Other Messages
The Kingdom of Heaven is Here!
Jesus said… “the Kingdom is Here!”
What a proclamation!
The world that Jesus entered was filled with turmoil. Israel wanted a king to conquer the Romans. They had an earthly kingdom on their minds. But Jesus said, “the Kingdom of Heaven is here.”
And then, he LEFT the world – left Israel with the Romans – left the Apostles in the world to be persecuted. And yet, the disciples knew Peace, they had a sense of Purpose and Meaning, and they still experienced Joy.
The only reason the disciples of Jesus would have gone to their deaths to proclaim the Good News about God’s Kingdom, is if they understood their share in the Kingdom.
We can understand it too!
Joh 18:36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”
The Kingdom of Heaven is here, and it isn’t the same as earthly kingdoms. And, if you enter His Kingdom, you don’t have to be the same!
You can have real PEACE, PURPOSE, and JOY… today! We can experience the same peace, purpose, and joy the disciples had! Right in the middle of a turbulent world.
“But I don’t see Heaven on Earth”
It’s like a train pulling into the station… it’s here, but there’s more coming.
2Co 6:2 … Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
The Kingdom has come, and is still on the way…
The Kingdom of God is a state of BEING – a way of life that leads to eternal life.
The Kingdom is a state of SEEING – understanding the truth about the world and what really matters.
Mar 4:11-12 And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, so that “‘they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven.’”
Outside the Kingdom there is a little joy. The world experiences a taste of joy the closer it gets to kingdom things.
Like the parables of Jesus, there is the hint of something deeper… something more… in a meaningless world, the hint of something true.
PEACE! MEANING! HOPE! Joy! Is the cry of our hearts. And that is the answer of the Kingdom, “Here is what you seek!”
Living in the kingdom means that this life has value because it propels us into the life that is coming.
The world has no real value for life beyond “eat drink and be merry for tomorrow we die.”
The Kingdom of God is for the Living, not the dying.
Outside the Kingdom we are dying forever. Inside the Kingdom we are living forever.
The world says, “Live like you’re dying.” The Kingdom says, “You can live like you’ll live forever.”
Only one thing separates the living from the dying… BEING BORN AGAIN.
When the eyes of our hearts are opened – when we encounter His Spirit – when we receive His Promise for eternal life, grasping Jesus Christ with faith for our future, a new life begins!
We choose to change – we go down in the water in his name – we seek and receive the power of the Holy Spirit – our lives are transformed!