When God Reigns

i want to talk to you this morning about the kingdom of god and i want to i want to speak to you from this title this idea this thought when god reigns when this mighty god reigns change starts to happen when he reigns over the world governments have to bow when he reigns over a life that life has to bow when he reigns over sickness when he reigns over problems and yes even when he reigns over death all of those things have to bow because when god reigns nothing else can he is the sole authority he reigns alone he rules all by himself and so whatever else would try to stand in the world or in our life today when god steps onto the scene and says no i'm in charge now all that other stuff has to take a knee to god and say yes lord you reign not me not my situations not governments not this world none of that lord you reign you reign

so i want to preach to you about that topic when god reigns i'm going to pray here at the outset father i pray that you would be with us and you already are lord i pray that you would speak to our hearts and our minds and our spirits i pray that you would instruct us this morning that you lead us in your path that you would direct us by your word i pray god that we would not only hear your word not only that we would hear your instruction but that we would receive it jesus and that then we would leave this place and we would walk in it yes we would walk in victory like our pastor spoke about last week but god and maybe in a fuller sense that we would walk in the rain and authority of god that we would walk in the kingdom of god thank you for that jesus thank you for that lord and everybody said amen and you all can go ahead and be seated

jesus is fond of a certain proclamation if you read the gospels a few times in fact it's some of the first words out of his mouth when jesus says the kingdom of heaven is here the kingdom of heaven has arrived god has showed up on planet earth to establish his throne to establish his reign he has come to set himself up as the authority in the world jesus loved this proclamation in fact he proclaimed it everywhere hey the kingdom of heaven it's here it has arrived almost like a ship ramming up onto the land crashing into everything that is before the kingdom of heaven was breaking in to the reality in jesus's day but what exactly does this mean i can stand up here and i can preach it and i can scream the kingdom of heaven and i guarantee i'll get some claps and i'll get some response because it means something to us we have experienced in some sense the kingdom of god the kingdom of heaven but what are we supposed to think of jesus's proclamation what did he mean when he said hey the kingdom of heaven is here it has arrived what sort of image should we have in mind of what this kingdom of god looks like

well christ's words in that time would have been loaded with scriptural background from the old testament have been loaded with all these expectations of the jewish people of what that kingdom would look like and i i want to venture into this a little bit i want to look at some of this imagery because i think it's going to help us today to understand what it means for jesus to say hey the kingdom is here and understand what it means for us to say i am walking now in that kingdom and while i can't cover all the scriptures that are useful we would be here for a long time and we don't want that i know i've got 26 minutes left i can't look at all the scriptures today about what jesus meant when he proclaimed the kingdom of god but i think i can give a good enough survey for us to get a picture of what it means for the most part the old testament speaks of the world in certain terms there was today this age this world that we occupy the current state of affairs as we know it and then there was a coming age of god in which god would set up his kingdom and his rule more fully so many of the scriptures that we're going to read today many of the scriptures that you see in the old testament that talk about this coming kingdom are usually introduced with phrases like in that day or on that day or the days are coming in other words while things may work a certain way now on that day things are going to be different i feel like that could preach by itself for at least 15 minutes i'm going to move on from it but let me say that again in other words there's something that's going on right now an experience that we're having in life the status quo what we're used to what we're used to being life but on that day when god breaks in and rules and reigns these things that are the current things you know what god calls them the former things because on that day when god breaks in things will change

i'm going to give us a sampling of this throughout the old testament of micah 4 chapter chapter 4 verse 2 through 3. god says that he's going to teach the nations and specifically he's going to teach them peace it reads many nations shall come and say come and let us go up to the mountain of the lord to the house of the god of jacob he will teach us his ways that alone is awesome god's going to teach the world his ways he's going to teach us his ways and we shall walk in his paths for out of zion the law shall go forth in the word of the lord from jerusalem he shall judge between many peoples and rebuke strong nations afar off they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks nations shall not lift up sword against nation neither shall they learn war anymore i love that poetic imagery the weapons that are used for war swords and spears they're going to be beaten into something else something that could cause agricultural growth rather than war micah goes on a little bit later in the chapter when he talks about what kind of god what kind of kingdom this will be it says in that day says the lord i will assemble the lame i will gather the outcasts and those whom i have afflicted i will make the lame a remnant and the outcast a strong nation so the lord will reign over them in mount zion from now on even forever when i take a look around i don't see many kingdoms being made up of the lame the outcast the outsider those that may be deficient in certain areas i don't see that looking around in our world today but god says in that day there will be a kingdom made up of all of these people no matter the circumstance

