Last week, we began looking at REDISCOVERING THE KINGDOM SERIES because we know, until we are fully aware of who we are, and we are aware of where we are, we cannot maximize our lives, we cannot maximize the moment. So, this day; we are continuing the series. But unlike last week that the LORD helped us re-introduced into it, looking at THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN AND THE KINGDOM OF GOD. Today, we will be going deeper as we want to consider four different things: Kingdom Structure, System, Culture and Citizenship. We are rediscovering the kingdom under those headings listed above. We want to consider the Structure of the kingdom, the system of the kingdom, the culture of the kingdom and the citizenship of the kingdom.

 

There are four things that are listed, that will guide us over this discussion. There are four things that interpret the things we’ve listed that gives them arrangement. The first thing I want us to note is that in this Kingdom we are talking about there is a need for you to be born into it. Number one: You are born into the Kingdom. Number two, you live the life of the Kingdom. The first thing that must be done is that “you are born.” I don’t want to say “you must be born,” let’s stick with “you are born into the Kingdom”. We are talking about the expectation, the ideal, how God has ordained it; you and I must be born. So, in the Kingdom You are born in it. The second thing is that; you live the life of the Kingdom. The third thing is that you follow patterns and orders within the Kingdom. The last thing we are noting is, you function within or from your own space in the Kingdom.

 

I believe we can see the arrangements: the first thing is that you are born into the Kingdom. The second thing is that you are expected to live the life of the Kingdom. The third thing is that you follow patterns and orders within the Kingdom and the last thing is that you function within or from your own space in the Kingdom. From here, we can see that Kingdom Citizenship as a prerequisite for Kingdom Culture, on which Kingdom System rests and then the Kingdom Structure. So, we will be concluding with the Kingdom structure and we will be starting with Kingdom Citizenship.

 

 

KINGDOM CITIZENSHIP

We will be starting our meditation from the book of Isaiah 9:6-7, knowing fully well that the first thing is that you must be born into the Kingdom. In Isaiah 9:6-7, the Bible says:

 

For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
⁷ Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

 

 

“For unto us a Child is born” the same way a child is born, you must be born, it’s either you have been born, or you must be born. It’s a necessity. When you are talking about the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of heaven that has been brought to the earth in the umbrella name of “the Kingdom of God”, if you must function actually in that Kingdom, the first thing is that you must be born. It says “unto us a Child is born” so we know whom the child has been born for. For the sake of us, the child is born. Again, it says “unto us a Son is given; and the government; another word for the government is, and the Kingdom. And the kingdom, “the government will be upon His shoulder and His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, and of the increase of His government, another word, and of the increase of his Kingdom and peace” because Kingdom is expected to carry peace within itself, no one wants to be a citizen of a chaotic kingdom.

 

I don’t know if you ask Bro B now, do you want to become a Yemenis? There are countries in the world that is so pathetic to live in. Kwashiorkor for the children, death for the adults. In such places, citizenship is not encouraged. You don’t find Nigeria trooping to Yemen or trooping to other countries in the world that are suffering from poverty and war. So, what happens? When there is a peace or a perceived peace, people flock in, why? People love to flourish or to be established in peace. The Bible says “And of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.”

 

 

“Unto us the child is born, and unto us the government is given…” So, we can see that there is a necessity for a person to be born into the Kingdom. And when you are born into the Kingdom, you are not born into nothingness, you are born into the Kingdom. You are not born into empty cloud, into empty space, into an empty life, you are born into substance, and you are born into the Kingdom. People are born into different families but you know, how your life will be depending on the nature of that family. Some people are born into rich families, some people are born into pure families, some people are born into Christian homes, some people are born into atheist homes, some people are born into families where anyone doesn’t want to do anything; everybody is sleeping and eating, some people are born in homes of discipline, order, structure but you know depending on the homes you are born into, your life will follow; your life will follow the pattern, the nature of the home you are born into.

 

 

So, you are born into the Kingdom, meaning there is a kingdom in view, there is a Kingdom either ahead of you or there is a Kingdom that you are born into. The Kingdom is your experience, it’s either you are expected to inherit the Kingdom, or you are expected to enjoy the Kingdom.  “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder…” What happened to Jesus became a model experience that we must emulate or that we must step into. What makes you a follower, if you are a follower of Plato or Aristotle, it means what was true for him, could be true for you.  You claim his experiences; in fact, you could pattern your life.

