The Kingdom You Cannot See
What is the Kingdom? • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Today’s Reading from God’s Word
Today’s Reading from God’s Word
20 When he was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming with something observable;
21 no one will say, ‘See here!’ or ‘There!’ For you see, the kingdom of God is in your midst.”
Introduction
Introduction
Our theme for the upcoming year is based on Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 6:33.
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.
This quarter we’re focusing on defining the kingdom. What is it exactly that we are to seek? And what does it mean to be in the kingdom of God?
Last week we talked about how when we truly grasp what it is:
We will live with purpose.
We are part of a divine plan that provides intentionality in how we live, work, and interact with others.
We experience peace.
God is in control.
All things are going to work out according to his purposes.
We are transformed.
The Spirit works in us, making us more like Jesus — shaping our character and aligning our lives with God’s will.
The Kingdom is a critical subject in biblical teaching.
As we read through Scripture, God is presented as a King who rules over a kingdom.
And I do think in many ways, our thinking about a kingdom and king is hard for us to understand.
Americans pride themselves in having never been a part of a monarchy.
In fact, the world seems to have moved on from kings.
The only ones with absolute authority, power, and will — we would probably label dictators.
And much of American foreign policy over the last century has worked to weaken and remove dictators that we view as detrimental to freedom and human rights.
We do not know what it means to live under an absolute monarchy.
Our understanding of sovereignty, power, privilege, authority, and rule has been spread out over many people in government through a system of checks and balances.
Designed by the people and is for the people.
Our government was set up with the idea that no one was to have too much power at anytime — where no person has absolute right, privilege, power, or authority.
But yet, the way God has set up His kingdom is exactly opposite of our own.
God claims for himself:
Absolute supremacy
Absolute sovereignty
Absolute free exercise of His will without consultation or restraint.
God. Is. King.
33 Oh, the depth of the riches and the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments and untraceable his ways!
34 For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?
35 And who has ever given to God, that he should be repaid?
36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Amen.
What do we learn here?
11:33 - God has supreme knowledge.
His decisions and judgments are made on the basis of information we do not have or have the ability to access.
In fact, God’s ways are unfathomable to us.
11:34 - No one gives him counsel. No one gives him advice.
11:35 - No one who ever did anything for Him is owed by Him to be paid back.
He is absolutely supreme and sovereign.
12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand or marked off the heavens with the span of his hand? Who has gathered the dust of the earth in a measure or weighed the mountains on a balance and the hills on the scales?
13 Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord, or who gave him counsel?
14 Who did he consult? Who gave him understanding and taught him the paths of justice? Who taught him knowledge and showed him the way of understanding?
18 With whom will you compare God? What likeness will you set up for comparison with him?
God has:
absolute perfection
perfect knowledge, wisdom, and power.
a perfect will.
Therefore:
He does exactly what he wants when he wants with whom he wants for the purpose he wants.
He has the right to rule.
Three Passages:
2 I know that you can do anything and no plan of yours can be thwarted.
27 The Lord of Armies himself has planned it; therefore, who can stand in its way? It is his hand that is outstretched, so who can turn it back?
11 Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the splendor and the majesty, for everything in the heavens and on earth belongs to you. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom, and you are exalted as head over all.
12 Riches and honor come from you, and you are the ruler of everything. Power and might are in your hand, and it is in your hand to make great and to give strength to all.
13 Now therefore, our God, we give you thanks and praise your glorious name.
14 But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? For everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your own hand.
Our king rules over us. We are his subjects and under His authority.
And God exercises His rule for a purpose — he created us to realize the culmination of His plan to
10 as a plan for the right time—to bring everything together in Christ, both things in heaven and things on earth in him.
Today…
Today…
We’ll look at the two realms of the God’s kingdom.
God is sovereign in two realms.
One is material or physical. The other is spiritual.
So, when God created … He created things material — and things spiritual.
And he is king over both domains.
The material, created world.
A spiritual kingdom that is inside our hearts.
And we’ll look at the parable of the mustard seed and see how it all comes together.
The Realm of Creation
The Realm of Creation
Psalm 103:19 (CSB)
19 The Lord has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.
Everything he created is under his sovereign power.
Everything animate/inanimate.
Everything material/spiritual in the universe.
Every molecule, atom, planet, solar system, or galaxy.
Everything in the universe.
And, right now, because of Satan and sin — it is all cursed.
It is all heading toward dissolution — when all the elements of the universe melt with fervent heat.
There are subjects in this realm that are in open rebellion to Him.
There are demons who have been thrown out of heaven — all led by Satan.
They live for one mission — to thwart the Kingdom of God — even though they have lost the war.
These beings have pulled mankind into this great and epic battle — people who have succumbed to temptation — all of them rebelling against God.
Satan and all who have fallen to his ways are still in subjection to God.
They have been cursed and judged and will be ultimately destroyed.
One day, God is going to fully restore what was lost in the garden — one day paradise and full fellowship with God will return and never be broken again.
So God rules the realm of the universe — everything in His creation.
And you can see it when you look at at the creation. God has revealed Himself in it.
Because he has, no human is without excuse.
Romans 1:20 (CSB)
20 For his invisible attributes, that is, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what he has made. As a result, people are without excuse.
