evening by singing Hymn 683,
Ketunah LaSalle's 843. Great God thy kingdom come, with
reverence would we pray. May the eternal three in one,
his sovereign scepter sway. May grace, triumphant reign,
and Christ exalted be. sinners deserving endless pain,
thy great salvation see. M683, Eternal Cells 843. May he enter your kingdom, may
the sovereign reign. May grace, like a thund'ring
rain, Embrace exult in me. Sin rises up in endless pain, and salvation. ? In me, to Thee, my soul ? ? And
once again ? ? The Lord thy praise ? ? Reveiling faith thus strong ? ? May you all have harmony ? ?
Heaven and earth are my children's home ? Thine presence, O Lord, we worship
with humility. Namo'valokiteshvaraya Namo'valokiteshvaraya God shed thine angel crown, and
bring salvation home. Till morn thy saints arrive at dawn, and
there on high Let us read together from the
holy word of God, the gospel according to Matthew and chapter
six. Matthew chapter six. The gospel according to Matthew
chapter six from verse one. Take heed that ye do not your
arms before men, to be seen of them. Otherwise ye have no reward
of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine
arms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites
do in the synagogues and in the streets. that they may have glory
of men. Verily I say unto you, they have
their reward. But when thou doest arms, let
not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth, that thine
arms may be in secret, and thy father which seeth in secret,
himself shall reward thee openly. And when thou prayest, thou shalt
not be as the hypocrites are, for they love to pray standing
in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that
they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, they have
their reward. But thou, when thou prayest,
enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray
to thy Father which is in secret, and thy Father which seeth in
secret shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray, use not vain
repetitions as the heathen do, for they think that they shall
be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto
them? For your Father knoweth what
things ye have need of before ye ask him. After this manner
therefore pray ye, Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed
be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be
done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead
us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the
kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. For if ye forgive men their trespasses,
your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if ye forgive
not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your
trespasses. Moreover, when ye fast, be not
as the hypocrites of a sad countenance, For they disfigure their faces,
that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you,
they have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest,
anoint thine head, and wash thy face, that thou appear not unto
men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret. and thy Father
which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. Lay not up for yourselves treasures
upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves
break through and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures
in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where
thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure
is, there will your heart be also. The light of the body is
the eye. If therefore thine eye be single,
thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be
evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore
the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness. No man can serve two masters,
for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he
will hold to the one and despise the other. He cannot serve God
and Mammon. Therefore I say unto you, Take
no thought for your life what ye shall eat, or what ye shall
drink, nor yet for your body what ye shall put on. Is not
the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold
the fowls of the air, for they sow not, neither do they reap,
nor gather into barns, yet your Heavenly Father feedeth them.
Are ye not much better than they? Which of you, by taking thought,
Can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field,
how they grow, They toil not, neither do they spin. And yet
I say unto you, that even Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed
like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothed
the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast
into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little
faith? Therefore take no thought, saying,
What shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or wherewithal shall
we be clothed? For after all these things do
the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knoweth
that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the
kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be
added unto you. Take therefore no thought for
the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of
itself. Sufficient unto the day is the
evil thereof. The Lord bless to us that reading
of his holy and inspired word and help us in prayer. Let us pray. O Thou most merciful and gracious
Lord God, we come to Thee through Thy beloved Son, our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ. We seek to reverence Thy great
and Thy holy name. For, Lord, Thou art King of kings
and Lord of lords. Thou art in control upon this
earth. It is before Thee that we live
and move and have our being. And Lord, it is Thyself that
doth give us our breath. And Lord, it is before Thee we
must stand at that last great day. O Lord, do grant that we
might be of those upon this earth that do honour Thee, worship
Thee, and serve Thee in the way that Thou hast chosen and that
Thou hast appointed. And we desire this evening in
worship to lift Thy name up on the pole of the everlasting gospel,
to worship Thee in the beauty of holiness, to come before Thee
with singing, to come before Thee also with confession, we
