The Kingdom of God, Part 2

If you have your Bible, turn with me to Luke chapter 17. Luke chapter 17, and we want to continue talking about what we introduced to you last week, and that is the Kingdom of God. The most important topic that we can discuss as a church is the Kingdom of Almighty God. We told you last week that it is your pursuit in life, Matthew 6, 33. Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.

Not only is it your pursuit in life, but truly it is the thing you are to pray about in life. For the Lord taught us to pray, Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. So our prayer life is to be consumed with the Kingdom of God. Our chief pursuit in life is all about the Kingdom of God. We are to proclaim that Kingdom. John the Baptist came proclaiming the Kingdom of God was at hand. Jesus came proclaiming the Kingdom of God was at hand.

We'll see in a few moments that the apostles preach the exact same message. So we are to proclaim that Kingdom. Also we are to portray that Kingdom. Matthews 5, 6, and 7 speak about what it means to be a citizen of the Kingdom of God and what those citizens look like. We are to be preoccupied with the Kingdom. We are to set our affections on things above, not on things below. We are not citizens of this world. We are citizens of another world, the world of our King. And therefore we are to be preoccupied with not only our Father's Kingdom, but the King who rules in that Kingdom.

And I want to expand on that just a little bit further with you this morning to help you understand how important this topic is. And that is we are to be so preoccupied with the Kingdom. We are to proclaim that Kingdom. We are to portray that Kingdom simply because we are to persuade others to enter the Kingdom. Paul said, knowing the terror of the Lord, we persuade men. How do we persuade them? We persuade them by this fact that they're serving another King, not the King of kings. And that they need to come into submission to the King of kings and Lord of lords.

Listen, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Everybody's going to do that. You either do it now willingly, or you will have to do it in the future. There's no way around that. Everybody bows in subjection to the King, but we do it today willingly because we want to give our lives to the King. Turn with me if you would to Matthew chapter 13.

Matthew chapter 13. We gave you an outline last week, the introduction about the Kingdom, the question about the Kingdom and the explanation about the Kingdom in Luke 17, 20 and 21. This is still the introduction about the Kingdom that helps you understand the question that's asked of Christ about the Kingdom of God, which leads us to the explanation about the Kingdom. And then he will go further into the future Kingdom that will come to the earth in verses 22 and following in Luke 17 to the end of the chapter.

So this becomes a crucial topic for you and I to understand because Jesus is in the midst of his ministry. And what he does is he begins to speak in parables. And he gives seven crucial parables in Matthew 13, all about, as Matthew says, the Kingdom of Heaven. But let me help you understand something.

The Kingdom of Heaven is the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of God is the Kingdom of Heaven. There are lots of books written about, well, this is the Kingdom of Heaven and this is the Kingdom of God. No, the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven are the exact same thing. How do we know that? Matthew chapter 19 says this. Truly I say to you, verse 23, it is hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God.

They're used interchangeably. The Kingdom of Heaven is the Kingdom of God. Oh, by the way, the Kingdom of God is the only gospel you can preach. There is no other gospel. I'm going to show you that in just a moment. But the Kingdom of God is the gospel. And so don't get that confused because there are many evangelical churches today that get that confused. I'll show you that in a moment as well. But Jesus began to preach these parables about the Kingdom of Heaven. He gives the first one about the sower and the soil.

We know that one because we talked about it in Luke chapter 8. And it gives four different soils that receive the seed, which is the Word of God. There's the roadside soil, which Satan comes and snatches it away. There is the rocky soil and the thorny soil, who, by the way, receive the Word with joy. And yet both of those people fall away. And then there's one soil. It's called the good soil. And that is the only soil that brings forth fruit, some 30, some 60, some 100 fold. So Jesus begins talking to his disciples and says, listen, let me talk to you about the Kingdom Age.

This is what's going to happen. The Word of God is going to spread. And as it spreads, it's going to fall on this kind of soil, that kind of soil, this kind of soil, and that kind of soil. But only one produces fruit. There will be at least two of those soils that will receive the Word joyfully. But they're going to fall away because they didn't have a true conversion experience. And then he gives the second parable, the parable about the wheat and the tares.

He has to do that. Why? Because the two middle soils that receive the Word with joy that we think are saved but are not. And he gives the parable about the wheat and the tares because the Son of Man is going to sow the seed, as he says in Matthew chapter 13, and the evil one, who is Satan, is going to sow tares among the wheat. And you can't pull the tares up and distinguish between the tares and the wheat until the end of the age. Why? Because the tares look exactly like the wheat. In other words, in the kingdom age, there are going to be many people in the church who are going to look like they're saved, but they're not.

