Well, last week we were thinking
about the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah, that the
people who had walked in darkness had seen a great light and how
that was fulfilled by Jesus, the light of the world. He said,
I am the light of the world. He came into this world and he
walked in those places which spiritually speaking were very
dark. He walked in Galilee, not of
the Jews, but of the Gentiles. Galilee of the Gentiles, the
people that walked in darkness, the people by his time that sat
in darkness, is what it says. People in darkness. And then
what did he do immediately after that? It's in Matthew chapter Verse 16, the people which sat
in darkness saw great light, and to them which sat in the
region and shadow of death, light is sprung up. From that time,
Jesus began to preach. This is the start of his ministry.
And what was his ministry? What did he preach? What was
his subject? Repent, rethink, turn around,
repent. Why? For the kingdom of heaven
is at hand. That's what I want us to think
about this morning in our time together. The Kingdom of God,
the Kingdom of Heaven, those two terms, Kingdom of God and
Kingdom of Heaven, are completely interchangeable. But you might
wonder, What on earth is the relevance of this to you? You're
going about your life in this world, you've got to get on with
earning a living and supporting your family and being responsible
for this, that and the other and making as much money as you
can. What on earth has this got to
do with you on this last Sunday morning before the Christmas
festivities of excess in this world? Jesus preached this. This is his message. Give top
priority of life to God's kingdom. It's there in Matthew chapter
six, just to turn over a page from Matthew chapter four, and
verse 33, Peter read it to us earlier. He said, seek ye first
the kingdom of God and his righteousness. And all these other things, the
things of this world that you need for your body to survive
and exist in this world, all of those things that you run
after and strive after, they shall all be added unto you. This is in opposition. This kingdom
of God and His righteousness, because His is a righteous kingdom,
the kingdom of God and His righteousness is in opposition to the kingdom
of this world, the kingdom of Satan. This creation was the
kingdom of God in the beginning, and Satan usurped the control
of that when he persuaded, when he tricked Adam and Eve into
falling into sin. You live in this world, we live
in this world, we breathe its air, we eat its food, we drink
its water, but, but, this is what the Son of God, this is
what God from heaven says, seek first, make your top priority
the kingdom of God. The realm of God. The realm of
God. The Queen of England, the deceased
Queen of England, Queen Elizabeth II, often used to talk about
this being her realm, her realm, her kingdom. The realm of God. The nation of God. His country. Look at Hebrews 11. You don't
need to turn to these, obviously, because I've got quite a few
scriptures this morning and I'll turn to them. But Hebrews 11
and verse 15, it was talking about Abraham coming out of Ur
of the Chaldees, at the call of God. And he says, and truly,
if they, that's Abraham and his folk, had been mindful of that
country from whence they came out, from Ur of the Chaldees,
which had everything that their prosperity rejoiced in and enjoyed,
if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came
out, they might have had opportunity to return, hey, we're not putting
up with this, we're going back there. But now, but now, now
when? Now that God's revealed something
to them, now they desire a better country. What of this world?
No, a heavenly country. Wherefore God is not ashamed
to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city,
a city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. It's different to this world. It's the kingdom of God of which
he is king. The kingdom is not good in itself. It's only good regarding the
one who is its king, its head, its leader. Our God is the king
of his kingdom, and he rules unlike any human ruler, politician,
king, whatever they might want to be, president, Our God is
King ruling in absolute perfection of holiness, for his is a kingdom
of peace and righteousness. So let us think on this glorious
heavenly realm this morning. I've got five points, and I hope
we can get through them fairly speedily, but I want you to think
about, first of all, the fact, the reality of the kingdom of
God. The fact that it's a real thing.
I'm not talking fairy stories here. Secondly, The revelation
of it. How do you know about it? How
do you become aware of it? Thirdly, the blessings of it. Fourthly, entering into it. How do you enter into it? And
fifthly, how do you possess the good of it? How do you possess
the fullness of it? So first of all then, the fact
or the reality of the kingdom of God. The world around us denies
the kingdom of God. As far as this world around us
is concerned, The only reality is tangible. It's that which
you can touch, which you can grasp, which you can feel, which
you can hear, which you can see with your eyes. It's tangible.