confess our many sins and many iniquities. If thou should mark
iniquity, who should stand? O Lord, we are mindful of what
goes on in the chambers of imagery, and we are ashamed of it, our
thoughts, our words, our ways. Lord, before thy all-seeing eye,
before thy holy righteous law, accept we have thy precious blood
to plead. except we had the promise of
thy righteousness, to stand before thy throne, and to be accepted
in thee. Lord, we would have no hope,
we would tremble, before thee we do tremble, but not without
hope. Lord, we would come in with the
hemorrhoid, and my soul stands trembling while she sings the
honours of her God. We thank Thee for the Gospel
of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We thank Thee for that
which is exactly suited to sinners, that Thou hast made sin and dwelt
among us, that Thou didst take upon Thyself a body like our
own, and yet sin accepted. We do thank Thee that the empty
tomb declares to us that all thy life was a perfect life,
no sin in thought, word or deed. And we do thank thee that that
same event, that same rising from the dead assures us that
those for whom that is laid down thy life and take it again, their
sins are put away. We do thank thee for the certainty
of the gospel and the seal of Thy Holy Spirit sent from heaven,
that Thou hast ascended up on high, Thou hast led captivity
captive, Thou hast received gifts for men, yea, for the rebellious
also, that the Lord God might dwell among them. And Lord, we desire that Thou
hast dwell among us, among us here this evening. For thou hast
said that, where two or three even are gathered together in
thy name, there art thou in the midst, and unto him shall the
gathering of the people be. And, Lord, do grant us thy felt
presence, and bring thy word with sweetness, authority, and
of power, and that we might know that thou art here by that which
the disciples felt, Then were the disciples glad when they
saw the Lord, and those whose heart burned within them, while
they did talk with them by the way. Lord, do cause us to hear
thy voice this evening. We do seek to lovingly commit
this people unto thee, that thy blessing might be upon them. Lord, we believe it is upon them. But Lord, do be with them, be
with their dear pastor. We pray for comfort for him and
his bereavement at this time. We do thank thee for the great
measure of restored health and strength that thou hast been
pleased to give after a period of illness and being laid aside. But Lord, we are mindful of how
much he has on this week to give him that strength that has been
needed for this day for the ministry at Clifton tomorrow evening and
then back here for the Thursday. We ask journey mercies for him
and that thou would anoint him with fresh oil and strengthen
him at this time. Balance those clouds of sorrow. Lord, we do commit him unto thee. We pray, Lord, for the deacons
here. May thy blessing Be upon them,
help them, and be with them, and each of the church, and each
of the congregation. Lord, do work mightily here,
and Lord, do begin and carry on thy work of grace, and make
it manifest and known. Be with each, Lord, the children,
the young people, and the aged, and those who are feeling more
the effects of increasing years and infirmities. Do grant help
day by day for those things that they once thought they would
never need help in. Do pray for those that are sick
at this time to be with and Garrett, the Welsh girl, we do pray for
thy mercy and healing for her. Also for David Parrish in his
terminal illness to be pleased to be with him that swathes thee
and do help him and bless him in his soul. Now dear friend
in Holland, Sandra, we pray that thou'st be with her in her condition
and that thou'st grant a lengthening of days and help in her affliction. You comfort those in South Chard
who've lost a loved one suddenly, we pray for help for them and
Lord that others that are unwell, do sanctify and make these things
work for good, and not just to those that are in it, but Lord,
those of us that maybe we have been spared the path of affliction,
but we look on. Lord, may there be those here
who look on the affliction of another, that in thy kind providence
has been brought into their lives and into their paths, and Lord,
do make it to be a help spiritually and a blessing for their souls. Oh Lord, do grant unto us thy
word graciously this evening. We do pray to be fed from the
Master's table and thank thee and grant counted a privilege
that we can meet and gather and thou hast given us a heart to
desire it. We pray for this, our guilty
land, O Lord, give wisdom to those in authority over us and
overrule the designs of those to bring in laws through our
parliaments that shall give assent to assisted suicide and the further
taking of life. O Lord, do be pleased to deliver
us from wicked and unreasonable men. And we pray for those to
be raised up in parliament that fear thy name, and where they
are to help them and take away the fear of man. Lord, we thank
thee for a gospel day. But Lord, those about our chapels
and those in our chapels, Lord, do be pleased to work in the
locality here and bless the scripture text on the chapel wall. May
there be those that come in as strangers or may be known in
another way, but not in thy house and that they might become dear
beloved brethren. We pray to be guided, directed
in all things and Lord do grant us to know what it is to have
a spiritual home on earth and a spiritual home above. A place
where we feed with our souls and meet with thy people here
and that blessed anticipation of gathering with thee at last
and thy people. O Lord, forgive what we ask amiss. Grant us the aid and help of
thy Holy Spirit as we turn to thy word. We ask through thy
name, Lord Jesus. Amen. Let us further sing hymn number
767. 767, the tune is Chester 879. Gracious Spirit of Divine, let
Thy light within me shine, all my guilty fears remove with atoning
blood and love. Speak Thy pardoning grace to
me, set the burdened sinner free. lead me to the Lamb of God, wash
me in his precious blood. Hymn 767, the tune Chester 879.
