THE COMING OF THE KINGDOM

THE COMING OF THE KINGDOM

Acts 1:1-8

Now having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He replied, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed or with a visible display;
Nor will people say, ‘Look! Here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For the kingdom of God is among you [because of My presence] – Luke 17:20-21 (Amp).

The kingdom of God does not come with observation, but it comes with power (1 Cor. 4:20). Within it lies the power of an endless life…

Now is the time for the sons and daughters of God’s kingdom to arise and proclaim the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and the Word of His power to all and sundry. However, we must tarry in His presence until we are endued with power for above (Luke 24:49).

The coming of God’s kingdom is entrenched in the Word of His power. Without the Word of God, we can’t experience God’s kingdom (Luke 3:1-6).
The Word of God must come to you personally! Seek the WORD!
You must seek, hunger and thirst for a personal encounter with the Word! (Matt. 5:6).

Godly inspired sermons can at best prepare you and cultivate your heart for a life-changing encounter with the Word!

‘The entrance (unfolding) of Your Word gives light, it gives understanding to the simple’ (Psalm 119:130).

When you have access to the Word of God, it doesn't matter where you are, you automatically have access to God's presence...

In Matthew 5:1, when Jesus saw the multitude, He went to the top of the mountain. When it was time for the Master to go into teachings pertaining to the kingdom of God, He raised the bar, and only His disciples could follow Him all the way, to the mountain top.
Only His disciples could endure hardness for the sake of the Word...Only His disciples could forsake earthly pleasures, just to hear His Word...

Acts 1:1-8 (Gleanings)

He did and He taught...
Gave them commandments by the Holy Ghost...
Infallible, immutable proofs concerning the kingdom of God...by the Word.
The commandments: Don't depart from Jerusalem the appointed place for meeting with God!
Covet earnestly, the presence of God!
Wait...tarry ye in Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power (Luke 24:49).

While He was preparing their hearts for the kingdom of God, they were focusing their attention on the kingdom of men... earthly governance and the mundane things of this world.

He quickly revealed the Father’s purpose and interest unto them, which was the coming of the kingdom of God into their hearts (through the indwelling and infilling of the Holy Spirit).

But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

Remember: You can only experience the kingdom of God through the baptism of the Word and the Spirit (John 3:5-6).

PASTOR NATHANIEL SADELA

        Resident  Pastor

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PURSUING A KINGDOM LIFESTYLE

PURSUING A KINGDOM LIFESTYLE

Bible Reading: Matthew 5. 1-16

Jesus Christ Sermon on the Mount describes the lifestyle in the Kingdom of God. And as followers of Jesus Christ, the whole essence of our Christian race is laid on this very foundation.

Jesus Christ showed to us how we can cooperate with the grace of God which is the “litmus test” to measure our spiritual development and ministry impact.

Jesus Christ showed to us how perfect obedience to God’s will should be our primary goal in life.

Learning to love God on His own terms and not ours is the basic foundation on which both the old and the new commandment is based on.

Matt. 5:48 Jesus concluded by saying “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect”

Jesus Christ explained that the only way anyone can be great in His kingdom is by walking in the Beatitudes. Matt. 5:19. (Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.)

The emphasis is because we should impact our world as the ‘salt’ and the ‘light’ of the earth. Matt. 5:13-16 (13 Ye are the salt of the earth:…………….. 14 Ye are the light of the world. …………………. 16 Let your light so shine before men,……………….

The Beatitudes Jesus Christ spoke about are like 8 beautiful flowers which must be found in the “garden of our heart” that God expect to fully blossom so that we won’t suffer loss when we meet Him. 1Cor. 3:12-15, Matt. 7:24-27, Matt. 7:13-23

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus Christ calls us to live our lives for three things

1.      Equip our heart with the 8 Beatitudes as we pursue towards 100% obedience Matt. 5:48

2.      Resist the 6 temptation that can hinder us from getting to the kingdom. Matt. 5:21-48.

3.      Pursue after 5 Kingdom activities. Matt. 6:1-18

THE 8 BEATITUDES. Our garden (Matt. 5:3-10)

a.       Being poor in the Spirit. Matt. 5:3(Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven). Isa.66:2

b.      A heart that can Mourn Spiritually. Matt. 5:4 (Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted). Joel 2:12-17 12 Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: 13 And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil…... 17 Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?. Isa.61:3. Ps.30:11

c.       The heart that Walk in meekness. Matt. 5:5 (Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth). 1Peter 3:3-4 …….. 4 But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price., Ps.25:9.

d.      A life that Hunger and thirst for righteousness. Matt. 5:6 (Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled). Matt.5:20. Matt.6:33.

e.      A heart that constantly Shows mercy. Matt. 5:7 (Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy). Luke 6:36, Heb.2:17.

f.        A Pure Heart. Matt. 5:8 (Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God), Phil.4:8, 1Tim.1:5, Titus 1:15, 1Peter 1:22.

g.      Being a peace maker. Matt. 5:9 (Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God), Heb.12:14, Rom.14:19, 2Tim.2:22.

h.      Enduring persecution. Matt. 5:10 (Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven) Mark 4:16-17, Rom.8:35, 2Tim.3:12.

