Listener's Choice - The Kingdom of Heaven on Earth

Today we will celebrate what God is doing through the jesus loves the world podcasts with a lister's choice episode titled, The Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. As you listen be blessed, empowered and transformed in Jesus name.

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Transcript

00:00 Intro music and voice over.

Welcome to jesus loves the world podcast. For more information and free resources visit our website jesuslovestheworld.info Be blessed empowered and transformed in Jesus’ name! 

00:20 Speaker

Today we will celebrate what God is doing through the jesus loves the world podcasts with a lister's choice episode titled, The kingdom of Heaven on Earth. 

God and His kingdom. The kingdom of God or the kingdom of heaven has come on earth in Jesus. 

The kingdom has two parts. It means the right or authority or power to rule over a territory or region. It also means the territory or region where that power or authority is subjected to that rule. 

The entire universe, that is the entire creation is God’s kingdom, for He created it all. Yet God out of His great love chose to give over His power and authority to rule over the earth, to humanity. 

Humanity chose to give their God given power and authority to rule and reign over to evil and their selfish desires. As a result death was activated into God’s once perfect world. 

Evil, humanity’s selfish desires and death, rules and reigns in this world. We see the consequences of this each and every day. There is inequality, oppression, sickness and death. We see broken relationships and broken hearts. Corrupt cultures and empires of humanity filled with dishonesty, selfishness, violence and destruction. 

When Jesus walked the earth as a man, He demonstrated the kingdom, proclaimed the kingdom and is the embodiment of the kingdom. He is the king of all kings and the kingdom of heaven or the kingdom of God ruler. 

Jesus came to take back the power and authority given to evil and give it back to humanity. A restored humanity, a renewed humanity that receives Jesus’ sacrifice and surrenders to His right to rule and reign. A people who will live in His victory, surrendered to the will of the Father. Each day being renewed and transformed by Him. Inheriting His power and authority once again.

Jesus is the ultimate power and authority. For as the creator, He has the power and authority to command the four winds of the earth to be still, and they obey. Jesus has the power to speak life into death. At His command the darkness flees and light bursts forth. 

In His selfless love, Jesus came to heal the broken hearted. With His power and authority Jesus  commands sickness out of mortal bodies. With His liberating truth, Jesus has the power authority to set the captives free. 

Living in the kingdom of Heaven or the kingdom of God on earth, begins with receiving Jesus’ right to rule and reign. Receiving His sacrifice as saviour. 

The earthly ministry of Jesus and the role of His disciples in His healing mission, is an important part of heralding in God’s kingdom here on earth, in this world by evil. 

Let us go back to that time when Jesus declared His mission in the temple. Jesus reached for the sacred scroll and quoted a passage from Isaiah. Before all who were listening, which included the religious leaders and the entire community, Jesus stood up and read. 

This moment is recorded in the gospel according Luke. 

Luke 4:18-21 “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.” Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

At that time in human history, Jesus said that the scripture that He quoted from Isaiah’s prophecy of His coming, was fulfilled in their hearing. 

Hearing the word of God, that word of truth was the moment of fulfilment. Jesus is the one. The one foretold by the prophets. 

Jesus is the one who spoke light into the darkness in the beginning. Again He speaks forth His light into our darkness. He declares His mission on earth and what the kingdom of heaven or the kingdom of God looks like. His Kingdom on earth in time now, in this world damaged by evil. 

Jesus declared six actions of what was being fulfilled right before their eyes in His coming. These six actions are the purpose He has been anointed and the purpose for which He has come. Let us look at each action one by one. 

The first action that Jesus includes in His mission statement is to preach the gospel or good news to the poor. 

To preach the good news is to testify and declare that the Messiah has come. The deliverer has come to set humanity free. For Jesus is the divine light who pushes back the darkness. He came into our darkness to reveal His glorious light. 

Jesus said, receive me, receive God and His right to rule and reign, and you shall enter into my eternal kingdom. This the simple, powerful gospel truth. From the mouth of the embodiment of the kingdom, the word of God who became flesh and dwelt amongst us, came to declare this good news to the poor. 

The poor, includes poor spiritually, economically, physically and emotionally.

The poor in spirit are those who have never known or experienced the living God. As a result never acknowledged His right to rule and reign. 

There are also those who have already received Jesus and His right to rule reign yet are spiritually dry. They feel far away from the living God. Yet He is never far away from anyone. He is continually pursing in love. Jesus came bringing spiritual refreshing. The living waters of the divine. 

Jesus’ coming is also good news for the economically poor. Those who are economically poor in this world damaged by evil are powerless. But accepting God’s right to rule and reign they become powerful. 

In God’s kingdom everyone is given equal power to rule and reign by the living God. Ruling and reigning in the power and authority of the king of the eternal kingdom, Jesus Himself. 

Jesus and His kingdom of equality and respect, breaks the injustices and imbalances of power that are in this world. 

