"Are We Presently Living In The Kingdom Of God? By: Dr. Shuffel P. Hepburn

Are we presently living in the kingdom

of God? That's our

message. The good news is that we are

living in the kingdom of God. However,

there are two things that we should be

aware of. Number one, today's kingdom is

not what some people think it

is. Number two the complete kingdom of

God has not yet come. Contrary to what those who preach the prosperity gospel teach, the really good

times of the kingdom are not here yet.

According to various sources those who

push this prosperity gospel propose that

faith and charitable works and most

especially, giving to the church leads to

material blessings. And this is linked to

doctrines about the kingdom that is on

earth here and now.

They push a doctrine which says that the

kingdom of God is a place of abundance

and that believers are entitled to

prosperity because of their faith and

their actions. Yes my friend God will give us

the desires of our hearts, He has

promised this. But there is too much

focus on material things in these

doctrines. Book writing and owning a

business are promoted more than the

saving of souls, and their followers become members of an elite group whose favorite word is

favor. According to various sources

prosperity preachers paint a picture in

which believers should expect to

experience not only spiritual blessings

but also material prosperity good health

and a fulfilling life right now.

And very often those who believe this

doctrine of prosperity believe that

those who are less fortunate, namely the

poor and those suffering from health

challenges are not in God's

kingdom. This wealth and health doctrine

is a false interpretation of scripture

that can corrupt believers in Christ,

causing them to become materialistic and

open for exploitation by greedy

preachers. The problem according to the gospel

coalition is that the prosperity gospel

discounts what the Bible teaches about

wealth and suffering. They also say there's an

absence of a serious doctrine of the

biblical necessity and normalcy of

suffering. And we see so much of it today

among believers in Christ and

unbelievers. In addition there's an

absence of a clear and prominent

doctrine of self-denial. According to Luke 19:11 as

Jesus Christ approached Jerusalem on

Palm Sunday, it was clear that the people

expected an immediate kingdom of

God. In order to open their eyes He told

them the parable of the nobleman who

went to a distant country to receive a

kingdom but before leaving he gave 10

pounds to his 10 servants telling them

to occupy until he returned. But his citizens hated him the word says and sent a message saying that

they did not want him to rule over

them. He was hoping to make the people

understand that the kingdom was not as

near as they had anticipated,

nevertheless believers are to work

faithfully while being fruitful and

multiplying until the good master

returns. But look around and see if the

terrible times we live

in look like the days when the kingdom

of God shall come in its

fullness. In that day when Christ will

rule the earth for a thousand years the

wicked will be destroyed and there shall

be a time of peace and prosperity on the

earth like we have never seen. And the

Lord will establish His kingdom on the

earth and He will rule with power and

majesty. Consider this, if ever there was a world leader

whose life seemed to exemplify the life

of a Christian, perhaps the late former

US President Jimmy Carter can be a

nominee.

As all presidents were, he was a great

man serving as head of the world's most

powerful nation. He did some great things for

America and the world, but his greatest

work was done in his life after the

presidency. His life exemplified

Christian principles, but after leaving

the White House He served his fellow man

through his service to Habitat for

Humanity and other charitable

organizations, building homes for the

homeless and doing other good work. Now

take a look at him in his last days and

say whether the picture of him sitting

limp in a wheelchair with his mouth open

while being wheeled around is a

reflection of God's glorious kingdom. Of

course it is not the pretty picture of

what believers in the prosperity gospel

call kingdom living. His trusted nurse

explained that the reason his mouth was

always hanging open is because we need

muscles to keep our mouth shut. At the

end of life our muscles relax hence

leaving some with the open mouth look. In

addition he died at 100 years old. In his

later years he was sleeping 20 to 22

hours a day and so he was always relaxed

and probably asleep at the times when we

saw him being wheeled about. Yet we know

that if any will qualify for heaven he

must be one of them and I firmly believe

he was genuinely born again from above

though imperfect as we all are.

