look forward to an eternal future.

I am always encouraged by the wonderful words in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18: “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory: While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

You may be going through a trial that seems never ending. Dear one, be encouraged. It is only “for a moment” in the light of eternity. What God works in you will be a “FAR MORE EXCEEDING AND ETERNAL WEIGHT OF GLORY.” Five adjectives to describe the glory you will receive in the eternal realm!

Be encouraged. Read this Scripture over again. Read it aloud. You can endure for the joy that is ahead.

You can read more Scriptures about this everlasting kingdom: Psalm 29:10; 45:6; 145:13; 146:10; Daniel 2:18; 44; 4;3; 7:14, 12; Micah 4:7; Matthew 6:13; Luke 1:33; Romans 1:8; 1 Timothy 1:17; 1 Peter 1;11; and Revelation 11:15.

3.     I BELONG TO A KINGDOM THAT WILL NEVER BE DESTROYED

Throughout all of history, kings and kingdoms have passed away. Many are destroyed and never heard of again. How amazing to belong to a kingdom that will never be destroyed. What great hope we have. Speak out these wonderful truths to encourage your soul. Read these wonderful Scriptures to your children.

Daniel 7:14: “His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which SHALL NOT BE DESTROYED.” Read also Daniel 2:44 and 6:26.

4. I BELONG TO A KINGDOM THAT WILL BREAK IN PIECES AND CONSUME ALL OTHER KINGDOMS.

Daniel 2:44: “The God of heaven shall set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed, and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall BREAK IN PIECES AND CONSUME all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.”

No other kingdom will ever stand against God’s kingdom One day every kingdom on earth will be ruled by God’s kingdom. There are many believers who are being persecuted in so many countries of the world. The leaders of their countries will not allow Christianity. Their people suffer imprisonment, torture, hunger, and loss of their homes. But it is only for a season. They already belong to kingdom that will break in pieces all wicked rulers and their kingdoms. Read also Isaiah 60;12 and 1 Corinthians 15:24, 25.

There is coming a day when the saints will possess the kingdom and rule over all other kingdoms. Daniel 7:18 says: “But the saints of the Highest shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.” Read also Daniel 7:22, 27.

Be blessed and encouraged today.

Nancy Campbell

www.aboverubieds.org

PRAYER:

“Dear Father, I thank You so much for the privilege of being born again into Your eternal kingdom. I thank You that I can endure on this earth because I have hope of living in an everlasting kingdom that will never pass away. Thank You for shedding your precious blood to redeem me to be one of your children and to one day inherit glory and be joint-heirs with Christ. It is beyond my comprehension to take in, but I thank you and stand upon this wonderful truth. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

This life is only fleeting, but I belong to an eternal kingdom.