Spiritual Realm

To understand the laws of the Kingdom, we need to realize there are several building blocks.

• God’s Kingdom does not function like the world. The laws that govern it are often the reverse of what we expect. We will experience surprises and upside-down values.

• The Kingdom – indeed, the whole spiritual realm – does not exist in isolation from the physical realm. Actions in one have effects in the other. If a person’s heart-focus connects the physical and the spiritual, then thoughts, desires and attitudes have an effect. People can move through daily existence influencing the spiritual realm, and in turn, the physical realm, because of how their hearts are focused.
• People are spiritual creatures. They stand at the intersection of the physical and the spiritual, influencing both. And the Spirit of God in the hearts of Jesus’ disciples places them in the middle of his Kingdom. We need to realize that we are already living and having an influence.
• If we are living and functioning in the Kingdom, perhaps in unrealized ways, we are already living according to the laws of the Kingdom.
• The keys to unlock the laws lie in what God has said. God has already given us his promises. They reveal how God has determined he will act. We need to respond to him with the hands of faith.
• God wants us to live in agreement with the laws of the Kingdom. Since, they are often the reverse of what we expect, we need to know and understand what they are. Since, God wants us to follow them God wants us to know them. Since, God wants us to know them he will reveal them to us. If a person reads the Scriptures, he probably knows many Kingdom laws already. They may not be labeled as a Kingdom law in the person’s thinking, but they will recognize the obligation to “keep” something they have read.
• Many regard the “works” of the Kingdom in almost a mystical way. And I suppose they could be. Many Christians believe that God still speaks, but they would also think that God giving them a message for someone else, especially a total stranger, as moving into areas of weirdness. But we need to see that Kingdom “works” can also be extending kindness or hospitality. The simple act of sharing food or water can send shock waves through the spiritual realm. What matters is that the “work” agrees with the Kingdom laws, even if – and especially if – they run against the current of the world.
• We need to act in agreement with the promises. If there is a condition, we need to meet it. If we accept God’s promise, in some way, it already exists. We may need to modify our behavior to prepare a place for it. God is unlimited. Or to look at it another way, God is self-limited only. God has determined how he will act in the world. There seems to be some evidence that God has limited himself to act only in response to prayer. So, we should be inviting God to act as he has indicated he would. Or we should be thanking him for acting on our behalf, for his glory, as he promised. Or some other way. And since Satan really does not want the Kingdom taking root in the world or our hearts, maybe we should taking note of these things. Keep a journal or a recipe box with 3x5 cards.
• Some people would hear or read something like this and, because of the promises for provision, associate it with some type of prosperity gospel. (1) I am not going to be critical of someone who claims God’s promise for a new car, and then “coincidentally” receives one. (2) We need to keep the fact foremost in our thinking that God’s promises, and God keeping his promises, are not for some sort of “bless me” club. They are to promote his purposes. The ultimate purpose of God is the validation, the demonstration and the completion of his glory. The penultimate purposes of God are the salvation of men and the transformation of individuals, cities, states and cultures into something that reflects his nature. God did promise to provide for us. He did not promise we would be rich.