“My Kingdom is not of this world…”

“When Jesus and his disciples came to Capernaum, the collectors of the Temple tax came to Peter and asked, ‘Does your teacher pay the Temple tax?’ ‘Of course,’ Peter answered. When Peter went into the house, Jesus spoke up first, ‘Simon, what is your opinion? Who pays duties or taxes to the kings of this world? The citizens of the country or the foreigners?’ ‘The foreigners,’ answered Peter.

‘Well, then,’ replied Jesus, ‘that means that the citizens don‘t have to pay.

But we don’t want to offend these people. So go to the lake and drop in a line. Pull up the first fish you hook, and in its mouth you will find a coin worth enough for my Temple tax and yours. Take it and pay them our taxes.’” (Matthew 17:24-27)

“My kingdom does not belong to this world; if my kingdom belonged to this world, my followers would fight…No, my kingdom does not belong here!” (John 18:36)

“In those days John the Baptist came to the Judean wilderness and began preaching. His message was, ‘Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.’” (Matthew 3:2 NLT)

“From then on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.’” (Matthew 4:17 NLT)

“Jesus traveled throughout the region of Galilee, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And He healed every kind of disease and illness.” (Matthew 4:23 NLT)

“When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they came together, and one of them, a teacher of the Law, tried to trap him with a question. ‘Teacher,’ he asked, ‘which is the greatest commandment in the Law?’ Jesus answered, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and the most important commandment. The second most important commandment is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ The whole Law of Moses and the teachings of the prophets depend on these two commandments.’” (Matthew 22:34-40 GNB)

“The teacher of the Law said to Jesus, ‘Well done, Teacher! It is true, as you say, that only the Lord is God and that there is no other god but he. And you must love God with all your heart and with all your mind and with all your strength; and you must love your neighbor as you love yourself. It is more important to obey these two commandments than to offer on the altar animals and other sacrifices to God.’ Jesus noticed how wise his answer was, and so he told him, ‘You are not far from the Kingdom of God.’ After this nobody dared to ask Jesus any more questions.” (Mark 12:32-34 GNB)

“Happy are those who know they are spiritually poor; the Kingdom of heaven belongs to them!” (Matthew 5:3)

“I tell you: the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the Kingdom of God ahead of you.” (Matthew 21:31)

“Some Pharisees asked Jesus when the Kingdom of God would come. His answer was, ‘The Kingdom of God does not come in such a way as to be seen. No one will say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’; because the Kingdom of God is within you.’” (Luke 17:20-21)

1. The Kingdom of God does not refer primarily to a far off event, it is a Kingdom that comes within

2. A prerequisite for receiving the Kingdom is to recognize your own spiritual poverty

“He used parables to tell them many things. ‘Once there was a man who went out to sow grain. As he scattered the seed in the field, some of it fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.’” (Matthew 13:3-4)

Jesus interprets the parable: “Those who hear the message about the

Kingdom but do not understand it are like the seeds that fell along the path. The Evil One comes and snatches away what was sown in them.” (Matthew 13:19)

“And the seeds sown in the good soil stand for those who hear the message and understand it: they bear fruit, some as much as one hundred, others sixty, and others thirty.” (Matthew 13:23)

“…their eyes would see, their ears would hear, their minds would understand and they would turn to me, says God, and I would heal them.” (Matthew 13:15)

“What shall we say the Kingdom of God is like?’ asked Jesus. ‘What parable shall we use to explain it? It is like this. A man takes a mustard seed, the smallest seed in the world, and plants it in the ground. After a while it grows up and becomes the biggest of all plants. It puts out such large branches that the birds come and make their nests in its shade.’” (Mark 4:30-32)

Jesus told them still another parable: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is like this. A woman takes some yeast and mixes it with a bushel of flour until the whole batch of dough rises.’” (Matthew 13:31-33)

“The Kingdom of heaven is like this. A man happens to find a treasure hidden in a field. He covers it up again, and is so happy that he goes and sells everything he has, and then goes back and buys that field.

Also, the Kingdom of heaven is like this. A man is looking for fine pearls, and when he finds one that is unusually fine, he goes and sells everything he has, and buys that pearl.” (Matthew 13:44-46)

1. The Kingdom of God does not refer primarily to a far off event, it is a Kingdom that comes within

2. A prerequisite for receiving the Kingdom is to recognize your own spiritual poverty

3. When the message about the Kingdom of God is understood and is perceived as desirable & beautiful, the result is transformation

“Do you understand all these things?’ ‘Yes,’ they said, ‘we do.’ Then He added, ‘Every teacher of religious law who becomes a disciple in the Kingdom of Heaven is like a homeowner who brings from his storeroom new gems of truth as well as old.’” (Matthew 13:51-52 NLT)

“The greatest in the Kingdom of heaven is the one who humbles himself and becomes like this child.” (Matthew 18:4)

“They came to Capernaum, and after going indoors Jesus asked his disciples, ‘What were you arguing about on the road?’ But they would not answer him, because on the road they had been arguing among themselves about who was the greatest. Jesus sat down, called the twelve disciples, and said to them, ‘Whoever wants to be first must place himself last of all and be the servant of all.’” (Mark 9:33-35)

“The devil took him to a high place and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in an instant. The devil said to him, ‘I will give you all the power and glory of these kingdoms. All of it has been given to me, and I give it to anyone I please. So if you will worship me, all this will be yours.’ Jesus answered him, ‘Scripture says, 'Worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’” (Luke 4:5-8 GW)

“Then the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus with her sons. She knelt respectfully to ask a favor. ‘What is your request?’ He asked. She replied, ‘In Your Kingdom, please let my two sons sit in places of honor next to You, one on Your right and the other on Your left.’ But Jesus answered by saying to them, ‘You don't know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink?’ ‘Oh yes,’ they replied, ‘we are able!’ Jesus told them, ‘You will indeed drink from My bitter cup. But I have no right to say who will sit on My right or My left. My Father has prepared those places for the ones He has chosen.’