And you're not going to be able to distinguish them until the end of the age when the great harvest happens. You see, Christ sets the stage. He lets you understand, this is the kingdom age. God's Word is going to spread. Most people will jump on the Jesus bandwagon, receive the Word with joy, but only the ones that bring forth fruit, some 30, some 60, some 100-fold, are the only ones who are truly converted. And the numbers he uses are significant because a bumper crop, listen carefully, was tenfold.

That is, if you had a huge bumper crop, it brought forth tenfold. Jesus says those who are saved bring forth not tenfold, not 20-fold, but 30, some 60, and some 100-fold.

That is, you don't need to be a fruit inspector to determine whether or not someone's saved. It's overwhelming proof. It's clear. There's no questions about it. If you've got a question whether or not someone's saved, the answer is always no. If you've got a question, the answer is no, because it's 30-fold, some 60-fold, some 100-fold. And then he gives a parable about the wheat and the tares. And then he gives a parable about the mustard seed and the leaven, right? How the kingdom of God, and we know that the kingdom of heaven is this kingdom of God because he gives the same parable in Luke, and he calls it the kingdom of God, not the kingdom of heaven.

And the reason he says the kingdom of heaven is because Matthew's writing to the Jews, okay? In Luke, he uses the phrase kingdom of God about the mustard seed and the leaven. To speak about the impact of the kingdom and the influence of the kingdom, the mustard seed will, very small seed will be planted, but it will grow huge. Speaking about how the kingdom grows and the kingdom of heaven is like leaven, leaven influences. It permeates and how the church age is going to be one that has supreme influence.

And then he gives a parable about what? The pearl or the hidden treasure and the pearl, right? Because he talks about the prices of the kingdom. This kingdom is so valuable that you will sell everything you have to obtain it. You will give away everything that you own, everything that's dear to you. You are willing to set it aside because it is so precious to you. And then he gives the parable of the dragnet. Why? Because he talks about how the kingdom encompasses so many people on the outside. But at the end, there is this great separation and those who are the false believers are thrown into the fire, a furnace, and those who are the true believers go into heaven.

Now, what I said to you, look at what Jesus says. This is so good. He says in verse 51 of Matthew 13, have you understood these things? Guys, do you get it? Do you understand it? Does it make sense to you? They said to him, yes, we get it. Remember, this is all the mystery age, the mystery of the kingdom, that which was hidden in the old now revealed in the new. And Jesus says, do you get it?

Do you understand this? They say, yeah, we got it. He said to them, therefore, every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household who brings forth out of his treasure things new and old. He says, you guys are like the scribes. Scribes are interpreters of the law. And you guys have been discipled in the kingdom of heaven. You have learned about the kingdom of heaven. And now you're like the householder, the guy who dispenses both good things and old things.

He doesn't trash the old things. He just dispenses that which is best used for those in need. In other words, you guys are so learned that you understand both the old and the new. You get it. You're beyond the Jewish rabbi. You're beyond this Jewish scribes because you guys know both old and new. And you guys need to dispense this truth because this is the message that people need to hear. That's why it's so important. That's why it's so crucial. That's why it needs to be presented. That's why it needs to be pursued.

That's why it needs to be portrayed and proclaimed. And we need to be preoccupied with it and pray about it. Why? Because it is the most important topic in the kingdom age. We right now live in that kingdom age, in that church age. And we need to be able to proclaim Christ as king and his kingdom. So crucial. Because if you're a Jew, you live in the days of Jesus, there were certain ones looking for the kingdom. Simeon, Luke chapter two, he was looking for the consolation of Israel. That's the coming of the king.

There was Anna. Remember Anna? She was looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. That was the king and it's coming. How about Joseph of Arimathea? Remember him at the end of Luke's gospel? In Luke chapter 23, in Luke 23, it says these words, verse 50, and behold, the man named Joseph, who was a member of the council, a good and righteous man. He had not consented to their plan and action. A man from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who was waiting for what? The kingdom of God. You see, there were certain Jews who were anticipating the kingdom in the true sense of the word.

