Today’s essential truth focuses on the Kingdom of God. Two of my opening texts come from Matthew chapter six which is part of Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount.
Matthew 6:9-10 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.
Matthew 6:33 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
In these verses it is clear that a believer ought to be focused on and preoccupied with the Kingdom of God. We are to pray that God’s Kingdom would come on earth as it is in Heaven, and we are to seek the Kingdom of God above all things and everything else we need or need to know will flow from that pursuit.
And look at this Scripture from Luke’s Gospel: Luke 17:20-21 20 Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, 21 nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”
Jesus wasn’t describing a place, but a position, an internal reality and power. The Kingdom of God is in us. How is that possible?
The Kingdom of God is simply the rule and reign of God. Whenever God comes to rule and reign in someone’s heart and life, the Kingdom of God is advanced, and the Kingdom of Darkness is diminished. This is what we are after, Church. Now, we know that God is sovereign which means He is ultimately in charge of everything and is working out His sovereign will and plan, so He is already ruling and reigning in His Kingdom, but for our purposes, the Kingdom of God refers to those places that have yielded to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Yes, God is the King of Creation, but is He the King of your life and mine? Does He rule and reign over every part of your life? Have you allowed His Kingship, His ownership to come to you personally? Are you seeking to serve the King of the Kingdom?
When we pray, “Your Kingdom come and your will be done,” we need to make sure we are first and foremost saying, “Lord, reign in me. Rule my life. Preside over the affairs of my heart. Cause me to know and do Your will.” God’s Kingdom must first come in fullness in our lives, and then we can assist in advancing the Kingdom forward.
The prophet Daniel, prophesied about a coming Kingdom in Daniel 7:13-14 13 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. 14 And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.
Don’t these verses describe everything King Jesus came and did and all that He is now doing as He is seated in power on His throne in Heaven? Daniel 14 says Jesus has authority, glory and sovereign power. It says all peoples, nations and men of every language worship Him. That happened on the Day of Pentecost and has happened every day since then. We know Jesus’ Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom that will never pass away. He shall reign forever and ever, Revelation 11:15. And one day, the victory that was secured on the cross against Satan, will be made known to all as final judgment is enacted on him and Satan will be forever bound in the Lake of Fire.
So, we are not waiting on a future Kingdom of God to be ushered in, but we recognize that with the coming of Jesus, there was the coming of the Kingdom which is why Jesus talked a whole lot about the Kingdom. He talked about the growth of the Kingdom and compared it to all kinds of agricultural elements like seeds and the sprouting of seeds and the harvesting of seeds. He talked about how the Kingdom can quietly be growing underground and then all at once or seemingly overnight, there can be a great harvest of souls.
Jesus made a comparison between the Kingdom of God and a mustard seed. A mustard seed is the smallest of all seeds, but when it is fully grown, it becomes a great tree, the greatest among the herbs, so that it becomes a home for the birds of the air to come and sit in (Matthew 13:32). There is a mighty power, a solid anchor, a protection and help for all who are in the Kingdom.
The Kingdom of God was ushered in at a great cost. It is a costly Kingdom. Jesus gave His all to establish His Kingdom. He talked about how when someone enters the Kingdom of God that they have found great treasure. Matthew 13:44-46: 44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
Nothing you could ever possess would match your personal entry into the Kingdom of God. To be able to know the King of the Kingdom personally is the highest high, and having Jesus in our lives is the greatest reward.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus basically explained what Kingdom living is like. Perhaps you came to Christ because your desire was to have Heaven as your one-day, eternal home. That is a good reason to embrace Him, but once you walk with Jesus for a while, you will discover that Heaven and the experience of Heaven doesn’t have to wait until you take your last breath here. Now, the no-more pain part will have to wait because as long as we are living in this life and in earthly bodies, we will have to put up with some difficulty, but the peace, the love, the joy, the unbroken fellowship with God, and even the kind of worship that is going on in Heaven does not have to wait until you get there. Why would Jesus ask that we pray, “May your Kingdom come on earth” if it wasn’t possible to experience a taste of Heaven on earth?
To be focused on the Kingdom as Jesus outlined in the Sermon on the Mount and to live to see the Kingdom advance, is to help people experience a quality of life that mimics what is going on in Heaven right now. Believers are to get Heaven-focused here on earth! We can live with a Kingdom focus. We can live for the King of the Kingdom while we are here. When we are angered and annoyed, we look to the King of the Kingdom for help. When we are shaken or confused, we look to the King of the Kingdom for help. When we need wisdom and answers for life’s trials, we look to the King of the Kingdom for help. There is man’s way, and there is God’s way and the two are not the same. One represents an earthly kingdom, and one represents the Kingdom of Heaven.
