Kerwin Baptist Church Daily Broadcast

Welcome to the Kerwin Baptist Church broadcast today. Our desire is for the Word of God to be spread throughout the world so that all may know Christ. Join us now for a portion of one of our services here at Kerwin Baptist Church located in Kernersville, North Carolina.

I want to thank you tonight. This was eye-opening to me, and I can't really deal with this phrase that we're coming into in what we call the Lord's Prayer. You know, we talked about that, that it's really the disciples' prayer. It's the kind of prayer He told them to pray. But this is the prayer that He gave as an example. In Matthew chapter 6 verse 10, that first phrase is really the second petition of this prayer. The first one obviously was, Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. The second petition, and this is again, He says these ought to be included in our prayers, is this, Thy kingdom come. And that's what we'd like to deal with tonight. Thy kingdom come.

This was great for me. You can't deal with this without dealing with the subject of the kingdom of God. And we've got to clear this up a little bit.

Some people don't even realize what we're talking about. And so many individuals use the phrase the kingdom of God so loosely. And if we're going to deal with this, then we've got to explain some other things that really have nothing to do with this particular prayer.

But you have to understand what He's talking about when He says, Thy kingdom come. And I hope that this will clear some things up. Maybe we will learn a thing or two this evening. Lord, I need your help.

I need clarity. I need energy tonight. I need strength.

It's been a long day. And Lord, we're just excited to be here and excited to have the opportunity to further explain your word. And Lord, I just pray that you'd help me to say only those things that would glorify you. Lord, may I be biblically correct to the best of my ability. And Lord, if I'm incorrect, Lord, I pray that you would show me that error. And Lord, we've studied and put in the time for this. And so Lord, I pray that you'd help me to be able to make it clear and understandable. May it be simple enough that every person can understand. In your precious name we pray. Amen.

It's always easy to understand something if you can break it down into categories and deal with them step by step. First thing is this. What is the kingdom of God? Jesus said, Hallowed be Thy name, talking about the Father.

And then He says, Thy, that preposition, Thy, that possessive is talking about the Father. Thy kingdom come. So we're talking about the kingdom of God, the Father, the kingdom of God. Thy kingdom come. What is the kingdom of God? Well, you have to look at this thing two ways.

Spiritually and secularly. Now, we have these handouts. Do all of you have the handouts? How many of you don't have the handouts? Put your hands up. Oh, we've got a whole bunch didn't get them. Ushers, if you can, we've got those handouts in the back. And if you can get up what you got, there are some in the back too. Just keep your hand up.

They'll get the handouts to you. That'll make it a whole lot easier to follow for you, I'm sure. Everybody get them. All right. Thank you.

It's nice to see people lifting up their hands in church. There we go. Well, do we run low on those, by the way? We have plenty.

We got plenty over there. Gotcha. That's my fault then. Well, let's pass them out ushers.

All right. What is the kingdom of God? Two ways you got to look at this, secularly and spiritually. Now, what is the secular view of a kingdom? It is this, a king rules and reigns. Kingdom means the domain of a king.

Makes a lot of sense, doesn't it? In a secular view, a king basically has authority or the parameter of his kingdom. He doesn't have authority outside of his kingdom. He has the authority inside of his kingdom. Now, that's the secular view.

Now, what is the spiritual view? The kingdom of God is the rule and reign of God. And he is able to rule in his kingdom. Now, it narrows it down when you're the creator of the universe.

Pretty big kingdom, huh? Listen to me, folks. He's the creator. He owns it all.

Now, immediate question is this. I've heard say that Satan is the prince and what? Prince and power of the air.

So what do you say about that preacher? Well, a prince does not have the same authority that a king does. Thank God Satan isn't the king in power. He's just the prince in power which means this.

He only has authority that God has allowed him to have. We have an illustration of that in the Bible with Job. And Satan came to God and said, how about your servant Job? And you know, the Bible already said about Job, he was a perfect man to shoot evil. And Satan came and said, I believe that I tempt Job, he would fall.

And God said, all right, I will allow you and give you certain parameters. You can attack his health and his children, whatever the case might be, but you couldn't kill Job. And many of you would know we always give the wife a hard time of the whole group. She was the one that was negative, many people say. Why wasn't she killed?

She'd be the one that probably would have been a good candidate for it. The Bible says when two people are married, they become one flesh. So the wife couldn't be killed because Job couldn't be killed.

Isn't that great? Okay. So God gives certain parameters. Satan wouldn't have any authority of God and allow him to have that authority. You say, well, why does he do that? He's God. I don't know.

When you start being able to understand everything about God and the way he thinks, you will never be able to because he is his ways, the Bible says, are above our ways. So the kingdom of God is anywhere that God rules and reigns. We've got that. Now we've got to get more specific. What is the kingdom made of?

