Marriage: Understanding the KINGDOM Culture

Marriage is something that I hold dear to my heart, and so there will be many posts on the subject. Before I deal with the marriage, I want to deal with the culture of marriage. It seems like in today's society, everybody and their momma wants to be married, but few have wisdom on how to be married. It takes much more than love, to have a successful marriage! Love is needed in marriage, but it does not come first. This is why many "Christians" get divorced; their notion of marriage stems from the world's culture and not God's original intent. If you want to strengthen your marriage, and make sure that it succeeds, you have to go back to the beginning! In this study, my source will be coming from the bible, as well as a you-tube video of Dr. Myles Munroe, in his preaching on "Understanding the KINGDOM Culture of Marriage". His teaching has opened my eyes in many ways, and I pray that it will do the same for you. This is a lengthy post so brace yourselves, but it is some delicious food, I'll tell you that much! The post is for singles, and married folk who want to dig deeper into KNOWING and UNDERSTANDING the culture of marriage.

MY NOTES:

According to scripture, the key to successful relationships is really NOT love(you need it, but it is not first on the list)
Proverbs 24:3-5 (Solomon speaks)
3) By wisdom, a house(marriage) is built, and through understanding, it is established;
4) through knowledge its rooms(atmosphere) are filled with rare and beautiful treasure

3 Things Needed!
Knowledge(a good relationship begins with information. Info= truth, truth=original information)
Understanding( the capacity to comprehend the info.
Wisdom(Application. You can't apply what you don't know and you can't know what you don't understand)

#Side note: Success is not a mystery, and neither is failure. Both can be predicted!

Truth = Original Information
If you want to know the truth about something(i.e Marriage), you go backwards to find out who has the original info, then you will discover that you have the secret to wisdom.

In Matthew 19 religious leaders tried to trick Jesus into an argument by asking him questions about divorce.
 
And Pharisees came to Jesus, testing Him and asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?” 4 He replied, “Have you never read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined inseparably to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate.” 7 The Pharisees said to Him, “Why then did Moses command us to give her a certificate of divorce and send her away?” 8 He said to them, “Because your hearts were hard and stubborn Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way.

#Side note: Jesus ignored their question of divorce, and went straight to the issue of male and female- he went backwards to the original info.
#Side note: We need to understand each other otherwise there will be chaos(trial & error).

The Message of Jesus

*He came to earth to bring a KINGDOM, not a RELIGION!

*He came to bring CITIZENS back to a GOVERNMENT, not a religion.

Matthew 10: 6-8

6 Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. 7 As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy,[a] drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.

Matthew 4:17 

17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

Luke 4:42-44

42 At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. 43 But he said, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.” 44 And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

#Side note: We must totally change our concepts of relationships!

What is a Kingdom?

A kingdom is the government of a king. It is the sovereign ruler-ship, and governing influence of a king over his territory(his domain)- impacting it with his WILL, INTENT, and PURPOSE, producing a citizenry reflecting the culture and nature of a king.

*We are supposed to lose our individuality, and put on Christ to reflect the kingdom, so that we no longer look like ourselves, but He instead. 

*Our personality should be the King's personality( about marriage, divorce, sex, sexual preference etc)

*People love Christianity because it is a religion  and religion allows you to have your own personal belief system- people interpret the word their own way(saying" I'm this kind of Christian" etc.) to fit their belief system. There is no room for that in the kingdom. If you're not with God, then you are against God!

People adjust themselves to Christianity(i.e "Homosexual Christians"). Therefore, being a "Christian" and being a KINGDOM CITIZEN is different.

The Divine Plan

* All kingdoms expand to extend their glory and influence.

*Kingdom expansion is called Colonization

*Earth was created for kingdom expansion

*Mankind was created for the purpose of expanding God's Kingdom of Heaven to earth.

God's Original Purpose

Matthew 6:9-11

9 “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your Kingdom come, Your will be done. On earth as it is in heaven.

*Religion tries to get earth to go to heaven*Kingdom tries to get heaven to come to earth

God's Divine Strategy

1. Colonization-The extension of a kingdom's government, values, morals, and culture to a foreign territory.

2.Establish a Colony- Group of Immigrants residing in a territory with allegiance to their home government.

     ~This affects your marriage

     ~They are not under the government/system of the territory they are IN, but instead, they are under the government in which they are FROM

     

How does a colony become like the kingdom?

3. (Answer)The Governor- the individual placed in the colony to execute the colonization process of the kingdom in the territory.- His job is to convert earth into heaven. 

~ The Gov. is the holy spirit who convicts us until we get to the truth and become like heaven again.