It's material. There's nothing spiritual about
it. It's just purely bits and pieces,
molecules and atoms, all obeying the rules of science as far as
we know them. It's scientific, but you know
what the scripture says about that. in one of the epistles
to Timothy, science falsely so called. The opposition of science
falsely, that's what we live in today. The opposition of science
falsely, it's not true science. True science is of God, for God
created all things. And he is the one who upholds
all things by the word of his power. But no, this world and
the people in this world deny the kingdom of God. And they
say the only reality is just the material world. Life and
consciousness, they say, comes from purely material processes. There's no God involved. There's
no intelligent design involved, is what they say. No, no. In
fact, in our educational institutions, in our scientific research institutions,
the one thing that you do to get you banned, to get you silenced,
to get you excluded from it, is to talk about God and intelligent
design. Oh, no, we can't have that. We
can't have that. In actual fact, of course, life,
consciousness, that which we are, living, breathing, interacting
with one another, do you know it's absolutely impossible without
the intelligent design of Almighty God. It's absolutely impossible,
and they know it is. They know it is. It's utterly
and completely impossible. So why do they maintain it? Paul
said to the Romans, Romans 1 verse 28, they did not like to retain
God in their knowledge. No, we're not having God. Oh,
gosh, no, we can't have that. So God gave them over to a reprobate
mind, to a lost mind, to a fallen mind. It leads to all kinds of
sin. Is it not an undeniable fact?
The way I've just described the kingdom of Satan, all kinds of
sin. It's undeniable. It's all around
you. It's every day. The news is filled
with it. The situation all around us is
filled with the result of sin and rejection of God. But the
majority accept Satan's lie, because that's what it is. They
accept it without question. Why can't we readily see or sense
the kingdom of God? Why can't we, as people, human
beings in this flesh, why can't we readily see and sense it? Well, Jesus said to Pontius Pilate,
when he was being examined by him before the crucifixion, in
John chapter 18 and verse 33, Pilate entered into the judgment
hall again and called Jesus and said to him, are you the king
of the Jews? Jesus answered him, do you say
this of yourself or did others tell you about me? Pilate answered,
am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief
priests have delivered you unto me. What have you done? Jesus
answered, this is the point. Jesus answered, my kingdom is
not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world,
are you a king? My kingdom is not of this world.
If my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight,
but they don't because it isn't. They would fight that I should
not be delivered to the Jews, but now my kingdom is not from
hence. His kingdom is not of this world. They asked him, in Luke's gospel
chapter 17, how are we going to see the kingdom of God? And
Jesus said to them, the kingdom of God does not come with observation. It isn't like London, a city
that's, how far is it from here? It's probably about a hundred
miles from here, I guess, something like that. Take you about an
hour and three quarters to drive there. You go and you can see
it, you can see the buildings, you can observe it, but not the
kingdom of God. The kingdom of God cometh not
with observation. Well, where is it then? Jesus
said, the kingdom is within you. Within whom? Within his people. within his body, his church,
those who believe him. The kingdom of God is within
you. It's within your heart, within your soul, within his
believing people. What do I mean by believing people?
I mean that multitude chosen by the Father in him in electing
grace before the beginning of time. Not ones that chose him. but he did make them willing
in the day of his power, but those he chose before time began. He loved them with an everlasting
love, and therefore he drew them with cords of love. They're those
in whom God has come to dwell by his spirit. Jesus said in
John 14, 23, he said, we will come, my father and my spirit
and my eye, we will come and make our abode with you, with
those who believe him. It is Christ in you, as Paul
wrote to the Colossians. Christ in you. Christ in you. That's the hope of glory, the
hope of eternal life, the hope of heaven. Christ in you, the
hope of heaven, the hope of the kingdom of God, the hope of being
citizens. Think of how many people around
the world hope to be citizens of the United Kingdom. or of
the United States of America. How many? Hordes and hordes of
them would long to be there. No, this is for the people of
God, Christ in you, the hope of God's kingdom, the hope of
glory, the hope of eternity with him. Though we can't physically
sense it, it's more real than what we can see. You say, how
come? what the scripture says. The
scripture, I've quoted it recently very often, 2 Corinthians 4.18. The things that are seen, the
solid things, the things that are seen are just temporary.
