LIVING IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD FEBRUARY 26, 2026
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
*****NOTE TO RESIDENTS OF INDEPENDENCE, MISSOURI:
MONDAY, MARCH 2, 2026, 5:30 PM CITY HALL 111 E. MAPLE
(North side)
CITY COUNCIL MEETING. ONE ITEM IS THE PROPOSAL to build
an AI DATA CENTER
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