REDISCOVERING THE KINGDOM

by Myles Munroe.

Published 2004,

Destiny Image Publishes, Inc.

Reviewed by David Collins

This book is basically a fresh and inspirational revelation of the most important subject in the Bible, The Kingdom Of God. The emphasis has been on everything but the kingdom for far too long, but there is a rising understanding and focus on the Bible’s central theme, and Myles Munroe has made an outstanding contribution.

The author takes key principles from the Bible and expounds upon them in light of the "Gospel of the Kingdom," and effectively pulls together the big picture of God's plan for His creation and His children. However, whilst presenting wonderful ‘big picture’ truths, I found that ‘Rediscovering The Kingdom’ kept exhorting and provoking me to my personal responses to the truth of the Kingdom ... that is, to rise to reign!

The single most important message presented in this work is that God has created a kingdom over which mankind was designed to have dominion and rule, and that is realised through a personal relationship with the Holy Spirit. The Kingdom was lost to man because of the fall - man forfeited all dominion and became subservient to the very things over which he had been designed to rule. The Gospel of the Kingdom, then, is the good news that the Kingdom has been restored to man through the redemptive work of Jesus. In Jesus, mankind can be reborn as a child of God, cleansed of sin in order to receive the indwelling Holy Spirit, and then be taught, guided, and empowered to have the dominion necessary to re-take what was lost. Ultimately, God's children inherit the kingdom as kings and priests, with Jesus the King of Kings.

I love one of the ‘dedications’ Myles Munroe has written at the front of the book, he writes “To the youth of our world – may your generation never have to struggle through religion to find the joy of the Kingdom”.

Let me whet your appetite with some quotes from the first chapter, ‘Discovering The Origin And Purpose of Man’:

(commenting on Genesis 2:28) It is essential to note that the human entity is not included in the context of man’s domination. The implication is that God the Creator never intended man to rule over or dominate his own kind, but rather to rule the creation and resources of earth.

God gave man dominion over earth. God gave man dominion over creation and earth, not other men. God never gave man dominion over heaven. God never gave man a religion, but a relationship. God never promised man heaven, but earth.

We were born to rule the earth – all of us. When we do not become who we were meant to be or fulfil our destiny, we open the door to a whole world of personal problems.

Our tendency in the Church is to over-focus on heaven. The King of the Universe has given us an earthly mandate. That  is why He had made arrangements to ensure that believers who die now will return with the Lord. God has even made arrangements for our new bodies: It’s called the resurrection.

God in His sovereignty has decided to delegate authority and dominion in the earth to mankind – a spirit in a body. This is why God cannot do anything on earth without the cooperation of a human. Man is God’s legal agency and access to earth. God is and remains absolutely sovereign, but He has chosen to limit His activity or intervention on the earth to that which we, the proprietors, give Him permission to do. The way we grant that permission is through prayer.

If we want God to keep on interfering, we need to keep on praying.

It all comes down to whether or not we have a Kingdom mentality. If you believe that you are supposed to follow all the time, then follow on; the world is full of people who will be more than happy to lead you. If, however, you see evidence of the dominion mandate in your spirit and commit yourself to follow it, nothing can stop you. That mandate is inside every one of us, for God put it there.