A Different Kingdom
Matthew 6:24, 32-33
"For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you" (Matthew 6:24, 32-33).
Last week we talked about our mind as the battleground… where Satan would attack us, and how we could win the battle… build a wall of scripture around the mind.
On Sunday evening, we began to gather the stones for the wall, as we marked our bible with scriptures on COMPROMISE.
We’ll continue to gather more stones on Sunday evenings.
But in order for us to live the kind of victorious life that I have talked about for several weeks now… to be more than survivors… to be CONQUERORS… we have to prepare more than our minds.
We have to enter the Kingdom of God
You might say, “I am in the Kingdom of God… I have been saved, baptized and have a home in Heaven waiting for me when I die.”
Most people mistakenly believe the term, Kingdom of God refers to Heaven
or to being a Christian… a believer.
It is NEITHER, the kingdom of God, which Jesus came to inaugurate, is not a group of people in heaven or earth,
In fact… there are Christians who are not in the Kingdom of God…
If you don’t take my word for it, listen to Jesus…Matthew 7:21
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
OK Preacher, now you have me confused!
Well, I’ll confuse you even more…
There are even people in heaven, who were not in the Kingdom before they died.
HOW???
What is the kingdom of God?
It's one of those terms we like to use but seldom define. Part of our problem is that it is a tough thing to analyze.
Chuck Swindoll says, “Generally speaking, God's kingdom is a synonym for God's rule.”
The kingdom is the invisible realm where God rules as supreme authority.
Jesus described it best when He said, “your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Mt 6:10
The Kingdom of God is when God’s will is done here, in a human heart, as it is in heaven… perfectly!!!
That will never refer to an earthly kingdom. It does not even refer to a large group
It refers to individual hearts, individual souls who have submitted their freedom, their rights, their will to HIS
The Kingdom of God was illustrated by Jesus…in the Garden.
When He prayed, “Not my will but thine”
Others entered the Kingdom…
Stephen… the first Christian martyr
Peter… crucified upside-down
Mary… I am your hand-maiden
Joseph… “far be it from me to sin against God”
Why were these in the kingdom???
They had made that same trip Jesus did…
Through the valley of death… to self
Up the sheer cliff of submission
Down into the depths of suffering
Until their reached the place of complete emptying of self
The place where there was no longer any question of ownership
The place where God and His Will were the only choice
THERE…. RIGHT THERE… they entered the Kingdom of God
That was the place God had designed for them before creation
The place God made for them to live in the Garden
God created the place of perfect submission
The place where all was perfect because God was God and there was no other
But Man defiled that place… because he refused to be part of the Kingdom
Refused to submit… refused to bow down
He stood up and claimed HIS FREEDOM OF CHOICE
HIS POWER TO GO HIS OWN WAY
And the Kingdom was lost… peace was lost
Joy was lost
Intimacy was lost
And God has been working for thousands of years to restore the Kingdom
There were bright spots along the way… a few who chose to enter the Kingdom of God
But few… why? Too hard… no power
So God sent His Son Jesus… to issue in a new era… a new world where we were not powerless, defeated by sin and self
Jesus climbed on that cross and said… It is finished
The powerlessness and defeat
He died… grabbing the keys to death and hell
He was buried… and descended into Hell and unlocked the chains of the believers
He rose… bursting the chains of Hell… the power of Satan
He was taken up to heaven… sending the POWER… THE VICTORY
The Spirit of God
No longer did Satan hold the keys to the heart of man
No longer was man powerless over the schemes, the wiles of the Devil
Now we had a power to overcome
To overcome Satan
To overcome SIN
To overcome Self
THE POWER TO SUBMIT…THE POWER TO DIE TO SELF
THE POWER TO ENTER INTO THE KINGDOM OF GOD
What did Jesus preach most of the time? Sin? Salvation? Tithing? Missions? Doctrine?
THE KINGDOM OF GOD
He preached that MORE than anything else
Matthew 3:2
And saying, Repent (think differently; change your mind, regretting your sins and changing your conduct), for the kingdom of heaven is at hand
Matthew 4:17
From that time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."
Matthew 4:23
Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.
Matthew 5:3
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Almost every parable was an attempt to explain the Kingdom of God
Time does not allow me to go through the gospels and show each time Jesus preached and taught about the Kingdom of God
And what did Jesus tell His disciples to preach?
Matthew 10:7
As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near.'
Why was the Kingdom of God so important to Jesus?
Because YOU are so important to Jesus
He died on the cross for you…. How important do you think you are?
You are important and so He wants to love you and shower you with gifts, and happiness, and joy and peace, etc
And there is a place where He can do that
A place where the love of God is stronger and more real
A place where peace is abundant and joy is overflowing
A place where God is closer and more intimate
It is not a place where God loves you more
God loves you so much He could never love you more… or less
It is not a place where you are more saved
You are 100% saved
But it is a place where you are so much closer to Him that you can feel the love, the grace, the power, the presence of God more powerfully than any other place
That place is the Kingdom of God
The KoG… is within you when you bend your knee before Him, submit your whole self to Him, surrender your will to His, and say, “Not my will, but THINE.”