Kingdom Expansion

*Through Colonization
*The program of colonization is accomplished through the following:
Step 1- Dispatch the Governor(holy spirit) to the colony(territory)
Ex: Genesis 1 states,  In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

Step 2- Establish a colony of citizens

Step 3- Implement the culture of the kingdom

Step 4- Create a community of people reflecting the kingdom(what heaven looks like)

          ~Two citizens make up a community.

          ~Marriage is a community(accountable to each other, and the king).

Step 5- Produce a distinct society on earth(not one person, but entire society)

Side note: Everyone has a past, but from the point when the kingdom hits you, you begin a new life- living under Jesus/the kingdom of heaven. Hallelujah!!

*Governors are important, including the holy spirit

~All are appointed by the king.

~All come from the kingdom of the colony

~Only represent the king that sent him, not himself.

~Only express the WILL, and MIND of the king( this is why Holy Spirit will never tell you anything that is not in the Bible)- It is important to know the word for yourself, so that when someone prophesy in your life,  you may be able to judge it according to the bible.- A true prophet will never contradict the holy spirit.

~Responsible for converting the colony into the kingdom.

~Transfers kingdom culture, nature, standards, values, morals, lifestyle, and manner.

~Prepares citizens for living in the kingdom

*Except you become like a little child, you cannot "Enter"- not, "go to".... Moreover, except a man be born again, he cannot Enter the kingdom of God.

~The governor lives in a mansion built by the government. This is why the holy spirit lives in your body. He doesn't live in any building on earth, but in the human body, because its the only house that God built himself. The governor's presence is evidence of the kingdom's presence .

The Problem

-Governor is removed when colony declares independence.

-Adam declared independence

     ~When independence is declared, the governor becomes illegal, and has to go back home.

           The Intent of God

*God does not want to take you from the earth, He wants you to not be under the influence of the evil one

John 17: 14-17

14 I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.

16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

LET US PRAY!

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Thank you for knowledge, understanding, and wisdom Lord. I choose this day, to be a kingdom citizen. I put away religious habits, and old ways of thinking, and I put on Christ. Transform me so that my reflection will be the reflection of Christ. Help me to grow wiser in you Lord, so that I may assist in bringing heaven to earth Father. I thank you for this revelation and that you give us access to all of the things that we need. You said that your people perish for a lack of knowledge(not for a lack of love). Give us the desire to continuously dig deeper into your word, not just to read, but to truly understand, and then apply it to our lives. We ask you all of these things in Jesus' name. Amen.

Purpose

What is (my)Purpose?

Purpose can be defined as the REASON for which something/someone was created. Every living thing/being was created with purpose. I was created with purpose, YOU were created with purpose, and so that means that purpose is living on the inside of us. However, recognizing that "purpose" is present, still does not give us a clue as to how we figure out WHAT EXACTLY our purpose is. My purpose is different from your purpose, and so how do we find out what God has called us to do individually?

The answer to this question is still unfolding in my life. In Proverbs19:21 God says "Many plans are in a man’s mind, but it is the Lord's purpose for him that will stand". In 2011, I started college in order to become an elementary school teacher. I thought that I had my entire life planned out. I was going to finish school, become a teacher, gain a stable living, explore the world, have children, and live comfortably, with God of course! Well, God had other plans. The reality is that God wasn't at the center of my life, money was! In Matthew 6:24 God says "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon". In my heart, I knew that I loved God, but in reality, I wasn't loving Him enough to truly trust in Him. I was so focused on being able to financially provide for my children, and give them the life that I didn't have growing up, that I lost sight of what was most important(bringing souls to the kingdom/ spending time with loved ones etc.) Yes, we need money to buy things, but God never promised us that we would be rich on earth. He instead told us to store up our treasures in heaven because the things on earth are only temporary. Matthew 6:19-21 states, Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.This verse became much more real to me last year.

On January 2015, I was driving upstate(with my roommate) to finish my last semester in college. Long story short, there was black ice on the highway and my roommate was giving me the directions(from her phone). As I was driving past an exit, she quickly yelled "go there" and pointed to the next exit. Without thinking, I switched lanes to try and catch the exit and I lost complete control of the car. The vehicle slid and ran straight into a rock wall. As soon as I lost control, I closed my eyes and screamed "JESUS!!!". Romans10:13 states, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved". When the car hit the wall, I realized that I was still alive, but the car kept moving(it then flipped upside down) and I yelled "JESUS!!!" again. Next thing I knew, we were upside down in the car and all I could see was cars speeding past us, and the first thing that I did was thank God and ask my friend if she was okay. When she told me "no", I thought about cars blowing up in movies, and immediately unbuckled my seat-belt, and told her to do the same. I then tried to open the driver side door for us to climb out, but the handle was jammed. The moment that I told her that I couldn't get the door open, a lady came up to the car, pulled out the shattered window, and quickly told us to climb out because the car was leaking and had smoke coming out of it. When I stepped out of the car and saw its appearance, I just began to praise God in the middle of the highway. I knew that my friend and I SHOULD have been dead. BUT GOD! That accident was a miracle! The car was totaled, yet I left the accident untouched, and my friend only had a few bruises. God is sooooo merciful! I know, because He spared our lives!