RESISTING THE 6 TEMPTATION: Weeding our garden (Matt. 5:21-48)

Jesus Christ highlighted six areas in which we wage war against sin in our heart.

a.       Anger (spirit of murder) Matt.5:21-26

b.      Adultery (spirit of immorality) Matt. 5:27-30

c.       Disregarding the sanctity of marriage (disloyalty in relationships) Matt.5:31-32

d.      Oath Taking (spirit of manipulation or lack of integrity) Matt.5:33-37

e.       Retaliation for personal inconveniences (spirit of revenge) Matt.5:38-42

f.        Inactivity when mistreated (unconditional love or participation) Matt.5:43-47

PURSUING 5 KINGDOM ACTIVITIES: Watering our garden (Matt.6:1-20)

Jesus Christ describes 5 activities that position our heart to receive more grace and strength as we consistently serve and give our best towards making it to the kingdom of God

a.       Charitable deeds (giving service and or money) Matt. 6:1-4,

b.      Prayer. Matt. 6:5-13

c.       Bless our adversaries (fullness of forgiveness) Matt. 6:14-15, Matt.5:44

d.      Fasting. Matt. 6:16-18

e.       Kingdom investment (lay your treasures in heaven). Matt. 6:19-20

In conclusion

·         The kingdom of God is a lifestyle sovereignly ruled by the basic foundational power of God through which God’s dominion is established on earth.

·         There is nothing impossible to those who possess the reality of the practical working of God’s government on Planet Earth.

·         Jesus became a man to redeem the kingdom. After the cross and resurrection, He “became a life-giving Spirit” empowering men to live in obedience and thereby establish His kingdom in the natural realm on earth (1 Corinthians 15:45).  "And so it is written, the first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit”.

·         The kingdom lifestyle is for us today and many are missing it. That’s why Jesus kept preaching, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven/God (the dominion of God, from heaven) is at hand.”

·         The kingdom of God that Jesus taught about is the rulership of God on earth, Its righteousness, peace, joy, abundance and presence of God are available to us now.

·         A natural man will exert his strength, time, money, energy, reputation, etc. into his personal comfort, wealth, and honour while a kingdom driven with fasted lifestyle will give his strength, time, money, energy, reputation, etc. into kingdom purposes.

·         We bring our natural strengths to God trusting Him to return our strength to us in a way that enriches our personal circumstances and transforms us with meekness. 2Cor.12:9

2Cor.12:9 (BNIV) But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.

PASTOR LANRE AREOLA

        

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ENTERING THE KINGDOM OF GOD

ENTERING THE KINGDOM OF GOD

Mark 10:17-27

As we discussed earlier on, the kingdom of God represents the sovereignty, supremacy and total dominion of God in our hearts.
While we all desire to be partakers of the kingdom of God in the age to come (Rev. 11:15), the Lord God wants to establish His kingdom within our hearts…
He wants to be the Lord of your life; He wants to take total control of your life, from this moment. Give your heart to Jesus!

A rich man came running after Jesus and knelt down before Him, asking ‘Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’

Another way to put this is, ‘what must I do to inherit/enter the kingdom of God?’

Let’s take note of two key things in this statement. He first addressed Jesus as ‘Good Teacher’, he then proceeded to ask questions pertaining to eternal life.

Jesus quickly responded by saying, ‘Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God’.
What could this mean? Was Jesus trying to say He wasn’t good? NO!!!
By His response, He was indirectly saying to the man, ‘Do you recognize and acknowledge Me as God?’
Thereafter, the Lord told him about the commandments, which he already knew.

The man quickly responded to what Jesus said, ‘Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth, is there anything I still lack?’

Let’s give it to this rich man! He really tried! He kept all the law...
However, just like this rich man, we sometimes seem to be ahead of God in terms of knowledge. It’s amazing how great we seem to appear in our customized apparel (‘man-made righteousness’). It looks as if we have a full grasp of what God is saying, and then, God suddenly turns the table around…Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, ‘One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me’…

Brethren, we can’t inherit eternal life (the kingdom of God) by works, neither can we obtain it through our self-made righteousness, it is only attainable by grace, through faith (Eph. 2:8-9; Gal. 3:11).
Eternal life is the free gift of God to us (Rom. 6:23).
Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom (Luke 12:32).

Jesus might not necessarily ask you to sell all your belongings and give to the poor like He did to this rich ruler, but be rest assured that He will deal with the worship of mammon in your life. We cannot serve God and mammon! Until we place our total trust in God (not uncertain riches of this world), we cannot enter into the fullness of His power.

