The Gospel of Luke (#74) "The Kingdom of God" August 18, 2024

First Baptist Church Leominster

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Well, this morning,

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Pastor Jason will lead us in our New Testament reading, and today it's Acts 24.

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Now, last week we considered the almost riot in Jerusalem after the

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Apostle Paul had been arrested, and of course, in order to save Paul from the mob, the

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Romans escorted him to Caesarea, which was on the coast, a harbor built by King Herod, by the way, an artificial harbor.

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There was actually underwater concrete that they invented. It was quite an elaborate port.

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But Paul was in prison there, in jail, for two years, and here in Acts 24 we read of how

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Paul is brought before the governor, and he was able to give a testimony of Christ before Felix, and of course, this was all in the plan of God, purpose of God, in order to bring

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Paul to Rome, where he would testify the gospel there, so Acts 24.

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Acts 24, and after five days, the high priest

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Ananias came down with some elders and a spokesman to him, one Tertullius. They laid before the governor their case against Paul, and when they had been summoned,

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Tertullius began to accuse him, saying, since through you we enjoy much peace, and since by your foresight, most excellent

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Felix, reforms are being made for this nation, in every way and everywhere, we accept this with all gratitude.

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But to detain you no further, I beg you in your kindness to hear us briefly, for we have found this man a plague, one who stirs up riots among the

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Jews throughout the world, and is a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.

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He tried to profane the temple, but we seized him. By examining him yourself, you will be able to find out from him about everything of which we accuse him.

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The Jews also joined in the charge, affirming that all these things were so, and when the governor had nodded to him to speak,

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Paul replied, knowing that for many years you have been a judge over this nation,

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I cheerfully make my defense. You can verify that it is not more than 12 days since I went up to worship in Jerusalem, and they did not find me disputing with anyone or stirring up a crowd, either in the temple or in the synagogues or in the city.

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Neither can they prove to you what they now bring up against me, but this I confess to you, that according to the way which they call a sect,

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I worship the God of our fathers, believing everything laid down by the law and written in the prophets, having a hope in God which these men themselves accept, that there will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust.

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So I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man. Now after several years,

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I came to bring alms to my nation and to present offerings. While I was doing this, they found me purified in the temple without any crowd or tumult, but some

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Jews from Asia, they ought to be here before you and to make an accusation should they have anything against me, or else let these men themselves say what wrongdoing they found when

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I stood before the council. Other than this one thing that I cried out while standing among them, it is with respect to the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you this day.

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But Felix, having a rather accurate knowledge of the way, put them off, saying, when

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Lysias, the tribune, comes down, I will decide your case. Then he gave orders to the centurion that he should be kept in custody but have some liberty and that none of his friends should be prevented from attending to his needs.

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After some days, Felix came with his wife, Drusilla, who was Jewish, and he sent for Paul and heard him speak about faith in Christ Jesus.

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And as he reasoned about righteousness and self -control and the coming judgment, Felix was alarmed and said, go away for the present.

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When I get an opportunity, I will summon you. At the same time, he hoped that money would be given him by Paul.

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So he sent for him often and conversed with him. When two years had elapsed, Felix was succeeded by Portia Sophestos, and desiring to do the

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Jews a favor, Felix left Paul in prison. Let's pray.

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Our Father, it's encouraging to remember that you are over all things. You are over all governments, all kings, all nations.

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Lord, you are sovereign over all, and your hand guides and leads every man.

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And Lord, we thank you that you are faithful, that you are just, and that you are accomplishing your will and your purposes in this world.

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Lord, as we continue our service, as we worship you through the preaching of the word, we pray,

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Lord, that we would hear what your word has to say, that you would teach us how to apply it to our lives, and that we would walk in obedience to it.

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We pray for Lars, that you'd give him clarity of thoughts and voice, and we pray that he would boldly proclaim your word.

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Help us now, Lord. Thank you. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. It's interesting, you read about Paul who, just attempting to tell people about the gospels, the way of salvation, we found this man to be a plague, and a creator of dissension among all the

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Jews throughout the world. And as our world increasingly becomes more like the

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Roman Empire of the first century, increasingly Christians are going to be seen to be the problem.

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And we see that now in a measure, but it's probably going to get a lot worse before the

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Lord comes. Well today, we'll begin to consider a passage in which our

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Lord addressed the nature of the kingdom of God. Jesus Christ gave instruction regarding the kingdom, his most important teaching, both to his

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Pharisee detractors, that's in the first two verses of our passage, and then to his disciples, certainly the larger portion or share of this passage.

