Bringing God’s Kingdom to Earth
Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.
God wants to bring heaven to Earth, and He wants the church to reflect what heaven is. The church has traditionally been more focused on going to heaven than on bringing the kingdom of heaven to Earth. Oftentimes, when Christians don’t like their lives, they focus on the second coming. However, when heaven gets inside of us and the kingdom of God is working inside of us and in our lives, we don’t want the second coming to arrive because we already understand the joy of living in God’s kingdom. Bringing God’s kingdom to Earth gives us glimpses of heaven everyday in our own lives.
When Jesus came to set up God’s kingdom on Earth, he came to set up a different kind of kingdom. It is a kingdom of the heart, not one in the physical realm. It is about transforming the earth by transforming people’s hearts. Once we change inside, we bring change on the outside. God wants to change the world by changing His people. The way the Kingdom is going to reach the world by living in us. Our salvation experience - the first moment we repent and God comes into our lives - is the first step towards the Kingdom growing in our hearts.
Acts - Church Birth - Acts 2 gives the earliest account of the meetings of the first church. First mentions are very important in the Bible. When something happens originally (first) in Scripture, that is a DNA example of how God wants it. He is setting a pattern for further use. It is important to see how He set it up so we can copy it. We want to emulate Him. It is important for the church to reflect God’s desire, not our desire. The chapter begins with the Day of Pentecost. v41 - Peter began to preach and 3000 believed, were baptized and were added to the church. The church went from 120 to 3120 in one day. v43 “A deep sense of awe came upon them all.” The apostles brought many signs and wonders, and the believers met together constantly, praising God. They sold what they owned and gave to the poor, and everyday God added to their number. The very act of believing in Jesus - having the same experience together - began changing their hearts. They joined a community, reached out to people they didn’t know, shared meals together and became focused on the needs of others.
The essence of the kingdom is living for others. Before this transformation, people were living for themselves. There was no such thing as generosity in the Roman Empire - generosity at this level was totally new. There were needs amongst them and they began to recognize these needs and give what they had to meet these needs. The world looked on and saw what was going on. They didn’t just believe - their actions began to change and their lives began to change. People were in awe at what the church was doing and the church gained favor with the people. As soon as they believed, their hearts began to change. People were literally seeing heaven on Earth - what God does in the lives of believers - and it made them want to join. This is God’s plan for reaching the Earth.
Ephesians 4 - Church Maturing - v14 - “Then we will no longer be like children forever changing our minds about what we believe because someone has cleverly lied to us and made the lies seem like the truth. Instead we will hold to the truth in love, becoming more and more in every way like Christ.” The church is maturing. After the initial excitement of finding God and joining a church, when everything is being done for you, as like with a child (part of the role of the mature believers is to care for the young believers) - we have to begin to mature. We have to grow in God and allow His kingdom to begin growing inside of us.
Under Jesus’ direction, the whole body is fitted together perfectly - joined together perfectly. They can’t be all unto themselves because they are all connected. As the kingdom of God begins to grow in us and our understanding of Christ and His work in our lives is revealed to us, we understand that we are part of something greater than ourselves. As each part does its own special work it helps the other parts to grow - healthy, growing and full of agape love (self-sacrificing, outward focused, centered on the needs of others). You find out who you are and discover your gift. When you are doing what you are designed to do, you flourish. As we discover that we have a part to play, we begin to feel the tension of growth - the spiritual tension of the Kingdom expanding inside of us. When the church is healthy and growing, we begin to demonstrate this agape love. Jesus said the world will know my church by the love that is in their hearts.
Isaiah says there is no end to the increase of God’s kingdom. Kingdom equals what’s going on inside of us. When we believe, the seed of the kingdom is planted within us. When the seeds are healthy and in the right environment, they grow and flourish. The kingdom on Earth is about God’s kingdom growing and flourishing in us to the point that the world sees the change and are attracted to the God is us. The change resulting from our encounter with Jesus is evident. There is no end to the increase of what God wants to do inside us. As the kingdom inside us increases, so does the reach of the kingdom through us. Everything we do reflects the realities of our God. Every part joined together and representing God’s kingdom on the Earth.
