Understanding the Nature of the Kingdom “Now”

The raucous crowd cheered the aging challenger, "Ali Bomaye, Ali Bomaye," which meant Ali, kill him. It was the Rumble in the Jungle, and like other times in his career Muhammad Ali was doubted, and the overwhelming odds were against him. George Foreman was a Goliath of a man who counted Ali's early knockout to cement his legacy as World Champion. His punishing punches demolished his previous opponents. Even the great Joe Frazier crumbled to the ground like an old condemned building, but Ali had a different idea—the rope-a-dope. In their fight, Ali decided to lean his lower back against the ropes as much as possible, taboo in most boxing circles. He tucked his chin into his chest, rested the fingers of his oversized boxing gloves on his forehead, and pulled his elbows tightly against his rib cage to absorb Forman's early barrage of punches. Ali was determined to use his unorthodox tactic to outlast Forman. By the later rounds of the fight, Foreman was exhausted from throwing powerless punches at Ali's protective arms that he could no longer defend himself against Ali, who was still resting on the ropes. Foreman was out-maneuvered the entire fight and eventually knocked out in the eighth round. Like Forman, we have an enemy who wanted a quick knockout. After the crucifixion, Satan thought his bout with the Son of God was over. He thought the death of Christ meant that he was now King of the world, but God, our Father, had a different strategy. While the enemy was fighting to get an early-round knockout, God out-maneuvered him from the very beginning and still does today. The enemy now fights against you because of his loss at the crucifixion, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Like Jesus, we must understand how to cooperate with the Father's strategy. Life is hard, and sometimes we get hit with painful punches. Therefore, we must learn how to bow our heads, cover-up, and lean into our Creator's ways so that we can come out swinging at the right time. Are you getting beat up in life instead of fighting the good fight? Are you working with God to fulfill your purpose on Earth? God's strategy today is much like Ali's unorthodox rope-a-dope. The enemy never expected humanity to bounce back to victory. Christ is our King, and His Kingdom has forever changed life in this world. The Kingdom of God is both now and not yet. However, you can live in the greatness of its blessings today. The question is, do you know how? Ignorance is a Silent Killer In 1742, Alexander Gray wrote a famous poem called "Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College." He wrote, "No more; where ignorance is bliss…" In other words, what you do not know will not hurt you, but I submit to you that what you do not know can cause hurt you. Ignorance can destroy you, and it can also decapitate your purpose and your bury dreams. Ignorance is not bliss because it has deadly consequences. Destruction is the reciprocal of ignorance. Where there is a lack of knowledge, there is ruin and devastation. An old Jewish prophet once wrote," My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee… (Hosea 4:6, KJV)." Think of ignorance as a violent earthquake, which causes the ground beneath your feet to tremor. Such a quake can shake a city off of its foundation. Skyscrapers sway, highways crumble, and lives are lost during the violent shaking. Likewise, families, homes, businesses, relationships, and even people are subject to ruin because of ignorance. Ignorance is not merely the absence of knowledge, but it is also the rejection of knowledge. In that sense, ignorance is a choice. Benjamin Franklin said, "Being ignorant is not so much a shame as being unwilling to learn." Ignorance is corrected with the acceptance and application of the right knowledge. For example, let's take the experience of the Kingdom of God. What you do not know about God's Kingdom is quietly tearing away at the fabric of your existence. If you do not know what the Kingdom of God is, how it operates, how the enemy attacks it, or your purpose within it, self-abuse is inevitable. A lack of knowledge about the Kingdom places you in grave danger. Rejecting the knowledge of the Kingdom eats away at your happiness and true fulfillment in life. Many people in the world today are blindly groping through life, searching for what God has made to be self-evident—that we all find ourselves in need. Couples are fighting about their relationship in need of knowledge. Congregations are frustrated with church membership in lack of vision and purpose. Clergy are burnt out, trying to accomplish God's will in need of understanding. Citizens are in search of a perfect government in need of God's Government. Consequently, we find ourselves fighting against God while in desperate need of Him. The Creator has established and defined a successful way of living on the Earth, but you must discover it. Life is designed to center on the King and His Kingdom. Out of all of creation, humanity is the only thing that struggles against its Creator. Trees never argue about taking root in the Earth. Eagles do not contemplate if they should ever take flight in the blue sky. Fish do not grow weary of their natural habitat, but they continue to swim in water just as they were created to do. Likewise, you were designed to fulfill a purpose in God's Kingdom. The difference is that you have to choose to do so. God created you for a specific reason in mind. Humans are designed to dominate and reign on Earth, but ignorance of God and His Kingdom is the underlying factor of our disgruntled existence. It is what cripples our ability to impact the world around us. It stifles our potential to experience real significance. Ignorance is the slippery slope that causes us to fall away from our divine purpose. There are a plethora of possibilities given to you if you only knew the right information. How high could you soar if you grasped the essence of your purpose? Imagine the problems you can solve in the world around you if you only discovered who you are? If you change your mind today, you will change your life today. If you then renew your mind with the Kingdom's knowledge, you will soar to another dimension in this life. The Kingdom of God is here now— just for you.