Equipping the Saints: The Kingdom of God


1.  Introduction


A.   Why are we doing this training?

1 Cor 12:1-2

Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant.

Eph 4:11-13

1 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Matt 25:40

I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.

 

B.   An Encouragement

                                                             i.      Please listen intently and watch closely

1.     Allow your beliefs and practices to be stretched.

2.     Don’t form rigid conclusions too quickly.

3.     Get involved.  We’ll have a hands-on time of prayer and ministry during each session.

                                                           ii.      Key Scriptures

John 14:11-12

Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. 12 I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.

Matt 10:1, 7-8, 28:18-20

He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.

As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near.' 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.

Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

2.    The Kingdom of God


A.   While most of us agree that Christianity should be the same kind of powerful force that it was in the first century, we cannot readily identify with the power that Jesus and the disciples operated in as described in the pages of the New Testament.

B.   Part of our difficulty lies in not understanding or doing what Jesus wants us to do because we have failed to understand the mission of Jesus: The establishment of the Kingdom of God.  Mark 1:14-15, Matt 4:23, Matt 9:35, Luke 10:11b

C.   The Kingdom of God was the central message and mission of Jesus Christ

D.   What does the term mean?

                                                                i.      Literally speaking it means Royal Rule or Reign

E.    Instead of destroying human sovereignties (i.e. the empire of Rome) or making changes in the external political order, Jesus came and made changes in the spiritual order and in the lives of men and women.  Luke 17:20-21, Matt 12:22-30

                                                                i.      Jesus made it clear that the struggle in which He was engaged was a battle between the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan. 1 John 3:8 “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work.”

F.    The Role of Jesus in the Kingdom

                                                                i.      He brought the Kingdom to earth in its present form.

                                                              ii.      He made citizenship available to all who would believe.

                                                           iii.      He taught about the Kingdom.

                                                           iv.      He demonstrated the power of the kingdom. His Proclamation of the Kingdom was always accompanied by a Demonstration of its power.

                                                              v.      He promised He would bring the future and complete manifestation of the Kingdom. 

G.   The Role of the Church in the Kingdom (Doin’ the Stuff)

                                                                i.      Operate in the authority of Jesus and in the power of the Holy Spirit.

                                                              ii.      Teach the things that Jesus taught.

                                                           iii.      Do the things that Jesus did.

                                                           iv.      Make disciples, baptizing them and teaching them to be Kingdom citizens. 

Mark 16:15-18

He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well." 

 

H.   The Kingdom of God exists where:

                                                                i.      The poor in spirit – those who have abandoned all other spiritual resources – have the Gospel – the good news about Jesus preached to them.

                                                              ii.      There is spiritual rebirth.

                                                           iii.      Miracles occur. The blind are given sight, the deaf hear, the lame walk, the sick are healed, resources are multiplied, storms are stilled and nature is subdued, etc., 

                                                           iv.      Demons are expulsed as part of a frontal attack on the kingdom of Satan.

                                                              v.      The Holy Spirit empowers people for Kingdom living.  In spite of their circumstances, He gives them love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. (Gal 5:22-23)

I.       The Kingdom of God is here, yet it is not fully manifest. We live in the time between the inauguration and the consummation of the Kingdom.

                                                                i.      The age to come has entered the present, and under this new rulership we can expect the benefits of the coming age (forgiveness of sin, freedom from demons, healing from sickness, etc.) but not without a battle (power encounter).

                                                              ii.      As the kingdom of God is advanced the power of the enemy is curbed but it has not been eliminated.

                                                           iii.      We are called to continue the frontal assault that Jesus initiated on the kingdom of darkness in order to advance the Kingdom of God.  Matt 11:12 “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.”

 

Here are two examples that might help you understand this concept of the here and yet of the Kingdom.

·        We elect a president in November but he doesn’t take power until his inauguration in January.  Until then the government is in transition.  The new man is the president elect, yet the outgoing president is still running the government.

·        Everybody agrees that Hitler’s third Reich was essentially over when the allies successfully invaded Europe on D-day.  His generals new it.  That is why they tried to assassinate Hitler in order to negotiate peace with the allies.  Hitler was a megalomaniac and believed until the end that he would prevail.  It took a many battles and cost many lives to advance the cause of the allies until they got Germany to surrender.

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