<p>There is much history and many chronicles written about the rise and fall of earthly kingdoms, nations, families, and organizations. Their foundations were fragile because they were all built and ruled by human hands. From the fall of Egypt when God led the Hebrew nation out of slavery, to the fall of the Roman Empire; and more recently, the fall of the Third Reich after World War II, we see that no matter how strong an earthly kingdom appears, it is susceptible to corruption and decay. There is much evidence in history and in the present to warn us of how tenuous our grip on success is in this fallen world.</p>
<p>There is one kingdom though that is built by God and will never end but will endure for all eternity &#8211; for it cannot be shaken. This is the kingdom of God spoken about in &#8220;The Lord&#8217;s Prayer&#8221; from Matthew 5:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 40px;"><span class="text Matt-6-9" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span class="woj"><em>Our Father who is in heaven</em></span></span><br />
<span class="text Matt-6-9" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span class="woj"><em>Hallowed be Your name</em></span></span><br />
<span id="en-NASB1995-23293" class="text Matt-6-10" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span class="woj"><em>Your kingdom come</em></span></span><br />
<span class="text Matt-6-10" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span class="woj"><em>Your will be done</em></span></span><br />
<span class="text Matt-6-10" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span class="woj"><em>On earth as it is in heaven</em></span></span></p>
<p><span class="text Matt-6-9" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span class="woj"><em><img class="wp-image-5472 alignleft" src="https://theweakandthefew.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Christ-Before-Pilate-300x220.jpg" alt="" width="264" height="194" /></em></span></span></p>
<p>When Christ stood before Pilate, he was asked if he was the King of the Jews; He replied, &#8220;My kingdom is not of this world.&#8221; John 18:36</p>
<p>In the book of Hebrews we read about that heavenly kingdom that we are called to:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><em><br />
<img class="wp-image-5456 alignright" src="https://theweakandthefew.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/THJ-Banner-300x198.jpg" alt="" width="287" height="189" />Hebrews 12:</em><span id="en-NASB1995-30234"><em>22</em></span><span id="en-NASB1995-30235"><em> But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels,</em></span><em> 23</em><span id="en-NASB1995-30236"><em> to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24</em></span><span id="en-NASB1995-30237"><em> and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel.</em></span></span></p>
<p>Psalm 84 paints an awesome picture of the saint&#8217;s perspective of the kingdom of God:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 40px;"><em><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Psalm 84:1 How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! 2 <span id="en-ESV-15262">My soul longs, yes, faints</span> for the courts of the Lord; </span></em><em><span style="font-size: 10pt;">my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.</span></em></p>
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<p class="line">This is the kingdom of God that every believer is part of in this life, and in the life to come. When we place our trust in the Savior&#8217;s death on our behalf, we are spiritually reborn into His kingdom &#8211; that cannot be shaken. As we pray, &#8220;on earth as it is in heaven&#8230;&#8221; we know that our kingdom is also, &#8220;not of this world&#8221;. We now belong to our Creator and Redeemer &#8211; who is described in this same passage as a &#8220;consuming fire&#8221;. The only difference is, the glorious fire of his presence does not consume the saints &#8211; he burns &#8211; but we are not burned up. We are like the burning bush Moses encountered in Exodus:</p>
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<p style="padding-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><em><img class="wp-image-5424 alignright" src="https://theweakandthefew.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Consuming-Fire-Burning-Bush-262x300.png" alt="" width="221" height="253" />Exodus 3:2 </em><span id="en-NASB1995-1582" class="text Exod-3-2"><em>The angel of the </em><span class="small-caps"><em>Lord</em></span><em> appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed. 3 </em></span><span id="en-NASB1995-1583" class="text Exod-3-3"><em>So Moses said, “ I must turn aside now and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burned up.”</em></span></span></p>
<p>Like the song says:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><em>We are part of a Kingdom</em></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><em>That cannot be shaken</em></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><em>With grateful hearts we worship God</em></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><em>With reverence and with awe</em></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><em>For our God is a consuming fire</em></span></p>
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<p><amp-youtube layout="responsive" width="1080" height="608" data-videoid="CJuhnaiM1iU" title="Consuming Fire - the weak &; the few"><a placeholder href="https://youtu.be/CJuhnaiM1iU"><img src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/CJuhnaiM1iU/hqdefault.jpg" layout="fill" object-fit="cover" alt="Consuming Fire - the weak &; the few"></a></amp-youtube></p>