All right. First, there is the visible kingdom. And second, there is the invisible kingdom. Now you've got to put your thinking caps on with me so that I can make this very clear. Wherever Christ rules and reigns in the heart is the kingdom of God.

Look at me. If you've been saved, you are now in the kingdom of God. You are under his authority. That's why we believe when you get saved, you cannot be demon possessed because Satan no longer has total authority in your life. God has authority.

He is greater than Satan. And people say, well, this person got saved. They got demon possessed. And we have people that are saved and they're afraid of getting demon. Let me tell you something. You can't be saved and demon possessed.

If a person is demon possessed, they've never been saved because Satan doesn't have that authority once you've been saved. That belongs to God. Okay. We understand that.

But wherever Christ rules and reigns in the heart is the kingdom of God. Listen to this. If you're keeping notes, and I have that there for you to take a pen and write these references down. Let me read this to you. Luke chapter 17. And if you want to turn there, you need to hear this. Luke chapter 17 verse 20 and 21.

Remember what I said. When you get saved, you then become part of the kingdom of God. The kingdom is in you. You say, I don't understand that.

Let me read it. Luke 17 verse 20. And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, they're questioning Jesus. When is the kingdom your kingdom? If you're king, Jesus, if you're going to be king, when's this kingdom going to come? Where is this so-called kingdom? He answered them and said, the kingdom of God cometh not with observation. Listen, that means you don't necessarily see it. Neither shall they say lo here or lo there, for behold, the kingdom of God is within you. Everybody got that? Any questions?

I don't think so. Bible makes it clear. Dear friend, the kingdom of God is within you. When he rules and reigns in your heart, you're part of the kingdom of God. OK, that's visible. In other words, we can see us. If you've been saved by the grace of God, you're in the kingdom of God and I can see you.

That is the visible kingdom. In this sense, his kingdom has come. When you say thy kingdom come, that means thy kingdom has power and we want it to come.

We want it to return. When you and I get saved, that is the kingdom of God coming into our lives because it says that the kingdom of God is in you. Let me read you another verse. Colossians 1, 12 and 13. Giving thanks unto the Father which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. That's a wonderful verse. Let me read that again because I didn't hear many amens on that.

Let me read it. Listen closely. Giving thanks unto the Father which hath made us meet or able or worthy to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. That's meaning salvation, folks. Listen to verse 13. Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son. When you get saved, you get saved because we have now become partakers of the inheritance through Jesus Christ.

And because we have been deemed worthy through the blood of Christ and only because of the blood of Christ, now you and I have inheritance and have been placed into the kingdom of God through salvation. That's the visible kingdom. Now, there's the invisible kingdom.

Now you say, preacher, what is that? Well, the invisible kingdom will only be seen when Jesus returns for us. This will be what we call the visible manifestation of the spoken kingdom.

In other words, just look at me. If you're saved, if you've been saved by the grace of God and I'm saved by the grace of God, I see you and you see me and we know we're in the kingdom of God if you've been saved. But there's a whole kingdom we haven't seen. And it is invisible right now, but it will be seen when Jesus returns.

You got that. Now, let me tell you something about this. We don't know when this is going to happen.

We have no idea, which brings up another set of questions. Now, let me read you this verse about this invisible kingdom. 2 Peter 1, verse 10 and 11.

Now listen. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure. That means make sure you're saved, is what that's saying. Make sure you're right with the Lord.

Listen to this. For if ye do these things ye shall never fall, for so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. So it says you will have an entrance if you know you're saved and if you've done what God has told you to do for salvation, you will be given entrance into the kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. So there's a kingdom already there, but we can't see it.

Y'all got this so far. Now, I know you got to think a lot on a Wednesday night, but hang on with me. Now, let me read you another verse. You might want to turn to this on Matthew, chapter 7, verse 21. Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of, notice this, heaven. So where is this invisible kingdom that we can't see?

It's in heaven. And we're going to see it when Jesus returns. Now listen, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Not everybody that calls the name of Jesus will enter into the kingdom of heaven, this verse just said. That's why you have to make sure that your calling and election is sure.

What does that mean? We've all been called to Christ. God's not willing that any should perish. So you've got to make sure that you know that you're saved and on your way to heaven because not everyone that says Lord, Lord is going to enter the kingdom of heaven. That means this, a surface Christianity and just acting like a Christian and talking like a Christian and knowing the things are that makes a Christian doesn't make you a Christian. Salvation doesn't come through knowledge.

Salvation comes through Jesus Christ. OK, we've got all that. So there's the visible kingdom and the invisible kingdom. Now you say, all right, when he returns, what are we talking about here? Well, there is a thing called the millennium.