Most of them understood the kingdom differently. And that's what prompted the question in Luke 17. No one expected the king to be born in a manger, a stable, although it was prophesied in Micah chapter five, verse number two, the exact city where the Messiah would be born.

We know that the scribes do that because of Matthew chapter two. And when Herod asked them, they came and told them, oh yeah, it's Bethlehem of Judea. The prophet said that. We all know that. But they did not get the humility in his birth. They didn't understand that. They had a total misconception of the kingdom. And when Jesus came, what did he do? He preached the kingdom. Go back with me, if you would, to Luke chapter four. We've been studying Luke's gospel for a number of years. And as you look at this golden thread throughout the gospel, you begin to see what Jesus did.

Luke four, verse number 43. He said to them, I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose. Let me tell you something.

Jesus said to his men in John 20, as the father has sent me, so send I you. I was sent for a purpose. What was the purpose? To proclaim the kingdom of God. And as the father has sent me for a purpose to proclaim the kingdom, so you too have been sent for a purpose to proclaim the kingdom of God. Luke six, verse number 20, says it this way. Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Chapter seven, verse number 28. It says these words. I say to you among those born of a woman, there is no one greater than John, yet he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.

Do you understand the implications of that? John the Baptist was the greatest man born of a woman. Why? Because he was the last Old Testament prophet and the first New Testament preacher.

He was the one who pointed to the Messiah. Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He revealed the Messiah to Israel. There is no man born greater than John the Baptist, and yet if you are the least in the kingdom, you're greater than John. How can you be greater than John who revealed the Messiah? Because you understand the mysteries of the kingdom. You understand a lot more than John the Baptist ever knew, because you live this side of the cross and you're able to understand so much more.

And then if you go on and you read Luke chapter eight, verse number one, and it came about soon afterwards that he began going from one city and village to another, proclaiming and preaching what?

The kingdom of God. Chapter nine, verse number one. This is so good. Look at this. And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons to heal diseases and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God. Not only did Jesus proclaim the kingdom, but he sent out the twelve to proclaim the kingdom. Now listen carefully. Verse six, and departing they began going about among the villages, preaching what? What? The gospel. The gospel is the kingdom of God. You see that?

They went proclaiming the kingdom of God. They went proclaiming the gospel. The gospel is the kingdom of God. Here's the point. If your gospel does not include the kingdom of God, you preach another gospel. And Paul says, if you preach another gospel, you should be accursed. And I can give you about a million churches in America, and that's exaggerating, but a lot of churches in America who don't preach that message. And they call themselves evangelical. They don't preach the kingdom of God. That's the gospel.

That's the only gospel. Why? Because if you preach a message that doesn't include a king, you preach a message that doesn't include a Lord. And if you preach a message that doesn't include a Lord, you preach a message that doesn't include submission to his lordship. And that's another gospel. And that's what most churches preach today. That easy belief is a message. No repentance, no lordship, no king, no kingdom. And that's a false gospel, and that will damn people to hell forever. Folks, let me tell you something.

This becomes the topic in the evangelical church, the kingdom of God. Because if you don't understand the kingdom of God, you don't understand the king. If you don't understand the king, you've got to ask yourself, where am I? Who am I subject to? Who am I listening to? Who am I following? And you can go from Luke 9 to Luke, verse 11 of Luke 9, but the multitudes were aware of this and followed him, welcoming them. And he began speaking to them about the kingdom of God. You see, it just, it's almost ad nauseum.

This is all he does. And if you want to be like Jesus, don't you want to preach the message Jesus preached? I mean, we're to be like Jesus in character. Why can't we be like Jesus in conversation? We're to mimic Christ. We're to follow Christ. Does that mean we follow his lifestyle, but not his language? No, we follow everything he said and everything he did. If we're truly born again and followers of the living Christ, that becomes so important. You go over to verse 27 of Luke 9, but I say to you truthfully, there are some of those standing here who should not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.

And what was that about? That was about Peter, James, and John, the Mount of Transfiguration, where Christ unveiled his glory. And out came Moses and out came Elijah. And they recognized him. And Peter wanted to build, you know, three tabernacles. He thought this was great, man. This is so unique. And from, when the voice from heaven comes, this is my beloved son. Listen to him. And then if you go over to verse 60 of Luke 9, what's it say? But he said to them, allow the dead to bury their own dead, but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.

