Foundational Kingdom Truths
I. Introduction
Matthew 6:31-34 "Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek (= enquire, desire, worship) first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” (NKJV)
A. The most important message in the body of Christ today is the message of the Kingdom of God.
It’s the message that Jesus taught and preached everywhere He went.
Point: Prosperity, healing, casting out demons, raising the dead, and many other miracles that Jesus did followed what He taught . . . and what He taught was the kingdom of God. (Matthew 4:23-24)
B. In the first earthly encounter Jesus had with Satan, the key confrontational issue had to do with kingdoms. (Luke 4:5-8)
C. Our greatest enemy is not sin, but ignorance of the Word of God.
1. Ignorance means not to know. Ignorance is the absence of knowledge.
Hosea 4:6 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge . . .” (KJV)
2. In Hebrew, the word for “darkness” is translated ignorance. Satan is known as the prince of darkness. (Prince of ignorance)
Bottom line: wherever there is a lack of knowledge . . . . there is darkness and ……wherever there is darkness . . . Satan has great influence.
Our source of light, knowledge and protection is the Word of God. (Psalm 119:105)
3. Satan’s number one goal is to keep us ignorant of the Word of God in general, and of the gospel of the kingdom, specifically.
Point: Satan does not want you to be delivered, he can’t get to you if you are protected, he want you to be sick physically and spiritually, and he wants to make sure you are never come to the knowledge of who you were created to be.
This brings me to the POWER POINT of this message
2. The Original Purpose and Plan of God
A. The Bible is a book about a King, His kingdom and His children.
B. The King’s plan was to extend His heavenly kingdom to earth and share ruler ship in His kingdom with His children.
C. The King’s desire was to create a family of sons and daughters, made in His own image and likeness, to complete His plan of extending His heavenly kingdom to earth.
D. The assignment that the King gave to His sons and daughters was to have dominion, which means to govern, to rule and to reign over the earth.
Genesis 1:26 “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” (KJV)
This statement is man’s legal authority from the King “God” . . . to have dominion on the earth.
Psalm 8:4-6 “What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet:” (NIV)
Please note that God the King gave man dominion over everything on earth except over another human being.
E. The King’s strategy was to fill His sons and daughters with the Holy Spirit so that they could stay connected with their heavenly Father as they brought His kingdom to earth.
F. The fall of man was not a fall from heaven. It was a fall from do-minion . . . from the assignment God gave to Adam to have dominion over the earth.
Adam handed that dominion over to Satan in the garden. When this happened, Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden, not from heaven, and disqualified from exercising dominion in the earth, having just turned it over to Satan.
G. Therefore, the purpose of God’s plan of redemption was and still is, to restore man back to the position from which he fell, a position of dominion and authority over the affairs on earth.
Psalm 115:16 “The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD's: but the earth hath He given to the children of men.” (KJV)
Matthew 5:5 “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.” (KJV)
H. God’s strategy to restore dominion to His sons was to send Jesus to earth to pay the price of redemption: a sinless life laid down, a perfect sacrifice to pay for the transgressions of Adam and of every other human being who has walked the face of the earth since Adam.
Romans 5:17 “Since by the one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive the overflow of grace and the gift of righteousness reign ( = to rule as a king) in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.” (Holman)
I. So, when Jesus came to earth, His number one mission, His highest priority, and His great passion . . . was the restoration of the kingdom of God.
Point: The last Adam came to earth for one reason: to restore the government of God to the hands of man for whom it was originally intended.
J. Hebrews 12:2 “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross . . . ” (KJV)
Point: One of the reasons for the joy was the anticipation of restoring the kingdom of God to the children of God, so that they once again could exercise God the Father’s loving, dominating and powerful influence in the earth.
Conclusion: Jesus came to earth to restore the kingdom of God to the Heavenly Father’s sons and daughters on earth, and enable them to occupy their rightful place of dominion over the affairs of earth.
This can only happen when we “repent” . . . change the way we think
The Importance of the Kingdom of God Part 2
I. Introduction: Matthew 6:31-34 "Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek ( = enquire, desire, worship) first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” (NKJV)
Definitions
A. A “king” “dom” is a domain (or territory) that is influenced by a king.
B. What is Influence? Influence is the effect one person has on another; the God-given power of a person to help bring change in people or in physical circumstances.
