What about the Kingdom?

By: D. James Heffner

It is amazing to me how many varied “Messages” the ministers of Christ preach that leave out or minimize the subject that was near and dear to the heart of Jesus. I suppose what they preach has a lot to do with which denomination or movement they are a part of, for instance, the Baptists preach mostly about repentance and being baptized. The Charismatics focus on the gifts of the Holy Spirit, while the liturgical churches emphasize ritual. The Holiness churches preach piety and being apart from the world. Evangelical churches are very missionary oriented and getting sinners “saved” is the substance of their preaching. I think you get the idea. While the foregoing “paints them all (individually) with the same brush” there are of course variations within each of these movements. It is because of these “messages” the Church as a whole is fragmented and has no cohesive voice. The Church has lost the message Jesus preached!

I do not fault any of these “groups” as in my mind they are simply branches of the tree that has sprung from the root of Jesus – to be healthy a tree must have many branches. However, for the tree to be fruitful it must be bearing the same fruit, have you ever seen a tree bearing different fruit on its limbs? The problem is each “group” is bearing different fruit and, possibly, that is why so many people are “church hoppers” or easily converted to another denomination or movement. People are hungry for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. So why are churches behaving like a bunch of diverse restaurants? Yes, a good meal must have variety, but the plate from which it is served must be solid and able to “hold” all the needs of the people. If all you ate was one type of food you would be sickly and subject to all manner of weaknesses. So it is with the present “body of Christ” Church. The Church has left the message Jesus preached off the “plate” it serves to a hungry people. Little wonder the message of Christianity has not won the world to Christ!

Every day thousands and thousands of people are accepting Jesus as their Lord and Savior – they need food to grow and healthy leaders to teach them the ways of Jesus so they can grow into strong “warriors” for God. God is not looking for a bunch of people to gather once or twice a week to worship Him. While “good works” are indeed a manifestation of a Christian’s life and living a life free from sin by faith is essential to their achieving holiness – all things God desires from His children – most have not put on the whole armor of God. It’s as if they are waiting for God to do something, and in the meantime they busy themselves with religious behavior as prescribed by the church within which they fellowship. In this they sin greatly as they are ignoring the message Jesus preached and which the Apostles carried throughout their known world.

Do you know what Jesus’ message was? Was it to quit being a sinner, join a church, and live a good life? Was it to go around using the gifts of the Holy Spirit to defeat the Devil and bless people? I am continually amazed by the quantity of books I see in Christian bookstores, the thousands of writings by theologians, the disagreements within the body of Christ over doctrine – many of which are man made. No wonder the members of the body of Christ are confused and unsure of exactly what the Father expects of them. I am not surprised that the people of the world as a whole have not embraced the message of the Gospel; they are not sure what it is – exactly. There are too many voices all saying different things, putting forth different requirements for salvation, requiring adherence to a form of worship – that lacks the power of God. Sometimes churches remind me of a bunch of merchants all trying to get someone to buy their wares to the exclusion of their competitors’ products. The message Jesus preached had only one “product” for people to chose from, only one “manufacturer” from which to receive “things” necessary for life, only one place to “go” to have their needs met. The message Jesus preached was that of The Kingdom of God.

This is the message - The Kingdom of God - that has been drowned out by all the voices “hawking” the various “wares” of churches all claiming to follow the teachings of Jesus. It is time to get back to that central theme, to reach the world with the truth of what God has planned and what they must do to be part of His kingdom. To do otherwise is to fail to prepare the Bride of Christ, to raise up the Army of God and to give the victory to the enemy. Jesus came to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom, to set people free from false gods and religious ceremony, to redeem them back into His kingdom, where they could have eternal life, live in His presence and Glory, and be where true worship could take place. To enter that kingdom one must be free from sin, and Jesus made the acceptable sacrifice, which once for all conquered sin, they also must become like Him, which they can do by the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. Repent, be baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit and you will become a citizen of God’s Kingdom. Is that a hard message to understand? No! It is easy to grasp. So why has man made the church a “business”, based on part of this message, while leaving out the part about becoming like Him to rule and reign with Him for all eternity?

There is only one reason. To keep people in bondage to a form of godliness, to chain them to religious ritual, to remind them continually of their sinfulness by covering up the true message of the Kingdom of God.  Thankfully there are churches and fellowships that have not forgotten the message Jesus preached. In these the members of His body are being prepared, nurtured and fed to make them strong warriors to win the world to Christ so His kingdom can come and be established here among us - though as He said, it is already among us. However it can only be revealed when the church has reached maturity and is fit for her Bridegroom. Under the present conditions this will not happen. The Church is too busy playing church – which is more fun than preparing for Christ’s return in Glory.

How can you ignore the very words of Jesus, it is He who said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”; “For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”; “But first seek his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”; “ As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’”; From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.”; “When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart.”; “The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.”; “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”; “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces.”; “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”; “But he said, ‘I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.’”; “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, ‘Here it is’, or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.”.

What about the message the Apostles preached? “But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.”; “Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God.”; “From morning till evening he explained and declared to them the kingdom of God…”; “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.”; “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.”; “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”. So, I ask you, what message is your minister preaching, what message does your church take to the lost, what are you preparing for, or are you preparing at all? If you are not hearing about and preparing for the Kingdom of God then I advise you to find a church where this subject is the only message preached and the members are, like the Apostle Paul, pressing towards the high calling in Christ Jesus.