zephaniah has some things to say about the kingdom of god in chapter 3 verse 12-13 he says i will leave in your midst a meek and a humble people and they shall trust in the name of the lord the remnant of israel shall do no unrighteousness and speak no lies nor shall deceitful tongue be found in their mouth for they shall feed their flocks and lie down and no one shall make them afraid could you imagine a day when there is no more deceit no more corruption no more lying no more iniquity in the people of god and in the world this is the day that zephaniah is talking about and then he's talking about celebrating later in the passage he says rejoice in this that god is going to remove from the people this iniquity he says i'm going to cause some spiritual renewal to take place this is what ezekiel 36 is talking about when he says then and that day i will sprinkle clean water on you and you shall be clean i will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols i will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you i will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh i will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and you will keep my judgment and do them this is the sort of spiritual revival that comes when the kingdom of god reigns when god reigns when god sets up his kingdom on the earth this is the sort of reality that we can expect to experience and zephaniah says in chapter 3 16-17 he says in that day it shall be said to jerusalem do not fear zion let not your hands be weak the lord your god is in your midst the mighty one will save he will rejoice over you with gladness he will quiet you with his love and will rejoice over you with singing

can we imagine a day like that today meaning this day sometimes it doesn't feel like i'm too strong sometimes it doesn't feel like this sort of kingdom has touched the face of the planet just yet but on that day on that day things are going to change and it's not just spiritual change it's not just ethical change amos 9 13 says behold the days are coming says lord when the plowman shall overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him who sow seed the mountain shall drip with sweet wine and all the hills shall flow with it did you catch that poetic language the plowman shall overtake the reaper let me give you that image just a little bit before people can gather all of the abundance from all of the growth that's going to take place all the provisional abundance the the guy is going to come up behind him say hey i'm going to start plowing for next season you're out of time you can't even gather all of the things that god is going to bless his people with you can't even gather up all of the abundance you can't even gather up all of the provision all the blessing before you've got to get ready for next season this is the sort of day that is coming when i look around and i see all of the hunger and i see all of the starvation i know i know that there's statistics out there that tell us how many people die because there's not enough food there's not enough provision there's not enough to go around and i understand a lot of that may have to do with human corruption but there is coming a day when the plowmen will overtake the reaper when those who are sowing the grapes will overtake those who are treading well there'll be enough for everybody to go around because when god reigns there is never a shortage of supply when god reigns there is never a shortage of resource

what kind of king would reign over this type of kingdom where there's spiritual revival and renewal and there's physical and material abundance well jeremiah 33 15 says in those days and at that time i will cause to grow up to david a branch of righteousness and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth what a change from some of the governmental leaders that many of the nations of the world have experienced thus far he's called a branch of righteousness and he will rule in righteousness on the earth isaiah 9 mimics this same notion where he says for unto us a child is born and unto us a son is given and the government will be upon his shoulder and his name will be called wonderful counselor mighty god everlasting father the prince of peace and of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end and upon the throne of david and over his kingdom to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward even for ever the zeal of the lord of hosts will perform this this is the sort of ruler that reigns over god's kingdom this is the sort of king that sets himself upon the throne of the kingdom of heaven

