Building The Kingdom of God, Part 3
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“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”
Keys
Keys
Keys were a symbol of responsibility of a position and the power to make decisions in that position.
Keys represent authority.
Keys were the symbol of knowledge or the fruit of teaching.
To Bind and Loose
To Bind and Loose
Believers have the authority to bind what God has already bound, and they an loose what God has already loosed.
Open Doors and Closed Doors
Locking and Unlocking
Unlocking the Way
Unlocking the Place
Unlocking the Blessings
Grace. The blessing of spiritual favor.
Spiritual Gifts. The blessing of spiritual tools.
Sanctification. The blessing of spiritual growth.
Church. The blessing of spiritual fellowship.
The Four Keys To The Kingdom
The Four Keys To The Kingdom
1. Repent
2. Pray
3. Seek
4. Preach
Read Acts 2:42-47
The 4 Keys in Practice - Acts 2:42
The 4 Keys in Practice - Acts 2:42
Continually - ongoing. Keep repenting, keep praying, keep seeking, and keep preaching.
Apostle’s Teaching - Proclaiming the Message of the Kingdom
Fellowship - Seeking the Kingdom
“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Breaking of Bread - Repentance because the Kingdom is here: Jesus
Prayer - Praying, “Your Kingdom Come. Your will be done.”
The Kingdom of God
The Kingdom of God
Four Aspects of the Kingdom of God
The King of the Kingdom
The People of the Kingdom
The Mission of the Kingdom
The Blessing of the Kingdom
Interestingly, the term fellowship, though, encompasses all four thoughts as we are seeking the Kingdom.
Fellowship Is The Key To Seeking the Kingdom of God.
Fellowship Is The Key To Seeking the Kingdom of God.
“I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.
Ekklesia - The Called Out Ones - The Church
Kononia - Partaking One With Another - The Fellowship
Fellowship - Koinonia
Fellowship - Koinonia
Koinonia
To Share
To Participate / Partake
To Have in Common
To Be in Unity
Unity of People - A group of people who share a common location. Community. Ekklesia
Unity of Spirit - The common spirit existing in the members of a group and inspiring enthusiasm, devotion, and strong regard for the honor of the group.
Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Unity of Purpose - Sense of common interests and responsibilities, as developed among a group of persons closely associated in a task, cause, enterprise, etc.
Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.
Unity of Task - A bond of partnership in a common enterprise or shared experience.
Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;
Seeking Koinonia Through The Kingdom
Seeking Koinonia Through The Kingdom
When We Seek The Kingdom Of Heaven, We Seek Fellowship With The King Himself.
Koinonia - Common experiences with God.
God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for You, O God.
that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;
Fellowship of His sufferings. Don’t like that one. Story of Korean pastors in Afghanistan - Francis Chan.
The natural result is to praise God for who He is and what He has done and is doing and will do.
When We Seek The Kingdom, We Seek Fellowship With The King’s People.
Koinonia - Common experiences with God’s people
what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.
Can be applied to deep friendships and potluck dinners
Breaking bread can also mean to eat together.
And verse 46 elaborates a little more and adds in taking meals together.
This one will be harder for introverts. But fellowship doesn’t always have to be large groups.
Fellowship can be one or two others.
“Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven. “Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.”
But this fellowship is much deeper because of the focus of the fellowship.
Fellowship with the triune God through the Kingdom people.
Fellowship with believers is, or should be, so much sweeter.
True fellowship brings God into the conversations.
True fellowship allows for iron sharpening iron moments.
True fellowship is connecting with one another spiritually in addition to physically and emotionally.
When We Seek The Kingdom, We Seek Participation In The King’s Mission
But we can’t forget the why of Koinonia - Seeking or pursuing the mission of the Kingdom.
Acts 2:43 - wonders and signs,
Acts 2:47 - salvations occurring.
Koinonia means to share or participate in. And in this context, it means to share or participate in the giving of the Good News.
I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all, in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now.
Working Together to Advance the Kingdom
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are oppressed, To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”
When We Seek The Kingdom, We Receive The King’s Blessing.
Spiritual Blessings - vs. 43
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
Grace and Mercy. The blessing of spiritual favor.
Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Spiritual Gifts. The blessing of spiritual tools.
For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established; that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other’s faith, both yours and mine.
Sanctification. The blessing of spiritual growth.
But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Church. The blessing of spiritual fellowship.
Material Blessings - vs. 44-45; Acts 4:32-35
“Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ “For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
You yourselves also know, Philippians, that at the first preaching of the gospel, after I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving but you alone;
Needs provided.
Thanksgiving to God given.
Mutuality of blessings given and received.
And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
Emotional and Psychological Blessings - vs. 46-47
Gladness and Joy - vs. 46
Sincerity of Heart. Simple and Sincere. No false motive or pretense. Trust - vs. 46
The thanksgiving for those blessing returned as praise to God - vs. 47
Relational Blessings - 46-47
Were of one mind in the temple - vs. 46
They were taking meals together - vs 46
Favor with all the people - vs. 47
Physical growth of church - God will grow the church. - vs. 47
Summary - Acts 4:32-35
Abundant grace upon them all.
Application
Application
So we seek the Kingdom when we seek the King through seeking shared experiences with the King’s people in order to accomplish the King’s Mission and then receive the King’s blessings.
Koinonia. Fellowship
Our oneness in fellowship is an important piece to the world believing that Jesus is who He says He is and did what He said He would do.
Anytime we are doing Kingdom work together in unity of spirit, we are achieving the four aspects of Seeking the Kingdom through fellowship.
This can be as simple as a church potluck - today after church - picnic in the park!!!!
To a mission trip.
To building a new sanctuary.
To a work party to paint someone’s home.
The natural response of this occurring is to then praise God for His Kingdom that has come into our midst and yet is still to come.
But there’s one other way that also powerfully fosters fellowship. Prayer. That’s for next week.
Closing Song: Knowing You; Bind Us Together