Today’s Encouragement is John 18:36 NLT Jesus answered, “My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world.”
Not Of This World –
After His arrest, Jesus was questioned by Pilate about being a King, and He answered, “My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom; it is not of this world.” If it is not earthly, then His Kingdom must be spiritual.
Certainly, we acknowledge that Jesus is king! And all kings must have a kingdom!
We are citizens of His Kingdom. We serve Him, we honor Him as our King and our Lord. We are His in every way!
In our earthly sense, we can be citizens of the US and yet live in another country, another kingdom.
And, just like His Kingdom, we also are not of this world (John 17:16). We now belong to Him; He alone is our King. We are citizens of His Kingdom who reside, temporarily, on this earth.
This truth does not exalt us over the world, but it does explain why:
We don’t worry about what we will eat or wear like the rest of the world does (Matthew 6:31)
We can rejoice in our troubles (James 1:2)
We can do all things through Christ (Philippians 4:13)
We are new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17)
We have eternal life (John 3:16)
All of this is spiritual truth. Our flesh and physical beings are indistinguishable from the rest of the world. But inherently, we are different, transferred, transformed, reborn (already!) into His Kingdom!
Thank You, Father, for choosing, adopting, and saving us, and allowing us to be part of Your Kingdom!
Abba Father
Lou Fellingham
https://youtu.be/TUaTByGXg6U?si=g7R4od4hPlGFBfIz