The Healing Word

Jack Morris: The kingdom of God coming into you. I'm telling you how you now can enter that kingdom and be free because you're under the rule of love, under the rule of blessedness, under the rule of power.

Guest (Male): At the heart of Jesus's ministry was a simple but powerful message: the kingdom of God. Today, Pastor Morris explains what it means for God to rule in our lives and how that changes everything.

Jack Morris: Write down the word "defining" under A, and then the meaning of "kingdom of God" as "the reign of God." Now, this was the central theme of Jesus Christ's message: the kingdom of God. This was and is his message. The kingdom of God, the rule of God—God reigning, God ruling. The word "kingdom" appears in the synoptic gospels—that's Matthew, Mark, and Luke—121 times.

Think about how frequently the word "kingdom" was on the lips of Jesus. This was the central theme: God's rule had come. It was the message telling us that the authority of the Most High is now over us. Look at Mark chapter 1, verses 14 and 15 again. I'm going to read it. "After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 'The time has come,' he said. 'The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news.'"

So today, when I say "kingdom of God," I mean the rule of God, the reign of God. It is the good news of God. This is the message that the world waited for, that the world needs, and the world needs it today. You and I need it today. God has a message, and the message is, "I want to take over. I want to rule. I want to bring in happiness and joy and redeem you from the slavery of sin."

You have followed your own passions, lust, impulses, and pride. You have been enslaved to those inward emotions for too long. Yes, friends, we all obey something. We all are enslaved to something. We all are under a kingdom. Our only choice is: whose kingdom are you going to choose to be under? And Jesus says, "I have a kingdom. It is a new kingdom. It is at hand. It is available." You can be free.

People have said to me so often, "I wish I could be different." Have you ever felt that way? "I wish I didn't have this proclivity toward this particular temperament or attitude. I wish I could be different." The good news is the kingdom of God has come. You can be different! That's what Jesus brought to us. That's what Jesus brings to us. You can choose the kingdom of God. He proclaimed the good news.

Now, when he came, he didn't say, "I'm so embarrassed. I'm so ashamed of you. You shouldn't have been acting that way. You shouldn't have thought that way. You shouldn't have had that attitude. You shouldn't have had that disposition. You shouldn't, you shouldn't..." No, he didn't come saying that at all. He came saying, "I have good news. If you want to be different, you can be different. If you don't want to have that attitude, you don't have to have that attitude, disposition, impulse, passion, lust, or pride."

If you don't want to have it, if you want under a new kingdom, it's available to you. The time has come. Who rules this kingdom? Well, the term "kingdom of God" indicates whose kingdom it is. It is the kingdom of God. And God has chosen to make Jesus Christ, his Son, King and Lord over that kingdom. When Jesus was born, the Magi came and said, "Where is he who is born King?"

Intuitively, they knew that something good, beautiful, and wonderful had come into this dark world. There is a King that is born. We've come looking for him. The angel Gabriel said to Mary, his mother, that God would give to him, her son Jesus, the throne of his father David. The scripture tells us that the old prophet Zechariah said, "Behold, your King comes." And then the crowd on that triumphant Sunday, Palm Sunday, worshipped and said, "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord."

They knew somehow intuitively within, they knew that there was a King, a greater power, a releasing power, a redeeming power had come, and these people were now embracing it. This is what the Lord wants you to do today. He would love it if you embraced him and turned to him and the liberation that he would bring to you. Nathanael, when Jesus came to Nathanael, Nathanael said, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God. You are the King of Israel."

And then the testimony of the church: when you and I get to heaven, the seer John, looking ahead in Revelation chapter 19, verse 16, spoke of that day that you and I will say in that day. Because he was King here with us on this earth at this time in our lifespan, we will be able to say that God has given to him, Jesus Christ, a name that is above all other names. And on his robe and on his thigh, he, Jesus Christ, has written these words: "King of kings and Lord of lords."

To be in that kingdom then, you have to choose yourself into that kingdom now. And if he is your King now, he will be your King then. And the church with jubilant testimony will be able to sing with heartfelt redemption, "Thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever and ever." Turn to Christ today and give your heart to him and allow him to become King, and he will rule and reign in your life.

Look at point C in your outline. We're going to look at the nature of the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God, number one under point C, the nature of the kingdom of God, number one: it is a kingdom of love. Can you imagine what it would be like to be in a kingdom with love ruling over you? His banner over me is love. What a kingdom this is. Jesus tried his best to make this very clear and make it very plain when he was here. He's still trying to make it clear.

He's still trying to get this message across to you and me. He spoke to Pilate when they had arrested him and he was in Pilate's judgment hall. He spoke to Pilate in an effort to delineate between Pilate's kingdom and his kingdom. Now, you and I, as an American, we're not too used to the word "kingdom." We like words like "independence," "democracy," "freedom." Those are American words. But all the time we're thinking we're free, maybe we're not quite so free.

