Jesus Himself testifies that in the last days the purpose for the church will go from total ‘obscurity’ to the greatest message in the Bible. The Lord Himself identifies this message as the Kingdom of Heaven.
Matt 13:31-32 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The Kingdom of Heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.
Jesus also explains the importance of uniting Gods heavenly kingdom with our earthly kingdom in ‘The Lords Prayer’. After we honor the Fathers Name, we pray:
Matt. 6:9-10 Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. The rest of this prayer is how we are to accomplish this task.
The responsibly to bring down the Lords Heavenly Kingdom is clearly given to the church…
Matt. 11:12 From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.
Yes, Gods kingdom is brought down by ‘spiritual fight’ and by the power given to the church.
1 Cor. 4:20 For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.
Before we continue, I am going to ask you to do 2 things.
1) Recognize the importance of what Jesus is saying. Not man nor theology… but what Jesus proclaims. As we shall see from the scriptures listed, The Lord simply makes understanding and fighting for His heavenly kingdom top priority for every Christian and for the church collectively.
2) Pray right now a with a humble heart ask the Him…Lord, teach me to understand ‘your secret instructions’ to bring in Your Kingdom…. You have stated it is Your Most Important Teaching…I need to understand so we can bring in Your Heavenly Kingdom. Mark 4:11-12.
In Mark 4 Jesus mentions that these teachings are only ‘secret’ to those whose hearts are unwillingly to listen. If you have truly opened your heart to Him, let’s continue and receive His truths for this great event.
Facts About The Kingdom of God
Believe It or Not
Really, the choice is ours. As Jesus stated above, most of the church will not recognize their role to unite both kingdoms because this truth will have to ‘sprout into life’… like a mustard seed. It will go from the smallest of church interest to the greatest-because the church will finally realize we need to focus on bringing His Kingdom down to a have real, spiritual ‘HEAVENLY’ breakthrough. Another way to state this would be- right now the church is in the ‘believe it not’ phase and will go to the ‘belief it’ phase. As explained later, when we see the church going out in the community (as stated in Luke 9-10) to topple Satan’s kingdoms, they will be in the ‘BELIEVE PHASE’…PRAISE GOD!
Lets look at 10 important facts about The Kingdom of God
Fact 1 Paralleled with Loving the Lord with all our heart mind and soul (and expressing this love to mankind) the Kingdom of God is the most important teaching in the Bible.
There are two ‘first priorities’ in the Bible. They do not contradict one another, they work together to accomplish the Lords purpose for this world.
A) Mark 12:30-31 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. [31] And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. This ‘first’ priority has two parts. Simply, through Christ (starting with salvation) the church takes His vertical love and reaches out horizontally to man with the complete gospel message. Loving God with our ‘whole heart’ takes searching our ‘whole heart’ and making it clean before the Lord. (Psalms 51:6)
B) Matt. 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
If you follow priority A- and love the Lord with all your heart you will have a sincere heart like a child and understand the secrets to the Kingdom of God (Mark 4:11-12)…and the churches responsibility to ‘usher’ in His heavenly Kingdom.
Mark 4:11 He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables
Personal note: Until the Lord explained this to me…I was incredibly frustrated as to why the church ‘as a whole’ was not able to understand and pursue it’s role in bringing in the Kingdom of God. See Our Road with God Pt 1-2.
Fact 2 In the End Times, the Kingdom of God message (and advancement) will go from the most insignificant teaching (purpose for the church) to the most significant purpose for the church. All the other teachings in the Word will abide within the Kingdom of God message!
-Matt. 13:44 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.
-Matt. 13:31-32 The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.
Fact 3 Jesus says ‘advancing’ the Kingdom of God has top priority in our Christian walk…period!
Matt. 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Luke 9:59-60 And He (Jesus) said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.
Fact 4 ‘Preaching’ the Gospel of the Kingdom has top priority in our Christian life, as Jesus and the Apostles proclaimed.
-Jesus Luke 4:43 And He (Jesus) said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent.
-John the Baptist Matt 3:1-2 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.“
-All 12 apostles Luke 9:1-2 When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. (Acts 8:12)
-The 72 disciples Luke 10:1,9 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go…. Heal the sick who are there and tell them, `The kingdom of God is near you.’
-Paul Acts. 19:8 Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God.
Acts. 28:23 They arranged to meet Paul on a certain day, and came in even larger numbers to the place where he was staying. From morning till evening he explained and declared to them the kingdom of God
Acts 28:30-31 For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.
Fact 5 Bringing the Lords Kingdom to earth is the Churches responsibility. In other words, the church’s role on earth is to fight, battle and win the war-to bring in His kingdom to earth.
Matt. 11:12 From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.
A more literal translation from Greek would read…From the days of John the Baptist until now the Kingdom of heaven is being forcefully seized, by those who grab it by force.
Fact 6 Preaching the Kingdom of God will bring down the kingdom of God to earth.
