Sermon

Kingdom Identity: Introduction to Identity | Pastors Trev Evans, Christy Jones & Shondell Jones

Koinonia Christian Center

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  1. What a mighty God we serve.

  2. >> Yes, Lord.

  3. >> Indeed, the Son of God is lifted high.

  4. Well, we're glad to join you today. Is

  5. myself, Pastor Trev,

  6. >> Pastor Christie,

  7. >> Pastor Shandelle,

  8. >> and we're excited about being able to

  9. share the word of God with you today. We

  10. want you to pull up a chair and be in

  11. this conversation with us. For those of

  12. you who are laying in the bed, sit up.

  13. Come on, sit up and lean in to this

  14. discussion as we begin to talk about

  15. kingdom identity. We know that God has

  16. given us this as a theme for this year

  17. on kingdom identity and we want to begin

  18. to uh somewhat unpack it today. And so I

  19. want to whisper a prayer as we jump into

  20. this discussion. All right, let's do it.

  21. Father, we thank you so much for your

  22. goodness and your mercy. We thank you

  23. Lord for this opportunity that you've

  24. given us to gather around your word. We

  25. ask you Lord that as we discuss and

  26. share that you will give us ears to

  27. hear.

  28. >> Yes God,

  29. >> hearts to receive and a will to obey

  30. your word.

  31. >> We thank you for it now in Jesus name.

  32. >> Amen.

  33. >> Well listen we are talking about kingdom

  34. identity and uh we have defined kingdom

  35. identity uh the other day and um we we

  36. defined it as the distinguishing

  37. >> uh the distinguishing traits, thank you,

  38. of our worth, purpose, and belonging.

  39. And we said that it is is solely derived

  40. from our relationship with Jesus. That

  41. is our kingdom identity. However, in our

  42. conversation, we said before we dive all

  43. the way into it, we need to back up and

  44. really talk about and define what we

  45. mean when we say the kingdom.

  46. >> That's a mouthful,

  47. >> isn't it?

  48. >> Yeah. Jesus said clearly that the

  49. kingdom of that this world is not of his

  50. kingdom and I thought that was

  51. interesting that he's drawn a line of

  52. distinction and I think it is necessary

  53. for us to draw similar lines to define

  54. what the kingdom is. I will first begin

  55. by saying what it is not that the

  56. kingdom of god is not just the church.

  57. >> Oh that's good. I grew up thinking that

  58. that people said kingdom and church that

  59. that was synonymous. And although the

  60. church is a part of the kingdom, that is

  61. not the subtotal of the kingdom.

  62. >> It's not even just about our

  63. denominations

  64. >> and our reformations. When we say

  65. kingdom, we're talking about something

  66. much bigger than just church and

  67. reformation.

  68. >> Yeah. And you know, you were talking

  69. about that scripture, PT, and I did want

  70. to read that out of um John chapter 18.

    John 18 chapter mention

  71. So, if you have your Bibles,

  72. >> they got to have it. They got to have

  73. it.

  74. >> Go in your Bible to John chapter 18. And

    John 18 chapter mention

  75. hold on, let me get there.

  76. >> And I want to thank God for my red Bible

  77. that my pastor, Bishop Rosie O'Neal,

  78. gave to me. Come on.

  79. >> Super excited about that.

  80. >> I know somebody is wondering why we

  81. didn't do the confession. We We'll get

  82. to it next week.

  83. >> Hold on a minute. So John chapter 18 and

    John 18 chapter mention

  84. we're going to read verse 36. Listen to

  85. this and we're going to read out of NIV.

  86. So John chapter 18 verse 36 says hold on

    John 18:36

  87. let me get there

  88. verse 36 Jesus answered

  89. >> my kingdom is not of this world. If my

  90. kingdom were of this world my servants

  91. would fight so that I should not be

  92. delivered to the Jews. But now my

  93. kingdom is not from here. And you know

  94. that's super important as we're getting

  95. into this and we're talking about

  96. kingdom because just as you said Pastor

  97. Trev, you know, the kingdom is so big.

  98. >> Yeah.

  99. >> It's not little. It's not confined to

  100. just the church or to just four walls,

  101. but it's so much larger than that. And

  102. >> I'm so excited how God is taking us on

  103. this journey this year to understand our

  104. kingdom identity. Yeah,

  105. >> not just our church identity but our

  106. kingdom identity. And you know, we were

  107. talking actually with Bishop

  108. >> and she started giving us some things to

  109. consider. One of the things that she

  110. said was kingdom means the reign of the

  111. king.

  112. >> You got to understand that when we talk

  113. about the king, we're talking about

  114. Jesus. We're not talking about, you

  115. know, our supervisors. We're not talking

  116. about our teachers, but we're talking

  117. about Jesus Christ, the one who laid

  118. down his life for us. And it is the

  119. intentional extension when we talk about

  120. kingdom, it's the intentional extension

  121. of godly influence into every area of

  122. our lives, whether family,

  123. entertainment, education, government,

  124. business, media, all of those things.

