Words that Changed the World - The Kingdom of God

 If I were to ask you what the main message of Jesus’ teaching was, my guess is you would say love.  In light of the series we just finished on love, we can easily say that love was central to all Jesus said and did, but if you read through the gospels, you will see that Jesus talked about love 28 times while He talked about the Kingdom of God 112 times.  If we really want to understand the message of Jesus, we have to understand what He means when He talks about the Kingdom of God, or the Kingdom of Heaven, or just, The Kingdom.  Gordon Fee, a New Testament scholar, said, “you cannot know anything about Jesus, anything, if you miss the kingdom of God.”

Today we are starting a series that will look at some of the messages we find in the teaching and preaching of Jesus.  Jesus' words are filled with different themes and ideas that not only changed people’s lives, but have the power and potential to change our world.  There is perhaps no greater message than the one we find in Jesus' very first sermon.  The first message of Jesus was short and simple.  “The time has come,” Jesus said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”   Mark 1:15

While love might be a hallmark and value of God’s kingdom, it was the Kingdom of God itself that Jesus came to bring.  To help us understand what Jesus means when He talks about the Kingdom of God we need to go back to the Hebrew scriptures, the Old Testament, to get a proper background. Psalm 99:1-5

The Lord reigns, let the nations tremble;

he sits enthroned between the cherubim, let the earth shake.

Great is the Lord in Zion; he is exalted over all the nations.

Let them praise your great and awesome name—he is holy.

The King is mighty, he loves justice—you have established equity;

in Jacob you have done what is just and right.

Exalt the Lord our God and worship at his footstool; he is holy.

This scripture, and many like it, talks about God as a king over all of creation.  This passage led to a prayer that rabbis say often, Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the Universe.  

God is the ultimate king of the universe.  He is the ruler of all things, at all times, and in all places.  God’s dominion and authority over the universe is greater than we can even imagine because the universe is larger than our minds can comprehend.  

This is a picture taken from the hubble telescope deep in space.  What you are looking at are thousands of galaxies, which each contain 100’s of billions of stars.  The universe is larger than anything we can imagine and God knows it all. He knows every star by name.  He knows when stars are formed and when they die.  He knows where there is life and where there is no life.  He knows how they spin and turn.  I also have to believe that God has somehow placed His hand around us so that we are still here in our own tiny corner of the world, spinning away unharmed and with the ability to see all of creation and know the One who created it all.  

God created this.  God spoke it into being.  God sustains it, keeps it spinning, and as we hear from many scientists, God keeps it growing - ever expanding.  This is part of the Kingdom of God. God is the King of this Universe.  While we can’t comprehend the power, strength and vastness of God, He is truly HOLY, we are told some of what is important to God and therefore are values and principles of His Kingdom.  

If we go back to Psalm 99, we see that God wants justice.  He established equity.  He does what is right.  And yes, God loves.  This is what God wants for His creation, His Kingdom, and it is what God established in the Garden of Eden.  God created the perfect, peaceable, loving kingdom and gave it to us to enjoy and rule over.  Instead of living in God’s kingdom the way God called us to live, we turned away.  We fell short of God’s rule and instead of putting God first, Adam and Eve put themselves first, and that has been the human story, our story, ever since.  We have made ourselves king of our own universe.  

Instead of striving for justice, love, mercy and righteousness, we wrestle with gluttony, greed, lust, sloth, anger, rage and pride.  These are 7 deadly sins that pull us apart and destroy the kingdom we live in, and yet in all of us, and in our world, there is a longing and a desire for another kingdom, God’s kingdom.  

When the nation of Israel was faced with devastation and destruction brought on by their own sin and failures, the prophets started talking about a coming kingdom of God.  The prophets, and the people, longed for a day when God would rule on earth as He did in heaven and they began to provide pictures and images of what this kingdom would be like.  It was these images and ideas that shaped what Jesus was talking about when He talked about the Kingdom of God.  So let’s look at what the prophets said. 

Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.  The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.  He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples.  They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.  Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.

Come, descendants of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord.   Isaiah 2:3-5

This is what we still long for in places like Ukraine and Gaza.  We hunger for a place where nations would not take up swords against one another or train for war anymore.  It’s a kingdom of peace and justice.  It will be a place where righteousness and love will prevail.

Isaiah also said:  A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.  The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—     the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord —and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.

He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.

He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox.  

The infant will play near the cobra’s den, and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.   Isaiah 11:1-9

Isaiah wrote at a time when the Assyrians were bearing down to destroy Israel and they were looking for God to bring a lasting peace.  The prophet Ezekiel wrote during a time of Babylonian oppression of the people.   Ezekiel 34:23-24

I will save my flock, and they will no longer be plundered. I will judge between one sheep and another.  I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them; he will tend them and be their shepherd. I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them. I the Lord have spoken.  

While all of these pictures of the Kingdom of God came when Israel was facing destruction or after they had been defeated by earthly kingdoms, it was the prophet Jeremiah who proclaimed that the Kingdom of God wasn’t going to come from outside forces that would compel people to behave a certain way, the power of God’s kingdom was going to come from within.   Jeremiah 31:33-34

This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord.  “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.  No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord.  “For I will  forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

The Kingdom of God, and the kingdom Jesus talked about, was not going to come by force from the outside but by a transformation of people's hearts on the inside.  Governments can be good and kind and gracious, but no government, not even ours, will be the kingdom of God.  While our first leaders talked about us being a city on a hill for the world to see and we might aspire to be a light to the nations, we are not the kingdom of God because the kingdom of God doesn’t come from declarations and constitutions, it comes from Jesus and it comes from the Holy Spirit working within individual people.  The kingdom of God comes when you and I decide to follow Jesus.  

If we go back to Mark and the first sermon of Jesus, Jesus said, “The time has come.  The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”

The kingdom of God had come near because Jesus was there.  The kingdom of God was near the people because it was in Jesus and He was near the people.  The kingdom of God was found in how Jesus lived, how He loved, what He did, how He healed, and forgave, and changed people’s lives.  Everywhere Jesus went, the kingdom of God broke through, it was near.  

When the dead were raised by the touch or voice of Jesus, it was the kingdom of God breaking into our world.  When the blind could see and the deaf could hear, it was the kingdom of God breaking into our world. When the hungry were fed and sinners forgiven and outsiders welcomed to the table, it was the kingdom of God breaking into our world.  The kingdom of God was near in Jesus and through Jesus the world began to see what the kingdom of God was like and that it was possible to experience it, to live in it, here and now.  

The kingdom of God is the life Jesus lived.  It was filled with the righteousness and peace Jesus gave to people.  It’s the picture of love and relationship and community that Jesus formed.  It’s the power of healing and forgiveness and hope He showed us.  It’s the way God always wanted life to be lived and experienced and Jesus is inviting us to be part of that kingdom.  The message of Jesus wasn’t just for people 2000 years ago.  The kingdom of God is near us today.  It is here, and we can experience it and live in it, if we will repent and believe. 

The word repent simply means to turn.  Maybe a better way to think about repentance is to return to the life and kingdom God has for us.  While God created us and called us to live in His kingdom, we too often miss the mark and pursue our own desires.  In sin, we turn away and repentance is simply returning to living in the kingdom of God.  Can we invite the holy spirit to change our heart so that we seek the things of God and not the things of this world?  Can we get ourselves back on track and live and love the way we see in Jesus so that we begin to experience the power of God’s kingdom in our own hearts and lives and families?  

As we wrestle with this message of Jesus, that the kingdom of God is near, I want to invite you to reflect on two things. 

How have you strayed from life in God’s kingdom?  From what you now know about the Kingdom of God, or how God wants us to live, how have you strayed from that life?  How have you missed the mark in love and justice and righteousness?

