When the Kingdom Breaks Through

Series: Building the Kingdom

Week 3

Title: When the Kingdom Breaks Through

Subtitle: Good News, Great Resistance, and Greater Purpose

Text: Luke 4:14–44

🎬 Introduction

On December 26, 2004, one of the deadliest natural disasters in modern history struck without warning. A massive earthquake under the Indian Ocean triggered a tsunami that raced across the waters at nearly 500 miles per hour. In just a few hours, waves more than 100 feet tall slammed into coastlines, devastating communities from Indonesia to Africa. Over 200,000 lives were lost. Survivors say that once the wave appeared on the horizon, there was nothing anyone could do to stop it. You couldn’t outrun it, outpower it, or ignore it. It demanded a response.

That’s the picture Jesus paints in Luke 4 when He announces the arrival of God’s Kingdom. It’s not a small idea or a gentle suggestion. The Kingdom is an unstoppable force and a reality to be dealt with.

In this passage, Luke shows us four realities about the Kingdom when it breaks through:

The Power of the Kingdom is the Spirit (vv. 14, 18).

The Purpose of the Kingdom is freedom (vv. 18–19).

The Pushback to the Kingdom is Pride (vv. 20–30).

The Progress of the Kingdom is unstoppable (vv. 31–44).

So here’s the question for us this morning: When the Kingdom breaks through in your life, how do you deal with it?

Hook Phrase: The Kingdom is an unstoppable force and a reality to be dealt with.

📌 The Power of the Kingdom is The Spirit (Luke 4:14, 18)

Before Jesus declared the mission of the Kingdom, He displayed the power of the Kingdom—the Holy Spirit. From the very beginning of time, it has always been the Spirit who moves God’s Kingdom forward.

The Spirit moved at Creation.

Genesis 1:2 — “The Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.”From the start, the Spirit brought order out of chaos, filling emptiness with God’s life.

The Spirit moved through God’s people in history.

Abraham, Isac, Jacob, David, Solomon

The Spirit moved through Mary

Luke 1:35 ESV

35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.

The Spirit moved through Jesus.

Luke 4:1–2 ESV

1 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness 2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry.

Luke 4:14–15 ESV

14 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country. 15 And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.

The Spirit moves through the Church today.

Acts 1:8 — “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me…”The same Spirit that hovered over creation and anointed Christ now empowers us to carry His Kingdom forward.

📷 Illustration: Jesus illustrated the Spirit in John 3:8 as the wind. You can’t see it, but you see its effects—trees bending, waves rising, sails filling. The Spirit is the unseen power of God, moving history, moving Christ, and moving His Church to advance the Kingdom.

Application: The Spirit has always been the driving force of the Kingdom—at creation, in Christ, and in us. The Kingdom is not built by human wisdom or effort but by the Spirit’s power. The Kingdom is an unstoppable force and a reality to be dealt with.

📌 The Purpose of the Kingdom is Freedom (Luke 4:18–19)

Luke 4:16–17 ESV

16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. 17 And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

Luke 4:18–19 KJV 1900

18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

Jesus defines the purpose of His Kingdom by declaring a six-fold mission. Every part of it is about freedom—freedom for people who often don’t even know what holds them captive. As I go through the list be thinking about what Jesus has done for you or can do for you.

Good news to the poor

“He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor.”

Poverty isn’t just financial—it’s spiritual, emotional, relational. Jesus announces good news to those who know they can’t fix themselves.

Healing for the brokenhearted

“He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted.”

Some are captives to grief, regret, or rejection. The Kingdom offers inner healing.

Freedom for the captives

“To proclaim liberty to the captives.”

People may be bound by sin, shame, fear, or addiction—often without realizing how much control it has.

John 8:36 ESV

36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

Sight for the blind

“And recovery of sight to the blind.”

Blindness can be physical, but it’s also spiritual—captivity to lies, false beliefs, or confusion. The Kingdom opens our eyes.

Revelation 3:18 ESV

18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.

Liberty for the oppressed

“To set at liberty those who are oppressed.”