  125. You and I have an assignment from God to

  126. be kingdom ambassadors. So that's what

  127. I'm really excited about today's

  128. conversation. Yeah. I think that's

  129. important because it is the it is the

  130. the concept of the kingdom is difficult

  131. because as Jesus said my kingdom is not

  132. of this world.

  133. >> Yes.

  134. >> And but for us this is the this is the

  135. world that we know. And so it is

  136. difficult for us to understand the

  137. concept sometimes because

  138. >> we we mix up the contents

  139. >> from the container.

  140. >> Yeah. Preach.

  141. >> In other words, we see the we look at

  142. the church. Yeah.

  143. >> We look at politics. We look at

  144. entertainment. We look we look at the

  145. contents that should be impacted by the

  146. kingdom and and we mistake that as being

  147. it

  148. >> when those as you said those are

  149. >> the contents those are underneath the

  150. reign or the overarching rule of the

  151. kingdom and it can be difficult because

  152. that's not where we function

  153. >> and so it for us it's going to take

  154. >> it will take a different mindset

  155. >> to understand that we are functioning

  156. >> in the visible realm

  157. >> to bring to pass what is invisible.

  158. >> You know, and that is that is that can

  159. be challenging, but it's possible. And I

  160. think that's why it's important that we

  161. have this time to break down and look at

  162. what is the kingdom itself before we

  163. find our identity. What is that kingdom?

  164. >> And I think you said something important

  165. because we're talking about the rule and

  166. reign of Jesus.

  167. >> Yeah.

  168. >> We have to make sure that you get that

  169. concept in your mind and in your heart.

  170. We're talking about the reign and the

  171. rule of Jesus Christ. Yeah. I think

  172. that's so important. And you know, we

  173. were talking about how sometimes,

  174. especially now in our day, everything is

  175. about mine and and and what I got to get

  176. done and and you know, all of that. But

  177. when we talk about kingdom, y'all, what

  178. we're saying is

  179. >> we got to make sure that Jesus is the

  180. ruler of our lives, that this word is

  181. the final authority to which I submit.

  182. We're talking about the rule and the

  183. reign of Jesus. What does that say to

  184. y'all? because I just I'm just so

  185. nervous that our culture doesn't see it

  186. that way.

  187. >> I mean, for me, it says that I'm not in

  188. control. When we were having the

  189. conversation and talking about it, you

  190. know, I I I began to think about those

  191. countries. And this this may, you know,

  192. get a little off,

  193. >> but I was thinking about those countries

  194. who have a king.

  195. >> Yeah.

  196. >> And they already know how to function to

  197. a degree with the kingdom of God.

  198. understanding that there is one who is

  199. in control and who has a right to

  200. determine certain behaviors and beliefs

  201. and the way we function and in our in an

  202. amazing country that we live in. It's

  203. amazing.

  204. >> It is.

  205. >> However, I think it takes some

  206. >> renewing of the mind for us to be able

  207. to grasp what it means to function in

  208. the kingdom with the king.

  209. >> Yeah. Yeah.

  210. >> Yeah. That's good. And not to get too

  211. too deep into where we're going, but it

  212. is that it's that reminder that we are

  213. accustomed to a democracy.

  214. >> Yeah.

  215. >> And that is so much different from a

  216. kingdom because the the I mean we have

  217. the bill of rights, you know, we have

  218. the constitution, we have all these

  219. things that define what we can do

  220. ourselves, what we have the right to do.

  221. And then really I mean you see you see

  222. the videos online. You everybody loves

  223. these videos where somebody gets pulled

  224. over by the police.

  225. >> Oh, I do. I watch them. I do. It's just

  226. something about it. You want to watch

  227. and see how they know the law better

  228. than the person who's supposed to be in

  229. authority.

  230. >> Yeah.

  231. >> And so they can say, "Well, no, you

  232. can't do this cuz I have my rights."

  233. >> Oh.

  234. >> And

  235. >> Oh, and granted that may work within the

  236. world system. But that doesn't work in

  237. the kingdom. Not in the kingdom.

  238. >> God has the ability to pull us over to

  239. arrest us and say, "This is how things

  240. work in this kingdom."

  241. >> In this kingdom.

  242. >> And we and he rules. That's that's

  243. different from us because we're used to

  244. saying, "Hey, this is what I can do.

  245. This is what I should be allowed to

  246. say." But in the kingdom, it implies

  247. that there is a king.

  248. >> Yes.

  249. >> And of course, we know that's Jesus.

  250. >> That's Jesus. Amen.

  251. >> Man, somebody type in the chat, "His

  252. reign over my rights."

  253. >> Oh, God.

  254. >> Just put that in the chat. His reign

  255. over my rights.

  256. >> That's good.

