10-11-20 Kingdom of God

Kingdom of God You know Pastor's have favorite topics they love to talk about. For example, I love to talk about prophecy. Jesus had a favorite subject too. He loved to talk about the Kingdom of God. Oh he talked about the law, and righteousness, but he talked a lot about the Kingdom of God. He sometimes referred to it as the Kingdom of Heaven. After John was put into Prison Jesus went to Galilee to preach the Good News of God. Jesus declared boldly. "The time has come," He said. "The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!" - Mark 1:15, NIV In fact, this message was His very purpose. That is why 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." - Luke 4:43, ESV So much was the Kingdom of God on Jesus' heart that when he went to teach His disciples to pray he said to them. "This then, is how you should pray: 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." - Matthew 6:9-10, NIV You see right away in the prayer the Kingdom of God is front and center. Right after He addresses the most revered and honored God of heaven, He says let your Kingdom come to this earth. Let your authority your will be over it and replace it. In other words, let what is happening at home happen here on this earth. I get that. There are days that I wish that God's Kingdom was more front and center. That prayer was astounding if you think about it. Jesus wanted the Kingdom of God to succeed the kingdom of the world. The prophet Daniel told us that it would. And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever... Daniel 2:44 * Here we learn the Kingdom of God will never end. In light of this message, what does that mean? What does it look like? How does that impact us as followers of Jesus? Are we supposed to be praying the same way Jesus did? Is this something we should be pursuing? And if the answer is yes, then how do we do that? Is this an ongoing quest or something already achieved? Is it applicable to us now or something in the future? Are we ready to grasp the fullness of what all this means to us Christians? What should be our response to this Kingdom of God idea? Jesus often described the Kingdom of God in parables to the masses, but to his followers he revealed the secret. (See Luke 8:10) The next couple of sermons are going to attempt to unpack that secret and these questions. We won't answer them all today? We do not have time. We will however attempt to figure out what the Kingdom of God is or implies with the Word of God. I often remind myself that this is not my home. The scripture says, "For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come." - Hebrews 13:14 * We see that Kingdom is something we look forward to. The scripture tells us, that the Kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. -Romans 14:17 * Right away we see this is not a physical world based, with its physical needs and pleasures. For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power. - 1 Corinthians 4:20 * It is not just empty words and promises. The Kingdom of God has power. "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it. - Matthew 13:44-46 * The Kingdom of God is valuable. And he said, "The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. - Mark 4:26-27 * The Kingdom is something that will just naturally grow. He said therefore, "What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? It is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden, and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches." And again he said, "To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? It is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened." - Luke 13:18-21 * The message of the Kingdom of God will grow, it will affect everything else. Based on these passages we now know that the: 1. It will be eternal 2. It is something to look forward to 3. It brings righteousness, peace and joy 4. It is not all talk, but has power 5. It is valuable, priceless 6. It expands on its own 7. It will impact everything Now you know what the Kingdom of Heaven is. Jesus walked in power in His kingdom, every word spoken; every word done was with His Father's Kingdom in mind. As we study the Kingdom of God in the next couple of weeks. I want you to consider what it would be like if the fullness of the Kingdom of God was in our broken world and God's will was being done. Which will bring up the next question? Jesus told his followers that some of them would not die until they saw the Kingdom of God come? What does that mean? Has the Kingdom of God come already? Come back next week and find out the answer and its implications.