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And so here is Luke 17, 20 through 37. Now when he,

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Jesus, was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them and said, the kingdom of God does not come with observation, nor will they see here or see there, for indeed the kingdom of God is within you.

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Probably better translated is in your midst, referring to himself among them, where the king is, the kingdom is.

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And then he said to the disciples, the days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the

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Son of Man, and you will not see it. And they will say to you, look here, look there, do not go after them or follow them.

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For as the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven, so also the

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Son of Man will be in his day. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation, and as it was in the days of Noah, so it will also be in the days of the

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Son of Man. They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.

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And likewise, as it was also in the days of Lot, they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built.

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But on the day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.

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Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed. In that day, he who is on the housetop, his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away.

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And likewise, the one who is in the field, let him not turn back, remember Lot's wife.

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Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, whoever loses his life will preserve it.

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I tell you, in that night there will be two men in one bed, the one will be taken, the other will be left.

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Two women will be grinding together, the one will be taken, the other left. Two men will be in the field, the one will be taken, the other left.

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And they answered and said to him, where, Lord? And so he said to them, wherever the body is, there the eagles, probably better, there the vultures will be gathered together.

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Theme of the kingdom of God is a major teaching throughout the entire Bible, from the book of Genesis all the way through the book of Revelation.

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It's one of the major themes of Holy Scripture. Our Lord Jesus, in giving instruction to guide his people in prayer, set forth our first responsibility to pray for God the

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Father to be hallowed, may his name be hallowed or glorified. And then in the second prayer petition of the

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Lord's Prayer, he declares how we may hallow God our

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Father, how we may glorify him, our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.

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Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. God the Father is hallowed, that is glorified when the kingdom of God is manifested in the world.

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Now it's our intention to work through these verses carefully, but we're not going to do so today. It's important to understand exactly what our

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Lord declared regarding the kingdom of God. And this is not an easy passage, it may appear to be at first glance, but we'll show next week,

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Lord willing, how it's not all that easy to work it through. And so to aid us in our understanding the teaching of this passage, we need to be informed about the nature and the meaning of the kingdom of God set forth in God's word.

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And so for today, in preparation to examine this passage, we desire to rehearse what the

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Holy Scriptures teach regarding the promised kingdom of God, of which both the

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Jewish Pharisees and Jesus' disciples anticipated and desire.

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And so basically we're going to stand back and I want to be able to give a synopsis of the whole unfolding drama of the

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Bible, the word of God. Now that's quite a task when you think about it. You know, how would you sit down and give a synopsis of what the

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Bible teaches? Well, that's what our effort is. This morning, with emphasis on the kingdom of God.

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But first of all, understand that the kingdom of God is at the heart of the gospel of salvation.

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Very few people recognize this and it's not proclaimed. One could rightly argue that the kingdom of God is at the heart of the message of the gospel of salvation.

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It could be said that the message of the gospel is the good news that God has inaugurated his promised kingdom in the reign of Jesus Christ and that sinners may be granted entrance into his kingdom through repentance from sin and faith in him, faith in Jesus Christ.

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In this kingdom, his people receive the forgiveness of sins. They enjoy fellowship with the

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Lord and his people. They live with joy and peace and in righteousness, both in this age and the age to come, that is eternity.

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The heart of the gospel message is Jesus is Lord. You can't say Jesus is

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Lord without understanding the kingdom idea there. Jesus is

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Lord over his kingdom. That is, he is the once crucified but now risen and enthroned sovereign ruler over the promised kingdom of God.

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Jesus Christ is Lord over history. They're not in control in Washington, D .C.,

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you know, or there at the Hague in Europe. Jesus Christ is on his throne and ruling history.

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And as we've emphasized all the time, he's doing two things. He's saving his people, the ones that the

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Father has given him from eternity, and he's bringing judgment upon his enemies. And that's what played out in history.

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That's what we're seeing now. Charles Spurgeon concurred with this understanding that the kingdom of God is essential to a biblical understanding of the gospel.

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He wrote, the gospel is the word of the kingdom. It's equated with that, the gospel.

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And so it has royal authority in it. It proclaims and reveals King Jesus and it leads men to obedience to his sway.

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And so Spurgeon said the gospel is the gospel of the kingdom of God. And then similarly,

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Matthew Henry wrote, the seed sown, and he's referring to the parable of the sower in Matthew 13, the parables of the kingdom.

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The seed sown is the word of God. Here, Matthew 13, it's called the word of the kingdom.

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Farmer goes out, sows seed, four kinds of soil. It's the word of the kingdom, which is the gospel.

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The gospel comes from that kingdom and conducts to that kingdom. The word of the gospel is the word of the kingdom.

