The Kingdom of Heaven - October 21st, 2012 Sermon

By Pastor Greg

A dying granny tells her granddaughter, "I want to leave you my farm. That includes the villa, the tractor and other equipment, the farmhouse and $22,398,750.78 in cash." The granddaughter, absolutely floored about becoming so rich, says "Oh granny, you are SO generous! I didn't even know you had a farm. Where is it?" And with her last breath, Granny whispered, "Facebook..."

Farm Town and Farm Ville are just a few of the many online games a person can play where they can live an imaginary life. They plant imaginary crops with imaginary seeds which grow into imaginary plants that can be harvested by imaginary tractors and sold at an imaginary market for an imaginary price so they can by imaginary things. And participation in these imaginary words is booming. I find it sad that a person can become so immersed into the affairs of one life that they ignore another life altogether.

It is not just those who play online games who live in another reality. Most people live blind to another reality. Many people live as if this other world doesn’t even exist. You can see it in the way they worry or hear it in their spoken concerns. Many people don’t give this other place a second thought, even though Jesus spoke of quite often. It is the Kingdom of God.

As Jesus taught He would often speak about the Kingdom of Heaven or the Kingdom of God. He would say, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like . . .”, and then give some sort of a comparison. And as He spoke these things, we get the impression that His listeners knew what he was talking about. But when they heard “Kingdom of Heaven” they thought one thing while Jesus meant something more.

One day the Pharisees asked Jesus, “When will the Kingdom of God come?” Jesus replied, “The Kingdom of God can’t be detected by visible signs. You won’t be able to say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘It’s over there!’ For the Kingdom of God is already among you” (Luke 17:20-21). The Pharisees were confused because they were expecting only an earthly kingdom. And that part is true. Eventually Jesus will return again, and it is then that His earthly reign as King will take place. But in the meantime He has established a Spiritual reign, something these religious leaders just couldn’t grasp.

Speaking to the Roman governor, Jesus says to Pilate, “My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36).

When Jesus spoke of the Kingdom of Heaven (or the Kingdom of God – both terms mean the same thing), He was not just speaking about some future time and some distant place where one day God will establish His Kingdom for all believers. Jesus was trying to get His listeners to understand that God’s Kingdom had come right then. Sure, it was not an earthly kingdom yet. That would come later. But the Kingdom of God is best understood as the reign of God, or the Rule of God. In other words, when Jesus said that the Kingdom of God is upon you, He meant that God had established His rule, and as evidence Jesus pointed to the authority He had over the forces of Satan. But if I cast out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you (Luke 11:20). Satan and his demons understood this. They knew that Jesus had absolute authority over them. Jesus had come to earth to establish His rule; His reign; His Kingdom. The demons trembled with fear before Jesus. When confronted by Jesus, the demons would scream “Why are you interfering with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torture us before God’s appointed time?” (Matthew 8:29). Sadly, the forces of darkness understood more about the Kingdom of God than the Jewish religious leaders. Their eyes were fixed upon this world, not the Kingdom of God.

Long before Jesus was born, Daniel was introduced to One who looked like a Son of Man. And in his vision he was shown that to this One a Kingdom would be given that will never end. “I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, and He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed” (Daniel 7:13-14).

Jesus is the One whose kingdom will not pass away. His is an everlasting kingdom. And that Kingdom is no longer hidden. His Kingdom has come. His will is being done on earth as it is in Heaven. His reign began the day all power and authority and majesty were given to Him by the Father. Jesus isn’t waiting patiently in the corner of heaven for the day when He can finally reign as King. He’s ruling as King right now. And no force of darkness, no power on earth, no nation, or no ruler on earth will ever be able to replace Jesus as King and as Lord. “Christ has gone to heaven. He is seated in the place of honor next to God, and all the angels and authorities and powers accept his authority” (1 Peter 3:22). Since all of this is true, shouldn’t we recognize His authority as well? Shouldn’t we have our eyes fixed on His reign? Shouldn’t we be thinking about His Kingdom and not the kingdoms of this earth? I believe we should. But unfortunately it seems that we don’t.

The presidential election will soon be upon us, and this year there seems to be a great deal of upheaval, even among Christians. Even Christians seem to be divided over which man is best suited to lead this nation. I can understand that a person of this world can become stressed and filled with worry. Their eyes are fixed on an earthly kingdom. But this attitude should not be found among believers. A Christian is a citizen of Heaven; a Child of the Kingdom. There is nothing wrong with voting wisely and making intelligent decisions. And we should be electing individuals with a strong morality. But our hope should not rest in the policies of a man or the promises of an administration. These men and women who are seeking your vote will come and go. Earthly kingdoms will rise and fall. So our hope and security and future should not be placed into the hands of men, but into the hands of Christ. As believers we are no longer a part of this world. Jesus has called us into His Kingdom (John 15:19). So as we approach this election season, may I remind you what Jesus said to those who were worried and anxious about tomorrow (Read Matthew 6:25-34).

As Christians we must stop fixing our eyes on the temporary things of this life and instead fix our eyes on the Kingdom of Heaven; the Kingdom of God. Jesus is in control. Jesus is the only One whose policies never change. Jesus is the only One who keeps His promises. Jesus is the only One who’s Kingdom will never end. Regardless of who is in the Whitehouse, Jesus will still be on His Throne. We are Christians, and it’s time we start living like Jesus is our King.