Kingdom, week 1

I haven't written a post in a while because, frankly, it's hard to write one when I have a lot of other teaching/preaching endeavors to focus on.  Also, motivation is difficult when I know that not many people will read it!  So I thought that perhaps I'd combine the two, and give "recaps" of messages and things I have just preached or taught ("praught" really should be the past-tense form of "preach"). 

Two weeks ago, I began a series on "the Kingdom", as taught by Jesus in Matthew's Gospel.  There are a lot of different understandings of what is meant by "kingdom", and how we should understand it.  Some think of it in more economic terms, others in theological or eschatological terms.  I just wanted to preach a simple series on what Jesus teaches about the Kingdom, listening as God's Word speaks. So my first message was split up into five sections under five headings: What, Where, When, Who, and Why is the Kingdom.

What is the Kingdom?
The Kingdom is the reign of God's Christ.  Jesus began his ministry preaching the Kingdom (see Matt4:17, 23), and it was a proclamation of His reign.
God had promised king David that He would make an eternal "throne" and "kingship" from David's descendents.  In 2 Samuel 7, David is jealous for God's glory (seeing that the Ark dwells in a tent), so he wants to build God a house.  But God sarcastically asks David, "Would you build me a house to dwell in?" God can't be contained in something man builds...He doesn't need man (Ac17:24-25).  God wants people to have hearts that bow before Him in humility.  "What house would you build for me?...this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in heart, and trembles at my Word" (Isaiah 66:1-2).  So God will establish THIS house: a kingdom of humble subjects who truly know God.  He tells David, "I will build you a house".  The King will come from David's descent, who will "build a house for my name", not referring to Solomon (because, a) Solomon died and the temple he built fell, and b) God didn't need a literal house, but wanted people who honor Him...thus "WE are his house", Hebrews3:6). 
Isaiah 9:6-7 has God promising that the King will be God Himself in the flesh born as a child, who will "sit on David's throne".  This is a clear teaching that the King will be the God-man.  Finally, Ezekiel 37:24 promises that the Shepherd (Jesus--John10) will "shepherd the flock" and they will "be careful to obey Gods commands".  This is clear teaching that the Kingdom is a Kingdom of people who love God and "tremble at His Word", like He said in Isaiah 66. 
Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom" (Matt5:3).  He meant that these are the people who receive the Kingdom in humility, and tremble at Gods Word in Christ.  They are blessed, for they will receive the Kingship and reign of God's Christ.

Where is the Kingdom?
As Kevin Deyoung has recently said, "Gods Kingdom is not geographic, but 'dynamic and relational'".  It's not in this place or that place (ie, calling for a pilgrimage to a location, or only in church buildings), but it is, as Jesus Himself said, "in our very midst now" (Luke 17:21).  If the Kingdom is the reign of Gods Christ, where people are trembling at God's Word, the locale of the Kingdom is anywhere this is recognized and acted in light of!  It's anywhere Christ is adored, worshiped as King, and God is treasured as the God of glory! 
The door into the Kingdom is rebirth, as Jesus clearly told Nicodemus (John 3:3,5,7).  No one gets in without Holy Spirit rebirth, which is not of human will, but of God's power and action (John1:12-13).  But where this has happened, the Kingdom is there, in their midst.  Paul tells the Colossian church that God has "transferred us from the domain of darkness to the Kingdom of His beloved Son" (Col1:13). 
One thing that should be said is that felt-needs matter (feeding the poor, clothing the naked, etc.), because Jesus said that was a priority.  But it's only a picture of the Kingdom if people are coming to know Jesus.  You can do those things without knowledge of Christ (ie, humanitarian work)...the Kingdom is about knowing God and His Christ.  We should meet the felt-needs AND lead people to a knowledge of Christ (and unfortunately most stop after the first part and never make it to the second).

