Thy Kingdom Come

[HKHaugan]

Having been blessed with the recognition of the Kingdom, we enter its courts through the Gate. The Gate is not locked from the inside but the key is on the outside with the invitation to turn it. The key is faith, faith in the risen Lord Jesus. He planted His Kingdom in this world by going to the Cross then rising from the dead and bringing the Holy Spirit into the hearts of believers. He is the Kingdom and His courts are found in the relationship He has offered to us. It is a Kingdom of hearts bound together by the Holy Spirit.

The Body of Christ is the vestibule, the foyer, the greeting place, as we enter the Kingdom in this world. It is like the emergency room where our recovery begins. It may also be likened to going from the emergency room into intensive care and from there into a recovery room and then into rehab. If we really examine its vastness we will see the revealed brokenness of fallen mankind going through the stages of recovery as they begin moving toward the inner courts. It is designed with every individual in mind. The atmosphere we breathe in this grand hall is grace and truth pouring from the heart of God in Jesus our King. We are there together in the great hall where the myriad courts of individual forgiveness are entered with the key of repentance.

If we take seriously our entry we will see we are in deep need to be part of the spiritual maturing process. That realization means we have just entered the court of humility where faith carried us. It is there we are lifted into the court of love where everyone immediately greets us as family. Then, according to our individual uniqueness in Christ, we are led into the courts of mercy, gentleness, endurance, healing, learning, kindness, compassion and understanding. They are courts that begin our journey into the Kingdom where the King awaits us with a vast connecting network of courts entered as we grow from one to the other, in all of which, He is present. It is breathing deeply as we move from one court to the other that builds in us the character that draws others into the Kingdom and together we are bound for the glory of eternal life in Jesus.

Shift with me now to another era. One of the most dramatic and powerful figures in the Bible is David. His Psalms illustrate the heart of a man who wrestled with himself and with God. He knew his limitations and he knew who made him strong. Through faith He was able to accept his weaknesses and repent. Through faith he entered the courts of forgiveness. Through faith he was able to get his bearings and submit to God’s will. Through faith he experienced the joy of the Lord but also the stabs of rejection, fear, aloneness and the unanswered questions that come in the midst of sensing what he felt were the absences of God. Even in the midst of those discouraging interludes he remained a man of faith and God honored his faith.

Is faith a gate or a court or both?

David could sense that faith was for him the gate and the results of his faith were God’s courts. In the court of grace He found gratitude and humility. In the court of wisdom He found insight. His life grew in assurance, confidence, determination and perseverance. Honesty before God marked his path as he wrestled with his shortcomings. But he saw how God recovered his broken and fallen heart through faith and repentance and brought him into His court of forgiveness.

It is interesting that one of Jesus’ titles was ‘Son of David.’ This shadow of David kept Jesus as the historically designated One to come. But He was also ‘a prophet like Moses’ and a ‘priest in the order of Melchizedek.’ Prophet, priest and king, three figures preparing for the perfect prophet, the perfect priest and the perfect king, three stages in spiritual preparation for the Messiah prophet, Messiah priest and Messiah king. What the prophets prophesied Jesus fulfilled. What the priesthood sacrificed Jesus became. What the king ruled in the flesh Jesus ruled in the Spirit.

The three titles for Jesus are important for us to understand. When Jesus said that as the Father sent Him so He sends us (John 20:21) we are commissioned to be prophetic, priestly and kingly. Prophetic, in that each of us by faith stands in contrast to the fallen culture in which we live. Priestly, in that we are given the holy qualities of God to minister to one another and offer ourselves as a servant of God in the world. Kingly in that our lives demonstrate the royalty of the King whom we represent as His ambassadors.

The prophets brought us correction. The priests brought us worship. The kings brought us security. Now Jesus THE Prophet brings our mind into the mind of God. Now Jesus THE Priest brings us into the heart of God. Now Jesus THE King brings us into the Kingdom of God.

                                         Give thanks as you enter the gates of His temple.
                                         Give praise as you enter its courtyards.
                                         Give thanks to him and praise His name.
                                                                                                             Ps.100:4