I had the privilege to share a platform with Zimbabweans, some Nigerians and other African countries to speak on Kingdom Culture.
I want to first appreciate God for the privilege and the opportunity. I also appreciate pastor Pedzisai Nigel for the platform and everyone who connected to be a part of the convention. God bless you all.
Kingdom culture is one topic I find intriguing and interesting. One of the best topic I would be speaking on. And by God's special grace it was a huge success.
Now, let's look at the concepts (Kingdom and culture) one after the other and what they entail relating it to God's kingdom.
KINGDOM : In every kingdom is a king, a territory and a people. Simply put, kingdom means the domain of a king. This domain is the territory where the king resides and presides over the people resident in that kingdom.
And in every kingdom or nation as the case maybe has the elements of an authority, a law, citizens, culture and a government without which there will be anarchy and chaos.
Show me a kingdom without any of these elements and I will show you a kingdom of anarchy and chaos.
Each and everyone of us belong to one entity or the other. Either a state, a nation or a kingdom in which we have a king or a ruler presiding over that entity as well as the different elements put in place.
Let's briefly examine the elements of a kingdom for a better understanding.
AUTHORITY : In every nation or Kingdom, there must be an authority, one who presides over the people in that kingdom.
This authority has the power or right to control those under him or her and also has the right to make important decisions as regards the people. I believe we can see this being done by those at the helm of affairs in our nations.
GOVERNMENT : When we talk about government, we are talking about a body or a group of people that govern a nation or a kingdom.
In this government are those who make the laws (The legislature), those who enforce the law (The executive) and those who interpret the law (the judiciary).
These are structures or bodies put in place to provide physical and economic security for its citizens/ subjects.
LAW : Every kingdom or nation has established laws by the government or king to be adhered to by the people of that nation that is binding on all the people.
CITIZENSHIP : There is no nation, no government and no king without a people to govern or exercise authority on. And these people recognize the authority over them as well as live by the laws of the land.
CULTURE : Culture on the other hand, is a way of life of a people which includes their belief system, foods, dressing, music, dance, customs, arts etc.
This has become a part of the people belonging to any culture. You can hardly take away a person's culture from him or her It has influenced their thinking, behavior, shaped their lives and has become a part of them.
For instance, we have the Yoruba speaking nation here in Nigeria who are identified by the way they prostrate to greet there elders irrespective of where they are.
Now, let's relate all these to God's Kingdom Culture and then highlight what makes God's kingdom different from the earthly kingdom.
GOD'S KINGDOM
While men preside over earthly Kingdoms, God remains the Supreme head over the heavens and the earth. He rules over the whole universe.
While men are either selected or elected to rule over a nation, God needs no selection or election yet He is recognized as the God of all gods, King of kings, Lord of lords and the master of the whole universe.
He is Lord over the heavens and the earth. He is fully in charge. The heaven He said. is His throne and the earth is footstool ( Isaiah 66:1).
The earth is physical but the kingdom of God is of a spiritual realm where God reigns supreme.
Like we did with the earthly kingdom, let's relate the five elements to God's kingdom.
AUTHORITY : God remains the Supreme head and Jesus, the Supreme Authority. He is the supreme authority in the kingdom of God that we all must obey ( Philippians 2:6-8, Revelation 17:14).
Little wonder the Bible said in John 14:16 "Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me."
This indicates His (Jesus) supreme authority. There is only one way to heaven and to see the Father who is the supreme head and that way is Jesus Christ(The supreme authority).
The Bible also said in Philippians 2:10 "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth."
That's why when we pray, we pray in Jesus name to get to the father (John 16:24).
All we need is to have and develop a personal relationship with Jesus and we can only do this through the word (Bible).
Get to know Him through the word, accept Him as your Lord and personal savior recognizing that He died for you to take away your sins.
GOVERNMENT : In God's Kingdom, we have the trinity (the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit) as well as the angels of God.
Each complimenting each other just as we have in the physical structure. God who is the source of all authority by virtue of who He is as the creator of the whole universe sent His son Jesus Christ down to earth as our savior and redeemer (1 John 4:9).
Now Jesus after gloriously completing His assignment on earth promised us the Holy Spirit, who was sent to us as our comforter to guide, direct and instruct us in all things (John 14:26, John 15:26, Acts 1:8).
