~ Open in Prayer ~
Icebreaker
• What’s an interesting fact about yourself?
• If you had one day to do anything what would you do?
• What are your hobbies?
Message Review
Every kingdom has an economy, military, ambassadors, citizens, king, country, and laws/guidelines. When we give our lives to Christ we become a part of the Kingdom of Heaven. We are no longer citizens of this world but are ambassadors and are supposed to represent the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth. Our new role is to bring heaven on earth and to represent Christ. Therefore, when we pray we shouldn’t pray about things. We should instead be seeking the Kingdom. If we seek the Kingdom all will be added unto us and we can live abundantly as it is in our home country Heaven.
Let’s dig in more…
Read Matthew 3:1-2
Jesus didn’t talk about church he talked about the kingdom. “The Kingdom is like….” was a frequent refrain from Jesus. He tried to teach people about the Kingdom all the time. In this scripture John urges the people to repent because a kingdom is about to break into the earth. Repent is not a prayer, it means to “change your mind”. A kingdom is an extension of a King’s rule and you can’t enter into the kingdom with an old mindset. Discuss your experiences with the topic of the kingdom. Have you heard this preached before?
Read Matthew 6:33
Jesus is a political figure not a religious figure; He’s a King not a preacher. He brought a kingdom not a church. The bible is the rules/guidelines of the kingdom. You can’t get a kingdom understanding through a church filter. The will of God is only contested on earth; it’s settled in heaven but not on earth. That’s why we are ambassadors here on earth of the Kingdom of God and we are supposed to bring heaven’s culture here. The kingdom has to be your first passion. The more you seek the kingdom the less you’ll have to worry about “things.” Seeking the kingdom first is the key to all things falling in order/line. Seek means to inquire, meditate, make a demand. If we seek we shall find and all things will be opened up to us. Have you been seeking the Kingdom? What does this look like?
Jesus is the entry point to the kingdom. No man can experience the kingdom until they are born again of the spirit. Salvation is not the end of a thing it’s the beginning of a thing – the beginning of having the ability to experience kingdom living. The kingdom has keys. There’s a key for healing, financial prosperity, peace, and many other things we pray about. God isn’t going to do something he’s already given you the keys to. We have to apply the knowledge He’s revealed to us in the word.
Thank you is said to an act that is completed – when you come to God with a problem you pray the prayer of “I thank you”. To every promise there is a key. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. You don’t have any needs according to God; he has blessed you with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places. God says whatever you withhold, I’ll withhold; whatever you release, I’ll release. The bible is not a code of conduct it’s a book of keys. There’s a key for everything. If you use the key He will open the door. Have you been praying for things that God has already provided the key for? What keys do you need to find/discover in the word?
A King is concerned about His name. The success of a King is directly tied to the quality of life of the citizens of his kingdom. A King will do something and it doesn’t have anything to do with you; he’ll do it because his name is riding on it (“And he leads me in paths of righteousness for his namesake”). Hold God to His name. He is not going to make Himself look bad. He’ll do it for His great name. What are some things you need to “hold God to” in your life?
You are not church members you are kingdom citizens. Your citizenship is in heaven and citizenship has rights and privileges. The devil can’t hit you but so many times when you’re a citizen of heaven. You’re protected by the military of that kingdom/country – the angels are fighting for you. In a kingdom, citizens don’t fight, the military fights. We are here as ambassadors of Christ because our citizenship is in heaven. Church is an embassy of heaven. If you’re ever in trouble in another country you go to your country’s embassy….our embassy is church. An ambassador doesn’t represent their own opinion, they represent the opinion of the government that sent them. It’s hard to represent a Kingdom when you’re inserting your own opinion. How does considering the church an embassy impact the way you relate to and think about the church and its role?
Read Genesis 12:1-3
You’re going to have to “come out” and leave in order to receive. You need to come out of the limitations of what they say your kind can and can’t do. You’re going to have to come out of your family (class or socioeconomic boundary), country (ethnicity), and father’s house (generational curses of your family bloodline). It’s hard to enter the nation when you still belong to a tribe. Before you come in you have to come out because you can’t enter the blessing of the citizenship of Heaven if you’re stuck in another. What do you need to come out of?
Prayer Focus and Requests
Ask your members if they have any prayer requests or praise reports. Pray that we operate as ambassadors of the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth and that we constantly seek the Kingdom for guidance in all aspects of our lives.
Scripture References
Matthew 3:1-2
Matthew 6:33
Genesis 12:1-3