  257. >> Now, and I and I hear Bishop in my head,

  258. you got to understand his heart toward

  259. us to be able to relax in that,

  260. >> right?

  261. >> His reign over my rights.

  262. >> His rule over my rights.

  263. >> Yeah.

  264. >> Boy, boy, boy.

  265. >> Oh my. That's that's what we got to

  266. embrace. So today when we talking about

  267. the kingdom, we kind of just want to

  268. talk specifically about three things. We

  269. want to talk about the purpose of the

  270. kingdom.

  271. >> We want to talk about the values of the

  272. kingdom and the authority.

  273. >> Yeah.

  274. >> Of the kingdom. Yeah.

  275. >> Doc, when we say the purpose of the

  276. kingdom, will you share shed a little

  277. light on on that?

  278. Well, so the purpose of the king God God

  279. gave us Jesus gave us the pattern of

  280. prayer that when we pray even the Lord's

  281. prayer, we're praying that his will be

  282. done on earth.

  283. >> Yeah.

  284. >> As it is in heaven.

  285. >> That prayer itself gives us a sense of

  286. or a view of the purpose of the kingdom

  287. and that is to allow his rule and reign

  288. that is in the invisible that is in the

  289. spiritual world

  290. >> to be made visible here on earth. Mhm.

  291. >> It is allowing his culture

  292. >> Mhm.

  293. >> to take over the land that we live in

  294. and the life that we live, you know, and

  295. you know, culture has a language. It has

  296. a it has systems, you know, it has it

  297. has monetary systems. It has a way that

  298. you function, the way that you treat

  299. people. And the purpose of the kingdom,

  300. and this this isn't popular,

  301. >> but it is to rule.

  302. >> It's to rule.

  303. >> It is to take over. You know what I

  304. mean? And

  305. >> to take over territory.

  306. >> Yeah, it is. That is the purpose of the

  307. kingdom. We we've seen that in just just

  308. world history, right? If a kingdom goes

  309. in goes into a land, the first thing

  310. they do is they send they they bring

  311. their systems into that area. They bring

  312. their language into that area. They

  313. teach people how to talk. The language

  314. that is learned of of the by the people

  315. is the language that the kings speak.

  316. Come on. I mean, they come to to

  317. infiltrate that land not just to make

  318. it. So not just to make the people of

  319. that land like this other country. Yeah.

  320. >> But to make them into citizens of that

  321. country. What a difference. That's a big

  322. thing. When they're not just trying to

  323. make you similar, but no, we're a

  324. kingdom is has come to take over so that

  325. now you are no long if if you know you

  326. got to be careful in the current current

  327. environment. Let's just say your your

  328. land is your land is is Aiden, right?

  329. And my kingdom is Winterville. I'm not

  330. trying to put up houses and structures

  331. in Aiden that just are similar to

  332. Winterville. I am annexing

  333. >> Aiden so that when I leave my house and

  334. I go to your house, I am still in the

  335. same kingdom. And I think that that is

  336. the purpose of the kingdom is to bring a

  337. rule and a reigning in in every area

  338. that we go.

  339. >> To bring his rule and his reign. because

  340. we don't want you to get confused about

  341. this. When we're talking about setting

  342. up rule and reign, we're talking about

  343. the rule and reign of Jesus. And I think

  344. that's important because again,

  345. >> everything in our day speaks to me

  346. ruling and me reigning and what I need

  347. and what I want, but we're talking about

  348. Jesus.

  349. >> Yeah.

  350. >> That has to be clear.

  351. >> Yeah. Yeah.

  352. >> Man, I was just thinking like, you know,

  353. what a mindset shift. Yes. Because it's

  354. not just as a believer, we're trying to

  355. get to heaven,

  356. >> right?

  357. >> That's good.

  358. >> What we're trying to do is to set heaven

  359. up on earth.

  360. >> On earth.

  361. >> What a different perspective.

  362. >> What a different mindset that we're not

  363. tucking tail and running and hiding. But

  364. we are really trying to institute the

  365. will of God in these different uh areas

  366. that we spoke of. That's what we're

  367. trying to do. That's what we're about

  368. doing.

  369. >> That's what we're about doing.

  370. >> That's a mindset shift. It is. Yeah, it

  371. is. And I think that's why that's why we

  372. we look forward to heaven and and we

  373. want we want to we want to get there.

  374. >> Absolutely.

  375. >> But while we're here, we're here

  376. >> on purpose. And that is to bring that

  377. rain and to bring that rule. So it it

  378. reminds me of the concept of uh an

  379. embassy in another country. And so an

  380. embassy, let's let's say in Africa, we

  381. have a US embassy in Africa. That is an

  382. area of land in Africa that is in that

  383. nation. Yeah,

  384. >> but it's not owned by that nation. It

  385. represents the nation that owns it. That

  386. is what the kingdom is in the earth.

