Kingdom Principles

The Priority of the Kingdom

In practical terms, a kingdom may be defined as “the sovereign rule of a king over territory (domain), impacting it with his will, pur pose, and intent.” In this biblical text, the word “kingdom” as used by Jesus refers to God’s government, God’s rulership, God’s dominion over the earth. The Kingdom of God means God’s will executed, Gods’ jurisdiction, Heaven’s influence, God’s administration, and God’s impact and influence. In this book, we will use the following working definition: A kingdom is… The governing influence of a king over his terriroty, impacting it with his personal will, purpose, and intent, producing a culture, values, morals, and lifestyle that reflect the king’s desires and nature for his citizens. Jesus’ final instruction to us in this verse is to seek also the right eousness of the Kingdom. This is another vitally important concept that has been diluted in the waters of religion and must be recovered if we are to understand the Kingdom and experience the abundant life all humans deserve. The word righteousness is actually from the discipline of law, not religion, and implies right positioning. To be righteous means to be in alignment with authority, to be in right standing with authority, to have correct fellowship with authority, to be in right relationship with authority, to be in legal or lawful align ment, and to be in correct standing with the law or regulations (principles) of and to fulfill the requirements of authority. In essence, righteousness describes the maintenance of the rightly aligned relationship with a governing authority so as to qual ify for the right to receive governmental privileges. This is why Jesus emphasizes the Kingdom and the need to be righteous so that you can receive “all things added unto you.” This promise includes all your physical needs, all your social needs, all your emotional needs, all your psychological needs, all your financial needs, and all your

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