The Kingdom of God is at Hand
Notes
Transcript
26 And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground.
27 He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how.
28 The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.
29 But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
30 And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it?
31 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth,
32 yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”
David Livingstone is famous explorer who set out to identify the sources of the Nile River. He proposed a source to the south and west of the Nile which was later found to be inaccurate. He failed in the quest of his career.
But he said this of the effort...
"The Nile sources", he told a friend, "are valuable only as a means of opening my mouth with power among men. It is this power [with] which I hope to remedy an immense evil."
He sought this achievement with the express purposed to speak of the Gospel and advocate for the abolitionist movement
Over 30 historical sites, schools and hospitals dedicated to him throughout Africa
At another 30 sites throughout the rest of the world
I will place no value on anything I have or possess unless it is in relationship to the kingdom of God.
David Livingstone
He succeeded.
Today, we’re talking about the Kingdom of God. It cannot be measured in the way men measure kingdoms. The Gospel of Mark records this clearly in the words of Jesus.
THE GOSPEL OF JESUS: The Kingdom of God is at hand
THE GOSPEL OF JESUS: The Kingdom of God is at hand
15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
General Kingdom Principles
General Kingdom Principles
Kingdoms require unity
24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
Kingdom’s require focused unified effort to accomplish their goals
For a business to succeed, it must have a clear vision for how it will serve customers and earn money enough money from those customers in order to pay it’s employees. Employees have to be so commited to this work that they may even be willing to let opinions go for the sake of the vision of the company.
For a marriage to thrive, you must be aligned on most everything. Where do we want to live, how many kids do we hope to have, who balances the budget, how much should we spend on housing and eating out, where should we go to church…disunity on any of these things either requires sacrifice, submission or compromise. Otherwise, marital life is inoperable.
For a country to continue to exist and not fail, we don’t have to agree, but we do have to make room for diversity of opinions and find ways to live peaceably under the an agreement to disagree. If we are unsuccessful in this and begin to attempt to defend our opinions with violence, then our country will surely fail.
The Kingdom of man, serves the desires of men
21 But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee.
22 For when Herodias’s daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.”
23 And he vowed to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom.”
24 And she went out and said to her mother, “For what should I ask?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.”
Herod was willing to give up half of his kingdom because of the pleasure he found in his lustful heart
…and I will testify I was once under the grip of the same powerful fleshly desire. But praise be to God through the power of our Lord Jesus I have been freed from that for decades now. So, I say to you now…the desires of your flesh will demand all of your life and if you chase them you no matter how much you gain in life you will be found in much regret and lack in the end.
Principles of the Kingdom of God
Principles of the Kingdom of God
The Kingdom of God is received by few...
11 And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables,
The Kingdom of God is shared with all...
26 And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground.
27 He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how.
28 The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.
29 But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
God indiscriminately inviting the masses unto Himself
The Kingdom of God provides for all
30 And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it?
31 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth,
32 yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”
Mustard seed...
a small seed that grows into provision for many...
THE KINGDOM OF GOD WILL “COME WITH POWER”
1 And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.”
Entering the Kingdom of God
Entering the Kingdom of God
47 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell,
Enter by laying aside the sin which clings so closely
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
14 But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.
15 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”
Enter like a child
23 And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!”
24 And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God!
25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”
Enter by laying aside every weight
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
The Kingdom of God is not the Kingdom of Man
The Kingdom of God is not the Kingdom of Man
10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!”
SCRIBE ON THE RIGHT TRACK TO THE KINGDOM...
28 And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?”
29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’
31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
32 And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him.
33 And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
34 And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.
The Kingdom of God is not about what we can give, but rather the heart of why we give...
GO WITH THIS:
GO WITH THIS:
KINGDOM OF MAN DESTINED FOR CONFLICT
8 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains.
The entrance fee into the kingdom of God is nothing; the annual subscription is all we possess.
Henry Drummond
NEW WINE OF THE KINGDOM
25 Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
The Kingdom of God has come in power for those who trust in Jesus…GOSPEL
LOOKING FOR THE KINGDOM...
43 Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.
SLOW down and see the Kingdom in your midst
Before we can pray, ‘Thy kingdom come’, we must be willing to pray, ‘My kingdom go’.
Alan Redpath
9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread,
12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Jesus carried the presence of the Kingdom of God with Him
Healing
Authority
Forgiveness/Mercy
...
Through the presence of Holy Spirit, we are now ambassadors of the Kingdom of God
16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer.
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;
19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
We are being changed from gratifying our flesh to gratifying the Spirit
Our motives are changing
Our desires are changing
Our goals are changing