When the ten other disciples heard what James and John had asked, they were indignant.But Jesus called them together and said, ‘You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give His life as a ransom for many.’” (Matthew 20:20-28 NLT)

“How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: 'I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’” (Isaiah 14:12-14 NKJV)

“The attitude you should have is the one that Christ Jesus had: He always had the nature of God, but he did not think that by force he should try to remain equal with God. Instead of this, of his own free will he gave up all he had, and took the nature of a servant. He became like a human being and appeared in human likeness. He was humble and walked the path of obedience all the way to death--- his death on the cross.” (Philippians 2:5-8)

1. The Kingdom of God does not refer primarily to a far off event, it is a Kingdom that comes within

2. A prerequisite for receiving the Kingdom is to recognize your own spiritual poverty

3. When the message about the Kingdom of God is understood and is perceived as beautiful, the result is transformation

4. It is the polar opposite of the kingdoms of this world, which are based on force and power. It is a Kingdom based on service

“Jesus knew that the Father had given Him authority over everything and that He had come from God and would return to God. So… …he got up from the table, took off His robe, wrapped a towel around His waist, and poured water into a basin.” (John 13:4,5)

“I, your Lord and Teacher, have just washed your feet. You, then, should wash one another's feet.“

“The beast forced all the people, small and great, rich and poor, slave and free, to have a mark placed on their right hands or on their foreheads.” (Revelation 13:16)

“God could have destroyed Satan and his sympathizers as easily as one can cast a pebble to the earth; but He did not do this. Rebellion was not to be overcome by force. Compelling power is found only under Satan's government. The Lord's principles are not of this order. His authority rests upon goodness, mercy, and love; and the presentation of these principles is the means to be used. God's government is moral, and truth and love are to be the prevailing power.

It was God's purpose to place things on an eternal basis of security, and in the councils of heaven it was decided that time must be given for Satan to develop the principles which were the foundation of his system of government. He had claimed that these were superior to God's principles. Time was given for the working of Satan's principles, that they might be seen by the heavenly universe." (Desire of Ages, pg. 759)

“And this Good News about the Kingdom will be preached through all the world for a witness to all people; and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:14)

“So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew

first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith…” (Romans 1:15-17 NKJV)

“And now I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. If you have love for one another, then everyone will know that you are my disciples.” (John 13:34-35)

“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’” (Matthew 16:13-15 ESV)

Simon Peter replied, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter (petros), and on this rock (petra) I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.* I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:16-19 ESV)

*a church so expansive with energy that not even the gates of hell will be able to keep it out.

“Petros” - a small pebble or rock “Petra” is a large, fixed, immovable

rock. “And so I tell you, Peter: you are a

rock (petros), and on this rock foundation (petra) I will build my church, and not even death will ever be able to overcome it.” (GNB)

“The group of believers was one in mind and heart. None of them said that any of their belongings were their own, but they all shared with one another everything they had... There was no one in the group who was in need. Those who owned fields or houses would sell them, bring the money received from the sale, and turn it over to the apostles; and the money was distributed according to the needs of the people.” (Acts 4:32,34,35 GNB)

Tertullian (c. 160 – c. 225 AD) – “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.”

Constantine the Great (272 – 337 AD): Constantine legalized and then

mandated Christianity The first time anyone ever associated

the Christian faith with violence

Charlemagne (742-814 AD): “If there is anyone of the Saxon people lurking among them unbaptized, and if he scorns to come to baptism…and stay a pagan, let him die.”

Torture and murder is justified to help avoid eternal pain.

God’s Kingdom is spread by coming “under” people in service, rather than compelling people from above

Nationalistic idolatry “Mixing religion and politics is like mixing

manure and ice cream. It doesn’t do much for the manure, but it sure ruins the ice cream.” Will Rogers

“Unselfishness, the principle of God’s kingdom, is the principle that Satan hates; its very existence he denies. From the beginning of the great controversy he has endeavored to prove God’s principles of action to be selfish, and he deals in the same way with all who serve God. To disprove Satan’s claim is the work of Christ and of all who bear His name. It was to give in His own life an illustration of unselfishness that Jesus came in the form of humanity. And all who accept this principle are to be workers together with Him in demonstrating it in practical life.” (E. G. White, Education 154)

“And this Good News about the Kingdom will be preached through all the world for a witness to all people; and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:14 GNB)

From that time on Jesus began to say plainly to his disciples, "I must go to Jerusalem and suffer much from the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law. I will be put to death, but three days later I will be raised to life." (Matthew 16:21)

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If any of you want to come with me, you must forget yourself, carry your cross, and follow me. (Matthew 16:24)