I will be reading one verse of
Scripture this morning found in the Gospel of Luke, chapter
16. Luke, chapter 16. And I want
to speak to you this morning about a pressing matter. A pressing matter. I'm reading from Luke, chapter
16, verse 16. The Lord Jesus Christ is speaking
and says the law and the prophets were until John, or spoke until
John, the last prophet. And since that time, since John,
the kingdom of God is preached and every man presseth into it. The kingdom of God is preached. and every man presseth into it."
Now, much is said in the scripture of the kingdom of God. The Lord Himself first preached,
repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. What is the kingdom
of God? The kingdom of God. Well, it is not a place. He's not speaking of heaven itself. No. Although that is a part of
his kingdom. He's not speaking of a place,
nor is he speaking of a thing or a system of politics or of
the like. But he's speaking of a person. He's speaking of himself. In Luke chapter 17, verse 20, The Lord is speaking to some
Pharisees, and he says, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation,
neither shall they say, Lo, here or there. Here's the kingdom,
or there's the kingdom, or here comes the kingdom, or there's
the kingdom. But the kingdom of God, he said, is among you. In other words, the kingdom of
God is standing right in front of you. That's what he said to
those Pharisees. The kingdom of God is not a place
or a thing, but is a person. If you will break down the word
itself, kingdom, it means dominion of the king or the king's dominion. And in Psalm chapter 2, the Lord
God writes this way. He says, I have set my king upon
my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree, Thou
art my Son, this day have I begotten Thee." So God declared the decree,
or that is, the dominion of His Son. He said, I have set my King
upon my holy hill of Zion. The kingdom of God is the absolute
reign, rule, and dominion of the Lord Jesus Christ in all
things, over all things. Yes, he has absolute reign and
rule over all things. That's what the book of Colossians
tells us, that he's the head of all things, of all principalities
and powers and rulers in heaven and on earth. over all flesh."
Christ said, I have authority over all flesh. The Kingdom of
God is the dominion of the King, Lord and Lord, Jesus Christ. The King of kings and Lord of
lords, Jesus Christ. He is reigning and ruling over
creation. He is the Creator. Yes, Jesus
Christ. John chapter 1 tells us that.
That He is God and He created this world. And none can stay
His hand. That He reigns and rules. That He kills, He makes alive.
He wounds, He heals. None can stay His hand. He's the ruling King in creation. And He's the ruling King in salvation. Salvation. Yes, kings. Now, one
reason we cannot understand God who is a king, Christ who is
king, because there are really no more kings in our day. There
are no real absolute monarchs in our day, no sovereigns in
our day. So our modern generation has
lost the meaning of what it means to be a king, a sovereign ruler,
to do as you will, with whom you will, why you will, when
you will, because you will. Well, that's the king, though.
That's a king, a true king. And Jesus Christ is king. He reigns and rules in salvation. Kings choose their subjects,
not vice versa. I hear preachers tell people
all the time, make him Lord. Now, wait a minute. You don't
make a king a king. He is king. He's born king. Kings make servants, not vice
versa. Kings choose, and Christ chooses. God chooses whom He will. He
elects His people. He saves whom He will. That's
what Romans 9 says. He has mercy on whom He will. A king has absolute power. Absolute power. The King of kings
and Lord of lords is the Lord Jesus Christ. Absolute reigning,
ruling power in this world, in creation, and in salvation over
the souls of men. He says, all souls are mine to
dispose of as He will. And this kingdom of God, this
kingdom of Christ is His reigning grace in the hearts and lives
of His people. It's a reigning and ruling principle
which He puts within His people. It is eternal life. Eternal life
is not the duration of it, necessarily, although it is eternal. But it's
the character of it. It's the ruling principle of
it. It's life, spiritual life, created
by God within a human being, a new creature in Christ. Now,
when God chooses His subjects, He gave them to Jesus Christ,
who came, lived, died, justified them by His righteousness and
His blood payment. Then Christ sends His Holy Spirit
through the preaching of the Word, which is called the seed,
or the power of God, and creates new life within, a new birth
it's called, born from above. And He does this through the
preaching of the gospel, supernaturally. This is the call of the gospel,
the drawing power of the gospel, and the Holy Spirit gives repentance
that was not there before, gives faith in the Lord Jesus Christ,
and puts a principle of reigning grace within. It's called the
grace of life. And so for those in this kingdom,
those in this kingdom, and they're in the kingdom by decree, That's
what 1 Corinthians 1.30 says, Of God are you in Christ Jesus. Those in the kingdom, or that
is in Christ, are so by decree, by God's choice, by God's power. And those in the kingdom have
the kingdom within. And to them it is a pressing
matter. In our text, Luke 16, verse 16,
it says, the kingdom of God is preached, or that is, the absolute
reign and rule and dominion of the sovereign God and the sovereign
Christ is preached. Not much today, but it is preached
by some. Not by all, but by some. Well,
the kingdom of God is preached, Christ said, and every man presseth
into it. every man presseth into it."