Maybe there are those passions and lusts and powers that are there. But God comes in great love and mercy to give us freedom—true freedom. And only as we come under the rule of God and submit can we be freed from the slavery that has bound us. There are people today, some of you have habits that you wish you could get rid of. You have a thought pattern you wish you could get rid of, an attitude or a disposition you wish you could separate from yourself.

You've tried to break those habits; you can't do it. You see, you're under a power. You're under another kingdom. You're enslaved to something. But Jesus comes with redemptive freedom to liberate and to make you free. And it's a kingdom of love. Enslaved by love—what a kingdom! And so Jesus turns to Pilate and he says, "Pilate, your kingdom is of this world. My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world," Jesus says to Pilate, "then would my disciples fight for me, so that I would not be handed over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not of this world."

Jesus is the King of love. He is the swordless King. The only throne that he will occupy is the throne of a man's heart, a woman's heart. And he comes today in some mysterious, invisible, wonderful way to move into your life and into your disposition and into your personality and into your mind and into your brain and into every cell of your body. It's an invisible kingdom. He says "the kingdom of God is within." It's a beautiful experience, only received by those who experience Jesus and make him to be King.

It's a kingdom of love. And number two under point C, you have your outline: it's a kingdom of blessedness. The word "blessed" meaning a wonderful experience that transcends all other wonderful experiences. It means happiness, but a transcending happiness. A happiness that transcends, that is above. A joy that transcends all joy. A peace like you've never known on this earth; it transcends all peace. The nature of the kingdom of God is a kingdom of love, but it's also a kingdom of blessedness.

And we see the nature—that intrinsic, mysterious something that makes the kingdom the kingdom, that vital, essential part of the kingdom of God—is blessed. And it comes out in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus articulates the nature of the kingdom of God more clearly there than anywhere else in his teachings. He says, "Blessed are the poor in spirit." Now, what he meant by "poor in spirit" was simply this: blessed are the people who stop relying upon their empty selves for energy strength to gain victory.

Recognize that you are too poor, too inadequate to overcome some of those attitudes and dispositions and break some of those habits. Confess, "I can't do it. I'm poor in spirit." He said when you recognize that you need help, you are blessed. You have moved into an area of transcending blessedness, blessed joy. I'll just go through the Beatitudes very quickly now and summarize them: blessed peace, blessed happiness, blessed hope, blessed purity.

What is he saying? In this kingdom, there is a transcendent peace, a transcendent joy, a transcendent purity. Someone said, "I'm going to clean up my life and live clean." God says, "I have a transcendent cleanliness for you." I keep thinking—and I'm preaching now—and I keep thinking that's just in my mind and it keeps going over and over. Just recently, on two different occasions, two different men came to me—wonderful men, good men—and with brokenness. One man in my office broke and wept.

And he said, "Pastor, I have never told anybody. But I have to tell somebody. I have a terrible problem. My wife and I are separated, and this is caused by this problem. I don't see my children very often like I would like to because of this problem." And then he started crying and he cried and he cried. He said, "I'm hooked on pornography." He said, "I image, I see, I imagine, I think, I look for." And he says, "I pray. Now, Pastor, don't get me wrong. I pray."

But he said, "That horrible, devilish demon comes back. When I think I have the victory, when I think it's passed and I say, 'Oh, thank God, it's gone, it's gone, now it's gone,' it could be gone for weeks, I have no problem. It could be gone for months, I have no problem. And then that devilish thing comes back and wraps itself around me and I've got it again. And it drags me to some of the most unseemly places." And I sat there. I felt so helpless.

I felt at that moment poor in spirit because I knew that there was absolutely nothing in me that could help that poor man—nothing in me. I mean, he looked and he searched. He has a good job. He's a professional. No one would have ever thought it. He didn't want anybody to ever think it. But he said to me, "I have to tell somebody." Now, that's one. Now I could start naming others and others and others. The secrets that are in us, the things that are driving us, the tormenting powers that encompass us.

Jesus says, "I will free you. You're in a kingdom now. It's a kingdom of darkness. It's a kingdom of hell. It's a kingdom that's wrecking you, your life, your marriage, your children. Do you want that kingdom? If you don't, here's another kingdom: a blessed kingdom, a blessed kingdom." But I felt at that moment so poor, and I knew I couldn't help him. I knew I couldn't help him. I was so glad for his honesty, but I directed him to him who could, him who will.

The kingdom of God is at hand. There is help for everyone. There is no man, woman, or child with excuse today. Jesus has come. Jesus is alive. Jesus is King. If you will make him King. He wants to be your King. He wants to come into your life. It is a kingdom of power. I've already been talking about that power. In Matthew chapter 12, there's a strange and interesting story there of Jesus healing a man. The man was blind and mute. He couldn't see; he couldn't speak. Jesus healed the man. Isn't that wonderful what Jesus does?