 

 

When you watch Chinese film, Japanese film and you see some people and they call “monks” how do they live? There is a god they are worshipping; someone who was once a human who has now become a god they are worshipping. So, what do they do? They live the life that they perceived such lived. The person is no more, he has died, but the kind of life the person lived, they live. Do we understand? “Of the increase of His government and peace, there will be no end.”  So, the first thing is, you must be born, but you are not born into nothingness. Somebody will say, “why should I be born?” The reason why you should be born is that, you are born into the Kingdom. If I need to be born again now and then I’m born again into the family of Queen Elizabeth, what would my life become? Wouldn’t I become a Prince? Princes are in levels. There are princes of smaller and bigger kingdoms. Let’s just take for instance, somebody who has never been born into a royal family, whether in a village or in a big country and then you are now expected to be born again into the kingdom, and then you are born into the family of the Queen, you become a prince because of your birth.

 

 

You may not start out as a prince that everybody is submitting to, that is ruling but you will grow into your kingship because you have been born into the kingdom, and you’ve been born into the household of the king. So, we are not just talking about new birth for the sake of being born again. The truth is, if you must step into all the fullness that God has for you in His Kingdom, there is a necessity for you to be born again but I’m not talking about you being born again because you want to satisfy a religious rite, you want to do something that people say you should do before you become a worker in the church, no! I’m talking about an experience you are born into; you are born into the King’s family. You are born into His Kingdom. As you grow up, you begin to experience the life of either a prince or a princess. So, you must be born.

 

 

Now let us go into another Bible passage. In the book of Luke 1:30-33, the Bible says:

 

“Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ³¹ And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. ³² He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. ³³ And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”

 

Verse 32 says, “He will be great” can you see that word? Like Benedicta will be great, Gboyega will be great.  You could meet me at a phase in life and you think I’m not great, just calm down, I will be great. There is greatness in your DNA. You are born into a kingdom of greatness. You have been born by the great King into the great Kingdom, so there is greatness attached to you.

 

When a grain of wheat falls down, the Bible says “until a grain of wheat falls down and dies, it abides alone” But when it falls down, what happens? So, when you look at the mustard seed, very small, but when fully planted, it becomes a large tree, does it start as a large tree? No!  People don’t find comfort or solace on it until it grows up. The gap between who you are now, and who God has destined you is you’re growing up. That’s all.

 

 

There is greatness in your DNA except you have not been born into the Kingdom. I’m not talking about you being born into a church family, like you are a Deeper Life, Winner Life, all those things. I’m talking about being born into the Kingdom of Christ. There are many people that are in church so to say. When I’m mentioning church, I’m not mentioning the church that Christ ordained. I’m using the name now. You know, I and my wife were watching a film yesterday and they asked a woman “are you a Muslim or a Christian?” She said “I’m a Christian.” They now said, “I hope you go to church?” She now said “no, I don’t go to church, oh!” So, my wife was like “how are you a Christian when you don’t go to church? she said “the business is too demanding, there is no time to go to church” but she is a Christian.”

 

There are people that call themselves Christians, who don’t have any relationship with Christ. How do you become a little Christ, when you don’t even know the Christ? You can’t become a little somebody when you don’t know the somebody, there must be a relationship between the senior and the junior, it’s like when you have Gboyega senior, Gboyega junior. John Kennedy senior, John Kennedy junior. You cannot be a junior of someone that you have not been born either into the family, or you don’t have any relationship with.

 

The Bible says, “Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.” Verse 31, “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the LORD God will give him.” You know, God is the King of kings. Under Him, kings emerge. Kings emerge under God and God being the King of kings, He is the only one who is able to make anyone a king on the earth). And the Bible says, “And the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.” There is a relationship between the Son and the Father. Even Jesus didn’t get the throne just like that, He had to get it through the blood. So, haven gotten it through the blood, any other person can get it after His order through His own blood.

 

It says “And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom, there will be no end.” Does it not show us that time that we saw “and of His government and peace...?” The Bible now says “and of His Kingdom.”  So, when you were reading government then, it’s not just any kind of government, it was a kingdom. The Bible says, “there will be no end” so see it, Jesus whom the LORD has sent to redeem us, He needed to sit on a throne when He comes to the earth. In heaven, He sits with the Father, but on this earth, there were thrones. Don’t forget, there are kingdoms. If he would be a legitimate, you know when somebody is a legitimate, if he would become the legitimate King on the earth, He mustn’t just call Himself a King, He must actually get that Kingship by blood. So, Jesus by the order of His birth, is the Son of David in the flesh, and through His father, He got the throne.

 

 

So, if you and I will get the throne, it’s not “dem say dem say:  I wish I am a king; I wish I reign in life” you can’t wish yourself into ruler ship. You must have Jesus as your own Father. Of course, you could go back to your village if you are a prince and struggle and compete to become king there. And if you are not a prince, you could go back to your town, or your village or your city and be asking your king how you could become his son or his daughter, perhaps through it you can become, can you see the cumbersome process? And then you will be limited to that village, your authority will be limited to that village.

