-Matthew 6:33 (NLT)

Seek first the Kingdom of God and all these things will be added unto you.

-Matthew 6:33 (NLT)

INTRODUCTION

Many followers of Jesus are increasingly becoming aware of how different the Kingdom of God is from the methods and systems of the world. The Kingdom that Jesus came to initiate is not and never will be of this world. It is the sphere and domain of Jesus’ kingship that operates according to His ways and by His spirit. Even though the Kingdom of God is ‘wholly other,’ its language and objectives have been adopted by worldly systems to manipulate others and twisted into half-truths. These have led us away from our holy calling to be a people not of this world. These days it can be hard to balance our role as citizens of the Kingdom and citizens of our nation, but that precisely illuminates the problem.
The Holy Spirit is shining a light in our hearts and we are waking up to find we have been sleeping in other beds, making alliances with powers of the world, and trading into the systems of the world to get things accomplished. In short, the church has been unfaithful. We have covenanted with flags, economic systems, political leaders, and political parties. We have made idols out of titles and brands. These allegiances in our hearts exist in competition with the Kingdom of God. The result is that we feel torn.
Some examples of the way such adulteries can manifest include:

▪ Worship of a nation
▪ Worship of a flag
▪ Worship of a leader (local, regional, or national)
▪ Trusting in a certain economic systems or institutions to provide for you
▪ Depending on politicians to make the changes God asks for
▪ Depending on institutions and systems to care for others
▪ Relying on worldly measurements to define success or express impact

It has been a recognized biblical truth for centuries that when God reveals that his people are adulterous, whether through idolatry or covenantal commitments1 to other nations2, gods3, or leaders4, they must explicitly break those commitments and reaffirm their commitment to the Lord. This is a recognized part of deliverance and the ancient practice of repentance.5 And it must start with those who consider themselves ministers of God.

1 Hosea 6:5-7
2 Hosea 7:11-12
3 Hosea 7:13-15
4 Hosea 8:4
5 Hosea 6:1-3

-Hosea 4:4 (NLT)

“Don’t point your finger at someone else and try to pass the blame!
My complaint, you priests, is with you.”

-Hosea 4:4 (NLT)

Hosea 4 - The Lord’s Case Against Israel (NLT)

1 Hear the word of the Lord, O people of Israel!
The Lord has brought charges against you, saying:
“There is no faithfulness, no kindness, no knowledge of God in your land.
2 You make vows and break them; you kill and steal and commit adultery.
There is violence everywhere—one murder after another.
3 That is why your land is in mourning, and everyone is wasting away.
Even the wild animals, the birds of the sky, and the fish of the sea are disappearing.4 “Don’t point your finger at someone else and try to pass the blame!
My complaint, you priests, is with you.
5 So you will stumble in broad daylight, and your false prophets will fall with you in the night. And I will destroy Israel, your mother.
6 My people are being destroyed because they don’t know me.
Since you priests refuse to know me, I refuse to recognize you as my priests.
Since you have forgotten the laws of your God, I will forget to bless your children.

7 The more priests there are, the more they sin against me.
They have exchanged the glory of God for the shame of idols.
8 “When the people bring their sin offerings, the priests get fed.
So the priests are glad when the people sin!
9 ‘And what the priests do, the people also do.’
So now I will punish both priests and people for their wicked deeds.
10 They will eat and still be hungry.
They will play the prostitute and gain nothing from it,
for they have deserted the Lord
11 to worship other gods.

“Wine has robbed my people
of their understanding.
12 They ask a piece of wood for advice!
They think a stick can tell them the future!
Longing after idols has made them foolish.
They have played the prostitute, serving other gods and deserting their God.

God described the consequences for the adulterous lover in Hosea 2. Hosea 2:1-13 is happening to the church right now. It has come time for the Bride to choose to leave her other lovers and return to her first love and husband, the Lord. People who consider themselves ministry leaders are called to go first and break the covenants they have made by issuing a Writ of Divorce. Once divorced, they can turn and rededicate themselves and their ministries to the bride’s true husband and pledge allegiance again to the Kingdom.