They're here today and gone tomorrow. They're just temporary. But the
things that are not seen with physical eyes, these are the
things which are eternal. It's as Paul said to the Athenians
on Mars Hill in Athens. He said this in Acts 17 and verse
23. He said, as I passed by on my
way here, I looked at your religious devotions. And, you are a very
religious people, he said to the Athenians. I found an altar
with this inscription, to the unknown God. They had an altar
to this God and that God, but then they said, well, there must
be something more than that. But we don't know what it is.
To the unknown God, he said, whom, therefore, you ignorantly
worship by having this altar with this inscription, him declare
I unto you. God that made the world and all
things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth,
He doesn't dwell in temples made with hands. He isn't worshipped
with men's hands as though He needed anything, seeing it's
Him that gives life to all. He giveth to all. Your life,
your breathing, your consciousness now is because this God has given
you that life from heaven. His life, He's given it to you.
And He is made of one blood, all nations of men, for to dwell
on all the face of the earth. and has determined the times
before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation. Our God
is sovereign over everything. That's why it says in Romans
8, 28, he causes all things to work together for good to those
who love God, who are called according to his purpose. But
why did he do that? Verse 27, that they should seek
the Lord. God is calling you to seek him,
that you should seek the Lord. You who do not know the Lord
now, that you should seek the Lord. If happily, perhaps, you
might feel after him and find him. Well, isn't that a lost
cause? Isn't it so remote? No. No, this is the point I was
coming to, though he be not far from every one of us. This God
whom you do not know, if you're not his child, if you're not
one of his believing people, he's not far from you. He's all
around us. In him, we live and move and
have our being. Outside of him, you have no life.
You have no being. Jesus said that that kingdom
is at hand. His kingdom, his kingdom, with
God as its king, this kingdom is at hand. It is nearby. It is near to us. It is not remote
from you. It is not irrelevant to you.
Your life and your consciousness derive only from God and from
his kingdom. And he who is God come from heaven. The Lord Jesus Christ told those
who hear him, here in our text, verse 33 of Matthew 6, seek first. Seek above everything else that
you do. Seek first the kingdom of God
and his righteousness. But what about all these other
things? They'll be added to you as you need them. But why does
so few seem to see it? It's because of the revelation
of God's kingdom. You see, this is my second point.
Human reason will never discover the kingdom of God. Because why?
Because in our natural state, as the descendants of Adam, we're
sinners. We cannot see the things of the
kingdom of God. It's by deliberate unbelief that
we're blinded. I quoted this verse last week,
2 Thessalonians 2 verse 10, that unbelievers, the unbelieving
masses, they received not the love of the truth, that by it
they might be saved from their sins and taken into that kingdom
of God. And he says, it's a deliberate
refusal to believe. Therefore, God sends them a strong
delusion to believe the lie of Satan. The lie of Satan is that
you can attain to heaven. You can attain to utopia. without
the satisfaction of the justice of God, but you cannot, for God
is over all, and he is a just God, but he is a savior of his
people. Beware that you, if you're hearing
this for the first time, beware that you are not slipping under
the delusion of Satan by your deliberate unbelief. but God
must graciously give new life for you to believe. God must
give that new life for you to believe. Jesus said to Nicodemus
in John 3 and verse 3, he said, except unless a man be born again,
he cannot see the kingdom of God. I want to see the kingdom
of God. If you're not born again, you cannot see the kingdom of
God, said Jesus to Nicodemus. As Paul said to the Corinthians,
in 1 Corinthians 2 verse 14. The natural man that you as you
are born in this flesh, you a sinner, a child of Adam as you are in
this flesh, the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit
of God. Why? Their foolishness to him. Their foolishness to him. They're
either foolishness to the intellectuals or they're a religious stumbling
block to the Jews. They're foolishness to him. Neither
can he know them. Why not? Because they are spiritually
discerned. You must be given. the gift of
spiritual discernment. You must be given by God the
gift of faith and of repentance. You must see what you are and
what your need is, and you must be given the sight of the soul
to see the truth of God. And even that gift of faith,
he says, it is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. You can't
work it up because you're a better person than everybody else, not
at all. It must be God that gives it to you. Look at Matthew chapter
11. I'd like you to turn there if
you can, Matthew 11 and verse 25. So he's been talking about the
blindness of Chorazin and Bethsaida and Capernaum and all those places
that he said, he said, the things that you have gone on there,
the light of Christ has shined there and they've remained in
unbelief. He says, it will be better for Sodom and Gomorrah
in the day of judgment than of you. because of the light that
shined there and you turned away from it. And then in verse 25,
he says this, at that time, Jesus answered and said, I thank thee. He's speaking to his Father in
heaven. God on earth is speaking to God in heaven. I thank thee,
O Father, Lord of heaven and earth. Why? Why is he thankful? Because God the Father, thou
hast hid these things." What things? These spiritual truths,
the truth of life and of the kingdom of God. He's hid these
things from the wise and the prudent and has revealed them.