Regardless of the situation, when it's brought to him, he takes care of it. He healed the man. Do you know what the religious leaders said? "He's got tricks up his sleeve. That's what he's doing." Now, it doesn't say that in the Bible; you won't find the word "tricks" in the concordance, I don't think. But that's basically what they were saying. "He's got some tricks up his sleeve, and those are powers that he's exercising there from Beelzebub." Beelzebub meaning the prince of demons.

"He's just tricking people with the power of darkness." Jesus knew their thoughts, and he said, "You intelligent theologians thinking that way? Now, think with me." Jesus was saying, "Now think with me. If Satan is against Satan, and if Satan is casting out Satan, pretty soon Satan is going to cast out Satan to the degree there won't be any more Satan, and it'll all be over. All we need to do is just sit back and let him go. He'll take care of himself." He said, "How ridiculous to think that way."

"But," Jesus said, "if this has been done by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you." And Jesus says, "This is the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God has come. The kingdom of God has come." And the rejoicing as a result of this power in this kingdom that comes. Now, he went on in that very chapter and in verse 29, and he talks about and he uses this allegory. He says, "There's a man that is strong. He possesses a house. There's another man that is stronger who wants in that house."

So the stronger man goes into the strong man, ties him up, and throws him out. Now, the stronger man possesses the house. And Jesus is saying, "That's what I'm doing. Some of you have things that you don't like about yourself—passions, impulses. You give in to impulses and you think, 'I'll never do it again,' only to do it again. There's something strong inside you, stronger than you. But Jesus is saying on the outside there's something even stronger. That's me, Jesus."

He said, "Let me get into the house, and I'll bind that thing that is binding you, and I'll enslave that power that is enslaving you, and I'll throw that power out, and you will be free if you will let me in to do the work that I've come to do. The kingdom of God is at hand." 121 times in the synoptic gospels, Jesus says "the kingdom, the kingdom, the kingdom, the kingdom, the kingdom." And he comes and he continues to come with his kingdom blessing.

Now, look at point D in your outline: the subjects of the kingdom of God. And I'm going to read verse 15. You have your Bibles open? Read verse 15 with me in unison. Just hold your Bibles up. "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news." Now, that's all you need to do. That's all you have to do. But you have to do it. It's an initiative that you must take. Now, in Luke chapter 16, verse 16, listen to this. This is what he says.

"The good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it." Meaning you don't just kick back and say, "I'm going to turn over a new leaf and I'm going to behave differently from now on and I'm not going to do that anymore or think that anymore." No, it's more than that. You have to forcefully push yourself into it through repentance. It is the kingdom of God. Listen to me: the kingdom of God coming into you.

I'm telling you how you now can enter that kingdom and be free because you're under the rule of love, under the rule of blessedness, under the rule of power. There's a greater power that now can come and take over and bless your life. But you have to force your way into it through repentance and believing. It comes with fierce earnestness. It's a warfare of light and darkness. It's a warfare between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of hell, and both are bidding for your soul.

And Jesus is saying, "The time has come. It's time. It's time for you to be saved, time for you to be free. You've been a slave to whatever you've been a slave to too long. I have come with this kingdom of redemption. The time has come." God waited and waited. He waited—some would say, well, why did God wait so many years before he sent Jesus? I think one of the reasons was to show the people of the world and give them plenty of time to learn they can't do it.

They can't be their own redeemer, their own savior. They can't save themselves. He gave them thousands of years. They had to continue to kill the calf and kill the goat and kill the lamb over and over, and their lives remained unchanged. And so finally, God said, "Now you've had plenty of evidence that you're poor in spirit. All you have to do is admit that history is correct in telling you you're poor in spirit. And when you admit that, humbly admit, 'I need salvation, I need God, I need Jesus. I'm in the wrong kingdom. I have the wrong boss in my life. I need Jesus to take over.'"

That's what the word "repent" means. The word "repent" simply means you've got to change your thinking. You have to change your mind. You have to think in another direction. But it has to be purposeful. It has to be with fierce earnestness. And then when you begin to think differently, then you begin to believe differently. Repent and believe. Not only hear and accept what Jesus said as being intellectually accurate, but this is the truth of God. This is the divine will of God. I'm going to now repose, rest in this kingdom and allow this kingdom to do what I have struggled to do and ended up losing the struggle all the time.

Guest (Male): The kingdom of God is not just a future promise. It begins in the heart of every person who turns to Christ. Visit thehealingword.com to discover more about living under God's rule and experiencing his peace and power. If this ministry has been a blessing, your support helps us continue reaching others with this message. Next time, we'll look at the miracles of Jesus and what they reveal about who he is.