The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. (John 10:10)

There are two kingdoms battling for the human soul. The first and the original is the Kingdom of God instituted in Eden garden with Adam and Eve. The devil took over the authority given to people when Adam and Eve fall. God the Father promised His Son will crush the serpent and bestow the Kingdom of God back to people (Gen. 3:15).

Now we see the thief (the devil) came to the world to steal, kill, and destroy what God has created as "good". However, Christ has come so that we may have life and that we have it more abundantly. 

How is our life in light of the two forces that are set in motion on earth? Is our life a testimony of the Kingdom of God or a showcase for the destructive power of the evil one?

Let us take a journey through scripture with a heart to know more of the so called abundant life we see in the Kingdom of God.

Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. (Mat. 6:31-34)

Worry about life is chocking the life out of us not to enter the Kingdom of God. The Lord commands us not to worry with the understanding that the Father knows our situation. If God knows and we know that He knows, we trust that everything is well. With worry out of our way, the next thing we face is a choice: to seek His Kingdom and His righteousness. To go after the main thing (His Kingdom and righteousness) is to gain in the additions (being taken care of by God in the things that worry us).

Let us take a step further and see what seeking His Kingdom means.

Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. (Luke 12:32)

The Kingdom is a gift from the Father. It is not something we attain or work ourselves into it. It is His pleasure to give us the Kingdom of God. That is why Jesus Christ died on the cross. The Father is delighted to restore us into complete fellowship with Himself. Therefore, our hearts need to rejoice that God is into this thing: giving us the Kingdom. We seek the Kingdom with an understanding that it is His pleasure to see us position ourselves in this manner.

and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel." (Mark 1:15)

The Kingdom is at hand, near. It is accessible. We can enter into abundant life because of Christ. He is the door. And He is the life that is awaiting for us once we enter through Him (the gate). Repentance is changing direction (180 degree) from the evil road (away from God) towards the righteousness road (back to God). Once we repented and turn to God, the next thing is to believe in God that He has good news "the gospel" (the Kingdom) at hand for us.

If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!" (Luke 11:11-13)

Believing in the good news is hard at times. That keeps us trapped in the darkness. Freedom from darkness is attained in believing the truth. The truth is that God the Father not only gave us God the Son to die for us, but also gave us God the Holy Spirit to dwell within us. God the Father has brought the Eden into the center of our spirit through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit makes the Kingdom a reality in our lives. 

And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. (Mat. 4:23)

The gospel is good news. And the gospel is about the kingdom. Jesus preached the gospel of the kingdom. Since kingdom lost was damaged by sin -- the kingdom news is followed by healing. The Kingdom of God is typified by supernatural phenomena. Since the King is God Himself, His Kingdom has a mark of the supernatural. That is why healing and restoration display the glory of God in His Kingdom.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Mat. 5:3)

We enter the kingdom of heaven (kingdom of God) by relying on the finished work of Jesus Christ and continual dependence on the Holy Spirit. That requires one to be poor in spirit. Unless we acknowledge that we are bankrupt spiritually and it takes God to get us enter His kingdom -- ours is not the kingdom.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Mat. 5:10)

We are told to seek His kingdom and His righteousness. As the devil's kingdom of darkness is grounded on lie and sin, the kingdom of God is grounded on truth and righteousness. As we seed righteousness, the devil may harass and persecute us. Knowing the truth that the devil has no part in the kingdom and the kingdom of God is entrusted to us frees us from the devil's lie and grip.

For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. (Mat. 5:20)

Here again, we see the righteousness as the backbone of the Kingdom of God. Living in sin and lie keeps us in the dark. Such a life will make us subjects to the devil. The truth is the devil has no real power over us. The Lord Jesus has crushed the serpent at Calvary. The realization of the truth that Jesus is our real Lord free us from sin and lie. It is this light that makes no room for the darkness in our life. That is when we leave the darkness behind and enter His kingdom in truth and righteousness.

Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. (Mat. 6:10)

This is the Lord's prayer. As we pray, it comes to pass through our life. As the will of God has access from heaven to earth through us, that is how His kingdom come to be real in our world. Heaven is full of life and blessings and God is looking for kingdom citizens to release it to the dying world. Let it be our prayer to be a vessel for God to accomplish His will here on earth as it is in heaven.

"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. (Mat. 7:21)

Here again, we see doing the Will of God is a gateway for the realization of the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God should not be confused with religious rituals. The kingdom of God (heaven) is for those who surrender their lives to His will. We can enter the kingdom of God today, if we let heaven has access through us to earth - in complete submission to His will.

He answered and said to them, "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. (Mat. 13:11)

The inner circle. The secrets and mysteries of the kingdom of God is revealed to the inner circle. The inner circle belongs to the citizens of the kingdom of God. They have given their utmost to become friends of God. They are in this world, but not of this world, for they have entered the kingdom of God. Making Jesus our savior may get us to heaven in the future but doesn't by itself usher us into the kingdom of God today. Only further making Jesus Christ our Lord and King enables us to enter to His kingdom today.

Another parable He put forth to them, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?' He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' The servants said to him, 'Do you want us then to go and gather them up?' But he said, 'No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn." (Mat. 13:24-30)

Here again, citizen of the kingdom and people of the world sharing the earth together. God has planted a good seed in Eden by putting Adam and Eve in perfect earth. the devil has come in and sowed tares with his lies. The Lord Jesus has restored the kingdom of God to its former glory. And the devil continues to blind us from entering His kingdom by sowing lies for he is the father of lies. Know that there is a parallel world going on in our midst. It is the kingdom of God. Become its citizen and be an ambassador of Christ for this dying and dark world.

Another parable He put forth to them, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches." (Mat. 13: 31,32)

When His kingdom was lost to the devil at Eden, the devil thought he has won the battle. When the devil crucified our Lord on the cross, he thought God is finished on earth. However, the gates of hell couldn't keep up with the kingdom of God. Declare this: the Lord reigns and the devil is finished.