What do you need to do to return to Jesus?  What practical steps can you take to return to Jesus?  Maybe it’s to read the prophets that show us what Jesus was talking about when He talked about the Kingdom of God.  Maybe it’s to read one of the gospels and identify all the ways we see God’s kingdom breaking through in the words and actions of Jesus.  

Let me close with one more thought about the kingdom of God.  As powerful as the kingdom of God is and as powerfully as it was breaking through in and through Jesus, there were forces fighting against that kingdom and against Jesus.  The kingdom of religion and the kingdom of Rome fought against Jesus and had Him killed because He was bringing in the reign and power of God’s kingdom.  There is still a battle that continues in our own hearts and lives and there is still a battle going on in our world against God’s kingdom.  

While the world put Jesus to death, we know it was not the end of God’s kingdom.  We know it’s not the end because Jesus rose from the dead to keep bringing near to us the Kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is still near in and through the church.  Every time we offer healing and hope to others, we are bringing the kingdom of God near.  Every time we live not for ourselves but for others, we are bringing the kingdom of God near.  Every time we love God and love others, we are bringing the kingdom of God near.  Every time we repent of living the way we want to and return to living the way God created us to, we are bringing the kingdom of God near.  Every time we point people to Jesus by our words and actions, we are bringing the kingdom of God near.  The message of Jesus is just as true today as it was when Jesus first preached it.  

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

Today Jesus is inviting us to be part of His kingdom and to be part of a movement that can continue to bring the kingdom of God near.  

Next Steps

Words that Changed the World - The Kingdom of God 

What do you think of when you think of the Kingdom of God?

What pictures come to mind when you think of life in God’s kingdom?

What might we learn about God’s kingdom by looking at the creation story and Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden?

Read what the prophets said about the Kingdom of God.

Isaiah 2:3-5, 11:1-9

Jeremiah 31:33-34

Ezekiel 34:23-24

What picture begins to emerge about life in God’s kingdom?

How were people able to experience the kingdom of God in and through Jesus?

How have you strayed from life in God’s kingdom?

What do you need to do to return to God?

How can you help bring the kingdom of God near to people today?  

 Last week we answered the question What Would Jesus Do? by saying, He Would Love First.  In love, Jesus welcomed people, served people, and healed people.  In the cross, we see the love of Jesus given for all people and redeem all people.  God so loved the world that (in love) He gave His one and only Son so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.  Love is what Jesus did first, last and always.  As we finish our series on love, we are going to look at 3 specific ways Jesus loved that give us a framework of how we can not only love but grow in our faith.

When we step back and look at the life of Jesus, we see 3 primary relationships that guided His life and in each relationship, Jesus allowed love to shape Him.  Jesus had a relationship with God (His father), the church (or the disciples and that community of believers that formed around Him) and the world.  (3R image)

These are the same three relationships we focus on when we talk about how we can grow in our faith.  We will deepen our faith when we allow love to define these 3 relationships and give shape to the rhythms we find in each.  

Clearly the strongest love we see in Jesus’ life is the love He had for God.  Jesus is perhaps the only one ever who loved God with ALL His heart and soul and mind and strength.  Throughout His life we see that Jesus had a strong relationship with God.  As a child, Jesus stayed behind in the Temple when His family returned to Nazareth.  When His parents finally found Him, Jesus was sitting among the teachers and religious leaders listening to them and asking them questions. 

Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”  “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house.  Luke 2:47-49

From an early age, Jesus knew He and God were in a unique and special relationship and all through His life we find Jesus taking time out to connect with God in prayer.  Those times of prayer and healing, God’s word shaped Jesus’ life, and in love He was obedient to God in all things.  In the Garden of Gethsemane, the night Jesus was arrested and betrayed, and the day before He would be crucified, Jesus was again praying. He was asking God if there might be a way to complete God’s mission without dying on a cross.  It was in that prayer that Jesus fully revealed Himself to God, and also fully submitted Himself to God and was obedient to God’s will.  Jesus said, Not my will be done, but Your will be done.  

