Find and Follow the King

So far we’ve talked about what the kingdom of God is, and where it is. To review for just a moment, we’ve seen that the kingdom of God is an environment where everything exists in a perfect alignment or union with the nature, will, purpose, and purity of God. It is like a conquered land, an environment over which God has total sovereignty, and in which God has perfect expression and glory. You could say it is a land or environment or creation that becomes a perfect reflection or manifestation of the life, the nature, the government of the King. An environment that has nothing contrary, no enmity, hostility, or enemies. It is totally subdued, totally inhabited, and totally alive with the will, nature, and glory of the King.

That is WHAT the kingdom of God is. And we’ve said that, as strange as it may seem to the carnal mind of man, this land or environment is INSIDE of man. Or at least we must say that it is first inside of us, before there can be any experience or expression of it outside of us. We will never experience or enjoy anything of God’s kingdom in others, or in angels, or in eternity, unless we first experience the coming of that kingdom in ourselves. We cannot enter it, unless we first receive it within us. This is precisely what Jesus said, Luk. 18:17 “Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.”

Have you ever considered this Scripture? You will by no means enter the kingdom, unless you first receive it as a little child. In other words, it has to be in you, before you can be in it. Or you could say, you will never experience it anywhere, unless it is reigning first in you. If you are contrary to it, if you live under another government, in another nature, another life, in the life of the flesh, the life of the first birth, the life of Adam, then you will by no means ever see it or enter it. 

Imagine that a rock could talk, and it somehow asked you, “what must I do to enter into the plant kingdom?” You would of course respond, you must be born again as a plant. You must have plant life inside of you. And if it said, “what must I do in order to see and experience the animal kingdom?” You would say, you must experience a birth as an animal. There must be animal life in you. 

In a very similar way, and for the exact same reason, Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus, you cannot understand it, you cannot enter it, cannot even see it, unless you are born of its nature. “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” That which is born of plant is plant. That which is born of animal is animal. 

Can you see what Jesus is telling us here? The kingdom of God is a spiritual reign; it is the reign of God’s Spirit and nature and will and power. If you continue to live in the flesh, you can neither see it nor enter it. If you continue to live in that which is NOT in and under God’s spiritual government, if you continue to live in flesh, in self, in a state of alienation from God, then you can never know God’s kingdom. God cannot take you into it, unless you are of its nature and under its power. 

So, Nicodemus might ask, “What do I need then??” And Jesus might respond, “First you need something of God’s life to come into you, and come alive in you. You need to receive it with meekness, turn to it, love its appearing, give it room and freedom and good soil, so that it can produce a birth in you of its own life and nature. And yet you must not stop there! Then you must allow that life to grow and fill and spread over every single city in your heart, every corner of your soul. You must “receive a kingdom that cannot be shaken” (Heb. 12:28) and let it remove everything in you that can be shaken. This is how the kingdom enters you, and how you enter the kingdom. 

Perhaps this sounds strange to some of us because of our uncircumcised ears. But I am not saying anything besides what we can all plainly read in Scripture. The kingdom of God is not a natural or outward thing that can be understood with natural minds and outward senses. If it were, Jesus would not have used so many symbolic figures and parables to describe it. At one point Jesus told his followers, “It has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.” Here He speaks of mysteries of the kingdom. What are these mysteries?

Well, we have already talked about one of them, the fact that the kingdom of God is within man. We read Luke 17:21. “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!' For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.” This was a hard saying for the Jews of the first century. It is a hard saying for many of us as well. But to add to their confusion, Jesus also told them that they had to SEEK the kingdom. “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” Now this is strange. He tells us that the kingdom of God is found within us, and yet we have to seek it? Why must we seek it if it is found within us? Here, my friends, is another mystery of the kingdom. You must seek it because it is like a small grain of mustard seed. Because it is like a treasure hidden in a field, a lost coin in our own house, a tiny pearl of great price. The kingdom and power of God is sown by Him into the heart of man, but it is not found by man, or experienced by man unless He turns and seeks it.

