Gospel of the Kingdom

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Gospel of the Kingdom - Bob Sawville

The Christian Bill of Rights

I’ve titled this message today the Christian Bill of Rights.

Who knows that the BIll of rights are? So you know we have a US Constitution, right?

And there were some amendments added in the early days of the Constitution, which is called the Bill of Rights.

They guarantee that we have certain freedoms and liberties and rights as citizens of this great nation.

In other words, we're to treat everyone equally, irrespective of race, religion, social standing, right?

We're to look without everyone with honor.

How much more so in the kingdom of heaven?

Since you are a dual citizen.— Heaven and Earth — We should look at all people with love — everyone

right?

And because we have those Bill of Rights, we know that as US citizens that we have some guarantees.

Are you with me?

And as citizens of Heaven, we have some guarantees.

So I want to unpack that today; it's going to be a little teachy, but I think you'll be fine.

Where are my teachers in the room, anyone?

but I want to talk about the Gospel of the kingdom kingdom, Understanding them, like you do with some principles similar to the Bill of Rights, can help you see your citizenship and the authority given by Christ in a new way.

My hope for you today is that you'll begin to operate in another realm of understanding your citizenship and also the authority that's been given to you, delegated by Christ.

Christ has all authority, and He shares it with us in the kingdom.

So today I'm going to go through numerous scriptures out of the gospels to build the narrative of the gospel of the kingdom.

There is around 80 references in the New Testament in the gospels about the kingdom of God or the kingdom of heaven; the terms are essentially synonymous.

So in Mark 10:15, Mark says,

Mark 10:15 (ESV)

Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”

Unless you receive it, not that you're childish, but you have a childlike heart and faith.

A five-year-old, you tell them, hey, we're going to go to Disney, you know, Disneyland; they don't doubt you; we're gonna make a family vacation; we're going to Disneyland, and they're like, yes, you know?

They believe; that's the type of faith that Jesus is talking about.

You must have simple childlike faith that believes; it's not doubting and looking with you know suspicion.

I believe that the kingdom of God is available to me.

This is very, very important; that's why I started the scripture.

So I want to ask you: Do you believe that the kingdom of God and the fullness of the kingdom is available to you today?

Let's keep unpacking this.

You see, if you were to ask the average believer what the kingdom of God is or the gospel the kingdom, I suspect most people couldn't fully answer that.

And so by the end of this message, my goal that that you can explain exactly what it is to everyone.

Now historically, and as you know, reading through the gospels, that many of the religious leaders, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, many of the Jewish people at the time that Christ came, they too had a problem with Jesus' message of the gospel of the kingdom of God.

Again, part of that's because historically the Jews thought that the Messiah would come and establish the Jewish kingdom again to overserve, you know, overtake the Romans that had set up rule and that thing there.

So they were looking for a political Messiah that would bring a rulership from a political realm.

It's never been God's intention, and it's not today either, by the way.

And so that's what they were looking for.

So, as a result, and again, they thought it would be the restoration of the Davidic kingdom.

And so when Jesus came, he was rejected by the religious leaders because they didn't see the political kingdom enacted the way they thought the Messiah would bring it.

But you see, Jesus was declaring something else wasn't he?

He was talking about the kingdom of God.

And so in Matthew; we won't look at this verse, but Matthew 3:2, first, it's John the Baptist; he begins to declare, you know, the kingdom of heaven is at hand; repent.

And then we see in Matthew 4:17, Jesus says the same thing from that time Jesus began to preach and to say, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Now, first of all, the word repent from the Greek metanoia means to change your thinking and begin to function in a different mindset. The kingdom of heaven is at hand, but what does he mean? Is at hand in arm's length? Well, certainly, the kingdom of heaven is near, absolutely.

Mark 1:14 and 15, let's keep unpacking this. Now, after John, and by the way, in the next couple of weeks, I'm going to start a series where I go through the entire gospel of Mark. It's part of the reason I want to unpack this about the gospel, the kingdom, today. Now, in Mark 1:14 and 15, Jesus says, or it's written of Jesus, now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.

Similar passage to Matthew, the time is fulfilled, kingdom of God is at hand; it's near. And so, what does this mean? First of all, the preaching of the gospel, gospel is from a Greek word called ooh and galleon, ooh and galleon is a reference to from the Greek Septuagint, which is the Greek translation of the Hebrew of the Old Testament. And so, basically, what that means is it's a reference to Isaiah 40, verse 9, where the speaker or the prophet was declaring good tidings from the top of the mountain.