Jesus' love for His father guided all that He did and that was one of the relationships that gave direction to the life of Jesus.  Another relationship that guided Jesus' life was the relationship He established with His disciples, who in time became the church.  The first thing Jesus did after His baptism as an adult, and at the beginning of His ministry, was to choose 4 disciples that became the foundation of His team of 12.  

Peter, Andrew, James and John were all fishermen who worked together, and it’s interesting to note that from the beginning Jesus didn’t choose 4 individual people, but a team, a family, a community.  Jesus’ goal was to build a community that could love and support one another knowing that it would be the  community, the family of God, the church, that would transform the world.  

Jesus not only chose a team of 12, but He was surrounded by a larger group of people who were devoted to Him.  Jesus gave Himself in love to all His disciples when He taught them, when He performed miracles that they could witness and be part of, when He led them to do things they never imagined they would do, and when He empowered them to carry on His work in the world.  It was the love of Jesus that gave shape to the larger family, the church.  These were powerful relationships of love that gave shape to Jesus' life and mission as well as being the community that has transformed the world.  

The world is the last relationship that we see in the life of Jesus.  Jesus didn't just love His disciples and those who followed Him, He loved everyone.  At the very beginning of His ministry, Jesus was at the home of Simon Peter, and He healed his mother in law.  Word of this healing and the power of Jesus spread quickly and the entire town showed up to be healed.  

That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. The whole town gathered at the door, and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.  Mark 1:32-34

Jesus hadn’t just come for a few people who said they believed in Him, He came to be a blessing to everyone.  He came for Jews and Gentiles.  We find Jesus offering grace and bringing healing to Samaritans and Syro-Phoenicians.  He reached out to Roman guards and Temple leaders.  He cared for Pharisees and tax collectors.  No one was beyond His love and Jesus made clear that His love could save and redeem all people.

In what has come to be known as the great commission, Jesus said that the good news of forgiveness and salvation is for all the world.  

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”  Matthew 28:18-20

During His life, Jesus had a relationship with the world, and after His death and resurrection, He made clear that His people, His church, was to reach out in love to all the world.   

Three relationships guided Jesus’ life: a relationship with God, the church, and the world.  And love helped shape each relationship.  Following Jesus, means focusing on these 3 relationships and allowing love to give them shape.  So here at Faith Church, when we talk about what it means to follow Jesus and grow in our faith, we talk about our need to focus on and develop a deeper relationship with God, the church, and the world.  

One of the ways we can make sure love is shaping these 3 relationships is by looking at the 5 rhythms that make up each relationship.  These rhythms aren’t a to-do list as much as they are ways love can be experienced and expressed in each relationship.

In our relationship with God there are these 5 rhythms:

Passion - Jesus is the center of my life

Scripture - My life is directed by the Bible

Prayer - Conversations with God overflow to every area of my life

Obedience - I listen to the Holy Spirit and obey

Identity - I know who I am in Christ and live accordingly

One of the important things to notice is that each of the rhythms can also be seen in the life and love of Jesus.  For example, Jesus' love for God was at the center of His life.  Love for God’s word gave direction to His life.  Jesus’ love for God moved Him to intentional times of prayer, and because Jesus loved God with ALL He had, he was obedient to God’s will.  In each of the 3 relationships we see the love of Jesus breathe life into the rhythms that shape each relationship.  

As we look at the rhythms that make up our relationship with God, we need to ask ourselves: 

Is our love for Jesus at the center of our life? 

Do we love God and His word so much that we allow it to direct who we are and what we do?  

Do we love God enough to pray at all times and in all places and allow those conversations to bring us hope and healing and direction?  

Do we listen to the Holy Spirit and then love God enough to do what the Spirit calls us to do?  

Do we know who we are in Christ?  Do we know that we are loved?  Do we know that we were made in love and made to love God? 