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It is the word of the king. And where that is, there is power. It is a law by which we must be ruled and governed, the kingdom of God.

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And so to enter the kingdom of God is to receive and experience salvation. And we are to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom of Jesus Christ and press people to turn from their self -directed lives to believe and submit fully onto the

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Lord Jesus Christ. I fear that much nominal Christianity, those who are

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Christian in name only, who believe themselves to be Christian, but are not. I believe much of that is a result of a gospel message that has failed to emphasize the kingdom of God, but has reduced the gospel so -called to a promise of God's forgiveness of sins only.

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This truncated gospel is a message that promises to relieve the sinner of guilt, to escape hell and go to heaven.

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People are told that if they simply believe and only believe on Jesus Christ as their personal savior, they have salvation.

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How many people believe that? Well, little or nothing is said to them about the kingdom of God over which

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King Jesus reigns. It's not widely proclaimed that one may only enter the kingdom through repentance from sin, surrendering his heart and will wholly to the

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Lord Jesus Christ by denying himself in order to become a disciple of Jesus Christ.

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And so as a result, there are many who have a form of Christianity, an external form.

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While denying the power of their faith to transform their lives, they wrongly think that they are truly

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Christian because they simply and only believe certain things about Jesus Christ. But sadly, they do not order their lives as citizens of the kingdom of God under the lordship of Jesus Christ.

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But this is what saving faith is, according to the holy scriptures. Now, again, it could be argued that the promised kingdom of God over which

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Jesus Christ is lord is the major theme of all of scripture. In the realm of biblical studies, efforts to describe what each book of the

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Bible teaches by that author at that particular time, there's been a prolonged search for the major unifying theme of all of scripture.

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And although there have been many various proposals for the main theme of the Bible, it's agreed that it is a difficult and many would argue even impossible task to identify one predominant theme for there are many important themes or ideas that run through the course of the

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Bible. The idea of covenant, okay, for example. The idea of Israel.

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There are many different proposals. But a good case can be argued that the kingdom of God is the major theme that permeates and unifies all scripture.

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And we've stated before that the biblical scholars agree. They all agree this. The kingdom of God was the primary subject of the teaching of Jesus during his earthly ministry.

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That's what he preached on, the kingdom of God. And George Eldon Ladd, who is a wonderful evangelical scholar, expressed it in his classic book, his biblical theology,

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The Theology of the New Testament. Modern scholarship is quite unanimous in the opinion that the kingdom of God was the central message of Jesus.

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Central message. Others have attempted to show that the kingdom of God is the major idea or thrust of the entire

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Bible. We've mentioned Thomas Schreiner before. Good man. He was a bold conference speaker a few years ago.

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Had a lot of time with him. I really enjoyed it. Got to know him. But he wrote his biblical theology, which

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I highly recommend. If you want to know what the Bible is about, the story of the Bible, this is the book,

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The King and His Beauty. And in his prologue, he acknowledged the difficulty of asserting one central theme of the

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Bible. Nevertheless, he set forth the kingdom of God to be most prominent. He wrote these words. By now, it's common consensus that no one theme adequately captures the message of the scriptures.

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It's not my intention to dispute that hypothesis here, but he does. For almost any center chosen tends to domesticate one theme or another.

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I maintain that there are a number of different ways to put together the storyline, the theology of the scriptures that are legitimate.

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Here, my focus in his book is one of the major themes in the narrative. I intend to argue in this book that the kingdom of God, if that term is defined with sufficient flexibility, fits well as a central theme of the entire

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Bible. We would concur with that. And so given the importance of this subject, and yet realizing the inadequate or errant teaching that many have received regarding the kingdom of God, we desire to make the subject plain and clear.

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So I would hope that one who perhaps just happened to attend this church this morning, who maybe knows nothing about the

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Bible, nevertheless can be given an introductory understanding of what the whole

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Bible is about by emphasizing the nature and importance of the kingdom of God.

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So may the Lord help us in this effort. What does the

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Bible teach regarding the kingdom of God? It's important we establish in our thinking a historical theological context, understand it biblically.

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The Bible is an unfolding story through history, the history of redemption of what

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God has purposed to accomplish through Jesus Christ. And so we should understand the beginning of the story, read it

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Genesis 12 this morning, if we're to recognize and understand clearly the climax or the finale of the story.

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And so let's first consider the Old Testament record regarding the kingdom of God, then we'll speak of the realization of God's promises in Jesus Christ as recorded in the

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New Testament. So what does the Old Testament say? First of all, recognize the

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Old Testament presents God as king over all his creation, specifically

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God the Father. And so first we affirm the Holy Scriptures to teach that God the

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Father has always been the king over all that he has created. The Old Testament declares that God is a king, that he rules over all his creation with absolute sovereign authority.