? Which thou wouldst save me ?
? Love me not ? ? And my God in heav'nly high ?
? All my beauty is ever ? ? Ever true ? O come ye, O come ye, O come
ye to Bethlehem. God bless. Who died and is living in us,
His salvation, O my God. Here I stand on my bed, I am
dead. ? God be with you ? ? God be with
you ? ? God be with you ? ? O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem
? ? O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem ? ? Let my people sing the song
? ? O my God, praise to you ? ? O my God, praise to you ? Seeking for the help of the Lord,
I direct your prayerful attention to the Gospel according to Luke
chapter 17. I will read for our text verse
20 and 21. The words upon my spirit that at
the end of verse 21 the kingdom of God is within you. But I want to read the two verses
Verse 20, 21, when he was demanded of the Pharisees when the kingdom
of God should come, he answered them and said, the kingdom of
God cometh not with observation, neither shall they say, lo here
or lo there, for behold, the kingdom of God is. within you. Luke 17 verse 20 and 21. The terms kingdom of God and kingdom
of heaven appear interchangeably throughout the word of God. It is an interesting thing to
note that in the gospel according to Matthew, There are 37 instances
recorded there of the kingdom of heaven, but Matthew only records
five concerning the kingdom of God, whereas the other gospels
and all of the epistles, the rest of the New Testament, we
have some 70 times the kingdom of God that is mentioned. But it is, mentioned interchangeably
and with varying different meanings throughout the word of God. John
the Baptist, he first speaks of the kingdom of heaven and
says that men were to repent for the kingdom of heaven is
at hand. And we read in the gospel according
to Matthew, where in that chapter six, of the terms are used, and
at the end, seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,
and these things shall be added unto you. It's worth remembering
as well that it was the Pharisees that came here and not supplicating,
not asking, but demanding when the Kingdom of God should come.
A completely wrong spirit, a wrong attitude and lack of reverence,
and yet there are many, many times in the Word of God where
the Lord was approached in this way and turned it about and taught
the truth, set before them and set before us. the truth of God. He doesn't here deal with all
the very many different ways that they may be interpreting.
Remember that they're saying when the kingdom of God should
come. They're not describing what it
is or what their view of it is. But the way the Lord answers
it, it comes right at the root of the matter and really takes
away many wrong views of it. You know, in this Kingdom of God, Kingdom of Heaven,
we may view it in three ways, and these are not my main points,
but just to think of how it is set forth, firstly, that our
Lord does rule over everything in this world. He is in control,
the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We think of Psalm 103,
the end of that psalm, the Lord hath prepared his throne in the
heavens and his kingdom ruleth over all. Bless the Lord, all
ye angels that excel in strength that do his commandments, hearkening
unto the voice of his word. Bless ye the Lord, all ye his
hosts, ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure. Bless the Lord
all his works in all places of his dominion. Bless the Lord,
O my soul. And it was one of those things
that Daniel records as Nebuchadnezzar after his Reasoning came back
to him. He speaks of the kingdom of the
Lord. I bless the most high and I praised
and honored him that liveth forever, whose dominion is an everlasting
dominion. His kingdom is from generation
to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth
are reputed as nothing. And he doeth according to his
will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the
earth, and none can stay his hand or say unto him, what doest
thou? Very, very clearly, Nebuchadnezzar,
that mighty king, was shown the king of kings and lord of lords. Our Lord teaches, as we read
in what is termed as the Lord's Prayer, Thy kingdom come, thy
will be done in earth as it is in heaven. And so in one sense,
the kingdom of the Lord, it is over all. He is the king over
this world. But in this time state, outwardly
so, men rise up and only consult to cast him down from his excellency. Man's natural heart says, we
will not have this man to reign over us. Man is in a state of
rebellion against God and against his king. And that is how we,