By reflecting on these 5 rhythms, we might see where our love needs to grow or be strengthened or where we just want to experience more of God’s presence and power.  

In our relationship with the church we find these 5 rhythms:

Accountability - Allow open and honest feedback

Generosity - Use my time/treasure to further the kingdom of God

Community - Interactions with the church are rooted in love

Service - Use my gifts/talents to grow the church

Family - Faith overflows first and foremost in my home

Once again we can see how love is foundational to each rhythm.  A foundation of love is what allows for honest feedback to be given and received.  Without love, feedback can become harsh and critical.  Love is what motivates us to give our time and treasure, and use our gifts and talents so that we see others blessed and the work of God increase.  Love draws us into community and strengthens our families and the family of God.  While love for the church is important, it can’t be where our love ends, it also has to flow into the world.  God so loved the world that he gave and so we need to love the world as well.  

The 5 rhythms of love for the world are

Readiness - Prepare my mind/heart for interactions with others

Engagement - Look for opportunities to introduce people to Jesus

Blessings - Find ways to make the world around me better

Sharing - Communicate the gospel to others

Global - Involved in making disciples worldwide

Jesus calls us to love the world by making disciples, which means preparing ourselves and looking for opportunities to share our faith.  It means finding ways to bless the world in Jesus’ name, and looking at how we can spread the good news of Jesus all over the world.  

While each of these 3 relationships are important, if we get our love for God right, it will increase our love for the church and the world.  Likewise, if we are struggling in our love for the church or the world, we might have a problem in our relationship with God. 

At times it is important for us to stop and reflect on these 3 relationships and the 5 rhythms found in each relationship. The season of Lent begins this week and Lent has traditionally been an intentional time of reflection, repentance and renewal.  It’s a time for us to evaluate our relationship with God, our commitment to the church, and the ways we serve God in the world.  So let me invite you to take some time and reflect on these 3 relationships in your own life.  

How is your relationship with God?  The church?  The world?  How are the rhythms of each relationship leading you to love more fully and more deeply?   

Where might you want to focus some time and attention?  

What areas are going well that you want to celebrate and give thanks for?  

To help you answer these questions and guide you in some reflection, we have workbooks available both online and in the lobby.  You should have already gotten one at a belong workshop or when we have shared about the 3 Relationships, but we invite you to take one and go through the study and reflection again.  

Another resource we have is a 3 Relationships Assessment that you can take online.  The assessment will give you some honest feedback about where you might want to take some time to think and study and reflect.  You can find the assessment at  bellefontefaith.com/3r.  You can also reach out to us to get more support or to talk to someone about how to grow in your faith.  

Spending some time reflecting on our relationship with God, the church, and the world, and exploring how love can be experienced and expressed in each of the 15 rhythms, might be the first step in strengthening your faith, but don’t do it alone.  I’m always struck by how Jesus didn’t do life and faith alone.  The first thing Jesus did was to surround Himself with friends and family.  If Jesus needed this kind of support and community to sustain Him, how much more do we need it?  Find support and community to help you grow as well. 

Jesus loved God, He loved the church, and He loved the world.  May these three relationships give shape to our love and provide a pathway to grow in our faith so that we might love and live like Jesus and transform not only our lives, but our world.   

Next Steps

Three Relationships

Identify for yourself where you see these 3 relationships in the life of Jesus.

Relationship with God:

Relationship with the Church:

Relationship with the World:

Which of these relationships do you feel healthiest in?

Which of these relationships might need the most growth?

Take the 3 Relationships Assessment found at bellefontefaith.com/3r

Using the 3 relationships workbook, learn more about each of the 15 rhythms and how you can deepen and develop each one.

Each week of Lent, focus on one rhythm and how love can be experienced and expressed in this area.  (Consider choosing 2 rhythms from each of the 3 relationships for the 6 weeks of Lent.)

For support and to learn more about the 3 relationships, please contact the church office or one of our pastors.