  387. Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this

  388. world." That means his kingdom is from

  389. somewhere else. But it is positioned

  390. here to be able to function so its

  391. citizens can have a safe place

  392. >> to function and so that they can have a

  393. consistent place to answer to.

  394. >> And so that is that it reminds me of

  395. that concept. And we're that way. We are

  396. the ambassadors

  397. >> of the embassy of our life.

  398. >> And so we are in this foreign world,

  399. >> but we're not of this world. We're just

  400. in it. That's right. We're in it, but

  401. we're not of this world. And so we

  402. function differently.

  403. >> And even though the people of this world

  404. may have one function,

  405. >> that doesn't work in our embassy.

  406. >> I know we're in a different place, but

  407. we're called to still be governed by

  408. >> the rules, the regulation, the reign of

  409. the kingdom where we are from. Yes.

  410. >> And so even even in a world where there

  411. may be trends and and things that people

  412. love, you know, everybody's about my

  413. truth and my way, but that for us, we

  414. don't have that.

  415. >> We go by his truth and his way because

  416. we're trying to expand the rule

  417. >> of God in the earth. Can I can I say

  418. could could it be

  419. >> could it be that that may be some of the

  420. frustration of the believer in

  421. Absolutely. trying to occupy or function

  422. in the operate within the kingdom using

  423. the world standard.

  424. >> That's it. That's it.

  425. >> You know, that's where we find

  426. frustrated believers who who say the

  427. Bible doesn't work. This is not real.

  428. No. I think what happens is is that

  429. we're trying to operate with the world's

  430. perspective, the world's way in God's

  431. kingdom, and it will not work. It will

  432. not work. No, it doesn't work. You call

  433. that an outlaw.

  434. >> You can't function.

  435. >> Come on. I even if I'm in Africa, if I'm

  436. on the US embassy,

  437. >> I am ruled and regulated by the laws of

  438. my land that I'm from. And I think we

  439. get frustrated because we try to take

  440. the laws of this world

  441. >> and bring them into the kingdom and it

  442. doesn't work

  443. >> when it it doesn't work.

  444. >> It doesn't work. That's why the old

  445. people used to say, the old saints used

  446. to say, "I'm just a stranger passing

  447. through. I'm not here." Didn't they make

  448. it clear?

  449. >> I'm on a journey. I'm going to heaven.

  450. That's where I'm from. And I'm not here

  451. to stay. And I think that's the other

  452. piece. Even when we talk about death.

  453. Yeah. For the believer, death, as Bishop

  454. has taught us, is a limousine ride

  455. really back home.

  456. >> Yeah.

  457. >> You know, it's a limousine ride back

  458. home. So, I'm not going to be frustrated

  459. when it's my time to go back home. But

  460. while I'm here, I got to operate based

  461. on what the king says.

  462. >> Sure. Oh, that's good.

  463. >> You know,

  464. >> so let me share this with you. This is

  465. >> y'all. We're just having good

  466. conversation. It's just Oh, I love And I

  467. know we got to keep going, but I love

  468. this example. This Dr. Tony Evans uh

  469. shared this and he talked about how we

  470. are like referees in a basketball game.

  471. >> Oh yes.

  472. >> Come on.

  473. >> And what it is is there they're two

  474. sides.

  475. >> Yes, sir.

  476. >> Against each other.

  477. >> Yes, sir.

  478. >> But we're not on either side.

  479. >> Come on.

  480. >> We We don't work for We don't work for

  481. the Charlotte Hornets.

  482. >> Come on.

  483. >> We don't work for the Chicago Bulls. We

  484. We are employed by the league.

  485. >> Yes. And so our calling in the earth is

  486. to be referees in our areas of influence

  487. because the ultimate goal is the reign

  488. and rules set by the league. And that's

  489. what we do. And everywhere we are, we

  490. are we are that way in the kingdom.

  491. >> That we are called to be referees, not

  492. based on our opinions. I don't have a

  493. team I'm pulling for because I have a

  494. team I work for. And that is for the

  495. kingdom of God. And our goal, our aim,

  496. our purpose is to implement the rules

  497. and the reign of the kingdom of God.

  498. >> That's so good. I just heard it. We

  499. don't stand for who's right. We stand

  500. for what's right.

  501. >> Oh, that's good.

  502. >> Yeah, man. That's good. Boy, that's

  503. good. But that's the purpose

  504. >> of the kingdom.

  505. >> That his will may be done on earth as it

  506. is in heaven.

  507. >> The kingdom has purpose.

  508. >> Secondly, the king ha The kingdom has

  509. values.

  510. >> Yeah.

  511. >> The kingdom has values in every walk and

  512. sphere of life. In our culture, in the

  513. world and even other countries, there

  514. are values that you live and operate by.

  515. >> Yeah.

  516. >> And these values, they they show us, you

  517. know, speak to and give us clarity on

  518. what behaviors are accepted.

  519. >> Oh, that's good.

  520. >> And ones that are not.