as it were, see the world in an outward way. We see not yet all things put
under him. Then as we look to the world
that is to come, that heavenly world, that which is spoken of
as for the people of God as their inheritance, which has a very,
very different picture than this world, where in his temple everyone
does speak of his glory. There is nothing there that doth
offend, nothing that love and make a lie, a very, very different
picture than this world is that which is to come. And in the
middle of that, we have a kingdom, a kingdom in this world that
is not seen outwardly. It does not come with observation. It is not what the disciples,
they thought that will the Lord at that time restore the kingdom
unto Israel. No, it is a kingdom that is within
and it is within the heart of his people. And it is of that
kingdom that I decide to speak this evening. The kingdom of God. cometh not
with observation, neither shall they say lo here or lo there,
for behold, the kingdom of God is within you. I want to then look at three points. Firstly, where the kingdom of
God is not. And then secondly, where it is,
and thirdly, how it is set up there, that is, in the heart. There is as much direction by
the Lord in showing where something is not as where in showing it
is. We might be seeking direction
of the Lord and guidance of the Lord And maybe our minds are
focused on looking at something that is. But the Lord gives direction
by showing us what is not, what is lacking, what is not there. We might be thinking I'm wanting
to see this. But the Lord says what you should
be thinking is what is lacking, what is left out. And sometimes
that can be made more clear. I often think of the Word of
God where there may be portions of it we think I wish the Lord
would show a little bit more detail in that point or that
matter but he doesn't and in effect he is saying there doesn't
need to be detail you do not need to know those things there's
nothing concerning your soul or salvation in those details
you wish were there. It's a sad thing that many and
some in the ministry seem to delight in filling in all those
bits that are not in the Word of God from secular writings. Well, why do that when the Lord
has seen fit to say, no, we're going to leave that out. The
main thing is our souls and eternity. There are many that enthuse about
history in the Word of God, or the literature of the Word of
God, or the language of the Word of God. Work with those men like
that, who've had no grace, no desire for the things of God,
but love the language of the authorized version. And you think,
how, that is not saving. But the Lord would then have
us to know where his kingdom is not. Now those who would go on pilgrimages,
those that would look for the Lord in all sorts of places,
and thinking of what I said about what is lacking, I think very
much in places of worship today, it may be more what is lacking
that shows the true state of a place than what actually is
said. and where there is lacking of
the preaching and lifting up of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ, where there is lacking a personal experience of the
truth in the heart, it may be in those things that it is discerned
where the truth is and where the Lord is and where he is not. We mentioned about the Disciples
even, at the time our Lord was to be lifted up from them, still
thinking of an earthly kingdom, still thinking of the Lord restoring
a kingdom to Israel. But the Lord here is very, very
clear that it is not by observation. It is not with outward show as
in the margin. We are not to expect that. And
so I think sometimes we might overlook what a privilege and
blessing it is to have such a short and certain word in the scripture
to deliver us from looking all sorts of other places. How otherwise
would we not think, well, we have to think, well, it must
be at Jerusalem. Or if there's a revival in a
country, it must be this country. or it must be the gospel standards
for your Baptist, it must be there, they're the only people
and only place where we can look for the kingdom of God to be. And we can be looking at outward
things. But the Lord says, no, don't
look that way. Don't look for it in that outward
way, look for it within. And so may we be helped in this
to be shepherded by shut doors, we might say, shut by the Lord,
steered away where we won't find the Lord. We think of the dear
disciples. We think of them coming to the
empty tomb when the Lord had risen. And what do the angels
say? Why seek ye the living among
the dead? He is not here. He is risen. You're seeking the wrong place.