 

 

The Bible says “and of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end” His government could have started at where it started but it has increased ever since, it has increased to the point that it has taken over the whole earth. In the book of Daniel, the Bible talks about the stone that was cut without human hands and the stone became a great mountain, and the mountain filled the whole earth (Daniel 2). So, we can understand, if you are wise, you will not struggle to become a son of God, you will not struggle to follow Jesus, to say, “I submit my life to Christ, I want to become a king on this earth under His own kingship” why? He has a worldwide influence. He has a global and a universal influence that you can reign within your own space under His own authority.

 

For instance, if you are from a city in Nigeria, let’s use Umuahia, Umuahia has the king, right? The Obi of Umuahia. If the Obi of Umuahia makes you a king under him, can you become a king over him at the same time? Can you reign beyond Umuahia kingdom? You can only reign within the kingdom that submit. I’m sure we remember times the European countries especially Portugal, I heard a story of the son of the king of Portugal, who was also desirous to become a king, and then the father sent him to go and take over, he was the one that took over all those Brazil and the rest. Just discovering new places, under the authority of his father, he ruled. If the father was a limited person within a small community, even though the son desired global influence, he cannot become bigger than his father.

 

 

So, if the Obi of Umuahia or the Obi of Aba makes you a king, he will make you a king over a district within his own kingdom. No king can make you a bigger king than themselves. That’s why you have to be wise when you are choosing who makes you a king. When the children of Israel wanted to make Jesus king, Jesus was wise to reject it because they can’t make Him a king bigger than themselves, and He needed to reign over the earth. You have to be careful how you emerge as a king. So, when we are talking about you being born unto God through Christ, we are giving you an opportunity to be born unto a life or a Kingdom that has no end. Yoruba people will say “the sky is so big, big enough for all birds to fly without touching themselves.” It’s a little picture of what goes on in the Kingdom of Christ. The Kingdom is so huge. Number one, there is no unemployment in that Kingdom. Number two, there is no congestion in the Kingdom.

 

When you begin to grow up to a point, the Father makes you to have rulership over a place. You remember the parable that Jesus gave, who is that faithful servant, when he is faithful, the master will give him authority over how many cities? Ten cities! That’s how the Kingdom work. Cities are many on the earth. There are cities on the earth, yearning for kings. There are countries. You know, there is a city in Africa, that a new president just emerged and the president is going to be ruling there for the sixth time. They said since the country became independent, there had never been a transition. The person that took it from the white is still holding it now, do we understand? Nations are yearning for kings. Nations, villages, cities are yearning for kings, they’ve been oppressed and manipulated. The kings you think they have, report to demons, they report to Satan and the will of Satan they intend to achieve. Why do they sacrifice their own children to worship idols? Does God require that? Have you not wondered how villages can be so much into cultism and yet they are so impoverished? Villages are yearning for kings. God is not blind or deaf to their desires. God is looking for people that He will make their king.

 

 

What happened to the people of Macedonia and Paul, Apostle Paul wanted to go to places, the Holy Spirit said “no.”  He wanted to go to another place, the Holy Spirit said “no.” And then he had a dream. In the dream, he saw someone from Macedonia calling him, “please come and help us”, and then he woke up from the dream and perceived that the Lord wanted them to go there, and immediately they went. What do you think happened? When they see Paul and his team in a place, they say “these are the men that have turned the whole word upside down.” They don’t go to those places apologetic, they go ruling, they go to declare justice. I’m sure we know what we read in that Isaiah 9, the Bible talked about judgement and justice. When evil is prevailing in a community, you go there as a king under God to declare judgement. What happened to Solomon? The day after God gave him wisdom, two women brought a matter to him and what did he do, he was expected to judge. Kings judge. As a king, your primary responsibility is to judge.

 

 

That’s why Jesus said, “whosoever sin that you withhold, such person’s sin is withheld, whosoever sin you forgive, such person’s sin is forgiven”, the question is, why do I have to be dealing with people sins? it’s because you are a judge. So, somebody has done something wrongly and you are afraid to declare your judgement, then you are not a king. If I have done something wrong and you cannot tell me, it means you do not have any influence over me. How many people that are being wrong around you? How many things are wrong around you? and yet you cannot say you are right, you are wrong, then it means you are not a king.

 

 

So, every time nations are calling for savior, they are calling for somebody to help them, a deliverer.  A deliverer is a king. When you read the book of Judges, everyone that judged Israel was a leader over Israel. Once you become a judge over a people you are a leader you are a king over them. Deborah was once the one who judged Israel. She was a woman, but every time they will bring matters to her, she will be judge. When Moses was judging, they will bring matters he will judge, he says “you are right, you are wrong.” At a point, he was under pressure, God lifted a spirit from him, and the same spirit came upon seventy people and they couldn’t recover again. What were they supposed to do? They were supposed to join him in judging.