  521. >> The values, you know, last a couple

  522. weeks ago, we are excited about our core

  523. values as we have been establishing

  524. them. But it speaks to our core values.

  525. what goes here at Cornelia that if

  526. you're a corneria member, this is how

  527. we're going to operate.

  528. >> Yeah.

  529. >> This is what matters.

  530. >> Yeah.

  531. >> And the same thing is true in the

  532. kingdom of God that God's kingdom has

  533. values that we're to operate by. I just

  534. want to throw a couple of them out that

  535. that it should be humility over pride.

  536. >> O PT

  537. >> humility should be over pride. The

  538. world's way is pride,

  539. >> you know. But the Bible says in James

    James 4:6

  540. 4:6, "But he giveth more grace.

  541. Wherefore he said, God resisteth the

  542. proud,

  543. >> but he gives grace to the humble." The

  544. world says, just, you know, hold on,

  545. hold yourself down. Don't don't tell

  546. anybody what you got going on. You know,

  547. you make it happen. That's the world's

  548. way.

  549. >> Yeah.

  550. >> But the Bible says that if we're going

  551. to find grace, the king says that if you

  552. want to find this grace, you need to

  553. humble yourself. Yeah. Yeah.

  554. >> Don't stand up like you're so much.

  555. Don't try to hold your way to a fault.

  556. >> What God values is our humility.

  557. >> That's so good.

  558. >> Yeah.

  559. >> He said also love over hate.

  560. >> Yeah.

  561. >> Love over hate. Matthew 5:44 says, "Oh

    Matthew 5:44

  562. my God, love your enemies.

  563. >> Oh Lord,

  564. >> pray for those who persecute you."

  565. Listen, that's what that's what's

  566. valuable in the kingdom of God. Again, I

  567. think that's the frustration of the

  568. believer is when we want to take the

  569. world's values and try to operate in the

  570. kingdom.

  571. >> Yeah.

  572. >> God doesn't call us to clap back.

  573. >> PT Lord, somebody in the chat. Put that

  574. in the chat. It's in the chat. God

  575. knows.

  576. >> Yeah. God is not calling us to clap

  577. back. God does not call us

  578. >> or to cut off.

  579. >> To Oh, Lord.

  580. >> He doesn't call us to clap back or to

  581. cut off.

  582. >> Yeah. I and I know she don't want us to

  583. be talking about us the old time, but

  584. that is one of the things I appreciate

  585. about Bishop.

  586. >> Yes.

  587. >> Is that she has this model of leave the

  588. light on

  589. >> where you know people does done does

  590. some interesting things but she always

  591. leaves on her end an opportunity for

  592. people to be able to come back

  593. >> which is the heart of the king.

  594. >> Yeah.

  595. >> That's the heart of the king. He left

  596. the light on for us while we were yet

  597. sinners. The Bible says Christ died. He

  598. left that light on so that we would have

  599. an opportunity and even when we messed

  600. up, he said, "My grace is sufficient."

  601. >> Come on.

  602. >> So we if we're going to be kingdom

  603. ambassadors and kingdom citizens, we got

  604. to do the same thing. Yeah.

  605. >> We can't do it our way. I know they

  606. mess, you know, messed you up and made

  607. you frustrated and all of that, but you

  608. still supposed to forgive because that's

  609. what he said.

  610. >> Yeah.

  611. >> Love over hate.

  612. >> Yeah.

  613. >> He said generosity over grief.

  614. >> Oh Lord, please talk about that. You

  615. know, the Bible still says in Acts 20:35

    Acts 20:35

  616. that it is more blessed to give than to

  617. receive. That's a kingdom mindset

  618. because the world says get all you can,

  619. can all you can get and sit on the lid.

  620. >> You know that that's that's the world

  621. mindset

  622. >> and don't share.

  623. >> And don't share.

  624. >> That's right. Hoard it for yourself.

  625. >> But the kingdom mindset is generosity.

  626. >> He said if you want something, give it.

  627. >> That's it.

  628. >> Like we sow to give. And that's so

  629. that's backwards from how the world says

  630. because the world says no you know I'm

  631. not giving no 10% I'm not you know

  632. giving over and above unto him unto me

  633. that's what I'm sewed into that's the

  634. world mindset yeah what is sacrifice

  635. right

  636. >> no no no sacrifice for myself but that

  637. is not the kingdom way what God values

  638. is generosity the Bible says the liberal

  639. soul shall be made fat that is what

  640. that's how God wants us to operate

  641. >> he says he says oh my god This is a good

  642. one. It says, "Justice over oppression."

  643. Yeah.

  644. >> Oh,

  645. >> my God. Justice over oppression. Micah

  646. chapter 6:8 says, "He has shown you, oh

  647. man, what is good."

  648. >> And what does the Lord require, but to

  649. do justly, to love mercy, and to walk

  650. humbly with our God?

  651. >> That God wants us to have a perspective,

  652. a mindset, an eye for, and a voice for

  653. >> the oppressed.