And another said also, I will follow you, Lord, but first permit me to say goodbye to those at home. But Jesus said to him, no one after putting his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for what? The kingdom of God. See, people don't want to preach about the kingdom of God because it demands obedience. It demands submission. It demands lordship. It demands our following the king. It's easy to preach. Easy believism. It's easy to preach the gospel of grace and live in disgrace. Easy to preach that message.

But it's hard to preach about the kingdom of God. Why? Because they killed the king preached about the kingdom of God. They hated that king. In fact, they said in Luke 19, we will not have this king rule over us. And those who don't preach the kingdom of God said the exact same thing. We will not have this king rule over us because they don't want to be in submission to a king. They want to follow their own desires, but we can go on and on through Luke's gospel. Over and over again, where it was proclaimed, whether it's Luke 13, Luke 18, Luke 19, Luke 21, Luke 22, Luke 23, it's all throughout the gospel.

Why? Because it was the pursuit in life. It was the proclamation of our lives. It is that which we are to portray. We are to be preoccupied with. We are to present. We are to publicize. Everything in our lives is about the kingdom of God. It's to consume us. It consumed Jesus. And do you want to be like Jesus? Because that's what his life was about. Why do I tell you that? Because by the time you get to Luke 17, the Pharisees come and say, okay, you're the king. You've got a kingdom. When's it coming?

Where is it? I mean, after all, that's all he preached. You know, that's all he preached. They had to somehow come to a point in his ministry where they would ask the question, well, if you're the king, where's the kingdom? If you're the king, where are the signs of the kingdom? Now, where do they get that from? How do they come to that conclusion? Well, turn to the Old Testament, to the book of Joel. We'll turn to the book of Joel and come to an understanding of what they had when it came to the kingdom.

Joel chapter one, verse number 15, alas, for the day, for the day of the Lord is near, and it will come as destruction from the Almighty. They equated the kingdom with the day of the Lord. And it says in verse one of chapter two, blow a trumpet in Zion, sound an alarm on my holy mountain, let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming, surely it is near, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness, as the dawn is spread over the mountains, so there is a great and mighty people.

There has never been anything like it, nor will there be again after it to the years of many generations. That's what they're looking for. They're looking for darkness and gloom, as if their lives weren't already dark and gloomy. But they're looking for the signs in the sky. See, the signs that Jesus gave them wasn't good enough. Raising the dead wasn't a good enough sign. Causing the blind to see wasn't good enough. Walking on water wasn't good enough. There had to be signs in the sky, darkness, gloom.

And then verse 10, before them the earth quakes, the heavens tremble, the sun and the moon grow dark, and the stars lose their brightness, and the Lord utters His voice before His army. They're looking for a voice from heaven. They're looking for the earth to tremble. Isn't it interesting that when Jesus died, the earth did tremble. When Jesus was baptized, there was a voice from heaven. See, it was so obvious. It was so obvious that they missed it. But they're looking for these astronomical signs in the heavens.

And then over in verse 30 of chapter 2, and I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth, blood, fire, and columns of smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And it will come about that whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be delivered. For on Mount Zion in Jerusalem, there will be those who escape as the Lord has said, even among the survivors whom the Lord calls. And then you go to chapter 3, and He gathers all the armies of Israel in the Valley of Jehoshaphat, the Valley of Decision, the Kidron Valley.

Those of you who've been to Israel with me know exactly where that Kidron Valley is. So they're thinking that if He's the King, that the sun will go dark, the moon will go dark, the sky will go dark, the earth will tremble, there'll be a voice from heaven, He'll gather all the armies of Jerusalem in the Valley of Jehoshaphat, He'll pass judgment upon them. That's their signs. That's what they're looking for. So in a very mocking kind of way, you're the King? Where's the Kingdom? Where are the signs?

When's it going to come? We've seen nothing yet. That is, we've seen nothing in the sky yet. We've heard nothing from the sky yet. We haven't seen the earth tremble yet, haven't seen those things yet, so you must not be the King. Because if you are the King that our Old Testament taught, this is what you would do. And it says, verse 14 in chapter 3, multitudes, multitudes in the Valley of Decision. For the day of the Lord is near in the Valley of Decision. The sun and moon go dark, and the stars lose their brightness, and the Lord roars from Zion, and that is His voice from Jerusalem.

And the heavens and the earth tremble, but the Lord is a refuge for His people and a stronghold to the sons of Israel. That's what they're looking for. Not only are they looking for judgment upon their enemies, they're looking for blessing. Verse 18, and it will come about in that day that the mountains will drip with sweet wine, and the hills will flow with milk, and all the brooks of Judah will flow with water, and a spring will go out from the house of the Lord to the water, the Valley of Shittim.

