Notes from Sunday 8 September 2013..
Speaker: Pastor Austen Ukachi
Key Passage: Matthew 6: 10-13 :
“Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen”.
Our key text is the basis of the Overcomer’s conference (17-22 September 2013, Lagos Nigeria).
We should note that it was Jesus speaking in this scripture. From this statement is what theologians call the Doxology. A doxology simply means a hymn, or a verse of praise. In other words, Jesus in this scripture praised the Father saying, ‘Yours is the Kingdom, yours is the Power and yours is the Glory’.
The word Kingdom should not be taken to mean territorial Kingdom. Jesus reigns within territories, and in the Millennium will reign over the earth. However, Kingdom in this scripture refers to the Rule, the Authority and Sovereignty of God. Thus, we can paraphrase the sentence ‘Rulership, Power and Glory belong to our Lord Jesus Christ.
To understand this scripture, we have to look at the life of Jesus.
- Jesus is the King in the Kingdom of God. John 18:36-7 Jesus answered, “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. Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?” Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice”. Similarly we see in Matthew 4: 17 “From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”.
- Jesus demonstrated the Power of the Kingdom when he cast out demons. In Mark 5: 6-8, we see Jesus cast out demons: “When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him. And he cried out with a loud voice and said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me. For He said to him, “Come out of the man, unclean spirit!”.
- Jesus demonstrated the Glory of the Kingdom. John 2: 11 says “This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him”. Also, John 17: 5 states “and now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was”.
Jesus also taught the principles, the lifestyles of the Kingdom (See The Beatitudes in Matthew 5). Jesus embodies the Power and Glory of the Kingdom. A Kingdom refers to the domain of a King. Power refers to energy or authority the King exerts within the Kingdom. Glory refers to the influence of a King. All of these are embodied in one person, Jesus Christ.
Note that Jesus talked about his Father. However, Jesus shares in the kingdom, power and glory with the Father. Daniel 7: 13-15 says;
“I was watching in the night visions,
And behold, One like the Son of Man,
Coming with the clouds of heaven!
He came to the Ancient of Days,
And they brought Him near before Him.
Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom,
That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
Which shall not pass away,
And His kingdom the one
Which shall not be destroyed”.
We belong to a kingdom that cannot be destroyed- the Kingdom of God. Also, the Kingdom is forever, it is everlasting and eternal, from generation to generation. Furthermore, this Kingdom and Dominion was bestowed on Jesus by God the Father. Jesus is God. God the Father gave God the Son Dominion. The Godhead share authority in common, but their functions are different. However, they are one in essence, and nature. That is why we say theologically ‘The Trinity’.
We see that Jesus has a government: Isaiah 9:7 says
“Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. The Kingdom of Jesus will live forever”
The Apostle John wrote about the work of Jesus Christ in Revelation 1: 6: “and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen”.
God the Father bestowed upon Jesus the Kingdom. However, he obtained the Kingdom by the sacrifice he made on the cross as we see in Revelation 5. Jesus has the title deed to the earth, in the scrolls. He alone was found worthy to open the seals to the scrolls, because he paid the price of redemption from sin and death. He redeemed his church out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, also called the Ecclesia. Revelations 5: 9-13 says
“And they sang a new song, saying:
“You are worthy to take the scroll,
And to open its seals;
For You were slain,
And have redeemed us to God by Your blood
Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, And have made us kings and priests to our God;
And we shall reign on the earth.
Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice:
Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
To receive power and riches and wisdom,
And strength and honour and glory and blessing!”
How do We Fit into the Kingdom?
Jesus came to demonstrate the power of the Kingdom through the proclamation of the gospel, which is the word of the Kingdom, and he manifested the glory of the Kingdom. We have been made partakers of his Kingdom, Power and Glory. We ought to give praise to God. John 1: 12 says “but as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name”. Similarly, John 3: 3 says “Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Let us look at Colossians 1: 13-14 which says: “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins”.
This is our reality- we have been delivered from the power of darkness. We have been translated into the kingdom of God, and have a relationship with God. In Matthew 16:19 Jesus said “And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
The Overcomer’s conference is focused on reminding us that we have the Keys of the Kingdom. Keys are built to open doors. We have been given the Keys of the Kingdom! That is how we reign with Jesus. Some of us carry our keys around, without opening any doors. However, during this conference, we will unlock all doors. For the first 8 months of this year, we talked about blessings. It is time to apply these blessings. One of the reasons for receiving the blessings is to extend the Kingdom. We have been made joint heirs with Christ, and share responsibility with him. Psalm 24: 1 says, “The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein”.
God does not need to hoard his blessings in heaven. He will give blessings to the children of the Kingdom, the purpose of which is to extend the Kingdom. Jesus came for a Kingdom, he died for the Kingdom. Everything he did was for the Kingdom. Thus, we must learn that whatever we have is for the Kingdom.
Finally, we see in Matthew 6, that we should pray that God’s Kingdom should come on earth as it is in heaven. This means that God wants his Kingdom to reign on earth, and we will pray that His will be done in Nigeria as it is in heaven. That will be our prayer in the last quarter of the year. If the principles of the Kingdom- love, unity, understanding, selflessness, peace, joy reign in Nigeria we will be a transformed nation.
Matthew 24: 14 says “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come”. The word gospel simply means good news. Every available tool and platform must be used to preach the gospel of the Kingdom.
Remember: You are of the Kingdom of God!!!
- You are a Partaker
- You are a Child of the Kingdom
- You have an Inheritance in the Kingdom
- You share in the Power of the Kingdom
- You are to Pray for the Kingdom
- You are to demonstrate the power of the Kingdom
- You are to preach the message of the Kingdom
(By the way it is important that you come to church at 8am on Sundays. It is the Pastor’s responsibility to teach you the Word of God).
Thank you Lord for making me a partaker of the Kingdom
