KINGDOM OF HEAVEN
Matthew 5:3b
My home is my kingdom. And in my kingdom, taxes have to be paid. I levy what are called “Dad taxes.” A dad tax is when I require from my kids a small but meaningful portion of whatever good thing they got. French fries? Dad tax. Ice cream? Dad tax. Nachos, chicken nuggets, birthday money? Dad tax. Its like the Stevie Ray Vaughan song, “Taxman”
Let me tell you how it will be
There’s one for you, nineteen for me
‘Cause I’m the taxman, yeah, I’m the taxman
Last month we were at Russ’ and a certain 9 year old boy had a chocolate milkshake. As I went in for my “Dad tax,” he said, “Na-na-na-na!” I reminded him that within the borders of our family there were taxes that had to be paid to the Dad. Then some grandpa-looking-figure, whom I will not name to protect his identity said, “Tell him No, Levi, a bill eliminating taxes just passed the House.” Then while slurping some milkshake this little 9 year old said, “That’s right Grandpa Mike, a ‘big, beautiful bill’ is gonna cut taxes – including ‘dad’ taxes!” You can tell I have my hands full enforcing taxes in my kingdom. (You’ve heard of the tea party, I think the milkshake party is forming!)
Our focus today comes to another kingdom – the kingdom of heaven. This is one of the most majestic themes in the bible. We focus on it today because we are going through the Beatitudes in Matthew 5 and a few weeks ago we read verse 3, “Blessed are those who are poor in spirit, because theirs is the kingdom of heaven!”
Several weeks ago we studied what it meant to be poor in spirit. It means to KNOW that you have nothing spiritually to offer God that is of any value to Him. It means you fully know that apart from Him you do nothing, are nothing, and have nothing that is worth anything spiritually to Him. It means therefore, that you know you are entirely dependent on Him for any spiritual good. In other words, poor in spirit refers to a deeply felt humility before God, and before others.
These are the people who belong to the kingdom, and these are the people whom the kingdom of heaven belongs to. But poor in spirit is not the only characteristic of those who will inherit the kingdom. In verse 11 Jesus also says, “blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” He then says that in the kingdom of heaven there are going to be people who are greater than others, and people who are less than others. The difference is what they do with God’s commands. Look at verse 19 with me, “…..”
WHAT IS THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN?
The kingdom of heaven (also called the kingdom of God), is the rule of God from heaven over all his creation – both the entire physical universe and the entire spiritual realm. There is nowhere on earth, or in the universe, or in all the invisible realm and heavens, where God is not King.
Nebuchadnezzar, the greatest king on earth in his day declared, “His dominion is an eternal dominion, his kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth.” (Dan 4:34-35a).
We see this in the fact that no matter where you read in Scripture God is nearly always seen on His throne in heaven, like the great Ezekiel vision, and the great vision in Revelation. One of the greatest moments is Isaiah 6 when Isaiah is taken up into heaven and sees God on His throne and says, “I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple.”
These images majestically reveal our God is THE king, ruling over His kingdom. His kingdom is the entire creation is his kingdom – He is the Creator-King. He always has been, is right now, and always will be King and ruler.
But what is The kingdom of heaven? Lets identify some features about this kingdom.
First, it is eternal. King David proclaimed the same thing as King Nebuchadnezzer in Psalm 145:13, “Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations.” Or as Paul declared in 1 Timothy 1:17, “Now to the KING eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” There has never been a time when the heavens or the earth were not under the Sovereign rule of God. Everything that has happened in the entire history of all creation – visible and invisible – has happened within the sphere of God’s kingdom.
APPLICATION: Live confidently, Christian, that God’s kingdom rules even now, and will forever.
Second, His kingdom includes the temporary rebellion of angels and men. In Daniel 2 God showed Daniel the succession of future kingdoms. The Babylonians would be followed by the Medo-Persians, followed by the Greeks and finally the Romans. And then verse 44 says this, “In the time of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed….The Great God has shown the king [Nebuchadnezzar] what will take place in the future.”
You see the eternal rule of God over his kingdom by the very fact that these kingdoms are not only predicted, but their fate is determined by God. In other words, yes, these kingdoms on earth will come, but they come by the authority of God in heaven, who is working out his plans in history – which include these forerunner kingdoms.. They are not outside of his kingdom, they are part of the development of His ultimate designs for his own kingdom, which will come to full realization at the end of the age (which we’ll get to).
Let me put this thought into perspective: Satan may be called “the god of this world,” but not in an ultimate sense. Consider a parent who requires their kid to clean their room. The bedroom belongs to the kid, but not in an ultimate and final sense. It belongs to the parents as well, who pay the bills! Now, there is allowance for a kid to decorate how they want and have a reasonable amount of mess. But the limits on decorations, the limits on mess, are set by the parents, who are the ultimate and final authorities of the bedroom. The parents are the king and queen of this household kingdom, and within their kingdom they may allow a sphere of rule in the bedrooms by their kids. But that rule is limited and determined by mom and dad
APPLICATION: Do not despair at the temporary success of evil in this world.