See, that's what they were thinking. Verse 28 of chapter 2, and it will come about after this that I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind, and your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions, and even on the male and female servants, I will pour out My Spirit in those days. Now, that's just one book of the Old Testament. That's what they're looking for. So, Jesus listens to their question. When is it going to come? And Jesus responds with this explanation.

The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed. See, that's why He said earlier in Luke, you are a wicked and perverse generation because you seek a sign. You're evil. And when He suddenly gave you a sign of Jonah, which was a sign of the resurrection of the Messiah, and they wouldn't even believe then. He says the kingdom of God is not coming to be observed with signs. Nor will they say, look, there it is, or here it is, or there it is. For behold, the kingdom of God is within you. You can just see the Pharisees.

Within us? Are you kidding me? It's in us? What is all that? How can you be a king and say, well, the kingdom of God, it's in you. You're not going to see it. It's going to be inside you. You can see them smirk and hear them laugh under their breath and mock the Messiah even again. The kingdom of God is within. Now listen, how'd they miss it? This is so important. Very familiar passage of Scripture. Turn to John chapter three. Look at this.

John chapter three. This is Christ encountered with Nicodemus. This will open your eyes. Verse one, now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to him by night and said to him, Rabbi, we know that you have come from God as a teacher, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him. Jesus answered and said to him, now listen carefully. Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of what? Of God. The only way to get into the kingdom of God is to be born again.

If you don't preach a kingdom message, you must not be preaching a message about being born again. Because the only way to get into the kingdom is you've got to be born again. And if Jesus came preaching the kingdom, the only way to get in there is to be saved, to be born again, to have a new birth, right? So Jesus says, the only way that you're going to get into the kingdom of God is you've got to be born again, Nicodemus.

Now remember, Nicodemus is the ruler of the Jews, the teacher of the Jews, the teacher of the Jews. He's the chief rabbi, not the bottom rabbi, he's the top rabbi, or rabbi as we Gentiles say it. If you're Jewish, you say rabbi, but he's the top dog in Israel. And so Nicodemus verse four says to him, how can a man be born when he's old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born again, can he?

Or be born, can he? Jesus answered, this is very, very telling. Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. Nicodemus, it's almost in modern day vernacular, dude, don't you get it? You are so, don't you, you missed it. Because he takes him right back to the book of Ezekiel, new covenant, Ezekiel chapter 36 verses 24 and 27. You cannot enter the kingdom of God unless you're born of water, which is the word and the spirit by the spirit of God.

That's why Paul would say in Titus three verse number five, how are we into the kingdom of God? By the washing and renewing of the spirit of God. Ephesians five 26, it says by the washing of the water, by the word, right? The water is the word and the spirit is the spirit of God, all portrayed in the new covenant, Ezekiel chapter 36. And Jesus says that which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the spirit of spirit.

In other words, Nicodemus, you can't do this in the human realm. You can't make this happen humanly. It is spirit induced. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, but that which is born of the spirit, this is a spiritual life, can only be induced by the spirit of God. Then he says, the wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it's going. So is everyone who is born of the spirit. In other words, new birth regeneration cannot be predicted.

It could not be coerced. It's like the wind. You can't see it, but you always know its effects, right? New birth is like the wind. You don't know where it's going to come from or where it's going to go, but you know, when it's passed the effects of the wind, right? That's new birth. Someone who's born again, don't necessarily see it, but you always understand the effects of it because it changes the person's life. And then Nicodemus answers into him, how can these things be? And Jesus answers into him, are you the teacher of Israel?

And do not understand these things? You don't understand the basic doctrine of the kingdom of God. And you are the teacher in Israel. You don't get it. Why? Why doesn't he get it? Because to get it, you gotta be born again. To get it, you gotta be saved. You don't get it unless the spirit of God enables you to get it. It's foreign to you. It's completely foreign to you. That's why I say those who don't preach a kingdom message are not born again because they don't get it. They can't see it. They don't understand it.

And Jesus said, you want to understand the kingdom? You must be born again. You must be saved. There must be a new birth. There must be a regeneration. There must be a new creation. Once you're newly created, guess what? You understand the kingdom. You understand the kingdom is the gospel. You get it. It makes sense to you. You're not born again. You don't get it. See how clear that is? That's so simple, so basic. And Nicodemus was the teacher in Judaism. He was the guy. He was the man in Israel.