The chains of the rich over the powerless are broken in Jesus name. 

The mentally poor, those who have wrong thoughts and wrong perceptions of God, self and each other are also recipients of the good news. Jesus came to set people free and speak the truth, light and life into people’s thoughts and hearts. Breaking the chains of wrong perceptions and the blindness of pride. 

The good news is also for the physically poor. Sickness in the physical body is debilitating. Yet Jesus heals. Not only does Jesus heal, but He empowers. With the wrong perceptions of what causes sickness, He breaks those chains with the truth in Jesus name!

Jesus came to preach the good news to the poor, very powerful. 

The second action that Jesus includes in His mission statement is to heal the broken hearted. 

There are so many broken hearts in this world. So many relationships that are broken. In this world damaged by evil there is so much emotional hurt and pain. 

There is only one who is selfless and that is God. Our relationship with the living God is perfect for He alone is selfless and perfect. Yet in His great selfless love He empowers us to receive His love and in His love we too can love. 

Jesus came to heal the broken hearted. This means so much to me. No matter how much we love in a human sense, even in relationships of equal love, there are times when we feel emotional pain. 

Even when relationships are broken and the human love is not there, the brokenness goes deep into the depths of the heart. So Jesus came to heal the hurt and the pain. 

It is a daily journey to continually surrender the hurt and pain to Jesus. In giving it all to Jesus, we are letting Him go into the darkest of places of our emotional hurt and pain. In a continual surrender, Jesus stitches up the wounds and heals the scars. 

Over time He renews and retrains our bodies’ setting us free from the destructive thought patterns. If we are so trapped that we cannot surrender, we can ask Jesus to take it away. To enable to surrender them to Him. 

The kingdom of heaven on earth revealed in the healing of broken hearts, in Jesus name. 

The third action that Jesus includes in His mission statement is freedom to the captives. 

Freedom from the lies of the evil one and self. Our thinking is held captive by the powers of this world and our selfish desires. Yet Jesus has come to set the captives free with the fullness of the truth. Only God who is pure and prefect can determine truth. With His truth the chains of lies are broken. 

Fear has taken captive humanity. It is a weapon of the evil one and is not of God. Fear of rejection, failure, being alone, being unloved, being hurt, fear of anything is not of God. 

This fear is not what the Bible states as fear of the lord. For fear of the Lord means reverence, adoration, worship. That word that has been translated as fear is a reverence, a form of honour and respect. An acknowledgement of God’s right to rule and reign. 

Fear is cast out by the truth of God and His love received. There is always more with God. So each day the more we surrender, the more we come to know and experience His love and truth. The more the fear is cast out.

Jesus came to set the captives free - spiritually. There are so many people spiritually dry and feel so far away from the living God. So many people are trapped in a spiritual darkness. A darkness that is opposed to the living God. 

But in Jesus, we receive His kingdom, His kingdom of light. For Jesus is the divine light. The spiritual darkness has to flee as Jesus the divine light pushes back the darkness.  

Jesus gives freedom. Yes the chains of emotional, physical, mental and spiritual bondage be broken in Jesus name!

The fourth action that Jesus includes in His mission statement is recovery of sight to the blind. 

Recovery of sight is not just physical blindness. It is physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally. Jesus brings sight to spiritual eyes. By His spirit the truth of the kingdom heaven and the kingdom of God on earth in this world damage evil is revealed. 

As we surrender what we think we believe, the Spirit of God opens up our hearts and minds. He gives us new ways to see His truth. See through God’s eyes and discover His intended meaning in His word, the Bible. To see ourselves and others through His eyes of love and live in the reality of His truth.  

Yes recovery of sight to the blind in Jesus name!

The fifth action that Jesus includes in His mission statement is freedom for the oppressed. 

God’s heart desire is that His people be truly free. Jesus died for our eternal salvation and our future inheritance. But He also came to give freedom in this life. To live in the truth of who He is and what He has done and will do. Even before the cross Jesus said, at that moment in time in their hearing, it is fulfilled. 

When we hear and receive the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ, we begin the daily journey of living in the reality of all He has given us. Testifying of Jesus in His power and authority on earth. Yes He has power over sickness, power over lies, power over evil. 

Freedom for the oppressed in Jesus name!

The sixth action of Jesus declaration of his mission statement is to proclaim that now is the time. 

Now is the time for all who will come to Jesus to come. It is still time to surrender to Him and receive His right to rule and reign. 

Now is the time for all Christians, all the body of Christ throughout the world, to come into the fullness of His truth. Each day surrendering all thoughts, beliefs, emotions, body, self will, relationships, circumstances and receiving from Him. Letting Him transform us each and every day. So we can live in His victory of surrender and being totally free. Where the world will see the entire body of Christ as one, heralding in His kingdom. 

The kingdom of Heaven or the kingdom of God on earth is where the Father’s will is done. The Father sent Jesus the Son for us to be truely free. Today it is fulfilled in our hearing.