You don't look for him amongst the dead. He's alive. Right from the very start, you
get direction where to look. You get the two on the way to
Emmaus. We trusted. It should have been
he that should have redeemed Israel. What have they got in
their minds as to how Israel should have been redeemed? But
he says, O fools and slow of heart, to believe all the prophets
have spoken. Beginning at Moses, all the prophets,
he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning
himself, as if he'd say, here it is, not where you're looking. But in the sacrifices, in that
which is pointing to a crucified, suffering Saviour, the one that
you've seen lifted up upon the cross, that's where you are to
look. And so it may be, bless the Lord,
if he's been pleased to hedge us up in that way, and to teach
us where we are not to be looking, not outward things. It is so
easy what we've got to have, and some of them may be very
right in their own place. You've got to have the right
Persian Bible, the right hymn book, the right dress, the right
mode of worship. A lot of those things are very
important, but they're not where we're pinning our whole hopes
and our whole religion and our whole life on, in doing those
outward things and thinking That this is the kingdom of God. This
is what it means to be in God's kingdom. So then where is it? Where is it? And the Lord says
that it is within. It is a secret kingdom. It is
a spiritual kingdom. It begins right there in the
heart. And you know the portion that
we read in Matthew Right through that, our Lord is leading from
outward by giving of arms to giving in secret, not praying
in public to make out we're religious in that way, but in our closet. And all the time, again, he is
pointing to that which is within, not the treasures upon earth,
not outward, what you can see, but that which is inward. And then he comes very close
with the things that are for this life, what we shall eat,
what we shall put on. And he directs even away from
those things. He said, after all these things
do the Gentiles seek, but seek ye first the kingdom of God and
his righteousness, all these things shall be added unto you. We think of how our Lord deals
with it and how John sets it before us in the Gospel according
to John, where it's really illustrated in what Paul later says, the
natural man receiveth not the things of God, neither can he
know them, because they are spiritually discerned. So when our Lord introduces
to Nicodemus the new birth, that which is within, immediately
he thinks of it natural. How can a man that is old be
born again? But our Lord is insisting, no,
there must be a new birth, and except it be so, a man cannot
enter into the kingdom of heaven, into the kingdom of God, the
entrance into it. It is an inward one, it's not
outward, it's not seen outwardly. Then we think in chapter 4 with
the woman at the well of Samaria. The Lord said, if thou knewest
who it is that saith unto thee, give me to drink, thou wouldst
ask of him living water. But she immediately thinks, naturally,
the well is deep, thou has got nothing to draw by. But our Lord
is speaking about the word of life, the living water within
the soul. Then we have in chapter six,
the Lord works the miracle of the loaves and the fishes and
they're pleased to receive the miraculous gift of bread for
their bodies. They follow him over the sea
and he says to them, you seek me not because you saw the miracle,
but because she did eat of the loaves, and will fill labour
not for the meat that perisheth, but for that meat which endureth
unto everlasting life. And then he goes on to expound
on that, when they speak about the manna, and he says that he
is the manna, and except ye eat the flesh and drink the blood
of the Son of Man, ye have no life in them, They're thinking
again, this is natural, how can this man give us his flesh to
eat? And they're stumbling at that.
But all the time our Lord is pointing spiritually and inwardly,
in the heart, in the soul. It is that there where his kingdom
is to be set up and where there is the life of God that needs
spiritual food, that needs spiritual drink, that is the fruit of the
Spirit, that is the quickening of God. And so may our attention
be drawn by this word to that which is inward, that which is
going on within our souls. We hope then to look in the third
place of how this kingdom is set up, how it is brought about,
what are the things that really distinguish it and set it up. In the third point then, the
first thing I would say is this, is the uniqueness of the King
of the Kingdom, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Our Lord
said to the disciples, it is needful that I go away. If I
go not away, the Holy Spirit will not come unto you. Lo, I am with you always, even unto
the end of the world. With his people, by his spirit
and by his grace, tarry at Jerusalem until you be endued with power
from on high. He shall receive of mine and
shall show it unto you. And the disciples puzzled in
this. They said, how would thou reveal
thyself unto us, but not unto the world? And the Lord's explanation
was that it was because the world could not see the Spirit. They
wanted something for like observation. They wanted something that they
could see. But because they could not see,
then they could not believe either. But the Lord says of his people,
that you know him, for you shall be in you. I have given them
thy word, and the world hath hated you. And so it is in the
King, in the Lord Jesus Christ, who is not at Jerusalem, who
is not in any place on this earth, but is in heaven. And the apostle
says we are to run the race that is set before us, looking unto
Jesus, looking unto our king and where he is the king then
he rules in that kingdom you might say but surely with the
people of God they're not sinless there's many rebels there you
might have a kingdom on earth a very very good king But it
doesn't stop there being rebels and those that rebel against
his kingdom. But if he's a good king and he
knows about them, he knows how to deal with them as well. And
he remains on the throne, he is not dethroned. Our Lord then
does that with his people. A really change, you might say,
of the one that is control of the heart. I think Bunyan portrays
this in his Taciti of Mansoul, and where it is that the Lord
is in control, that he is king in Zion, that he rules there,
and where he rules, and where the heart is in whom he rules,
they know his ruling, they know his dealing with them, and they
know his laws, and they know his hand. It all really, the
whole, centers around the king and the uniqueness of the king.