unto babes, even so Father." Why has he done that? Why has
God the Father done that? Verse 26, for so it seemed good
in thy sight. He's hidden spiritual truth from
why, from the wise, the worldly wise, the people who think that
they're so equipped with the wisdom of this world. They're
so high and mighty above everybody else in their wisdom and in their
intelligence. Oh, they've been to the right
schools and universities and they've got the right degrees
and they think that they're so much better than everybody else.
God has hidden the truth of eternal life from those who think that
they are so clever that they don't need these things. And
he's hidden them from the prudent. What's the difference between
the wise and the prudent? I think it's this, that the wise
is as 1 Corinthians chapter 1 talks about the wisdom of this world
and how in in its own wisdom, thinking that it could find the
truth of life, it never found anything whatsoever. That's the
wisdom of this world. But the prudent tends to suggest
those who think that they can wheedle their way by subtlety
and by choosing the right path into the kingdom of God. They
can't. He's hidden it from the prudent. He's hidden it from
those that think they can make their own way to heaven. Well,
who has God the Father chosen? To whom does it seem good in
his sight to reveal these spiritual truths? Unto babes, unto babes. Jesus said, unless you become
like little children, you shall not enter the kingdom of God.
To babes, what are babes? Babes are helpless, aren't they? A baby born is helpless. It cannot
do a thing for itself. It cannot feed itself, clean
itself, clothe itself. It can do nothing. It's absolutely
helpless. Spiritually, you must become
like babes. Babes are ignorant. They know
nothing. They know nothing of the ways
of this world. All they know is they need food and they scream
if they don't get it. They're dependent. Entirely dependent. Nothing of their own resources.
But here is the thing, they're teachable. They're ultimately
teachable. Talk about wipe the slate clean.
Their slate is completely clean. They're teachable, teachable
in the things of God. And it's the prerogative of God. Verse 27 of Matthew 11. All things
are delivered unto me by my Father. And no man knoweth the Son, but
the Father. Neither knoweth any man the Father,
save the Son. And listen, and he to whomsoever
the Son will reveal him. Oh, it must be that the Son of
God, God in flesh, must reveal the truth of God, the glory of
God, the truth of his kingdom. He must reveal it unto you. He must show you these things.
So what can we do? What can we do? Have you woken
to the truth of God? Are you waking up to the truth
of his kingdom? Do you know that you're not allowed
into his kingdom because of your sin, because of that weight,
because of that burden of sin that will keep you out? What
are the criteria for getting into a kingdom? You must have
all the right documents, you must have the right paperwork
with you, you must have the right qualifications. Do you know that
to enter the kingdom of God as you are, you have none of the
right qualifications. You must be rid of that burden
of sin because nothing that defiles can enter into that kingdom of
God. And you have a debt and you have
a load upon you that you can never pay. And you're struggling
with your own mortality, the fact that you are flesh and blood
and you're going to die for it's appointed to man to die once
and then the judgment and then the condemnation you're going
to die and see and face just condemnation of God you're going
to face eternal separation from God and all that is good oh what
a desperate thing but listen listen to the next words listen
to the very next words Listen, you say, that excludes me because
he hasn't revealed. No, no, hold, listen, listen.
