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Sermon for Sunday, March 11, 2007
Title: What is the Kingdom of God and What Does It Mean to Be a Kingdom Person?
Text: Matthew 6:33 (HCSB) /But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you./
Reading: Do You Not Know?
Done by Rod & Judi Jung, Lisa Fong
A few years back, actually more like a lot of years back, if you asked me the question “What is the Kingdom of God and what does it mean to be a kingdom person?”
I probably would have answered, “Well, I guess that it’s where we all go as Christians when we die – it’s heaven.”
And I think that a lot of Christians still think that way.
We really don’t know exactly what the kingdom of God is.
Actually, I think that most Christians think that it’s a great topic to have a spiritual conversation with someone.
But about 2 ½ years ago, while I was going through seminary, God showed me how wrong I was.
And God began to change the way that I view what the kingdom of God is and He also began to give me a passion for the kingdom of God and growing it here and now.
Ken Hemphill says, “/In the kingdom of God, I have found something far superior to personal fulfillment.
I have found the heart of God.
I have found my reason for being here.”/
And I think that it’s the same for me.
Over the last 5 years, since I’ve stepped out in obedience to God’s call – and a lot of that meant that I had to do a lot of changing inside of me, in what I thought, in what I did, and it also meant a lot of moving around – I have seen God at work not only in my life, but also in the world around me.
And from that, I now believe this:  that /the kingdom’s sheer immensity removes all limits on what God can do through us./
Think about what I just said, “/the kingdom’s sheer immensity removes all limits on what God can do through us./”
That means that /God’s kingdom has absolutely no boundaries.
That means that the kingdom of God is big and broad and beyond our wildest imaginations.
Its fullness can never be attained.
It resources are never depleted.
Its season is never over.
/When you are living in the kingdom of God, /you *never* get the feeling you’ve seen all this before./
That’s what I would like for each of you to experience, because knowing what truly ignites the heart of God is something we desperately need to understand, yet we have such a hard time defining it.
But I do have to warn you, that anytime we as believers open ourselves up to a new way of thinking that can lead us closer to Christ and deeper into our life’s purpose, the enemy always moves in to counteract our zeal for discovery, to weaken our hunger for change.
I’ve been attacked like that many times over the last few months that I have been preparing for this.
God wants you to come as you are to this exciting adventure.
Maybe you’re feeling too empty right now in your life to give God much to work with.
That’s OK.
God’s kingdom finds growth in the hearts of those who are tired and spent.
The Bible is filled with examples of men and women God met at their thirstiest – and led them to streams of living water.
Maybe you’re feeling disillusioned and frustrated by nothing happening.
Do you know what’s neat?
It’s never too late to begin /seeking afresh/ the kingdom of God.
And there could be many other reasons that the enemy can tell you, each matching your particular situation.
But I want you to know, that whatever your situation is right now, however you feel that your relationship with God is like right now – NOW is the time to ask the Lord what it would mean for you to be a kingdom person.
If you want to do that, ask God right now, “Lord, what does it mean for me to be a kingdom person?”
Say that with me.
And get ready for the adventure of a lifetime!
That’s why we’re taking this journey of Empowering Kingdom Growth, so that we can know what truly ignites the heart of God.
OPENING PRAYER
*I.
Why is the Kingdom of God Important?*
The kingdom is the theme of the New Testament.
The first sermon in the New Testament was from John the Baptist, /“Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near”/ (Matt.
3:2).
The beginning of the ministry of Jesus was characterized by preaching this message.
/“From then on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near!’” /(Matt.
4:17).
And it ended the same way.
/“After He had suffered, He also presented Himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during 40 days and speaking about the kingdom of God”/ (Acts 1:3).
Paul continued this emphasis, /“Then he entered the synagogue and spoke boldly over a peri­od of three months, engaging in discussion and trying to persuade them about the things related to the kingdom of God”/ (Acts 19:8).
James said, /“Listen, my dear brothers: Didn’t God choose the poor in this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that He has promised to those who love Him?”/ (James 2:5).
