Pastor Tim: Thanks, Hannah. And welcome, everybody. I'm Pastor Tim, and I'm so glad you're here. Over these five episodes, we're going to open the Bible and let it answer one big question. What does it mean to actually live in the Kingdom of God?
Hannah: And I get to ask the questions. So let me start with one I hear all the time. People say the Kingdom of God is just another name for heaven. It's where you go when you die. Is that right?
Pastor Tim: Well, it's a good place to start, Hannah. Heaven is real, it's wonderful, and... for a lot of folks, it's someday. But here's my question. If the Kingdom is only someday, why did Jesus, why did He keep talking about it as something near? Stay with us, saints. The Kingdom is more than someday.
PART ONE
Pastor Tim: Now, let's be honest about this perception, because there is there is something true in it. Jesus promised His disciples a place with Him. In John chapter fourteen, verses two and three, He said, "In My Father's house are many rooms; if that were not so, I would have told you, because I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I am coming again and will take you to Myself, so that where I am, there you also will be."
Pastor Tim: That is a precious promise. When a believer dies, they go to be with the Lord. We hold on to that with both hands.
Hannah: So what's the problem, then? If heaven is real, why not just call that the Kingdom?
Pastor Tim: Because when when many people hear the word kingdom, that's all they hear. The Kingdom becomes a waiting room. You believe, you hold on, and one day you get in. And in the meantime, the Kingdom has very little to say about your Monday morning.
Hannah: Okay. So what did Jesus actually say about it?
Pastor Tim: Start with His very first message. Listen to Mark chapter one, verses fourteen and fifteen. Now after John was taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent and believe in the gospel."
Pastor Tim: Now notice what Jesus did not say. He did not say the Kingdom is far away, so hang on until you die. He said the time had come. Something had arrived. And He told people what to do about it right then. Turn around, and trust the good news. Does that answer your question, Hannah?
Hannah: It does. But Matthew says it a little differently, doesn't he? He says the kingdom of heaven.
Pastor Tim: He does. In Matthew chapter four, verse seventeen, we read, From that time Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near." Some folks hear that word heaven and think, well, there it is, it's all about the afterlife. But put those two passages side by side. Same moment, same message. The kingdom of heaven is not a different kingdom. It's heaven's Kingdom, the rule of the God of heaven, and Jesus said it had come near.
Hannah: Is there a moment in the Gospels where you can really see that?
Pastor Tim: Luke shows us one. Jesus went into the synagogue in Nazareth, the town where He was brought up. They handed Him the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, and He found the place He wanted. Listen to Luke chapter four, verses eighteen through twenty-one. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are oppressed, To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord." And He rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all the people in the synagogue were intently directed at Him. Now He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."
Pastor Tim: Today. Not someday. Today, saints. Good news for the poor. Freedom for captives. Sight for the blind. The One God's people had longed for was standing in their synagogue, reading from the scroll.
Hannah: Today. Wow. He didn't leave any room for someday there.
Pastor Tim: No, He didn't. This was not this was not a side topic for Jesus. One morning the crowds tried to keep Him from leaving them. In Luke chapter four, verse forty-three, He told them, But He said to them, "I must also preach the kingdom of God to the other cities, because I was sent for this purpose."
Hannah: He says that's the reason He was sent.
Pastor Tim: That's right. And He didn't only preach it. He showed it. Matthew chapter four, verse twenty-three, tells us, "Jesus was going about in all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness among the people." So the Kingdom came with words and with with works. The King Himself was walking among them.
Hannah: John the Baptist had questions about that too, didn't he?
Pastor Tim: He did. John was sitting in prison, and he sent a question to Jesus. In Matthew chapter eleven, verse three, John asked, "Are You the Coming One, or are we to look for someone else?" Listen to how Jesus answered in verses four and five. Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and report to John what you hear and see: those who are blind receive sight and those who limp walk, those with leprosy are cleansed and those who are deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
Pastor Tim: Jesus didn't point John to some distant day. He pointed to what was happening right then. Report what you hear and see. The Kingdom was not a rumor. It was arriving in front of their eyes. Does that help, Hannah?
Hannah: Yes, it really does. Let's take a quick break. When we come back, I want to ask you about the day the Pharisees asked Jesus when the Kingdom was coming.
Hannah: And we're back with Pastor Tim. So, the Pharisees asked Jesus when the Kingdom was coming. What did He tell them?
Pastor Tim: Listen to Luke chapter seventeen, verses twenty and twenty-one. Now He was questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, and He answered them and said, "The kingdom of God is not coming with signs that can be observed; nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or, 'There it is!' For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst."
Pastor Tim: They were asking when? They were watching for signs of some future day. And Jesus said, in effect, you're looking in the wrong direction. Why? Because the King was standing right in front of them. Saints, where Jesus is, the Kingdom is.
Hannah: In your midst. So it was right there with them.
Pastor Tim: Right there. Here's another one. In Matthew chapter twelve, a man was brought to Jesus who was blind and unable to speak, held by a demon. Jesus healed him. Some of the Pharisees claimed He did it by the power of the devil. And in Matthew chapter twelve, verse twenty-eight, Jesus answered, "But if I cast out the demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you."