When is the Kingdom?
It's already here, but not in its fullness yet. 
There's an interesting scenario that takes place one day when Jesus has cast a demon out of a man--you can find it in Matt. 12:27-32.  There, the Pharisees accuse him of casting out demons by Satan's power, which Jesus quickly shows as ridiculous logic.  He then says, "If it's by God's Spirit that I cast out demons, the Kingdom has come among you."  We'd all agree that it was by the Spirit that Jesus did it...so the Kingdom was already here. 
But later in the story, Jesus refers to "this age, and the age to come" (v32), telling us that there is both a now and a later.  The now is the era in which Christ has already been on earth ushering in the Kingdom...the later is the time of the fulness of God's Kingdom, when Christ comes to take us to Himself (John14), with the eternal blessings of Revelation 21 and 22.  Jesus deals with this "era" (the later) in Matthew 24-25, a very important section of Jesus' teaching that must be carefully studied, and not in haste.  Jesus died to ransom a Kingdom of priests (Rev5:9-10, cf 1Pet2:5,9), but they will remain "in the world" until He returns (cf John17:15-18), to be "by Gods power, guarded by faith, for salvation to be revealed at the last time" (1Peter1:5).  This is the now, that's the later, and both are the Kingdom.

Who is the Kingdom?
Christians, saints, and Kingdom-citizens...and not just those professing, but those who really do belong to Jesus. 
Paul said of himself and the Philippian christians, "our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like His glorious body" (Phil3:20-21).  The Kingdom is among those who have their citizenship in heaven, whose life is "hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians3:3), and are "seated with Christ in the heavenly places" (Ephesians2:6). 
We CAN'T be under the illusion that the Kingdom includes everyone--it doesn't.  It's those who belong to Jesus, and this calls for a greater urgency to proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom so that people will look to Him and belong to Him.
Daniel 7:18--(Daniel 7 being a great prophetic picture of Jesus receiving the heavenly Kingdom from the Father)--says that "the saints will possess the Kingdom".  Who are the saints, if not those who belong to Christ?  V14 said Jesus will possess the Kingdom, but v18 says the saints?  The apparent implication is that the saints are those who are "co-heirs with Christ" (Rom8:17).  All that is Christ's is the Saint's.  What an incredible truth.
And another thing: the saints AREN'T those who have earned a deeper state of righteousness than others (as some have been led to believe).  It's those who have been made poor in spirit to realize that Christ and Christ alone earned a right-standing with God.  HE was completely obedient, and no one else has been...and the grace of the Gospel is that Christ GIVES His righteousness to sinners who receive His Word with faith and obedience.  He came with grace and truth. 
Finally...

Why is the Kingdom?
This might seem a peculiar question, and to some just a matter of course  (who, what, where, when, why). 
But no one asks this question--WHY does God want His Son to have a Kingdom? 
The simplest answer is that God WILL be glorified.  "My glory I give to no other" (Isaiah42:8), "I blot out your transgressions for my name's sake" (43:25), "You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified" (49:3).  "Only in the Lord, it shall be said of me, are righteousness and strength" (45:24).  Frankly, God is out for His Name being glorified.
People struggle with this because they think it makes God sound selfish, but can God BE selfish?  If He's giving to mankind "life and breath and everything" (Ac17:25), "satisfying our hearts with food and gladness" (Ac14:17), and making the rain fall and sun shine on just, unjust, righteous, and unrighteous (Matt5:44), how could we ever call His motives selfish?  If God is constantly giving and giving more and then giving more, how could God be selfish?
Perhaps His passion for His Name being glorified is a result of His Name just being that glorious and that worthy of glory.  "I had concern for my holy name...it's not for your sake I'll act, but for the sake of my holy name...I will vindicate the holiness of my great name..it's not for your sake I will act...then they will know that I'm the Lord" (Ezekiel 36:21-23, 32, 38). 
This is exactly why Jesus prayed to the Father for unity among His disciples their selves and with Christ and the Father..."that the world may believe you sent me...(and)..loved them as you loved me" (John17:21,23).  God's mission is that His Kingdom come so that His Name be glorified and lifted high...because His Name IS that high!  "Your Name is exalted above all honor and praise" (Nehemiah9:5).  Think about that: if all mankind was to join together to worship God, His Name would still be higher than that.  What a pride-humbling and self-righteousness-killing truth.

This is why we will worship and serve God in heaven for all of eternity--because it takes that long to thank and glorify God for who He is and what He's done.  It's not coincidence man has a hunger in his heart for "something more"--it's because there IS something more.  The only thing to remember is that the "something more" is found in just receiving the Word of truth, "which is able to save your souls" (Jms1:21)--the "something more" isn't far off.  It's HERE.  And one day, it will be realized in all of its fullness...those who will get to enjoy it in its fullness are those who have received it now.  Kingdom citizens then are the Kingdom citizens now.  "All who are being led by the Spirit of God are sons of God" (Romans8:14, Gk).

Therefore, "turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth!" (Isaiah45:22).