The Awakening: Kingdom Realities

By Sidharth Mohandas

Repent!

As we come together to study and understand the topic of the Kingdom of God, we must realize that each of us bring along with us notions that have been influenced by our  varied backgrounds and experiences. Therefore it is very likely that we will reject anything outside our framework of mind, most of the time unknowingly. Some of us approach God with a democratic mind-set, others approach Him with a humanistic mind-set, and yet others with  mind-sets influenced by their respective denominations.

On closely examining the ministry of Jesus and His disciples, we come to understand that this was the first area they attacked. The opening word of Jesus’ public ministry was “Repent!” (Matthew 4:17; you can learn more about “Repentance” from an earlier series). The word “repent”  was not a religious word as it sounds today. It was a very casual word in Greek – “metanos“. It simply meant “change the way you think” or “change your mind-set/mentality”

In the first part of this series, Daniel and I will focus on breaking the framework of our minds to adopt a mindset that God desires us to have.

And what mindset is that? Let’s read Jesus’ first statement again:

From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” (Matthew 4:17)

Most of us reading that statement have our own interpretations of what the kingdom of God is. “Wasn’t that just a phrase used by Jesus to relate to the Jews?”, “Wasn’t Jesus talking about the end-times and the physical kingdom of Israel?”  No, the kingdom of God is far from just an analogy, a phrase, or a physical kingdom. It is a real Government system. In fact, every political system that exists or ever existed on earth has had its origins in the Kingdom of God. So, what is a kingdom? The word “kingdom” comes from the words “King” and “Domain”. In other words, a kingdom is a King’s domain or where His reign is effective. For example, the President of the United States can’t bring about his governing influence in India, because that is not his domain.

Therefore, we must realize that we are not just dealing with a change of phrase or terminology, but a change of an entire system. My mother is a professor of Political Science, and she was relating to me the other day how our very life changes as a result of us yielding to a different system of Government. The same goes for the Kingdom of God as well.

The Theme of Jesus

Studying Scripture from this perspective has opened my eyes to truths that I never understood earlier. The entire life of Christ was geared on this one theme, the kingdom of God. He had no other message but the kingdom of God. In fact, He goes on to say that this was the very reason He was born (John 18:37) –  the reason He was sent by His Father (Luke 4:43).It was His ongoing theme, and the only  topic He taught in those forty days after the resurrection and before His ascension (Acts 1:3).

It is amazing to find how Jesus always operated from a Kingdom perspective. Let me cite a few instances.

(1) In the book of John we read about a man named Nicodemus approaching Jesus, amazed by the miraculous signs performed by Him (John 3:2). Jesus, instead of even praising God for the miraculous works, directs Nicodemus’ attention to the Kingdom.

“Truly, truly I say unto you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God”. (John 3:3)

Nicodemus saw only the benefits of the kingdom, but Jesus pointed to the Governing Body that brought about the benefit.

(2) A rich young man came to Jesus and asks Him what he should do to enter the kingdom of heaven. Jesus tells him to obey the laws of Moses. In response to it, he says that he had obeyed the laws of Moses. Now HERE comes the test. Jesus goes on to tell him, “Go, sell what you possess and give to the poor“ (Matthew 19:21). Now a person from a religious perspective cannot understand Jesus’ statement here. But if we know how a kingdom functions, we will understand why Jesus said this. Let me explain, in a kingdom everything belongs to the King- the houses, the land, the trees, the birds, the animals, the money… And the citizens are just using that which belongs to the King. So if the King comes along and says “Give this to the poor”. A person who has acknowledged the King would have to obey without any reservations at all. He would have to give it away. The very fact that the rich man refused to give his money, proved that he had not acknowledged the King and therefore had not entered the Kingdom.

A person with a  democratic mentality would say, “Why should I give my money to the poor? It is money I have earned.” A person with a kingdom mentality, won’t even utter one word, he would obey instantly.

(3) Let me show you another example: Now when the Pharisees came along and said that Jesus was casting out demons by the power of Belzeebub. Jesus again pulls in the kingdom message. He says, “If I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you”. Today religious people debate over whether it is God’s will to heal a person or cast out demons. In fact there are various religious groups that do not believe that “healing is for today” or that “demons exist”. This is because they don’t have a Kingdom-mentality. If healing and deliverance is the manifestation of God’s reign, then a person who disagrees with this is literally working against the Kingdom or the King’s will. A person who says “Oh healing isn’t important” is being slack in wanting to see God’s Kingdom reign in its fullness. They see the Kingdom through religious eyes.

There are many more examples from Jesus’ ministry where we see the Kingdom message as the central theme. I stop here, for the time being. In the upcoming articles, Daniel will continue to deal with this topic and help us understand more about the Kingdom reality.

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