The Kingdom of God is Near Matthew 4:17, 23-25 June , 2!!

"ntrodu#tion K: "f $ou remem%er &ast wee' that " ta&'ed a%out the Memoria& (a$ )etreat and how we e*+&ored the Ta%erna#&e that God had to&d Moses to ha,e the +eo+&e of "srae& %ui&d.e &oo'ed at how the$ worshi+ed God using the Ta%erna#&e and then the Tem+&e that was %ui&t in Jerusa&em- " then ta&'ed a%out how #hur#hes were %ui&t, and sometimes using the ar#hite#ture of the #hur#h to demonstrate something a%out worshi++ing God/or e*am+&e, man$ #hur#hes were %ui&t in the sha+e of a #ross- .hat " didn0t mention " didn0t mention was that our #hur#h is not- "f $ou &oo' at the sha+e of the room we are in 1 it does not ha,e the #ross sha+e as $ou see here in this diagram- 2ne reason for that is that our #hur#h has fo#used more on the .ord 1 the 3i%&e 1 rather than the 4a#raments 5ad &i%6- 3efore we %egin toda$0s sermon, &et0s stand and sa$ the 7ord0s 8ra$er59ongregation stands and +ra$s the 7ord0s 8ra$er, and then sits down6K: 9ou&d " as' a :uestion; .hat are we rea&&$ +ra$ing for when we +ra$ <=our 'ingdom #ome, =our wi&& %e done>; "t seems that we +ra$ the 7ord0s 8ra$er often %ut don0t rea&&$ sto+ to thin' a%out what we are as'ing for- " wonder what it wou&d %e &i'e if God rea&&$ answered that +ra$er- 2r ma$%e ?e has and we don0t re#ogni@e ?is answers7: ?mmA-Good +oint- Bnd, " wonder what ?is dis#i+&es were thin'ing when Jesus to&d them to +ra$ for God0s Kingdom to #ome- (o $ou thin' the$ understood what Jesus wanted them to +ra$, or do $ou thin' the$ were &oo'ing for the Kingdom of "srae& to %e reesta%&ished; " wonder if the$ understood the Kingdom of God in the same wa$ we thin' of it toda$K: " imagine the$ didn0t ha,e the right idea of the Kingdom 1 do $ou remem%er how Cust %efore Jesus as#ended %a#' to hea,en that the dis#i+&es as'ed Jesus: <wi&& =ou at this time restore the 'ingdom of "srae&>; "t seems the$ were sti&& thin'ing a%out a +o&iti#a& 'ingdom- "t +ro%a%&$ wou&d %e good to e*amine how the term <'ingdom> was used in the 3i%&e 1 %oth the 2&d Testament and the New 1 in order to understand what Jesus was getting at when ?e said to +ra$ for the #oming the Kingdom of God- Bnd, as we start this sermon series on the Kingdom it wou&d a&so %e good to fo#us on what does the Kingdom of God mean for us toda$- "n fa#t, " wonder what it wou&d %e &i'e for 4tadium Di&&age 9hur#h of a&& of us we serious #iti@ens of Kingdom 1 " mean rea&&$ #om+&ete&$ #ommitted #iti@ens of the Kingdom of God7: That is an e*#e&&ent :uestion that " thin' we shou&d 'ee+ on thin'ing a%out as we get into the sermon series 1 what wou&d it %e &i'e if we were a&& tota&&$ #ommitted #iti@en of the Kingdom of God- .ou&d our &i,es %e different, wou&d this #hur#h %e different; .ou&d the Kingdom of God %e different; K: "n order to e*+&ore what it wou&d %e &i'e for us to %e tota&&$ de,oted #iti@ens of the 'ingdom of God 1 &et0s &oo' at what is meant %$ the 'ingdom of God in the 3i%&e- 5K sits down6 .hat is meant %$ the Kingdom of God; Ma$%e %efore we answer that we shou&d first thin' a%out what is a 'ingdom- Kingdoms are something found in +ra#ti#a&&$ e,er$ #u&ture around the wor&d 1 in Bsia, Euro+e, Bfri#a, the Bmeri#asF an$ +&a#e that humans &i,e, 'ingdoms are esta%&ished %ased on some 'ind of +o&iti#a& +ower- .hen " thin' of 'ingdoms " am often drawn %a#' to the sma&& 'ingdoms that were esta%&ished in Euro+e