Little wonder you hear people say, the Holy Spirit ministered to me🙂. We are presently in the era of the Holy Spirit.
And then we have the host of angels who also have their roles to play as;
(a) Messengers (Luke 1:26-38, Daniel 10:10-14).
(b) Protectors (Psalm 91:11, Daniel 6:22).
(c) Worshipers (Isaiah 6:3, Hebrews 1:6).
(d) Warriors (2 kings 19:35).
Angels are actively involved in the lives of God's children performing their roles as instructed by God (Psalm 34:7, Hebrews 1:14, Hebrews 13:2).
LAW : In God's kingdom, His commandments are His laws that are to be adhered to by us all, and written in His book (John 14:15).
He said in His word that "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shall mediate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do all that is written therein: for then, thou shall make thy way prosperous, and then thou shall have good success" (Joshua 1:8).
So, God's commandments are His laws for us to adhere to.
CITIZENSHIP : We are citizens of heaven. The moment we accepted Jesus as our Lord and savior, our identity changed.
We have been translated from the kingdom of darkness into God's marvelous light as born again Christians.
Our nationality changed from the physical to heavenly nationality. We are like ambassadors here on earth representing heaven.
CULTURE : Just as we have our earthly cultures so do we have heavenly culture. And that is where kingdom culture comes in.
As God's kingdom citizens with heavenly identity, we ought to reflect the ways of God and His kingdom.
We are to live God's laws and commandments, act and speak like heavenly citizens reflecting God's kingdom here on earth. This is Kingdom culture.
When we live by God's laws or commandments, we are living kingdom culture.
One way through which we reflect the King in living kingdom culture is through the expression of the fruits of the Holy Spirit which are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). This is Kingdom culture.
You can't speak of kingdom culture without having the fruits of the Holy Spirit and remember, I said earlier on that we are in the era of the Holy Spirit.
This is God imparting His divine nature into us to be a reflection of who He is here on earth as well as making us a much better and a holy people.
He said "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy" (1 Peter 2:9-10).
Another way we reflect the heavenly King is through the diverse gifts of the Holy Spirit that He has bestowed on us all that no earthly king can ever give.
These gifts include words of wisdom, words of knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, miracles, prophecies, discerning of spirits, the speaking of tongues and the interpretation of tongues (1 Corinthians 12:7-11).
When you see anyone manifesting these gifts, then they are exhibiting Kingdom culture. Through them, heaven is reflected on earth.
If you are born of God, check within you and you would see that you have one or more of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
But suffice it to say, without the fruits of the Spirit we can't fully express the gifts of the Holy Spirit. It is in the atmosphere of the fruits that we are able to manifest the gifts.
We also have dreams, potentials, visions, purposes and gifts given to us by God to live and reflect here on earth. This is also living Kingdom culture on earth.
We ought to express and maximize our God-given potentials fully. Anyone who dies without living his/her full potentials has robbed the world of that which God has given to her or him/her.
We are to live fully and die empty but there are so many people who have lived empty and died fully. No wonder the late Myles Monroe once said that the grave is the wealthiest place on earth because we have so many people who lived empty and died full of their potentials in them.
Every dream or vision given to us is meant to be fulfilled which becomes our purpose here on earth. If you have a dream, a calling or a passion, identify it and start living it by taking baby steps daily.
Bringing God's Kingdom culture here on earth begins with our personal relationship with Him, through the study of His word, fellowship with Him, worship and praises to Him.
Our relationship with other individuals should also show that we are of the kingdom of the Most High. Let your relationship with another reflect the KING. This way, we would draw all men to Him.
The greatest gift of all to mankind is God's love and the greatest gift we can display is love towards one another.
Without this, then you can't boast of reflecting God's Kingdom. No wonder love appeared as the first fruit of the Holy Spirit.
According to 1 John 4:8 "He who does not love, does not know God because God is love." So you can't speak of love without knowing God who is love Himself.
And know that God's kingdom is not in man or in buildings but it resides in our hearts and reflects by how we live our lives here on earth.
We are of God, born of God and our culture is of God by the way we live. This is kingdom culture. By this, we display Kingdom lifestyle.
Quote for the day - "It is only in God that we discover our origin, our identity, our meaning, our purpose, our significance and our destiny." - Rick Warren
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