Kingdom Principles

Kingdom Principles

Not only does the new birth make us citizens of Heaven, but our citizenship begins immediately . We are Kingdom citizens right now . Our citizenship is a present reality . We “ are …fellow citizens with God’s people.” “Our citizenship is in Heaven.” God “ has brought us into the kingdom of the Son.” Why is this so important? Here’s why: Religion postpones citizen ship to the future . Religious leaders tell their people, “You will be a citizen… someday . You will be in the Kingdom…you will have joy later…you will be a full citizen. But not today. Not yet. The Kingdom has not yet come.” They are wrong. The Kingdom has come. Kingdom citizenship is never postponed. The Kingdom of God is present and functional on the earth right now . If you have been “born again,” then you have been naturalized and are a Kingdom citizen right now . And that means that all the rights, benefits, and privileges of Kingdom citi zenship are yours right now . You can enjoy your citizenship right now . You don’t have to wait until some indefinite time in the future. You can never appropriate what you postpone . That’s what you call “locking up the Kingdom of God” to those who want to get in. It is for this reason that I am convinced that the greatest enemy of the Kingdom is religion. Religion keeps pushing the Kingdom away from people: “You can’t get in now; you can’t experience it now; you can’t benefit from it now; wait until later.” And so the people suffer. That is why so many religious people live defeated, destitute, and frustrated lives. They believe they have to wait for their “reward.” DUAL CITIZENSHIP Kingdom governments exercise jurisdiction over their citizens no matter where they are. One of the main purposes that nations maintain embassies in other countries is to provide assistance to their citizens who are living or traveling away from home. Once, in Africa, I had a problem and had to fly to London, England. The

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