Pastor Tim: Has come upon you. Not someday. Now. When Jesus set that man free, the Kingdom of God was was breaking in. Does that answer your question?
Hannah: Yes. So if it's not a place on a map, how would you define the Kingdom?
Pastor Tim: In the Bible, the Kingdom of God is first of all God's reign. His rule, His authority, His will being done. Psalm one hundred three, verse nineteen, says, "The Lord has established His throne in the heavens". And the same verse goes on, "His sovereignty rules over all".
Pastor Tim: Psalm one hundred forty-five, verse thirteen, puts it this way, "Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom". And the same verse goes on, "Your dominion endures throughout all generations". Dominion is just another word for rule. So God's Kingdom simply means God's rule.
Pastor Tim: So the Kingdom is not first a spot on a map, or, you know, a place above the clouds. It's wherever God reigns. And in Jesus, that reign came near in a brand new way. It walked the roads of Galilee. It touched the sick. It called sinners to turn and come home. Does that answer your question, Hannah?
Hannah: Yes, and that changes things. But then what does it mean for us today? Let's take that up after the break.
PART TWO
Hannah: Welcome back. Pastor Tim, you said the Kingdom came near in Jesus. How does that reach someone listening right now?
Pastor Tim: Because here's the good news, Hannah. The Kingdom didn't just come near to the people of Galilee. It reaches all the way to you. Listen to what Paul wrote in Colossians chapter one, verses thirteen and fourteen. "For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."
Pastor Tim: Look closely at those words. He rescued us. He transferred us. That's that's past tense. Paul did not say God will someday move us into His Kingdom if we hold on long enough. He said it has already happened for everyone who belongs to Jesus.
Hannah: Transferred. That sounds like a change of citizenship.
Pastor Tim: That's exactly it. There are two kingdoms in that verse. The domain of darkness, and the kingdom of His beloved Son. Every one of us started out in the first one. We couldn't climb our way out. So God came and got us.
Hannah: And how does that transfer happen?
Pastor Tim: Look at verse fourteen again. "in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins". The door into the Kingdom is not your good record. It's the cross. Jesus carried our sins, and through Him we are forgiven.
Pastor Tim: So if you have trusted Christ, saints, hear this. You're not standing outside the Kingdom, hoping to get in someday. You've been brought in. You live under a new King right now. In John chapter five, verse twenty-four, Jesus said, "Truly, I say to you, the one who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life." Notice the tense. The one who believes has eternal life, right now. Eternal life doesn't doesn't start at your funeral. It starts the moment you believe.
Hannah: So what is eternal life, then, if it starts now?
Pastor Tim: Jesus told us. In John chapter seventeen, verse three, He said, "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." Eternal life is knowing God through Jesus Christ. And that begins today. In Second Corinthians chapter five, verse seventeen, Paul wrote, "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come." That's not a someday promise. It's true right now.
Hannah: And Revelation says something like that too, doesn't it?
Pastor Tim: It does. In Revelation chapter one, verses five and six, John praises Jesus, "To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood". And then he says, "He made us into a kingdom, priests to His God and Father". Not He will make us. He made us. Does that answer your question, Hannah?
Hannah: It does. Thank you.
Pastor Tim: Good. Now I believe we've got a caller on the line. Let's take that call. You're on the FaithFlock Podcast, calling in from Texas. Go ahead.
Caller: Hi, Pastor Tim. Thanks for taking my call. So, um, I believe all this. But if Jesus already brought the Kingdom, why do I still struggle so much? Why does it still feel like the old life is pulling at me?
Pastor Tim: That's an honest question, and thank you for asking it. You're not alone in that, brother. Listen to what John wrote in First John chapter three, verse two. "Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is." We are children of God now. That's settled. But what we will be has not appeared yet. So the struggle doesn't mean you're outside the Kingdom. It means God's work in you has started, and it isn't finished yet. And He will finish it. Paul says so in Philippians chapter one, verse six. "For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work among you will complete it by the day of Christ Jesus."
Caller: Started, but not finished yet. Okay. That helps.
Pastor Tim: And here's the hope. Jesus taught us to pray in Matthew chapter six, verse ten, "Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven". Pray that over your own heart, brother. The King who started the work is still at it. Does that answer your question?
Caller: Yes, it does. Thank you, Pastor Tim. God bless.
Hannah: Thank you for calling. We'll be right back after this.
Hannah: We're back. Pastor Tim, that caller touched on something. The Kingdom is here, but it's still coming. What will the fullness look like?
Pastor Tim: Jesus Himself looked ahead to it. On the night before the cross, He shared the bread and the cup with His disciples. Then in Matthew chapter twenty-six, verse twenty-nine, He said, "But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it with you, new, in My Father's kingdom." The King had come, and the cross was hours away. And still He spoke of a day that was coming, a table in His Father's Kingdom.
Hannah: A table in His Father's Kingdom. What else does Scripture say about that day?
Pastor Tim: The Bible gives us a picture. In Daniel chapter two, verse forty-four, Daniel said, "And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever." A kingdom which will never be destroyed. Every earthly kingdom has an has an ending. This one doesn't. When the angel Gabriel came to Mary, he said the same thing about her Son. In Luke chapter one, verses thirty-two and thirty-three, the angel said, "He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end."