The man became very sad at this word, and he went away sorrowful, because he had great possessions…

The real problem the man had wasn’t in owning great possessions, but that the great possessions owned him. The life of a man does not consist in the abundance of things he possesses (Luke 12:15).
Just like this man, many of us place our entire life on materialism. We would rather walk away with what the world system has to offer. We would rather cling to the world at the expense of the kingdom of God.

Later on, Jesus said to His disciples, ‘It is hard for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God’. He said this repeatedly…

His disciples who were greatly astonished, asked within themselves, ‘Who then can be saved?’

But Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible’.

IMPORTANT THINGS TO NOTE:
Entering the kingdom of God can only be made possible by God. If you don’t know (seek) God, His kingdom can never be established in your heart…

Ask God for the kingdom (Matt. 6:10, 33; 7:7).

Except we become like little children, we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 18:1-4; Mark 10:15; Luke 18:17).

Entering the kingdom of God is a function of divine revelation. The way of the kingdom is not the popular way, it is spiritually discerned. Few are they that locate it… (Matt. 7:13-14; 2 Peter 1:11; Prov. 25:2).

PASTOR NATHANIEL SADELA

        Resident  Pastor

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THE KINGDOM OF GOD

THE KINGDOM OF GOD

John 3:1-5

Literally, a kingdom can be referred to as a country, state or territory ruled by a king or queen. A kingdom can also be seen as a realm, domain, dominion, sovereign state, territory, etc.
Someone defined the word ‘kingdom’ as a combination of two words, ‘king’ and ‘domain’. Simply put, the word ‘kingdom’ connotes, “king’s domain”.

The kingdom of God is the manifestation of the supernatural (or the spiritual) which establishes the reign, lordship and total dominion of God…It’s a process which starts from within (our hearts); it must be generated within us before it can manifest around us (Luke 17:20-21).

Your kingdom come! Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven (Matt. 6:10).

Nicodemus, one of the Pharisees, a ruler of the Jews came to Jesus in the night, saying ‘Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher sent from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him’…
This implies that they actually knew that Jesus was sent from God, but they failed to identify with Him as the Son of God. They saw all the things that Jesus did, they coveted those things within them. Moreover, they knew that one could only achieve those great feats through the power of God, but they were unwilling to forsake their old ways of life.
However, this man called Nicodemus took a bold step! He came to Jesus, but he chose to come in the night…

Jesus said to Nicodemus, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God’.

Through this, Jesus gradually introduced the message of the kingdom of God to Nicodemus. Just like many of us today, this man was entirely kept in the dark about the dynamics of God’s kingdom, even though he was very ‘religious’ and well lettered in the teachings of the law. He was completely ignorant of the real substance…

Many times, we are familiar with the ‘presence’ of God, we come to church regularly, we perform our religious rites, we observe our traditions…yet, the mysteries of the kingdom are hidden from us, because in our hearts, we dwell amongst the crowd (Matthew 13:10-13).

Furthermore, they (the Pharisees) were concerned about ‘doing’, while Jesus was concerned about ‘being’.
In the real sense, the kingdom of God is not a function of what you do, it’s a function of who you are…What you do is a by-product of who you are in Christ!

Nicodemus said to Him, ‘How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?’

The same question has lingered in the hearts of many folks for long. Many believers and professing Christians have never tasted the experience of rebirth (new birth) in Christ. They just know that they are serving God and they are church workers, regular church goers, tithe and offering givers, project donors, philanthropists, etc. While all these are good, there is more to the kingdom of God…

Jesus re-emphasized the same point in another way, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God’.

Let’s look at these:
John 3:3 – You must be born again
John 3:5 – You must be born of water and of the Spirit

What do these mean?
For anyone to be a bonafide citizen of earth, you must be born after the order of Adam, following the normal reproductive process (between a man and a woman) as ordained by God.
Furthermore, for you to be a bonafide citizen of God’s kingdom, you must be born after the order of Christ. You must be born of water and of the Spirit. You must be born again! In other words, you must experience the second birth…

The water here is the Word of God and the Spirit is the Holy Spirit. Unless we experience spiritual transformation through the Word of God and the Spirit of God, we can never experience the kingdom of God, neither can we experience the fullness of His power (Ephesians 5:25-26; John 15:3; 1 Peter 1:23; John 1:12-13; Titus 3:5; Romans 8:14-16).

As we open our hearts today, may we experience the quickening power of the Word and the Spirit, in the name of Jesus Christ. May His kingdom be established in our hearts today and forever!

Open up your heart to Jesus! Receive with meekness, the engrafted Word which is able to save your soul…The Word of God will break you and remould you. The Spirit of God will form you. The breath of the Almighty will give you life!

Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom – Luke 12:32 

PASTOR NATHANIEL SADELA

        Resident  Pastor

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