The King and His Kingdom
THE KING AND HIS KINGDOM
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and Your dominion endures throughout all generations.
- Psalms 145:13
After Jesus was baptized by John and had overcome the temptations of the devil in the wilderness, he came to Galilee with a sermon which He preached the rest of His life. The message was that the Kingdom of God was now not only in heaven, but that Jesus came to earth to make The Kingdom of God available to us here and now. Jesus’ description of this kingdom was hard for many of the people of His day to understand and accept, as it is for many of us today. Here are a few attributes of His kingdom gleaned from the scriptures:
1. We should seek it above all the earthly stuff we need, but when we seek it, the earthly stuff we need will come too. “But seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.” (Luke 12:31)
2. God loves for us to discover the Kingdom. “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to giveyou the kingdom.” (Luke 12:32)
3. When we find it, there is fullness of joy, and it becomes our most treasured possession. “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” (Matt. 13:44)
4. You must have accepted the free gift of salvation, be born again, to even see it. “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3)
5. The kingdom is found when we realize we are nothing without Jesus. We are paupers, sinners, worthy ofnothing without Him. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.” (Matt. 5:3)
6. When we live in the Kingdom our lives reflect joy, and peace, and righteousness. “For the Kingdom of God isnot meat or drink; but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Rom. 14:17)
We know that the Jewish people expected God to send a king that would defeat all the enemies of Israel and establish an earthly kingdom. Jesus was not that guy. Jesus told them that His Kingdom was not of this world. It was not brick and stone and castles and horses and armies. His was a spiritual kingdom. It was in Heaven and it was about to come to earth. God the Father and Jesus the Son had determined, before the foundation of the world, to purchase access to that kingdom for us. This kingdom comes to those who open the door of their lives to King Jesus, accept the free gift of the ring and the robe offered by their Heavenly Father, and allow Him to rule and reign in their lives as Lord.
So, Jesus started preaching about the kingdom of heaven, and compared His kingdom to many different situations and scenarios to help us get a glimpse of what it is like. The original picture of the Kingdom was painted by God for us as He delivered His people out of Egypt (the kingdom of darkness, bondage, slavery), through the miraculous waters of the Red Sea (salvation) through the wilderness (trials, temptation, disobedience, rebellion, and suffering) and into the promised land (the kingdom). The Israelites wandered around in circles in the wilderness because they grumbled and complained and wouldn’t listen to God. Does that sound like anybody you know? Then when God took them to the very edge of the promised land and let them look in, there was only a handful that believed God would really lead them and protect them and let them enjoy that wonderful place. So guess what? God let them all keep wandering around in the desert until they died out and the next generation came along. There are a lot of us today talking about the kingdom, singing about the kingdom, studying about the kingdom, but we are standing on the edge unwilling to believe God really wants to love us, lead us, and enjoy us and empower us to conquer obstacles in our paths so we can love and enjoy each other. There are many many saved, born again Christians that are just like the Israelites and are grumbling and complaining and whining in the wilderness, letting the hurts, pain, trials or disappointments of life, the worries of the world, or their own pride or unforgiveness rob them of the life and joy and fullness that God has made available to all believers.
Jesus followed the pattern of The Kingdom when He went to John the Baptist for baptism (a picture of salvation) and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted and tested. Then, the Bible says, He returned from the wilderness “in the power of the Spirit” (the Kingdom of God) and headed to Galilee to begin His earthly ministry. The scripture says, from that time, Jesus began to preach and proclaim, “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is near.”
When Jesus talked about the Kingdom of God, many times He did so by way of a parable, like the prodigal son we talked about in Chapter 2 or the treasure in the field mentioned earlier. He also frequently compared God’s spiritual kingdom which is in our hearts to an earthly kingdom with a ruling king or to a large landowner with an estate, wealth, children, and servants. These parables and the types and shadows gleaned from historical accounts in the Old Testament, together, can give us an understanding of this wonderful spiritual kingdom that God wants us to enjoy with Him.
So we can define this Kingdom as the RULE and REIGN of God and His Word in our lives. It is a voluntary submission of our hearts and surrendering of our lives to Jesus, the King of the Kingdom. And we are told in Romans 14:17 that submission to this King produces in our lives “righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.” It is really a great place to live. And, guess what, we are not a servant in this Kingdom. We are a child of the King. We get to talk with the King. We are loved by the King. We are protected by the King. We enjoy life with the King.
But there is a vowed enemy to The Kingdom of God and it makes sense that the devil would constantly attack our right to be one of the King’s kids. He whispers to you and me, “God likes other people but not you.” “You have screwed up too many times and He has given up on you.” “God wants you to be a slave to His rules and regulations but certainly not a favored child.” Whenever you hear those words come into your mind, throw them out. They are lies from the evil one, trying to keep you from experiencing the joy of the Kingdom of God. The truth is that God loves you as a precious child, He has forgiven you fully and remembers your sin no more, and He longs to share His life with you. When those lies come to me, I immediately picture that wonderful Father, my heavenly Father, standing in the road with his arms wide open for me, the prodigal son. And I can feel the peace and joy of the Holy Spirit flow once again into my heart.
Matt 12:28 But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.
Mark 1:15 The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand.
Mark 4:11 To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God.
Mark 9:47 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.
It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire.
Mark 10:15 Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.
Mark 10:24 How hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God!