how does the message of the rule of God on earth and by that I mean the
establishment of the kingdom of God on earth fit in to the overall message of
the Bible how prominent should the kingdom of God and its establishment on
earth be in the message that God has given the church to proclaim is the
church's primary message Christ's offering of his life to free people from
the penalty of the law or is the primary message the proclamation of the kingdom
of God that can only be entered into through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ
there's a slight difference between the two both messages are very clear very
prominent in Scripture it's not really a question of either or it's question of
how they relate so how do these two threads in Scripture relate is there a
gospel about Christ that's out there kind of moving along this set of tracks
and then another gospel about the kingdom of God which is over here moving
along a different set of tracks or are we kind of looking at the same thing
should a message about the kingdom of God and here's a here's a big question
should a message about the kingdom of God
point a person towards Christ and what he accomplished by his death or should a
message about Christ and Christ crucified then point a person toward the
kingdom of God and again there's a difference between the way you approach
these two things and it makes a distinction in the way we deliver the
message now when I say message I'm using it in
place of the word gospel gospel is one of those words that and after hundreds
of years of use it seems to take on a meaning that's kind of unique to itself
what I'd like to do is kind of break that word down and said well what is
what is the content of this word what's this definition what does it real
saying so I'm using the word message a lot but are using it just to replace
gospel well gospel is the old anglo-saxon word
from Gooch spell you know the good word used to translate a Greek word a noun
Evangelion right so when you read the Greek and you see gospel the word
underneath it in the Greek language which was translated from is Evangelion
and even Evangelion that strict definition in the Greek language is the
content of what is preached or what is said if you will the content of what is
said and to the Greeks when they were using it of course it's their language
and they they had it first right it originally referred to a - a messenger a
messenger who brought news of victory or escape from danger
like the you know that guy who ran the marathon you know to get the good news
about the victory in battle he was an evangelical okay he was bringing this
message which was victory or escape from danger and by natural transference it
came to mean the content of the message that this messenger brought so it wasn't
just news that he was bringing but it was a certain type of news so the
Evangelion it was only an Evangelion if he was bringing good news right victory
or an escape from troubles or something you know that the king wanted to hear ya
want to hear about victory so not just news but good news
Evangelion then the church writers your Matthew
Mark Luke John Paul James and so forth took this word and used it to describe
the message proclaimed by Jesus Christ and by the church and of course this is
where we get words like evangelical or evangelism and so
from that Greek word Evangelion alright this is the word that you know I'm
getting at when I say the message the gospel okay
but the I think you all know that there are reasons why when you say gospel it
doesn't necessarily mean just a message a good message it means all kinds of
things to different people for some people that means a lot of singing and
dancing that's just the way it's been used now when scripture when we read
scripture other words are added to this word Evangelion to more fully describe
the content of the message okay the message of Christ the message of the
church Paul occasionally uses phrases like the gospel of peace or the gospel
of salvation or the gospel of grace these are not all different Gospels like
I've talked about you know we've got this you know train on this track or
this train on that track we don't have a lot of different Gospels a lot of
different messages these are different ways of saying the same thing the same
central thrust of Scripture the gospel you'll also find Paul uses a phrase the
gospel of God and there's an instance where the word added to Evangelion
simply tells us where this good news is coming from that one you'll find in
Romans 1 verse 1 but it doesn't mean that it's a different gospel and it
doesn't mean that we interpret that and say well it's news or information about
God more that's information is coming from God okay Paul uses the phrase
gospel of Christ more than the others he uses it about eight or nine times so the
gospel of Christ bit more frequently but most often Paul simply uses the word
gospel or Evangelion it just says the gospel something something the gospel
assuming that the people who are listening to him understand and know
what the content of the message is because when you say the gospel it
implies a whole body of knowledge and understanding so what is it that those
people understood when Paul says the gospel what were they
assuming you know if he's saying well you you all know what the gospel is and