If you look out & don’t see God, His massive power and wisdom in the creation — you are making a choice to deny the obvious.
It’s an act of rebellion.
And He controls it by Himself.
He brought it into being. He upholds it by His power.
He is the invisible, unidentified power in the molecules of the universe that holds it all together.
Colossians 1:15–17 (CSB)
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
16 For everything was created by him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities— all things have been created through him and for him.
17 He is before all things, and by him all things hold together.
The Realm of the Heart
The Realm of the Heart
This is the kingdom to which Jesus refers in Luke 17:21.
21 no one will say, ‘See here!’ or ‘There!’ For you see, the kingdom of God is in your midst.”
And this is very personal in nature.
Sin kills … it takes away from the very personal connection God has with us …. so he personally recreates each son or daughter that comes to him in faith through Jesus.
He writes His law on our heart.
He makes Himself known by His word.
And He rules us directly by the leading of the Spirit.
He is sovereign in the universe. He is sovereign in His people.
He comes to live in us … hands on.
We become the temple of the living God.
And this is all made possible through the work of Jesus.
The true, all-glorious, unequaled one — the Lord Jesus Christ — who came as the true, pure, exact expression of God.
Hebrews 1:3 (CSB)
3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of his nature, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
He is not only the exact duplicate of God — He is God.
John 14:9 (CSB)
9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been among you all this time and you do not know me, Philip? The one who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
John 10:30 (CSB)
30 I and the Father are one.”
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He is the culminating, all-glorious, unequaled, and unparalleled One.
He not only reveals what God is like …
He also brings sinners to God by His perfect sacrifice.
He is not just God — He is King.
He was born a king.
32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David.
33 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will have no end.”
Isaiah 9:6–7 (CSB)
6 For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
7 The dominion will be vast, and its prosperity will never end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from now on and forever. The zeal of the Lord of Armies will accomplish this.
Jesus is God.
He is the creator God.
He is the eternal God.
He and the father are one.
So Jesus came — not to establish a universal kingdom — or reign over the creation — He already had that.
He showed it.
He could control the sea. death. disease.
He made food and wine out of nothing.
He had power over the physical and the spirit world.
He could have instantly created legions of angels to take him off the cross.
So he wasn’t looking for control over the universe — He came to establish the kingdom in the heart.
And that is why Jesus says what he does in 17:21.
21 no one will say, ‘See here!’ or ‘There!’ For you see, the kingdom of God is in your midst.”
The kingdom is on the inside - not the outside.
Luke 17:21 (ESV)
21 nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”
NASB: Footnote: “within you.”
It’s not external. It’s not visible.
It’s not see in the way you expect it to be seen.
Instead … it is in our hearts.
Romans 14:17 (CSB)
17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.
It’s righteousness in our heart given to us through faith.
It is peace with God.
it is joy.
It’s all a work of the Spirit.
The kingdom is within you because the king is within you and He reigns and rules within you.
Like a Mustard Seed
Like a Mustard Seed
Here we have one of the kingdom parables…. and Jesus asks
18 He said, therefore, “What is the kingdom of God like, and what can I compare it to?
And note the amazing answer He gives:
Luke 13:19 (CSB)
19 It’s like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the sky nested in its branches.”
Mustard seeds are the smallest among the seeds in the garden.
And out of that smallest seed, comes this massive tree that could be as large as 25 ft in diameter with birds nesting in its branches.
What’s the point?
The kingdom starts off small — and then it grows and grows and grows making progress.
You see, it begins in the heart of all who believe — and it grows until it is fully seen in its amazing glory when our Lord comes to take us home.
As We Close…
As We Close…
It was at His first coming that He brought the kingdom into the hearts of men.
And it will be at His second coming where He ushers us into the indescribable, unfading, eternal, and undefiled kingdom and all its glory.
And it is at this time, with the new heaven and new earth created, for the first time since the fall — everything is brought together as one — just as Paul said in Ephesians 1:10
10 as a plan for the right time—to bring everything together in Christ, both things in heaven and things on earth in him.
And we’ll pick up here again next week.
Now, will you receive your King?
Now, will you receive your King?
We each have a choice.
Will we confess Him as Lord now for our salvation?
Or will we choose to confess him on judgment for our condemnation?
But, please remember, that when you choose him … you are receiving Him as king … Lord over your life.
As your savior, protector, sustainer, and equipper.
As your savior, protector, sustainer, and equipper.
He said:
16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever.
23 Jesus answered, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.
Isn’t that just amazing?
The Trinity has taken up residence in the hearts of those who believe.
That’s the kingdom for now.
And one day — we will see the kingdom in it’s total consummation — when the spiritual kingdom will be unveiled and only those who are righteous will enter into that kingdom.
On that day — all the ungodly will be destroyed — along with everything in the created material realm.
As Lord
As Lord
But there is another aspect of His reign as King we must understand. He is Lord over our life.
Do you want to follow him?
If so…
24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.
He is the absolute sovereign of your life.
That is what the gospel offers.
It does not present Jesus as:
your buddy or pal.
the one who comes along and dotes on you and make you feel good about yourself.
He is your King … with absolute rule over your life.
He’s not a tyrant. He rules with love.
28 “Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
