KINGDOM OF HEAVEN

by Marsha Burns

Definitions:

Kingdom – the right to rule -- the royal power of Jesus conferred on Christians

Of Heaven –  the region above the sidereal heavens (constellations), the seat of or order of things eternal and consummately perfect -- where God dwells and other heavenly beings. 

A spiritual state of everlasting communion with God.

Matthew 6:10  Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Matthew 13:

14  … the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: ‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive;

15  For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them.’

16  "But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear.

The Word of God is the Gospel of Jesus Christ -- that He came to save those who would hear and receive Him.

The kingdom of heaven is like:

Matthew 13:

24  Another parable He put forth to them, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field;

25  "but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.

26  "But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared.

27  "So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’

28  "He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’

29  "But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them.

30  ‘Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn."’"

Matthew 13:23  "But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty."

So, the kingdom of heaven is the Word of God being sown in the hearts of people, and it will produce fruit.

Matthew 3:8  Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance.

Establishing the Kingdom is a process of separation.  It begins in our hearts with choosing the redemption of Christ.  And, it continues to be a series of choices throughout our lives.  The enemy presents his options of evil and the option to choose good is always there.

Hebrews 5:14  But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

2 Corinthians 10:4-6   For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,  and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.

It is our choice to stay focused and concentrate on God or not.  Our constant awareness of the Kingdom is our victory.

Matthew 13:31-32  Another parable He put forth to them, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches."

The kingdom heaven begins with the seed, the Word, the truth, with the acceptance of Jesus who is the Way, the Truth and the Life, and it grows as we nurture it.

Matthew 13:

33  Another parable He spoke to them: "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened."

The kingdom starts out small, but continues to grow until it permeates all that we are.

Matthew 13:

36  Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field."

37  He answered and said to them: "He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.

38  "The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one.

39  "The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.

40  "Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age.

41  "The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness,

42  "and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

43  "Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

Matthew 13:

47  "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind,

48  "which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away.

49  "So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just,

50  "and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth."

The consequences of choosing the kingdom we live in and the king that we serve is a matter of life and death.

Matthew 13:

44  "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

45  "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls,

46  "who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

The kingdom of heaven cost God everything, and when we find it we also are willing to spend all we have, to give our all because we understand the value of what we’ve been given.

Matthew 19:23-24  Jesus said to His disciples, "Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.  And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

If we value the world and worldly pleasures more than the kingdom of heaven, we can’t get in.

1 Timothy 6:10  For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

Matthew 5:3  Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

That is, blessed are those who know they need a Savior.

2 Timothy 2:12  If we endure, We shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us.

Revelation 20:6  Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.

We are faced with choices every day of whether or not to establish the kingdom of God.  It depends on what we value and whether or not we are obedient to the Word of God.

In a dream we were doing a prophetic enactment.  There were lots of people involved so we had a script for all of us to follow.  There were people of all ages both male and female, and we did fine until we got to the children.  The children rebelled and refused to do their parts.

The dream represented the kingdom of heaven, the Body of Christ.  And, it is the childish or immature Christian who rebels and creates problems in the kingdom.  Those who are immature have not been trained or disciplined by the Word of God.  They need to understand the serious consequences of disobedience, not to mention the effect they have on others in the kingdom.  Every person, young and old, must do their part to establish the kingdom of God on the earth.

Ephesians 4:
11  And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,
12  for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,
13  till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
14  that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,
15  but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—
16  from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

Faith Tabernacle

http://ft111.com