 

 

Jesus said “I bestow a kingdom; those of you who have continued with me in trials, I bestow a kingdom on you, just as my Father bestowed a Kingdom on me and you will sit on the thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” Every time God talks about you declaring justice and judgement in your nation, God is referring to you as a king or as a queen, so you cannot remain as a slave or as a servant and still think you will fulfil your destiny as a king. If you have been born into the kingdom, I welcome you actually and declare that you are a citizen of the Kingdom and as a citizen you are destined to become a king, because the Bible says “He has made all of us kings and priest destined unto our God” why? The issues on the earth are so plenty that God is able to make all of us kings and there will be no clash. We will soon find out.

 

 

John 3:1-8

“There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. ² This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”³ Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”⁴ Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” “⁵ Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. ⁶ That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. ⁷ Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ ⁸ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

 

“There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. ² This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him…” you know the man was praising Jesus. Like, you are just unbelievable, I have never seen somebody like you before, you are just one in a billion, you are just so special. And Jesus says “calm down, the hype is getting too much, let me help you to get it, it’s not just about me alone.” Did we get that? That’s what Jesus did to him. Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” And Nicodemus got confused, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, definitely, irreversibly, unavoidably I say to you, unless one, unless Gboyega is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. There is no hanky-panky, there is no favoritism, it’s not because I came first or I came last, no! The procedure, the visa requirement is simple, you must be born of water, you must be born of Spirit, and if that can be true for you, even now you will enter into the Kingdom.

 

“That which is born of the flesh is the flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” You can be born of the Spirit, Jesus established it. Nicodemus began relating with Jesus as if He was a ghost, like you are just a unique person, you are the only one this thing can ever be true for. Jesus said “calm down, don’t undermine what God is doing, don’t think what is happening to me can never happen to you, the requirement is simple, if you can follow it, it can be for you too. The requirement is that, you must be born of water, you must be born of the Spirit. You must be born of the water of the word; you must be born of the Spirit of God. The word of God as a seed must be planted into your heart, the word of God being quickened by the Spirit of God must birth a new life in you. If that happens to you, you will enter into the Kingdom, what are we saying?

 

Some people want to travel out, some people want to become American citizens, right? “Nigeria is not good. This is not good.” So, what happens when they travel out? As soon as they get there, they will now be trying to get their green card. Very soon, they will be trying to get their citizenship, what now happens? They have now entered. You know it’s one thing to be living in US and then to have the green card, the residence permit, and then you now become citizen. These are processes, right? Jesus is like, for you to have that full authority and the full right you require, for you to demonstrate the power, the glory, the honour, the riches of this Kingdom, you! Don’t just think your Bishop or your Pastor, you must be born again. So, there is no way to be religious about it. Am I born again? Has the incorruptible seed of the word of God be sown in my heart? Has the Spirit of God watered it? Has the Spirit of God quickened it? Has that seed become a tree? Has that seed become a tree that can transform my life?

When your life become a growing tree; a tree that is able to produce fruits, what happens? Others will eat, others will benefit from the fruit of your life. Have you ever seen any tree that benefits itself? “Don’t eat my fruit, these fruits are for me only me, nobody should eat” Have you ever seen it before? So, when the incorruptible seed is planted in you, and then the Spirit causes it to grow, remember it is God that gives increase. And the Spirit of God causes it to grow, and then it begins to produce fruits then you will see Bro Gboyega coming to your life sister this, sister that, brother this, can I please eat a little fruit? Sir, can I have a little of your patience?  Sir, I really need some love. I need some kindness from you, Sir. They will be coming to pluck. Don’t use the word to snatch, as if they are stealing it, it’s their right please. They just come to pluck, they come to eat. They come to be satisfied. Somebody is like “God bless you ma, God bless you sir, thank God for your life, your kindness I have not seen it before. The kind of peace, the kind of faithfulness, your integrity, I have not seen it before.” They are plucking it, they are eating it, and their souls are blessed by it. And Jesus says “until that becomes your experience, you cannot begin to command the supernatural”.

 

Jesus walked on water. When Jesus needed to feed a people that were hungry, he didn’t have to go and borrow, the little He had, He prayed to God and immediately the power of God came upon it, it was multiplied. Before you start thinking, it was only possible for Jesus, Jesus said “calm down, except you are born again, you cannot see it too, you cannot see it happen in your life.” So, don’t be envious of Jesus, don’t be jealous of your master. The Bible says, Jesus even said it Himself, “when a servant or a disciple is perfect, he will become just like his master.” You remember there was a time He said “He was chasing out demons by Beelzebub, Beelzebub is a prince of demon” and Jesus said “if I by the finger of God, by the power of God do these things, cast out the demons, then the Kingdom of God is upon you.”