during the Midd&e Bges- " sti&& remem%er stud$ing these 'ingdoms in the Gth grade- There is something intriguing a%out those 'ingdoms with their 'nights in armor mounted on horses, fair maidens, 'ings and :ueens, and the &i'e- 3oo's ha,e %een written, mo,ies and +&a$s written and +erformed, ,ideo games made, and stories to&d using that 'ind of setting- Bnd, " am sure that in whate,er $our #u&ture is, there are simi&ar stories- There is something intriguing a%out a sma&& and #om+a#t 'ingdom that is somewhat se&f#ontained and where there are %att&es to defend what is good and right/or there to %e a 'ingdom, there genera&&$ needs to %e a 'ing andHor a :ueen, a %asis for +ower and authorit$, +eo+&e who are su%Ce#t to the +ower and authorit$, and a territor$ in whi#h the 'ingdom e*erts its authorit$- "n a 'ingdom, +eo+&e are needed to +erform ,arious tas's and to ha,e ,arious ro&es- /or e*am+&e, in these earth&$ 'ingdoms +eo+&e wi&& %e needed to use the authorit$ of the 'ing to ma'e sure that order is 'e+t in the 'ingdom 1 that +eo+&e o%e$ the ru&es and &aws of the 'ingdom- 2thers are needed to ma'e sure that the things needed for &i,ing a made and distri%uted in the 'ingdom- /ood, #&othing, and other %asi# ne#essities of &ife must %e +rodu#ed or im+orted into the 'ingdom- Bnd, often there wou&d %e a need to defend the 'ingdom 1 therefore some 'ind of fighting for#e wou&d %e needed to defend the 'ingdom from theft and atta#' %$ raiders or other 'ingdoms"n the 3i%&e we see these ,er$ things dis+&a$ed in %oth +h$si#a& wa$s 1 an earth&$ 'ingdom 1 and s+iritua& wa$s 1 a 'ingdom in the s+iritua& rea&m- "n the +h$si#a& rea&m we see the nation of "srae& 1 a +h$si#a& 'ingdom with a 'ing, a +eo+&e, a territor$- 3ut we a&so see a s+iritua& 'ingdom in the 3i%&e 1 God0s ru&e o,er human'ind and in fa#t a&& of #reation- These two 'ingdoms 1 are not 'e+t a+art #om+&ete&$- 8eo+&es0 understanding of one affe#ts their understanding of the other"n the 2&d Testament the +hrase Kingdom of God or Kingdom of ?ea,en ne,er a++ears- =et the #on#e+t of Kingdom is found throughout- /rom the time of the #reation of human %eings, there is the #on#e+t of a 'ingdom- .hen God #reated humans ?e %&essed them and ga,e them instru#tions for what the$ were to do- God de#&ared that Bdam and E,e were ?is designated ru&ers of the earth- 3ut when Bdam and E,e diso%e$ed God, the$ ga,e u+ their right to ru&e 1 the$ %asi#a&&$ ga,e that right o,er to 4atan.hen God %rought the +eo+&e of "srae& out of Eg$+t, ?e ga,e them the 7aw through Moses and #a&&ed them to %e a 'ingdom of +riests and a ho&$ nation- B&though the who&e earth %e&ongs to the 7ord, ?e was #a&&ing the +eo+&e of "srae& to %e ru&ers for ?im who wou&d he&+ a&& the nations of the wor&d- 3ut the +eo+&e of "srae& reCe#ted this #a&& of God and did not fu&fi&& their +otentia& ro&e to ru&e the earth and %&ess a&& the nations- 3ut the$ did %e#ome a nation 1 a nation without a 'ing- /or o,er two-hundred $ears the$ were a nation without a 'ing 1 God was their King- 3ut, it was a tur%u&ent time in whi#h the$ wandered awa$ from their King and wou&d &ose ?is +rote#tion(uring this time, 4amue& was one of the Cudges who guided them 1 not as a 'ing %ut as a Cudge and one who s+o'e for God- The$ as'ed 4amue& for a human 'ing so that the$ #ou&d %e &i'e the other 'ingdoms- 4amue& was dis+&eased with their re:uest %ut God to&d 4amue& that the +eo+&e were reCe#ting God0s ru&e not Cust 4amue&.hen (a,id was the King of "srae&, he re#ei,ed a +romise from God that the throne of (a,id wou&d %e esta%&ished fore,er- God said that a son of (a,id wou&d ru&e of God0s house and God0s 'ingdom fore,er- ?owe,er, man$ $ears &ater, the nation of "srae& wi&& %e defeated and there wi&& %e no more 'ings of "srae&- .hat wi&& ha++en to the 'ingdom now;