i happen to love the prophet isaiah and i know i'm reading a lot of scripture to you and i hope you're loving it just as much as i am i love the bible i love it and not in some like cliche sense like we're supposed to say that i really love it i've spent a lot of time and money studying it because i love it but particularly i really like isaiah i know we're not supposed to have favorites maybe of the bible sorry but you did good with isaiah god you did good starting about isaiah 52 the prophet introduces this idea this notion of god reigning and then from that point forward and really all around it but from that point forward he begins to lay out what it looks like for god to reign and he does it in chronological order so it just it just builds like a story you're like wow that's awesome god it gets bigger wow that's awesome god it gets bigger you're out of words so you just keep watching it grow and get bigger and get more wonderful and all the good things are going to happen when god reigns isaiah 52 7 says this how beautiful upon the mountain mountains are the feet of him who brings good news who proclaims peace who brings glad tidings of good things who proclaim salvation who says to zion your god reigns how wonderful of a news that is to hear that our god reigns our god sits enthroned over the earth and he goes on and he begins to explain what that means when god reigns in isaiah 54 11-17 he speaks of the afflicted city and it's poetic and it's beautiful but when god reigns it resists oh you afflicted one tossed with tempest and not comforted behold i will lay your stones with colorful gems and lay your foundations with sapphires i will make your pinnacles of rubies your gates of crystal and all your walls of precious stones all your children shall be taught by the lord and how we all would love that and great shall be the peace of your children and righteousness you shall be established you shall be far from oppression for you shall not fear and from terror for it shall not come near you indeed they shall surely assemble meaning a symbol against you but not because of me whoever assembles against you shall fall for your sake behold i have created the blacksmith who blows the coals in the fire who brings forth an instrument for his work and i have created the spoiler to destroy but no weapon formed against you shall prosper and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn this is the heritage of the servants of the lord and the righteousness is from me says the lord when god reigns those that are afflicted those are tossed around by the sea the tempest the winds of life they will be built up with rubies they will be built up with fine material they will be built up in such a way that no weapon that is forged against them will prosper no tongue that tries to accuse them will be successful because this is the inheritance of the servants of the lord those who occupy the kingdom of heaven this is what happens when god reigns

he goes on in isaiah 56 when he says when god reigns do not let the son of the foreigner who has joined himself to the lord speak saying the lord has utterly separated me from his people don't let the outsiders say in the kingdom of god that i don't have a place in this kingdom don't let the eunuch this outside of this outcast and jewish culture don't let him say here i am a dry tree for thus says the lord to the eunuchs who keep my sabbaths and choose what pleases me and hold fast my covenant even to them i will give in my house and within my walls a place and a name better than that of sons and daughters i will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off also the sons of the foreigner who join themselves to the lord to serve him and to love the name of the lord to be his servants everyone who keeps from defiling the sabbath and holds fast my covenant even them i will bring to my holy mountain and make them joyful in my house of prayer their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations the lord god who gathers the outcasts of israel says yet i will gather to him others besides those who are gathered to him let me just paraphrase that quickly in the kingdom of god god calls the outsider in he calls the outcasts those who feel like they don't have a place and the kingdom of god he calls them in and says no there is a place for you there is a spot for you there's a location for you to occupy in the kingdom of god i pray that somebody would hear me i know that this is a popular lie that people tend to believe that i'm just strange and i don't fit in and there's no place for me and i i've just got to go through life alone i've just got to go through this thing by myself and just feel depressed and feel anxious and feel left out all the time but let me tell you that when our god reigns you are not an outsider anymore when our god reigns you are brought into the kingdom of god when our god reigns you are not weird you are not strange you are not without a place because god has a place for you

and finally isaiah 65 caps it all off and when he says when our god reigns behold i create a new heavens and a new earth and the former the former shall not be remembered or come to mind how beautiful it is for those who proclaim oh god but all of the former things that we're experiencing right now they will not even be remembered we won't even be able to bring them to mind we won't even be able to try to pull from our memories all of the former things just to speak to our context a little bit all of the sorrow and sadness and heartbreak that's surrounding anthony tremble somebody hear me someone like that dies young and we don't even know what to do with it we don't we don't know how to process it really fully we try and we can seek help we can do all those good things but still we we've got to deal with that god says when i reign you won't even be able to recall that sorrow you felt he won't even be able to muster up an experience of that sorrow you felt because i'm going to make everything new

that sounds similar it's because you've read revelation in chapter 21 where john uses that passage and isaiah says see i saw a new heaven and new earth for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away and there was no more sea and i john saw the holy city new jerusalem coming down of heaven from god prepared as a bride a dorm for her husband and i heard a loud voice from heaven saying behold the tabernacle of god is with men and he will dwell with them and they shall be his people and god himself will be with them and be their god and god will wipe away every tear from their eyes there should be no more death or sorrow no crying there should be no more pain for the former things the way it used to be has passed away that he who sat on the throne said behold i make all things new and he said to me right for these words are true and faithful he said to me it is done i am the alpha and the omega the beginning and the end and i will give the fountain of water of life freely to him who thirsts he who overcomes shall inherit all things and i will be his god and he shall be my son in other words when he says i am the alpha and the omega he says i now reign. i now reign and when god reigns all of these things that i have read through in the old testament all of this beautiful imagery all of these promises when god reigns come to pass when god reigns we experience them