And I'm not going to get into a whole bunch of stuff tonight, but I think I'm going to make it pretty clear for you. And there are some different views about this millennium when Jesus is going to rule on the earth. Now, one is called post-millennialism. This is what they believe. They believe that the world gets better and better until the Lord comes. And when he comes, the kingdom will have already been established here on earth because things have been getting better and better. Can I tell you that we don't agree with that one?

Anybody here think things are getting better and better? OK, there's another position called amillennialism, which means there's no millennium at all, which means there's not ever going to be that. Then there's a third one, which which we believe is the pre-millennial or millennial reign of Christ. And that millennial reign of Christ is a thousand years that Jesus will reign on earth. Now, here's why I've got to explain all this.

We here at this church believe in the pre-tribulation rapture of the church. OK, and let me explain this, OK? And the reason I do, because thy kingdom come isn't going to make sense if we don't understand that. Now, not everybody agrees. A lot of people have different things.

There's all kinds of books out there and a lot of different things. I've even talked to some of our members about it. It's a common question. But let me put it this way, and this is easiest. Jesus came the first time to his own. That's approximately about 2000 years ago.

I'm going to I'm going to let you I'm going to clear up the confusion. The first time Jesus came, he came to us. The next time he comes at the rapture, he's coming for us. When he then returns for the millennial reign, he will be coming with us.

You got that three different occasions when he came, was born in a manger, came to this earth, this sin, cursed earth to die on the cross for our sins. He came to his own and he returned back to heaven. Now, we believe that at the rapture, he will come back for his own. And return, then we believe he will come back to earth with his own. That's when you and I come back down with him. And we, along with him, rule 1000 years on earth. That's going to be that's when we come back.

That's when blood is going to be thick as the, you know, up to a horse's bridle. This is all this is going to happen during this time. Now, listen, we as a church and I say as a church, in our as a church, I can't answer for everybody. Some of you might believe different. But we believe in the pre tribulation rapture of the church, which means this.

We believe that the church will be raptured before the seven year tribulation period. Now, that's what we that's what we believe. Now, some are confused about that. But listen to me, I've got a whole list.

I've given a couple people in our church. I've been studying on it and I'm convinced of it. But here's the thing. That is not something that you have to believe in order to get to heaven. If you believe some people believe that there's going to be mid tribulation rapture, that we're going to be here for the first three and a half years, and then he's going to rapture us home. And some people believe in post tribulation, that at the end of the seven years, then we're going to rapture, then we're going to go back up. And listen, that is not a doctrine you have to believe to get to heaven. If we're right or we're wrong, that doesn't influence the fact that we get to go to heaven because it has nothing to do with salvation. But when I try to make it simple, as simple as I can with individuals, I'm getting in and we've got a ton of verses.

If you really need the materials, you let me know. The Bible teaches over and over again that no man knows the hour when Jesus is coming, the rapture. You all agree with that? If he comes in the middle of the tribulation, then we would know when he's coming. We know three and a half years he's going to come. If he comes at the end of the tribulation period, the seven years, we would know when he's coming, wouldn't we? Because we know it's at the end of the tribulation. The only way for him to come and us not know when he's coming is for him to come before the tribulation period. That's the simplest way that I can to describe it. Now you'll have guys with more degrees than thermometers, and we've got other things too, but that's the simplest thing.

It's almost a common sense thing. So when he says, thy kingdom come, he is talking about obviously not the rapture of the church, but his kingdom will come twice. And when I say that, I mean this. He's going to come back for his own. We go back to heaven with him. Then he returns to the earth for the millennial reign of Christ, and we rule and reign for a thousand years. Now another whole study on this is there are portions of Scripture that would lead us to believe that you and I, different people will have different positions of leadership during that thousand year millennial reign. And the position of our leadership will be determined by our performance here on earth. In other words, faithfulness here will give us leadership position there. Now you say, is that?

I don't know. I've seen some verses that really make me think that. I've seen some verses that I don't know. I'm not going to pretend that I've studied it out, but it's an interesting thought, isn't it?

No matter what, I guarantee you, the best decision you and I could ever make is to be as faithful as we can now. Okay, so thy kingdom come, what is it made up of? It's made up of a visible kingdom. That's you and me that have been saved. And it's made up of an invisible kingdom. That's those in heaven that have gone on before us.

And guess what? That kingdom will come and rule and reign on this earth. Okay, are you all with me so far? It's a lot for a Wednesday night, isn't it?

Some of you are like... All right, we're not too far from being done. Third, how is the kingdom brought? So what do you mean brought, preacher?

