A Reminder of the Kingdom of God

I am so appreciative of my relationship with Dr. Jack Taylor who taught me so much about the Kingdom of God.  It was the primary focus of the teaching of Jesus and it is that for which Jesus is returning to this earth to reign supreme over.

The term basileia is the Greek word for the kingdom.  It occurs 162 times in the New Testament and 121 of those are in the Synoptic gospels.  The formula "kingdom of God" or the "kingdom of heaven" occurs 104 times in the gospels. 

It was the focal of the first message Jesus preached as recorded in Matthew 4:17 "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

It was the focal of his last message as recorded in Acts 1:3 "...to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God."

What is the kingdom of God?  It is the absolute, sovereign rule and reign of God over all that is including humanity and the demonic.  There is nothing outside the reign of God.

In 1989, we had gotten new hymnals at Central Baptist Church, Albertville, AL where I was pastor.  We discovered a song "Our God Reigns" and it quickly became one of our favorites.  Oh the truth of the title.  Our God does reign.

It is not up for vote or debate.  It doesn't matter what I think about it or you.  It is not a Republican or Democratic issue.  God, alone, reigns.

The church (the people, not a building) one day will be raptured away into the presence of God, but the kingdom of God will last forever.  So, our main focus as the church should be the kingdom of God.

It should be our focus individually.  Does God reign supreme in our life?  He has the right.  It is a popular debate today as we hear women say "they have a right to make decisions for their own bodies."  Nothing could be further from the truth.  We belong to God.  He made us. And if we have been converted, then God has purchased us with the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ.  We belong to Him.

It should be our focus as a church.  We should witness and work, not just to build our own local church, but the wider kingdom of God.  That is what missions is all about.  The people in Africa or New England will never join our church here in Alabama, but our Lord calls us to work in those fields for the sake of building the kingdom.

I call this blog "A Reminder..." because when I became pastor here at Rainsville First in 2015, one of the first series of messages I preached was on the Kingdom.  But we do need reminding because it is easy to lose focus of what is most important to our King - His reign and rule through the Kingdom of God.

Blessings;

David