So, in other words, the gospel then is a proclamation, so that all could hear from the highest points of the good tidings of God's kingdom. So Jesus came, proclaiming the good tidings; that's what the gospel is. And what was his proclamation of the good tidings? The kingdom is at hand. And what does it mean, at hand? It means pressing in upon me; everybody say, the kingdom is pressing in upon me. And not in an oppressive way, in a life-giving way; God's kingdom brings life, not oppression.

So it's pressing in; it literally means the gospel then means the breaking in of God into this world. God's pressing in, and he's breaking in upon this world, his kingdom. By the way, his kingdom has always been in hand. And so, let's define the kingdom of God a little bit more. The kingdom is from a Greek word, basalia, and it means, first, the authority to rule as a king, and second, the realm over which the reign is exercised.

So it's essentially the rule of God is supreme in his realm over which he reigns, the universe, and all of creation. Psalm 103, verse 19, says this, the Lord has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all. See, it's his right, the authority to rule as creator. Psalm 145, verse 13, says, your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations. God's kingdom is everlasting; his rule over all never ceases.

So I want you to see this; so the very essence of the understanding to the reader at that time, or the hearer of this message of kingdom, would be the right of a king to rule and exercise authority. That was first and foremost, the understanding of the salient kingdom. Secondarily was the realm over which he ruled. So if God's kingdom is at hand, it's near; it's pressing in upon this. And God's kingdom really is the right for this king to rule. Then isn't it? Not so much about going someplace, but about the reality that God's here with us, and he's expecting us to cooperate with the rule of his kingdom and his government.

That changes our focus as a Christian. That's what I was saying last week; as a citizen of heaven, you're also an ambassador of heaven. You've been given full rights as a citizen, as an ambassador, the moment you genuinely gave your heart to Christ, and you generally got born again, and you were truly repentant and turned to Christ. The Spirit of God filled your heart, and you were given the full bill of rights. You were an ambassador of heaven, a citizen of heaven, and all of the reign and the authority of God is ours presently through the delegated nature of what Christ has done.

It's huge; yeah, when we begin to understand this, we'll begin to operate in a new realm of confidence as we pray for the sick. I'm not saying all will be healed, but I'm saying that we will begin to operate with a greater level of confidence. We can operate with a greater level of confidence in exercising any of the gifts of the Spirit. We'll operate with a greater level of confidence in just loving people.

I hope you all are good citizens and treat one another well, who are weak in here with honor with love. Think how much society could be changed if we really valued one another instead of looked at each other with disdain because we're different, and we're all a little different, aren't we? Doesn't matter a skin color or what we both; I mean, we're all a little bit quirky in some ways, so we got to just love each other and embrace each other, and understand that's what Kingdom citizens do; we honor each other.

Now, we may think of the kingdom as primarily God's realm, but again, it's first his authority; he has authority as the creator. So, in the New Testament, then the kingdom of God is the divine authority and rule given by the Father, Father God, to the Son, Jesus Christ. When Jesus testified, then to Pilot, that his kingdom was not of this world, he wasn't saying he had no authority on earth; he was saying that his authority was not given to him by anyone in this world; that's the difference.

His authority is given by the Father; God created all, and that authority did not come from man. And so, our authority as kingdom citizens, we should never walk in pride or haughtiness towards those outside of the kingdom, but we need to recognize that our authority comes from him. Does this make sense? And that doesn't mean you don't pay your tax taxes; Paul talks about this in Roman 13, right? Doesn't mean that you don't obey those that are authority; Paul talks clearly about this right.

But the reality is, in terms of exercising authority in a spiritual realm, we're not wrestling against flesh and blood, but against these defeated powers that try to usurp what Christ has already defeated. They try to usurp themselves and come against the humanity and even God's people. We need to understand; we need to exercise that authority of the kingdom so that God's kingdom can rule overall. That make sense? The world's waiting for us to walk as citizens of his kingdom.

Matthew 28:18 and 19, Jesus said this: "All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth." Why? He's defeated the powers of darkness, but the Father gave him that authority. Now, he tells us, verse 19, "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations." By the way, we're not just to make converts; we're to help people get not only come to Christ but to get planted and grow in the body of Christ, one-on-one mentoring, one-on small group mentoring, right?

We want to help people from our youngest to the oldest get and grow in Christ and be strong in Christ, disciples making disciples. But go and make disciples all the nations. So, the Father gave Jesus all authority, and now, as his ambassadors and representatives, Jesus has given us a limited measure or realm of that authority. So, here's another question about the kingdom of God: When is the kingdom of God coming? Good answer: It's here; there's a hundred question test at the end of this sermon today, so take good notes.