This is similar to what Paul said to the Athenians, “God has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their pre-appointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us, for in Him we live and move and have our being” (Act 17:21) 

In the time we have left, I want to share with you some very practical things about how we seek, find and experience the kingdom of God. Everything that I have shared so far this weekend will be nothing but information in our brain if we do not actually learn to “receive the kingdom like a little child.” It is easy to talk about spiritual things, but living in the kingdom and under the power of God is another matter. Paul says, 1 Cor. 4:20 “For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power.” We must not merely learn true words, we must learn to live in and under the power of God. 

There was a time when the land of Israel was living under a king named Saul, who in many ways came to represent the life of self, or the kingdom of self in man. Saul began well, being small in his own eyes, but he soon began to seek His own greatness, fight his own battles, pursue his own purposes, and resist the will of the Lord. Because of this, the land of Israel was soon overrun with uncircumcised nations, with Philistines, Amalekites, and other Canaanites. Israel began to lose battles, lose territory, and was slowly being conquered by uncircumcised flesh. 

We must see in this picture of Saul’s reign the condition of man apart from the kingdom of God. Like poor Saul, man lives his own life, follows his own will, fights for his own kingdom, strives against the Truth, and slowly destroys himself. This is always the case in the land of our hearts when self is on the throne. When self, self-love, self-will, reigns, then the Philistine nature takes more and more ground in us. We cannot stand against the strength of sinful flesh unless we stand in the power of God. Wherever people live in self-will, they are slowly and steadily conquered by the transgressing nature, by the corrupting and deceiving powers of sin.

In the midst of this land, this selfish kingdom of darkness, God anointed a young shepherd named David, and declared him the true and rightful king over all of His land. He was not great in the eyes of the people. In fact he was the youngest and smallest of all of his brethren. Israel didn’t know Him. Saul didn’t know Him. Not even his brothers recognized his authority until he stood before an uncircumcised giant and said, “who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” (1 Sam. 17:26) Here is what I want you to see: David was recognized by His opposition to, His enmity with, and His power over uncircumcised flesh. That is how Israel saw and discerned their true leader. And then, by joining their hearts, uniting their wills to this young king, his kingdom increased, his victory grew, his power spread through the land. He became both the Savior of Israel and the destroyer of every uncircumcised power.  

And take note of the manner in which Israel joined themselves to this new king. “David therefore departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. So when his brothers and all his father's house heard it, they went down there to him. And everyone who was in distress, everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented gathered to him. So he became captain over them. And there were about four hundred men with him” (1 Sam. 22:1-2) Everyone who was tired and discontented with the reign of Saul, the reign of self, everyone who felt their own distress, their own debt, the plague of their own heart, these joined David in His cave, were united to Him, and He became captain over them. And so David’s kingdom increased and gained strength, and little by little Philistines were cast out, and the house of Saul came under David’s rule. 

This is a brief summary. I trust most of you have read these stories and are familiar with these verses. You know that I am not talking about these things in order to review the history of ancient Israel. I am talking about these things because they were recorded in Scripture for our instruction, and from this story (and many others that are similar) we can understand how to find and experience the kingdom of God. 

My friends, our souls, apart from Christ, are a kingdom of SELF that is teeming with uncircumcised enemies. Following our own will, living our own lives in the flesh, pursuing our own dreams and goals, and listening to the lying counsel of many evil voices, even as Christians, has brought us (like Saul) into a horrible condition of blindness, coldness, deadness, darkness, insensibility, confusion, insecurity, pride, laziness, covetousness, selfishness, envy, anger, lust, corruption, idolatry, and every other sort of evil that is contrary to the will and nature of God. Oh the lamentable state of human beings when self is their king! How we throw away our lives in the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life, chasing after vanity and becoming vain!

But in the midst of this condition, God anoints a Shepherd who can bring deliverance. God gives an anointing that abides in you and can teach you all things (1 John 2:27). There is a gift of grace, a tiny pearl, a small seed that has been sown into every kind of soil. This, says Jesus, is the living “word of the kingdom”. Christians are so quick to say that they have this seed, or have found this pearl, merely because they believe the outward words and testimonies of the Christ that appeared 2000 years ago as a man. Or because we have read a few of Paul’s letters that describe the condition of primitive Christians (even though these are not our own experiences). But I believe I have seen very clearly that, just like David in the beginning of His kingdom, few recognize the voice or presence of this inward King, and even fewer are living in His kingdom of “righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.” 