Nothing, no parallel in natural history or no natural hymn could
ever get a king that was made like our Lord Jesus Christ, like
unto his subjects, made flesh dwelling among his subjects,
even when they're in rebellion, even when they were crying out
away with him, crucify him, crucify him. A king that has wrought
out all that his subjects need, paying their debts, redeeming
them from bondage, plucking them out of Satan's hand, giving them
a righteousness that they shall stand faultless before his throne
in heaven with, and purchasing for them everything that is necessary,
that they should even here below be delivered from the power and
dominion of sin. In that beautiful name given
unto him, a name which is above every name, that at the name
of Jesus every knee should bow, It was that he should save his
people from their sins. What natural king, could you
say, would have power to save his people from their sins? You know, when King Saul was
raised up king, they rebelled against him first, and then there
arose those that he was used under God to deliver his people
from the power and from the threats to Israel. And it was in those
things that established his kingdom. Natural kings may do that naturally,
outwardly, but the Lord Jesus Christ is king in Zion and king
over his people and ruling over his kingdom in the hearts of
his people. He has power to do exceeding
far above all that we can ask or think. Now it's a solemn thing
with Absalom. In his rebellion, he prevented
the children of Israel from coming unto his father, unto the king.
He made out there was no one that was deputed of the king
to hear their causes and to hear what they, to help them in their
troubles. And yet with the Lord Jesus Christ,
He is our Advocate with the Father. He is appearing in the presence
of God for us. He has been given all power and
all authority in heaven and in earth. He has that power and
has that ability and we are to remember that great distinctiveness
of the Kingdom of God is set up in the heart of the people
of God One of the hymn writers really sums it up, what think
ye of Christ, is the test. What do you think of your king? What do you think of how he rules? What his rules are? What his
subjects are? What his methods are? What do
you think of those things? And then it becomes very personal,
it comes within. What are our thoughts of Him? Where are our affections? And
so with the Kingdom, this is the central thing. And really
to highlight it, the Holy Spirit emphasizes what Pilate did, setting
up over the Lord as He was crucified, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of
the Jews. The Lord says, my kingdom is
not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world,
then would my servants find. That is not an earthly kingdom,
but it is as set forth in our text. Behold, the kingdom of
God is within you. Within us, so unto Look at some
of those things that are set before us in the Word that commence
that kingdom and that carry it on. We already mentioned the
new birth. Our Lord insisted upon it in
John 3. A vital to have a spiritual birth
because it is a spiritual kingdom. It is not just thoughts, it is
not just opinions. But it is the life of God within,
within that soul. And the Lord instigates salvation. I pass by thee when thou wast
in thy blood, and when thou wast in thy blood, I bid thee live. By grace, ye are saved through
faith, that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. It's a
kingdom that is set up by grace. nothing good foreseen or known
in that person at all. Why me? Why was I made to hear
his voice and enter while his room while millions make a wretched
choice rather starve than come? It is crying grace, grace unto
him. And yet it is a kingdom as we
read that is to be sought. Seek ye first the kingdom of
God and his righteousness, and all these other things, these
temporal things, shall be added unto you. Another mark of those
that have this kingdom within. But when is it sought? Really, we may say it has only
really begun to be sought where the Lord has begun with that
soul. No man cometh unto the Father except by me. No man cometh unto me except
the Father which sent me. Draw him, and I shall raise him
up at the last day. As far as a sinner realizes,
in many cases, the first work of the Lord, it is because They
feel the necessity, they are brought, they are drawn to seek
after the Lord. And really that is a miracle
in its own. The Lord says, you will not come
unto me that ye might have life. A natural man will not seek the
Lord. Any of us that have done any
evangelism work, those of us who've spoken to many, in our
towns, in our villages, you know how hard it is. You can try and
persuade, you can impress upon people, you get a blank look,
and yeah, they say, oh, we're gonna come along and hear the
word preached, but they never do, and there's just such aversion
to the things of God, and some of the hardest ones to reach
who think that they have a religion. Or we're Church of England. How
many times do you go? Well, I go at Christmas and I
go at Easter. And they think that they're right. They think
that they're right to heaven. One that is first brought to
seek the Lord, and especially to seek as a feeling sinner,
a hell-deserving sinner, is a miracle of grace. It's not something
that natural man wants to do, he will go after all those other
natural things. They will weigh much more heavily
upon him than spiritual things. I spoke to one at a funeral recently
at Tenderton. Come along, attend regularly
here. I can't, too busy, too much to
do. And this is the attitude. Other
worthy things, wealth and the things of this time weigh far
more than what the soul does. But if you are different, if
I am different, and our soul has a value, and eternity sounds
as a great sound to us, and we desire to seek the things of
God, that is not something to be turned
aside as Some think of nothing. It is a great blessing to be
a seeker. The Lord says, they that seek
shall find. Ask and it shall be given you.