When is the kingdom of God coming? It is here; it is at hand; it is pressing in; it is already upon us. And by the way, it was here when Jesus came; he just began to demonstrate the reality of the kingdom that was already here. Now, Luke 17, verse 20 and 21, Luke records this, and by the way, the kingdom is both present and its future. The full consummation of the kingdom won't be realized until Jesus returns; that is true. But we need to understand that the kingdom is not some off place; come on, everybody; it's not just out there beyond the clouds, a little bit where there's some folks sitting there with harps playing; you know, no, no; the realm of the kingdom is here now because the kingdom is the rule of God.

I want you to see this; the kingdom primarily is the rule of God.

All authority has been given to Jesus through our faith in him and the authority of his name; that realm of his rule has been delegated unto us.

Luke 17:20 and 21, one day, the Pharisees asked Jesus, "When will the kingdom of God come?”

Jesus replied, "The kingdom of God can't be detected by visible signs; you won't be able to say, 'Here it is,' or, 'It's over there,' for the kingdom of God is already among you."

That was then, before he went to the cross, died, resurrected, and ascended on high; the kingdom of God has always been amongst us.

He brought an initiation and an understanding of the reality of the kingdom.

So again, when is God's kingdom coming?

Present now, but it's also future; the kingdom of God has always been present.

Jesus simply began to demonstrate what was a present reality.

Remember, all authority was given unto him, and until he returns, we operate in part of the fullness of that kingdom authority.

So the kingdom manifests through us partially until he returns, then fully.

Now, it's been argued that the kingdom of God could operate through the believers in a much greater way, the more yielded we are to him, and that is absolutely true.

The closer we are to Jesus, the more we understand our position in him, seated together with him in that heavenly realm and the fullness of the authority that he's given to us.

We will begin to operate in a greater realm of confidence in the kingdom, demonstrating the reality of the kingdom; it is true.

All right, another question for you; what gospel is being preached?

Think about what gospel is being preached in the majority of our churches.

Most of us are familiar with the gospel of reconciliation; Jesus came, died on the cross, died for our sins, resurrected, ascended on high.

If we put our faith in Christ, then we are reconciled to Christ; we're justified; Paul talks about being justified by faith; we're made right with God, and that is very, very important.

Absolutely, but most of the gospel that's preached stops right there.

What did Jesus preach?

He talked about the gospel, the kingdom; didn't he? (Matthew 4:23)

And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogue; see, I have precedent there, just to teach; okay, preaching the gospel, the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.

He taught, preached the gospel, the kingdom, then he demonstrated the kingdom by healing sickness and all kinds of disease amongst people; that's an interesting proclamation of the gospel, isn't it? (Matthew 9:35)

Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel, the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people, teaching, preaching, and demonstrating the gospel, the kingdom through healing.

So the gospel, the kingdom, isn't something just taught or proclaimed, but it's also something that is demonstrated.

So if we're only preaching in our church a gospel of reconciliation, of just forgiveness of sins, but we're not demonstrating the reality of the kingdom through healing, signs, wonders, miracles, prophecy, word of knowledge, right discernment, deliverance, all of these things, we are limiting the fullness of the gospel message.

(Matthew 12:28) But if I'm casting out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has arrived among you; good deliverance is always exciting.

Remember one time a lady walked in, and we used to do Sunday night meetings years ago in the early days of the church; it grew a lot smaller than the lady came in; I never saw her before.

I happened to go right into the back of the meeting; I had a video playing that night for the teaching, and so I walked in the back by the sound booth to kind of check on it because I knew the video was almost done; I wanted to get ready.

Right when I was back there, all of a sudden the doors open, and the dear lady walked in, walked right up the front aisle like she was in the military, got to the front row, turned the corner, and went sat right down in the end seat in the front row.

And I go, "Well, that was interesting. You know, never seen the lady before," and so I invited the whole video. Got done a couple minutes later by the Holy Spirit to come, and later, by the way, she told Caroline likes we ended up ministering to her later, some as well, and she said that something told her, she was out at the bus stop, to come into the meeting that night, and that was the Holy Spirit brought her in.

And so, and by the Holy Spirit to come, we're going to do a time of ministry, just pray for one another, and actually, I think that night, I had people's cell phones, were kind of new then, so I thought this was pretty cool, so I had, "If you know somebody that's sick, call them, and we'll pray for them." So people are calling, people into the sick, you know, this thing, so this is going on, and I noticed the lady starting to slink out of that front row seat, there kind of slipped right down onto the onto the floor.

