2020 has been a year of turmoil in our nation and the world. We have gone through the nastiest election cycle I can remember. It seems we are more divided as a nation now than we’ve been since perhaps the civil war. 2021 doesn’t offer much hope for a more unified nation or world. Jesus told us this would happen:
“And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom” (Matthew 24:6-70).
We live in a world obsessed with building kingdoms – areas where those of similar ideology can practice life as they believe best. Of course these various kingdoms are always clashing because they seek to expand their area of control and impose their beliefs on others. We see this in the realm of politics, business, religion, racial issues, sports and gender identity.
As Bible believing people we also want to see a kingdom established – the Kingdom of Heaven. How many of us would like to see the Kingdom of God established in our communities? Consider a few questions:
How many of us would be willing to help establish this kingdom?
How would we go about it? What would we need to do to establish the kingdom of God?
Probably the most important question is how would people recognize this kingdom if we did establish it?
When trying to define the kingdom of God we often fall for the temptation to define it in terms of location, policies, environment and leadership. Just listen to the way we talk. When location, policies, environment and leadership line up in ways we like, we say the situation is heavenly. You’ve heard it - “O, to have a job, a home or a church like that would be heavenly.” On the other hand, if the situation changes to something contrary to what we like we often say, “Our neighborhood was heavenly until the new people moved into the house across the street”, or “Our church was a foretaste of heaven until the new pastor came”, “Life was wonderful till cancer hit, now it’s hell.”
Can a change of location, policies, environment or leadership really diminish the kingdom of heaven? Which of the following scenarios would most likely reflect the kingdom of heaven for you? Having a good paying job as administrator of a prison, and enjoying a quiet evening with your family in your comfortable home; or being falsely accused, unjustly beaten, and thrown into the worst cell in the prison? (Think Paul and Silas at Philippi).
The kingdom of God is found wherever the rule of God is embraced – regardless of external circumstances. In our example the kingdom of God was found in the inner dungeon where Paul and Silas were singing praises to God despite their unjust and painful treatment. Because of the rule of God in their lives, the kingdom of heaven was expanded to the jailor’s home later that night when he and his family embraced the rule of God in their lives.
There’s a lot of talk about the kingdom of heaven in churches today, but sadly much of it is not based on a biblical foundation. I fear the church of today is like the church in Christ’s day – they wanted a religious kingdom, but they didn’t want the king. They said of Jesus, “We will not have this man reign over us” (Luke 19:14). We are willing to embrace some of His ideas but we want to modify them to fit our ideas and culture.
Friends, if we are going to experience the kingdom of heaven we must understand what the kingdom is all about. Wouldn’t you agree the best way to do this is to study what the King has said about His kingdom? Jesus had a lot to say about the kingdom of heaven when He walked this earth. The phrase “the kingdom of heaven” or “the kingdom of God” is used 102 times in the New Testament – 87 of those in the four gospels.
What we can learn about the kingdom of heaven from the lips of Jesus? Let’s begin with Matthew 3:1-2: “In those days John the Baptists came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, ‘Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”
John’s message stirred God’s chosen people; they had long been waiting for the kingdom of heaven to be established. But John was very clear in his message regarding the kingdom. It did not involve the Romans being driven out, Christians holding all government positions, and their nation being the leading power in the world. It involved confession of sin, cleansing and a changed life.
When John saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism with the smug assurance that they were already part of the kingdom of heaven, he met them with a scathing rebuke:
“Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire” (Matthew 3:7-10).
When Jesus came to be baptized “John tried to prevent Him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to Me? But Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (verses 14-15).
In chapter 4 the Holy Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness “to be tempted by the devil.” There under the most difficult circumstances satan pressed Jesus to build His kingdom on the 3 core principles that define the kingdoms of this world: “The lust of the flesh” (take matters into your own hands since God isn’t providing what you need), “the lust of the eyes” (offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world in exchange for His worship), and “the pride of life” (get your ministry started with a spectacular jump off the temple. People will be impressed and will follow you). But Jesus resisted the devil’s temptations and sent him away with the words “it is written…” When the rule of God is established in our hearts the Word of God will be expressed in our talk and in our life.
Jesus went into the wilderness filled with the Spirit, He came out in the power of the Spirit (Luke 4:1, 14). From that time Jesus went forth with a message: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17).
Repent
Notice, participation in the kingdom is conditional upon repentance. If we want to be a part of God’s kingdom we must repent. To repent means to have to have a change of mind about something, to turn away from one thing and embrace another.
