BORN TO REIGN

THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM  by Barry Henning, Pastor of New City Fellowship in St. Louis What is the "Gospel of the kingdom"? It is the good news that God, in his great love, has come to redeem a people for himself, through the work of Jesus Christ, who will be set free from their bondage to sin and enabled through the gift of his Spirit to become a people of justice, mercy and a humble walk with God. We announce the Gospel of the kingdom just like Jesus did - by doing justice and preaching grace. "Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom...." -Matthew 4:23 "For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ. " -Acts 28:30-31 "For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son

John 7:16-18 True Doctrine John 7:16-18 MKJV    Jesus answered them and said, My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.  (17) If anyone desires to do His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it is of God, or I speak from Myself.  (18) He who speaks of himself seeks his own glory, but he who seeks the glory of Him who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him. Each of the three verses we are considering today contains a world of truth! These three verses are of great utility when it comes to assessing the various truth claims of various Christian spiritual teachers. v. 16 - Jesus answered them and said, My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. Jesus had great reverence for Truth that lay beyond Himself, beyond His own thoughts, and beyond His human cognitive processes. He did not “make things up” for the sake of novelty, or to impress people but rather received and spoke eternal truth to which He also submitted. Having a holy reverenc

John 7:11-15 The Untaught Teacher John 7:11-15 MKJV   Then the Jews sought Him at the feast and said, Where is He?  (12) And there was much murmuring among the crowd concerning Him, for some said, He is a good man; others said, No, but he deceives the crowd.  (13) However, no one spoke openly of Him, because of the fear of the Jews.  (14) Now about the middle of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple and taught.  (15) And the Jews marveled, saying, how does this man know letters, not being taught? Jesus moves into an atmosphere of such hostility that He is literally “unmentionable” - However, no one spoke openly of Him, because of the fear of the Jews. Now obviously everyone at the feast was an Israelite – so the group they were afraid of was not their own Jewish race but rather the elite Judean hierarchy – who John calls “the Jews”. “Now about the middle of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple and taught.  (15) And the Jews marveled, saying, How does this man

John 7:2-10 Jesus’ Unbelieving Brothers John 7:2-10 MKJV    And the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near.  (3) Therefore His brothers said to Him, Move away from here and go into Judea, so that Your disciples also may see the works that You do.  (4) For no one does anything in secret, while he himself seeks to be in public. If you do these things, reveal yourself to the world.  (5) For His brothers did not believe in Him.  (6) Then Jesus said to them, My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.  (7) The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it, that its works are evil.  (8) You go up to this feast; I am not yet going up to this feast; for My time is not yet fulfilled.  (9) And having said these things to them, He remained in Galilee.  (10) But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as in secret. The Feast of Tabernacles or “Feast of Booths was the “Jewish camping feast” (Goodenough) at the end

John 7:1 Jesus Walks In Galilee John 7:1 MKJV    After these things Jesus walked in Galilee, for He did not desire to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him. Jesus goes where He is welcome. When the Judean Israelites (the Jews) sought to kill Him he did not say, “this people are so far from God and so much need salvation that I will stay here and take the risk.” Instead Jesus went where He was welcome  – to Galilee. Just this week two friends of mine in Manila have received specific and highly credible personal death threats from Muslims. In other parts of the letters they were sent, all workers among Muslims in the Philippines were threatened with holy war and terms like “blood will flow” were used repeatedly. I am included in this second group of threatened people though my personal assassination is very unlikely as I now live in Los Angeles. What do I do? Does my organization soldier on? Do we withdraw? How much risk can I ask my co-workers to take

John 6:41-47 Unless The Father John 6:41-47 MKJV    Then the Jews murmured about Him, because He said, I am the bread which came down from Heaven.  (42) And they said, Is this not Jesus the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How now does this One say, I have come down from Heaven?  (43) Jesus therefore answered and said to them, Do not murmur with one another.  (44) No one can come to Me unless the Father who has sent Me draw him, and I will raise him up at the last day.  (45) It is written in the Prophets, "And they shall all be taught of God." Therefore everyone who hears and learns from the Father comes to Me.  (46) Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God, He has seen the Father.  (47) Truly, truly, I say to you, He who believes on Me has everlasting life. The Jews did not believe but made comments about His earthly origins. Instead of addressing their question Jesus goes to the root source of their unbelief – not being

  John 6:35-40 The One Who Comes To Me… John 6:35-40 MKJV    And Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes on Me shall never thirst.  (36) But I said to you that you also have seen Me and do not believe.  (37) All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will in no way cast out.  (38) For I came down from Heaven, not to do My own will but the will of Him who sent Me.  (39) And this is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all which He has given Me I should lose nothing but should raise it up again at the last day.  (40) And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes on Him should have everlasting life. And I will raise him up at the last day. Today we will pick up the last verse from yesterday (v.35) and go on to look at some of the Bible’s most interesting verses about our common salvation. Eternal life requires an infinite resourc

  John 6:28-35 The Bread Of Life John 6:28-35 MKJV    Then they said to Him, What shall we do that we might work the works of God?  (29) Jesus answered and said to them, This is the work of God, that you believe on Him whom He has sent.  (30) Therefore they said to Him, What sign do you show then, so that we may see and believe you? What do you work?  (31) Our fathers ate the manna in the desert, as it is written, "He gave them bread from Heaven to eat."  (32) Then Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, Moses did not give you that bread from Heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from Heaven.  (33) For the bread of God is He who comes down from Heaven and gives life to the world.  (34) Then they said to him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.  (35) And Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes on Me shall never thirst. The crowd are always trying to turn the conversation back to “give us

John 6:27 For God The Father Sealed Him… John 6:27    Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for that food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you. For God the Father sealed Him. We will focus for today on the final phrase in John 6:27 “For God the Father sealed Him”.  Anything that happens to Christ is of great importance to those who are in Christ so we need to enquire into what is meant by the sealing of Jesus. John only uses the word “seal” on one other occasion in his gospel: John 3:31-33 MKJV   He who comes from above is above all; he who is from the earth is earthly and speaks from the earth. He who comes from Heaven is above all,  (32) and what He has seen and heard, that He testifies, and no one receives His testimony.  (33) He who has received His testimony has set his seal to this, that God is true. There the “seal” could be to do with verifying that the witness of Jesus is true and that God is true. So here “seal” may