he doesn't have to explain it every time he uses the word what were they thinking
is the gospel about Christ and by that I mean is the content of the church's
message meant to focus people on Christ crucified for your sins and Christ
resurrected so that you might live or is the church's Commission what the church
has been asked to do and told to do by God to carry forward the same message
that Jesus himself spoke is that the way that we should understand the gospel of
Christ turn with me to first Corinthians 2 let's read verses 1 and 2 Paul's
writing to this congregation here in Corinth and he says to them in first
Corinthians 2 verses 1 & 2 talking a little bit about himself so it was with
me Paul brothers and sisters when I came to you I did not come with eloquence or
human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God and by that what
Paul's saying is I'm not a I'm not a I'm not coming here to show off you know
that I'm some fancy speaker you know and I don't have fine robes and a lot of
jewelry because this is what people expect it back in those days he's saying
I'm not coming to you with all this worldly outward appearance of wisdom I'm
coming to you with something pure and true verse 2 for I resolved to know
nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified now this
is a scripture this is a scripture which is very easily and and it it is used as
a rationale for simplifying the message the message that the church should have
and should be taking to the world at large that the message is one that
directs everyone and everything back to the cross of Christ I read books believe
it or not yes I read books and I don't do as much of this now I used to read a
lot more books about how to give a decent sermon you know then they kind of
have guidelines and helpful hints and ideas some of its worthwhile and helpful
and some of its not in those books is often a reference to a guy named Charles
Spurgeon you may or may not have heard of him but he's a very very famous
preacher in his day he lived in England this will be back in the Victorian era
very very well-known back in his day but for people who are into learning more
about sermons and sermon giving and stuff like that he's big name and
there's a quote that often pops up in these books about how to give a good
sermon from Charles Spurgeon this is the quote Charles Spurgeon says I believe
that those sermons which are the fullest of Christ are the most likely to be
blessed to the conversion of the errors so let your sermons be full of Christ
from beginning to end crammed full of the gospel as for myself
brethren I cannot preach anything else but Christ and his cross for I know
nothing else and long ago like the Apostle Paul I determined not to know
anything else save Jesus Christ and him crucified people have often asked me
what is the secret of your success and he was a huge success in his day kind of
like a Joel Olsteen back in the Victorian era so what is the secret of
your success I always answer that I have no other
secret but this that I have preached the gospel and then the quote actually goes
on and has some examples where someone asks well what if the one of the verses
that you're reading don't say anything about Christ and the answer is well then
I find a way to put it in there and this is his recipe for a sermon which is very
much the rule of thumb out there for how to give a sermon that you know preaches
the gospel now if you would turn with me to first Corinthians 15 I'm gonna read
verses 1 through 8 this is Paul teaching to that same group of people it's the
same message you know what he previously said I've determined to know nothing but
Christ and him crucified in chapter 15 he starts this particular section saying
now brothers and sisters I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to
you which you received and on which you have taken your stand by this gospel you
are saved if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you otherwise you have
believed in vain for what I received I passed on to you as of first importance
but Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures that he was buried and
that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures and that he
appeared to Cephas that's another name for Peter and then to the twelve and
after that he appeared to more than 500 of the brothers and sisters at the same
time most of whom are still living though some have fallen asleep then he
appeared to James then to all the Apostles and at last he appeared to me
also as to one half normally born verses 1 through 8 verses 1 through 8 the ones
that we just read could and are used to prove that the message the the Gospel
message given to the church to proclaim is first and foremost about the death
and resurrection of Jesus Christ there's a lot of truth in that I mean we talk
about that a lot during the spring holidays so it's not
like you know we don't talk about that there is much truth in that assessment
to know about the death and resurrection of Christ but it also falls a little bit
short of presenting the complete message so I ask you to think what is the gospel
Paul goes on and let's just skip over a few verses here and drop down to verse
19 and if you would let's read together verses 19 through 26
he says if in if only for this life we have hope in Christ we are of all people
