The Kingdom of God The Message and Ministry of Jesus

The Kingdom of God
The Message and Ministry of Jesus

During his ministry Jesus seemed to have an obsession with one topic; the
kingdom of God. Using the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Heaven
interchangeably Jesus taught incessantly on the subject. His mission was to define
and demonstrate the kingdom of God. Jesus used both a message and a ministry to
define the kingdom of God. He not only gave illumination concerning the kingdom, he
also gave an illustration. He not only spoke the words of the kingdom, but also did the
works of the kingdom. It takes both a declaration and a demonstration to thoroughly
define the kingdom of God. One without the other is incomplete.
The Gospel of Mark records,
Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of
the kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at
hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.
Mark 1:14-15 NKJV
Here we read that Jesus proclaimed that the kingdom of God was at hand. On
another occasion Jesus said, But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the
kingdom of God has come upon you. (Matthew 12:28 NKJV) So, in essence the kingdom
came with Jesus. He even taught his disciples to pray, Your kingdom come. Your will
be done on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10 NKJV) It appears that Jesus is
equating the kingdom of God with the will of God. He taught his disciples to pray that
heaven would come to earth bringing with it the will and kingdom of God.
When Jesus came to earth he came with a message and ministry of restoration.
His mission statement is found in Luke 4:18-19. He said, The Spirit of the Lord is upon
me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he has sent me to heal
the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.
NKJV
The message of the kingdom that Jesus proclaimed was liberty to the captives
and that the acceptable year of the Lord had come; the Year of Jubilee. The gospel or
good news was that God had come to earth in the form of his son. God had provided a
way for man to be righteous and have relationship with him. Man needed to forsake
his old life in order to have the new life through the son; man must be born again.
This message was a major theme in Jesus’ sermons. He also used parables to teach
kingdom principles and how his listeners should function as citizens of the kingdom.
The ministry of the kingdom was the other half of the kingdom definition. Jesus
ministry was the healing of the brokenhearted, the recovery of sight to the blind and
liberating all who were oppressed. Everything that Jesus did, his works, supported
what he said, his words. Every time he would cast out demons, heal the sick, raise the
dead and forgive sin he was demonstrating kingdom warfare and authority. His
declaration that the kingdom had come was a declaration of war on the kingdom of
darkness. This ministry was no less a part of the kingdom than Jesus’ message.
On at least one occasion when Jesus rebuked the demons they cried out, What
have we to do with you, Jesus, you Son of God? Have you come here to torment us
before the time? (Matthew 8:29 NKJV) The answer to that question was yes. The
Apostle John wrote, He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the
beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the
works of the devil. (1 John 3:8 NKJV)
Jesus’ coming was necessitated by the fact that Adam had given up his control
on earth when he sinned in the garden. This act had turned loose a hoard of demon
spirits in the earth who had made havoc of men’s lives. Jesus declared and
demonstrated that he had come to restore order, remove the demonic spirits, and
establish God’s rule in the earth.
A kingdom is a realm in which a king has the right to rule. To use a definition
coined by the late John Wimber; the kingdom of God is the ever increasing rule and
reign of God in the earth.
Let me pause here to dispel a myth that has floated around in many parts of the
church. Adam’s sin did not turn ownership of the earth over to Satan. Satan may be
known as the “god of this world,” but he has never been the God of the earth. King
David wrote, The earth is the Lord's, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell
therein. (Psalms 24:1 NKJV) It has always been that way and always will be.
In the Revelation of Jesus Christ, the Apostle John described a scene in heaven
that will further testify of God ownership of earth. He wrote, And I saw in the right
hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with
seven seals. (Revelations 5:1 NKJV) It is obvious to the reader that the one sitting on
the throne is God. In his right hand (signifying strength) he is holding a sealed scroll
that has writing on the front and back. What is the significance of the scroll?
Once Israel had conquered the enemies of the promised land God allotted each
tribe a portion of the land as an inheritance. This land was their most prized
possession. However, occasionally a family would fall on hard times and would be
forced to sell their land and serve the new owners as slaves.
When the property was sold two documents were used as proof of the
transaction; a sealed scroll and an open scroll. The open or unsealed scroll stated the
purchaser as the new owner of the land. It was the public transaction of the purchase.
The sealed scroll contained the details of the sell and the terms of redemption. This
scroll had the signatures of witnesses on the back.
There were two ways a Jewish family could obtain their land back once it was
sold. The first was known as the Year of Jubilee. Every fifty years all the titles of
purchased land were automatically returned to the original owners. The second way
the land could be returned was by the law of the kinsman-redeemer. If they were
willing and had the means a person who was the nearest of kin to the original land
owner or another person could redeem the land and return it to the original owner.
(Leviticus 25)