He says, thy kingdom come. So how is the kingdom, how do you make it come? How do you bring it? How do you make it happen?

Very simple. Number one, the invisible kingdom comes by submission. Submission. When I say invisible kingdom, those that are in heaven already, those that will be saved, how does that kingdom happen?

By submission. Let me read you a verse. Romans 14, 17, for the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. Listen to me, dear friend. You and I are in the middle of a war. We are in the middle of a war between two kingdoms. Satan is ruling over his kingdom. God is ruling over his. Satan's fighting for you. God's fighting for you. Holy Spirit is drawing, and old Satan's devils and demons are drawing. They're trying their best to get you and me towards them, and they're trying their best to get, and the Holy Spirit's trying to draw us toward the Savior. Okay, we're in the middle of a war. Even after you get saved, Satan doesn't give up on you.

Here's why. If you get saved and you stay close to God, you're going to reach others. Satan can get to you and bring sin into your life and bring defeat into your life. You're not going to reach other people. And so in turn, through you, he can defeat others.

Okay, you got that. Now let me read you another verse, Hebrews 12, 28. Wherefore we, receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. He said, we've been given a kingdom that can't be moved. Can I have an amen right there? I know some of you are like, I don't know what to say amen to.

I can't process it yet. You and I, when you got saved and I got saved, we got put into a kingdom that can't be moved. It can't be taken away. God is the one that owns that kingdom.

Nobody can take that from Him. And Hebrews tells us because of that, let us have grace that we may serve God acceptably. Now, so that means this, the way you and I get God's kingdom to come is to submit to Him. The more we submit to God, the greater His kingdom becomes. The more we submit to God, the stronger His kingdom comes. The more we submit to God, the more people we reach, the bigger His kingdom becomes. It's all about submission, folks. Second, well, let me read you another verse.

You say, I don't know if I fully agree with all that. Second is this, the visible kingdom comes by appointment. That's when Jesus returns. We don't know the hour, but the only thing we can do to make His kingdom come, listen to me, is we can win the lost to hasten it.

Look at me. When is God going to return? When His kingdom is complete. The Bible teaches that. I've often thought, you've heard preachers say this, wouldn't it be neat to be the person that leads that last person to the Lord that completes His kingdom? I mean, listen, this is great.

You'd be sitting with somebody and you'd be reading. This is what the Bible says. The Bible says all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. The Bible also says, for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

The Bible says, but God commended His love toward us that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Would you like to accept Christ? Would you like to put your faith and trust in Him?

Yes, I would. Well, let's bow and pray. And you just ask God, admit to Him you're a sinner. Believe that He died on the cross for your sins and ask Him and receive Him into your heart as your personal Savior. Can you see that individual bowing their head and Lord, I don't really know how to pray, but Lord, I just want you to know that I believe I'm a sinner. And Lord, I believe what your Bible says. And Lord, I ask you to come into my heart and save me. Boom! Jesus comes back.

And so did some of you from the sleep you were just having. I shouldn't have done that, but I had to. Wouldn't that be great? Hey, He's not going to have to get baptized or nothing. When that last piece of the kingdom is set, He comes. So dear friend, how can we say Thy kingdom come? It means this, it's all about His kingdom. It's not about our kingdom, what we want, it's all about His kingdom. And the only way you and I can sincerely want His kingdom to come and make His kingdom to come is to submit to the King and spread the word.

It's the only way you and I can hasten it. When that last piece of the kingdom is set, then He will return. Listen to this verse, 2 Timothy 4, 1. I charge thee therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom.

So what am I supposed to do about all this? All this comes from just saying Thy kingdom come. Well dear friend, our prayer life should center around our submission to Him. God, it's your kingdom.

Everything in our life, look at me, this is the whole point and I'll let you go. Everything in our life ought to be centered around building His kingdom. Not our kingdom, not our desires, not our plans. It all should center around His kingdom, the kingdom of God.

He's the King, we ought to serve Him. And everything we do ought to be to submit to His kingdom and to serve His kingdom and to spread the word about Him and see folks get saved. And if we're going to pray Thy kingdom come, we're only going to pray that and mean it if we do it. You say, well, what does the Bible have to say about that?

Glad you asked. Matthew 6, 33. But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you. Why did Jesus say, let me tell you how to pray Thy kingdom come.

Why? Because that's what we should seek first before anything in our life. And if we do that, God takes care of adding all the rest. Lord, we love you. Lord, I hope this helped some that are here.

I know it's a lot to think about. But Lord, the more you dig, the sweeter your word becomes. Lord, may we realize that your kingdom should be the top priority in our life. Lord, we as saved individuals should long to see you return.

Thank you for listening to the Kerwin broadcast today. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you.