(anie& was a +ro+het who &i,ed during the time when "srae& was in #a+ti,it$ and man$ of the +eo+&e were ta'en awa$ to 3a%$&on- ?e re#ei,ed se,era& +ro+he#ies #on#erning the future 'ingdom- The ,isions showed God reesta%&ishing ?is ru&e su+ernatura&&$- "n one ,ision (anie& saw a ro#' that was not #ut %$ human hands #rushing a&& other 'ingdoms- "n another ,ision ?e saw the 4on of Man 1 a %eing who was su+ernatura& who e*isted eterna&&$- Therefore, the new 'ing that (anie& saw wou&d %e mu#h more than another human 'ingBfter the +ro+hets %ut %efore the time of Jesus, the +eo+&e of "srae& 'e+t &oo'ing for a reesta%&ishment of their nation 1 a new and great 'ing who wou&d free them from the 'ingdom of )ome- The$ were not sure, howe,er, who to e*+e#t- The 'ing who wou&d sit on the throne of (a,id sounded &i'e a human %eing, %ut the 4on of Man in (anie& was definite&$ more than a human- The$ rea&i@ed that the$ were God0s #hosen +eo+&e, %ut the$ needed to %e ru&ed %$ a new 'ing- "t is not diffi#u&t to understand that the$ #ou&d ha,e had different ideas on who the #oming King wou&d %e.hen Jesus #ame to "srae&, ?e went a%out +rea#hing and te&&ing the +eo+&e to re+ent for the Kingdom of ?ea,en is near- Thin'ing %a#' to what has ha++ened in "srae&0s histor$ it is eas$ to understand that the$ were ho+ing for someone who #ou&d &ead them in a +o&iti#a& 'ingdom- Bnd the #a&& to re+ent made sense 1 whether $ou were e*+e#ting a human 'ing or a su+ernatura& 'ing 1 either was from God and we needed to %e +ure to re#ei,e the %&essings of GodJesus said mu#h a%out the 'ingdom of God- "n fa#t in the %oo' of Matthew, Kingdom of God, Kingdom of ?ea,en or Cust Kingdom a++ears 5! times- "n Mar' 14 times, in 7u'e 3I times, and in John 5 times- "t was a maCor theme of Jesus0 ministr$- Jesus wou&d te&& ?is fo&&owers that the$ shou&d re+ent for the Kingdom is #oming, see' the Kingdom, and to tr$ to enter the Kingdom- ?e wou&d te&& them what the Kingdom of God is &i'e and a%out its #oming- This is some of what we wi&& %e e*+&oring in the ne*t few wee'sThere are a few :uestions that shou&d %e addressed toda$ 1 "s there a differen#e %etween 'ingdom of God and 'ingdom of hea,en; There doesn0t a++ear to %e mu#h differen#e, if an$- /rom the usage of %oth in the Gos+e&s, it seems that the$ #an %e used inter#hangea%&$- Matthew uses 'ingdom of hea,en more often 1 ma$%e due to the fa#t that the audien#e was Jewish and that hea,en was a res+e#tfu& wa$ of not using the name of God- "t #ou&d %e argued that Kingdom of God is &arger sin#e God is mu#h more than hea,en"s the 'ingdom of God here a&read$ or is it #oming; Jesus said <re+ent, for the 'ingdom of hea,en has #ome near-> Bnother time, ?e said that the 'ingdom of hea,en is within $ou 57u'e 17:216- 2ften, we sa$ that it is an <a&read$ %ut not $et> situation- The 'ingdom of God has #ome in the fa#t that the 2ne who %rings the Kingdom has #ome 1 Jesus 9hrist is the 2ne who #omes to esta%&ish ?is 'ingdom- ?e has #ome and has done ?is wor' on the #ross- 3ut the Kingdom has not $et %een fu&&$ esta%&ished 1 it wi&& not %e unti& Jesus 9hrist #omes again as a g&orious King- Jnti& then, the im+a#t of sin and re%e&&ion wi&& sti&& %e e,ident in this wor&d?ow does the 'ingdom of God #om+are to the idea of +ersona& sa&,ation; This is an im+ortant :uestion that we wi&& +ursue more- There is a strong simi&arit$- The Gos+e& of John tends to use the #on#e+t of +ersona& sa&,ation in +&a#e of the idea of the 'ingdom of God- .hen a +erson %e&ie,es that Jesus died for their sins and rose again, and desires to re+ent from sin and fo&&ow Jesus the$ 'now ha,e eterna& &ife- 3ut one #ou&d a&so des#ri%e the e,ent as entering the 'ingdom of hea,en 1 the$ ha,e %e#ome #iti@ens of the 'ingdom of God-

