Nebuchadnezzar
built a kingdom through warfare and it was taken from him by warfare! When
it comes to mighty kingdoms we remember the names and the places
of history: there was Alexander the Great and the Greeks, all
the Caesars and the Roman Empire, Napoleon and the French, the mighty
British Empire, China, Hitler, Japan, and the United States. Some
of these kingdoms have come and gone … some continue until today,
but the kingdom of God will outlast them all!
As
a review of where we've been: Jesus
told the disciples to pray …
Matt
6:10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it
is in heaven.
Entering
the kingdom is done the same way Peter entered … we
enter the kingdom by faith! After Peter had made
a confession of faith in Jesus as the Son of God, Jesus said to him
…
Matt
16:19 "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven;
The
keys to the kingdom are available to you and me! The
first key is humility
(repentance). Matt
5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven.
The
second key is
obedience to the Word of God.
Matt
5:19 "… whoever keeps and teaches (these commandments) he
shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
The
third key is Godly character.
Matt
6:33 "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness (moral
character), and all these things will be added to you.
What
is it to live in the kingdom?
We
are to live
with spiritual understanding!
Matt
13:19
19 "When
anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it,
the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his
heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road.
We
are to live in a relationship of love.
Matt
13:24-30 (Matt 13:47 fish)
30
'Allow (the wheat and the weeds) to grow together until the harvest;
and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, "First
gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but
gather the wheat into my barn."
We
are to grow into mature Christians.
Matt
13:31-33
31
The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took
and sowed in his field;
32
and this is smaller than all other seeds, but when it is full grown,
it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that
the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.
Praying "Thy
Kingdom come" is significant!
Continuing
with our role in the kingdom we look to Matthew 13 and verse 33:
Matt
13:33
33
He spoke another parable to them, "The kingdom of heaven is
like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour
until it was all leavened."
The
activity of the kingdom of God involves our understanding, our
love, and our maturity, and we are also called to be a positive
influence in our world!
We
would agree that our culture has been dreadfully influenced by Satan
and sin, but the question for us is … "what should we do about
it?" Should we join in with where the world
is living and enjoy being a part of society instead of being different
from it? Should we ignore the moral decay of our society
and wait for them to "grow up" someday … and then they
will see we were right and they will join us in the kingdom? I
don't think so!
Perhaps
we should build tall walls of separation and make sure we
are protected from the decay of our society … and then we can just
hide ourselves in church and no one will bother us because they won't
know we are here! No!
Jesus
said we are to be salt … and light … and leaven! The salt flavors,
the light shows the way, and the leaven touches every part of society. All
of these say the same thing! We are here as an influence in
our world … this is the work of the Kingdom!
I
spoke with the leadership team last Sunday morning about these same
issues. As a church we have ministered in the hospital, in the nursing
homes, in the prisons, and we have helped feed the poor … but have
we done enough? Have we done all that Jesus has asked of us? Have
we affected our community in a positive way?
One
of our elders, Ron Duhs, suggested that we speak with our city fathers
and ask how we could be useful in meeting needs in our community. We
haven't asked as yet, but what if we did, would you be ready to help
with the greater needs of our community? There is the obvious
need of foster parenting, there is a need for rehabilitation of those
trapped by alcoholism and drugs, there is a need in ministering to
those who are alone … those who are invalid … those who are dying. Is
there an area where you believe Jesus is wanting you to be involved?
This
is what the Kingdom of heaven is about … influencing our world in
a positive way. When Jesus returns and He divides the "sheep
from the goats" I wonder what His criteria will be for choosing
the sheep. In the twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew Jesus said
to one group of people, "When I was hungry you fed me, when
I was naked you clothed me, when I was in prison you visited me." And
they replied, "Jesus, when did we see you hungry, or naked,
or in prison?" And He said … "When you did it for
the least of one of these, you did it unto me, therefore, enter into
the joy of the Lord."
The
other group … the goats … ignored the poor, the hungry, and the imprisoned
and Jesus said, "Depart from me." I don't want
to be classified with that group! Do you?
The
Kingdom of heave is like leaven which is folded into the bread. We
are to effect every part of our world in a positive manner and let
the light of Jesus shine in their hearts!
The
activity of the kingdom of God involves our understanding, our
love, our maturity, our witness, and our commitment!
Matt
13:44-49
44 "The
kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field (or fine
pearls), which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it
he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
The
Kingdom of Heaven is of such value that it is worthy of a commitment
of all of our resources in order to obtain it … possess it … and
to live in it! The Kingdom of heaven is of more value than
all of our riches combined!
It
has always been puzzling to me that some Christians seem to see such
little value in their citizenship in God's Kingdom: an occasional
trip to church, a casual look at the Scripture, a dollar or two in
the offering, a life that gives no testimony to God's grace, and
a relationship with the King that is almost non-existent. That
isn't the picture that Jesus draws for us in this passage of Scripture!
Great
men and women can all be found involved in great causes. The
scientist and doctors who discovered such things as aspirin, penicillin,
the polio vaccine, heart procedures, and cancer medications … all
committed great amounts of time and energy to their noble work. Now
Jesus has offered the Kingdom to EVERY ONE! We have the opportunity
of doing something great that is eternal … if we are willing to commit
ourselves to the Kingdom!
It
has been great Christians who have changed our world. A recent
movie was produced called "Amazing Grace" and it told the
life story of William Wilberforce … an English politician … a Christian
… who took on the government of England over the issue of slavery. He
began his crusade when he was in his twenties, and three days before
he died, after serving in Parliament for 45 years, the law was passed
which outlawed slavery in England.
The
kingdom is a treasure worth giving all of your time, your wealth,
your energy, and your strength. The kingdom is not a church
… it's a life!
The
activity of the kingdom of God involves our understanding, our
love, our maturity, our witness, our commitment, and our joy!
Matt
13:52
"Therefore
every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven
is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things
new and old."
Living
in the kingdom is like living in God's treasure house! Living
in the Kingdom is living in the wealth of God's satisfaction and
joy. There isn't anything like it! The return you get
for having understanding, love, maturity, witness, and commitment
… is joy.
The
joy of living in the kingdom is more satisfying than having all you
can eat at the Thanksgiving table. The joy of the kingdom is
greater than all the riches of the world!
The
dissatisfied soul has no room to complain about the kingdom. Go
back and see if you understand the good seed which God has sown into
your life, see if you are willing to let weedy people grow next to
you, see if you are willing to grow up and let the birds find refuge
in your life, see if you are involved in an active witness to the
world around you, and take a look to see if you are sold out to the
kingdom! I guarantee you that if you fit all of these criteria
… you will be like the rich man … taking new and old treasures out
of his treasure box and enjoying them.
This
is what the Kingdom is like. And Jesus said for us to pray, "Thy
Kingdom come, thy will be done …" |
