Untitled Sermon

Intro:

Two weeks ago we studied the ancient word Kingdom. The word Kingdom in the New Testament is best defined as the reign and rule of of a king.

We talked about how the Jesus spent a large potion of his ministry on earth teaching about the Kingdom. But not just any kingdom, the Kingdom of Heaven.

We looked at several passage that proved that Christ rule and reign of his kingdom is far superior to that of other earthly kings. There never has been or never will we be a greater King than King Jesus.

Before we look at one final aspect of the Kingdom I want to share with you one other reason why Christ Kingdom is vastly different than other Kingdoms.

I. Christ Kingdom brought about peace not war.

Kingdoms of War

When we look at other Kingdoms in history, what is it that made them great?

It was not all the humanitarian work that they did or how nice they were to their people or their neighboring kingdoms.

It was about how mighty their military was. Its was about how many battles they had won and how many cities they had over taken. That’s what people remember about a great Kingdom.

For example we remember King David as being great because he was a man after God’s own heart but the people of his day thought of him as being great because he killed his ten thousands and Saul only his thousands. (1 Samuel 18:7)

2. Kingdom of Peace

Christ Kingdom is different today because it is not known today for its great victories in war but the opposite.

Peace not war

In Isaiah 9:5-7 we find one of the most important prophesies about the coming Messiah, the coming King, Jesus. Not only is this passage about the coming of Jesus but it also speaks of the coming Kingdom.

Notice with me how Christ kingdom is going to be different than all other Kingdoms.

Isaiah says that their is a king and his kingdom coming that will put an end to war.

Every war garment will be burned

Isaiah says that the coming king will not be known as a great warrior, instead he will be known as the Prince of Peace.

Jesus as Messiah is coming to bring about peace in his kingdom thus putting an end to war.

Isaiah says; “of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we lived in a world that was full of peace and void of war? Tonight I am here to tell you that you can be a part of the Kingdom of God that will one day be full of peace and void of War when the Lord completely defeats all evil and returns the reign and rule of the Kingdom back to the father. (1 Corinthians 15:24-26).

In order to understand how one can be a part of the peaceful kingdom of Heaven we must understand that there is another very important aspect of the Kingdom.

II. The people of the Kingdom

In our study over the Kingdom thus far we have spent the majority of our time focused on the King of the Kingdom and how he rules over his Kingdom and how it is far different than any other kingdom.

The other major aspect of the Kingdom is its people.

Without a king there is no kingdom. But without the people there is no need for a king. Without the people there is no one for the King to reign and rule over.

Who are the people of the Kingdom.

Daniel 7:13-14;18

In Daniel 7 Daniel prophesied that the the Son of Man, Jesus, would come and establish his everlasting Kingdom. And then in verse 18 he informs us who will be the people who inherit this everlasting kingdom.

He says the Saints will inherit the kingdom and possess it for how long? Forever and ever. Daniel says that the people of the kingdom of God are the saints. Daniels says that the Saints will receive the Kingdom not be the kingdom.

The Saints are the people who have been set apart and called to be holy.

1 Corinthians. 1:2

The Saints are the members of the church, the people set apart for the Lord and His Kingdom.

For those of us who are a part of the Kingdom we understand that the church is not a building but a people. We as people are the church.

Therefore we as saints, we as the church the heirs of the Kingdom understand that we are ruled or we are under the authority of our King, Jesus.

Ephesians 5:23-27 makes this very clear. Just as the husband is head of the wife even so Christ is the head of the church.

Christ is the ruler of his people the church and just as wives are to submit to their husband we as the church are to submit to our king.

III. How do we become a member of the Kingdom.

Well, according to Daniel’s prophecy it is the Saints who are members of the kingdom and we have just read that the Saints are the collective body of Christ, the church.

If you want to be a part of the everlasting peaceful kingdom of God than you must become a a Saint, a member of the Lord’s church.

How do we become a member of the the church.

John 3:3-6.A ruler of the Jews, named Nicodemus, who had heard Jesus speak about the Kingdom of Heaven came to Jesus at night and thankfully he gives him the answer to our question.

Jesus says if you want to to see or enter the kingdom of Heaven than you must be born again. Not literally, but you must be born again of water and the spirit.

Well what does Jesus mean when he says you must be born again. Thankfully we today have the totality of scripture so we now know what Jesus was talking about.

Acts 2 The day he Kingdom came.

In Acts two on the day of Pentecost Peter along with the other apostles spoke to the crowd and informed them that they had crucified the Messiah. But thankfully he rose from the dead and is now reigning in his Kingdom at the right hand of God.

Once the crowd realized this they were cut to the heart. They wanted to know what they must do to make it right so that they could enter the kingdom of Heaven. They wanted to make it right so that they could become members of the kingdom.

Thankfully Peter gave them the answer. He said if you want to enter the kingdom of Heaven than you must repent and be baptised so that you can receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

The word baptize means to be completely immersed in water.

This is what Jesus was referring to when he spoke to Nicodemus. To be born again of water and spirit means to be baptised into water in order to receive the spirit.

Acts 2:41 On the day of Pentecost verse 41 tells us that 3000 people obeyed the message of Peter and the Apostles.

3000 people were added to the Kingdom of God. The church, the citizens of the kingdom continued to grow and multiply today because Christ as King invites you and I to be apart of the Kingdom of God.

Conclusion:

The people of the kingdom of Heaven play an important role because we are the church, the people who have chose to submit to the rule and reign of God.

And because we submit to our King he commands that we serve him and invite other to serve him so that we can all one day live with Him in peace for all eternity when he come again.

Will you serve him today. Will you become a member of the Lord’s church so that you can live in his kingdom forever and ever.