The ear&$ #hur#h tended to a,oid the term 'ingdom of hea,en or 'ingdom of God for the reason that it #arried with it so mu#h of the idea that the +eo+&e of "srae& wanted a return of the +o&iti#a& 'ingdom of "srae&- "t was %etter for them to a,oid that meaning3ut how a%out for us toda$; "s it usefu& to us the term 'ingdom of God as we &i,e and wor' in the wor&d; Bfter a&&, $ou ha,en0t heard those running for the offi#e of 8resident of the Jnited 4tates ta&'ing a%out setting u+ a 'ingdom, ha,e $ou; " %e&ie,e that there are good reasons to use the +hrase Kingdom of God 1 for e*am+&e: The idea of 'ingdom is a more en#om+assing one than +ersona& sa&,ation- 4ome +eo+&e ma$ not thin' the$ need he&+ +ersona&&$ %ut the$ might &isten to a message on the #oming of the 'ingdom and %ringing Custi#e and mer#$ to this wor&d- Bnd, the #on#e+t of Kingdom is he&+fu& for us in thin'ing of what it means to enter into the Kingdom and what does it #a&& us to do; K: ?ow then shou&d the idea of 'ingdom of God affe#t how we &i,e toda$; Bs we #ontinue to go through this sermon series on =our Kingdom 9ome 1 =our .i&& 3e (one, we are as'ing ea#h +erson here to #onsider this for their own &i,es- .e ha,e Cust &oo'ed into what was meant %$ <'ingdom of God> in the 3i%&e, %ut now ea#h of us ha,e to e*+&ore what it means for own &i,es- "f $ou and " were #om+&ete&$ de,oted #iti@ens of the Kingdom of God, what wou&d our &i,es &oo' &i'e; .ou&d we sti&& %e doing the same wor'; .ou&d we %e ha,ing the same friends; .ou&d the wa$ we s+end our time and mone$ #hange; .ou&d we sti&& %e the same 'ind of +erson 1 or wou&d we %e different in #hara#ter; This is what we wi&& %e e*+&oring for the ne*t se,era& wee's7: "n addition, we are not going to %e doing this e*+&oring of the 'ingdom of God %$ ourse&,es- Bs we go through this series, ea#h of us wi&& %e im+a#ting ea#h other0s thin'ing- .hen $ou hear something in a sermon, those ideas wi&& ho+efu&&$ ma'e $ou thin' a%out what it means to %e a Kingdom #iti@en- 3ut when $ou ta&' to Kath&een or me a%out %eing a Kingdom #iti@en, it wi&& affe#t what we wi&& +&an for a #oming sermon- That has a&read$ ha++ened as " ha,e intera#ted with a num%er of $ou a%out the 'ingdom of hea,en 1 $our ideas ha,e sha+ed m$ thoughts on the 'ingdom- " thin' that is the wa$ it shou&d %e- .e don0t ha,e the #orner on wisdom on %eing a 'ingdom #iti@en %ut as we share with $ou from the 3i%&e a%out the Kingdom of God it shou&d stimu&ate $our thin'ing and understanding of %eing a Kingdom #iti@en- Bnd as $ou share with us what God is showing $ou, it wi&& he&+ sha+e the sermons that we +re+are ea#h wee'- 4o as we ta&' o,er &un#h, meet in sma&& grou+s, or as we #ommuni#ate ,ia emai& or +hone #a&&s, te&& us what $ou are thin'ing a%out in %eing a #iti@en of the Kingdom- 4hare with ea#h other how God is guiding $ou in %eing ?is &o$a& #iti@enK: B #iti@en of the Kingdom of God is a +erson who has #ome to %e&ie,e that Jesus 9hrist is the on&$ 4on of God who &i,ed on this earth, who died on the #ross, who rose from the dead, who now reigns in hea,en, and who is going to return someda$ to #om+&ete&$ esta%&ish ?is righteous ru&e on this earth and o,er B77 things- The #iti@en of hea,en is ser,ing the King of Kings now %ut is &onging for the King to return in +ower and authorit$ to %ring an end to a&& e,i&- "f $ou ha,e ne,er +&a#ed $our trust in Jesus 9hrist 1 toda$ is the da$ to do so- " am going to &ead us in a +ra$er for %e#oming a #iti@en of the Kingdom of God- =ou don0t need to sa$ it a&oud with me, %ut if $ou +ra$ that with me in $our heart, then $ou ha,e %e#ome a #iti@en of the Kingdom of God8&ease #ome and ta&' to one of us afterwards a%out $our de#ision 1 we wou&d &i'e to he&+ $ou #ontinue to grow in %e#oming a #iti@en of the Kingdom-