John spoke of it in the Gospel and concluded Revelation with this emphasis, /“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Messiah, and He will reign forever and ever!”/ (Rev.
11:15).
And again, /“The salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Messiah have now come, because the accuser of our brothers has been thrown out: the one who accuses them before our God day and night” /(Rev.
12:10).
This was the central theme of the ministry of the Lord Jesus.
/“ ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, because the kingdom of heaven is theirs’ ”/ (Matt.
5:3).
/“ ‘But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness’ ” /(Matt.
6:33).
You can find a lot more verses on how Jesus taught about the kingdom of God.
/“ ‘If I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you’ ” /(Matt.
12:28).
/“ ‘It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God’ ”/ (Matt.
19:24).
/“The secrets of the kingdom of heaven have been given for you to know, but it has not been given to them”/ (Matt.
13:11).
/ “ ‘I assure you: I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in a new way in the kingdom of God’ ”/ (Mark 14:25).
/“When the crowds tried to keep Jesus from going to other cities, He said to them, ‘I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose’ ”/ (Luke 4:43).
/“When He sent the 70 out, twice he told them to declare that “the kingdom of God has come near you”/ (Luke 10:9,11).
And it’s not just the New Testament.
The kingdom of God is also the central teaching of the Old Testament.
Zechariah 14:9 (HCSB) /On that day Yahweh will become king over all the earth—Yahweh alone, and His name alone./
Obadiah 1:21 (HCSB) /Saviors will ascend Mount Zion to rule over the hill country of Esau, but the kingdom will be the Lord’s./
Daniel 7:14 (HCSB)/ He was given authority to rule, and glory, and a kingdom; so that those of every people, nation, and language should serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will not be destroyed./
And there are many more verses.
As God established Israel as a nation and as He called them back to a relationship with Him, His concern was His kingdom.
So, what is the kingdom of God? That’s a good question, and that’s why we need to be:
*II.
Understanding the kingdom of God *
If we are subjects in the kingdom of God, then God is the ruler of our lives – He is our King and the kingdom of God is in the world now.
If we are to understand the kingdom of God, we must know what the kingdom of God is.
Here are a few statements that tell us what the kingdom of God is.
·       It has come and it is coming.
It is shown today in the life of the church and will be perfectly expressed and experienced in the second coming of Christ when He establishes His kingdom rule on the earth.
·       It describes obedience to the will of God in the individual and in the corporate body of the church.
·       It is a reality, when obedience to God’s Word and will, is a reality.
·       It is the opposite of selfishness, arrogance, and human manipulation.
·       It is seen when the revelation of God through His Word is obeyed and the presence of God through the Holy Spirit is realized.
·       There are no limits geographically, politically, culturally, or socially.
·       We are to be instruments God can use to extend His kingdom everywhere and all the time.
·       Simply put, a kingdom enterprise is where the power of God is evident, the presence of God is experienced, and the purposes of God are realized.
·       But the best thing about all of this is: The kingdom of God is God’s gift to us.
For us and everyone else, as self-sufficient adults to have to receive the most necessary thing in life as a gift is hum­bling.
Think about it, we would rather secure our own lives by building our own little kingdoms.
The things that are important to us, more than anything else are our careers, our homes, our families, our comfort.
Then we discover the thing we need most is the reign of God and that we can only sit back as helpless recipients while He gives it to us.
That’s why the Gospel Message is so offensive to people.
They don’t want to be put under the reign of a King.
They want to see life in their own ways and approach life on their own terms.
And if God won’t have things their way, then they don’t want any thing to do with a God like that.
But, at the doorstep of glory stands the pleading figure of all the ages, the Lord Jesus Christ.
In His hands is His kingdom, which He is handing out as a gift.
From CEOs to janitors, soldiers to civilians, PhDs to dropouts, black or white, East or West, dictators or democrats, He, and He alone, offers His kingdom as a gift.
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