One could ask, “How then do I recognize Him? How do I hear His voice? With so many people saying ‘Lo here is the kingdom, and Lo there is the kingdom’; with so many doctrines and teachers and YouTube preachers, so many divided churches, divided leaders, contradicting theologies… how do I know the voice of the King?” That is a very important question. And let me offer you this answer. He is the one who, like David 3000 years ago, is saying in your heart “What is this uncircumcised giant doing in the land that God has purchased with the blood of His Son?” He is the one testifying against the Philistine nature within you. He is not like Saul who keeps the best things alive for his own pleasure and gain. No, the Christ in you makes no peace with anything that is of a contrary nature, a contrary birth. His kingdom is not willing to share your heart. He is a strongman that will not share His house. 

My friends, if you are ever going to experience the kingdom of God, you need to turn inward (not outward!) and pay attention to the voice in you that cries out against anything and everything that does not have Christ as its source and nature. You need to listen to that voice, and let it show you that you are in distress, in debt, and discontent, and then descend with Him into His cave where He becomes a captain over you. 

You say, “Ok, but what does this mean practically?” It means that you need to stop ignoring the voice that reproves you in secret, the light that shows you your deeds are evil. You need to stop looking for another Savior besides the one who shows you that Goliath is still alive and well in your own heart. You have all heard His voice, but you have not all come under His power, or experienced His kingdom. You have heard Him testify against the condition of your land. I’m not talking about great and obvious sins that even unbelievers would condemn. This voice testifies against everything, little or big, that does not come out from the life of Christ, the nature of the king. This voice wants to cleanse the land and fill it with light and life and righteousness. 

Perhaps you have heard Him tell you that, after so many years of being a Christian, your life should not still be as it is. Perhaps you have heard Him whispering in your ear that selfishness, pride, and lust still live in you where Christ should reign. You have felt Him convict you for wasting your precious time on the internet or on social media, for speaking when you should remain quiet, for feeding lustful thoughts, for calling attention to yourself by what you say or how you dress, for loving money and possessions, for caring about your physical appearance, for gossip, for envy, for silly jokes, for still having your treasure and your heart in the things of this world. Or maybe when you go to church you hear it telling you that you sing about things that you do not experience. Or that you have a notebook full of truths that you do not live. Maybe you have heard him say in the secret of your heart, “Why do you love sports more than Me? Why do you continually look at those disgusting images on the internet when nobody is looking? Why do you care more about a new phone than you do about a new heart?” 

I know that you have all heard this voice in the center of your soul, where God has anointed His faithful witness to be king over the land. Will you tell me that this is not the voice of the Son of God? Do you think it is the voice of your own flesh? Is it flesh condemning itself? Do you think it is the voice of Satan divided against himself? Do these convictions and corrections come from the kingdom of darkness, or are they the voice of Wisdom raising her voice in the streets of your heart. 

Proverbs 1:20-32 “Wisdom calls aloud outside; she raises her voice in the open squares. She cries out in the chief concourses, at the openings of the gates in the city She speaks her words: ‘How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity? For scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge. Turn at my rebuke; Surely I will pour out my Spirit on you; I will make my words known to you. Because I have called and you refused, I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded. Because you disdained all my counsel, and would have none of my rebuke, I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your terror comes, when your terror comes like a storm, and your destruction comes like a whirlwind… Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD. They would have none of my counsel and despised my every rebuke. Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way, and be filled to the full with their own fancies.

Now we are getting very practical! And now is when many people want to stop listening. Because what I’m trying to tell you, and what the Lord has had to show me about myself, is that THIS is precisely the reason why we know so little of the kingdom of God. We don’t know the kingdom of God because we do not want to listen and yield to the voice of the King. We will not come UNDER the power of the one whom God has anointed to overcome every enemy. We will say we love Jesus. We will say we believe everything that is written of Him. But when He speaks directly to our hearts, and defies our Goliath, we have learned to say, “That is not His voice. That is not the King of Israel.” 

