Have you ever been in a place and felt God was speaking everywhere you turned? A place where revelation was so tangible, it was like dew saturating the air? It was during a recent trip to Philadelphia, the birthplace of our nation, that God gave me a greater revelation regarding the benefits of Kingdom citizenship.
“We the people in order to form a more perfect union…” is how the preamble to the U.S. Constitution begins. The constitution was formed to bring 13 individual city-states together and create 1 governmental structure wherein the power resides with the people. This document was created to give a voice to the people; a document that outlined the benefits of being a citizen in this newly formed United States.
Benefits guarantee the citizenry certain freedoms and privileges.
- The freedom to practice religion
- The freedom of speech
- The freedom of life, liberty and to pursue happiness
So how does relate to being a citizen of the Kingdom of God? What privileges come with being a citizen of this eternal Kingdom?
- We have been adopted into a family, “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.” Romans 8:15
- We are accepted for who we are, “To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.” Ephesians 1:6-7
- We have an inheritance, “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.” Romans 8:16-17
- We are overcomers, “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.” Romans 8:37
- We are always on the mind of God, “Can a mother forget the infant at her breast, walk away from the baby she bore? But even if mothers forget, I'd never forget you—never. Look, I've written your names on
the backs of my hands.” Isaiah 49:15-16a
How to become a Kingdom Citizen
- Admit we are sinners and need to be redeemed from sin, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23 “For the wages which sin pays is death, but the [bountiful] free gift of God is
eternal life through (in union with) Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23 - Believe that Jesus Christ died for our sins, “But God shows and clearly proves His [own] love for us by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) died for us.”Romans 5:8; “Christ never sinned! But God treated him as a sinner, so that Christ could make us acceptable to God.”2 Corinthians 5:21
- Confess that because we are born into sin we need a savior, “Because if you acknowledge and confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and in your heart believe (adhere to, trust in, and rely on the truth)
that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9
Welcome package, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39