There I go, "Well, that's getting really interesting," and so I walked over, and and I had another couple folks with me, and I said, "You know, hi, I'm Pastor Bob. What's your name?" And I forget her name right now, and she gave gave me her name, and no sooner I did that, and there was a voice as loud as any man that I've ever heard come out of her. Now I've had the opportunity, lots of deliverance over the years, but that was very, very interesting.

And by the way, when the demons tell you that that that person's a liar, well, you know that they're already a liar, and you already know where they're headed. So, anyway, we got the woman free, and then, you know, a partial deliverance, and freedom, and later, we're able to do more ministry, tour in a counseling center session.

Listen, Jesus said, "If I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has arrived among you." He manifested God's authority by freeing the oppressed, every act demonstrated the reality of the kingdom, that dear lady that night, and those that observed it saw the reality, the superiority came of God, it was a demonstration of the rule of the king.

Now, what Paul say about this, Romans 15:19, and defending him, go in his missions to the Gentiles, and things, Paul said, "In mighty signs and wonders by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem roundabout, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ." Paul's understanding of the preaching the gospel was with signs and wonders and miracles.

If we are limiting ourselves and say, "Well, I'm not anointed to pray for the sick, or that's somebody else that's anointed, you know, I don't know about miracles," we are limiting the rule of God's kingdom, the rule of God's reign to operate through us. Stop that, you are anointed, if you were a believer, your citizens of heaven, operate as a citizen of heaven, lay hands on the sick, expect God to move, expect the Spirit of God to come and to deliver the oppressed.

One Thessalonians 1:5, a lot of sick people out there, a lot of folks need healing right in our churches, the church has got to get a better understanding of this message. We love our doctors, don't know about the health care system, but we love our doctors, pray for a miracle, for the insurance companies, but listen, there are certain situations, no matter how good your insurance is, no matter how good your doctors are, they can't fix it, they can't, only God can break in, it's up to the church to rise up to who she is called to be.

One Thessalonians 1:5, for our gospel, notice the emphasis on gospel again by Paul, did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit, and much assurance. He would say elsewhere, the kingdom of God is not a word only, but in power, so Paul fully preached the gospel of Christ. Do you see the gospel of kingdom in these verses? Yes, the signs of the kingdom are there.

Again, most of the church is familiar with the gospel of reconciliation, but less of the church is familiar with the gospel of the kingdom. It's one thing to pray, preach a gospel of reconciliation, to be forgiven of your sins, to me, to be right with God, that's very, very important, and by the way, there's no greater miracle in someone giving their life to Christ, absolutely essential and important.

And we need to be after just winning souls, when you're out there doing evangelism, or running into people that you know, or work with, or whatever, yes, love them into an encounter with God, pray for them, but always be in mind to take it to the next step, okay? Jesus just touched you and healed you, would you like to get to know this wonderful Jesus, and invite them to accept Christ, right?

Matthew 10:7 and 8, Jesus told the disciples, and again, I impact this some last Wednesday night, and talking about the culture of evangelism, the commissioning accounts in Luke 9, Luke 10, Matthew 10, Mark 6, Mark 16, those commissioning accounts really are codified in Matthew 28 verses 18 through 20, the Great Commission, but those earlier commissioning accounts to heal the sick are all legitimate still for us today, they have never ceased, despite what some theologians or what some pastors preach, that the signs, sign gifts, the power gifts have ceased, they, you know, they try to tell you, well, when the Bible was completed, we no longer needed to have those sign gifts, that is not true, those gifts are still valid and necessary and needed to fully proclaim the gospel, the kingdom.

And by the way, you need those operating in your life, in a couple of minutes, I'm going to get into why understand the kingdom of God in the fullness is important for our lives, but one of the reasons is we need to know that we serve a God of power, I don't know about you, but when I have a need, I don't want to sit there, well, maybe God, kind of, kind of, sort of, maybe, I don't know, maybe if I grovel long enough before God, maybe I'll keep right, don't you want to know that you can come as a son, as a daughter, as a, as a beloved citizen, right? You come before the father, become before the throne, not in a haughtiness, but in a conference, say, God, I am struggling in this area, Lord, I need the rule of your kingdom to break in, in this, Lord, there is injustice here, Lord, we need your justice to come in, your order to come in, Lord, this sickness is not you, or this economic situation, Lord, we needed to change, right, needed to break in.