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The psalmist declared this reality in a number of places, Psalm 103, 19, the

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Lord has established his throne in heaven and his kingdom rules over all.

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God is king. Psalm 47, for the Lord most high is awesome, he is a great king over all the earth.

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God is king. Sing praises to God, sing praises, sing praises to our king, sing praises for God is a king of all the earth.

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Sing praises with understanding, God reigns over the nations, God sits on his holy throne.

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God is the sovereign king over all that he has made. Psalm 95 contain these words affirming that God the creator is king.

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He's king because he is the creator over all that he's made. Well come let us sing to the

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Lord, let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation, let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, let us shout joyfully to him with psalms.

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Why? For the Lord is the great God and the great king above all gods.

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Obviously he's not saying that there are such thing as other gods, but all pretended gods. God is king over everything.

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In his hand are the deep places of the earth, the heights of the hills are also his, the sea is his.

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You know the ocean was seen to be threatening and uncontrollable, the place of death, the pagans used to worship moth, the god of the dead, the god of the sea, and yet here it's saying that God is sovereign even over the chaotic seas.

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By the way that reveals Jesus in the new testament speaks the word and the seas are calm that Jesus Christ is

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Lord over all things. The sea is his for he made it, see he's the creator, and his hands form the dry land.

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Oh come let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord our maker. He's king because he's the creator.

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We also read in the old testament that when God had originally created the world that everyone and everything he had created was in dutiful and joyful submission to God as king.

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All creation including Adam and Eve in the garden were willingly submitted to knowing and doing the will of God and so God had declared upon his creation of the heavens and the earth,

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God saw everything that he made and indeed everything was good, everything was compliant, willing submissive to God the creator, the king.

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But of course early in the biblical record we read of our first parents in the garden of Eden committing the first great act of sin and rebellion when they transgressed the one law that God had given them in the garden of Eden.

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Don't you eat of that tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And the bible teaches that all of creation suffered in Adam's one sin.

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He represented all of humanity, you and me, he was standing in our place. Prior to Adam's sin all of God's creation existed in harmony and in accordance with the will of God.

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All things were in willing submission to God but upon Adam's fall sin's effects permeated all of God's creation and so not only did man become cursed of God but all the earth as well.

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Man's sin resulted in the creation's fall as well as Romans 8 20 says, for the creation was subjected to futility not of its own will but because of him

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God who subjected it when man fell God cursed the world too and the earth as well.

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That's why weeds spring up instead of fruit. The effects of sin became all -encompassing and all -corrupting and with that one sin of Adam he plunged the whole human race into sin and so from then onwards no person or no thing was willingly subjective to the rule of God.

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The whole of God's creation fell and was in rebellion to its creator to its king

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God Almighty. God's authority was in no way threatened or diminished when that happened due to the world falling into sin for God continued to reign over all.

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We read that in the psalms he continued to reign over fallen man and a creation however that resisted and defied his will.

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Fallen man due to that first sin became sinners who desire and intend to be as gods themselves.

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That's what's in your heart when you were born into this world. I want to be the determiner of my own life.

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I am law. Oh God you made yourself a god and that's what sinners do.

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I'm going to determine what I want to do according to my will when I want to do it and that is sin.

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It's rebellion against God who is our Lord our creator and this of course defiance living in rebellion to God and his world results in man's own ruin and deserved damnation.

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There's room in God's universe for only one God and it's not you or me it's his son

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Jesus Christ. But God continued nevertheless after the fall as the sovereign king over his creation.

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Again the psalmist declared but our God is in heaven he does whatever he pleases and so in no way was

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God's sovereign control curtailed or diminished. It continued even after the fall of the world of mankind into sin.

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God is king over all his creation he rules over all even over all his fallen world.

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God is sovereign. Well we thankfully however see in the old testament the promise of the kingdom of God.

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The mediatorial kingdom of God I put that in parentheses. We'll explain what that means.

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God had originally created this world and particularly human beings as a kingdom over which he ruled as king.

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In the beginning God created all things good all things were in compliant submission to its creator king.

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God created man to be his co -regent. Adam and Eve were to rule over creation on behalf of God within his kingdom

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God's kingdom. But when Adam and Eve sinned the human race lost its lofty position and place in God's kingdom.

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Mankind through Adam became a race of rebels. Before the fall of man into sin all people all things were in lovingly subjection to God as king.

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After the fall no one and nothing was in subjection to God the creator its rightful king.