My friends, it took me way too long to realize that this voice was the voice of my King. Some Christians say, “This is not the voice of God, because God doesn’t want me to live in condemnation.” You are correct in saying that God does not want you to live in condemnation. He does not show you these things so that you live in condemnation. He shows them to you so that you will COME OUT of them, and so come out of condemnation. He manifests flesh so that you will follow Him out of flesh and learn to live in the Spirit. He manifests plagues in Egypt so that you will come out of Egypt. He shines His light on all things that are contrary to His nature so that you will be made willing to die to that nature, and live in another. He shows you the fruits of the kingdom of darkness, so that you will turn and come under the power of the kingdom of God.

But as strange as it sounds to the natural ear, it is easy to overlook the coming of the kingdom of God. It was easy in David’s day to despise the young shepherd boy that God had anointed. It was easy in Christ’s day to despise the Nazarene who met none of their expectations. And it is easy in our day to despise Christ’s appearance in our heart. Though Christ has all power and authority in heaven and earth, still His reign begins small, like a grain of mustard seed, a pinch of leaven, a treasure hidden in a field, and His voice is not at all what our flesh wants to hear. For this reason we must seek His kingdom, look for His appearing, listen for His voice, pay attention to His reproofs. He is close to us, but we must seek Him. The kingdom of God is found within, but the king speaks things that we don’t want to hear. Who is He? He is the one in you that shows you the rocks and weeds and thorns in the garden of God. He is the light that shines in darkness and shows man that their deeds are evil. And everything depends on our agreement with, and submission to the inward shining and speaking of Christ. 

This is how we experience His kingdom. We love His light. We love His voice. We turn and follow and submit to the power that testifies against sin, darkness, pride, selfishness, lust, envy, and every unclean thing. Man has been given no power to change himself. He cannot produce spiritual life. Of himself he cannot produce righteousness, life, light, love, or anything that God accepts. But man has been given the power to turn to, and submit to a king, and this is how we experience the kingdom of God. 

I told you I wanted to say some very practical things. This is what I want you to hear. When you feel that something is testifying in you against darkness, that something is light. When you feel that something in you is contrary to sin, that something is righteousness. When you feel convictions for pride, manipulation, foolish jesting, bitterness, jealousy, murdering your precious time, vanity, feeding your lust, loving the world, etc., when you feel these things, know that this is the voice of your King trying to save you from the Philistine nature. It is not the voice of your natural conscience. It is the light of Jesus Christ shining in your conscience. And when He speaks to you from heaven, do not harden your hearts, justify yourself, make excuses, or trample His testimony under your feet. 

Hebrews 12:25 “See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven.” 

Hebrews 3:7-8 “Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, ‘Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of trial in the wilderness.” 

When you can feel that you are in distress, in debt, and discontent, that there are things alive in you that should be dead, and things dead in you that should be alive, my friends, DON’T harden your hearts to this voice. This is the voice of the Son of God coming to His temple, to overturn tables and cast out the beastly nature. Listen to Him. Agree with Him. Love His appearing. Cling to Him. Submit to Him, and follow Him out of every evil thing that He makes manifest. 

THIS is how you will find His kingdom. You must receive it in order to enter into it. You must let it come into you, and shake what can be shaken. Love His judgments. Take His side against yourself. Cry out to Him and say, “Let your eye not pity nor your hand spare me, until you have brought every enemy in me under your feet.” 

If you will live this way, every day, then “an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 1:11). If you will give over to the sword what He appoints for the sword, and give over to fire what He appoints for the fire, and give over to hunger what He appoints for a famine, then the kingdom of darkness will lose its place in you, and you will indeed know and live in the kingdom of God. 

Turn inward my friends. The kingdom of God is within you. The dealings of God are within you. The appearance of your King is within you. His temple is within you. And Goliath is also within you. Turn inward, not to look at yourself, but to look for His appearing, His teaching, His correcting, His exposing. Love His appearing and you will find His kingdom.