So Jesus said, Matthew 10:7-8, and as you go, preach, saying, the kingdom of heaven is in hand, so we preach, we proclaim, we teach the gospel, right, but then he said, heal the sick, verse 8, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons, freely have received, freely give, one of it, freely you have received, freely give, Jesus hasn't died yet, he's telling them, and by the way, one of those 12, whose Judas Iscariot, who would betray Jesus, seems like Jesus isn't like he does care about her character issues, but he's not freaked out when we're not perfect either, isn't that amazing, live for good character, integrity, let the Holy Spirit transform your heart, so you become more and more like Jesus, but understand, you are never going to be perfect, and somewhere, he is freely given, and so we are expected then to receive the fullness of what he's given, and go out, and freely give it back to others, that's good news.

Yeah, I want to know the deliverance story, so I was in India, this was actually almost 10 years ago, doing a leadership, we were doing leadership training during the day, teaching like about 2,000 pastors and leaders, great harvest, that's taking place in India, it's one of the major harvest fields of the world, and awesome what God was doing with these leaders.

And so I've been teaching that morning on deliverance, and other pastor friend of mine, and Randy Clark was there, and we were all teaching different sessions, I was teaching the deliverance that morning, that night, just through different events, I ended up doing the speaking, and the preaching that night, and Randy and the team couldn't, couldn't be there, Randy was scheduled to preach, and so I ended up preaching, they just sent a cameraman with me, and I had no team to help me minister, and we had I don't know, three, four thousand people there that night.

And so, and because of the delay, and everything getting there, they had the worship going on, some of you would love it, some of you go, oh my god, the worship was going on for like an hour and a half, because we got delayed getting there, and up, but the deal was, the meeting had to be done by 10 p.m. at night, so because of city ordinances, and things, and so this is in Hyderabad, India, so they get me there, and James, the overseer, the apostolic overseer, oversees thousands of churches there, and the Andhra Pradesh area, and worked with him for a number of years, and so, anyways, he goes, brother Bob, you only have 20 minutes to speak, 20 minutes to speak, he goes, the worship, we got delayed, you got 20 minutes.

And so I'm like, oh god, so I, I, I preached on the glory of Christ, I am not exaggerating, so you know, I've got this really anointed young Indian evangelist, he's translating for me, and I'm preaching, and he's going with it, we're just going, it's going, it's flowing, it's good, right? And I get about 17 minutes into my 20 minutes, and I'm just about ready to just wrap this thing up, and do an altar call, I'm not exaggerating, about 17 minutes into this thing, so I'm looking at my watch, I'm like, okay, I'm a man under authority, I'm gonna do this thing in 20 minutes, right?

Some of you are going, oh, I hope he does that today, you know, and, uh, and all of a sudden, about 17 minutes into it, it was like a holy hush, it was like you could see, it was almost like a foggy mist, it was, it was, it was the glory of God, I'm talking about the glory of Christ, and all of a sudden, there were a half a dozen, maybe a couple more people, that simultaneously stood up, that were demonized, out of the crowd of about three to four thousand people, and they began to move like zombie, demonized people, I don't know how to describe it any other way, towards the stage.

And, uh, I had no team, I couldn't send a team down there, miss security guards, because there have been concerns earlier today about security issues, that's why we're so late, they ran to the front, thinking that these might have been people with machetes, or something, and they were gonna create problems, no, they were demonized people, that when the message about the glory of Christ, and the glory of God began to come in the room, and on the out, it was an outdoor meeting, all of a sudden, they began, the demons began to manifest, and in simultaneously, they all stood, and began to come, so the only thing I knew to do was at that moment, say, in the name of Jesus Christ, come out of them, and boom, as through the translator, and there was like, all of them, simultaneously, on the ground, and the Holy Spirit was beginning to minister to him.

About 18 minutes into my 20-minute sermon, and I go, "So this was the old...I said, 'You've just seen the kingdom of God demonstrated amongst you as he's come and begin to deliver these people. If you want Jesus, come!' And I'm telling you, it was like a stampede. There was about 500 people or so that got up and ran - I mean, not walk - they ran to the front, and God gave their lives to Christ.

It was just awesome. Then we invited those that wanted healing to come up; we had probably another 500 or so come up for healing, and we just had to do a lot right from the stage. But the gospel of the kingdom is one that is proclaimed and demonstrated by the Spirit. It's not something we should be afraid of.

Many in the church today would even cringe to hear me tell a story like that, but the reality is that is the gospel - 2,000 years ago, throughout church history, and today as much as ever. If we had a few more deliverances going on out there, people wouldn't be as interested in some of the other stuff, and some of them might really find freedom.

