A Present King

Jesus is the King of the Kingdom of God.  The law of His kingdom is love.  The gospel has the power to make us loving and to manifest the rule of Christ on earth.

Summary

The kingdom of God is a present reality, it is not only a kingdom that belongs to us after death.  Entrance into God’s kingdom requires total surrender and allegiance to the king, who is Jesus.  The gospel of the Kingdom of God is good news not only for the afterlife, but for this life.  It has the power to transform lives and destroy evil in the world.

Outline

1. 1.Jesus went around preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.
   1. One of the most important questions we can ask is, what is the gospel of the Kingdom which Jesus preached?  There are 2 reasons this is very important:
      1. A false gospel has no power to save.
      2. A limited gospel robs the world of Jesus.
   2. To begin I want to share a part of the story of my conversion because it is directly related to this question.
      1. I was raised in a mainline denomination – believed Jesus died for my sins and therefore I would go to heaven when I die.
      2. The Kingdom of God was limited to the forgiveness of sins and relegated to another age – Yet I believed the gospel as it was presented to me. LET ME GIVE YOU A PICTURE OF WHAT SUCH FAITH LOOKED LIKE.
      3. Paul Wentzel from Hackney Hardware.
      4. A friend came back really confused his first year at college.
      5. Another time – a friend concerned he was going to hell.
      6. All the while that I had these convictions I was living in darkness and did not even know it until light shined on my sin.
      7. Surrendering to the King – TELL THE STORY – A PRESENT KING.
      8. THE FAITH I HAD WAS NOTHING MORE THAN THE SELLING OF INDULGENCES.
      9. THE POWER OF LIGHT – WHAT THE HOLY SPIRIT DOES ON EARTH
      10. A LIFE IN LOVE WITH JESUS – SEEING THE SEPERATION OF LIGHT FROM DARK.
   3. c.In the passage we read there are 4 things I want to highlight: The time is fulfilled, that the news of the kingdom is good, that the Kingdom is at hand, and the gospel demands people repent and believe.
      1. i.The time is fulfilled.
         1. From Promise to fulfillment:
            1. Garden of Eden Genesis 3:15.
            2. Luke 10:23–24 (NKJV) — 23 Then He turned to His disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see; 24 for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it.”
            3. 1 Peter 1:10 (NKJV) — 10 Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you,
            4. The symbolism of the curtain being torn.
            5. There is something so significant about the gospel seen from the language Jesus uses.
      2. ii.The good news of the Kingdom.
         1. It is a kingdom – Where God reigns.
         2. Every King has a law, and the law of God’s kingdom is love.
         3. Matthew 22:35–40 (NKJV) — 35 Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” 37 Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
         4. 1 John 4:7–8 (NKJV) — 7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
         5. The Law is simply an expression of God’s Character and nature.
         6. Eternal life is bound up in God’s law.
         7. God’s grace is not permission to sin, but salvation from sin.
         8. The moral government of God – walking in love.
      3. iii.The Kingdom is at hand.
         1. Whatever denies the present reality or authority of Christ’s Kingdom is anti-christ
         2. People need a savior for today – If Jesus is only a savior for another age, then we need another savior.
      4. iv.Repent and believe
      5. v.The whole mission of scripture, OT & NT is the kingdom of God and the rule of God’s love.
2. 2.Foundations for a Biblical social architecture.
   1. The dream of the Kingdom – Last time with Cornelius.
   2. The Law & the Gospel
      1. The ultimate goal is transformed lives through the power of the gospel.
      2. The Law restrains sin (lawlessness).
   3. We are to imitate Jesus – there is only one God revealed in the OT & the NT.
   4. We need to study how God ordered a world before the coming of Jesus to promote His Law.
   5. If people are unwilling to be delivered from sin through the gospel, it is loving to protect people from sin through the law.
   6. HANDING OVER FUTURE GENERATIONS LIKE THE CANANITES SACRIFICED THEIR CHILDREN TO MOLECH WHEN WE ALLOW SOCIETY TO DEGENERATE.
3. The Church – the manifestation of the Kingdom.
   1. Ephesians 4:11–16 (NKJV) — 11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; … 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
   2. John 13:34–35 (NKJV) — 34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
4. 4.The Holy Spirit
   1. Power from on high.
   2. Our responsibility – Reproductive Faith
   3. Romans 14:17 (NKJV) — 17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
   4. The Salvation and healing of nations – reconciling the world to the reign of love.
   5. The Quality of all of our meetings.
   6. The Quality of our lives.
   7. Meeting with Jesus and walking with God.
   8. A light in a world of darkness.
5. 5.The Present King
   1. The Kingdom of God is a present reality that demands total allegiance today – that is what it means to “be saved.”
   2. It is fellowship with light/darkness, righteousness/sin, it is ALL ABOUT FELLOWSHIP WITH JESUS.
   3. We need to empower people to be ministers using the law and the gospel.
   4. We need to build a temple of mature believers who walk in love.
   5. WE NEED TO BE A CHURCH THAT EMPOWERS PEOPLE TO LIVE IN THE PRESENCE OF THE KING.