In the past few weeks, I have been reading and studying the Gospel of Matthew, and I came across one expression that is repeated many times in his Gospel. Can you guess which one it is?
Yes, it is the Kingdom of Heaven . It actually appears over 50 times in Matthew’s Gospel. Then I thought it must be something very important. But what does it mean? Why did Jesus speak about the Kingdom, and what does this imply for us?
The title of this message is: Advancing the Kingdom
The first time Jesus spoke about it in the Book of Matthew was in chapter 4, verse 17 to 23.
Let’s read this section: “From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”
At once they left their nets and followed him. Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.”Matthew 4:17-23 NIV
We see that in Galilee, the people were very open to Jesus; they were flocking to Him, receiving healing and learning from Him.
But let’s go back to the beginning to understand what the Kingdom of Heaven is. When I say ‘beginning’, I mean the first time the Kingdom is mentioned in the Bible. Do you know where that is?
Yes, in the Book of Genesis, after God created the first couple.
Topic 1 – The Kingdom in the Beginning: God’s Original Plan
He gave them a very important task. Let’s read Genesis 1:27-28: “So God created man in His own image, in the image and likeness of God He created him; male and female He created them. And God blessed them [granting them certain authority] and said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth, and subjugate it [putting it under your power]; and rule over (dominate) the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and every living thing that moves upon the earth.” Genesis 1:27-28 AMP
God gave mankind the power to rule over everything on the Earth. They had authority over everything, and God was over them. They were the administrators here, but there was a condition: they could not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen 2:9). Here we see God establishing His Kingdom on Earth. But what happened? They disobeyed Him; they decided to know for themselves what is good and what is evil instead of trusting God. And this brought destruction, sin, and death upon humanity.
But God did not give up.
Topic 2 – The Kingdom Revealed Through Israel
Later, He called a people—the sons of Abraham, the people of Israel. He called them to be His people, and He took them out of Egypt because they were living there as slaves. He manifested Himself in a powerful way and delivered them. He confronted the power of darkness and set His people free. And for the first time after they left Egypt, God was called King. It is mentioned in the song they sang after the Egyptians died in the Red Sea, after they had passed through it. See the song in Exodus 15.
Let’s read a few verses: “Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord: “I will sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted. Both horse and driver he has hurled into the sea. “The Lord is my strength and my defence; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him. The Lord is a warrior; the Lord is his name. “The Lord reigns for ever and ever.” When Pharaoh’s horses, chariots and horsemen went into the sea, the Lord brought the waters of the sea back over them, but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground. Exodus 15:1-3, 18,19 NIV
After the deliverance, God brought them to Sinai, and there He made a covenant with them. God gave them the Torah (the Law, the first five books of the Bible), as well as the Tabernacle, which was a place for them to worship Him. God promised, “If you seek Me and put Me first, I will bless, protect, and prosper you as a nation.”
Guess what the people of Israel did? They disobeyed and forsook God; they worshipped other gods and tried to rule their lives by themselves. As a result, they became slaves again and lived in Assyria and Babylon as captives. But this promise of a Kingdom and of a perfect King was always mentioned in their Psalms and by the prophets. In their minds, there was always this hope that one day God would rule over them, and they would be free and redeemed. Look at this beautiful poem Isaiah wrote as they were about to be sent as captives to Babylon, in Chapter 52:7-10:
“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!” Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices; together they shout for joy. When the Lord returns to Zion, they will see it with their own eyes. Burst into songs of joy together, you ruins of Jerusalem, for the Lord has comforted his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem. The Lord will lay bare his holy arm in the sight of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God.” Isaiah 52:7-10 NIV
Topic 3 – The Kingdom Has Come Near
Then, if you were Jewish and living in Israel at Jesus’ time, you would understand straight away if someone said the Kingdom of Heaven was near. This language of the Kingdom was something that everyone in Israel understood very well. Specifically, at that time, they were under Roman authority, suffering a lot under heavy taxation and being treated as slaves on their own land. Suddenly, there was this man walking around Galilee, proclaiming that the Kingdom of Heaven was near. He started treating people with love, teaching them the Word of God, and healing the sick.
But we need to understand one thing—a very important thing:
What is the Kingdom of God?
It is God taking back His world from us and what we have done to it.
It’s God changing us from the inside out, giving us a new heart. Because this heart without God is a stone heart, a selfish heart that thinks only about ourselves.
Topic 4 – How the Kingdom Is Established?
Matthew 4:18-22 NIV “As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him.
Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.”
It starts with Jesus calling us to follow Him, to be his disciples. Because the Kingdom must be formed by people with a renewed mind, people who are born again, people who are willing to take up their cross and follow Him, the King of the universe.
It is a radical call because we have to reorganise our priorities, our life goals, our identity. He is my Master; I do what He calls me to do. I am a child of God; I am a conqueror because His Holy Spirit lives in me.
Then the Kingdom of God is reclaiming this world through Jesus and forming a people who will live under His reign. Jesus is calling us to submit to His Kingdom, to be his disciple and how does it work? Jesus wants to work on the roots of our issues, in the depths of our hearts. On our fleshly desires: our sexual immorality, idolatry, ambition, jealousy, outbursts of anger, envy, drunkenness. He wants to give us a renewed mind, to help us to live connected with the Holy Spirit and produce the fruit that is love, kindness, joy, gentleness, self-control (Gal 5:19-22).
And as He went preaching and calling people to follow Him, He taught that those who listen and follow Him are wise, like someone who built their house on a solid rock. But those who hear and don’t obey are foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand (Matt 7:24-27).
The same Jesus that says to you to deny yourself is also gentle and merciful. And He says that He will walk beside you and carry the yoke with you (Matt 11:28-30).
Topic 5 – Living a Kingdom Lifestyle
How, then, can I enter the Kingdom? How can I seek the Kingdom? First, you need to follow Jesus, be his disciple and then you live a Kingdom lifestyle. You put His Kingdom first; He becomes your priority. There are many ways to seek the Kingdom. It is when we help the needy, we forgive those who hurt us, and we serve each other. It’s important to understand: the Kingdom is not the church.
The church is where we come to learn about the Kingdom and be recharged, and during the week, among our friends, neighbours, and family, we express and expand the Kingdom. Every time you preach the Good News of the Gospel, pray, and heal the sick, you are destroying the power of darkness; you are setting the captives free. You are expanding the Kingdom.
Conclusion – A Call to Discipleship and Mission
One day, as Jesus promised, He will return and reign physically on this Earth. But until that time, we are like ambassadors; we are preparing the way for His Kingdom to be established. We are conquering this land back for Him.
May the Lord help you to understand that He never called you to be a churchgoer, but a citizen of His Kingdom.
I challenge you to read the Book of Matthew with a new perspective. Pay attention to every time the word ‘Kingdom’ appears and notice how Jesus called His disciples, how He formed them, how He confronted the darkness, and how He fulfilled His first task to establish the Kingdom.
He had to conquer death; He had to pay the price for our sin. Without His work at the cross, we would never be able to become citizens of Heaven, citizens of His Kingdom.
My question to you today is: Are you a true disciple? Are you willing to advance His Kingdom?Remember the last words of Jesus in the book of Matthew were:
“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.””
Matthew 28:18-20 NIV
Let’s pray and ask the Holy Spirit to help us to live as citizens of Heaven and to enter His Kingdom on this Earth and keep expanding it until Jesus returns.