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Do I Really Belong To The Kingdom Of God? Series
Contributed by Paul Clemente on Oct 31, 2016 (message contributor)
Summary: What does it mean that the Kingdom of God is near?
Please open your Bibles to the Gospel of Mark ….
We have noted that the main topic of the gospel is the Good News of Jesus Christ who is God but came to earth as a man to save people from their sins; this is summarized in Mark 1, verse 1. We have then also noted 5 facts which support this main truth about Jesus Christ just in the first 13 verses alone of this Gospel by Mark!
God had been proclaiming the coming of Messiah Jesus Christ since the beginning of time throughout the Old Testament! God called John the Baptist to prepare the way for Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ followed God’s plan, He never disobeyed God! Jesus Christ Himself is God, one of the Persons in the Trinity! And while on earth, Jesus Christ who is God was fully human exposed to every temptation and difficulties which He overcame!
God has given us truths! God has given us facts! No one has an excuse not to believe in Jesus Christ as God and Only Savior! And let us never forget that no one can be saved from the eternal judgment of sin, along with all the demons, without believing in Jesus Christ!
Do you and I truly believe in Jesus Christ as our Only God and Savior?
Let’s continue to learn from Mark 1:14-22; read along with me….
Again, let us remember per Mark 1:1 that Jesus Christ is the good news. And so, from v14-15, we can call it Fact #6: Jesus Himself proclaimed that repenting from sin and believing in Him will bring people to the Kingdom of God.
And what can we note from v16-20? Fact #7: Jesus had immediate followers, ordinary people, in proclaiming the good news of salvation!
And v21-22 gives us Fact #8: Jesus had authority over God’s Word because He is God!
How do we apply these truths to our lives today?
First of all, do we want to be in the Kingdom of God? Here’s a simple question: Who’s in the Kingdom of God?
This question is like “What color is George Washington’s white horse?”
Of course it is God who is in the Kingdom of God. And so, the question is really, “Do we want to be with God?” But before we answer this question, let us answer these 2 basic questions:
Who is God??
What’s the opposite of God??
And so, 1. Jesus is saying, there is a choice where and with whom people want to be for eternity!!
If I die today, am I confident that I will be with God? Or will I be somewhere else? The choice to repent from sins and believe in Jesus Christ is right now! ….. and let me add always!
And if I’m already a Believer of Jesus Christ; 2. As Christians:
a. Am I continuing to repent from sins? (i.e. saying no to sin and yes to Jesus daily!)
b. Am I following Jesus Christ and seizing opportunities to proclaim the Gospel?
What does this look like on a practical basis??
Of course, If I am really following Jesus, I should be learning from Jesus through the Bible everyday! How is my daily reading of God’s Word going?