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The human race was lost to the kingdom of God excluded from the garden from the paradise of God in which they had lived a blessed existence in fellowship with their

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God. And so through Adam's sin all people became the citizens of another kingdom which is the kingdom of Satan a kingdom of darkness over which the devil reigns.

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And so through Adam's sin the human race became subject to the devil. Since Adam's fall into sin the devil has ruled over the fallen world in which mankind lives.

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The devil rules God over rules. So the devil rules over all fallen human beings as they are subjects of his kingdom.

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He influences them to do evil by coercing them enticing and tempting them controlling them as his subjects who do his bidding.

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And in this kingdom fallen people serve the devil and this is an important principle. How do people serve the devil?

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We're not talking about witchcraft or devil worshipers like that but every non -christian serves the devil in this way by purposing to live for themselves.

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That was what the devil tempted Adam and Eve to do. You live for yourself you will be as God determining what's right and wrong.

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You take of that tree you'll not die and that's how the devil controls people.

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He entices you to do your own will not God's will. And so the devil is the ruler of this age.

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He's the prince of the power of the air. He rules over the fallen kings of the earth through history. He has his fallen angels influencing controlling his subjects through deception and subterfuge through manipulation false reasoning that's contrary to the will of God.

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The whole world lies under the control of the wicked one. The devil is said to have great authority and influence in the fallen world through principalities and powers.

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They should be understood as a hierarchy of fallen angels or demons through which he influences and directs fallen human authorities who are in positions of influence and power.

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He leads them about to do his will. They think they're doing their own will.

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But thankfully it's it is the purpose of God to glorify himself in history through the recovery and restoration of a people from their sin to re -establish a kingdom in which his people would love him trust him obey him and rule over his creation on his behalf.

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Those in Christ are made a kingdom of priests were kings and priests because God wants his people to rule with him or coerce with Christ.

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The whole story of scripture is that of God redeeming and restoring his fallen creation onto himself and so God purposed to establish a mediatorial kingdom and thereby bring all of creation back as it were into a willing submission to its true

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God. And so by the term mediatorial kingdom we're saying that God purposed to restore the creation of himself through an intermediary or a mediator

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Jesus Christ who would affect the restoration of all things into a right and holy relationship with God.

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As one once wrote man was excluded from the kingdom of God as at his expulsion from paradise his restoration to that kingdom has been the grand end of all

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God's subsequent dispensations. Not to be confused with dispensationalism but in throughout all of the history of mankind this has been the purpose of God in bringing about this mediatorial kingdom of Jesus Christ.

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This restoration according to the divine plan was to be accomplished through a mediatorial kingdom of which the

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God -man Christ Jesus should be king and under this kingdom of the mediator the universe should no longer be governed immediately by God that is directly by God the father but immediately through the

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God -man all power in heaven and earth being given onto him. And so the first promise of this mediatorial kingdom that would come into being in history is found in Genesis 3 15 in which

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God promises that the devil would be defeated and mankind would be restored to God way back right after Adam and Eve's fall into sin and so this verse

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Genesis 3 15 is commonly called the first gospel or first message of the gospel it's called the proto first in priority evangelium the first gospel it's the first promise of the gospel in the bible it's the promise of God voice to the serpent

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God telling the serpent what's going to happen that his authority as the devil would be deposed and a promised son of the woman would ascend to become king over the restored kingdom of God it further set forth a veiled prophecy of Jesus Christ's death on the cross by which he would secure the great victory and so God declared to the serpent

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I will put enmity between you and the woman between your offspring and her offspring devil's people

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God's people he shall bruise your head see this offspring of the woman is going to and that head speaks of his rule his authority is going to destroy the serpent's authority you shall bruise his heel that speaks of Christ dying on the cross that's what the servant did on the cross but Christ wins the victory through that death on the cross and so all biblical history is the unfolding plan and purpose of God to bring about the defeat and subjugation of the devil in his kingdom by the promised offspring of the woman and so here is the first hint of Christ becoming victorious over the devil in his forces through Christ's own suffering and death upon his cross so as history began to unfold as we read in the book of Genesis people from the fallen human race returned unto

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God through faith faith alone we read in Genesis 4 to Seth also a son was born and he called his name

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Enosh and at that time people began to call upon the name of the Lord so early in history

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God preserved for himself individuals and some families here and there but when he called

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Abram which we read about in Genesis 12 when he called Abram and Sarai to leave their pagan roots and travel to a land that he would one day give to him

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God made known that he would save a people through faith Abram believed God and obeyed

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God he left his homeland and his family his people and traveled to Canaan God would form that people into a nation

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Israel and establish that nation before him in a place that they could live before him in a state of rest and peace the promised land