The oppressed are weighed down by trauma, injustice, and generational pain. Jesus releases what crushes the human spirit.

The year of the Lord’s favor

“To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

Jubilee is freedom from debt, restoration of what was lost, and a brand-new start. Captives are returned to their rightful inheritance.

When Jesus stood in His hometown synagogue, He unrolled the scroll of Isaiah and declared His Kingdom’s purpose. Later, when John the Baptist’s disciples came asking, “Are You the Messiah, or should we look for another?” Jesus didn’t hand them a theological argument—He pointed to evidence:

Luke 7:22 ESV

22 And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them.

In other words—“The mission I announced in Nazareth is the mission I’m accomplishing right now.”

The Kingdom is not just words on a page—it’s freedom breaking into reality.

Transition to Application:

Do you see it? What Jesus declared in Luke 4, He demonstrated in Luke 7. His Kingdom is not theory—it’s transformation. It’s not words—it’s works. It’s not promise—it’s proof.

Application: Jesus didn’t just talk about freedom—He delivered it. And He’s still delivering it today. The Kingdom is an unstoppable force and a reality to be dealt with.

📌 The Pushback to the Kingdom is Pride (Luke 4:20–30)

Luke 4:20–22 ESV

20 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?”

The people of Nazareth didn’t push back against the idea of miracles, healing, or freedom. They pushed back because Jesus said the Kingdom was bigger than their boundaries.

First, They marveled at His gracious words.

At first, they were proud: “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” Their hometown boy was making it big.

Then, They stumbled when He broadened the Kingdom.

The Proverb of Prejudice

Luke 4:23–24 ESV

23 And he said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘ “Physician, heal yourself.” What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’ ” 24 And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown.

The Resistance of Pride

Luke 4:25–27 ESV

25 But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, 26 and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27 And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”

The kingdom of God is not your kingdom to control.

They could imagine the kingdom extending past the Jews.

Finally, They turned on the King

Luke 4:28–30 ESV

28 When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. 29 And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. 30 But passing through their midst, he went away.

📷 Personal Illustration — Borger, Texas

When I pastored in the little town of Borger, Texas, it was a very segregated place. You had your white-collar folks, your blue-collar workers, the Hispanic community, and the drug crowd. Our church was mostly blue-collar.

But then the Spirit began to move among the people no one expected—the drug crowd. They started coming to Christ and showing up in our services. Now, they were rough around the edges. They didn’t always talk right or act right. But they were hungry for Jesus.

After a few incidents, one of my trustees pulled me aside and said, “Pastor, that’s what happens when you let those people into our church.”

And I’ll never forget it—he had forgotten whose church it really was. It wasn’t his church. It wasn’t even our church. It was Christ’s church. His view of the Kingdom was limited by pride and prejudice. But the Kingdom of God doesn’t stop at the walls we build.

The Kingdom is an unstoppable force and a reality to be dealt with.

Application: The greatest resistance to the Kingdom often comes when God breaks down the walls we build. The Kingdom is not “ours” to control—it’s His to extend. The Kingdom is an unstoppable force and a reality to be dealt with.

📌 The Progress of the Kingdom is Unstoppable (Luke 4:31–44)

Even when Nazareth rejected Him, Jesus didn’t stop. He moved on to Capernaum, and the Kingdom kept advancing. That’s the nature of the Kingdom—it cannot be stopped.

The Kingdom Commands with Authority (Luke 4:31–37)

Luke 4:31–32 ESV

31 And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And he was teaching them on the Sabbath, 32 and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority.

When Jesus taught, people were astonished because His word carried authority. When He rebuked demons, they obeyed immediately. The Kingdom doesn’t negotiate with darkness—it commands it. Where the Kingdom advances, the enemy retreats.

Luke 4:36–37 ESV

36 And they were all amazed and said to one another, “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!” 37 And reports about him went out into every place in the surrounding region.

The Kingdom Heals Without Hindrance (Luke 4:38–40)

Luke 4:40 ESV

40 Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them.