So then the kingdom of God must be

something we cannot see. There must be a

joy and a peace that he had on the

inside which we could not

observe. The glory of God that he had and

all children of God carry around with

them is not often visible to the naked

eye. Though we often see it reflected in

their faces, likewise the joy of the Lord which is

the strength of every believer is

primarily on the inside. This then must be what Jesus

Christ meant when He said that the

kingdom of God does not come by

observation. Meaning it is not something

we can see or behold with our two

eyes. One day the Pharisees asked Christ,

"When was the kingdom of God coming?" He

answered them and said "The kingdom of

God does not come with observation nor will they say see here or see there for indeed the kingdom of

God is within you," Luke 17:20. In other words he was saying that the kingdom of God cannot be detected by

visible signs.

We're given help in understanding this

by looking at Romans 14:17 where the scripture says, "For the kingdom of God is not eating and

drinking but righteousness and peace and

joy in the Holy Spirit." So these are all internal

experiences, therefore the kingdom is not

material but rather spiritual. So if President Carter was the man of God that we thought he was then the

kingdom of God was within him even as

they wheeled him from place to place

while he sat limp in the wheelchair with

his mouth open. Nevertheless, there was

something awesomely beautiful on the

inside of him, something glorious that

could not be observed but yet was more

real than anything on earth.

Even from the time of Daniel the word of

God declared that the saints of the most

high God would one day possess the

kingdom of God. And this is confirmed by Jesus

Christ himself in Matthew 25 and 34 where

He says that in the day of the Lord, He

the king will say unto all those on His

right hand come you blessed of My Father,

inherit the kingdom prepared for you

from the foundation of the world. And

this promise is echoed in various places

throughout scripture, including Hebrews

12 where we are told, "Wherefore we

receiving a kingdom which cannot be

moved. Let us have grace whereby we may

serve God acceptably with reverence and

godly fear." When Pilate asked Jesus Christ

whether He was a king, Christ told him

"My kingdom is not of this world. If My

kingdom were of this world, My servants

would fight so that I should not be

delivered to the Jews, but now My kingdom

is not from here, John 18:36. Clearly at that time Christ's

kingdom had not yet come but my friend

it is coming. There are many events however

still to come before Christ's kingdom is

established on earth. For instance, there

are seven seals to be opened by the Lamb

of God in heaven in that season, which

will bring forth the most traumatic

times of killing, wars, famine, deaths,

earthquakes upon the earth. Then there

are the seven trumpet blasts of the

seven angels which will bring one global

catastrophe after

another. And the first four trumpets will

bring forth hail and fire mingled with

blood, burning up one-third of the

greenery on earth. A burning mountain will be cast

into the sea and will cause one third of

the oceans to turn into blood killing

sea creatures, destroying

ships. A burning star will fall from

heaven making the drinking water bitter

and killing many.

And one-third of the sun, the moon and

the stars will go dark for a third of

the day and the night. And then an angel will fly through

the earth warning that the next three

trumpet sounds will be worse than these

four. And finally when the seventh angel

sounds, there will be great voices in

heavens saying, "The kingdoms of this

world are become the kingdoms of our

Lord and of His Christ, and he shall

reign forever and ever," Revelation 11.

Presumably, we here on earth will be able

to hear this announcement in heaven. It

will be no secret and everyone in the

world will know that God's kingdom has

been established forever. At this time scripture says the

24 elders sitting before God on the

throne will fall upon their faces and

worship God, giving Him thanks for taking

back His great power from the enemy and

finally reigning in the earth. And then

God's kingdom will come in the earth as

it is in heaven. And what a glorious and

wonderful day that will be. Hold on my

friend the time is near. God bless and

keep you in Jesus mighty name,

amen. You've been listening to this

message and perhaps you do not know

Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we want

to give you an opportunity to make that

commitment today. Please say this prayer after me.

Father I am a sinner. I am sorry for all my

sins. I crave your forgiveness. I want to return to

you. Thank you for your mercy. Today I invite Jesus Christ into my heart. Dear Lord Jesus make my heart your home and give me the Holy Spirit to lead

me into all truth. Thank you Lord for saving my

soul, amen. Welcome friend to the body of

believers in Christ. There are many of us

here awaiting the return of the good

Master. In the meantime we want to

encourage you to become water baptized as

quickly as possible. To begin reading the word of

God. Begin in the book of John then go to

Matthew Mark and Luke reading audibly as

often as possible. Pray daily, attend at your local

church and one glad morning the Savior

will come and receive us all unto

himself and we shall indeed forever be

with the Lord. God bless and keep you in

Jesus mighty name, Amen.