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God had promised Abraham that one of his descendants his seed would come to remove the curse of sin and restore his people to God and later after God had constituted

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Abraham's physical descendants into the nation of Israel at Mount Sinai God promised to bring his people into the promised land where they could live before him in a covenant relationship with him the ethnic physical descendants of Abraham were greatly privileged and blessed

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Israel would be a manifestation of a form of the kingdom of God in history it was a type it prefigured the kingdom of God established by Jesus Christ and later still

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God caused kings to arise in Israel who would lead his people in victory over their enemies to enable them to live before God and peace and security of course the

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Old Testament is a record of their failure isn't it but the mediatorial kingdom of God in the

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Old Testament was largely in the form of God's promise as taught and illustrated through types and shadows that pointed to the coming of Jesus Christ the promised king over the inaugurated kingdom of God everything in the

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Old Testament promised pictured foretold foreshadowed what we enjoy in Christ yes a form of the kingdom of God was seen in ancient

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Israel Israel was a political entity comprised of a physical ethnic people the

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Jewish people Israel was to invade and conquer the land that God had promised Israel was to displace the

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Canaanite peoples of the promised land to establish a theocracy in which they lived under the authority of the law of God with God as its rightful king he's to rule over them according to his laws however it would prove itself not to be the mediatorial kingdom in which all its citizens would live in joyful submission and compliance to God and his law

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Israel was never that way nevertheless Israel did set forth in the land in some ways what the promised kingdom should be and would be like one day under Jesus Christ God had given to Israel his moral law even the ten commandments to order its national life and in addition

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God gave to Israel ceremonial and civil laws by which the people can serve God in a manner that foreshadowed the true worship of God through Jesus Christ Jesus said they all testified of me but as we said in the

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Old Testament the kingdom of God was in the form of promise a kingdom that God had revealed would one day be inaugurated the coming kingdom of the

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Messiah would be an expansive kingdom reaching far beyond the physical borders of the ancient Israel read

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Isaiah Jeremiah Ezekiel the promised Messiah's kingdom would even encompass the entire world the

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Gentile world too of course later in Israel's history God raised up David as a king over Israel and it was through David that the nature and expanse of the promised messianic kingdom came to be understood more clearly

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David too was a type of Jesus David King David was the type

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Jesus Christ is the anti -type to which the type foreshadowed anticipated and so as the gradual decay and disintegration of Israel unfolded in history that's the entire record of the

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Old Testament the hope and expectation of the coming son of David and the establishment of his kingdom came to be the forefront of Jewish expectation but in God's promise of the mediatorial kingdom of the coming

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Messiah God declared that he would deliver his people from the control and power of evil forces that had enslaved them and he would do so even as he brought them into the promised kingdom of his son the mediatorial messianic kingdom which is the kingdom of God of the

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New Testament so through the salvation that God would accomplish on their behalf he would secure their willing and joyful obedience and compliance to his government over which he would enthrone the son of David Jesus Christ and so within the kingdom of Messiah of the

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Messiah there would be both Jews and a multitude of Gentiles from every tribe and nation and Isaiah foretold that so many wonderful ways and so that's basically the

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Old Testament leading up to preparing the way preparing the people for the coming of the

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Messiah the promised king well in the New Testament however we read of the realization of God's promise of his kingdom in Jesus Christ the

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Bible makes it abundantly clear when Jesus Christ was born it was the fulfillment of God's promise of the long expected kingdom of God the opening verse of the

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New Testament signals this event when Matthew declared the book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David the son of Abraham he was the promised one the angel

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Gabriel declared to Mary the child that she would bear was the promised son of David who would inaugurate the promised kingdom of God Gabriel announced to Mary don't be afraid

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Mary for you have found favor with God and behold you'll conceive in your womb bring forth a son you shall call his name

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Jesus he will be great and will be called the son of the highest and the

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Lord will give him the throne of his father David and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever and of his kingdom there will be no end the promise of the kingdom of God and Jesus was that promised king and Zechariah the father

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John the Baptist was inspired by the Holy Spirit to declare these words blessed be the

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Lord is the Lord God of Israel he has visited and redeemed his people has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant

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David as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets who've been since the world began since Genesis that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who aid us to perform the mercy promised to our fathers to remember his holy covenant the oath which he swore to our father

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Abraham to grant us that we be delivered from the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear see in the kingdom in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life and so with the presentation of the

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Lord Jesus in the gospels the gospel of the kingdom of God is announced John the

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Baptist announced the kingdom is at hand Jesus announced the kingdom is and the long -awaited promise of God of the mediatorial kingdom of God had arrived in the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth and so we read of our

