Kingdom of God Bristow

Kingdom of God

VC F Bristow 1/6/2008

1Thess 4:13 – 5:11

I.           Introduction:

a.       The KOG Was the main message of Jesus

                                                              i.      He started with the Kingdom message

Mk 1:14

“The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!”

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                                                            ii.      He finished with the Kingdom message

Acts 1:3b

He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.

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                                                          iii.      If we don’t understand what Jesus meant by the KOG we will miss a huge part of his teaching

                                                         iv.      Understanding what Jesus meant by the KOG can be confusing God’s rule and reign.

                                                           v.      The KOG is one of the defining differences of the Vineyard

b.       A random sample of Kingdom verses will give us this result

                                                              i.      The Kingdom is a present reality, (Mt 12:28)

                                                            ii.      A future blessing (1 Corinthians 15:50)

                                                          iii.      An inner spiritual redemptive blessing (Romans 14:17)

                                                         iv.      It can only be experienced by a new birth (John 3:3)

                                                           v.      The Kingdom is a realm into which people enter now (Matthew 21:31)

                                                         vi.       It is a realm into which we will enter in the future (Matthew 8:11).

                                                       vii.      It must be received in the present (Mark 10:15).

c.       Understanding the KOG answers many of our questions

                                                              i.      What about sickness and disease

                                                            ii.      What about war and terrorism

                                                          iii.      What about death

                                                         iv.      What about natural disasters

                                                           v.      Our very hope for this life and the next life is rooted in the KOG

d.      The OT prophets looked forward to the day when the KOG will be ushered in and we will live together in peace

Isa 2:4

The Lord will mediate between nations

and will settle international disputes.

They will hammer their swords into plowshares

and their spears into pruning hooks.

Nation will no longer fight against nation,

nor train for war anymore.

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e.       Not only will the problems of human society be solved but our physical environment will be changed

Isa 11:6

 In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together;

the leopard will lie down with the baby goat.

The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion,

and a little child will lead them all.

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f.        All creation will be delivered from the bondage of decay and corruption

Isa 65:17

"Look! I am creating new heavens and a new earth,

and no one will even think about the old ones anymore.

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II.     The mystery of the Kingdom

a.       Why is the Kingdom so hard to see?

                                                              i.      Based on the word of the prophets the people of Israel expected the kingdom to come in power and transform the existing order. God's kingdom would change the political order and replace all existing human rule and authority. This was the mystery of the Kingdom and why the people in the NT missed the arrival of the Messiah. The Kingdom came in Christ but it came with persuasion not power. People could accept or reject it. Rome was not overthrown.

                                                            ii.      Jesus brought the Kingdom of heaven to earth.

                                                          iii.      He extended an invitation to enter the Kingdom through repentance

                                                         iv.      There was no force involved.

b.      The presentation of Jesus

                                                              i.      He taught the people how to enter the KOG, by doing his will

Matthew 7:21

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

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                                                            ii.      His works proved the KOG had come upon them in power

Mt 12:28

“But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.”

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                                                          iii.      He taught parables to show the truth of the Kingdom to his disciples

Mt. 13-11

He replied, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them

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                                                         iv.      The very prayer Jesus taught us was a kingdom prayer

Mt. 6:10

your kingdom come,

your will be done

on earth as it is in heaven.

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                                                           v.      Christ promised that he would return to earth in glory to bring the blessing of the Kingdom to those for whom it was prepared

Mt 25:31, 34

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory

 34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.

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c.       Characteristics of the Kingdom

                                                              i.      Parable of the soils Mt 13

1.     Four kinds of soil

2.     Along the path

3.     Rocky ground

4.     Thorns

5.     Good soil

                                                            ii.      In v. 1 Jesus explains this story in terms of the kingdom (See b. iii)

                                                          iii.      The point of the story is that the Kingdom

1.     It won’t have great success

2.     It can be rejected

3.     Many don’t want it.

4.     This does not describe a kingdom coming in power.

                                                         iv.      Mustard seed and leaven 31-33

1.     Mustard seed is tiny and insignificant

a.      The KOG is here although most people don’t see it.

b.     Don’t let its apparent insignificance deceive you

c.     This story is about the insignificance of the Kingdom that will one day fill the earth.

2.      The leaven

a.      The dough swallows up the leaven so that one is unaware of its presence

b.     Paul writes in

 1Cor 1:25

 For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.

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c.     The Kingdom has come in one who is meek and lowly

d.     He doesn’t own anything, no place to lay his head

e.      He is destined to die with only a handful of followers

f.       The disciples borrow a grave to bury Him

g.     Roman historians barely mention him

h.     The KOG though despised by the world will one day fill the earth

3.     Hidden treasure and the pearl

a.      This kingdom that is tiny and insignificant is of inestimable value

b.     The value of the kingdom transcends every other possession you have

c.     The Kingdom is costly you could lose

                                                                                                                                      i.      Your earthly possessions

                                                                                                                                    ii.      Friends, family even your own life

III.    So what?

a.       Why is their evil in the world?

                                                              i.      Why does God let innocent people get hurt?

                                                             ii.      Why do some people get healed and not others?

                                                            iii.      Why do good people suffer?

b.      There is coming a day when ever wrong will be made right

                                                              i.      When all evil will be vanquished

                                                            ii.      There will be no more pain, or sickness, tears or sorrow

c.       That day hasn’t come yet.

                                                              i.      The leaven is still working its way through the dough

                                                            ii.      The mustard tree is still growing

                                                          iii.      There are millions of Christian in China

                                                         iv.      The church is seeing unprecedented growth in Africa, South America

d.      What do we do? Acts 1

                                                              i.      When Jesus left this earth He gave instructions to his disciples

                                                            ii.      They wanted to know when the kingdom was going to come

                                                          iii.      When are you coming back Jesus

                                                         iv.      Don’t worry about it, only my Father knows

                                                           v.      Here is what you are to do

Acts 1:8

But when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power and will tell people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

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