As you study the New Testament, you will see the Kingdom of God is really the theme. The very first sermon ever preached in the New Testament was about the Kingdom of God for John the Baptist declared, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 3:2) And John the Baptist tapped Jesus on the shoulder and said, “Tag, you’re it,” and Jesus started preaching the same message in Matthew 4:17, “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.” And even following His death, burial and resurrection, Jesus was still talking about the Kingdom of God. Listen to Acts 1:3, “He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the Kingdom of God.”
And then Jesus ascended into Heaven, and He tapped Paul on the shoulder and said, “Tag, you’re it,” and we read in Acts 19:8, “And he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the Kingdom of God.”
As Christ-followers we need to be fully aware of what the Kingdom of God is, and we need to be fully committed to proclaiming it and living it out! Look at the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5 as it outlines what the Kingdom of God is like.
Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” Poverty of spirit is something that isn’t part of our nature. Elevating our opinions and being RIGHT has created a divisive arrogance in our culture. We need a resurgence of humility in our culture. God is ruling and reigning in the lives of people who humbly recognize they deserve death and are in submission to God with forever grateful hearts because He hasn’t given them the punishment they deserve.
Poverty of spirit really has nothing to do with your checkbook. It doesn’t involve trying to think lowly about oneself, but it involves leaning fully on God. The word used here to mean poverty is “ptochos” which speaks of absolute poverty, being destitute, bankrupt. When we are poor in spirit, we have embraced the fact that we are spiritually bankrupt and cannot save ourselves. Without God, we are nothing. Seeking first the Kingdom involves confessing our unworthiness and total dependence upon Him! Everything else flows from there. Pride says, “Look at me.” Humility says, “Look at Him because everything I have, everything I can do, everything I am is because of God’s grace, mercy, strength, and power at work in my life.” You seek first the Kingdom of God by admitting you are a sinner in need of a Savior and by making sure that in everything you say and do, Christ always gets the glory.
Matthew 5:4- 4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” People who seek to let God rule them seek to do so in good times as well as in bad times. Kingdom people mourn differently than the world does. You see, people who are grieving have to make a choice. They can process grief through their own understanding and limited view which can and likely will cause bitterness, doubt and anger or they can turn to God, trust in God, and experience God’s comfort which will bring healing and hope to their souls. Kingdom seekers must not let their grief inform their lives, define their future, or shape their attitudes. They must let God inform their grief so that He stays in control of their lives, their futures, and their attitudes. That’s what it means to seek the Kingdom in our mourning.
Matthew 5:5-“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” Seeking the Kingdom involves seeking to relate to people in godly ways. Let me clarify that meekness isn’t weakness.
Jesus took on the Pharisees. He confronted people who were demon-possessed. He took command of the winds and waves that were out of control, and He chased corrupt money changers out of the temple with whips and yet He said in Matthew 11:29, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” Meekness definitely isn’t weakness.
The Greek word for “meekness” is “praus,” and it means “to be gentle, humble, considerate, and courteous.” Three different kinds of people used that particular word in classical Greek. When doctors used the word, “meek” they were talking about medicine that would take away a person’s pain if dispensed and used correctly. When sailors used the word “meek” they were describing a cool breeze that refreshed them. Farmers used the word “meek” to talk about a donkey that had been tamed and was useful as a result. In all three cases, the medicine that is dispensed, the wind that blows to refresh and move a sailing vessel and the donkey that is submitted to his master’s bidding, they all describe a kind of “power under control.”
Those who are seeking the rule of God inwardly and the reign of God outwardly aren’t going to “let someone have it.” They aren’t going to “put someone in their place” out of anger or frustration. They aren’t out to “prove a point” or “make someone pay” with their words and actions. They are able to allow the life and ministry of Jesus to be expressed through their lives in the character and attitude of Christ. Boldness and bullying are two different things. Courage and crassness are not compatible. How different would our world be if every believer lived to allow the life and ministry of Jesus to be expressed through their lives?
Righteousness and arrogance are not intertwined. You can have high standards without riding them on a high horse! People with a spirit of meekness live a Spirit-controlled life and possess power not because they have to display power, but because they are willing to display the opposite, restraint.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Hungering and thirsting happen on the inside of a person. That is where righteousness ought to be craved and found. The religious leaders of Jesus’ day, the Pharisees, had an arrogant sense of false righteousness because they thought their good deeds, the things they did on the outside for all to see, made them righteous. Not so in the Kingdom of God. Look at Matthew 5:20: “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
The Pharisees and Teachers of the Law weren’t craving true, internal righteousness, but power, prestige and position. Their acts flowed not from a love for God and others, but from a quest for authority and applause. We are told that the righteousness of Christ surpasses the example of the Pharisees. Other verses in chapter five give us clues as to how our pursuit of Kingdom righteousness is to be different.
