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Life in the Kingdom: Teaching the Kingdom Message
by
Dr. Walter Koch
This article appeared in the 2021 Fall issue of Fulfilled! Magazine
[The following is adapted from chapter 5 of The King said: Learn from Me.]
In Jesus’ first sermon,
He proclaimed, “repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at
hand” (Matt 4:17b KJV). “At hand” meant that the Kingdom
was present and within reach. Learning from Jesus means we
should learn to present the same message that He
preached—the Kingdom.
I myself had taught on many
subjects of the Bible, but I had not made the Kingdom the
focus of my messages.
When I first presented the
Kingdom message, I was very passionate in my approach.
Unfortunately, the Kingdom was such a magnificent idea to
grasp; many people felt overwhelmed by it. I decided to
adjust my approach and introduce the subject gradually.
Please notice that I did not say that I stopped teaching on
the Kingdom. I simply modified my approach.
I had to make the Kingdom message
a priority for our ministry because it was the message that
Jesus preached. I wanted to be obedient to the Lord’s will.
As followers of Jesus Christ, we should only teach the
Kingdom message. We should not preach the ideologies of a
denomination nor teach our traditions. If we want to lead
people to the Kingdom, then we should teach the Kingdom.
Although presenting the message
of the Kingdom was Jesus’ foremost concern, it is not the
focus of some ministries today. Some teach a message of
salvation, a message of prosperity, or a message of
holiness, but they neglect to share the most important part
of Jesus’ message: the Kingdom of God.
It is time for us to rescue the
teachings of Jesus! Every minister that stands before people
has an obligation to give them the message of the Kingdom.
When Jesus gave His life as a
sacrifice for humanity, He finished the work that God
assigned to Him. The Spirit of the eternal Christ carries on
the work of Jesus through the Church—His new body which
consists of all Believers. The “Church” is an Embassy of the
Kingdom of God, not a man-made religious organization. It is
through the Church that Christ continues to take the message
of the Kingdom of God to the entire world.
Teaching on the personage and
qualities of Jesus is wonderful. It is beautiful to want to
honor the Lord Jesus in this way. However, if we neglect to
share the message that He commanded us to teach, then we
will not be following His instructions.
Before His crucifixion, Jesus
charged His twelve disciples to make the message of the
Kingdom a priority:
And as ye go, preach, saying,
The kingdom of heaven is at hand (Matt
10:1-7 KJV)
After His resurrection, Jesus’
instructions to the disciples were the same. During the
forty days before His ascension to Heaven, Jesus met with
His disciples to prepare them to carry on His work. What did
He share with them? His central theme was the Kingdom of
God:
He appeared to them over a
period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.
(Acts 1:3b NIV)
The Kingdom was Jesus’ primary
focus. We should be like Jesus. Instead of inviting people
to join a denomination, we should invite them to come and
learn of the Kingdom: the place where they can find rest for
their souls and where “all things are added unto every
Believer” (Matt 6:33).
Jesus did not come to preach
denomination or religion. He came to teach the message of
the Kingdom of God. We must prioritize the message of the
Kingdom over denominational agendas and individual opinions.
When we focus our message on denomination, we cheat
ourselves and others out of experiencing the Kingdom message
that the Son of God came to impart to humanity. But when we
rescue the message of the Kingdom from traditionalism, we
will be acting in obedience to the commission that Jesus
gave to the disciples and to everyone who would follow Him.
The Lord revealed this to me one
afternoon while I was preparing a sermon. In my backyard I
have several fruit trees where birds love to gather. As I
was studying, the birds were making so much noise I could
not concentrate. I went outside to throw a few rocks at the
tree to get the birds to fly away, but before I could throw
the rocks, the Lord instructed me to stop. He told me that
the birds were outdoors and in their domain. Because the
birds were in their proper place, they were under His care:
Look at the birds of the air;
they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your
heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable
than they? (Matt 6:26 NIV)
It occurred to me that the
birdcage is symbolic of what ministries do when they
persuade people to join a congregation based on a
denominational or religious message instead of the Kingdom
message.
When a ministry tries to
proselytize or “cage” people within a religious group or
denomination, God no longer has an obligation to add
all things to their lives; that religion or
denomination takes on that responsibility.
God, out of His grace and love,
supports all His children’s needs, but He is only
responsible for “adding all things” to those who first seek
His Kingdom:
But seek ye first the kingdom
of God and his righteousness; and all these things shall be
added unto you. (Matt 6:33 KJV)
As preterists, we understand that
the Kingdom is not off in the future, but here now. We do
not offer an invitation to a future physical Kingdom, but to
a present spiritual Kingdom in which Christ rules and reigns
now through us, the citizens of His Kingdom.
Whether you are a pastor, leader,
or everyday believer who wants to share your faith, I hope
this chapter has inspired you to teach and share the good
news of God’s Kingdom. If you are unfamiliar with Kingdom
teachings, ask the Lord to guide your studies and give you a
revelation of the Kingdom so that your words and life will
be a reflection of its authenticity and power.
The Apostle Peter offered the
following advice on sharing one’s faith:
But in your hearts revere
Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to
everyone who askes you to give the reason for the hope that
you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.
(1 Peter 3:15 NIV)
Believers should always be
prepared to discuss the Kingdom with humility and love. Ask
the Lord to give you the boldness, wisdom, words, and
gentleness to share His message. Your testimony of
encountering the Kingdom will encourage others to seek its
truth, power, and privileges.
The message of the Kingdom of God
that many have embraced and now teach is incomplete without
the correct eschatology.
End Time Prophecy
(First-Century Fulfillment)
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Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every
way into him who the head, into Christ . . . .
(Ephesians 4:15)