How do you become a citizen of the Kingdom of God?
Citizens of the Kingdom of God are those who make a conscious decision and commitment to live their lives in submission to the Will of God
You can be a citizen of the Kingdom of Great Britain, (physically live in England, and yet not believe in the British government, not support British laws, and even crusade against it.
The same for any other kingdom of this world
The kingdom of God, however, can only be entered voluntarily, and has not walls to keep you in or out. It has no police to enforce its will.
You become a citizen by bowing your knee, your heart, your mind, your will, your future, your hopes, your dreams, your family, your hearth, your wealth… EVERYTHING
TO GOD”S WILL
Quickly, our example today is a man named King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.
Nebuchadnezzar was the poster boy for Pride, self-centeredness and absolutely NO ROOM in his life for God. He strutted his stuff all over Babylon. His surroundings were impressive and his lifestyle was opulent.
But King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream of a great tree that reached to the sky and was visible from the ends of the earth. But a messenger from heaven commanded… ‘Cut down the tree and trim off its branches; strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the animals flee from under it and the birds from its branches. 15But let the stump and its roots, bound with iron and bronze, remain in the ground, in the grass of the field.
To make matters worse, he could find no one in his vast kingdom who could interpret that dream. No one, that is, except a Jewish prophet named Daniel. Daniel not only told him the reality of the dream, he also leveled the monarch with a prophecy concerning his future:
"It is you, 0 king; for you have become great and grown strong, and your majesty has become great and reached to the sky and your dominion to the end of the earth.
"This is the interpretation, 0 king, and this is the decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king: that you be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling place be with the beasts of the field, and you be given grass to eat like cattle and be drenched with the dew of heaven; and seven periods of time will pass over you, until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind, and bestows it on whomever He wishes.
"Therefore, 0 king, may my advice be pleasing to you: break away now from your sins by doing righteousness, and from your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor, in case there may be a prolonging of your prosperity" (Dan. 4:22, 24-25, 27). .
The prophet's counsel was tough but true. In effect, he told Nebuchadnezzar to release his grip on his possessions, to empty himself of all that stubborn self-will-in essence to recognize God's rightful authority over his life.
Do you think that proud king would do such a thing? Well, ultimately, yes, but not before he went nuts. Read the next episode of this true story very thoughtfully.
Twelve months later he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon. The king reflected and said, "Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?" While the word was in the king's mouth, a voice came from heaven, saying, "King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared: sovereignty has been removed from you, and you will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling place will be with the beasts of the field. You will be given grass to eat like cattle, and seven periods of time will pass over you, until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind, and bestows it on whomever He wishes." Immediately the word concerning Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled; and he was driven away from mankind and began eating grass like cattle, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until his hair had grown like eagles' feathers and his nails like birds' claws (Dan. 4:28-33).
Nebuchadnezzar remained in that tragic condition for an undetermined period of time. When he finally saw the light, the struggle ended. The once-proud king did a 180-degree turnaround.
"But at the end of that period I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever; For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, And His kingdom endures from generation to generation. And all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, But He does according to His will in the host of heaven And among the inhabitants of earth; And no one can ward off His hand Or say to Him, 'What hast Thou done?'
"At that time my reason returned to me. And my majesty and splendor were restored to me for the glory of my kingdom, and my counselors and my nobles began seeking me out; so I was reestablished in my sovereignty, and surpassing greatness was added to me. Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise, exalt, and honor the King of heaven, for all His works are true and His ways just, and He is able
to humble those who walk in pride" (Dan. 4:34-37).
Look again at those concluding words of Nebuchadnezzar's testimony. Pay close attention to his comments about God's dominion, God's kingdom, God's authority, God's works, God's ways. What a change! Here was a broken man who finally surrendered.
Nebuchadnezzar's entered the Kingdom of God
Nebuchadnezzar moved from His Will… to God’s will
From his glory… to God’s glory
He found the way to the Kingdom of God
You must take Submission Way, then come to the end of Self Drive, come to the intersection of Obedience and Surrender Roads, go straight ahead on Sold Out Highway
The trip is long… the way is hard, the companions are few
But the view of God is worth the trip and when you get there, you will never want to leave.
Let me leave you with 3 pictures to stick in your mind
Explain the circles
Which circle is your life?
LOST
SAVED
KINGDOM CITIZEN
Using circles that show Christ not in life, in life and on the throne of your life
email me for diagram rhpendleton57@gmail.com
Based loosely on 2nd chapter of Living Above The Level Of Mediocrity