The law of the kinsman-redeemer is portrayed in the story of Ruth and Boaz.
Boaz redeemed the land that Elimelech had sold during a time of famine. In doing so
he returned it to Naomi, Elimelech's wife, and then married Ruth so the family name
would be passed down to future generations. Jesus was born of this lineage.
In the book of Jeremiah we find evidence of the sealed and open scrolls. God
commanded Jeremiah to be the kinsman-redeemer for his uncle's son Hanameel.
Jeremiah bought Hanameel's field in Anathoth, had witnesses to sign the scroll and
sealed it. God instructed Jeremiah, Take these deeds, both this purchase deed which is
sealed and this deed which is open, and put them in an earthen vessel that they may
last many days. (Jeremiah 32:14)
In essence the Israelites never owned the land; God gave it to them as an
inheritance. So, when they lost “ownership” they actually lost control and became
slaves to the new land lords. In the same way, the earth was not Adam’s to lose
because he never owned it. How do we know this? According to John, God held the
deed to the land in his right hand.
John continues:
Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the
scroll and to loose its seals? And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth
was able to open the scroll, or to look at it. So I wept much, because no one was found
worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it. But one of the elders said to me, Do
not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open
the scroll and to loose its seven seals. And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the
throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as
though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven
Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. Then He came and took the scroll out of the
right hand of Him who sat on the throne.
Revelations 5:2-7 NKJV
God allows the only one who is worthy to take the scroll from his hand and open
it; the slain lamb, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, Jesus, God’s only
son. He was worthy to open the scroll and claim the inheritance because he had paid
the price of the kinsman redeemer. The price was his blood. When Jesus came to
earth he came to take possession of the inheritance that he had paid for before the
foundations of the earth were laid. That was his message; to proclaim the rule of God.
When a Hebrew family was forced to sell their land squatters would move onto
the land. These squatters had no actual claim to the inheritance. Once the inheritance
was returned to the rightful owners the squatters had to be removed.
As I mention earlier when Adam sinned it gave an open invitation for demonic
forces to invade earth. Earth was not created for the devil and his angles; hell was.
Earth was created for God. God gave it to man as an inheritance and told him to take
care of it. Man’s disobedience opened the door for Satan’s forces to stake a claim on
earth. However, the forces of evil have no right to be here; they are squatters. When
Jesus stepped on earth and proclaimed that the kingdom of God had come, he was
saying to the devil, “I have come in my Father’s name. You have been squatting on my
land long enough; it’s time to go. I have come to take over.” That was his ministry; to
evict the squatters.
In an article on my website JustWorship.com titled “The Restoration of David’s
Tabernacle Part 2” I wrote this:
In Amos’ prophesy (read Amos 9:11-12) God says that the remnant of Edom
would be possessed. The Hebrew word for possess used in Amos 9:12 is yarash (yawrash').
Yaresh means to occupy by driving out previous tenants, and possessing in
their place; to seize, to rob, to inherit; also to expel, to impoverish, to ruin. God said in
Psalm 60:8, Moab is my wash pot; over Edom I will cast my shoe; Philistia, shout in
triumph because of me. The phrase “over Edom I will cast my shoe” refers to an
ancient Hebrew custom. It was believed that the right to tread on property belonged to
the person who owned it. When a property was sold the owner would take off his
sandal and give it to the purchaser. This represented the transfer of the property to
the new owner.
God had given Adam the responsibility of subduing the earth and filling it with
the glory or likeness of God. Adam failed when he sinned so God sent his son to do
what Adam could not. God never gave up ownership of earth‘s dominion, however,
Adam’s failure allowed squatters (demonic forces) to build strongholds. Jesus’ mission
was to capture the strongholds, remove the squatters and restore kingdom order;
which he did just as David had done years earlier in Zion. God’s own words help to
establish this truth. He spoke through the psalmist, Yet I have set my king on my holy
hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to me You are my son, today I
have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance, and
the ends of the earth for your possession. (Psalm 2:6-8)
You may be saying right now, “But wait a minute, there is still a presence of
demonic forces on the earth. How could the kingdom of God have come with the
arrival of Jesus and yet Satan still have a foothold in the earth?” The answer, as John
Wimber said it, is that the kingdom is in the now and now yet. Or, as George Ladd
wrote, “We live in the presence of the future.”
We have not yet realized the fullness of the kingdom. But, that will change with
the second coming of the king. The Apostle Paul wrote, Then comes the end, when he
delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when he puts an end to all rule and all authority
and power. (1 Corinthians 15:24 NKJV) Jesus will again return and forever rid the
earth of all things that offend the Father. Until then he has commissioned the church
to work on his behalf; to carry on the message and ministry he started.

Voice of the Gospel Christian Radio - Radio Stimme des Evangeliums

Freitag, 22. Juni 2012

The Kingdom of God The Message and Ministry of Jesus

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