Imagine waking up every morning in a world where peace reigns, love abounds, and justice prevails. A place where the Kingdom of God isn’t just a distant promise, but a vibrant reality we experience every day. How would your life change if the divine principles of God’s kingdom were manifested in every aspect of our lives?
The Kingdom of God is not merely a concept to be admired or a future hope to anticipate. It is a powerful, transformative force that we are called to usher into the here and now. The question is: what does it take to see this Kingdom come to life on earth?
It takes more than just passive faith. It requires active engagement, a heart fully surrendered to God’s will, and a commitment to live out His love in tangible ways. It demands that we become vessels of His grace, agents of His justice, and beacons of His light.
In What it takes to see the Kingdom of God manifested on earth we explore the practical steps, the unwavering faith, and the sacrificial love needed to bring the Kingdom of God from heaven to earth. Are you ready to be a part of this divine mission? Together, let’s discover what it truly takes to see God’s Kingdom manifested in our world today.
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Notes on What it takes to see the Kingdom of God manifested on earth
Notes for Message –
The Kingdom Way
Good morning, it’s great to be back with you. We had an amazing, relaxing holiday, even with an unwanted and unplanned 72-hour fast and purge.
It’s the first time in a very long time that I was just able to rest and dream with God. I’m not prepared to share any of these dreams quite yet, as they are far beyond human reasoning. But let’s just say it’s going to take a mighty hand of God to bring it into reality. Today, I want to continue to lay the groundwork. Before I left, we completed our Spiritual Gifts series. Then Dwight and Lynne, our missionaries from Mozambique, blessed us by being here; I’m so sorry I missed that. Pastor Trevor delivered some timely teaching on hope and a deeper dive into discernment.
Today, I want to get into a topic that I believe needs to become a mainstay in the church.
Today’s topic is: Manifesting the Kingdom of God on Earth.
The Kingdom of God
This is a topic many Christians are completely clueless about, which is very strange to me. Jesus spoke about the Kingdom of God more than any other topic.
In the Gospels:
Matthew – 34 references
Mark – 10 references
Luke – 28 references
John – 2 references
The Apostles carried on this teaching:
Book of Acts – 7 references
Apostle Paul – 11 references
Other NT – 9 references
That’s over 100 references to the Kingdom of God.
We won’t go through every one of them today, but I encourage you to take the time to meditate on each one. You can find this list on our website. Join the 50K people who visit our site every month to look up lists of verses.
https://kingdomway.ca/topics/bible-verses
With over 100 references cited, unfortunately, there are very few pastors who have ever even given lip service to this primary teaching.
Ten years ago, this impacted me so very much, and I started looking deeper into this topic when God told me to rename our church to Kingdom Way. I was blown away by how much Jesus taught about the Kingdom—almost like it’s the most important thing we can understand after the love of God.
As a reminder, the Kingdom Way is to love God and love people so they can love others too. Let’s never forget that!
So what is the Kingdom of God?
The concept of “Kingdom” is described in many ways:
Kingdom of Heaven
Matthew 3:2 NASB95
2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Matthew 4:17 NASB95
17 From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Matthew 5:3 NASB95
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 5:10 NASB95
10 “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 5:19–20 NASB95
19 “Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
20 “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 6:10 NASB95
10 ‘Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Kingdom of God
Mark 1:15 NASB95
15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
Luke 4:43 NASB95
43 But He said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose.”
John 3:3 NASB95
3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Romans 14:17 NASB95
17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 4:20 NASB95
20 For the kingdom of God does not consist in words but in power.
The Kingdom
Matthew 13:19 NASB95
19 “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road.
Matthew 13:24 NASB95
24 Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.”
Matthew 13:31 NASB95
31 He presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field.”
Matthew 18:1–4 NASB95
1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
2 And He called a child to Himself and set him before them,
3 and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
4 “Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Kingdom of Christ and of God
Ephesians 5:5 NASB95
5 For this you know with certainty that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
His Kingdom/Jesus’ Kingdom
John 18:36 NASB95
36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.”
Colossians 1:13 NASB95
13 For He rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son.
Kingdom Prepared
Matthew 25:34 NASB95
34 “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father; inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’
Everlasting/Eternal Kingdom
2 Peter 1:11 NASB95
11 for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.
Revelation 11:15 NASB95
15 Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying,
“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.”
Kingdom of their Father
Matthew 13:43 NASB95
43 “Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
Kingdom of Light
Colossians 1:12 NIV
12 and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of His holy people in the kingdom of light.
