2-PRESENCE OF THE KINGDOM

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I am working my way through five essentials that will assist us in de-Christianizing Jesus in order to get to our final destination of lifting Jesus up where He belongs in our world. The 1st essential was the Preeminence of Jesus. The 2nd essential is the Presence of the Kingdom.

The Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of heaven are used interchangeably. Even though Jesus teaches so little on the church (mentions it twice), He spends lots of time teaching about the Kingdom. Today the Kingdom concept has escaped our notice, even though Jesus places so much emphasis on it. It's not that the Kingdom has been rejected, but reduced. There are, at least, 5 ways that we tend to reduce the Kingdom. FIRST-It is MYSTICAL. If it's mystical, then it is very difficult to explain and understand definitively. It's sort of other-worldly. SECOND-It's HEAVENLY. This is a lot like the first. If the Kingdom is heavenly, then it has little, if any, application on earth. THIRD-It's APOCALYPTIC. This means it isn't for today, but is relegated to a time in the future when Jesus will set up His Kingdom on earth. FOURTH-It's EQUATED TO THE CHURCH. Many see the Kingdom as the local church and therefore it's limited to whether it's a good and healthy church or not. FIFTH-It's a SOCIAL CONCERN. To many feeding the poor and doing charitable deeds among the needy of our world is where the Kingdom is.

All of these are a little bit true. However, what has been missed or ignored is that Jesus makes it very clear that the Kingdom is here. In Jesus' first message He says, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."

Then, after emerging successfully from the 40 day experience in the desert where He was tempted by the Devil, Matthew records: From that time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."

When Jesus sent the twelve disciples out for their first mission He said, "As you go, proclaim this message: 'The kingdom of heaven has come near.'"

Jesus carried this same theme of the Kingdom beyond His disciples. According to Luke 17:20-21, Jesus was addressing His remarks to the Pharisees: Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is in your midst." Another way of saying this is, "The Kingdom of God is in you or among you all." I think what Jesus is saying is that He has brought the Kingdom-the presence of God to earth. You see, where the King is, there is the Kingdom.

On several occasions Jesus gives clear requirements for entering the Kingdom of heaven or the Kingdom of God. We will go through each of these next week. I suppose "entering the Kingdom" is most often considered as "getting into heaven", however the point I want to make here is that when Jesus spoke of entering the Kingdom, He seems to be saying you can enter it right now! So, you might say "heaven" (if that's what you call it) begins as soon as you enter it here. Or, "eternal life" begins at the point of entering the Kingdom.

Since Jesus is the King, His teachings and very presence brought the Kingdom to earth for us right then when He showed up with this Kingdom message. The primary action of the 8 parables about the Kingdom in Matthew 13 is the sowing of the seed and the seed is identified as the "message or word of the Kingdom". That's the good news message right here, right now. Those parables were describing what the invisible form of the Kingdom after Jesus had been rejected by the Jewish leadership would be-what it would look like from here on out.

Once you embrace the fact that the presence of the Kingdom is right here, right now, you can begin disciplining yourself to live in the Kingdom right here, right now. You embrace the Kingdom lifestyle by living out the teachings and principles of the King and His Kingdom. Jesus calls it following Him or doing the will of the Father or hearing His words and practicing them.

In other words, you can live in the Kingdom today, right now. When you embrace the Kingdom lifestyle, you will find yourself going against the grain and the natural flow of the world. Don't forget that the world system Jesus spoke so often about included the religious leadership of the day. You will find yourself caught up in the flow of the movement of the Kingdom of God or better yet, you will be caught up in the 21st Century Jesus movement. It's a revolutionary movement and Jesus is the one who leads it. So, see where Jesus is at work and get in there. See what Jesus does and says and then go mimic Him. You see, no matter your circumstances, you can practice the presence of the Kingdom and enjoy the presence of King-Jesus-right here on planet earth, right now.

1-PREEMINENCE OF JESUS

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This week I want to move through 5 essentials that are necessary for us to enjoy a relationship with Jesus and to embrace the Kingdom lifestyle Jesus presents.

Once we have completed these essentials, then I want to offer some recent thoughts I have on Jesus and the Kingdom, like how to follow Jesus and enter into the Kingdom right now.

The first essential is the PREEMINENCE OF JESUS. Let's begin with John 1 and Colossians 1. Within these two chapters you will find powerful references to the preeminence of Jesus.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all people. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God- 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.

14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only [Son], who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. 16 Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God, but the one and only [Son], who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.

Colossians 1:15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him.

When Napoleon was exiled to the island of St Helena, he had plenty of time to think. This is what he wrote: There is something about Jesus Christ I cannot understand. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and myself have all founded great empires, but on what did these creations of our genius rest? Upon force. But Jesus founded his on love. This very day millions would die for him. I have inspired multitudes with enthusiastic devotion. They would die for me. But to do it, it was necessary that I should be present with the electric influence of my looks, my words, my voice. When I saw men and spoke to them I lit up the flame of devotion in their hearts. But Jesus Christ by some mysterious influence, even through the lapse of eighteen centuries, so draws the hearts of men towards him that thousands at a word would rush through fire and flood for him, not counting their lives dear to themselves.

Then, there is a writing called the INCOMPARABLE CHRIST: More than nineteen hundred years ago there was a man born contrary to the laws of life. This man lived in poverty and was reared in obscurity. He received no formal education and never possessed wealth or wide-spread influence.

He never traveled extensively. He only once crossed the boundary of the country in which He lived. But this man's life has changed the course of history.

In infancy He startled a king; in childhood he puzzled doctors; in man hood He ruled the course of nature, walked upon the waves, and hushed the sea to sleep. He healed the multitudes without medicine and made no charge for His services.

He never wrote a book. Yet His life has inspired more books than any other man. He never wrote a song. Yet He has furnished the theme for more songs than all songwriters combined. He never founded a college. But all the schools put together cannot boast of having as many students. He never marshaled an army, nor drafted a soldier, nor fired a gun. Yet no leader ever had more rebels surrender to Him without a shot fired.

He never practiced psychiatry. Yet He has healed more broken hearts than all the doctors far and near. Though time has spread nineteen hundred years between the people of this generation and His birth, He still lives. His enemies could not destroy Him, and the grave could not hold Him.

Today, Jesus still stands at the highest pinnacle of all humanity. I'm fascinated that one of the best known of the Hindu culture, Mahatma Ghandi, was so adored by his people and he was called Christ-like. I'm amazed that the best known Buddhist, the Dalai Lama, said that he was unworthy of tying the shoes of Jesus. I know Muslim leaders who follow Jesus and call Jesus Lord. He is not limited to Christianity and this is why He must be de-Christianized, so that the world may know this incomparable Jesus. Jesus is the most irresistible person of all! He must have first place in everything all the time. This is what I mean by the preeminence of Jesus. We must learn to live our lives bowing our hearts and minds to His preeminence. Jesus trumps everything.