C. A kingdom is not a religion. It’s a form of government.
Recall that to exercise “dominion” means to govern, to rule and to reign.
A kingdom, therefore, is a governing authority that brings with it, strong influence.
Isaiah 9:6 “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government (= that which prevails or has power) shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” (KJV)
D. The kingdom of God is not a physical territory. It’s a governmental jurisdiction.
The kingdom of God is the sovereign authority and influence of God manifested in another territory. That territory is wherever you (a child of God the King) are!
The kingdom of Heaven is a physical territory where the influence of God the Father is all pervasive and totally dominant.
E. The purpose of the kingdom of God is to bring the influence of the government of God to earth to set the captives free. It is to deploy the dominating influence of God against the powers of darkness that affect and afflict mankind.
1 John 3:8 “ . . . For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.” (KJV)
Without the influence and power of God, you cannot destroy the works of the devil in your life or in the lives of anyone else.
II. The importance that Jesus placed on the message of the kingdom of God
A. Jesus’ first public message was, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17, KJV)
“Repent” means to change the way you think.
The disciples preached the same message:
Mark 6:12 “And they went out, and preached that men should repent.” (KJV)
B. After ministering in Capernaum, healing every one of their sick and casting out demons, the local people begged Him (Jesus) to stay with them. Here is what He said to them:
Luke 4:42-43 “Now when it was day, He departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them; but He said to them, "I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent." (NKJV)
C. When His disciples asked Him how to pray, the first thing Jesus told them to ask for was, “Thy kingdom come . . . ” (Matthew 6:10, KJV)
D. He continually taught the masses parables explaining the kingdom of God:
1. The kingdom of God is like a grain of mustard seed . . . (Luke 13:19, KJV) (spoke to farmers)
2. The kingdom of heaven is like a net . . . (Matthew 13:47, KJV) (spoke to fishermen)
3. The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls . . . (Matthew 13:45, NKJV) (spoke to merchants)
4. The kingdom of God is like leaven . . . (Luke 13:21, KJV) (spoke to housewives)
5. The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field . . (Matthew 13:44, NKJV) (spoke to everyone)
E. When His disciples asked Him about end time events, He said to them, “ . . . this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” (Matthew 24:14, KJV)
F. In the Sermon on the Mount, he told the multitudes not to worry about what they were going to eat, what they were going to drink or what they were going to wear, but to “ . . . seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” and all these other things would be added to them. (Matthew 6:31-33, KJV)
G. Even after His death on the cross, Jesus continued to speak about the kingdom of God!
Acts 1:3 “to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.” (NKJV)
III. Miracles Follow the Teaching and Preaching of the Kingdom of God
A. Jesus’ example Matthew 9:35 “And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and (first) preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and (second) healing every sickness and every disease among the people.” (KJV)
Luke 9:11 “And the people, when they knew it, followed him: and he received them, and (first) spake unto them of the kingdom of God, and (second) healed them that had need of healing. (KJV)
B. Jesus’ instructions to His disciples
Matthew 10:6-8 “But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go, (first) preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. (Second) Heal the sick . . . cleanse the lepers . . . raise the dead . . . cast out devils . . . ”
C. The Disciples’ Obedience and Results
Luke 9:1-2, 6 “Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases. And he sent them to (first) preach the kingdom of God, and (second) to heal the sick. . . .
And they departed, and went through the towns, (first) preaching the gospel, and (second) healing every where.” (KJV)
Conclusion
A. The most important message in the body of Christ today is the message of the kingdom of God.
B. The original plan of God was the extension of His heavenly kingdom to earth.
C. Adam’s fall was not a fall from heaven, but a fall from dominion . . . a fall from being able to exercise God’s sovereign authority and dominating influence in the earth.
The Kingdom of God is not about getting to heaven. The kingdom of God is about exercising God’s dominating influence here on earth. (We were created to rule and reign, Earth is our domain)
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Prepared by C.L. Matthews Sr.