Jesus teaches us that seeking God's kingdom and righteousness is what should fill our minds and hearts at all times. But does that also mean that we can experience God's rule, kingdom and goodness here just as it is in heaven?
In Matthew 6:10, Jesus taught the disciples how to pray saying, "Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." But did God really mean that we could experience the kingdom like it is in heaven, or is this a prayer that only counsels us to reach for the stars while landing on the moon?
I believe that we can not only experience God's kingdom, but that we are in God's kingdom. Sure there can be sin, hurt, destruction and pain in this world, but that doesn't mean that God is absent. We often think that God is far or doesn't even exist simply because evil is present on earth, but even the presence of evil itself shows us that there is a God who is opposed by the evil of this earth. We can indeed experience God's kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven.
Believe in the authority of Christ. To experience God's kingdom, we must first understand and believe that we are under a new King and Lord in Jesus Christ. In Matthew 28:18, Jesus declared "And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.'"
Because Jesus has the highest authority on earth today, to live under the lordship of Christ is to live in the kingdom of God. That's not to say that we become perfect right away, but that we can experience God's goodness despite our unfaithfulness.
Submit to the authority of Christ. Some people think that the devil is the main authority of the world, but that could be far from the truth because even the enemy bows down to the name of Jesus Christ. James 4:7 tells us, "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."
It's sad to think that many people live under the authority of sin and Satan, but God tells us that if we simply believe in Jesus' authority, that He will deliver us from the authorities and principalities of this world.
Declare the authority of Christ. After the in-filling of the Holy Spirit, Peter declared in Acts 2:36 "Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified." Not only can we believe and submit to the authority of Christ, but we can also declare and let the world know about the authority of Christ.
We cannot trust in anything more than the power of Jesus because it is His power alone that goes beyond all the powers of darkness in this present age. Not only is God's kingdom real and in reach, but it is here. We are in God's kingdom so we should stop living as if we are in bondage of any other authority. There is no authority greater than the kingship of Jesus Christ, and we only have to believe in it.
