The Kingdom of God on Earth

Last Monday, our discussion centered on "The Kingdom of God on Earth."  The Kingdom of God was near in the days when Jesus began His Ministry and came when the apostles and disciples began baptizing people.  Today, the Church of Christ is the Kingdom of God on earth, a kingdom that extends to all nations and all people; a kingdom in which we can enter if we are born of the water and the Spirit.

The notes of our study are here below.

September 26, 2011

The Kingdom of God on Earth

Opening Question: What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word “kingdom” and how would you describe a “kingdom”?

Perhaps an old or new movies comes to mind, perhaps an event related to living Kings or Queen or fictional characters from a movie.  Many countries are still kingdom and are ruled, to an extent, by a monarch.

How does the Bible describe the Kingdom of God on earth?

In Mark 1:14-15, we see Jesus speak about the Kingdom of God.  He said: 14 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God.  15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”

What was the good news?

The Kingdom of God had not arrived at this time, but it was near.

The good news also told people how to get to this Kingdom of God.

In another place, Jesus said, in Matthew 16:28: 28 “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

People in the time of Jesus misunderstood Him.  They thought He was talking about an earthly Kingdom.  Even after Jesus dies and was risen, His disciples asked whether now he was going to establish His Kingdom.  Even today, people do not have a clear understanding of the Kingdom of God.  Some people think that Jesus will come and create a new Kingdom on earth that will last for 1,000 years or for a very long time.

On Luke 17, 20-21, Jesus said: 20 Once, on being 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, 21 nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.”

The kingdom of God was in their midst because Jesus was there.  And the Kingdom of God is not physical, but spiritual and it was within the people.

So, what was this “kingdom” that was in their midst or within them and that some of the people did not die before seeing the kingdom come?  Of course, this does not refer to Jesus’ second coming or any other physical kingdom.

What happened after Jesus died and was risen?

In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus gave His apostles a command.  He said: 18 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.”

These people that believed and were baptized were added to the group of believers that followed the teachings of Jesus.  They continued to do this, to learn themselves and to teach others about how God had a plan to save them.  This group of believers were called Christians and the church is the Kingdom of God on earth.  This is what Jesus was talking about and what he actually established.

Now, the church is like an image of the Kingdom of God in Heaven, but not the same thing.  Like a photocopy, that is not quite exactly like the original.  Or like a hockey player in training, that is not exactly a player yet.  The church tries to be as perfect as it can, but the Kingdom of God in Heaven will be utterly perfect.

How does one enter the church or the Kingdom of God on earth?

Jesus said in Matthew 18:3-4 that: 3 And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.  4 Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5

What are the qualities that children have?

Why is it important for us to be like little children?

In John 3:5, Jesus told a man who asked Him about the Kingdom of God: 5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.

How is one born of the Spirit?  And of the water?

In Acts 2:37-41, we see Peter preaching to the people gathered in Jerusalem.  He tells them what they needed to do to be saved: 37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”  38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.”  41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

By being baptized, we received the Holy Spirit and the forgiveness of our sins, and the promise of eternal life with God in the Kingdom of God in Heaven.

Conclusions

The Kingdom of God is not like other kingdoms that have been or still exist in the world.  The Kingdom of God is the church, albeit a blurry image of the true Kingdom of God in Heaven.  We can enter into this Kingdom by being baptized for the forgiveness of our sins and to receive the Holy Spirit and the promise of eternal life.

The Importance of the Kingdom of God

Last Monday, we focused on "The Importance of the Kingdom of God."  We looked at the words of Jesus in Matthew 6 and how we are instructed to put the Kingdom of God above everything else, seeking it first.  Seeking the Kingdom of God is a process and once we find this Kingdom, we should also hold on to it and never lose faith.  Finally, we saw how the Kingdom of God is spiritual, not material and how, in the words of Romans 14:17, is about "... righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit."

Here are the notes of our study.

September 19, 2011

The Importance of the Kingdom of God

Opening Question: What has been a research project or a task that has kept you awake for a night or that you had to dedicate a considerable hard work to complete?

We know that good things are not accomplished easily and most things that have any value or any importance in our life require a lot of hard work.  Their importance, once we have achieved the goal, sometime lasts for a long period of time or perhaps even throughout our lives.

Today we are going to study what the Bible teaches about the importance of the kingdom of God.