You know, and so go. You've been commissioned; go. And the authorities given you. All right, let's talk about how does the kingdom of God affect my life personally? Because most of you will never be preaching to a large crowd like that right; you may be ministering one on one.

But how does the kingdom of God affect my life personally? First of all, Matthew 6:33, Jesus said this, "But seek first everybody, say 'seek first' the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." How does it affect you personally, the kingdom of God, when you make the pursuit of the kingdom of God your life's aim, your life's priority?

Everybody say "priority." Then all of a sudden, things begin to come into divine alignment. At the offering today, you know, Samuel talked about positioning ourselves; good word. He was ready to preach right - positioning yourself. I'm going to make first priority the kingdom of God.

I'm going to give God the best part of every day; I'm going to give God of my time, my treasure, my talents. I'm not going to give God the leftovers. I'm not going to seek the things of this world. Hear this: more than the kingdom of God, I want God; I want Jesus; I want Jesus first; I want Jesus foremost; I want Jesus more than anything else.

When that becomes a grip of your heart, then life begins to come into priority, and things come into proper focus and perspective. We benefit then when we make the pursuit of God and his kingdom a priority. Let him be the Lord of your life, not just a token Lord.

You know, have your way, Jesus, and then we go do our thing. Let him be Lord, and watch what happens. And by the way, you remember the what we call the Lord's prayer? Prayer, you know, "Our father, who art in heaven, holy is your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

And he goes on, right? That is not a prayer that's to be done in vain, so we just vainly keep repeating it. Okay, no, no, that is a model for prayer. God, you are holy; you're enthroned; your kingdom has no end. God, let the rule of your kingdom; let your will have full reign in my heart, in my family, in my church, in my city.

Hey, listen, some of you need to declare that over this city. God, let your kingdom come; your rule over this city; your rule over our nation. God, we submit to the lordship of Jesus Christ; have your way. We make it a priority; he'll drive the demons out. Remember, he says, "If I cast out demons by the finger of God," it's like just a little bit of the understanding of the authority of the king's power and rule.

It causes those things to go. Don't worry about sending them someplace; don't worry about where they came from; they're squatters. Just tell them to go. So in Jesus' name, all right. Look at Paul said in Colossians 1:13, remember I'm talking about the kingdom of God for he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness; aren't you glad and transferred us into the kingdom of his dear son.

Freedom - this is a benefit to understand the kingdom. Freedom is realized as we enter God's kingdom and we know our rights as kingdom citizens and we live in that realm.

Jesus said in John 8:36, "Whom the Son sets free is free indeed." But you have to let him have full reign and stay free.

You see, through new birth, you and I have been removed from the kingdom of darkness and its domain. It is no dominion over you anymore. You are brought into God's kingdom.

Exercise your right to be free against the enemy. He's illegally squatting in your life. Tell him to go. You have full rights.

Listen, every one of us at times have been tempted. That's why Jesus said, "Listen, pray therefore that you won't enter into temptation," right? So temptation comes your way.

Paul says, "There's no temptation that's taken us that's not such common to man" (1 Corinthians 10:13). But God is faithful, who will make a way of escape.

So when temptation comes, say, "Listen, I'm a Canaan citizen. That does look no, yes to you, Jesus. No to that, Lord. I yield to you.”

It's all about surrender, and it always is surrender. I must choose each day to follow Christ.

By the way, it's not one and done - not one prayer, "Lord, let be my Lord and Savior," and now you're just fixed and you're just perfect and you're just mature.

That's greasy grace; that's cheap grace. Real grace is an empowerment to become who he's called me to be as a citizen.

So I choose to yield to him every day. Every day, I pick up the cross daily, and I follow Christ daily.

It's not a one-and-done prayer, and now I'm gonna be with Jesus one day. No, no, no - you should be with him right now, every moment of every day, because you've been united together with him.

Become aware of his presence and surrender to his Lordship. Freedom is realized - that's another benefit of the kingdom when you understand.

I don't want to be in bondage. I've been in bondage before; that's not a good place. I want to live free and stay free.

One Corinthians 3:3 says, "For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?" Yikes!

Here's the thing: you're not a mere man or a mere woman any longer. You have a new normal. Some of you were still praying for, but you have a new normal.

Your normal life now is your union with Christ. You are a supernatural being. You're a participant of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4).

Because of what Christ has done, we live out of that realm. Our new normal is to live from his ascended glory. That's our new normal.