"But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth" (Exodus 9:16).
Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/buzzvine/7-bible-verses-reminding-us-that-god-has-given-us-a-purpose-in-life-137732/#advrgmKOOeZL2qfQ.99

Exodus9:16 "And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth".

New Outlook

This accident changed my entire perspective about my purpose in life. I was 3 months pregnant at the time, and was so thankful that God spared my daughter's life as well. When I gave birth to Seriyah(which means soldier for the Lord/warrior of God, in Hebrew), my desire to be away from her was absolutely zero. I went on an interview for a teaching position when she turned 3 months, and all I could think about was my baby. The interview was from 9am-1pm and I knew that a normal school day would last much longer, being that it was a charter school(which would be from 7am-4/5pm). I just thought about how short life was and how I wanted to spend every moment of the rest of my life surrounded by the ones that I loved. I just couldn't fathom teaching everyone else's child, and abandoning my own. I knew that I did not trust anyone, except for my mother, and my husband's mom, to watch my daughter, but both of them are employed, and not where I need them to be in their walk with the Lord. I also thought about how I wanted my daughter to be raised, and I knew that if anyone was going to raise her to become the woman that God created her to be, it had to be me! This world desires to train our children(implementing demonic seeds in their heads) and we(as kingdom citizens) have to rebuke that spirit, and teach our children that no matter what the world tries to normalize/accept, God's word is absolute and final! 

Furthermore, I no longer have the desire to teach in a school at the moment, because my main focus is my daughter. I want to be her teacher, and give her the relationship that I never had with my mom. I want to be present for all of her milestones, and developmental stages. Moreover, I also know that we have to make a living somehow, and so my husband works two jobs. However, he still doesn't earn enough for a comfortable NYC living. This is where our trust in God comes in even more. He will make a way- all we have to do is seek His kingdom first, and everything else will fall into place!

Before You Go! If you're questioning God's purpose for your life, let's stand in agreement in prayer!

Heavenly Father, we come to you with a thankful heart. Thank you for purpose Lord, that you knew us even before we were in our mother's womb. You know the desires of our hearts God, but make our desires match yours. We pray that you would have your way in our lives Lord. Help us to put every last bit of our trust in you O' Lord. Help us to dig deeper into your presence, that we may be able to hear your voice Father. Not only do we want to be hearers of your word, but we want to be doers as well. Reveal to us our purpose in life that we may give you the glory through it Lord. Not our will, but your will be done! In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.

Dig Deeper in Christ

Who am I?

My name is Janiqua Kelley. I am a 22 year old kingdom citizen, wife of fitness enthusiast Ochena Kelley, and mother of one daughter, Seriyah Kelley. I thoroughly enjoy giving God the glory in ALL that I do. It is in Him that I live, and move, and have my being. WELCOME TO MY BLOG!

Why Blog?

I believe that in order for something to be instilled inside of one, repetition is necessary. I also believe that there is power in writing things down. Whenever I had an exam in college that required memorizing, I would rewrite what I studied over and over until it became apart of me; until I knew it like the back of my hand. Well, I believe that it is one thing to read God's word, and another to truly understand it. I want to dig deeper in understanding His word so that it can become apart of me. I believe that in writing, I will not only be able to learn more of God's word, but that it would download itself into my heart and thus, I would also be able to teach it! I have decided to start writing blogs as a means of sharing everything that I learn, while pursuing Christ. God has placed the desire on my heart to dig deeper in KNOWING and UNDERSTANDING who He is, and who I am in Him. I don't want to take what I learn with me to my grave. I want to gather as much information about God as I can, and then pour that information out into the world. It is my hope that these blogs(my journey) would encourage everyone who reads it, to dig deeper in Christ for themselves.

What to Expect?

In my blog, I want to explore all of life's ups and downs, as well as to use the word of God to find answers to many of my questions- on topics such as Marriage, Motherhood, Purpose, and much more!