He didn't get it. Why? Because he wasn't born again. Why? Truly, truly, verse 11, I say to you, we speak that which we know and bear witness of that which we have seen, and you do not receive our witness. You don't listen.

You won't believe. You won't submit. That's why. If you see it and you hear it, take it by faith and believe it, and you'll understand it. And Nicodemus would not do that. Now, some would say that later in life, he was born again, and maybe he was. There's good proof that he was. They finally got it at the end of Christ's ministry.

But folks, this is important. That's why you need to understand the kingdom of God. It is the topic for the evangelical church today to get. We're going to celebrate Christmas. We're going to celebrate Christmas. You know how people celebrate Christmas in the church and have no idea what they're celebrating? We're celebrating the birth of the King who came to bring His kingdom. And what is that kingdom? I talked to you about it last week. He's a universal King. He's a spiritual King. He's a millennial King.

He's a universal King. That means He's an external King, King over everything. He's a spiritual King. That means He's a personal King. He's King over the hearts of those who submit to His rulership. He one day will be a millennial King. That is a literal King upon the earth for a thousand years, which eventuates into an eternal King, eternal kingdom. So you need to understand that. When Jesus came, He came not to establish His universal reign. He had power over that just by demonstration of His miracles.

He came to establish His spiritual reign, His personal reign in the hearts and lives of people who would follow His rulership. That's the kingdom message. Christ said, the kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed. No one can say, look, here it is, or there it is. For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst. It's within you. The kingdom of God is on the inside and the religious experts missed it. They're religious experts. They're professionals in the law of God. Yet they missed the King when He stood right in front of them.

There He was, right in front of them. And they missed Him because they would not listen to what He said. They would not submit to His rulership in their lives. And they missed the entire kingdom message that He gave. The King is here. That's why Paul said in Romans 14, 17, the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking. It's righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. That's the kingdom of God, righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. How do you enter the kingdom of God? Because there's been a righteousness imputed to you.

With that righteousness comes what? Peace. No longer are you an enemy with God. And the byproduct of the righteousness and the byproduct of the peace is what? Joy. You have joy today? Is your heart filled with joy today? It's there because you're at peace with God. Why are you at peace with God? Because you have been granted a righteousness which is not your own. It's Christ's righteousness. That is the kingdom of God. And so go to book of Acts, Acts chapter one. Got to hurry. I got to finish this today.

Acts chapter one. Christ is with his men 40 days, right? 40 days talking to them about things concerning the kingdom of God. 40 days, a theological class by the chief theologian himself, the son of God, talking to his men about what? The kingdom of God. And when Christ is all done, they ask the question, are you now going to restore the kingdom to Israel? Are you going to do that now? And Jesus says in verse seven, it is not for you to know times or epics, which the father has fixed by his own authority, but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.

And you should be my witnesses, both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth. He says, don't be concerned about ruling with me in eternity, but be consumed with revealing me to humanity. That's the message because they knew that once the kingdom came, guess what they'd be doing? They'd be ruling and reigning with the Messiah. That's what they wanted. That's why there was always argument during the earthly ministry of Christ. Who's the greatest in the kingdom?

Because they knew that they would be ruling and reigning in that kingdom. So they asked the question, is the kingdom coming? Because if you are, we're reigning, we're ruling. And Christ says, don't be concerned with ruling and reigning with me in eternity, but be consumed with revealing me to humanity.

You got to reveal the king and his kingdom to humanity. And that's exactly what they did. Let me show you.

Luke, Acts chapter 8. Here's Philip, verse 12. But when they believed Philip preaching the good news about what? The kingdom of God. Philip got it. Over in chapter 14 of Acts, verse number 27, Paul had been stoned. He'd been left for dead, but you know what? There was a resurrection of Paul. This was a miracle that took place in his life. He went back into the same city that had just stoned him. This guy was amazing. And it says, verse 22, through many absolutely. Read Luke 14. Go to chapter 19, verse number 8.

And he entered the synagogue and continued speaking out boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading them about what? The kingdom of God. What are they doing? They're doing exactly what Jesus said back in Acts chapter 1. He taught them about the kingdom of God. And what do they do? They went out and preached the kingdom, persuading people about the kingdom of God. Chapter 20, verse number 25. Paul is talking to the... Boy, this is so good. Listen to this. He's talking to the elders at Ephesus.