to be most pitied but Christ has indeed been raised from the dead the
firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep for since death came through a
man the resurrection of the Dead comes also through a man for as in Adam all
die so in Christ all will be made alive but each in turn now we're getting into
something different but each in turn Christ the firstfruits then when he
comes those who belong to him then the end will come when he hands over the
kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all Dominion Authority and
power Paul goes on we read verses 1 through 8
clearly pointing us towards the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ but
Paul goes on with the message and in verses 19 through 26 he takes us all the
way to the goal line because that's the gospel the goal line the kingdom of God
a place and a purpose for the resurrected believers within the kingdom
of God established on earth when Christ returns I think of it kind of as a race
you know you've got a circle and you've got a starting line in the finish line
the starting line is Christ crucified and Christ resurrected the goal line is
the kingdom of God why would I continue to point people
back to the starting line I want them to see the whole race to run the entire
race and so that's the distinction in preaching the gospel of the kingdom of
God now look I don't want anyone to get the
wrong idea about this I do not want to speak of the death and resurrection as
if they're no big deal that's not my point or purpose what I want to say is
that the death and resurrection are so important because of the essential place
and purpose that they hold in the overall message of the kingdom of God
that's that's what I'm driving at I hope I'm successful at it so to harken back
to that quote from Charles Spurgeon you know where he's basically saying all
roads lead to Christ all things in scripture point to the death and
resurrection of Christ I would say okay if all roads lead to Christ then Christ
leads to the kingdom of God I want to indulge in a personal example here when
I was young and foolish instead of you know just old and foolish but when I was
young and foolish the sacrifice of Christ didn't mean a lot to me it
basically meant nothing to me I was not raised a religious person in a very
religious family I didn't really care if anyone or anything forgave me for stuff
that I had done I didn't really care if you forgave me just wasn't on my radar
screen it wasn't part of my emotional map I didn't care if you or anyone else
didn't like me or stuff I did that was your problem care and so with that in
mind consider this what got me and I still remember it what got to me was the
message of the kingdom of God because that was a message that I could wrap my
mind around I looked at the world and I saw this and I saw
that's terrible this isn't working out you know there was a time when I thought
I had all the answers no we were all 18 once right and I saw all these problems
with the world and then I heard the message of the kingdom of God
and that made sense to me it was something that I could want to be a part
of but when I reached the point where I admitted that I wanted in and then I
wanted to be part of this there was something in the way something really
awful in the way something that was ugly and messed up and needed changing
that's something was me and if I wanted to have any part in this kingdom of God
I needed to be cleaned up and I needed that forgiveness and I could only get it
through Jesus Christ so that's how I came to the beginning of the race if you
will and I believe that this is what Jesus meant when he said I am the way I
am the way turn to John 10 The Good Shepherd and
his sheep these are the words of Christ himself here speaking to a group of
people he says very truly I tell you Pharisees anyone who does not enter the
sheepfold I suppose you know same idea anyone who does not enter the sheep and
by the gate but climbs in by some other way is a thief and a robber the one who
enters by the gate is the Shepherd of the sheep the gatekeeper opens the gate
for him and the sheep listen to his voice he calls his own sheep by name and
leads them out and when he has brought them out all on his own he goes ahead of
him and the Sheep follow him because they know his voice but they
will never follow a stranger in fact they will run away from him because they
do not recognize the strangers voice now Jesus used this figure of speech so that
that's an thing this is an analogy Jesus used this figure of speech but the
Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them therefore jesus said to
them well clarify for you Pharisees very truly I tell you I am the gate for the
Sheep all who have come before me are thieves and robbers but the sheep have
not listened to them again he says I am the gate whoever enters through me will
be saved they will come in and go out and find pasture the thief comes only to
steal and kill and destroy but I have come that they may have life and have it
to the full now if you think about the sheep and you think about the setting
and place yourself pretend you're a sheep for a moment you
know your sheep in their pen and there's this gate you see the gate do you have
any motivation to go through this gate not really because you know as a sheep
