Seeking Jesus First - Sunday Notes
The gospel is the good news that the kingdom of God is given to us
(Matthew 3:1–2, NKJV) “In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”
(Mark 1:14–15, NKJV) “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 good news.” Matthew 24:14 says, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world…”
Our Father in Heaven has made Christ Jesus, King of kings and Lord of lords.
(Matthew 28:18–20, NKJV) “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.”
When Jesus triumphantly entered heaven upon His resurrection, he placed His blood on the most holy altar in heaven and God exalted Him and gave Him the name which is above all names. The Jesus came back to earth and declared this to his disciples. Then commissioned them to go into all the world and preach the good news that the kingdom of God is freely given to all and is received by faith in His son whom He sent.
God has given us the kingdom. We do not have to take it from satan. We simply advance it into every nation of the world and disciple them into the good news of God’s kingdom. But doesn’t the Bible say, “the violent take it by force?” It does but let’s read it in context.
(Matthew 11:11–12, NKJV) “Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.”
This verse says that from the time of the prophets until Jesus came, war was being waged to get the kingdom of God by force. They believed the kingdom of God was the kingdom of Israel with David and his descendants on the throne. Jesus brought The good news that it is The Father’s good will and pleasure to give us the kingdom. If you are not convinced, that’s ok. I just want you to keep reading to the end of the chapter where Jesus confirms the will of God concerning the kingdom of God.
(Matthew 11:25–30, NKJV) “At that time Jesus answered and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight. All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Does that sound like we have to take it from Jesus by force? Or do we simply come to Him in faith and receive it from Him?
Jesus was speaking to the people of the tribe of Judah who had gone back and forth from God to false gods for a millennia. He was speaking to a conquered people who were subject to Roman occupation. They believed that their messiah would come and be king and liberate them from Roman rule. So they were awaiting a warring king. However, Jesus had to fulfill the other prophesies that He would judge Israel and offer a new covenant to them.
This is not to say that we do not have a fight going on. We submit to God and resist the devil and he flees from us. We do not war against flesh and blood. However, the gates of hell are no match for Jesus and His church, who hears and obeys His words. The LORD’s prayer tells us to pray, Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” We have freely received the kingdom of God in our hearts, and We are expanding the kingdom of God in the earth by keeping His words in our hearts and in our mouths and by being sons of God who are continually filled with God’s Spirit and are led by the Spirit of God.
The very next chapter, Jesus told them that they were a divided kingdom and would be brought to desolation. Israel and Judah had split just after the time of King Solomon and had never re-unified. They remained at war and looked down on each other and There was no way to restore the twelve tribes of Israel under the old covenant. It had been irreversibly broken by all of them and no one kept the word of God in their heart anymore. Their leaders who were “keepers of the law” did not even recognize The LIVING WORD of GOD standing in front of them.
(Matthew 12:25–30, NKJV) “But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house. He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.”
Jesus declared to them that the kingdom of God has come to you and the proof was authority over devils. And then we read, in Luke 12:31-32, that God desires to freely give us the kingdom. “But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you. “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”
(Luke 17:20–21, NKJV) “Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”
From these verses, we see Holy Spirit as proof that we have received the kingdom of God. Jesus told the disciple that the world would not know the Holy Spirit but they would know Him because Holy Spirit shall be with you and in you.
(Romans 14:16–19, NKJV) “Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil; for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men. Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another.”
(Philippians 2:5–11, NKJV) “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
In John chapters 14-17, Jesus boldly declared that He is one with The Father and through faith in The Father’s love, He would be one with us and we would all be one as He and the Father are one.
We are to adopt the mindset of unity with Jesus and The Father and think like Him. We have the mind of Christ.
We are to adopt the mindset of unity with Jesus and The Father and talk like Him. He who orders his conversation aright will see the salvation of God manifest in His life.
We are to adopt the mindset of unity with Jesus and The Father and act like Him. By love serve one another.
We are to adopt the mindset of unity with Jesus and The Father and be like Him. He has made us partakers of His divine nature and given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness.
We are to adopt the mindset of unity with Jesus and The Father and love like Him. A new commandment I give to you (proof of a new covenant) that you love one another as I have loved you.
It is the Holy Spirit in us that empowers us to do these things. “Whoever is joined with The LORD is one spirit with Him.”
We humble ourselves enough to believe God - all that He says and does - and keep His words in our mouth and in our heart so that we observe and do them. Being humble means believing God’s word and keeping them in your heart and in your mouth so that we observe and do them. Being hub does not mean putting yourself down. It means allowing yourself to be lifted up by the word of God and the spirit of God. Faith does not say what the devil is saying about you. Faith says what God says about you.
There is one kingdom of God. We do not build our own kingdoms. We receive apostleship from the Chief Apostle and we build His kingdom where He sends us. Jesus is the Chief Apostle and High Priest of our confession. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords and we are building His kingdom where He sent us to build it. It is fine that we are not all called to do the same thing in the same place. Why would a good leader send us to compete with each other?
We can join hands and each still do what God has told him to do. As we reach the lost, some will be called to our apostolic mission, and some will be raised up to be sent out. It is only natural that when someone develops their relationship with The High Priest that they meet the Chief Apostle. Some he will commission to help with the mission that He gave us and some will be commissioned to help someone else. And at some point, if they are faithful over that which is someone else’s mission, God will expand them or even give them a mission of their own.
When this happens, rejoice. This is part of our mission to raise others up and send them forth. After all. They may be our disciple for a time, but they are always the disciple of Jesus, the author and the finisher of their faith.