Stop acting like a mere human - gossip, slander, division - not! It's not natural. You got a new normal.

You see, as a citizen of heaven, Christ in you, you have to work at not being supernatural. Some of you aren't sure about this.

You have to actually enter into agreement with the enemy to step out of your full right as a kingdom citizen. And how we treat one another - I shared last week in the message last week - listen, Paul said, "I know no man any longer after the flesh. We should know one another after the spirit.”

The new normal is our life in Christ. That's one of the benefits of the kingdom - elevated living in the kingdom of God. That's the new living (John 10:10). Abundant life now - elevated living!

We have life together with Jesus now. You can go look at 1 John 5:12, Ephesians 2:5. You have eternal life now. Yes, later you'll get your glorified, resurrected body - hallelujah! Okay, I'm looking for that one too.

All right, but right now, I'm an eternal being now, presently. And you know what I've discovered in this life? The more I am aware that I am an eternal being living out of a divine unction and function of God, all of a sudden, life - or there's just times - I'm like, "God, is it me? Is it just the haze of the hot day in Tucson, or is it like a haze?”

You know, I don't know. Sometimes, are you with it? It's like God's presence is all we're with him. And so I think what begins to happen is we begin to live out of this new norm.

It's a very fine line between what really is that realm of the supernatural and his glory and what is.

It's a very fine line between what really is that realm of the supernatural and his glory and what is just normal around us. Does it make sense? And by the way, you will be looked at by others as a kind of peculiar, strange person as you begin to live out of that realm.

So, you guys, you want to write a little bit more here, just a little bit more. Romans 5:10, Paul said this: "If we were reconciled to God through the death of his son, why we were still enemies, now that we've been reconciled, how much more certain is it that we will be saved by his life?" Have been reconciled, more certain will be saved. Now, what does this mean?

You see, salvation is realized through experiencing his life. Salvation isn't something that you just enter into the day that you, your spirit leaves this earthly tent or this earthly body. No, no, your salvation is present, and it is unfolding through your daily living out of that realm of Christ.

It's amazing. This is why we have to consistently choose to obey his leading, the spirit's leading in the lordship. So, what gave the first-century church in this great boldness? Jesus demonstrated his life in the spirit. That first-century church saw it, the realm of the kingdom.

Remember, he said, "If I cast out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come amongst you." He demonstrated a life in the spirit, a life in the kingdom, that just literally it was like shock and awe for them. They'd never seen anything like this.

And by the way, our generation has really not yet seen it. We're getting glimpses and poxies. Some of you are doing well; churches around the country are really starting to get this. But as the church begins to walk in this realm of the authority that God's given us, and people are beginning to get healed and freed and set free, all of a sudden, it will cause the world around us to go, "Whoa, what? What is it about all y’all?"

Okay, they're gonna want to know. He, they were drawn to him and observe what he did. He basically said, "Look, guys, you're gonna do the same things that I'm doing." They spent time with him, then he taught them, he demonstrated, he modeled it, and he says, "Now you go do these things. I've given you authority; you go heal the sick, cast out demons, preach the gospel, demonstrate it.”

And so, the confidence and developed as they operate in spirit. Listen how this affects your life as you begin to operate in this realm of the spirit and a greater confidence. You are going to be more joyous, more victorious, you're gonna be happier about life.

Look, there's a lot of depressed Christians in America, and part of the depression is not because there's not some clinical issues there; it's because we're not happy, we're not fulfilled. The only way is to step into this realm and get out there, get in the game, get out there. This is what we're created; you have a new DNA, you have a new nature; you're not going to be satisfied for anything else but to begin to live and move as Paul said, "We live and move and have our being in him now.”

So, they saw Jesus, but then they also saw him after the resurrection, and that gave them boldness. They were looking at him, realizing that they get what he has, a new body on the other side, and they had no fear of death. Many fear death; shouldn't be so for the Christian. Many fear death, though, when we begin to get a glimpse to the eye of the spirit of the fullness of the resurrection glory that awaits us in Christ. We will go right where the spirit leads us, the Holy Spirit.

I mean, some of you have done, and I've done something; you just get led into places. You know, the barrios of Brazil, or I've preached in the slums of India, and some rough places in Africa, and different places in Haiti. We've been in places in Haiti; I'm like, "Man, they've got guns all around us, and this place is, oh my gosh, and everything." You know, it's like, "Will you go in the spirit?" And it's like, "Right, you get beyond that fear."

Here's one that really grips America: fear of security.