  654. >> Yeah. And that and that's not it's it's

  655. in various fears. Yeah. You know the

  656. various fears. And I think that we don't

  657. have to wait to get in front of a city

  658. council. That's right. That that's a

  659. part of it. That's a way to speak up.

  660. But I think in our everyday lives, we

  661. can look out for those who are

  662. overlooked, for those who are oppressed,

  663. those who are ostracized, those who are

  664. marginalized, being having a voice for

  665. them and sticking up. You know, one of

  666. the Oh Lord, watch this. One of the

  667. videos I like, speaking of videos, I

  668. like watching videos where somebody is

  669. getting bullied.

  670. >> Yeah.

  671. >> But there's somebody that's in the crowd

  672. that stands up and comes out swinging on

  673. them.

  674. >> Oh my god. Because we live in a day now

  675. where everybody is standing with the

  676. cell phone recording. And ain't nothing

  677. wrong with recording because you got to

  678. have some witnesses. I get that. But

  679. somebody got to be ready. Now, I'm not

  680. I'm advocating violence, aren't I?

  681. >> Somebody's got to be willing. You got to

  682. be willing to jump in there and knock

  683. somebody out for somebody else. Exactly.

  684. >> Stand up for the somebody. I think there

  685. was a video a while ago where this

  686. mother was uh with her kids at a bus

  687. stop

  688. >> and these other kids was jumping this

  689. this mom and like her two or three kids

  690. and I mean beating this lady up and her

  691. kids. Unbelievable. It was in Chicago

  692. and and I was just waiting

  693. >> for somebody

  694. >> to step out

  695. >> and grab these kids by the nap of their

  696. neck and just to because we want to be

  697. the kind that stand up for the

  698. oppressed.

  699. >> That's it. That's it.

  700. >> You know, uh so that's the kingdom value

  701. though. Yeah. Justice over the

  702. oppressed.

  703. >> I think that these are important. The

  704. values are important because number one,

  705. it's upside down, isn't it?

  706. >> It's upside down from us. Yeah.

  707. >> And that again, that's why that's why it

  708. takes a mindset shift because if if this

  709. is how we live according to these

  710. values, we've got to understand the

  711. values of the kingdom. And I know we're

  712. going to talk about these all year.

  713. Yeah.

  714. >> But it it makes me think of it, you

  715. know, if I'm going to live by these

  716. values,

  717. >> it's like diving into the into the

  718. ocean, you know, now my life

  719. >> is on land. Oh, wow.

  720. >> And so the value I value oxygen to be

  721. able to live, right?

  722. So, but I can't think because I'm diving

  723. in the water and because I can swim well

  724. that all of a sudden I can breathe

  725. >> in the water.

  726. >> I still need

  727. >> the value of oxygen, you know. And I

  728. think what happens a lot of times is and

  729. again we we see the world around us.

  730. >> Yeah.

  731. >> And we start looking in that ocean and

  732. saying, "Well, shoot, all the other fish

  733. seem like they doing just fine in here.

  734. >> They don't have this oxygen tank like I

  735. do. M

  736. >> maybe I can take mine off and I can

  737. mobilize and move around just like

  738. everybody else. And the minute we do it,

  739. we suffocate.

  740. >> Yeah.

  741. >> Because we're in the kingdom, but we're

  742. still trying to breathe the air of the

  743. world.

  744. >> And if we don't understand the values of

  745. the kingdom, we suffocate in the systems

  746. of the world.

  747. >> Yes.

  748. >> Now, you done said a mouthful. Good

  749. gracious.

  750. >> Boy, that's good.

  751. >> I know. Let take a moment and sit with

  752. that for a second.

  753. >> Yeah.

  754. >> God, you suffocate.

  755. >> Yeah. And that's that frustration I

  756. think that you were talking about is we

  757. get frustrated because like man I seem

  758. like I can't stay down here as long I

  759. seem like I can't make it or maneuver in

  760. this environment as long it's because

  761. you're breathing the wrong air.

  762. >> Come on.

  763. >> That that system doesn't work down here

  764. for you,

  765. >> right?

  766. >> That works for them. But you're not of

  767. the ocean. You're not of the world.

  768. We're of the kingdom. And we have to

  769. live on the values of the kingdom.

  770. >> That's good.

  771. >> And that's a mindset shift,

  772. >> man. So I so in in that light I need the

  773. oxygen of humility and love and

  774. generosity and justice and faith over

  775. fear. And let's just tackle this one. I

  776. I need the oxygen of servantthood over

  777. selfishness.

  778. >> Jesus. Yes.

  779. >> I need the oxygen of servantthood over

  780. selfishness. Jesus said in Matthew

    Matthew 23:11

  781. 23:11, he said, "The greatest among you

  782. will be your servant."

  783. >> That is the oxygen that I need in the

  784. kingdom of God. Selfishness will suff

  785. when I tell you if that you talk about

  786. something that'll suffocate you.