Now, it is certainly no pressing matter to all the world or to
most people, not by any means, no sir. But the every man our
Lord Jesus Christ is talking of here that presseth into this
kingdom. He said in John 6, all the Father
giveth me shall come to me. Every man, or that is, all the
Father giveth me shall come to me. To every man whom God chose
and gave to Christ, they press into the kingdom. Every man whom
God impresses with the truth, whom God implants the seed or
the word of God in them, creating life, they press into the kingdom. The called, the chosen of God,
press. into the kingdom. Paul said that. He said in Philippians 3, I press
toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in
Christ Jesus. I press. Why is this a pressing
matter? Why is it a pressing matter? Because the Lord said in His
Word, He that hath the Son hath life. He that hath not the Son
of God hath not life." He's dead. Christ said, "...he that believeth
on the Son hath everlasting life. And he that believeth not the
Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him."
Did you hear that? Christ said, "...he that believeth
on the Son hath everlasting life." A person doesn't receive life
for believing, They believe because they receive life, just like
a child doesn't live because they breathe. They breathe because
they're alive. He that believeth on the Son
hath everlasting life. He that believeth not the Son
shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. Not the love of God, the wrath
of God. So this is a pressing matter,
because to have the Son is to have life. Well, why is this
a pressing matter? Because time is short. Scripture
says today is the day of salvation. Yea, right now, this very moment,
the gospel, the kingdom is being preached this very morning. And
every man that is in the kingdom presseth into it. Time is short. Today is the day of salvation.
Boast not thyself of tomorrow, thou knowest not what a day may
bring. There may not be a tomorrow.
Today is the day of salvation. This is a pressing matter because
there be few that find it. Few that find it. Many are called,
but few are chosen. How do you know if you are chosen?
Well, are you pressing? Well, this is a pressing matter
because Jesus Christ is all. Scripture says in Colossians
3, verse 11, Christ is all. All life, all joy, all peace,
all blessing. The blessings of God are in Christ
Jesus. The love of God is in Jesus Christ. Christ is all. Well, how do we
press into this kingdom? What does it mean to press into
the kingdom? Well, you really don't tell anyone
how to press. You see, spiritual life is given
by God. And much like natural life, you
don't need to teach a child to cry if they're alive. You don't
need to teach a child to hunger and thirst if they're alive.
You don't teach a child to see, to hear if they're alive. And
so when God sends His Word, called his power, which Peter said we
are born of, the incorruptible seed, the Word of God, which
liveth and abideth forever. That person cries out to God. You don't have to teach them
a prayer to repeat. No, they will cry out for mercy
to God. They will hunger and thirst for
Christ and his righteousness. They will see. Yes, they will
have eyes to see who God is from his Word. They'll hear his voice
from the Word of God and believe all that he says. Not argue,
but believe. Life. These things are within
everyone who is alive. Well, this life, this pressing
is a strong desire. David said, one thing have I
desired and that will I seek after. It's a firm resolution. Paul said, if by any means I
might attain unto the resurrection. He said, I'm determined not to
know anything among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. It's an all-out endeavor. Seek
ye first. Seek with all the heart, the
Scripture says. It's no half-hearted thing. It's
no part-time seeking. It's a full-time, lifelong pressing
into the kingdom. It's in a particular direction.
To press is to go in one way toward one thing. One thing have
I desired, David said. Paul said, this one thing I do,
I press. Forget the past and press. It's
a real and active pursuit. Paul said, I'm not fighting as
one that beateth the air. Oh, no. I want to win Christ
and be found in Him. I want to know Him. The kingdom of God is preached,
and every man that is truly in this kingdom presseth into it. It is a pressing matter. We must
have Christ. May it be so with you until next
Sunday. May the Lord make it so. Amen.