He was with them for three years, it says. And now behold, verse 25, I know that all of you among whom I went about preaching the kingdom will see my face no more. He's talking to the elders. He said, look, I know that you were with me when I preached about what? The kingdom. And then he says this. Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am not innocent of the blood of all men, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God. Jesus said, look for I have come for what purpose?

To preach the kingdom of God. Paul says, I preach to you the whole counsel of God because I have given a purpose. It was the purpose about the king and his kingdom. That's the message. That's the gospel. And then he says this. Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to shepherd the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood. I know that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock and from among your own selves, men will arise speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after them.

What are the perverse things? The perverse things are things not pertaining to the kingdom of God. Boy, folks, that's crucial. There are many evangelical churches today filled with savage wolves who have come in and they don't preach about the kingdom because they want to preach about a king. If they preach about a king, they have to preach that you submit to that king and you follow him hook, line, and sinker. And that message is too hard for people to digest today in the 21st century, except for those who've been called and chosen by God to follow his will.

But that's the message we're to preach, so important. And even at the end in the book of Acts chapter 28, verse 23, and when they had set a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in large numbers and he was explained to them by Solomon testifying about the kingdom of God and trying to persuade them concerning Jesus from both the law of Moses and from the prophets from morning until evening. Even at the end of his ministry, Paul was still proclaiming what? The kingdom of God. But all throughout his ministry, first Corinthians chapter four, it says this, verse 20, for the kingdom of God does not consist in words, but in power.

Talks about in chapter, chapter six, verse nine to 10. If you're immoral person, if you're an adulterous, if you're covetous, if you're homosexual, if you're effeminate, if you're an idolater, you will not inherit what? The kingdom of God. You're not going to the kingdom. And then he says, but you were sanctified. You used to be this way, but you were washed, but you were sanctified. You were cleansed. Why? So you could get into the kingdom of God. You used to be this way, but those who practice those things are not going to make it.

You used to be that way, but you were washed. You were cleansed. And then over in Galatians chapter five, he says virtually the same thing. He talks about those who are idolaters, sorcerers, committed to strife and jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions. He says, I have forewarned you, verse number 21, that those who practice those things shall not inherit what? The kingdom of God. Same message. It's the same message. It's the kingdom of God. Ephesians five, verse number five, same thing.

For you know with certainty that no immoral or impure person or covetous man who is an idolater has an inheritance in the kingdom. Listen carefully in the kingdom of Christ and God. That's good, isn't it? Because that tells you that Christ is God. The kingdom of Christ and God. And then in Colossians, in the Colossians, Paul says this, Colossians chapter four, verse 10, Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, sends you his greetings and also Barnabas, cousin Mark, about whom you have received instruction.

If he comes to you, welcome him. And also Jesus who was called justice. These are the only fellow workers for what? The kingdom of God. Folks, let me tell you something.

That is the topic. That's the message. It's all about the coming king and his kingdom. And there are so many churches in America today who have, who've left that message out and they're preaching another gospel simply because they don't want to call people into submission to the Lord of the universe. But what was said in Luke chapter two to the shepherds, for unto you this day in the city of David, there's been born a savior who is Christ, the Lord. The babe born in Bethlehem is king of all kings and Lord of all Lords.

And when he came proclaiming the kingdom of God, he came saying, I am the king. You must bow in submission to my Lordship. You must follow me. You must give your life to me. Or you'll never enter the kingdom of God. Have you done that? That's the message of Christmas. That's the message we preach every day. It's our pursuit. It's what we proclaim. It's what we portray. It's what we're preoccupied with. It's what we pray about. It's what we present because it's everything we are. We are citizens of the kingdom of God.

Not only must we act like it, we must preach it. Let me pray with you. Father, thank you for today, Lord, and the great news of the kingdom of God. Lord, there are so many people today who have missed the message about the king. All the sings and Christmas carols about a king, those sings and Christmas carols about the Lord, but they're just carols that are sung. They're not the commitment of the soul. And our prayer, Father, is that everyone in this room today would be sold out to you as king, that you rule their lives, that you are in charge of their lives, and they're willing to submit to all that you are and all that you say, that they might be a representative of the kingdom of God on this earth, that others would know that truly they serve another king, the true king, the king of kings and Lord of lords.

We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.