The Kingdom of God

Praise the Lord, Hallelujah! I trust that my God has been good to you, your household and all that concerns you. Today by the Grace of God I want to share with you one important truth of our Christian faith. The Kingdom of God is one of the most unthought of realities of our Christian faith. It is one subject that many believers don’t think about. If our Lord Jesus is King of Kings then certainly He has a kingdom.

In an attempt to draw your attention to this truth we will be looking at what Jesus said about the kingdom of God. Jesus likened the Kingdom to many things through parables so we can picture it and relate to it. Our journey to know the Kingdom of God starts in The Gospel according to Mark chapter 4. And here Jesus speaks about the parable of the sower.

The Bible says: Mark 4:3-8 NKJV

“Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it.

Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away.

And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”

The parable of the sower deals with four areas of reception for the seed from the sower

1. The way side

2. The stony ground

3. Among the thorns

4. On good ground

Now the four states listed above are the heart conditions of four individuals. Jesus explains further in verse 13 – 20 that the seed that the sower sows is the Word of God. He explained that there are those by the wayside where the word is sown and Satan comes immediately to take away the word that is sown in their hearts.

There are paths of righteousness laid for every believer, when you are walking on that path you are in the will and purpose of God. When you choose to not to walk the path you become a stander-by. People in this category cannot retain the word of God in their hearts. They are too open to Satan hence he can easily walk in and out of their lives.

The second category of people Jesus spoke about are the ones where the seed is sown on stony ground who when they hear the word immediately receive it with gladness, they have no roots in themselves and so the word endures only for a time. Afterward when trouble or persecution comes for the sake of the word they immediately stumble. Every believer from the day you receive Christ Jesus must endeavor to be firmly planted, rooted and grounded in Him.

“As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.”Colossians 2:6-7 NKJV

“Those who are planted in the house of the Lord Shall flourish in the courts of our God.” Psalms 92:13 NKJV

The third category of heart condition are ones sown among thorns, they are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. The wisdom of the world is to seek and prioritize all other things above the word of God. The wisdom of God according to Matthew 6:33 is to seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these other things shall be added unto you. The wisdom of God will cause the word of God to be fruitful in you. God deals with us according to the amount of knowledge (word) we have in us.

A few months ago my business partners just pulled out of our dealings and shut down their platforms to me, it became a source of great worry to me because my cash flow was just cut off. My wife and I kept praying about it but nothing seemed to change. Just in the midst of that the Archbishop beckoned to me one Sunday morning to see him after service. I did and he said to me he had been praying about the youth in the church for some time, and that each time he prays the Lord tell him am the one to pastor the youth. This was far from my plans but I said amen and took up the assignment of pastoring the youth church. I became consumed with their spiritual well-being, their spiritual growth and how God can use me to touch and change their lives. When my focus shifted to God’s business suddenly there was break through in my business. The door that was closed to me suddenly no longer even mattered because God had opened a bigger door for me to own my own platform. When you prioritize God over all other things you put God under obligation to take care of your needs.

The final heart condition are the ones sown on good ground, these are those who hear the word, accept it and bear fruit: some thirty fold, some sixty and some a hundred. This category are those who receive, believe and walk by faith on God’s word. The thirty fruits/ blessings are for those who obey God’s instructions that pertains to interpersonal relationships- love your neighbor as yourself. The sixtyfold blessing to those who give and support the kingdom of God and it’s advancement. Praying kingdom advancement prayers, engaging in soul winning, building memorials for the kingdom of God and the church of Christ Jesus. The hundred fold blessing comes from direct and swift obedience to the voice of God. In Genesis 26:12 God told Isaac not to go to Egypt but remain in the land he was, he obeyed and sowed in that land and in that same year he reaped a hundred fold because the Lord blessed him.

The level of blessings you enjoy in the kingdom of God is primarily dependent on you. God is always looking for someone to bless. Let he/she that has an ear let him/her her the word of the Lord.

Shalom, peace and life to you.

Pastor Ron Chiarelli