The Kingdom

“About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?” Matt.18:1

I was in a session where Dr. Mensah Otabil said, “where two or three are gathered, there would be power struggle”. Even in a house, amongst those in the house, there is power struggle. There ought not to be; but there is. Jesus, in answering the question on greatness says that in the Kingdom, to go up you have to come down. The greatest in the kingdom is the servant of them all. The person that is most important in the Kingdom of heaven is the person that humbles himself as a child. “So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven” Matt.18:3-4. Have you not noticed that when children gather to play, they do not care who is who? But it is not the same thing when adults gather. Jesus says, except you become like these little children, you will not even see the Kingdom, not to talk of being the greatest in the Kingdom. It is so, so important that we get that right. Who would you say is the greatest in the church setting [after Jesus of course]? It is not the person that holds the microphone. It may not even be the Pastor. Although it can be if he is serving the most. The person that is the greatest is the person that is serving the most. And in most cases, I can assure you; it is not the Pastors because they are the ones that are being served the most. When we get to heaven, assuming Jesus will tell us, we will be shocked at who He will say the greatest is. It may just be the teacher that is teaching in junior church and is impacting children selflessly, it may just be. It may just be the usher that doesn’t care about position, just wants to serve God. It may just be the person parking cars, or someone in the choir, or perhaps the Pastor – you never know.

The question on salvation: Read John 3; Jesus cut to the chase with Nicodemus and said, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God” John 3:3. Of course Nicodemus was puzzled at what being born again means, as some people are today. Hear what Jesus said, “Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life” John 3:6. A goat cannot reproduce a lion. Jesus is saying -don’t you understand, the Kingdom of God is a spiritual kingdom and you cannot access it with flesh and blood; it is only the spiritual. So how do you get born into the spiritual? As your earthly parents came together and gave birth to you in the physical, the Holy Spirit must give birth to you in the spiritual. You have to be born again. That’s what it means to be born again.

Prayer [Hymn]: Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine; Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine! Heir of salvation, purchase of God, Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood. This is my story, this is my song. Praising my Savior all the day long (2x). Amen!