Come unto me, said Jesus, all ye that labor and are heavy laden
with a burden of sin that will keep you out of the kingdom of
God. Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden. and
I will give you rest, I'll lift your burden off you. Take my
yoke, you know the yoke is the thing with which the oxen pull
a plough between them, and the yoke is where the load from the
plough is transferred to the shoulders of the oxen, and he
says, take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek. This
is God who is supreme above all, the one with all the preeminence.
I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest unto
your souls, for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Seek
first rest for your souls. Seek first the kingdom of God. Then thirdly, the blessings of
God's kingdom. In Matthew chapter 19, Matthew
chapter 19, And verse 27, Peter and the other
disciples are there with Jesus. And Peter said to Jesus, behold,
we disciples have forsaken all the things of this world, families
and profession and everything else, and followed thee. What
shall we have therefore? Listen to this. Jesus said unto
them, Verily I say unto you, that ye which have followed me
in the regeneration, when the Son of Man shall sit in the throne
of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging
the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone that hath forsaken
houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife,
or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an
hundredfold in this life, and shall inherit everlasting life. That's the promise of God, the
blessings of God's kingdom. You will leave this life, the
blessings of God's kingdom. You, who by nature are a sinner
condemned, But you will hear this from the mouth of the judge
on the throne on the day of judgment You will leave this life and
you will hear because it's in God's Word. It's in Matthew It's
in Matthew 25 verse 34. He will say to his people come
ye blessed of my father inherit the kingdom prepared for you
from the foundation of the world and The curse of sin, the sting
of death is removed in the doing and dying of this glorious God,
our Lord Jesus Christ. And therefore, believing in him,
trusting in him, with the testimony of his spirit in our heart that
we are the children of God, we have a solid hope. of eternal
bliss. We have a solid hope of treasure
incorruptible, where moth and rust doesn't corrupt, of an inheritance
to be possessed in eternity in that kingdom of God. And even
now, still in these bodies of sin and corruption, you who believe
now in these bodies of sin and corruption have the promise of
God that it is well with my soul, as that hymn says, It is well,
it is well with my soul that God in Christ has paid all of
your debt. Psalm 32 verses 1 and 2, blessed,
favored by God, the favor of God poured out upon you. Blessed
is he whose transgression is forgiven. That's the burden.
Oh, I want to be rid of that burden. Blessed is he whose transgression
is forgiven. It's lifted. Whose sin is covered,
it can't be seen. Blessed is the man unto whom
the Lord imputeth not iniquity. He doesn't say, here's a sinner
who is deserving of hell. Blessed is that man in whose
spirit there is no guile. What a happy state to be in. It says in Psalm 144, we read
145 at the start of the service, but 144 verse 15 says, happy is that
people whose God is the Lord. Is the Lord your God, the true
God? Is the Lord Jehovah, our Jehovah
Jesus, is He your God? If He is, and everything that
He has done for you is testified in your heart by His Spirit,
happy is that people. Never before, I think, in this
world, we hear it all the time, never before has there been so
much concern about mental health. It seems to be the thing that
politicians and the royals and all of them spend more time fussing
about than anything else. The reason why is because since
I was a child, in those however many years you might say, 60
to 70 years since I was a child growing up, Without God, everything
is without purpose. And God has been erased from
public consciousness in a way that God was in public consciousness
when I was a child. In this country, God is erased
from public consciousness all around us. And that's why mental
health is so bad. But here is the answer. Here
is the answer. Here is the answer. Seek first
the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these other things will
be added to you. So how do we enter in? We've
still got some time. How do we enter into God's kingdom?
There's a lot of concern and fuss about illegal entry into
the United Kingdom. And I know there is into the
USA and through the southern border from Mexico, but here
it's in inflatable boats across the English Channel. Illegal
entry, scores and scores, day by day, thousands every year
come in illegally. There's only one way into God's
kingdom. What's the way into God's kingdom?
Seek ye first the kingdom of God. What's the way in? John
chapter 10, John chapter 10 and verse seven. Jesus said unto
them again, verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the
sheep. He said he is the door. The door
is the way in. What's the way into the kingdom of God? He is.