let me just be playing today in god's kingdom scripture tells us that every hair on our heads are numbered they're accounted for and god sees every time that we fall no one goes unnoticed in the kingdom of god no one goes unseen no one is invisible in the kingdom of god and i get it much of the kingdom away to still future fulfillment there are some things that god still is going to do in the future but i just want to posit today that we could experience some of this kingdom partly today and right now after all ephesians 1 paul tells us that in him you also trusted after you heard the word of truth the gospel of your salvation in whom you having believed you were sealed with the holy spirit of promise who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession to the praise of his glory in other words those who of us who have experienced the infilling of the spirit of god we have tasted at least a little bit of this kingdom of god that is to come we have experienced some of the goodness of the kingdom of god right here and right now paul says later in colossians that he has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the son of his love and whom we have redemption through his blood the forgiveness of sins whoever has experienced a changed life because of the blood of jesus whoever has experienced a new life a new experience of freedom and love and peace and a sound mind and a calm heart whoever has experienced that you have already experienced the kingdom today you have already experienced the goodness of this good king today

but the benefits of this kingdom go far beyond just getting a passport to heaven it's not just that we get the holy ghost and we're like well i'm good i just got to suffer everything else in life until we get there and i get it jesus says in this war we're going to have trouble but his pastor preached last week he's overcome all that i want to speak to those that are maybe dissatisfied with the current state of the world to those that are upset with some of the economic turmoil or the political corruption and confusion the cultural depravity the people going hungry across the world even in our city sickness death loss those that are frustrated with depression anxiety emotional trouble those that are bothered by the racial tension and division in our in our country the broken families the broken spirits and hearts the rampant addictions and bondage that runs wild through our culture the moral failings and sinful behaviors that have led to guilt shame and the destruction of a life for those of us that are frustrated with that state of affairs i pray you would hear me today there is a kingdom there is a kingdom in which all of that stuff has to bow which all of that stuff has to bow in thee to the kingdom of god and maybe right now you can identify with those souls under the altar in revelation 6 who ask god how long o lord until you act in the earth when am i going to see the fullness of this kingdom when am i going to see all the goodness that you promised when am i going to see your promises really come to pass in the earth me maybe you can relate to the psalmist in psalm 10 when he writes why god do you stand afar off why do you hide in times of trouble why am i not seeing the fullness of your kingdom right now or maybe you can share in some of the wishful cynicism of those who asked the community for ii peter it says where is this coming that god promised where is this god and all of his goodness that is promised in scripture where is this reign of god where is this kingdom when is god really going to reign fully when is this coming how long am i supposed to wait where is this change that it's supposed to bring about

to you i simply ask that you would hear an old proclamation there is a kingdom in which a good king reigns a kingdom of which the church is called to live in to proclaim and offer to others to offer what the prophet speaks about in isaiah 61 good tidings to the poor healing to the brokenhearted liberty to the captives opening of the prison to those who are bound the acceptable year of the lord the day of vengeance of our god comfort to all who mourn relief to those who mourn to give them beauty for ashes and the oil of joy for mourning the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness there is a kingdom today that offers these things you don't have to live the way that you've always lived you don't have to keep trying to make it by your own power you've tried it i've tried it and i failed maybe we've counted on the government to help us maybe we've tried drugs or other addictions maybe we've tried relationships self-harm or other sinful behaviors maybe we've went there but please hear me there is another way there is another kingdom there is another option today a kingdom with healing and abundant life god can take you from that darkness and he can move you to a new place of joy a new place of peace a new place where there is soundness of mind and of heart and of spirit a place of healing and restoration and forgiveness a place where there is new life there is a kingdom where god reigns and he wants to reign in your life today there is a kingdom and what's really cool and i and i'm coming to a close

