Diverse
Responses to The Gospel of His Kingdom
"...hear
the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does
not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in
his heart. This is he who received [1] seed by the wayside. But he who received
[2] the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately
receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a
while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word,
immediately the stumbles. [3] Now he who received seed among the thorns is he
who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches
choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.
"But he who received [4] seed on the good ground is he who hears the word
and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold,
some sixty, some thirty." Matthew
13:18-23
His
Spirit-Led Citizens do His Will
"Our
Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our
debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever." Matthew
6:9-13
"Therefore do not
let your good be spoken of as evil; for the kingdom of God
is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy
Spirit." Romans 14:16
"... you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come
upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem,
and in all Judea and Samaria,
and to the end of the earth." Acts 1:8
Peter and John answered, "Whether it is right in the sight
of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak
the things which we have seen and heard." Acts
4:19-20
Peter and the other apostles said, "We ought to obey God
rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by
hanging on a tree. Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and
Savior, to give repentance to Israel
and forgiveness of sins. And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also
is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him." Acts
5:29-32
Jesus said, 'My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were
of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to
the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.'
"Pilate therefore said to Him, 'Are You a king then?'
"Jesus answered, 'You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was
born, and for this cause I have come into the world, 'that I should bear
'witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice." John
18:36-37
Called
to Unity Within His Kingdom
Jesus prayed: "Holy Father, keep
through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We
are." John 17:11
"Now, therefore, you are no longer
strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of
the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles
and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the
whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in
whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the
Spirit." Ephesians
2:19-20
Called
to Separation from the World's System
"Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ,
called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God." Romans
1:1-2
"Do
not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has
righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And
what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an
unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God
with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: 'I will
dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My
people.'
Therefore 'Come out from among them and be separate,' says the Lord. 'Do not
touch what is unclean, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and
you shall be My sons and daughters,' says the Lord Almighty." 2
Corinthians 6:14-18
"...do
not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your
mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of
God." Romans 12:2
The
World Hates the Citizens of the Kingdom
"I have given them
Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just
as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You should take them out of the
world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world,
just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.
As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world." John
17:12-18
Jesus said, "If the world hates you, you know that it hated
Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own.
Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world,
therefore the world hates you. ... If they persecuted Me, they will also
persecute you... because they do not know Him who sent Me." John
15:18-21
"Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you,
and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many
will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many
false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will
abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be
saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a
witness to all the nations, and then the end will come." Matthew
24:9-14
