Advancing the Kingdom of God Series
“When is the Kingdom?”
(Various Scripture)
Last week we looked at and answered the question
What priority does the Kingdom of God have?
We said it has FIRST priority and Equal to gospel of Christ in preaching priority
Now that brings us to the next question on WHO WANTS TO BE MILLIONAIRE
2. When is the Kingdom?
a. When Christ returns
b. Now
c. When new heaven and new earth appear
All the above – probably…but I am going to go with (b) NOW
Go to Matt 12:28
It will certainly be here when Christ returns and certainly when new heaven and earth appears
But I believe it’s here right now…Why would I believe it’s here right now
Because Jesus said it was…neat thing is I don’t get to make this stuff up…I get to find out what the bible says
Here in this passage of Matt 12…
He has cast out a demon…it is a significant event…and Jewish leaders are saying He is doing this by the power of Satan
And Jesus is saying, Why would Satan cast out devils…A Kingdom can’t stand if it is divided against itself
Then look what Jesus says in verse 28
The Kingdom of God has come upon you…it’s already there…it’s present tense
When Jesus comes and He comes in authority and people begin to follow Him and become His disciples and the Spirit of God begins to move
The Kingdom of God has snuck up on em and it’s there
Jesus taught them to pray, THY KINGDOM COME THY WILL BE DONE, ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN
And it is starting to happen…Jesus is the King and people are coming and people are becoming disciples…
The word is being preached and being obeyed and Sprit is being manifested and demons are coming out and Kingdom of God is being established and Kingdom of God is there…
And I believe it is here but there is warfare going on between Kingdoms
Kingdom of Light is battling the Kingdom of darkness
In this world we are little pockets of light…doesn’t matter if it is 3 or 4 but God wants us to be little pockets of light from His Kingdom in the Kingdom of darkness
In a room somewhere, house, church, wherever, studying the word, playing the guitar, singing…that’s the Kingdom of God
And what they want to do is bring other in that Kingdom, they want the Kingdom the expand, they want the Kingdom to grow
3. Where is the Kingdom of God?
a. Heaven at throne of God
b. IN the Holy Spirit
c. In New Jerusalem
d. Where Christians Abide
Which one are you gonna go with?
Don’t want to be a heretic, I am going to say A, B, & D, and it will certainly be in the new Jerusalem
I believe the Kingdom is in heaven at the throne of God, Jesus said “Thy Kingdom come they will be done on earth as it is IN HEAVEN
But…where else does it exist?
Rom 14:17, Paul says Kingdom of God is not an external thing, not what you eat or drink, not even what you wear
But he said The Kingdom of God is in righteousness, peace and joy
How is your RPJ? It is an atmosphere, it’s and attitude of the heart, it’s in that which the Holy Spirit can create.
That’s why I love to worship and let God’s Holy Spirit bring us into His atmosphere…into the Kingdom atmosphere
The Kingdom of God is where the Spirit of God is…there is access to super natural help in the Kingdom of God
Where else is the Kingdom of God? It is where Christians abide…Look with me at Col 1:13
Did you know that when you became a Christian you got Permanent Change of Station orders?
When you became a Christian, you were supposed to transfer
Just like riding the old bus lines…ride one bus for a certain time, got off and got onto another bus with my transfer ticket
Bible says when I became a Christian, I was supposed to transfer
I was supposed to transfer from the old kingdom I had been living in to the new Kingdom
Look at Col 1:13
There is a Kingdom, and it’s not visible, it’s invisible, but it’s in the hearts of men and women and when they come together in like mindedness, it is there in even more power and more presence
Kingdom of God is not supposed to be a formal thing but an informal thing and full of informal things that happen
He says I have transferred you, not live any longer in the realm of this world but in the Kingdom of His beloved Son
Go with me to John 18:36
Jesus is talking to Pilate and Pilate is talking to Jesus and Pilate is concerned because he doesn’t want Jesus to be the focal point of a rebellion on his watch
Pilate is saying, I am the governor here and if we have a revolt, I am going to be in trouble with Rome
And Jesus senses that, and Jesus says I am not here to lead a revolt, not the kind your concerned about
I am going to lead a revolt but it one you can’t even see…I am going to lead a revolution in the heart’s of men
Here is what Jesus said in John 18:36, 37
Jesus is saying, I have a Kingdom but it’s not in this realm
God’s plan is that when people come into Jesus, they are in a different realm
CONCLUSION
I want to tell you today that the Kingdom of God is here, it’s present today and it is an invisible Kingdom
It’s a Kingdom where the Spirit of God is there…
It is where Christians gather together and abide…
What’s the next question then about the Kingdom
WHO HAS THE BEST CHANCE TO ENTER THE KINGDOM?
Is it children, religious people, prostitutes, the rich, we will look at that next week
If you know any prostitutes bring em. If you know any religious people, bring em. If know any rich people, bring em.
So What is the Kingdom?…A place where there is a King and He is Jesus
“You say correctly I am a King, for this reason I was born, for this reason I have come into this world”
He’s the King…and who are we…we are His subjects
Somehow we don’t get this deal…an independent minded America
I am my own man…I do my own thing…WELL GOOD
But don’t’ call yourself a Christian…Call yourself an American Christian
Don’t call yourself a real Christian
Because a real Christian says this, “He died for me that I should not henceforth live for myself, but I should live for Him Who died for me and rose again.”
A Real Christian isn’t his own boss
A real Christian has gotten out of the Kingdom of this world, where that is our philosophy…
Into the Kingdom of God where Jesus is the King
If all your doing is your plan…you may be a Christian…but you’re going to heaven smelling like smoke
And there is going to be tremendous disappointment
1 John tells us that we should live our lives here so that when He comes I will not be ashamed
What I want us to understand…they didn’t preach a “come down and sign a card Christianity”
They preached you come to Him helpless, hopeless, broken, undone, you cling to His work and…
He makes you acceptable to the Father…He makes you righteous
And that’s the only way…but when I come to Him I should change allegiances
No longer am I to serve the Kings of this world…no longer am I to serve the King of me
I am to serve King Jesus…and I am to follow the constitution of His Kingdom…which is the Word of God