Verses 21-26 tell us we aren’t supposed to kill. That is an outward activity. We are to refrain from killing, but we are to do more than restrain ourselves physically. We are to take a position internally that would make it impossible for us ever to commit such an action. We are supposed to not be angry with our brothers and sisters. And it’s not just about not being angry, but we are supposed to be proactive and seek peace if we are going to hunger and thirst after righteousness. We are to be right on the inside in our feelings toward everyone to the point where we are intentional about being right with people on the outside as well.
Righteousness involves an inward desire to have the outward expression of Jesus in all circumstances.
In verses 27-30 we are told not to commit adultery, but it doesn’t stop there. There is an internal component as well. We aren’t to look at people lustfully. Why is that important? Because what we think about will impact our actions, and we won’t have a hope of being faithful to a spouse long-term if we are going to let our minds go down alleys and roads and possibilities with other people. Righteousness goes deep because that’s where God can see. Past our façade. Past our good works. Past our actions, and right into our hearts.
In verses 31-37 we read about how seeking righteousness involves keeping our promises, our commitments, our oaths. It is about the intention of our hearts to follow through that causes us to push through obstacles and challenges and be people of our word as much as is possible on our end of every deal.
Verses 38-42 talk about not getting even, but about blessing those who aren’t good to us and blessing those we see as enemies. They speak about praying for people who persecute us, wrong us, or even those who just annoy us. When was the last time you hungered and thirsted to bless your enemies? That’s the kind of righteousness we are supposed to crave! Righteousness or perfection or right living or living without sin . . . this is to be the desire of every believer.
Matthew 5:7-Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
In Matthew 9, Jesus was having a dinner at Matthew’s house and there were many “tax collectors” and “sinners” who joined the dinner party. Jesus was criticized by the Pharisees for eating with sinners, and on hearing it, Jesus said ““Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.””
The Pharisees lived by the letter of the law rather than by the spirit of the law. Because they did, they found ways around loving everyone. They emphasized parts of the law and ignored other parts. As a result, “certain people” were alienated from their friendship and help.
Jesus wanted the Pharisees to understand that mercy trumped everything, even the letter of the ceremonial laws about being clean and unclean. Mercy involves doing all you can whenever you can to bring healing and hope to people who are spiritually sick or in need in any way. Kingdom seekers are those who see the needs of other people and who respond with compassion to their needs even if it means personal cost or investment or being labeled by others as a “friend of sinners.”
In Matthew 5:13-16, we see that people who seek the Kingdom seek to be “salt” and “light.” One property of salt is that it makes us thirsty. Are our lives making anyone thirsty for Jesus? Jesus also called us “light.” Kingdom people are those who “Walk in the light as God is in the light. . .” (I John 1:7) If the world is darker today than it was yesterday, the finger can’t be pointed at the world, but at the lights who aren’t shining as brightly as they should.
Matthew 5:8-“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” This verse really hits the nail on the head. The Kingdom of God is the rule of God on the inside of a person. A person’s heart tells the story of their life.
What comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart . . . For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a man. (Matthew 15:18-19)
For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. (Matthew 12:34)
That is why we must guard our hearts. Proverbs 4:23 “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.”
Everything hinges on the conditions of our hearts! What goes on, on the inside of a person is critical. We are to pursue Kingdom life on the inside first!
We need to regularly examine our hearts and pray the prayer the Psalmist prays in Psalm 139:23-24 “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Have you prayed once this last week, “God, have I offended you in any way?” You see, Kingdom righteousness means above anything else that we want to be right with God.
In a nutshell, a pure heart is singly focused on letting God rule on the inside so that He can reign on the outside of us too, through our attitudes and actions. When something is “pure” it isn’t mixed with anything else. It isn’t diluted with anything else. It doesn’t share the space with anything else. The Psalmist prayed in 86:11, “Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.” Psalm 86:11 (NIV) Do you sense the purity of the writer’s request? More than anything. . . more than anything, he wanted to be pure in heart.
Kingdom life is not the easy way to live because it goes against every human inclination. When I think about blessing those who are mean to me it seems very difficult. When I think about loving and praying for my enemies that can feel like a burden. If I focus on not relying on myself and being proactive about releasing anger and seeking peace it can all seem overwhelming or like a lot of work. But if I start with my heart and desire to be pure in heart first and let everything flow from that place of submission and singleness of purpose won’t everything else become a natural outgrowth or natural progression of my heart’s desire? And if loving my enemies and seeking peace and showing mercy are my heart’s desire, and being salt and light because Jesus says I should be are my heart’s aim, then it’s never a “have to” but a “want to.” It’s an “I can’t wait to.” It is a blessing because after all, don’t we want to see the desires of our hearts satisfied?
Seeking first the Kingdom means getting things right in our hearts. It makes sense then, that “all these things are added to me” or line up in my life when I do. Jesus was pinpoint accurate when he said, “The kingdom of God is within you.” (NIV) Luke 17:21
Do you possess it? Are you praying for God’s Kingdom to advance through your life? Are you seeking it above all else?
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