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Lord's ministry Jesus went about all Galilee teaching in their synagogue preaching the gospel of the kingdom the good news of the kingdom it's arrived healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people and later we read similarly then

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Jesus went about all the cities and villages teaching in their synagogues preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every sickness every disease among the people and later still he declared that after his departure from this world his gospel of the kingdom would continue to be proclaimed throughout the world he told his disciples and this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations gentiles and then the end will come and so the point we wish to make is this the kingdom of God of the new testament that God inaugurated through the ministry death resurrection and enthronement of the

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Lord Jesus is the promised kingdom of David of the old testament and I want to tell you few people teach that yes they teach the kingdom the you know messianic kingdom of David is going to be for physical jews and an earth you know in a future thousand year jewish millennium no the new testament declares that all the promises of the messiah the messianic kingdom realized through Jesus Christ and was brought about by his life his death or resurrection his resurrection from the dead his ascension in heaven and he's enthroned at the right hand of God the father now sitting on the promised throne of David ruling over the people of God over the world

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Jesus declared in John 17 the father has given him authority over all flesh all humanity so that he might give life to those whom the father had given him

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Jesus has all authority in heaven and earth he's not going to have any more authority at the second coming his authority will be revealed and manifest then but he has all authority in heaven and earth now

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Jesus Christ is Lord and so the church of the new testament is the promised

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Israel of the old testament under the new covenant the church did not replace Israel we are commonly falsely accused of teaching replacement theology no the church didn't replace

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Israel that's a false charge the church is promised Israel of the kingdom of the messiah we are privileged and blessed to be the citizens of the kingdom of God living in the kingdom of the son of David foretold and foreshadowed in the old testament now what

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God had brought before his people through the coming of Jesus Christ was not what the Jewish people were anticipating or desired their expectations are far removed from that which

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God inaugurated through Jesus Christ the Jewish people of the new testament days expected a restored earthly political kingdom with physical borders ruled over by a son of David that's what the

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Pharisees were looking for that's what they're asking Jesus when is it when is the kingdom going to appear but what

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God had promised ancient Israel was a kingdom that was spiritual in nature the reason for this was because the real problem that brought an end to Israel's kingdom in the old testament was a spiritual problem they thought the problem were the

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Babylonians or the Assyrians no the problem was them and their sin God was using

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Babylon and Assyria as his instrument of judgment it was their sin that it alienated them from the life enjoyed by those who know

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God had lived before him in his kingdom and so the old testament record of the physical enemies of Israel their defeat of Israel their subsequent oppression of that all

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Israel had experienced were God's just punishment upon Israel's for its sin for Israel had violated transgressed the mosaic covenant with God and therefore

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God's promise of a restored kingdom of David would be spiritual in nature not physical God having brought a remedy to their backsliding and rebellion causing them to love him and serve him in faith and obedience the messiah would restore believing jews to the promised kingdom believing jews only but he would also deliver believing gentiles from their sin bringing them into his kingdom as our lord declared this in the gospels i say to you that many will come from the east and west that's gentile the world and sit down with abraham isaac and jacob in the kingdom of heaven another word name for the kingdom of God but the sons of the kingdom that would be the jewish people will be cast into outer darkness because they refuse to believe on their king

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Jesus and they'll be weeping and gnashing of teeth all true disciples of Jesus enjoy the spiritual and internal blessings of God for being a new covenant relationship with him the reason is that the son of David would secure the obedience of his citizens through their conversion and by imparting to his people the holy spirit who would ensure their faith and obedience to their king and moreover the enemies from which

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God would deliver his people were not political enemies the physical powers of Rome that ruled over Palestine the deliverance that Jesus would accomplish was from the principalities and powers which the devil employed to keep his people enslaved in their sin and powerless to escape

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Jesus would set his people free from the bondage of sin and the devil enabling them to live before him in faith and love and obedience

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Jesus told some of the jewish leaders who wrongly thought they had salvation Jesus said to those jews who believed him if you abided my word you're my disciples indeed no true disciples and you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free they answered him we're

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Abraham's descendants we've never been in bondage to anyone which is a ridiculous comment how can you say you'll be made free

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Jesus answered them most assuredly say to you whoever commits sin is a slave of sin a slave does not abide in the house forever but a son abides forever therefore if the son makes you free you shall be free indeed and so the freedom that God offers in his kingdom is a freedom from the tyranny of Satan the tyranny of sin we're still plagued with sin but Christ is your

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Lord now not sin you used to serve sin and fight against God now you fight against sin in order to serve