what's really cool about this kingdom is that you can pray for it you can ask for the kingdom of god to crash down on planet earth i don't have time i prove it to you come up to me after oh i got him i've got him in the chamber always but you can pray for the kingdom luke 11 jesus records the lord's prayer he teaches us how to pray and he says our father in heaven hallowed be your name your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven and he goes on he asks us to pray a little bit more about that kingdom but then in verse 9 he's continuing along these lines of prayer he says so i say to you ask ask and it will be given to you seek and you'll find it knock that door will be open to you for everyone who asks receives and who seeks finds and to him who knocks it will be open he tries to help us understand a little bit more he says if a son asks for bread from any father monkey will you give him a stone or if he asks for a fish we give him a serpent instead of a fish or if he asks for an egg will he offer him a scorpion the answer is obviously no no good dad does that he says if then you being evil not perfect like god in heaven if you know how to give good gifts to your children how much more will your heavenly father listen when he's talking about praying for the kingdom how much more will your heavenly father give the holy spirit to those who ask him

bruce are you in here i don't mean to put you on the spot i saw it there's bruce bruce i remember meeting you for the first time we're good friends now i love this guy i'm not gonna have you stand up like pastor and call you good looking but you are those things it's good i remember meeting him i remember teaching him bible studies i think we got through two and he got baptized in jesus name and he received the holy ghost but you know what's really neat about that experience bruce i remember exactly where you were when you received the holy ghost come on i remember where you were bruce is not a crazy guy he's not the guy that jives like me but i remember when he got the holy ghost all of a sudden something else took a hold of this man he stood up he was going like this he was screaming he was crying he was yelling thank you jesus he's speaking in tongues he turned around and locked eyes with me i was fearful for my life because he's a larger man than me he turned around lock eyes with me he turns on he grabs me around my neck starts hugging me he's crying he's weeping he's thanking jesus for the spirit of god that was the power of the kingdom touching a life for the first time and i want to tell you that that promise is not just for the people in this church it's not just for bruce but all of us when we pray god send your kingdom in my life today lord i want to experience that kingdom today he will bless you with his spirit he will fill you with his presence and your life will be forever changed nothing will stay the same everything will be different because you'll be walking in the rain in the role of god

i don't care what you've done if you need forgiveness today you can pray a real simple prayer god i want your kingdom in my life today part of that kingdom entails forgiveness part of that kingdom entails the wiping away of all sins no matter how dark no matter how bad no matter how difficult it is in your mind for god to forgive you it entails all that god can forgive you god can then fill you with his spirit in which your life is forever changed i told bruce this before he got the holy ghost you thought you knew god before you got the holy ghost after you get it there's a reason he almost fell out there's a reason he almost fell out in this altar it's like lighting fire inside of a paper bag when the spirit of god gets a holy that bag is not going to make it god can fill you today with the spirit and all you've got to pray is god i want your kingdom and my life today let's all stand this morning

god we want your kingdom here today we want your presence here today whatever you need today i i want you to hear me god can rule over it sin doesn't have to rule sickness doesn't have to rule a need a provision for the fear that that brings it doesn't have to rule anxiety depression addiction weariness brokenness wounded emotions or a traumatized spirit does not have to rule today in fact all of these things must bow at the kingdom of god so i want to ask you a question and then i'm going to open these altars for us to pray and respond to god what do you need to bow today what do you need to bow today whatever it is it must and it will bow when you invite god to reign in your life because when god reigns nothing else can nothing else can these altars are open the prayers this morning don't have to be beautiful they don't have to be articulated well they don't have to be perfect or pretty or any of that stuff in fact scripture tells us that before we even open our mouths to pray to god he starts to respond he hears us and he knows our needs he starts to respond to those needs and i promise you that when you pray this morning god i need your kingdom in my life he knows what that means for your life he knows what that means for your situation and he will begin to respond he's hearing you right now and he's responding yes church let's pray together if you don't have a need if you don't need to come forward or pray in your pew i pray that you would pray with those that have let's pray that simple prayer god i pray you sent your kingdom send your kingdom here today lord and all of what that entails all of what comes along with your kingdom jesus let that crash down in this building let that crash down in the rooms of the people that are watching on the live stream jesus let your kingdom fall today let your kingdom reign today god set up your throne and lives today jesus set up your throne today jesus that's it let's pray let's pray let's pray thank you lord thank you lord thank you lord thank you lord thank you lord