Pastor Tim: And in Revelation chapter eleven, verse fifteen, loud voices in heaven said, "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever." Then in Revelation chapter twenty-one, verses three and four, we read, And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among the people, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away."
Hannah: That's beautiful.
Pastor Tim: Saints, that's where this this story is going. Every tear wiped away. So here's the picture. The Kingdom of God is God's reign. It came near when Jesus came. It's present now wherever Jesus is King. And it's coming in fullness when Christ returns. Does that answer your question, Hannah?
Hannah: It does. But why does it matter that we hold both of those together?
Pastor Tim: Because if the Kingdom is only someday, your faith becomes a ticket you keep in a drawer. You'll believe in heaven, but you won't expect God to rule your Tuesday. And if you forget the someday, you'll lose heart when the world stays broken. The Bible gives us both. The King is here. The King is coming. Does that make sense?
Hannah: Yes, it does. So what does living in it look like this week? Let's talk about that after the break.
PART THREE
Hannah: Welcome back. Pastor Tim, how do we actually live in the Kingdom this week?
Pastor Tim: Paul gives us a picture in Titus chapter two, verses eleven through thirteen. "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously, and in a godly manner in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus," Did you catch the two parts? Live well in the present age. Keep looking for the blessed hope. Here are a few ways to do that, straight from the Scriptures.
Pastor Tim: First, pray for His Kingdom to come, and mean it. Bring it close to home. Pray it over your house. Pray it over your job. Pray it over the conversation you've been dreading. Ask Him, Lord, where in my day is Your will not being done?
Pastor Tim: Second, live like someone who has been transferred. You don't owe the old ruler anything. In First Thessalonians chapter two, verse twelve, Paul tells the believers why he urged them on. It was "so that you would walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory". So this week look at the habit you've been excusing. The sharp word. The old grudge. Those belong to the old kingdom.
Hannah: And the third?
Pastor Tim: Carry the news. When Jesus sent out His disciples, He told them what to say. In Matthew chapter ten, verse seven, He said, "And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven has come near.'" And in verse eight, "Freely you received, freely give." As you go. To the store, to your job, to your family table. You received forgiveness freely. So share it freely.
Hannah: You said a few ways. Is there one more?
Pastor Tim: Fourth, don't live afraid. Jesus had just told His disciples not to worry about food and clothing. Then in Luke chapter twelve, verse thirty-two, He said, "Do not be afraid, little flock, because your Father has chosen to give you the kingdom." Your Father is not He's not reluctant. He has chosen to give you the Kingdom, and He's glad to do it.
Pastor Tim: And Hebrews chapter twelve, verse twenty-eight, tells us what kind of Kingdom it is. "Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let's show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe;" A Kingdom that cannot be shaken. So this week, when things around you shake, give thanks. Worship. Your King's throne is not moving. Does that answer your question, Hannah?
Hannah: Yes. One more. What about someone listening who isn't sure they're in the Kingdom at all?
Pastor Tim: Hear me. The door is open, and it's open today. One day a scribe answered Jesus well, and in Mark chapter twelve, verse thirty-four, Jesus said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." Not far. But not far is still not in. Jesus doesn't want you close. He wants you in.
Pastor Tim: Go back to His first message. In Mark chapter one, verse fifteen, He called people to "repent and believe in the gospel". To repent means to turn. Turn from running your life your own way, and turn to God. To believe means to trust Jesus, that He died for your sins and that God raised Him from the dead. Romans chapter ten, verse nine, says, "that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;" Does that answer your question, Hannah?
Hannah: It does, Pastor Tim.
Pastor Tim: So if you want to come into the Kingdom today, pray with me right now. Wherever you are. Just talk to Him.
Pastor Tim: Lord Jesus, I've been living under my own rule, and I have sinned against You. Today I turn from my sin. I believe You died for me, and that God raised You from the dead. Please forgive me. Rescue me from the darkness and bring me into Your Kingdom. Be my King, starting today. In Your name I pray. Amen.
Pastor Tim: If you prayed that and meant it, welcome to the Kingdom, saints. You belong to Him now. Find a church that preaches the Bible, and tell someone what God has done.
Pastor Tim: And if you already know Him, let me pray for you too. Father, thank You for rescuing us and bringing us into the kingdom of Your beloved Son. Let Your will be done in our homes this week, the way it is done in heaven. Make us people who live like we've been set free. Keep our eyes on the day You make all things new. In Jesus' name, amen.
CLOSING
Hannah: Pastor Tim, if someone remembers one thing from today, what should it be?
Pastor Tim: So here's the heart of it. The Kingdom of God is more than someday, because it's God's reign, here now in Jesus and coming in fullness.
Hannah: And next time?
Pastor Tim: Next time, we'll look at another perception. Many people picture the Kingdom as an earthly power, something to be won by force or status. In our next episode, Not of This World, we'll let Jesus show us what kind of King He is. If this raised a question for you can ask me privately at faithflock dot org.
Pastor Tim: Hope has a name: Jesus.