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God everything changed when you were converted and the spiritual freedom in which the disciples would live before God in faith and liberty of conscience is a blessing enjoyed by those who entered the kingdom of God through faith in Jesus Christ and so our

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Lord taught his disciples throughout his earthly ministry the true nature of the kingdom of God it was not a physical political nation as once existed under King David it would be a spiritual kingdom in which people are set free inwardly to love and serve

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God in the parables of the kingdom in Matthew 13 our Lord both corrected and instructed his disciples as to the true nature of the kingdom when our

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Lord first told his disciples the parable of the sower it prompted their question then the disciples came and said to him why do you speak to them that is the

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Jewish people in parables he answered to you his disciples it's been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven in other words the kingdom of God but to them unbelieving

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Jews it's not been given for to the one who has the more will be given he will have an abundance but from the one who has not even that which he has will be taken away and so it was through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross that the

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Lord Jesus fully and finally defeated the devil in his forces he bruised his head he dethroned the devil devil still prince of the power of the air but he has no authority over the

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Lord's people the Lord delivers his people from the kingdom of Satan and translates them into the kingdom of his dear son and so the

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Lord Jesus broke the devil's authority over his people thus setting them free enabling them to come unto

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Jesus Christ in repentance and faith and we read of this in Paul's letter to the Colossians in which he wrote of the work of God the

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Father in saving his people he has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the son of his love in whom we have redemption through his blood the forgiveness of sins that's the kingdom of God and in Colossians 2

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Paul wrote of the believers union with Jesus Christ in his life death and resurrection thus they were set free from the principalities that bound them you being dead in your trespasses in the uncircumcision of your flesh he's made alive together with him having forgiven all your trespasses having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us the law can no longer condemn the true

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Christian which was contrary to us he's taken it out of the way having nailed to the cross having disarmed principalities and powers they can still trouble you and plague you but they cannot ultimately defeat you or overpower you

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Christ protects you and preserves you he's taken it out of the way having nailed it to the cross having disarmed principalities and powers he made a public spectacle of them triumphing over them in it and that happened when he died on the cross in obedience to his father and so under letter d through his cross

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Jesus stripped the devil of his power to prevent God's elect from the nations the gentile nations from coming to salvation for the

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Lord Jesus to bring salvation to his people he had to deliver them from the power of the devil who ruled over them and so in our

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Lord casting out demons of out of people he declared it was proof that he was inaugurating the kingdom of God that God promised to Israel we can read in Matthew 12 about this one brought to him a demon possessed blind and mute he healed him the people began to ask the question could this be the son of David could this be the promised messiah of course the pharisees responded unbelief no no he's casting out uh demons by the power of the prince of demons the devil the ruler of demons but Jesus knew their thoughts and he wouldn't explain to them no it was the kingdom of God that's that's that's that's seen these demons defeated he himself was the king over the promised kingdom of God and so after Jesus declared the present reality of the promised kingdom of God the

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Lord Jesus spoke of the necessity to restrict and restrain the devil to set his people free from their sin enabling them to become citizens of the kingdom living under him and so our

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Lord spoke of the necessity to first bind the strong man before he could come in and spoil the devil's house he had to go in first and bind the strong man then he could spoil the house and make a spoil of the devil's house and so in order for Jesus to become the savior of his people he had to first strip the devil of his authority and his ability to keep his people in bondage and that's what

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Jesus did on the cross he in effect deposed satan's authority when our

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Lord was raised from the dead he ascended was enthroned in heaven thereby vanquishing the devil as his conquered enemy the devil was cast into the world and he's you know ferocious and he's tearing up doing everything but he cannot prevent the elect from coming to salvation in Christ Jesus has all authority over him read 2nd

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Corinthians 4 you know the devil's blinded them but the

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Lord turns on the light just like when God said let there be light in Genesis 1 God says to the unsaved soul to the non -christian let there be light and all of a sudden there's illumination by Jesus Christ the

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Holy Spirit I understand I see I see the kingdom I see Jesus is

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Lord I believe that's a work of the authority and power of Jesus Christ as king over the kingdom of God well it's with this binding of the devil of course that took place on the cross then introduces us to the whole doctrine of the millennium and this is where it gets sticky and we don't have time to we're going to address it next week of course because even though I believe what we've printed presented is a clear presentation of the promised kingdom of God the messianic kingdom good well -intentioned

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Christian people are all over the map in their understanding of the messianic kingdom you have

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I would advocate for those of you in the know an amillennial view will present that biblically we have good friends that are post -millennial

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Christ will come after you know a future age of glory but most of the evangelical world good godly people believe that Christ is going to come back before a thousand year