We need a change of mind about 2 basic things: First, we need a change of mind about Jesus. Too often we think of Jesus as a kind, loving, gentle grandfatherly type of Being who doesn’t always mean what He says; Who understands that as humans we can’t do all He asks us to do; Who is just as willing to save us in our sins as from our sins as long as we are doing the best we can. Friends, that is not the Jesus of the Bible. The Jesus of the Bible does love us and is not willing that any should perish; but He cannot excuse our continued disobedience when He has provided everything we need to be “more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:37). The Jesus of the Bible says: “He who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:38).
Second, we need a change of mind about is sin: from an attitude that loves, indulges and excuses sin to one that sorrows over it, renounces it, and turns away from it. This is not something we can do on our own. How many have tried to make yourself sorrow over sin? I can tell you, it doesn’t work. Repentance is a gift God will give to all who want it. Acts 5:31 tells us “God exalted (Jesus) to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.” If you ask God to give you a change of heart about sin – He will do it. He will turn your affections from sin to your Savior.
The call to repentance is motivated by the nearness of the kingdom of God. “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). When will the kingdom of heaven be here? When we accept the rule of the King in our life. We are not in the earth made new yet, but the kingdom of God has been established, satan has been defeated.
The Sermon on the Mount, (Matthew 5-7), is seen by many as Jesus’ inaugural address in which He outlines the principles of the kingdom He came to establish. He begins by identifying the character of those who make up His kingdom: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (5:3). The Greek word translated “blessed” conveys the idea of being fully satisfied. You will notice this satisfaction is not the result of favorable circumstances in one’s life, it comes from being under the rule of God.
The poor in spirit describes one who recognizes their complete moral destitution. The apostle Paul came to this point when he said,
“For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find… For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice…O wretched man that I am!” (Romans 7:18-19, 24).
This is in stark contrast with those who think they are “rich, increased with goods and have need of nothing” (Revelation 3:17). As God’s messenger to His last day church said: “He who feels whole, who thinks that he is reasonably good, and is contented with his condition, does not seek to become a partaker of the grace and righteousness of Christ. Pride feels no need. Those who are poor in spirit recognize their utter helplessness and cry out for help.” Thoughts from the Mount of Blessings, p. 7
“Blessed are those who mourn (over their sinfulness and what it has done to Jesus), for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:4). They see that it is sin, their sin, which killed the Lord of glory. They see that while they have been loved with an everlasting love, their life has been a continual scene of ingratitude and rebellion. They realize they have forsaken their best Friend and abused heaven's most precious gift. They are heartbroken over their sins, but they will be comforted. (Ibid, p. 9-10).
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (verse 5). Meekness is the attitude of spirit in which we accept all God’s dealings with us as good and therefore do not dispute or resist His working in our lives. This is not an attitude we come by naturally. Patience and gentleness under wrong are not characteristics prized by the world or by many in the church. Human nature is ever struggling for expression, ready for contest; we have our rights and we should not allow others to trample on them. Meekness is yielding our rights to God. As we learn of Christ we become emptied of self, of pride, of love of supremacy. We will have no ambition to crowd and elbow ourselves into notice; but we feel that our highest place is at the feet of our Savior. Then “the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7). Friends, we cannot be fighting God, or what He allows in our life, and be fully satisfied with Him at the same time.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled” (verse 6). Righteousness is holiness, being in conformity to the law of God: “For all Your commandments are righteousness” (Psalm 119:172). Those who are hungry and thirsty for righteousness will no longer wish to remain in sin or play around with it. They will no longer “spend money for what is not bread, and (their) wages for what does not satisfy” as Isaiah 55:2 says. Righteousness is not obtained through our efforts. We receive it as we open the door of our heart to Jesus and invite Him to come in and take control.
The kingdom of heaven is at hand. I urge each one of us to take some serious time with the Lord on a daily basis, asking Him to do doing a thorough inventory of our life and clean out whatever is not from Him. God will answer that prayer by using 2 things: a powerful cleansing agent and a stiff scrubby. Ephesians 5:26-27 tells us what the cleansing agent is:
“He (will) sanctify and cleanse (us) with the washing of water by the word (the Bible), that He might present (us) to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that (we) should be holy and without blemish.”
We cannot ignore God’s word and be cleansed of sin at the same time. If we are going to take time to be holy we must take time to be in God’s Word. The scrubby God uses to apply the soap of His word is found in James 1:2-3:
“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”
Let us embrace the rule of God in our lives, rejoicing in His Word and the trials, “being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in (us) will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6)
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Dick Bullock is the pastor of 3 churches in “the Thumb” of Michigan.