Writ of Divorce

Because we have made covenants with others6, we must explicitly break our covenantal bonds with them by issuing them a Writ of Divorce.

  • I belong to the Kingdom of God and serve my home nation state as an ambassador of the Kingdom. My tribal identity does not lie with my nation state. It is not my home; it is my assigned mission field.

    Therefore, I divorce myself of all primary allegiances to my nation state.

  • Governments rise and fall, but God establishes a Kingdom that does not shake7. Politicking and governmental systems are not Yahweh’s chosen vehicle to change hearts and bring the Kingdom; Jesus is. Changed people change society. Free people free people.

    Therefore, I divorce myself from any primary allegiance with political factions and political parties.

  • Financial philosophies, systems, or institutions do not provide for me and my family. Yahweh provides8.

    Therefore, I divorce myself from any and all thoughts that my provision comes from a political party or an economic system.

  • The pursuit of influence has led us to trade into the ways of the world when anointing and impact is the prerogative of heaven9.

    Therefore, I divorce myself from any dependence upon and allegiance with the power dynamics of this world.


  • I divorce myself from any lesser gods and/or systems of the world that I currently look to for influence, provision, comfort, identity, care—be it for myself or for others.10

  • I repent for where I have rejected the Kingship of Jesus,11 where I have rejected the leadership of the Holy Spirit to guide me into all truth,12 where I have rejected the ways of Jesus, and where I have rejected obedience to the commandments of Jesus.

6 Hosea 5:3-4
7 Hebrews 12:27-29
8 Hosea 14:8
9 Psalm 57:7
10 Hosea 2:8
11 John 18:36
12 John 16:13
13 Zachariah 3:7; John 14:6
14 Matthew 28:20

Kingdom Covenant

Once former commitments and alliances are broken, we must recommit ourselves again to our first love.15 A Ketubah is a Jewish marriage covenant where each party expresses their commitments to and expectations for the marriage. It is the original blueprint for marriage vows. Breaking our adulterous covenants allows us, the Bride, to recommit ourselves to our husband, Christ. It is then we get to experience Hosea 2:14-23, which is God’s Ketubah covenant to us.
  • “You shall have no other gods before me... Hear, O Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!” Therefore, I will have no god but the Lord in Heaven. I have no Savior but Jesus.16

  • “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Therefore, I will seek first and only the Kingdom of God.17

  • “You must love the LORD your God with your whole mind, your whole being, and all your strength.” Therefore, I commit to show Jesus love before I offer sacrifices.18

  • He has told you, O man, what is good, and what the LORD really wants from you: He wants you to carry out justice, to love faithfulness, and to live obediently before your God.”19 Therefore, I commit to care for the poor, the orphan, the widow, and the foreigner,20 no matter their circumstances.21

  • “And all these things are from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and who has given us the ministry of reconciliation.19 In other words, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting people’s trespasses against them, and he has given us the message of reconciliation.” Therefore, I commit to the reconciliation of God to all persons on the planet,23 as far as it depends on me.23

  • “But you must return to your God, by maintaining love and justice and by waiting for your God to return to you.” Therefore, I commit to acting with love, justice, and always depend on Yahweh.24

  • “Since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another… if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us... In this world we are [to be] like Jesus”25 Therefore, I commit to loving my community26 and culture27 so that through my love, they might see the light of Jesus and be saved.28

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15 Hosea 14:1-3
16 Deuteronomy. 5:7; 6.4;
17 Matthew 6:33
18 Deuteronomy 6:5
19 Micah 6:8
20 Deuteronomy 10:17-19, Deuteronomy 24:17-18
21 Deuteronomy 24:17-18; 27:19, Ezra 22:7, Jeremiah 7:5-7, Zachariah 7:9-10
22 2 Corinthians 5:16-21
23 Romans 12:17-18
24 Hosea 12:6
25 1 John 4:7-21
26 1 Corinthians 13
27 Romans 12: 9-16
28 Matthew 5:15-16

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