 

So, Jesus established that it was by the finger of God, He did it. And Jesus told us, you cannot see the hand of God in your life, except you are born again. Didn’t Jesus say, talking about the Holy Spirit, “the world cannot receive Him.” The Holy Spirit will be sent to you, he said “the world cannot receive Him”. Holy Spirit comes to those who are saved. That’s why experiencing power in the Kingdom, the dimensions of God in the Kingdom, the requirements, is that you are born again, you are born of the water, you are born of the Spirit, the word of God begins to make sense to you. Except you are born again, if you read the Bible it’s a literature, mere literature, different stories, “story story, story”, that’s all the Bible is to you. But if you are born again, meaning you have been born.

 

Can you see your father and not recognize Him? When your father speaks, won’t you know? If the word of God births you, the word of God will also bring you up. The word of God will begin to make sense to you. God will begin to direct you, by the same word that birth you. If by the word of God, you have been raised up unto God, by the same word you will be directed. “Your rod, your staff they comfort me.” “Your rod” we do not know the meaning, the word of God, the Spirit of God. That’s how God has ordained it. Even in the old testament, David said, “Your rod and your staff they comfort me” they guide me. Jesus called the Holy Spirit the comforter. But the prerequisite for that experience is that you must be born by Jesus, you must be born unto God through Christ. You never heard “being born again” until Jesus came, because that’s how God has ordained it. Jesus needed to be born in the flesh after the order of David. You must be born in the Spirit after the order of Christ. Anything you have ever seen any man of God do; you can do it. The requirement is simple; the word of God must birth you.

 

God said in Isaiah “on this one will I not look at, one who trembles of a broken spirit.” Can we also see how God said it? God started by saying, what kind of house can you build me? All these things, my hand has made.  “But on this one will I not look at, one who is of a broken spirit and who trembles at my word” that’s how God has ordained it. The Kingdom of God is the Kingdom of the Word, the Kingdom of the Spirit. You are born by the word; you are brought up by the Spirit. Did you hear as many as are led, another word is as many as are nurtured? There is a father and there is a mother, it’s like you need a man and a woman to give birth to you. Your father and your mother came together to born you. 

 

For you to be born unto God, the Word of God and the Spirit of God must come together over your life. So, when your father is around, when your father speaks, you recognize. Jesus said” the voice of a stranger they will not hear”. How do you explain it, that a man and a woman come together once and they gave birth to a son after nine months and the son talks like the father, what happened? The DNA of the father has been released. The same DNA in the father is in the son. The thing the Spirit carries the things the word carries is in you. So, when a small word of God comes to you, you tremble at that word. The same word that changes some people, is the same word that makes some people to go further into hell. Some people are misled by the word. Somebody just spoke something in the Bible, and they say they will never follow God again. And some of us are established in the faith, because of the word. And as far as we are concerned, God lives and His word lives, we will never leave God. why?  You have been born unto God, by the word of God and by the Spirit of God. You look like your father, you look like your mother, the simple reason is because something from them was used to make you.

If you have been made a child, a baby, a new born by God through the word of God and the Spirit of God, there is something in the word, there is something in the Spirit that forms your life. Your life must therefore be shaped, your life must actually tremble at the word, it is the Spirit that quickens, the flesh profits nothing, the words that I speak to you…” No wonder a man said, “the Spirit entered into me, as He spoke to me, and set me upon my feet” why? “I have been born of the water and I have been born of the word.” We have over flogged this matter because it is foundational, it is the prerequisite. You can spend one trillion years in the church, and you have never been born again; you know you can do altar call and then go back to your sin, but when the word of God hit you one day, that is it.

 

Some years ago, when I was in secondary school, there was one girl friend that I had. I said “I will bring that girlfriend to the primary school.” The location was a primary school and I was in secondary school. I said on Thursday I will bring the girl, and that was on Tuesday I was planning. I went to the primary school, it was a holiday time, I arranged all the tables, “this is where I am bringing this girl”. We were in boarding school, and I have been going to the fellowship, the chapel for a long time, the words they speak never makes sense to me. “Like I just dey there,” I was a big boy. And then I came for the fellowship in the evening, on Wednesday, between 5 and 6pm, and then the man of God, the teacher who was also our Pastor was just talking the way he talks. I don’t even like the way he talks and then do you know in that one-hour message I gave my life to Christ. And the girl came as promised on Thursday and I ran away physically, hundred-meter dash. She saw me running away, she waited for me for hours, she even brought wine for me, I ran away till date. So, when we are talking about being born again, this thing is not joke.  The same word that you have been despising, when that word come to you and it turns you somehow, and the Spirit of God waters the word, the Spirit of God quickens the word, a new life will be born in you.