These varied descriptions reflect different aspects and emphases of the Kingdom as taught by Jesus and expounded upon by the New Testament authors.
So let’s simplify it down:
The “King” “dom” is the “Domain” of the “King.”
It’s where the will of the King is carried out in fullness. If a Kingdom rules over a land, He decides what happens there. But that same King cannot make decisions in lands He does not have dominion over. That’s the picture God is giving us here.
You may have heard someone raise the argument:
“If God exists and is good and all-powerful, why do bad things happen?”
On the surface, this may seem like a challenging question.
But let’s rephrase it:
“If barbers exist and have the tools to cut hair, why are there people who are in need of a haircut?”
Barbers make a living from cutting hair, and they are motivated to cut hair. So why are there people who still need a haircut?
The simple answer: You can’t force people to get a haircut.
In the same way, you can’t force people to allow God’s will to be done on earth.
Remember:
John 10:10 NASB95
10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
If you’re not in God’s Kingdom, you are under the domain of the one who steals, kills, and destroys.
You can guess where his will leads.
But if you’re a believer, does that guarantee you that God’s will is being carried out fully in your life?
Well, let me ask you a question for clarification… Do you always do God’s will? If we are honest with God and ourselves, there are probably moments every day when we choose our will over God’s. Sometimes we may even choose the thief’s will over God’s.
Simply put… Life is a growth process—yielding more and more of your decisions to follow in line with God’s will.
When Jesus’ disciples asked Him how to pray, one of the things He taught them was:
Matthew 6:10 NASB95
10 ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.’
You see God’s will is carried out fully in Heaven. When Satan rose up against God, Satan and one-third of the angels who followed him were cast out of Heaven.
But we should also realize that God’s will is NOT carried out fully on earth. If it were, why would Jesus tell us to pray that it would be?
When evil things contrary to the will of God happen, it’s NOT God’s desire that they occur.
As Pastor Trevor has said—and I will repeat:
“Stop giving God credit for the works of the one who comes to steal, kill and destroy..”
Stop blaming God for what Satan is doing.
Instead, God takes the position to make it right:
Romans 8:28 NASB95
28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
“Called according to His purpose”—another way of saying “in alignment with His will.”
This journey we call life is a maturation process where we learn to allow more of God’s will to manifest in our life and less of our own or Satan’s.
As God’s will is done, His Kingdom expands on earth. Each and every believer is responsible for expanding the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.
So how do we do this? Our mission is to expand God’s Kingdom on earth. It must be our priority.
Matthew 6:33 NASB95
33 “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
What are all these things?
Matthew 6:25–32 NASB95
25 “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow nor reap nor gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? 27 “And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? 28 “And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, 29 yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 30 “But if God so clothes the grass of the field which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! 31 “Do not worry then saying ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ 32 “For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.”
The basics for living an abundant life!
This is a promise from God: if we put His Kingdom first, He will take care of everything you need to live the abundant life He purchased and paid for you.
For many of us, we focus on our needs—that’s where our time and energies are spent. But when we learn to put His Kingdom as a priority in our lives, He promises to take care of the rest.
In closing,
Kris Vallotton wrote this:
Have you ever pondered what it takes to see the Kingdom of God manifested on earth as it is in heaven? This question has stirred my spirit many times throughout my walk with the Lord. If Jesus is the exact representation of God’s being as Hebrews records:
Hebrews 1:3 NASB95
3 And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
and revealed His desire through His life, then we can confidently know that His desire is for the earth to be filled with salvation, restoration, healing, and miracles!
Jesus’ life is a declaration of God’s promises for the earth.
So how do we bring this Kingdom to earth? In 2 Corinthians 1:20, we read:
2 Corinthians 1:20 NASB95
20 For as many as are the promises of God; in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us.
This verse reveals a profound truth: God’s promises are already affirmed in Christ. They’re just waiting for us to speak the “Amen” that brings them into our reality.
Imagine God’s promises as vibrant, colorful balloons floating high above the earth with ribbons flowing down. These balloons represent His “Yes” to every good thing He desires for us and for the world. Now envision yourself standing on the ground with your arms outstretched to grab the strings and pull down those balloons.
You are the “Amen” –the agreement that reaches up and brings those promises down to earth.
The fundamental lesson to learn is this:
“God desires to expand His Kingdom on earth; He’s chosen His people to carry that out.”
Do you want to know why the world is in such disarray? It’s because God’s people have not been on task. It’s up to us to partner with Holy Spirit and expand God’s Kingdom on earth.
Next week we’ll delve deeper into this topic and look at some practical ways we can manifest the Kingdom of God on earth.
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