What comes to your mind when I say the kingdom of heaven or the kingdom of God (since they are used interchangeably in the gospels)? [Allow the congregation to give their input]. Perhaps pearly gates, gold streets, the throne room of God himself? Most of our thoughts of the kingdom revolve around heaven where God is now, and one day where we hope to be. Or our thoughts run to the future kingdom God will establish here on earth.
If I were to ask that same question of the average Jew in Jesus’ day, they would probably tell me how God would one day reign on earth through His Messiah (King). They would talk about how the Messiah would reign over all the kingdoms of the earth with justice and mercy. They would also tell me how he would eliminate evil and wickedness, and so that everyone could live in peace. It would be God’s perfect kingdom on earth forever.
Isn’t it interesting how we as Christians tend to focus on the kingdom of God as the place where God lives, and where we hope to dwell one day. Or perhaps we think of an ideal future society which doesn’t yet exist. While for the Jew it was an earthly kingdom ruled by the Messiah. Which view is right?
The kingdom of God was a topic Jesus liked to talk about a lot. He had good news to share about God’s kingdom because it was coming soon so he believed everyone ought to be ready. His message was, “repent, turn from your sin, for the kingdom of God is near (at hand) (Mt. 4:17; Mk 1:15).” In order to be a part of this kingdom, whenever it arrived, whatever it looked like, it required people to turn from their sin and turn to God.
When did or will the kingdom arrive and where is it or will it appear?
The Kingdom Arrived in Jesus
As Christians we tend to think of the kingdom of God to be either in heaven or when Jesus comes back to earth, but that is not entirely the way Jesus saw it. When Jesus was accused by the religious leaders of casting out demons by the power of Satan, Jesus responded by saying, a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand, why would Satan drive out Satan. It just doesn’t make sense. Then he added “But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you (Matt 12:28, NIV).”
Which of course we know Jesus did drive out demons by the Spirit of God, which means the kingdom of God had already come upon them. God’s kingdom was right under their noses, but they couldn’t see it. God’s plan for bringing the earth under his control had been set in motion in Jesus. We need to remember that there is a spiritual battle going on here on earth between God and Satan. Although it’s not really much of a battle since God has all the power, but nevertheless God has allowed Satan to have some control. He is called the Prince of this world.
When Jesus came along he was like the wedge into Satan’s kingdom. Jesus was the beachhead victory. In military campaigns they would put their effort into gaining a beachhead and once that has been obtained they could take enemy lines. Jesus made that wedge into the enemy lines by coming to earth, teaching about God’s kingdom, healing people, casting out demons, and then he went on to win the war with his death and resurrection. What I am saying is that God’s kingdom has already been established here on earth.
At this you might be thinking, “Uh, Pastor Matt, I don’t know what world you live in, but the world I live in doesn’t appear to be God’s kingdom yet. There is still evil, hatred, violence, injustice, and little compassion, mercy, and justice, and that is just in my family. What gives?”
It is true, Jesus has already won the victory, but Satan doesn’t give up that easy. He’s still going to try his hardest to cause as much strife as he can and he’s going to take as many people down with him as possible. Add on to that human rebellion and refusal to repent and turn from their sin and you’ve got a mess like what we see today. But what I’m here to tell you is that God is at work in our world, he is establishing his kingdom. It’s easy to get a defeated attitude. To throw up our hands in the air and say the world’s gone to hell and a hand-basket, why bother. But God is working behind the scenes if we are willing to look. God’s kingdom is here and continues to grow even though it seems like the world is getting worse. That is why Jesus had us pray in the Lord’s prayer, “may your kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven.” We are praying for God to continue growing his kingdom on earth so that it reflects heaven. God’s kingdom is advancing but it won’t be complete until Jesus returns to set everything right.
We might ask, where is God’s Kingdom? How come I can’t see it? Is it Israel like it was in the OT of the Bible, is it the US as certain cult groups like to affirm?
The Kingdom begins within us
Luke 17:20 Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, 21 nor will people say, ’Here it is,’ or ’There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you."
Jesus said the kingdom of God is within you. Our problem today is that we, like the Jews in Jesus’ day, are expecting God to make a huge splash with power and authority. We look for signs and wonders as evidence for God’s kingdom coming. But Jesus said the kingdom has already begun right now and it doesn’t come with careful observation so you can say here it is or there it is. God works quietly within the hearts of people who repent and turn to the Lord. The reign of God begins in you…and you…and you, and in every person who repents and turns to God, trusting in Jesus. The kingdom of God is not a geographic location, it is the work of God in the heart and soul of people.
Is God getting rid of evil and wickedness? Is he establishing justice, mercy, and compassion? Yes, but for some reason at this time in history God is choosing to establish his kingdom in and through individual people rather than just take his kingdom by force like most of us wish he would do. He is working quietly in the hearts of people so they reflect God’s kingdom first. Then once we allow God to change our life and turn our life over to him, so he is king or the leader of our life, then God uses us to expand his kingdom by telling others about Jesus.
God’s kingdom begins with you and me. Let’s say this together, “God’s kingdom is within me.”
