What Jesus Taught: Living the Kingdom Life (1)

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As I ended the last series on obedience to our heavenly father, during that message I asked this question:

“As followers of Christ, shouldn’t we still be obeying his teachings.”

If we are going to continue to obey his teachings, it would be good to know his teachings and refresh ourselves constantly on them.

Sounds like a great idea.

We are starting a new Series:

What Jesus Taught: Living the Kingdom Life

We know the Kingdom of God/Kingdom of Heaven is one of Jesus’ central teachings.

And if you look at the gospels, you’ll see it being mentioned over 100 times.

Matthew 4:17 ESV

From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Luke 4:43 ESV

but he said to them, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.”

It’s kind of like this poor farmer who lived in a small village near the mountains.

Every day he worked tirelessly, planting crops, feeding animals, and providing for his family.

But he often dreamed of something more.

One day, he heard a rumor that a great and powerful kingdom was hidden somewhere in the land.

This kingdom, they said, had no castles, no royal army, and no golden thrones—yet everyone who entered it found peace, joy, and purpose.

So the farmer packed up his things and went on a journey.

He climbed mountains, crossed rivers, wandered through cities, and questioned scholars.

But no one could show him where the kingdom was.

After many years and failed searches, the farmer returned home—tired, older, and disappointed.

As he entered his house, his little daughter ran to him and hugged him tightly.

His wife prepared a warm meal.

That night, he sat in silence and said a simple prayer:

“Lord, I’ve searched the world for Your kingdom. Why couldn’t I find it?”

And in the quiet of his heart, he felt the whisper of God say: “My Kingdom isn’t something you see with your eyes. It’s something I build in your heart.”

And that leads me to Luke 17, verse 20 and 21.

Luke 17:20-21 ESV

Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed,

21 nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”

The Pharisees had the same question the farmer had.

So, I guess the obvious question for us to start with is:

What is the Kingdom of God?

Theologians have often gotten into the weeds of depth about what the Kingdom of God is.

We’re not going to do that.

Let’s just say the Kingdom of God is the reign and rule of God.

It’s his sovereign authority and saving presence breaking into the world mankind broke; to restore, redeem, and reign over everything through Jesus the Messiah.

One thing in that scripture we need to key in on is that it teaches us, that the Kingdom is both present and future, spiritual and literal, and it’s revealed in the hearts of believers and ultimately it will be revealed in the coming reign of Christ.

Luke 17:20-21 ESV

Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, 21 nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”

When the Pharisees were asking “when” the Kingdom would come, they expected an external, political takeover. A Messiah who would overthrow Rome and restore Israel to power.

But Jesus quickly corrected them with a spiritual response.

It’s not coming by armies and wars and kings.

The Kingdom of God is in the midst of you. (The Greek entos-hymon, can mean within or among you.)

Why is this so important?

Great question.

The one consistent thing about any Kingdom is that it has a King.

They Pharisees were asking about the Kingdom of God, while being unaware that the King of the Kingdom was standing right in front of them.

In the 1st century, Jews believed the Kingdom of God not only meant military deliverance, but restoration of the Davidic Kingship in Jerusalem and the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies.

But Jesus redefines all this.

He teaches us that God’s reign begins not with military weapons but in the hearts of people like you and me.

And then it spreads to others through repentance, faith and obedience.

Jesus taught that the Kingdom is: present, internal, mysterious, exclusive, eternal and future.

*Present – Jesus brought it with Him.

Matthew 12:28 ESV

But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

*Internal – It rules in the hearts of believers.

Luke 17:21 ESV

nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”

*Mysterious – Grows quietly like a seed.

Mark 4:26-29 ESV

And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. 27 He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. 28 The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 29 But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

*Exclusive – Requires repentance and faith.

John 3:3-5 ESV

Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

*Eternal & Future – Will culminate in Christ’s return.

Luke 21:31 ESV

So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near.

Jesus was speaking of the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem and the rise of the Kingdom of God. Wars rumors of wars earthquakes persecution etc.

Second question!

What does living in the Kingdom of God, mean for us today?

- Submitting daily to Jesus as King. (Picking up that cross.)

- Living out Kingdom values: righteousness, justice, mercy, humility.

- Preaching the Gospel so others can enter the Kingdom.

- Expecting His return when the Kingdom is fully manifested.

In the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12) Jesus shares Kingdom values and they are totally different from the ways of the world.

Kingdom people: forgive freely, serve humbly, love your enemies, pursue holiness.

· Forgive freely Matthew 6:14-15 ESV For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

· Serve humbly Matthew 23:11 ESV The greatest among you shall be your servant.

· Love your enemies Luke 6:27-28 ESV “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.

· Pursue holiness Matthew 5:20 ESV For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

If Jesus is King, we must obey his commands, not just admire his miracles.

The Kingdom of God is not about a place but about a person (Jesus) and his rule over your life.

It starts within, but one day will fill the whole earth.

What is Holy Spirit saying to you?

Thanks for tuning in and we’ll see you next week.