He is the door. Verse nine, I am the door. By me, if any man enter in, he
shall be saved and go in and out and find pasture. And then
he goes on talking about the Good Shepherd. Christ alone qualifies
for entry. There is no other qualification
for entry than him alone. There is no other way to the
Father but by him. I am the way, the truth, and
the life, he said, John 14, verse 6. I am the way, the truth, and
the life. No man comes to the Father but
by me. All those false prophets of the
so-called Christian religion in the state church of this country
are telling you lies when they tell you that there are multiple
ways up the mountain towards God, who is the one God at the
top of it. It's a lie, it's a lie, it's a lie. The very scriptures
that they say they uphold, but they utterly despise, say there,
clearly, Jesus says, I am the way, the truth, and the life.
No man comes to the Father, but by me. If you would come to God,
and learn of him, and learn of his kingdom, and know that you
are in his kingdom and know that you are safe for eternity. You
must come by him. You must have exceeding righteousness. Jesus said, accept unless your
righteousness exceeds the people, the people of his day in Jerusalem.
Who are the most holy people? Oh, the Pharisees and the scribes.
They're the holy people, the religious folk who dress up in
robes and want everybody to see how holy they are. Oh, you've
got to be as righteous as them. No, said Jesus, you've got to
exceed their righteousness by a long, long way. Only with exceeding
righteousness. You've got to be better than
the very best. How are you going to get into
the kingdom of heaven? It's only with the righteousness of God.
How am I going to have the righteousness of God? I have the righteousness
of God. I am the righteousness of God. You say, what an arrogant statement. How can you say that you are
the righteousness of God? I can. because the Word of God
tells me that because Christ, who knew no sin, was made sin
for me, he took my sin and bore it in his body on the cursed
tree, because he did that and paid my full debt to the justice
of God, I am made, I am made the righteousness of God in him. I am as righteous as God in him,
by being in him, by virtue of what he has done, by my trusting
in him, not by that as a work, but that's the evidence of it,
I trust him, I'm made the righteousness of God in him. I only get into
the kingdom of heaven by doing the Father's will. It says that
in verse 21 of chapter 7. Not everyone that says to me,
Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he
that does the will of my Father which is in heaven. Well, what's
that will? What's the will of the Father that we must do to
enter into heaven? John 6, 29, he says this, what
is the work that we must do to do the work of God? This is the
work of God, and it is God's work, that you believe on him
that he has sent. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and you shall be saved. Matthew 18 and verse three says
this, verily, verily, I say unto you, except ye be converted and
become as little children, If you become like the babes to
whom it pleased the Father to reveal the truth, if you don't
do that, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. But
if you're converted and become as little children, the type
to whom the Father is pleased to reveal the truth, you shall
enter the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5, verse 3, the Sermon
on the Mount. Blessed are the poor in spirit. They've got no confidence of
their own. They've got no confidence in
the flesh. They rejoice in Christ Jesus.
They worship God in the spirit with no confidence in the...
They're poor in spirit. Theirs is the kingdom of heaven. It's not with worldly wisdom
that you get into the kingdom of heaven. 1 Corinthians 1, verse
19, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and the prudent,
says God, as far as entering my kingdom is concerned. You
won't get in with worldly wealth. You can't buy your way into the
kingdom of heaven. For as Jesus said, in Matthew
19 and verse 24, when the rich young ruler came to him, a really
good, righteous, holy man who'd kept all the commandments of
God from his youth. And he said, go and sell everything
that you have. And he went away sorrowful. And Jesus said to
his disciples, I tell you, it is easier for a camel, a great
big beast, to pass through the eye of a needle. And they said,
well, that's impossible. Yes, it is absolutely impossible.
It's easier for that to happen than for a rich man to enter
the kingdom of God, than for a man who is resting and relying
and hoping in his earthly riches to enter the kingdom of God.
