A word from Pastor Robert M. Thomas, Jr. — The Gathering Place Houston, Fellowship of Believers
Let me say this plainly, because I believe the Spirit of God is pressing it on my heart for somebody reading this today: as a child of God, you and I don’t get to live just any kind of way we so desire.
I know that may sound hard to some ears in a culture that has made an idol out of “living your truth” and “doing what feels right to you.” But beloved, the moment you were born again, you didn’t just gain a ticket to heaven — you were transferred into a Kingdom. And every kingdom has a King.
You Are Not Your Own
“What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20, KJV).
That verse alone should shake the foundation of how we live. You are not your own. In a world that screams “my life, my rules,” the Word of God says something radically different — you were bought. Purchased. Redeemed at a price so costly that heaven itself paid it in the blood of the Son. That means your life is no longer a democracy where you and your flesh vote on what’s right. It’s a Kingdom, and Kingdoms have a throne — and you are not sitting on it.
The King You Serve Is Worthy of the Surrender
This is where the beauty of it all breaks through, because the King we serve is not a tyrant demanding blind obedience for his own glory. He is Jesus Christ — the Son of God, robed in glory, honor, and power beyond anything this world has ever seen.
“Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing” (Revelation 5:12).
“And hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS” (Revelation 19:16).
This is not a King who took the throne by force or fear. He earned it through the cross, through the grave, through the resurrection that shattered the power of death itself. Philippians 2 tells us that because He humbled Himself unto death, “God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow” (Philippians 2:9-10). Every knee. Not some. Not the ones who feel like it. Every knee — including yours, including mine.
Kingdom Citizenship Is Not a Suggestion
“For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20).
That word “conversation” in the old English of the King James means citizenship. Paul is telling the church plainly — your true citizenship, your true allegiance, is not to this world’s systems, appetites, or passing pleasures. It belongs to heaven. And citizens of a Kingdom live by the Kingdom’s law, not their own.
We see this echoed again in Romans: “For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s” (Romans 14:7-8).
Church, hear me — this is not bondage. This is the safest place a soul can ever stand. Because the King who rules over you is the same King who laid down His life for you. His rulership is not oppression — it is protection. It is purpose. It is the loving hand of a Father who knows that surrendered obedience leads to abundant life, while self-rule always leads back to the wilderness.
The Weight and the Wonder of Full Surrender
I won’t sugarcoat it — surrender costs something. Jesus said it Himself: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). Denying yourself is not a light thing. It means laying down the desires, the habits, the mindsets that feel natural to your flesh but stand in direct opposition to the will of the King.
But oh, what we gain in the exchange. “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it” (Matthew 16:25). What looks like loss to the world is actually the discovery of your true life — the one God designed you for before the foundation of the earth.
A Word to the Kingdom Citizen Reading This
You were not saved to keep living for yourself. You were saved to reign with Christ, under Christ, in submission to Christ — walking in what I’ve called the Kingdom Dominion Lifestyle: a life fully yielded to the Lordship of Jesus, carrying His authority because you first bowed to His authority.
So today, wherever you find yourself wrestling between your will and His — choose the throne. Choose the King who is worthy. Choose the Kingdom that cannot be shaken (Hebrews 12:28).
Because in the end, every kingdom of man will fall. Every crown built by human hands will tarnish and fade. But there is one Kingdom, one King, one throne that stands forever — and if you belong to Him, beloved, you belong to something that can never be destroyed.
Blessings and peace in Jesus’ mighty name.
— Pastor Robert M. Thomas, Jr. The Gathering Place Houston – Fellowship of Believers
Leave a Reply