In order to illustrate what we need to do about this kingdom that God wants to build within us. Jesus told a story, called a parable. Today’s parable was the parable of the sower or the parable of the soils as I like to call it. A farmer went to sow seed some fell among the path and the birds ate it up. Some fell among the rocky soil where it grew quickly but soon wilted under the scorching sun because it didn’t have any roots. Then there was the seed which fell among the soil filled with thorns which grew and choked the plant out. Finally, a seed fell among good fertile soil which grew and bore fruit 100, 60, 30 thirty times what was sown.
Jesus explained the parable by saying God is sowing seeds. Jesus said that seed is the good news that his kingdom is here that there is this new life we can be a part of through Jesus Christ. God is trying to sow the kingdom within us. God might speak to us through a message on Sunday morning, a song we hear on the radio station, a friend or neighbor, through the innocent comment of a child, . In some way God gets a message through to us. But not everyone receives the good news in the same way, we are all like the different types of soil.
I believe the question Jesus was posing for us was, what kind of soil are we? What kind of soil does the good news of the kingdom encounter? In other words, what do we do when God speaks to our heart and invites us to turn our lives over to him and allow him to be our King, our Lord, our CEO, our leader? It’s up to us to determine which kind of soil we want to be by how we respond to God?
Hard Packed Soil
Are we hard packed soil like a foot path? Most of us have walked on foot paths perhaps on a trail through the woods. Nothing grows, not even weeds, a seed sown on that kind of soil just sits there on top until it either gets crushed under foot when someone walks by or it is snatched up by a bird, never to be planted and take root. This hard packed soil is the person who rejects the message God gives and turns their back on him. They choose not to repent of their sin, not to turn to Jesus, and therefore not to be a part of God’s kingdom now or by their rejection forever. They choose to be of the world, and live according to their own rules.
Rocky Soil
Are we like the rocky soil? We hear the good news of God and at first receive it with joy but don’t really allow the roots of God’s Word to go very deep. Perhaps when you were younger you may have watched Billy Graham on TV, or responded to an invitation at church and asked Jesus into your heart to forgive you of your sin. Perhaps you found joy and peace in that moment, perhaps God made some changes in your life, but then you never did anything after that. You never found a church to worship and grow in, a fellowship of other believers to help them in their faith journey. You never cracked open a Bible to get nourishment from God’s word. You never made any adjustments in your lifestyle. In other words your roots never went very deep. You never spent time getting to know this Lord you allowed into your heart. Your spiritual life in Jesus is very shallow.
Jesus said the problem with having shallow roots is that when the storms of life or the scorching droughts of life come (and they will come), financial trouble, loss of a job, death of a loved one, divorce that person wilts under the struggle, because they were not rooted deeply in God. In another month, this September, we are going to explore what it means to be deeply rooted in God.
Thorny Soil
Are we like the soil which is filled with thorns and weeds? The thorns represent the cares of this world. We are more concerned over material things than we are about the one who provides our needs. A dominate part of our life, our thoughts, is concerned about money, we worry a lot. I see this as a life which tries to straddle both worlds. They want to live in God’s kingdom but also want to be part of the world, the devil’s kingdom. They want to keep living a worldly life, they still enjoy getting drunk, using their money to buy anything they fancy, their language has never cleaned up (particularly using the Lord’s name in vain), they are generally living a lifestyle not pleasing to God, and yet somehow they expect to enjoy all the benefits and blessings of being a part of God’s kingdom. When they are with church people they act like church people but when they are with their old buddies they act like their old buddies and behave like them too. Unfortunately the thorns of this world and the seed of the gospel can’t coexist for long. As Jesus said the thorns eventually grow and choke out God’s word and the lifestyle he wants us to live. The thorns choke out God’s fruit, his blessings, because we can’t live a double life.
Last year I learned a hard lesson about weeds (these are my thorns). Many of you know I grow a garden every year. After my garden had been going for a while, I thought “what damage could weeds really do.” And so I got lazy and quit pulling weeds. After a while my garden was infested with weeds up to my waist, and I couldn’t even find my plants because they were getting crowded out. The fruit of my garden was small. The cucumbers looked like a pool ball. My garden had its worst year ever.
God’s kingdom will not be fully realized in us when we choose the first three types of soil.
Fruitful Soil
All of us know people who are incredibly fruitful in their walk with Christ, they just radiate Christ. They ooze love, peace, joy, faithfulness, self-control and not falling into sin are plain to everyone. They didn’t get that way by accident. God’s fruitfulness grew in them because they chose to be the kind of soil God could plant his Word in. Jesus said the last kind of soil would experience fruit 100, 60, and 30 times what was sown. In other words they would see extraordinary blessings in their life because they were willing to receive Jesus, grow deeper, and live for him. These people experience the fruit of love, joy, peace, and all the blessings God wants to give.
We get to choose what kind of soil we will be based on what we do with God’s message. Do we receive it with openness or reject it? Does it cause us to dig deeper, do we seek to know this God who loves us more? Are we more concerned with the things of this world more than we are of God? Things like pleasure, money, entertainment, sports, ? Or do we go deeper, do we trust God and allow him to bear kingdom fruit in our life? It’s your choice.
