KINGDOM CULTURE – Part One

MATTHEW 13

The most important message for the body of Christ today is the message of the Kingdom of God.

It’s the message that Jesus taught and preached everywhere He went.

He didn’t teach prosperity. He didn’t teach healing. He didn’t teach casting out demons. He wasn’t against them. He just didn’t teach them. They all followed from what he taught: the Kingdom of God.

Jesus continually taught the masses parables explaining how the kingdom of God worked:

1. The kingdom of God is like a grain of mustard seed . . . v 31-32 (spoke to farmers)

2. The kingdom of God is like yeast . . . v 33 (spoke to housewives)

3. The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field . . . v 44 (spoke to everyone)

4. The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls . . . v 45 (spoke to merchants)

5. The kingdom of heaven is like a net . . . v 47 (spoke to fishermen)

Satan’s number one goal is to keep us ignorant . . . in the dark . . . about the Word of God in general, and of the gospel of the kingdom, in particular! Matthew 13:18-19 "Therefore hear the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside.” (NKJV)

Our Father in heavenHallowed be your name

Your kingdom comeYour will be done On earth as it is in heaven

The original Purpose, Plan and Priority of God:

A. The Bible is a book about the purpose of a King, His kingdom and His children.

B. The King’s plan was to extend His heavenly kingdom to earth and give ruler ship in this earthly kingdom to His children.

C. The King’s priority was to create a family of sons and daughters, made in His own image and likeness, that would complete His plan of extending His heavenly kingdom to earth.

What is a Kingdom?

A kingdom is not a religion. It is a form of government. A kingdom exercises “dominion” which means to govern, to rule and to reign.

A kingdom, therefore, is a governing authority that brings with it, strong influence.

The Kingdom of Heaven was supposed to bring it’s full influence here on earth – the colony.

The Purpose and Scope of Kingdom of God

The purpose of the kingdom of God is to bring the influence of the government of God to earth to set the captives free. The scope is to deploy the dominating influence of God against the powers of darkness on earth that affect and afflict mankind.

Kingdom of Heaven – Colony of Earth

Kingdom of Great Britain – Colony of Hong Kong

John Stott:

"Insofar as the church is conformed to the world, and the two communities appear to the onlooker to be merely two versions of the same thing, the church is contradicting its true identity. No comment could be more harmful to the Christian than the words, ‘But you are no different from anybody else.’

“ According to the saying of our Lord and Saviour, the Kingdom of God does not come in such a way as to be seen. No one will say: “Look here it is”, or “There it is” because the Kingdom of God is within us. The word is very near us, it is on our lips and in our hearts. It is clear from this that when a man/woman prays that God’s kingdom may come, he is praying as he should, for the Kingdom of God which is within him, that it may rise, flourish, and reach its full growth.”

Origen

Our Father in heavenHallowed be your name

Your kingdom comeYour will be done On earth as it is in heaven

Our Father in heavenHallowed be your name

Your kingdom comeYour will be done (in my home, in my marriage, at my

workplace, with my son/daughter, in my illness…)

On earth as it is in heaven