Seek and you shall find. Knock and it shall be opened
unto you. And this kingdom within will
have these effects. Another aspect will be this.
Right from the very start of our Lord's ministry, He was preaching
the Kingdom of God. What He was not preaching, you
might say, was Himself crucified. He warned the people, He warned
the disciples what He was going to do. But the preaching of the
Apostle Paul, determined to know nothing among you, so Jesus Christ
and Him crucified, the preaching after Christ had risen, again
from the dead and the Holy Spirit given, when thousands were brought
to believe, was different than the preaching when our Lord before
He suffered. But what our Lord was preaching,
the Kingdom of God was at hand. God was on His way. He was beginning
to work. The time was at hand. This was
the time. that all those generations before
had looked for. In a way, it's equivalent to
when Moses was sent to Egypt and Moses told the people that
God had appeared to him and that God had sent him to them to redeem
them and to bring them out of Egypt. And the people believed
and they praised God, they thanked God, they were still in Egypt.
They were still in Bondi. and there was to be nine other
great signs before they were to be released. You think of
the joy of the shepherds and the message when our Lord was
born, but then 30 years of, you might say, silence. And then
the three years of ministry leading to his crucifixion, then the
resurrection, then the spirit given, and then the power of
God and the preaching of the gospel. And so it is a kingdom
that is to be preached. It was authoritatively declared
and set forth by Christ, by his disciples, and now when the light
is clear, so clear, it is clearly set forth, Christ, and him crucified. He that was obedient even unto
death, the death of the cross, wherefore God hath highly exalted
him, given him a name which is above every name, that at the
name of Jesus every knee should bow. And those that have that
kingdom within, and Christ is the king, it is to him that they
are brought to bow. And inseparable to that kingdom
is the preaching of the gospel. You might say everyone that is
of that kingdom, the way that they are fed, the way that they
are sanctified, The way that they are edified is all through
the preaching of the Word. Please God, through the foolishness
of preaching, to save them that believe. How shall they preach,
except they be sent? How shall they hear, except they
have a preacher? Faith, it cometh by hearing,
and hearing by the Word of the Lord. And so that secret inward,
as we gather in the house of God, through ear-gain, we hear
the word of God. And that's to enter, yes, through
the channel of the mind, but into the heart, to profoundly
affect and to move the course of our life. And the Lord speaks
to us through that. That secret kingdom within, you
know you can be sitting next to someone in the house of God,
And one may say, the Lord came expressly unto me, the word came
expressly unto me. Another one might not hear it
in the same way at all, but the Lord sends his word specifically. We read in the early church,
they that were ordained unto life believed. Some believed
the word spoken, some believed not. Imrida says, "'Tis Christ
makes a believer, gives him his crown." Then our Lord tells of
the character of those whose, his kingdom is set up in their
heart. And he speaks of them as little
children. Teachable, meek, humble, mild. The pride of man, which is one
of the chief sins, is humbled, is brought down and brought low. and is where true riches also
are valued. Our Lord speaks of the pearl
of great price. He speaks of the one that found
treasure in the field. The effect when they saw that
treasure, and with the people of God, where that kingdom is,
it won't be the things of this world, it will be the king in
the kingdom. It will be Christ that is precious,
and in heaven above, He will be all the glory in Emmanuel's
land. It is Christ that is the exceeding
precious. Unto you which believe, He is
precious. And all other things, they become
secondary. They become empty things, vain
things. Vanity of vanity, saith the preacher,
all is vanity. Another thing in which the kingdom
is renowned and known is that the word of the kingdom is not
just in word only, but in demonstration of the spirit and of power. It's
a spiritual kingdom, it's a spiritual word. We have the picture of
the Thessalonians who received that kingdom in that way, and
that is a great mark, a blessed mark, of having that kingdom
within our heart, that the Lord speaks, speaks to our hearts
and speaks with power And with authority, he moves her heart. The hymn writer says, my heart
will move at thy command. Another aspect of it is that
where that power is, then it will have an effect on the outward
walk. Our Lord says of going into the
closet, praying unto God in secret, and he that heareth in secret
shall reward you openly. The secret for the godly is hidden,
