The Kingdom Of God

The Kingdom of God

August 26, 2001

I remember noticing, while reading the Bible one day back in college, that Jesus was also preaching about the Kingdom of God. I had been a believer for about a year and had never heard it mentioned in any sermon or at any conference… and had no idea what it meant. Yet, the Gospels say that Jesus preached the message of the Kingdom wherever He went. So, it must have been pretty important!

- while thumbing thru a book on missions, I came across an article written by George Eldon Ladd on the Kingdom of God.

- I gobbled it up… it helped me understand so much, from the way I was to minister to others to a better understanding of God’s heart for us and the nations.

- I realized the message of the KoG wasn’t simply a component of our faith, it was the very foundation of our faith.

In Matthew 9:35-36 we read that…

35Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

Just from verse 35 we can see that Jesus not only had a distinct message, the good news of the Kingdom, but also that He had a distinct ministry, which illustrated that message, in healing every disease and sickness.

- Jesus had a message and a ministry.

- everything Jesus did supported everything Jesus said.

- What He said was “The KoG is at hand”.

o that the rule and reign of God had come into this world in fierce opposition to the ruler of this world and that He was the Anointed One set apart to destroy the ultimate power of this world, Satan, sin, death.

- What He did said “The KoG is at hand”

o Walk on water, calm the storms, multiplied food, setting the oppressed free, healing the sick…

Jesus’ proclamation of the Kingdom, that God had come to restore His Kingdom rule and reign was like a sledge hammer swung at the face of Satan, who had, from the time of the fall, set up a counterfeit kingdom, with humankind as its subject.

- The battle line was drawn right from the beginning. Right after Jesus was baptized by John in the River Jordon, He was sent out into the desert to do battle with Satan.

- After 40 days without food and water, Jesus had made His point… that He means business.

- Then, we read in the next verse, Matthew 1:14 that Jesus went into Galilee, again proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The KoG is at hand. Repent and believe the good news! That was the proclamation.

o Now look at verse 21-28 for the demonstration…

21They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. 22The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had

authority, not as the teachers of the law.

23Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, 24"What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are-the Holy One of God!" 25"Be quiet!" said Jesus sternly. "Come out of him!" 26The evil spirit shook the man

violently and came out of him with a shriek.

27The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, "What is this? A new teaching-and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him."

- You see, before this time, you could walk through Capernaum or Galilee and see people possessed by evil Spirit. But no one could help them.

- When that demon said, “I know who you are—the Holy One of God” he was the only one who understood it right. The he says, “Have you come to destroy us?” Believe me, that demon knew the answer.

- Jesus came as God’s champion to, as 1 Jn 3:8 says, “to destroy the works of the enemy.”

In all that Jesus said and did He was making an outright declaration of war against the Kingdom of darkness, which was established immediately after the fall. Let’s take a look.

From just the first few chapters of the Bible we can see three things…

- a good and wonderful creation

- the entrance of a superhuman rebellious being

- mankind gets caught up in this rebellion

- LETS LOOK AT THESE MORE CLOSELY…

1. In Gen 1 & 2 we see God creating the heavens and earth. The word used in Gen 2 for “create” is “bara”, which speaks of God’s power to create upon a mere thought.