What about my 401k? What about my investments? Listen, be good stewards, absolutely. And in fact, if you come to me and you say God's calling you in some great and glorious mission or calling or whatever, I'm gonna be the most pragmatic, unspirit-filled pastor you've probably ever met. I'm gonna give you the third degree: "Are you sure God spoke to you? Are you sure this is what you're called to? Are you sure you don't just have a heart for this right?" Because I want to make sure you really know, as you know. But when you know, as you know, you can go in faith, because you know that on the other side of death is resurrection glory. That's what motivated the early church and should motivate us.

Last thought: there's so much here to this message. Last thought, I'll give you two more scriptures and I'll be done. Ephesians 2:8-9, remember it's by grace that you've been saved through faith, and then not of yourselves. He made us alive together with him; we're elevated now to a new life in Christ. That's our inheritance; we're citizens of heaven, ambassadors of heaven. We have a new DNA because of what he's done; it's in us. It's sort of like in seed form again; we look for metaphors to try to describe what God has done. But think of it as a metaphor: this transformation has taken place inside of us is like a seed form. And most people don't know that they have to nurture the seed within them.

Paul says we've each been given a measure of faith, so we have to nurture that faith that's in seed form that came by grace. Right? We've got to nurture it so it becomes something. I'm not here today apart from having nurtured what I received 37 years ago. It had to be nurtured, had to be watered, had to be developed. Right? And so, that's what, just like a farmer nurtures the seeds, right? They, it begins to grow. We cooperate with the life that's in the seed. You've got to cooperate with the seed of faith that's in you that's been there by grace, so that it can become everything. You're not just going to go out tomorrow, probably, it could happen, a new believer, and go raise the dead. But as you begin to understand who you really are, you'll be looking for those, which might scare me again as a pastor. Okay, we're down at the morgue, pastor; do we do? You think, no, just talk to the funeral director first, please. We have some laws in America, okay? Just, you know, you see.

Grace is not unmerited favor; that's mercy. Grace is empowerment. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 9:8, "God is able to make all grace abound to you, in order to have an abundance for every good deed." You see, anxiety comes, or worry comes, because we're looking at tomorrow's challenges or concerns with today's level of grace. Grace is God's supply for today. Live as a citizen of heaven, understanding that the Father cares for you very much, and you come to him and say, "Okay, Lord, you see this need." That's why Paul said, "Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Leave it in his care, and God will give you the grace for today's situation.”

Sometimes I've had things happen in life where it's not just a negative thing; sometimes it's a positive thing. I've been asked to do things, and I don't feel I'm ready for yet. Have you ever had that happen? Maybe it's a job promotion, or it's an opportunity, or something, maybe in the church, and you don't feel like you're ready yet for it. But you know what? When it's the Lord, and he comes knocking, whether speaking to you directly or through one of his delegated officials, and by the way, God doesn't always just speak through prophecy; speaks through pastors and leaders of churches too. I need to stress that; we're a very prophetic church, but you have to understand that prophecy does not override the leadership of a local church, period.

Now, here's the thing: God, whether however he may pull you into something, but he'll give you the grace to do what you couldn't do apart from him. And that's why we learn to lean on him completely. Lord, I pray that this understanding of the gospel, the kingdom, would go deeper in our hearts. Holy Spirit, just if you can, maybe just stand for a moment. Holy Spirit, I'm asking that you would water the seed that's in each of us. Lord, there's some

Lord, there's some growth in each of our hearts, it's at different levels of maturity, different places. I'm asking God that every one of us would come to full maturity in Christ. I pray, Lord, that you would strengthen us by your might in the inner man, that we would know the height, the depth, the width, the length of the love of God in Christ Jesus, that surpasses knowledge.

That we would understand the fullness of this realm of the kingdom that's both ours presently and yet to come. And so, Lord, release that, I pray. God, a great love and compassion for souls would begin to really take us this summer, a heart not just to reach people but to see them come into the kingdom and disciple, and so God show us how to do that, empower us, equip us.

God, I pray, God, for more healing, signs, and wonders, not just so we can have more stories or testimonies, that's what we want, the testimonies build faith, the Lord, so that the gospel, the kingdom, could be fully preached in Tucson and beyond, in Jesus' name. Amen.

You guys are awesome, you're amazing Kingdom citizens. Say a prayer for the families tomorrow, Memorial Day, that have lost their loved ones. Okay, we have our freedom because of those that have gave their lives. Listen, if you need more prayer, we'll have the altar team up here, prayer for healing or any other situation, come on up and want to pray.

Thank you very much.