 

The housemistress of my hostel, the person that takes care of us. Less than one or two or three weeks she came to me and ask me if I was born again, because before that time I cursed everybody in the hostel daily. I shout and I scream, it’s like the evil spirit in me is from the depth, I scream with bass, and say “does your life want to scatter?” You will think it’s a big deal, a simple thing. You can’t talk to me in a way that I don’t like, I will curse you. And the first thing that stopped the same day was cursing. That’s why we are talking about the seed of the word must be planted. By the Spirit of God, a new life will be born in you, it’s like a tree. That’s why you will be hearing, the tree of righteousness in the word of God. The spiritual life God ask you to live, is like a tree that is being born in you. That’s why Jesus said, “out of your belly shall flow rivers of living water” or you can call it a river or you can call it a tree for you to understand it better, you can say it’s a tree.

When that tree begins to grow then you will be saying “this is the way I use to live.” I told you how I use to bounce before, the back of my leg doesn’t touch the ground. The first thing I realized was that, what was happening to me before? I could not do it. I’m talking about the same time, the same day, the second day. I stopped cursing, stopped walking anyhow. The girl that I said I ran away from; she was a prostitute. I knew her as a prostitute. Thank God, God didn’t allow her to ruin my life. You must be born again. Don’t deceive yourself, people tell you things, “you are welcome into church, come as you are, just stay like that”. If you stay like that, you will only be envious of the lives of men. When you see some of us that are having lives that are different, you will think we are doing magic. It’s not magic, that’s how Nicodemus thought, it wasn’t magic. It was by the word of God, and by the Spirit of God.

 

When a Pastor, a genuine man of God is reading the Bible and he is sharing revelation, the Spirit of God is hovering over the word, and you are like is it not the same Bible I use to carry home? No! The difference is that the man has been born again, the man is talking to you from the Kingdom. The man has been translated into the Kingdom, and from the Kingdom, he speaks.  The word of God makes sense to him. When I speak on the word of God, I speak with passion, why?  I have been born by the word.

 

As we saw it in Isaiah 9:6, the child was prophesied to be born. Many of us that we are here now, there are many prophesies that have gone ahead of us. Before our mothers and fathers gave birth to us. Somebody had told them, “there is a son you will have, there is a daughter you will have, she will be great, he will be great”, prophesies had gone ahead of you. And then in Luke 1:30, the Bible says, the child was actually born, we knew it, the child came. So, the child was prophesied to be born, the child was born, and then in John 3:1-8, the Bible made us to realize that it’s not just about that child that was prophesied and born, it’s also about us. Except you are born again, except you are born of the water and the Spirit, you cannot enter the Kingdom. So, if you want to see and enter the Kingdom, enter there means you are part and parcel, you are a partaker of what God has.

 

I am not a citizen of United States, I’m not a citizen of United Kingdom, I have not seen it, I have not entered. Many of us in Nigeria, we have never seen a situation where there is no power failure for one year. There are kingdoms, and there are nations that have that experience. When you enter into those kingdoms you begin to have their experience. There are kingdoms in the world where the income per capital of every citizen is enough for you, if they give it to you now, you are a millionaire and they get it every year, that is their income. Why? They are citizens. Don’t envy a kingdom life, when you are not a citizen of that kingdom. It’s a waste of time. If you have a means to become a citizen, you should start it now. And I plead with you, I implore you that you don’t go about envying people who are in Christ. I can’t begin to give you all my life details in this short message, my life that changed that day has never gone back to the way it used to be. My life has actually changed; I began to work in authority. Kingdom life is not about your age, you can be young, you can be a woman, you can be a man, it’s not about your gender or your age it’s about you being born genuinely, then you being brought up in the Kingdom.

 

Authority is yours; power is yours; you will be given authority over cities; you will be given authority over destinies. The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdom of Christ, has become the kingdom of our God and of His Christ and we shall reign. How do we reign? We can’t even begin to reign until we are born into the Kingdom.

Let us quickly read Colossians 1:12-14. The Bible says: “giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. ¹³ He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.”

God has conveyed us, you know there is something they call conveyor belt, a conveyor. A conveyor is a transporter, something that moves something from one place to another. Bible says “God is the one who has conveyed us”, God moved us literarily, He moved us out of the kingdom of darkness where we used to suffer, where people used to oppress us, where we didn’t know our left from our right, where we sued to indulge, we used to do things, we used to destroy ourselves, we were still laughing, we were killing; like suffering and smiling, and He brought us into the Kingdom of the Son of His love.