you know sheep aren't really that clever but I'm a clever sheep and I look at
this gate and I don't know what's beyond the gate do i there could be some guy
with sharp knives ready to turn me into lamb chops for all I know on the other
side of this gate right so I don't have a lot of motivation to go through the
gate I don't know what's on the other side of this gate why do I want to go
through the gate well I want to go through the gate because as a sheep I
know probably because the Shepherd's told me there's a pasture of delicious
delicious yummy grass out there and I want to go through the gate to get to
the grass right just you know that's how she would think wouldn't they I want to
go through the gate to get to this luscious pasture and feed on the grass
that's a sheep do that's how they think the Sheep want to go through the gate
because there is something good on the other side now we looked at Paul
and we've looked at a couple of verses which are very often used to say that
the gospel and the focus and everything in Scripture points to what I've called
the beginning of the race the sacrifice death and resurrection of Jesus Christ
Paul proclaimed the kingdom of God that was his message let's let's take a
moment and go through this together turn to Ephesians 3 I could just use the
example that we previously used but this is another one I thought was was worth
looking at Ephesians three verses four through six Paul says to this different
congregation here in Ephesus in reading this reading my words words Paul wrote
and reading this then you will be able to understand my insight into the
mystery of Christ which was not made known to people in other generations as
it has now been revealed by the spirit to God's holy apostles and prophets this
mystery is that through the gospel that Gentiles are heirs together with Israel
members together of one body and shares together in the promise of Christ Jesus
now if you were there during the discussion that we had you'd know this
that a mystery a mystery is not some strange thing where we light candles and
chant and hum and stuff like that a mystery simply is something formerly
not known but now revealed by God through the teaching of the church this
is what Paul is saying here that this mystery has been revealed to you through
me through Christ through me so it's something that was formerly not known
now revealed and the new understanding the new understanding that Paul and Paul
spent a lot a lot of time a lot of ink on this particular one great deal of
time it's been during his teaching is that the
inheritance has he sent the inheritance which is another way of seeing the
kingdom the inheritance does not come through Israel and covenant law have my
summary of Paul the inheritance this access to the kingdom the the glorious
promise that we look forward to does not come through becoming part of Israel and
covenant law entry into the promise of the kingdom it
says here heirs together with Israel members together one body together in
the promise in Jesus Christ that promise is available to all people through faith
in Jesus Christ of course that inheritance which we've looked at
actually we looked at it in the last sermon the inheritance is simply a role
and a position in the rule of God the kingdom of God established on earth at
Christ's return that's the inheritance Christ is the
gateway to the kingdom of God there was a guy named Luke who's responsible for
writing some of the scriptures and he traveled with Paul and he wrote about
what they went through and we have the book of Acts which is like a record of
the first probably three or four decades of the church he traveled extensively
with Paul knew very well and when Luke wanted to summarize the content of
Paul's teaching he said that Paul taught about the kingdom of God when we read
that scripture there in Ephesians that's that's teaching about the kingdom
teaching about the inheritance that is open now to who Jew and Gentile as Paul
often says that's Paul teaching about the kingdom of God and what's
interesting you know when Luke wants to summarize it and he wrote the book of
Acts and you might think well why didn't he just me why did why would you say
kingdom of God well I'm gonna give it gas paper was very expensive back
Staceyann they wanted them and they also needed to create a book that could last
through centuries in millennia and they had to keep things short and succinct
but when Luke wanted to come up with a pithy phrase short and sweet that
wrapped up and summed up the teaching of Paul what phrase did he use he preached
the kingdom of God
he doesn't sum up Paul's teaching as being well Paul knew nothing but Christ
crucified that's not what Luke says when he wants to summarize Paul he says he
taught about the kingdom of God clearly he taught about Christ crucified
that's a obvious from reading Paul's writings but Luke who knew him well when
he wanted to wrap it up in a nutshell he said he taught about the kingdom of God
that was the gospel turn to acts 14 verse 22 here's how Luke summarized
Paul's teaching at the beginning of Paul's many many travels so this would
be a summary of his teaching when he went to Galatia maybe the first of his
travels acts 14 verse 22 strengthening the disciples encouraging them to remain
true to the faith we must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of