1.         The Importance of the Kingdom of God is Above Everything Else

Jesus taught us in Matthew 6:25-34 not to worry about anything else, but to seek first the Kingdom of God: 25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?  26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?  27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[e]?  28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.  29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.  30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?  31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.  33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.  34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

These words do not mean that we should not work to provide for ourselves and our families, because God wants us to be responsible and to take care of the people he has entrusted us with.  But Jesus is telling us that we should not allow things of this worlds, what we shall eat, drink or wear to distract us from achieving the God of seeking and finding the kingdom of God.

In Matthew 13:44-45, Jesus gives two parables to illustrate this idea of seeking and finding the kingdom of Heaven: 44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.  45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

Note that the treasure was hidden in the field – so the man found it and then the treasure made him so happy that he went and sold everything he had to purchase the field and to secure the treasure.

Also note that the merchant was looking for fine pearls and when he found one of great value, he sold everything and bought it.

In both parables we see the cost of the kingdom of God.  Whether you are looking for the kingdom of God or you stumble and find it, you need to make sure that you do everything to take the kingdom of God.

2.         The Kingdom of God is Something we Should Always Keep in Us

Once we find the kingdom of God, we should never give it up.  From the two parables, but also from previous lessons we know that the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven is too important to be given up for things of this world.  If you truly understand the cost of finding the Kingdom of God, then we would of course understand also the importance of not letting go.

In Hebrews 3:12, we are warned that: See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.

Some people do fall away from the way of God, losing their faith in him, but we are told to be steadfast in our faith, so that we do not forget the promises of God and do not turn away from him.

3.         The Kingdom of God is Spiritual, not Material

In Romans 14:17, we are told that: For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,

Therefore, we know that the Kingdom of God is not referring to a place where we will have material possession, lots of good food and drinks, but a place where we will be with God and will have righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.  As Christians, we receive the Holy Spirit from God, which helps us through our struggles.  As we are with God and get to know Him better, we also learn how to find and enjoy righteousness, peace and joy with Him.

Conclusions

The Kingdom of God is the most important thing in our lives.  We should not stop looking for it until we find it.  Once found, we should make every effort to be able to take it and always keep it with us.

Moving Forward

On Monday, September 12, we looked at the topic of "Moving Forward."  By discussing different examples from the Bible we saw how moving forward means growing in maturity, putting away childish ways as we grow up and we increase our knowledge.  Moving forward also means overcoming obstacles, and we will definitely meet numerous obstacles in our lives.  Finally, moving forward means looking forward, keeping our eyes on godly goals and pursuing them until we achieve them.


Please find below the notes from our discussion.

September 12, 2011

Moving Forward

Opening Question: What has been something that has motivated you to move on in different situations your life?

Many times the motivation for our actions is a strong sense of commitment, a promise we may have done to ourselves or our family members, the love for a dear one, etc. etc.

The beginning of a school year is usually a time when we close one page or perhaps one chapter of our lives and we start another one.  Whether it is your first year in your program or your second or third year, you have new goals for this school year as you are trying to move forward in your life and in your career.

What does the Bible teach us about moving forward?

1.         Moving Forward Means Growing up in Maturity

In 1 Corinthians 13:11, we read: When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.

What do we read in this verse? 

Children know little and they act in that way.  We were all children at one point in our life and we can remember stories of things we did that now we know better, because we have grown up and we have learned things we did not know in the past.  When we become men or women, meaning when we grew up, we became mature and with maturity in age usually comes wisdom, to know what to do in our lives.

Moving forward in this sense means to move forward in maturity, in wisdom, to grown in knowledge about the world and about our actions and interactions with people in all kinds of situations.  This applies also to our relationship with God.  The more knowledge we have about God, the more we will trust Him, the more we will put our faith on Him, the more we will rely on God to help us with whatever we need in our lives.

What does this verse tell us?

In Romans 12:2, we read: 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.

As we grow up in our maturity, the Bible teaches that we should not be like the pattern of this world – where the people are selfish, wild, unwilling to help or to share and overall wicked.  We need to renew our mind and learn the new, true things that the Bible teaches us about the world and about God.  In this way we can understand what the will of God is and how good, pleasing and perfect it is.

2.         Moving Forward Means Growing up in Overcoming Obstacles

We have often met obstacles in our life and if you have not, you definitely will in the future.  We may not have the option of choosing when obstacles appear in our life, but we always have the choice of how to react when they happen.  We can chose to either give up and stop trying to achieve whatever we have purposed in our life or we can change something in our approach and try a different way to achieve our goal.