The Bible says in 1Peter 2:9, But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, and the reason is simple, that you may show the praises of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. When you talk about the church, the church is the assembly of men and women who are called out. If you have never been out of darkness, don’t call yourself a member of the church you are not in church, you are in darkness. Being a member of the church means you are in Christ. Being in Christ means you are in the light. See what the Bible says in that place “giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light” in the light, in Christ. Christ is the light.

So, as you have been called out of darkness, you have been called to show forth His praises, the calling out of darkness into the marvelous light is what birth you into this Kingdom for a new life. So, Kingdom citizenship is a necessity. You can’t assume you’re a citizen, you must clarify things. Confirm that your name has been written. The Bible talks about in Hebrews “the church of the first born who are registered in heaven” has your name been registered in heaven? Does God, the King of kings recognize you as a king under Him on the earth? If God doesn’t see you as part of Him, even though you call unto Him, and you tell people I am His, God doesn’t see you, there is no assumption.

A people said to Jesus, Jesus gave a parable or He gave a word about a people who will say, it’s a prophesy “didn’t we prophesy in your name? We even cast out demons in your name” that is, we did a lot of works, we did ministry. People called us men of God” and Jesus said “I never knew you, depart from me you who are workers of lawlessness”, of iniquity, that is you dwell in darkness, you are not in the light. I do not recognize you. You were of your father the devil and his desires you did. In fact, the name you were calling, and you were casting demons out in my name, you did it for his interest. People will do anything for money. Those who do anything for money, they do not serve God, they serve their father the devil. They could be in the body of Christ, but they are not of Christ. So, don’t deceive yourself also, don’t grow old before you realize that you are not in Christ. If you have not been in Christ, acknowledge it, go to Him. “Lord I submit myself to your word, Lord I submit myself to your Holy Spirit.” Before you leave Him, you will be born again.

The Angel said to Mary, he said “this is it you, will conceive a child in the womb, because the Holy Spirit will overwhelm you, and that which will be conceived of you.” So, when God overwhelms you, when the word of God is stared up in your heart, you will conceive, a new life will be born in you. You can’t be under the light of God and you won’t whip yourself into repentance.

 

KINGDOM CULTURE

“Now John himself was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵ Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him ⁶ and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.⁷ But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸ Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, ⁹ and do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. ¹⁰ And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

Matthew 3:4-10

Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Do we understand what the man of God was telling them, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? So, it means, they were eligible for the wrath. He says, therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance. And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree…” That’s why I said when the seed of the word of God comes to you, consider that a seed has been sown, and a tree has started to grow. He says: “every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

So, haven come into the Kingdom, it means there is an impression that the seed of the word has been fertilized in your heart and a new tree has started to grow, and as a new tree that is growing you are expected to bear good fruits. It says: “bear fruit worthy of repentance” repentance means change of thinking. You used to think after this manner before, but you have changed to another manner. Now that you have changed the way you used to think, you must therefore produce fruits, produce life worthy of your thinking. Because when we were in primary school and we were doing social studies they must have told us about culture. One of the things I can’t forget is that “culture is the way of life of a people.” Who are the people? They are the people of Christ. If you have been born unto God through Christ, there is a way you must live. John said “bear fruits” live a life worthy of your new birth.

Let us check Matthew 12:33-35. The Bible says: “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. ³⁴ Brood ^[ of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. ³⁵ A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.”

“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree,” a new born babe, a new child of God, a disciple of Jesus, a tree is known by its fruit. I Gboyega Adedeji, I am known by my fruits, my fruits, you can call them my character, my character traits, they are my traits, they are the things that are identified with me. When you see me, you see them on me, they are identifiable attributes of my life. If I’m a patient person people will say, that’s it. If I’m impatient, they will say that’s his fruit. When you see a tree, you say this is a mango tree, this is a cashew tree, this is a pawpaw tree. Your fruit is what qualifies you, you are described by your fruits. And Jesus said “make the tree good and the kind of fruit he will bear will be good or make the tree bad, therefore, the fruits will be bad”. The tree is known by the fruits it bears. In this kingdom, if indeed you have been born unto God, the Lord expects you to bear good fruits, because there are only two fruits you can bear, your fruits are either good or they are bad. There is no middle fruit.

The fruit you bear, the life you live is either a good live or you live a bad life but what determines the life you live is the seed, the kind of seed that you are born with; there is the corruptible seed, there is an incorruptible seed. Bad seed will produce bad tree, bad tree will produce bad fruit. Good seed will produce good tree and good tree will produce good fruit. When He says “make the tree good”, He was talking about the seed that births the tree. The kind of seed, by the seed the tree is planted.

Since we mentioned fruit, I want us to see something that talks about fruits in Galatians 5:19-25. But one thing I want us to note is that, it’s not just about the fruit that are good that the Bible mentioned, the Bible also lists the fruits that are bad.