God they said this is quoting from Paul and Barnabas on their first trip this is
a way that Luke summarized Paul's teaching at the beginning of his you
know as many missionary tours turn to acts 19 verse 8 this is a summary that
Paul are sorry that Luke uses here of Paul's teaching midway through his
ministry halfway let's say through his ministry he's in Ephesus this time and
when Luke wants to wrap it all up in a short and sweet statement he says Paul
in verse 8 Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months
arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God that's 28 verse 23
here's Luke's summary at the end of Paul's
career if you will of ministry and teaching acts 28 verse 23 pauls under
house-arrest under guard you know roman soldiers about to you
know be come before the highest court of the land acts 28 verse 23 they people
who wanted to hear from him they arranged to meet Paul on a certain day
and came in even larger numbers to the place where he was staying he witnessed
to them from morning till evening explaining about the kingdom of God and
from the law of Moses and the prophets he tried to persuade them about Jesus so
from beginning to end when Luke wanted to describe the teaching of Paul he said
he taught about the kingdom of God that was his focus that was his priority that
was how you would wrap up and summarize the teaching of Paul the kingdom of God
and I say this because there are times when at least personally I have heard
people criticize us because they say well we don't or haven't in the past
focused enough on Christ's crucifixion Christ as a person and I kind of take
umbrage at that I don't know maybe certain pastors didn't preach it enough
but I think it's always been very much part of the church's message the thing
that people don't like is that we focus on the kingdom of God we preach the
kingdom of God that's what the United Church of God does that's our message
when we say preach the gospel what are we talking about we preach the kingdom
of God now that means we also need to preach the central and essential role of
Christ's death and sacrifice in that but our focus which is towards the goal is
the kingdom of God Paul as we've taken a look proclaimed the kingdom of God
because Jesus told him to and Paul's very adamant about that and
if you look in the first two chapters of Galatians he goes through a lot of
detail saying look I didn't learn this at the feet of Peter or James or anybody
I learned this directly from Jesus Christ you know he had a very strange
experience you know at least to our eyes he was taught directly by Jesus Christ
of what did Jesus Christ tell him to preach about the kingdom of
God Paul taught it because Jesus Christ told him to that was what he received
directly from the resurrected and living Christ Jesus commissioned not only Paul
but he commissioned his followers to teach the kingdom of God to teach and
preach about the kingdom of God take a look at Luke verse 9 or say chapter 9
Luke chapter 9 verses 1 and 2 this is a brief record of the the first time that
Jesus sent out people ahead of them he was going throughout Galilee he was you
know he would drop in I suppose a places towns and villages and so forth and
you'll know from previous sermons but I think it was last year we went through
the book of Matthew and sometimes these crowds were ten thousand people so I
think that happened partly because he sent people out before him so here's an
example of him sending people out before him sends out the 12 the disciples
verses 1 and 2 when Jesus had called the twelve together he gave them power and
authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases and he sent them out to
proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick were in Luke take a look at
chapter 10 this is a record of like I guess the operation expands if you will
first time was twelve people sent out this time seventy people are sent out in
chapter 10 verse 1 after this the Lord appointed 72 others
and sent them to buy too ahead of him to every town and place he was about to go
now drop down to verse nine what does he
tell them what is he what does he tell him to say he says heal the sick who are
there and tell them the kingdom of God has come near to you so he sends these
people forth with a message which is the kingdom of God acts 8 from the very
beginning and this is an example from the very beginning days of the church
the church's message focused on the kingdom of God and us do you think I'm
purposefully leaving this out the church's message focused on the kingdom
of God and the central and essential role of Jesus in making it possible
because without that neither you nor I get out of the starting blocks act 8
verse 12 this is kind of a strange little section from Acts which is
talking about the church's interaction with Simon was a weird guy in verse 12
though it says but when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news or
the gospel of the kingdom of God so here's an example of the church teaching
in the very earliest days the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of
Jesus Christ this is the gospel this is the whole message this is what the
church has been commissioned to teach Jesus himself proclaimed the kingdom of
God taught the kingdom of God of course it's a huge subject has you know but