In Matthew 17:14-20, we see a situation when the disciples of Jesus could not overcome an obstacle.  They could not heal a sick man with seizures.  We read in these verses: 14 When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him.  15 “Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water.  16 I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.”  17 “O unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.”  18 Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment.  19 Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”  20 He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

What is Jesus teaching here?

If we have faith in God, he will help us to overcome obstacles in our lives.  We will not be able to do things that are not natural, like flying, but in our career life, our family live, our spiritual life, if we have faith in God, we will be able to overcome all obstacles.

3.         Moving Forward Means Looking Forward

An athlete running in a race needs to look forward, to keep his eyes toward the finish line, not to look behind at how much he has covered or where the competitors are.  When we begging something in our life, whether it is a new chapter in school or a new relationship with someone or with God, we need to stop leaving and looking to the past and keep our eyes toward the future.  We cannot change the past, but we can use its lessons and our experiences to make better, wiser choices in the future.

In Luke 9:61-62, we see a situation when someone is willing to follow Jesus, but first he wants to put the things in order with his family: 61 Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family.”  62 Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

The reply that Jesus gives needs some explanation to be understood properly.  A man plowing the field needs to see forward, in order to make sure the line is straight in the ground as he plows it.  If he looks back, the line is not straight and his job is not done properly.  Jesus is saying that looking back in the past may not allow someone to look forward, because he may see things in the past that he may not want to give up – because following Jesus we need to give up of those things that we may have done in the past, but which are not in agreement with the teachings of God – or they may some things that resemble obstacles, failures and disappointments. 

However, Jesus is saying that whoever is willing to look forward, is fit for service in the kingdom of God.

In Philippians 3:12-15, we read: 12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.  13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. 15 All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you.

If we press toward the goal – eternal life – we have something we keep our eyes upon and a great motivation to move forward even when we are in a difficult situation.

Conclusions

If we grow up in our maturity, if we trust in God that with His help we can overcome all obstacles and we keep our eyes forward, we will be able to move forward with our lives.

What does the Bible Teach about Money and Possessions?

On Monday, August 29, we looked at "What does the Bible Teach about Money and Possessions."  The Bible teaches that we should not spend our lives laboring to gather money and possessions, because they are all temporary.  If this causes us to lose sight of God and His blessings, then our riches amount to nothing.  However, if we seek God first and all His righteousness, He will provide for us what we need and will also give us eternal life.

The notes of our study are here below.

August 29, 2011

What Does the Bible Teach about Money and Possessions?

Opening Question: What is your most prized material possession and why?

We may have been blessed with a powerful computer, a great sound system or a fast car.  These are all things that make our life more enjoyable and our time more efficient.  Some material possessions help us to be refreshed and ready to face another day.  Others provide us with the tools to do our jobs faster or better.

What does the Bible say about our attitude toward money and possessions?

Many times when someone has great material wealth, people attribute that to the ability, the wit and the hard work of the individual.  This may be true is most, if not all cases.  However, people tend to forget that it is God who blesses people with everything they have.

Proverbs 28:20 says that: 20 A faithful person will be richly blessed, but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished.

We are not simply talking about material possessions, because we all know that happiness, peace, joy, satisfaction does not come necessarily because of having things.  It comes from having a state of mind that you know things will work out well for you in your life, no matter what the circumstances of your life area.  And such a calm, relaxed, trusting state of mind can only come by believing in God.

In Matthew 6:19-21, Jesus teaches us:  19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Then, in the following verses, Jesus continues: 24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.  25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?  26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?  27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

Our time and our resources are limited.  If we chose to serve money, to dedicate our life only to the pursue of the dollar and not to seek God, then of course we will not serve him.  So we can chose money and forget about God, or we can chose God and he will provide for all our needs.

Jesus continues in verses 28-33: 28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.  29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.  30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?  31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.  33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

It is important to remember that money and possessions are not inherently evil – meaning that we should stay away from them and never have any money or possessions.  God has blessed us with families, for which we need to take care of and He also expect us to help the people that are in need.

In 1 Timothy 6:6-10, we read: 6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.  7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.  8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.  9 Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.  10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

It is not that money is bad, but if we love the money more than we love God, then we are serving money and not God.  Also, if we allow this love for the money to take away from our faith, then we have allowed money to become an obstacle to us seeking God.

Conclusions

The Bible is clear that we should seek God and his righteousness in our life and not spend our days laboring to gather money and possessions.  We know that money cannot buy us happiness or eternal life, but God can give us both: peace of mind and the hope of salvation while we are here on earth and eternal life with His in heaven.