Pursuit Of His Presence Day 83

Matthew 6:33 

33But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

 

 Luke 17:20-21 

 

20And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:

21Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

 

John 3:3-21  

 

3Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

4Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?

5Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

6That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

7Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

8The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

9Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?

10Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?

11Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.

12If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?

13And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

14And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

15That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

16For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

17For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

18He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

19And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

20For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

21But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

 

Devotional

Be Kingdom-of-God-Minded

by Gloria Copeland

“[The Father] has delivered and drawn us to Himself out of the control and the dominion of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.” Colossians 1:13, The Amplified Bible
Where do you live? I realize that’s a simple question, but I want you to stop and think about your answer for a moment. Your immediate response might be to think of the spot on this earth where you wake up each morning.
But if you’re a believer, you need to think more deeply than that. You need to become aware that although you are in this world, you do not belong to its natural order. You are a citizen of heaven. You are, even here and now, privileged to live in that kingdom.
That statement would startle many Christians. Religion has taught them that they won’t reach God’s kingdom until they die and go to heaven. But Colossians 1:13 says we’ve already made the transfer.
Because God dwells in us and among us, His kingdom is present with us right now. Jesus said it this way: “For behold, the kingdom of God is within you [in your hearts] and among you [surrounding you]” (Luke 17:21, The Amplified Bible).
Certainly we will go on to the place called heaven when our bodies die or when Jesus catches us away. But, thank God, since we’re already citizens of the kingdom now, we can enjoy many of the benefits of heaven right here on earth. We can live our lives in love, peace, joy, prosperity, health and victory. We can also bring those kingdom blessings to others who are still under the dominion of darkness.
“If Christians can do that,” you may ask, “why don’t they?”
Mostly it’s because they haven’t been very aware of the kingdom of God. They have been so absorbed in the kingdom of this world—the world that they can see and touch—they haven’t given much thought to God’s kingdom.
But we can change that! We can obey the instruction of the Apostle Paul who wrote: “Aim at and seek the [rich, eternal treasures] that are above, where Christ [the Anointed One] is, seated at the right hand of God. And set your minds and keep them set on what is above (the higher things) not on the things that are on the earth” (Colossians 3:1-2, The Amplified Bible).
By studying and meditating on what the Word has to say about the kingdom of God, we can become more and more kingdom-of-God-minded. There is so much revelation in the Word about the kingdom of God. I challenge you to study on your own. Get out your concordance and look up all the references to the kingdom of God or the kingdom of heaven. Let the reality of that kingdom get down in your heart so that you become kingdom-of-God-minded!
Speak the Word
“God has delivered me out of the kingdom of darkness and transferred me into the kingdom of the Son of His love.” —Colossians 1:13, The Amplified Bible
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