that's the that's the way God himself in Scripture has it recorded the teaching
and the content of the teaching is about the kingdom of God mark 1 verse 14
through 15
this message is kind of a setup for what I want to talk about in the next one or
two sermons which is the kingdom of God and we'll get into more of the
nitty-gritty on that but I do this just to sort of remind you that that's the
heart and core of the message and I think sometimes people get the
impression that oh well when we talk about the kingdom of God that's kind of
like extra stuff no it's not that's the heart and core of what we teach of what
we've been asked to teach that is the hope that we have that's the reason we
do what we do yes there's a bigger message I know anyway
mark 1 verses 14 and 15 after John that's John the Baptist was put in
prison Jesus went into Galilee proclaiming the good news of God
the time has come he said the kingdom of God has come near repent and believe
this good news Matthew 4 if you would Matthew 4 well Park in Matthew a little
bit you'll see why Matthew 4 verse 17 from that time on Jesus began to preach
repent for the kingdom of heaven has come near I don't think I had the
opportunity to give you the short message I did a like I took the sermon
at time in in Raleigh a couple months ago and I went through the kingdom of
heaven versus the kingdom of God I don't think I did that here did I no okay
when scriptures say kingdom of heaven just another way of saying the kingdom
of God the kingdom of heaven is one of those phrases that some people take and
they think well when you're preaching about the kingdom of God you really mean
heaven it was not the case at all which should have been laid out fairly
extensively last time last sermon when I went through the whole idea of what is
the reward of the saved is it heaven or is it the kingdom of God and
that phrase there the kingdom of heaven it's it there's some interesting
background to that which I you know I clearly spend a whole 20 minutes on it
but I'll just give you a brief summary of it Matthew wrote to a primarily
Jewish audience and this is the way that was more acceptable for them because
they didn't like to hear the name God pronounced in public you've all heard
about stuff like that so it was very much easier ways more digestible pill if
you will for them to hear the kingdom of heaven plus it was something they were
used to which you will see when we go into the next sermon the kingdom of
heaven is a concept that is spelled out in the Book of Daniel very clearly
the kingdom of heaven is Christ returning to Earth and so forth so the
kingdom of heaven to the Jewish audience meant the kingdom of God you could also
interpret the phrase saying instead of saying the kingdom which is in heaven
which is the bad interpretation right interpretation is it's the kingdom that
comes from heaven all right Kingdom that comes to or from heaven
anyway so that's the short summary of my 20 minute long explanation on it so
Jesus began to preach repent for the kingdom of heaven has come near
so why repent he's we've got two quotes from Jesus teaching about the kingdom
and he says repent why repent why should a person pen why
because the kingdom of God is going to come soon it's kind of like the sheep
with the pen thing there's a reason to do what you do then in verse 23 it says
that Jesus went throughout Galilee teaching in their synagogues proclaiming
the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness among the
people the phrase kingdom of God or kingdom of heaven in Matthew although
Matthew uses both kingdom of God and kingdom of heaven in a way that's very
clear they're the same thing but that phrase is mentioned 53 times in the
documentation that we have of Jesus teaching the Gospels
what do we have from Matthew Mark Luke and John it's the content of the message
that Jesus taught for example consider how many times he
would say a parable and started off by saying well the kingdom of God is like
such and such kingdom of God is like a measure of
wheat or the kingdom of God is like a field of treasure buried in it he taught
about the kingdom of God all the time all the time Jesus most famous teaching
to people who know scripture and people who don't
has to be the Sermon on the Mount I would think right the Sermon on the
Mount the Sermon on the Mount is it teaching about the kingdom let's take a
look at it we're in Matthew you're and take a look at chapter five verses three
through five begins with some introductory comments which are about
the kingdom so we're gonna start this whole teaching Sermon on the Mount with
an introduction of the kingdom blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven blessed are those who mourn for they
will be comforted and blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth
another great scripture for pinning down the kingdom of heaven is this
inheritance which is the rule of God on earth and a role the purpose for you and
for me in that she starts off the Sermon on the Mount with this basic clear
concept the kingdom of God the rest everything just kind of flows out from
that let's see verse 10 blessed are those who are persecuted because of
righteousness for theirs is the kingdom of heaven so he starts off this sermon
on the mount saying okay the kingdom is what it's all about in the Sermon on the