Jesus healed Simon’s mother-in-law, and soon the whole town brought their sick. When the Kingdom is active, there are no barriers—it moves freely into every broken place.

The Kingdom Advances Without Containment (Luke 4:43)

Luke 4:42–43 ESV

42 And when it was day, he departed and went into a desolate place. And the people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them, 43 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.”

The Kingdom cannot be confined to one town, one culture, or one people. It must keep moving outward.

Application: The Kingdom of God is not just a belief to be affirmed—it’s a reality to be lived. It commands with authority, heals without hindrance, and advances without containment. If the Spirit of Christ lives in you, then His Kingdom must move through you.

Because the Kingdom is an unstoppable force and a reality to be dealt with.

✨ Conclusion

When Jesus stood in Nazareth, they resisted Him. They clung to their pride, their prejudices, and their comfort zones. And the Kingdom passed them by. But in Capernaum, just a few miles away, people received Him. They brought their sick, their oppressed, their broken—and the Kingdom broke through with power, healing, and freedom.

Jesus places his churches as outposts for the kingdom.

Two towns. Two different responses. One rejected the wave of the Kingdom; the other was swept up in it.

And for the last 2,000 years, the wave of the Gospel has been moving forward—an unstoppable force, sweeping across the globe. From Jerusalem it moved into the Middle East, into Europe, into Africa, into the Americas, into Asia. And right now, the wave of the Gospel is crashing into places like Iran, where thousands are coming to Christ despite opposition and persecution.

The Gospel is not finished. The Kingdom is still advancing like a mighty wave. And here’s the truth: you cannot stop it. You can only decide how you will respond to it. Will you be like Nazareth—resisting and rejecting? Or will you be like Capernaum—receiving and rejoicing?

Because the Kingdom is not a theory or an idea. The Kingdom is an unstoppable force and a reality to be dealt with.

✅ Next Steps

Acknowledge Your Captivity (Dissatisfaction).Be honest about the chains you carry—whether it’s sin, fear, shame, or bitterness. You cannot be set free until you admit you are bound.

Embrace Christ’s Freedom (Vision).See the life Jesus offers—healing for your heart, liberty for your soul, restoration for your future. Imagine living free because the Son has set you free.

Take the First Step Today (First Action).Respond in prayer, come to the altar, confess to Christ, or commit to sharing the Kingdom with someone else this week. One step of faith opens the floodgates of His unstoppable Kingdom in your life.

Resistance is real—but the Kingdom is greater. Don’t resist it, release it. Don’t contain it, carry it.

🙏 Altar Call / Gospel Invitation

Friend, the Kingdom has broken through in this room today. The Spirit of the Lord is here, proclaiming freedom, healing, and restoration. But like the people of Nazareth, you must decide how you will respond. Will you push it away in pride, or will you receive it in faith?

If you’ve never surrendered your life to Christ, today is the day. The King has come for you. He died on the cross for your sins, rose again to conquer death, and now offers you freedom that no chain can hold back. If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

And if you’re a believer but you’ve been trying to contain the Kingdom—keeping it neat, safe, or comfortable—this is your moment to let it break through. Ask the Spirit to move in you and through you. Let His unstoppable force bring healing to your past, power for your present, and hope for your future.

Come—receive His freedom, step into His mission, and be swept up in the unstoppable Kingdom of God.

The Kingdom is an unstoppable force and a reality to be dealt with. How will you deal with it today?

🙏 Pastoral Prayer

“Father, today we’ve seen that Your Kingdom is not just words on a page but power that transforms lives. We thank You for sending Jesus, anointed by the Spirit, to bring good news to the poor, healing to the broken, freedom to the captives, and sight to the blind.

Holy Spirit, move among us right now. Break chains. Heal wounds. Restore hope. Fill us with boldness to carry Your Kingdom to our families, our workplaces, and our community. Let us not resist what You are doing, but release it. Let us not contain Your Kingdom, but carry it forward. Today we choose to deal with it by surrendering our lives fully to You. Have Your way in us, Lord. For Yours is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen.”