LIVING IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD FEBRUARY 22, 2024

 LIVING IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD FEBRUARY 22, 2024

Kingdom greetings to all those living in the Kingdom of God,

Some might say, “Well, doesn’t that include everybody?” Not unless you truly believe you are living in the Kingdom of God. That is a matter decided on by each individual and God. Like so many other things, everybody has their own perspective. There are actually many “kingdoms” in existence. Some interesting statistics: In the Old Testament, while there are many references to “kingdoms,” there are very, very few references to the kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven. However, in the New Testament, since Jesus came to preach and teach the “Gospel of the Kingdom,” there are 160 references to the Kingdom of God/Heaven. Fifteen of the twenty seven New Testament books mention the Kingdom of God/Heaven. One hundred eleven times is the Kingdom mentioned just in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Eleven of the fifteen books in the Book of Mormon make references to the Kingdom, while sixty two sections in the Doctrine and Covenants speak of the Kingdom. It must be vital to each of us.

It is well known that where there is a kingdom, there must be a king and subjects of the king. The members/subjects/servants of the king are expected to obey the king’s commandments or suffer the consequences. Things naturally go better for members of a kingdom when they are in total obedience to the King. How many times in all the scriptures does God say, “If you will, I will,” or “When you will, then I will.” One very good example is Doctrine and Covenants 81:3 a “And again, I say unto you, I give unto you a new commandment, that you may understand my will concerning you; or, in other words, I give unto you directions how you may act before me, that it may turn to you for your salvation. b I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise.”

Notice the wording? Directions on how to act for our salvation.

How do we know if we are living in the Kingdom of God or even trying to live in His Kingdom? One writer put it this way,”When you are under His Lordship/Kingship and when He is in control of your life, THAT IS THE KINGDOM OF GOD. So the major questions we should ask ourselves 24/7 Am I? And Is He? Anytime we cannot answer yes to those two questions, we need to speedily repent and seek His forgiveness.

The major downfall of “Christians, Saints, etc” is that we generally want to be the “Ruler” in our little kingdom, rather than submitting to God and living under His authority in His Kingdom. From Doctrine and Covenants 102:9 a “But firstly, let my army become very great; and let it be sanctified before me, that it may become fair as the sun and clear as the moon, and that her banners may be terrible unto all nations, b that the kingdoms of this world may be constrained to acknowledge that the kingdom of Zion is in very deed the kingdom of our God and his Christ; therefore, let us become subject unto her laws.”

The sentence in the “Lord’s Prayer,” “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth, AS IT IS DONE IN HEAVEN,” is not an idle phrase. There are at least ten parables in the New Testament that speak of “The Kingdom.” See if you can find them.

God Bless

Paul Gage