Mount he teaches about the keeping of the commandments okay and consider this
the words that Jesus has to say about the commandments are fit in the
framework of the kingdom of God and the place that they will hold in
kingdom of God take a look at verses 19 and 20 this is where Jesus says don't
think that I've come to do away with the law your messed up idea what I'm
teaching it that's what you walk away with in verse 19 he says therefore
anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others
accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven but whoever practices
and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven so
what he's saying is if you don't you don't teach the commandments you're
nobody in the kingdom you're nothing I mean I I interpret that
to mean you're not even there but you're nothing you're considered nobody in the
kingdom of God if you don't have these as a center piece of everything you
teach that's what he's laying out in front of people these are the laws of
the kingdom and he's expanding honor of course in the Sermon on the Mount but
this is what life in the kingdom is all about this was built on he's kind of
saying begin now start now to be to obey and follow and to teach others the laws
of the kingdom that's the teaching of the commandments that's what the
commandments are all about start now get a head start get a leg up start learning
the laws of the kingdom today let's see more in the great Sermon on the Mount
chapter 6 verse 10 this is the teaching on prayer we looked at last time gonna
use the same verse again in prayer he says set your hope and your heart on
what on the kingdom of God when God's will is done where on earth
as it is in heaven so let's see we're in verse 10 I'll back
up our Father in heaven Hallowed be your name your kingdom come oh come come to
earth your will be done on earth as it is in heaven
that's a prayer for the kingdom so here again we have this teaching on prayer
fit in the framework of the kingdom of God and the proclamation of the kingdom
of God Matthew 7 verse 21 more from the Sermon on the Mount here it says not
everyone who says to me Lord Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven but only the
one who does the will of my father so he also says begin now to do the will of
God which is the will that will be enforced in the kingdom when it is done
on earth as it is in heaven so start now so this teaching of the kingdom of God
well it didn't begin with Jesus either it's actually more of the same let's
back up to right before Jesus appeared us on the scene Matthew 3 verse 2 John
the Baptist what did John the Baptist who John the Baptist was commissioned to
go before Jesus Christ announced this guy's coming right so he was a witness
to what was coming what God was doing verse 2 of Matthew 3 the preaching of
John and the wilderness says repent for the kingdom of heaven has come near so
John the Baptist who went ahead of Jesus taught about the kingdom there are lots
of places I could go we'll take a look at some Old Testament or older writings
Psalm 145 for example there's plenty of them I'm just gonna pluck a few
highlights which are particularly good and actually we'll go through more of
them next time when we look more in-depth at the actual teaching of the
kingdom Psalm 145 verses 10 through 13 here's David
writing a song they would have sung this in Israel in the temple psalm 145 verses
10 through 13 all your works praise you Lord your faithful people extol you they
tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might so that all people
may know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of your kingdom your
kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom and your Dominion endures through all
generations so David he wrote songs about the kingdom they weren't all about
the kingdom but he wrote songs about the kingdom Daniel 7 Daniel has a lot of
teaching about the kingdom of God which we will go through next time but a
highlight from Daniel would be chapter 7 verse 27 speaking here of that time of
the end when Christ returns in verse 27 Daniel records it's a prophetic
recording then the sovereignty the power and greatness of all the kingdoms under
heaven will be handed over to the holy people of the Most High his kingdom will
be an everlasting Kingdom and all the rulers will worship and obey Him this is
God's rule God's Authority God's power God's government if you will come to
earth and all the rulers of the earth will worship and obey there are other
prophecies that point toward the kingdom I'm not going to go through them some
good ones that jumped out at me were from Isaiah if you like to read later
you could make note of Isaiah 40 verse 9 52 verse 7 through 10 and Isaiah 61
verse 1 and these are just a few highlights that came like boom boom boom
because there's lots of it turn to Galatians 3 verse 8 and we're going back
to the newer writings because they provide a nice summary of some things
that are very long narrative lines in in Genesis for example talking about
Abraham in Galatians 3 verse eight we learn of Abraham here it says
scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith so this new
opening of an entrance to the kingdom would be open by faith and announced the
gospel in advance to Abraham all nations will be blessed through you so those who
rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham the man of faith so Abraham
heard the message and when we read about what abraham believed what do you look
forward to it's the kingdom of god turn to Hebrews 11 verse 9 and 10 talking
about the faith system if you will Abraham by faith he made his home in the
promised land so this being in what we know is Israel nowadays like a stranger
in a foreign country and he lived in tents as did Isaac and Jacob were heirs
with him of the same promise for he was looking forward to the city with
foundations whose architect and builder is God what did Abraham believe what was
the faith that he what was he looking forward to the kingdom of God here
represented by a city with foundations whose architect and builder is God makes
me think of a last chapters of Revelation we look at the holy city all
that that's something slightly different let's see we're in Hebrews 11 how about
verse 14 not just Abraham but all these people
who are being itemized here in in the chapter and he was 11 called the faith
chapter speaking of all these people like Abraham looking forward to this
city it says looking forward to this country
people who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their
own they're looking for something different they're looking something for
something beyond what's available right here right now a nation and a country
that they could call their own if they had been thinking of the country they
had left they would have have had opportunity to return Abraham
could have gone back to Mesopotamia and so forth instead they were longing for a
better country a heavenly one therefore God is not ashamed to be called their
God for he has prepared a city for them that inheritance that government and
rule of God that comes to earth with a place and a position and a purpose for
you Hebrews were in Hebrews turn to chapter 4 verse 2 all Israel speaking of
all Israel says here for we the church also have had the good news proclaimed
to us just as they did so all Israel were taught along the lines of the
kingdom of God the message that God has for Humanity the message of Scripture is
consistent it is the message and the teaching of the kingdom of God Israel
had that good message the gospel delivered to them but they didn't grasp
what it truly meant they didn't get it they thought that the nation of Israel
with their king and the palace and you know the army and all that they thought
this is the kingdom of God that's what they thought this is the kingdom of God
and they also thought that the Messiah's appearance would be to reestablish
Israel they were overrun they lost the kingdom to the Babylonians the Assyrians
and they thought the Messiah was going to come and put it all back on track and
that would be the kingdom of God that's why the Apostles were always saying to
Christ well when's it happening and of course they also said and and you know
what do I get no we're a world my seat B and you know why be second or third or
fourth in charge and stuff like that they were very focused on this idea that
the nation of Israel was the kingdom of God they were wrong and as I mentioned
earlier Paul spent a lot of his time in the Gospels and to me this is a very
important kind of way of dealing with Paul he spent a lot of time teaching
people that this was not so this is not how it works because people had this
idea that well you know to get into the kingdom of God yet speak part of Israel
no no no and you know Paul would teach about that over and over and over again
which were clarifications on the kingdom right that the entry to the kingdom of
God was not through Israel or becoming a Jew and accepting Jewish traditions it
was through Jesus Christ that was the thrust of what he was getting at and
when when Luke summarizes Paul's teaching is about the kingdom of God
that's what he was getting at then of course to know Jesus the Messiah the one
that the Jews were looking forward to did come and he revealed understanding
of the kingdom not previously understood mysteries and yet everything he taught
was built upon the foundation that was planned and set forth from the very
beginning Messiah did not come to reestablish the kingdom at that time he
came to lay the essential groundwork for the kingdom that would be established at
a later appointed time that groundwork was of course his death his sacrifice
for your sin and his resurrection for your life he gave his life as this
sacrifice so that you might have a place and a purpose in the promised kingdom of
God and he is coming again at the appointed time to bring the rule and the
power and the authority of God to earth as it is in heaven that's the plan
that's the goal that's the gospel the message of the kingdom is not some
secondary thing or some out-there thing that the United Church of God has to
make ourselves different from everybody else it's not why we teach the kingdom
of God we teach above the kingdom of God because that's the gospel that's what
we've been commissioned to do that is our purpose
the message of the kingdom is the message God has always had for Humanity
it is the message of Scripture it is the message that the Messiah taught and
added to and expanded upon and explained and it is the message that he gave Paul
to proclaim and it is the message of the Church of God
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