Culture of the Kingdom
Today’s Topic: Holy Spirit and the Coming of the Kingdom
Scripture: Romans 14:17; Matthew 3:2; Matthew 10:7; Mark 9:1; Colossians 1:13; John 3:5; Ephesians 5:26; Acts 2:1,2
Greetings Kingdom Citizens
Romans 14:17 states: “For the Kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit” Now how does the Holy Spirit correlate with the coming of the Kingdom of God? Well let’s take some time and examine this because after this message every born again believer should know whether the Kingdom has come and is presently operating in the Earth or not. John the Baptist preached in Matthew 3:2: “Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand”. Jesus preached in Matthew 4:17 “Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand”. He told the disciples in Matthew 10:7: “Go, preach saying, the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand”. Now the question we should ask but may have not is what does it mean to be “at hand”? “At hand” means it is within my reach or within the view of where you are. Now there is a scriptural definition of this. In Mark 9:1 Jesus says this: “Verily I say unto you, That there be some that stand here, which shall not taste death, till they have seen the Kingdom of God come with power.” This is Jesus’ definition of “at hand”. In other words, the Kingdom will come within the lifetime of many of the people standing there. The at hand has now become the reality because the Kingdom has come. How do we know? Colossians 1:13: “ Who hath delivered us from the powers of darkness, and translated us INTO THE KINGDOM OF HIS DEAR SON.” So how did the Kingdom come and how is it related to Holy Spirit? Here is a hint, The Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and joy IN THE HOLY SPIRIT. So let’s look at Luke 17:20 this is the big revelation:
“And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the Kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said “The Kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! Or lo, there! For behold the Kingdom of God is within you.”
Do we see this! Jesus said you cannot see it with the natural senses. When Jesus interacted with Nicodemus he answered why we cannot see the Kingdom with our natural senses. John 3:3: “Verily , verily I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.” Jesus then says in John 3:5: “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.” Hmm water and the Spirit?
Now when we look at water and the Spirit the Bible explains this to us in the letter to the Ephesians 5:26: “That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water, by the word”. What is meant by being born of water is having your mind renewed by the word of God and by the Spirit of God. So it is the word and the Spirit that produces a person in the earth who is able to be born of both the word and the Spirit. This person now sees the Kingdom that cannot be seen by an unbeliever or un-regenerated person.
In closing, the Kingdom has come and it came in Acts 2 on the day of Pentecost. From that day the Kingdom has been advancing in the Holy Spirit and by the Holy Spirit. This is why we need to be lead by the Spirit of God because it is Holy Spirit that leads us in experiencing the culture of the Kingdom. Now the end result is a family living in perfect harmony with God as their Father. The Kingdom of God solves all of man’s problems because it puts man back in relationship with God and allows God to order every aspect of their life. In the next message we will look at the four elements of the Culture of the Kingdom.
At the Father’s Service,
Elder Calvin Calhoun Jr.