it's in the closet, it's not outward, but it cannot but be
evidenced outward. This is what Barnabas, when he
heard of those that believed in Antioch and they were sent
from Jerusalem to Antioch, that's where the disciples were first
called Christians in Antioch, he saw the grace of God and was
glad. He couldn't see into their hearts,
couldn't see the kingdom there, but could see the effect that
that had in an outward repentance, changing, turning, cleaving together,
and receiving the preached word. He remained there preaching and
teaching the kingdom of God. That kingdom that is set up is
an earnest, is a token of that which is in heaven. Here below
it is imperfect because the old nature, as the apostle says,
the flesh lusteth against the spirit and the spirit against
the flesh. He cannot do the things that
he would. O wretched man that I am, who
shall deliver me from this body of death? I thank God through
Jesus Christ my Lord. Again, it's the King that is
I is upon that's how I shall be delivered because there is
a king in Zion is the king that rules in my heart and he governs
what goes on there and he instructs and he chastens he corrects he
cares for he nourishes he is a good king he has regard to
his subjects and so where that is so here
below it has an earnest of that which is in heaven. How many
think, well, when we go to, when we die, that we're going to go
to heaven. But here below, they do not know
the king. They do not know that heart work. They do not know the kingdom
within. They're strangers to that. But those who are not strangers
to that, they have their token and earnest that they one day
will be in heaven. or happy but not more secure
than the glorified saints above. And so one of the other, you
may say the last that I'll mention this evening, are the aspects
of that kingdom within. It is again like the Thessalonians. They were called to wait for
his Son from heaven. And the Church says, and especially
with the Spirit, the Spirit and the Bride, that is, When the
Church of God, the Bride of Christ, has the Spirit and is acting
under the influence of the Spirit, the Spirit and the Bride say,
Come, even so come, Lord Jesus. Now I believe there are some
of you here that under the blessing and Spirit of the Lord, you have
longed for the Lord, you have longed for Him to come. You felt
perhaps at a time under a blessing like that, that you could easily
part from all here and immediately go to heaven. Sweet the moments
rich in blessing which before the cross I spend. But you know,
that which the Lord works within will bring that soul to long
for and look for his Son from heaven, where there shall be
that kingdom, where there is not the conflict, where it is
not just an inward kingdom, But all, all around, that innumerable
multitude, and we shall know even as we are known, we shall
see him as he is, for we shall be like him, is a blessed foretaste
that we may have, but in the way that is described here in
the word of God, by the Lord Jesus Christ, when he clearly
says the kingdom of God cometh not with observation, neither
shall they say lo here or lo there, for behold the kingdom
of God is within you. May the Holy Spirit, may the
Lord through the word this evening have this as a word of an answer
to the state and condition of your soul. You may come in thinking,
is the Lord with me or not? Is he within me or not? and have
the Lord say, the kingdom of God is within you. Amen. Let us close by singing hymn
129. M129, the tune is Norton 810. Ye souls that are weak and helpless
and poor, who know not to speak, much less to do more, though
he is a foundation for comfort and peace, in Christ is salvation,
the kingdom is his, with power he rules and wonders performs,
gives conduct to fools and courage to worms, beset by sought evils,
without and within, by legions of devils and mountains of sin. In 129, the tune Norton 810. No. ? Let us love him, let us worship
him ? ? Give him all to see, all to see, all to see ? of a nation, full of wonder and
bliss. Let thy saints admonish them, and give them praise. With power he rose and wonders
foretold, With charm of the rose and glory to the world. said, Thy story filled with love
and with faith. Thine is the kingdom, Thine is the power, We are not afraid, for thou art
with us. With Jesus on earth, we have no fear. O'er the ramparts we watched,
were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket's red glare, the bombs
bursting in air, If I meet Him now, Send me His
peace now, Send tender peace now. When our dead return, in their
blinded stare, we bow. Thy grace be the dawn, Thy record
divine, The kingdom, and power, and glory of Thine. We tend the strong running of
the local Jews, of the strong and running ever to our soul. As a spear that accomplished
my will, And that holy grail that spoke from the will. In holy, in holy rejoicing, a
shining of glory to God. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit
be with you all now and evermore. Amen.