Matt. 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
Rev. 12:10-11 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the Kingdom of Our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, … And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the Word of Their Testimony(Above vs. Matt. 24:14-Proclaiming-Preaching the Kingdom of God)
Heb. 10: 12-13 He (Jesus) sat down at the right hand of God. Since that time He (Jesus) waits for his enemies to be made his footstool.
In other words, after Jesus rose from earth to heaven at His ascension (Mark 16:18-20), He is waiting for the church to stand and fight for His kingdom to be established on earth. This is done by proclaiming (preaching) His kingdom and binding and loosening Satanic forces on earth (Matt. 16:19, Matt. 18:18-20) See next fact.
Fact 7 The key to bringing Gods heavenly Kingdom to earth is to bind and loosen the heavenly powers over satanic powers-one earthly principality by one earthly principality. Ephesians 6:12
Matt. 16:19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Luke 9-10 explains Jesus sent His disciples out –town by town- in ‘twos’ to proclaim the Kingdom of God and accomplish this task. Also Matt. 18:19
Mark 3: 23-27 if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end. No man can enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.
Jesus spells it out for us, we go out and break up the devils kingdoms on earth while the Lords heavenly angles break up the strongholds where Satan abides ‘in the air’ (Ephesians 2:2 Ephesians 6:12) We do this region by region.
Fact 8 The Gospel of ‘sowing seeds’ is the Kingdom of God message (Matt. 13:1-13). We sow seeds of the Kingdom of God, which will in turn give light to hearts to receive the salvation message. They are two different messages and Jesus does not! reverse this order. The Kingdom of God message has priority (See Facts 1,3,4,5). With the Kingdom of God message satan’s strongholds will start to break and Gods heavenly light will break through so true revival will happen. Only after we go out in the community and break satan’s strongholds (as Jesus instructed the church in Luke 9-10) will we see true revival like the early church had.
2 Cor. 4:4 In whom the god of this world (Satan) hath blinded the minds of them which believe not
Matt. 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Luke 4:43 And he said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent.
Matt. 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
Luke 9:1-2 When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. (Acts 8:12)
After we follow Christ instruction with the Kingdom of God (Luke 9-10), we then follow through with the salvation message….1 Cor. 1:23 preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
Fact 9 Satan will try and have you NOT! understand the kingdom of God message. It is the Gospel of the Kingdom message and not the Salvation message that satan’s tries to snatch your ‘seed’ away.
Matt. 13:19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path.
The Kingdom message takes satan down as stated in Rev. 12: 1-11 and allows kingdoms to be saved (the devils darkness power is greatly hindered) -thus the salvation message can be ‘lit’ with Gods heavenly glory!
Note: The salvation message gives life to an individual, the Kingdom of God message brings light to an entire world when satan is dethroned! We are starting to see the difference. The salvation message becomes more beautiful and meaningful when satan loses his throne (his ‘reigning power’) and more people are able to receive the Lords salvation gospel. 2 Cor.. 4:4
During the end times, wickedness will increase for a season because satan is angry he is ‘cast down’ and he knows his time is short (Rev. 12:12). Gods glory however will be magnified, and the church will radiate His heavenly glory as never before (Ephesians 5:27, Rev. 12:10-11, Matt. 16:15-20,-even non Christians-using the name of Christ will perform miracles-Matt. 7:22-23).
Fact 10 Mans writing, this web site cannot provoke a response in you. Gods Word however must provoke a response in us. If Gods Scriptures that proclaim His greatest purpose for the church do not convict us to search His Word and heart-to be obedient in seeking understanding that will bring His glorious love to the ones we care for…then our hearts are sleeping and need to be awoken. If we cry out to Him and search His heart for scriptures important teachings, He will cover us in His compassion and explain what we need to know-because He loves us. If we do not-He will not show us because He cannot deny Himself or disown who He is-we will reap what we sow. (2 Tim. 2:13, Gal. 6:7)
Final Comment
If you had a child addicted drugs you would do everything possible to explain to him (her) the life threatening dangers of the addiction. You would not stop ‘testifying’ (and praying) about these dangers until they were ‘strong’ in the Lord.
Until we see the church in the community ‘peeling back’ satanic strongholds with the Kingdom message-so His glory can shine on the hearts to receive His salvation message-how can we stop. The church as a whole does not even know we are supposed to take His heavenly kingdom by force (Matt. 11:12)-so there has not been the faith or action to do so. I appeal to you as a brother and sister in the Lord…. really take a ‘time out’ and find out His intent in this area-don’t stop until you hear from Him. If Jesus said seek ye 12th the Kingdom of God, or 5th or 3rd –I do not think I would ask you this. He says first. When He starts to reveal this to you-you will be able to help others with what is first in His heart-loving the Lord with all they heart and having this love radiate to the ones you desire to be saved. God bless you as you pursue His truth.