Kingdom Being

“One day as he saw the crowds gathering, Jesus went up on the mountainside and sat down. His disciples gathered around him, and he began to teach them.

“God blesses those who are spiritually humble and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth.

God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied.

God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.

God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.

God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

“God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers.

Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.”

- Matthew 5:1-12

In a relatively well-known passage of the Bible (Matthew 5-7) called “the sermon on the mount”, Jesus teaches about the nature and values of the Kingdom of Heaven. This concept of the Kingdom of Heaven was used by Jesus a lot and He used it interchangeably with the Kingdom of God. Both phrases point at the rule of God over those who seek to honor Him through recognizing His authority and His power and through their willingness to obey Him. God’s kingdom is not a kingdom like we know from medieval times where a human king rules over a plot of land with a handful of peasant laborers but is something bigger and better.

All kingdoms have two common traits. Firstly, they all have a king, and secondly, they all have citizens who live ruled by the king. In a kingdom, the king is the one who possesses the highest authority. The king’s words are law and a king’s subjects are the people who accept the leadership, words, laws, and will of the king. Anyone who rejects the authority of a king is not a part of that kingdom. Knowing that, it becomes easier to identify a kingdom and who belongs to it. A kingdom belongs to the one with the highest authority in it and anyone who obeys that person’s authority is a citizen of it.

God possesses a kingdom which is, in the end, everything. However, there are currently many kingdoms. People who submit to God’s authority and leadership are a part of God’s kingdom of heaven. Some people attempt to be their own king. Some people choose to follow other people who are like them. Still others choose to obey spiritual beings other than God.

One thing that people try to do is to live as a citizen of multiple kingdoms; God’s kingdom and their own kingdom or God’s kingdom and the devil’s kingdom. However, because the king is the one who has the highest authority, someone can never fully submit to two competing kings with two competing wills. That means it is impossible to be the subject of two kingdoms and anyone who rejects God’s authority in preference of another authority is not a part of His kingdom.

Every kingdom comes with obligations and benefits. To receive the benefits, the obligations must be met. In a human kingdom, the obligations are usually for the welfare of the king who collects wealth in the form of food, gold, clothes, homes, jewels, land, etc. Fortunately, the obligations of God’s kingdom are relatively simple and all lead to our benefit.

These benefits can be experienced partly on Earth now but will continue to get better than anything that can be experienced on Earth. The humble possess the earth, comfort is for those who have mourned, and the pure of heart see God. God’s kingdom is marked by a lot of things that are backward from the way things are done by humans on Earth.

The primary word we use that describes our obligations in God’s Kingdom is “worship”. Worship is a word that isn’t well understood in modern culture, even in churches. To most people, it invokes the thought of rituals or habits religious people participate in to show that they’re religious. Often, it involves going to church at Christmas and maybe Easter because, “that’s what Christians are supposed to do, right?” While it’s true that worship can involve participating in these things, the word is less about our actions and more about the posture of our hearts. Worship means, literally, to bow down in humble submission and obedience to someone or something. Practically, it means submitting our selves, thoughts, and actions to someone or something.

There is a seemingly endless number of things that people can and do worship. When we speak of the Biblical concept of worship, we are specifically talking about what it is that we choose to obey with the highest priority. It is right to obey parents and proper sources of authority, but that shouldn’t conflict with our worship of God. However, many people make something other than God the object of their worship. It can be another person who is worshipped, such as a significant other or a celebrity held too highly in esteem. For others, it can be physical pleasure, sports, or chemical addiction.

One way to recognize the object of our worship is to consider this: when two conflicting things call us, which one do we answer? Scripture tells us that we shouldn’t drink to drunkenness, but we’re being pressured at this party to do a line of shots. Who do we obey? Scripture tells us not to steal, but no one will notice if we take that little item from the store and we really want it. Who do we obey?

Some of the things we worship are obvious, but some of them are subtle. When we are conflicted about a decision, pausing to ask the question, “am I disobeying God to do this?” can make the right choice easier to see. Feeling conflicted about a decision is often the Holy Spirit reminding us of His nature in us when we consider choosing our human nature instead. 

There are many things we can do as a way to worship God:

-   Participating in a local church

-   Praising God

-   Thanking Him for the good things He has done for us

-   Thanking Him for the good things He has given us

-   Making music that honors Him

-   Participating in the Communion meal

-   Prayer

-   Studying scripture

-   Baptism

-   Evangelizing

-   Serving others

-   Giving financially to support Godly ministry

There are many other things that could go on a list of ways to worship God rightly. Doing any of these things is a valuable way to worship God. However, if our hearts aren’t humbly submitted to God when we do them, we are not worshipping Him. If we try to worship Him in a way that dishonors His name or His nature, it is not worship. 

Worship isn’t restricted to Sunday morning or church small groups, and in fact, the attitude of worship should be present at all times in the life of a believer. As a part of God’s kingdom, choosing to fulfill our obligation to worship is the most important part of learning to experience the benefits of belonging there.