  787. Selfishness will suffocate you.

  788. >> Yes, it will.

  789. >> How many times have we met people who

  790. have gotten and acquired all these

  791. things that they seem to have want and

  792. they still gasping for air because air

  793. and oxygen for the believer is not found

  794. in what we get.

  795. >> Yeah.

  796. >> It's found in what we give.

  797. >> Boy, that's God's people. Yeah. But

  798. those are the values of the kingdom. So

  799. the kingdom has purpose.

  800. >> It has value. But the kingdom also has

  801. authority. Now y'all know, full

  802. disclosure, Pastor Christie had to get

  803. this one.

  804. >> Yes, sir.

  805. >> When we talking about authority,

  806. >> y'all, we were so excited when we were

  807. putting this together and talking the um

  808. other night. Listen to Matthew 28:18.

    Matthew 28:18

  809. This Bible,

  810. >> this b this this scripture, it says,

  811. "And Jesus came and spoke to them,

  812. saying,

  813. >> listen to this, all authority."

  814. >> I want to just let you just pause on

  815. that. All authority. And it's written in

  816. red. So Jesus is talking. All authority

  817. has been given to me in heaven and on

  818. earth.

  819. >> What you and I got to understand is this

  820. kingdom, this system that we're in. We

  821. have

  822. >> it's his authority. Yes, sir.

  823. >> It's his author. You know, I was

  824. thinking about the Bible and the Bible

  825. really is our constitution.

  826. >> Yeah.

  827. >> You know, because in an earthly kingdom,

  828. the king's word is law. The Bi and I

  829. wrote this down. The Bible is not just a

  830. book of stories. It is the constitution

  831. of the kingdom.

  832. >> Come on. Come on.

  833. >> And that's what you and I got to

  834. understand. When I hold this book in my

  835. hand, I'm not just holding a bunch of

  836. stories about people who I don't know.

  837. >> Yeah.

  838. >> I'm holding the constitution of the

  839. kingdom. This is the final authority to

  840. which I submit to settle any issue in my

  841. life because I'm a kingdom citizen. is

  842. gonna be settled by this word. So when I

  843. pray to the king, Yeah. I'm not begging

  844. him.

  845. >> Yeah.

  846. >> And I think sometimes we we struggle

  847. with that as kingdom citizens. We think

  848. we're begging. No. When you pray and you

  849. pray the word, you're reinforcing what

  850. the king said.

  851. >> And when you pray, you release angels to

  852. go out on your behalf because that's a

  853. part of your kingdom rights. And that's

  854. the thing that we've got to understand.

  855. You know, I was thinking about this and

  856. I said, I'm not a beggar.

  857. >> As a kingdom citizen, I have authority.

  858. Why? Because I'm operating by what he

  859. said.

  860. >> And his word, he'll perform his word.

  861. The Bible says he performs his word with

  862. signs following. He's not performing my

  863. feelings. He's not performing my

  864. frustrations. He is performing his word.

  865. And as a kingdom person, you got to

  866. understand the authority that you have

  867. in him. Yeah,

  868. >> your life is in him. And we can't even

  869. get into that because I know that's we

  870. going to go there. But I'm just saying

  871. and I I'm just so

  872. >> as we were preparing for this, what I

  873. was saying to Pastor Trev and Pastor

  874. Shandelle, and let me slow down. What I

  875. was saying to them is I'm nervous that

  876. as Christians, as kingdom citizens,

  877. >> we have become punkish in our approach

  878. to things. What I mean by that is we

  879. don't understand the authority that we

  880. walk in. Yeah.

  881. >> We don't understand the authority of the

  882. kingdom that we are a part of. So

  883. therefore, when a little trouble hits,

  884. we back up. We stop coming to church,

  885. the place where we're supposed to get

  886. our instruction. We stop coming there.

  887. We stop giving because we're over here

  888. trying to figure out how to pay our

  889. bills. Well, the thing is, if we operate

  890. by his kingdom authority, by his system,

  891. we will get the results because that's

  892. what we're called to do.

  893. >> Yeah.

  894. >> So, I'll pause cuz I done got excited

  895. and hot. So, go ahead y'all take over.

  896. >> Well, it takes it takes me so many

  897. places. I think as you were saying that,

  898. it made me think of

  899. >> and we talked about it last night. P

  900. versus authority.

  901. >> That's where I went.

  902. >> It made me think about that. And I think

  903. a lot of times when we don't recognize

  904. the authority that we have in the earth,

  905. we look for earthly power.

  906. >> And when when you have authority, you

  907. have the right and the ability to direct

  908. and control any power.

  909. >> And I think that's that is that's where

  910. again that's one of those areas where we

  911. suffocate. And so we look now go to

  912. school, get your education, you know,

  913. get degree, you know, do all these

  914. things, get powers, whatever. But that

  915. is not authority. That's not authority.