I'm not saying it's wrong to have earthly riches. God gives
riches of this life to whomsoever he will. He gives us what we
need, and in some cases he gives riches. But those who rely on
those riches, those who love their money, the love of money
is the root of all kinds of evil. The rich man cannot enter the
kingdom of God trusting in his riches. No, it's easier for a
camel to go through the eye of a needle. You must be born again,
as we've already seen. John 3, verse 5. Except a man
be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of
God. You must be converted. You must be changed by God. You
must be granted repentance from sin. You must be given faith
to trust Christ. Is he calling you? Is he? Ask
now. Think. Is he calling you? Look
at John chapter 10. John chapter 10 and verse 27.
Jesus said this. He's got a people that he calls
his sheep, because he's the good shepherd of the sheep. The sheep
are the ones that the father gave him before the beginning
of time. He says this, my sheep hear my voice. Are you one of
his sheep? Here's a test. My sheep hear
my voice. They hear the voice of the Lord
Jesus Christ. You say, I'm listening to a preacher.
you can still hear the voice of the Good Shepherd through
the preacher, if the preacher is preaching faithfully the Word
of God. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow
me, and I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish,
neither shall any man pluck them out of my Father's hand. He speaks, and his sheep hear
him. His sheep hear him. It sounds
so easy. So why doesn't everyone come
and hear? It says in Acts 14, verse 22,
why doesn't everybody come? They confirmed the souls of the
disciples and exhorted them to continue in the faith, and that
we must, through much tribulation, enter into the kingdom of God.
It isn't easy. There's a cost. There's a cost
in this world. Those around you, the people
all around you, will not understand you. They will think you're strange.
They will ostracize you. They will send you to Coventry,
as it were. There's a cost to it. You can't serve God and mammon,
is what the scripture says. James says this, friendship with
the world, and what's the world? That society all around us that
does not believe the gospel of God. Friendship with the world
is enmity with God. But if you have heard the words
of eternal life, if you've heard the gospel of grace, you've found
the costliest pearl, the most valuable pearl. And as Paul said
to the Philippians, everything else is done. Seek first, come,
enter by the door, and then finally, just in a minute or two, possessing
its fullness. It's possessed now in this sinful
flesh, but by faith, because we live as Hebrews 12 verses
1 and 2 exhort us. We live, we run the race that
is set before us by God, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher
of our faith. For however long we have remaining
in this flesh, Jesus said, the kingdom of God is within you.
How is it grasped? How is it possessed? How is it
treasured? By God's gift of his spirit to
his people. He says in Ezekiel, a new spirit
will I give you, a new heart will I give you. I will take
the stony, unbelieving heart out of your flesh, and I'll give
you a heart of flesh. And the spirit comes and makes
his abode with his people. And the spirit itself bears witness
with our spirit that we are the children of God. In John 16,
He says this concerning the Spirit of God, because this is the key.
John 16 and verse 13, he says, when he, the Spirit of truth,
is come, he will guide you into all truth, for he shall not speak
of himself, but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak,
and he will show you things to come. He shall glorify me, for
he shall receive of mine and shall show it unto you. All things
that the Father hath are mine. Therefore said I, that he shall
take of mine and shall show it unto you. It's the Spirit of
God with his people. This is how this truth is possessed.
This is how we who believe possess the kingdom of God within us
now by God's Spirit given to us. Now it says at the end of
1 Corinthians 13, now abideth faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is
love. Because when we leave this flesh, we won't need faith, and
we won't need hope, because we will be there. It will be our
present reality. But love will continue. The Spirit's
presence will continue. We will be there in communion
with our God. We will know that we have been
that people who worship God in the Spirit, who rejoice in Christ
Jesus, have no confidence in the flesh. This is the guarantee.
This is the earnest of the Spirit. This is the full assurance of
faith, of all that will be possessed, unhindered, when we leave this
flesh. What a glorious prospect is that. Is it yours? Don't rest
until you know. Seek first the kingdom of God
and his righteousness. Ask, it says, and you shall receive. Knock and it shall be opened.
Seek and you shall find. He said, he promised in Isaiah
45, I said not to the seed of Jacob. That's all his people.
Seek me in vain. Because he said, if you seek
me, you shall find me. I will be found of you. Look
and be ye saved. All ye ends of the earth. He
is God and there is none other. Amen.