Galatians 5:19-25

¹⁹ Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, ²¹ envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. ²⁴ And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵ If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

“Now the works of the flesh”, Another word for works there is the fruits of the flesh. “Now the works of the flesh are clear, they are evident, they are not hidden, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice, those who produce this kind of fruits, such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit. So, what we were exposed to were the fruits of the flesh, those who practice them, that is, those who produce them, they will never inherit the kingdom, they cannot see the hand of God in their lives, they could go to mountains to pray, they could even be fasting. They could even call themselves Pastors, they could call themselves believers, they could say I have been born again since 1972, they will not inherit the Kingdom of God. When we talk about the inheritances, they will not inherit. You won’t find the aura. The aura of the Kingdom will not be found in them, do we understand what is going on? What is their problem? Their actual problem is that they’ve been born by a corruptible seed and therefore, they produce corruption. And the fruits of their corruption are drunkenness. But it says “but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control against such there is no law and those who are Christ’s who are not just in the church.” You know there are many associations; there are old boys’ association, and there are denominations worldwide. Sometimes some of us when we see denominations, we are like it is well. So, it’s not about being in those associations, or denominations or organizations. It’s about being in Christ.

“And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passion and desires, if we live in the Spirit, let us also work in the Spirit” let us live the life of the Spirit, and what’s the life of the Spirit? The life of the Spirit are the fruits of the Spirit. The things the Spirit produce in us. If you are born again, then we should find self-control in you. So, if you are not producing self-control, it doesn’t mean that you should be thrown away from the church, it just means that, even though the seed has been sown in you, you have not grown enough to the point that you begin to bear fruits. Do we remember that? It is not when you plant a tree that it’s start producing fruits, it takes time for a tree to start producing fruits.

That you’ve been born again, doesn’t mean all these things would be visible in your life now, it takes time, but in time we must find them in you. In Galatians 2:20, the Bible says “I have been crucified with Christ Jesus, it is no longer I, Gboyega Adedeji who lives but Christ lives in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me, and gave Himself for me. I live by faith in the Son of God.” I, my old man has been crucified with Christ, I now have a new way of life. I used to smoke, I used to drink, I used to womanize, I don’t do them again, why? I have been crucified with Christ, I now have a new life in Christ, the seed of the word and the Spirit of God produce in me a new experience. I have a new taste bud, the things that use to make sense to me then, doesn’t make sense to me again. Apostle Paul said, “I no count those things as dung” those things that used to esteem as important things, they don’t make sense to me again.

You wouldn’t do things that you yourself consider to have no sense, and you can’t struggle in your flesh, you can’t begin to say, “based on the time I have spent in the church I should begin to now behave well”. It’s not about you just telling yourself and just trying to make it happen, no! The Bible says the fruits of the Spirit; born of water and of the Spirit. If the Spirit is indeed in you, the Spirit will make it happen. Let me just quote two verses, Matthew 20:24-28 and Luke 9:54-56. When the disciples were asking who is the greatest in Matthew 20, and then there was a division among them. Jesus said “the rulers of the gentiles, they lord it over their people, they oppress them, they afflict them, but it shall not be so among you.” That means there is a life of the gentiles, there is a life in Christ.

In Luke 9: 54-56, the two sons of Zebedee said: “Lord, do you want us to call down fire?” They were showing that they were even in the Spirit, like they had authority. “Lord Jesus we judge this people unfaithful, do you want us to punish them, do we call down fire from heaven, so that the fire will consume them like Elijah did?” And the Bible says “and Jesus turned and rebuked them and He said to them, you do not know the manner of spirit, the life that you are now living now, you don’t know the manner of spirit that you are of. The spirit that you are now of, produces a different life from the life you used to live, so as you are born into the Kingdom, you must have that consciousness, I have been born into a new life.

There is a new life. By the Holy Spirit, I believe strongly and I also want you to also agree that’s the truth, you know it, I’m just reminding you. It is your new life, the reality of your new life that substantiates, that validates your citizenship. You have freedom and right as a citizen of Nigeria, only because you have not violated the law. Once you break the law, all your rights are removed from you, do we realize that? There is a way somebody will break the law, and they will even collect the passport from the person. So, if you want to remain a citizen of the Kingdom, make sure you actually live the life of the Kingdom. If you can continue in the life. That’s why the word of God comes to every man, like “if you can work in my ways and do all that I command, then you will also judge.” The authority of God for your life, is not in doubt, you just have to keep walking in the ways of God. Start getting one with your Father via the word, via the Spirit.

I believe you have been blessed!   

Thanks for the gift of your time, I am Gboyega ADEDEJI!

Feel free to share your thoughts or testimony in the comment box below. I promise to respond to them as soon as possible!