  916. >> That is power. And I think a lot of

  917. times we get disappointed because we

  918. seek and some of us find power but we

  919. don't we don't use that in kingdom

  920. authority.

  921. >> Yes.

  922. >> Yeah. You know I I sat up cuz something

  923. a story came to mind.

  924. >> So I'm driving down Greenville Boulevard

  925. and we you have certain lights that you

  926. can see from a distance. So I'm

  927. approaching this intersection but

  928. there's a blinking light.

  929. >> Yeah.

  930. >> And so the the the cars and stuff are

  931. backed up and I'm wondering like why

  932. isn't my lane going? What is going on?

  933. Yeah.

  934. >> And so when I finally get up to it,

  935. there's a cop standing in the middle of

  936. the intersection.

  937. >> And so you realize that this cop, all

  938. this power cop, these cars, if they

  939. wanted to, they could trample him. But

  940. this cop is not operating by power. He's

  941. operating by authority. He has the

  942. backing of the Grim Police Department to

  943. be able to tell one stop and one go.

  944. Well, let me calm down. I feel you. It's

  945. authority to be able to call and direct.

  946. And I and I hear you so clearly that

  947. that is what we're missing. And when

  948. we're missing authority, we're trying to

  949. grab power.

  950. >> Yes, man. That's good.

  951. >> Yeah. That's and the presence of that

  952. officer overrides

  953. >> the systems of the environment that he

  954. stands in. And that's the authority that

  955. we have. And I think this is important

  956. because when you when you hear

  957. authority, it is authority over our life

  958. as we submit to God. But then but when

  959. we submit to authority, we can be

  960. trusted with authority. And that is that

  961. is the method that he uses to God am I

  962. getting into the next week. That is the

  963. method that he uses to expand his

  964. kingdom. I think that's that gives us a

  965. sense of confidence.

  966. >> Confidence. Yes. Cuz I'm going to tell

  967. you something like I understand and and

  968. I know

  969. >> Okay, let me say it like this. When I

  970. walk into a room, I understand who I am.

  971. I understand when I walk into a space,

  972. the atmosphere has to shift. Yeah.

  973. >> Why? Because I'm operating under his

  974. authority.

  975. >> Yeah. If nobody in there is is with me,

  976. I understand who is with me. That

  977. scripture became so real to me, y'all.

  978. He said to me, Christy, I will never

  979. leave you. Yeah.

  980. >> I will never forsake you. I'll always be

  981. with you. And I have taken that thing. I

  982. understand when I walk into a room. I'm

  983. not walking in there by myself. I'm

  984. never alone.

  985. >> I don't care who's not around me. I

  986. don't care. You know, I love my husband

  987. with everything that's within me, but if

  988. he falls off the face of the globe

  989. tomorrow, I'm still gonna be okay

  990. because I know who is with me. Yeah.

  991. >> And I think that's where God is trying

  992. to move us to. We We're so accustomed

  993. to, you know, people and people are

  994. great.

  995. >> Yeah.

  996. >> You understand? People are great. But I

  997. want you all to get your mind centered

  998. and focused on the fact that Jesus is

  999. with you. The king is with you.

  1000. >> You're not by yourself. Absolutely. And

  1001. you have authority. So you see a

  1002. situation, he told us that you can speak

  1003. something and stuff has to shift. You

  1004. can lay your hands on the sick and the

  1005. sick have to recover. Why? Because I'm

  1006. putting that word on that situation. But

  1007. if you're not utilizing his word,

  1008. >> Yeah.

  1009. >> you have no authority.

  1010. >> Yeah. Yeah. And you got to use that.

  1011. They call that a

  1012. >> We got 30 seconds.

  1013. >> They call it a citizen's arrest.

  1014. >> Yes, sir. When you when you have the

  1015. authority of the king and you see

  1016. something that's not in line with his

  1017. kingdom, you can speak a word and

  1018. address that situation, you can arrest

  1019. the situation. But that is that is the

  1020. authority

  1021. >> the authority

  1022. >> that we walk in. Is that what he gave

  1023. Peter said, "Whatever you bind on earth

  1024. is bound in heaven. Whatever you loose

  1025. on earth has been loosened. I give you

  1026. the keys of the kingdom." Yes, sir.

  1027. >> He gave them for my God today. That's

  1028. good.

  1029. >> That's good.

  1030. >> All right. Listen, y'all. They tell us

  1031. to They telling us to wrap it up. All

  1032. right. But this is this is good. the the

  1033. kingdom. We want we're getting into

  1034. kingdom identity, but we thought it was

  1035. needful

  1036. >> to start with identifying what do we

  1037. mean by kingdom. And we understand today

  1038. that the kingdom has purpose. It has

  1039. value. It also has authority. But the

  1040. kingdom also has citizens.

  1041. >> And we're going to begin to unpack and

  1042. talk about how we operate in this

  1043. kingdom as citizens. All right.