Third, God’s kingdom has invaded this world. He not only “contains” this world from above, God has invaded this world with His kingdom. The KING of this kingdom came and said, “If I drive out demons by the finger of God then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” In Luke 11:20 Jesus, the king of this kingdom, said, “If I drive out demons by the finger of God then the kingdom of God has come upon you!” Matthew 4:17 says Jesus began to preach this message: “Repent, for the kingdom of God is near.” It was near and it “came upon” them because the King of God’s Kingdom was right there in their presence, representing the entire kingdom, doing things that are only done “in” the kingdom of God. Let me illustrate:
During high school I played baseball. During games scouts or coaches for different colleges would show up at games to see if there was any talent. When they arrived we’d say, “Aquinas is here,” or “Ferris is here”, or, “Grand Valley” is here. Now, the college didn’t move buildings to the baseball field we were at. That’s silly. There was “Someone” from Ferris, or GVSU, or Aquinas who showed up. They represented the college. They had the power to connect you with that college
It’s the same with Jesus. He represented the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom wasn’t actually moved from heaven down to earth. The kingdom of God was being represented. Someone – the ultimate Someone – was there in the flesh. The King of that kingdom was standing right there, representing that kingdom of God, having the power to give people entrance into it. “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me” He said. Even more so: He was calling people to enter it.
Or take yet another example. The last several weeks we went down to the Pride festival in Muskegon and Grand Haven to do evangelism. What was down there were two kingdoms meeting face to face. Everything that the kingdom of darkness stands for was represented by one group, and everything the kingdom of Jesus Christ stands for was represented by those who came down to declare the gospel.
Fourth, the kingdom of heaven is coming in the future in a final form. God, in his sovereign plans, will bring about his direct rule over this earth in the coming reign of Jesus Christ. The kingdom of heaven will see a future kingdom that would invade this world and destroy all evil, and see Jesus setup as King of kings over the whole earth. Revelation 15:3-4 is pure glory when it declares this very fact. Turn to Psalm 2 and Revelation 11 with me….
It is the end-times kingdom, the kingdom that will be ushered in at the end of the age. This is the Rock Kingdom, Daniel 2 prophesied about, that This future kingdom that will be established does not mean that God is not ruling over heaven and earth right now. The fact that Jesus has been given all authority in heaven and on earth is not negated by the fact that right now the final form of his kingdom on earth has not yet arrived. It is all part of the stage-by-stage, phase-by-phase process that will culminate ultimately in the physical reign of Jesus Christ over the whole earth while He is on the earth – all to happen when He returns in the future at His 2nd Coming.
WHO WILL ENTER THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN?
The kingdom of God has meaning for individuals. That is, individuals who right now turn to Christ and believe on Him become personal citizens of this kingdom (Php. 3:20). It’s not a kingdom that is on earth right now, functioning over any territory (Jn. 18:36-37). The territory is over the lives of individuals who submit in faith to Jesus as Lord. Each individual, voluntarily choosing God over this world, righteousness over unrighteousness, light over darkness, Christ over self, becomes a born again citizen of the kingdom of God (Jn 3:3-5). The first preaching of Jesus was, “Repent, for the kingdom of God is near.” He, as the King, representing that kingdom was near – right in front of them.
APPLICATION: The kingdom of heaven is near YOU right now. You are hearing the word of God being preached to you. Right now you can accept this word, and in accepting this word you can be accepted into the kingdom. Colossians 1:13-14 says, “For the Father has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption the forgiveness of sins.” If you want the kingdom it starts with wanting the King. Turn to Jesus. You can’t get into the kingdom of Jesus without going through the cross of Jesus. The cross is the only way in.
CONCLUSION: What Kingdom Are You In?
Which kingdom are you part of? The kingdom of darkness or the kingdom of heaven? You may be in church, and that is good, but not if you’re still in the wrong kingdom. Become poor in spirit and humble yourself before God, admitting you have nothing to offer the king of the universe. Admit you have nothing, and accept from His hands salvation.
*** Do NOT Be merely CLOSE to the Kingdom of Heaven. Make sure you are IN IT!
In Mark 12 a Jewish teacher of the law comes to Jesus and asks him “What is the greatest commandment?” Turn there with me and see verses 29-34.
Jesus didn’t say “You are IN the kingdom of God.” He said, “You are NOT FAR.” In other words, “You are close man, BUT you are not yet there. Don’t stop where you are. Finish the last step.” How sad would it be to go to hell after having been “not far” from the kingdom of heaven? Its bad enough to be in hell for eternity, but to know that you were mere inches away and could’ve entered in? Horrible!
Think though for a minute about this teacher. He knew the greatest command, and probably followed it. But it wasn’t enough. You know why? Because it is not by following the morals of the kingdom that you get into the kingdom. It is by coming to the King of that kingdom that you get in. You may be in church, have had Christian parents, went to Christian school and youth group, been baptized, read the bible, been a “good” person, and blah, blah, blah. But NONE of that will gain you entrance into the kingdom of heaven. Only the KING of heaven can give you permission to get into the kingdom of heaven. If you want to come into the kingdom, you have to first come TO the King. He give you permission to become part of His kingdom.