Well, welcome back to Kingship Reformation.
This is class number two, and the title of it is God's Big Kingdom Story.
So in the last class, which was really an introduction, I just want to just kind of
summarize some of the things we mentioned there, and that is kind of the premise of
this class is that there's a great kingdom of God awakening that's going on in the earth
today, and along with it, I believe, a kingship reformation where we're discovering, in addition
to the priesthood of all believers, that God has made us, Jesus has redeemed us and made
us kings and priests for the purpose of reigning on the earth and not to neglect or escape
the earth.
And this kingdom that Jesus brought to earth is an ever-increasing, unshakable, victorious
kingdom.
And it's here now.
It's not something that we're just waiting for to come.
It's here now and coming.
So as we awaken to these realities of our kingship and this kingdom awakening, we may
discover that there's a competing narrative that's operating in our lives.
We've been, in the evangelical world, largely, I believe, we've bought into a storyline that
has shrunk our understanding of who we are, and it's really shrunk the gospel, even.
What I like to say is perhaps we've been sold a story that doesn't require kings, and that's
why learning about being a king and reigning on earth hasn't been top of mind, because
if we're just here to escape the planet and get as many souls saved from it as possible,
then we don't really need to learn how to reign in life.
So this class, we want to run into some of the high-level scriptures that talk about
the kingdom of God on earth.
I call it God's great big kingdom story.
So I like to start with a super high-level, big-picture view, and then as these classes
progress, we'll zoom in.
It's kind of like when you build a puzzle, the first thing you want to do is prop the
box up, and so you're looking at the right picture, you're looking at the picture on
the puzzle box, so you can begin to put together the pieces, and in this case, the pieces would
be our life or even our understanding of ... I think it's important to know when we're alive,
in Acts, it says, speaking of David, it said, David served the purposes of his generation,
and then he fell asleep with the fathers, and so it's important that we know what God's
up to in the world today, and that we can integrate our lives into that big story.
So first, we need to understand that God has always been the great eternal king.
He's identified himself throughout scripture as a king.
First Chronicles 29.11 says, everything in the heavens and earth is yours, O God, and
this is your kingdom.
Psalm 103.19 says, the Lord has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules
over all.
So we know God as a father, and God as the creator, but God is also a king, and he's
eternally always been and always will be a king.
So I'm going to just kind of walk through seven main points of the ... This is the big
picture story of God's kingdom on earth and what God's doing on earth.
So first of all, number one, God made the earth, and then he made man in his image,
and he put man in charge over the earth.
We all know the dominion mandate of Genesis 1.28, be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth,
and subdue it.
Now, we're not given a whole lot of information on what subduing it looks like, but I think
it's a good working understanding that bring God's order or God's kingdom order to the
planet, and God could have done that.
He could have created earth and had it completely populated, and everybody serving him and enjoying
the benefits of his kingship and his rule, but he chose to make man in his image and
give man this mandate, and it's really important, it's one of the main points of this class
as we go down through the different sessions, is that he gave earth to man, to steward.
Psalm 115.16 says clearly that the heavens are the heavens of the Lord, but the earth
he has given to the sons of men.
And then one of my favorite scriptures is Psalms 8, verses four and six, he says, what
is man that you are mindful of him and that you visit him, and it says that he made him
man a little lower, it actually says than Elohim, and it's translated often as a little
lower than the angels, but it actually says he made him a little lower than Elohim, crowned
him with glory and majesty.
This is man we're talking about, God crowned us with glory and majesty, and made him to
have dominion over the works of his hands, and he put all things.
under his feet. So this is the position that God has given man.
It's a very high place. And so number two that we want to move into is, so God
made the earth, put man in charge of it, and then the next chapter, so to speak, is
man sinned and he, along with the earth, came under the dominion of Satan. And
there are several scriptures that talk about this and, you know, one that comes
to mind is 1 John 5 19. It says the whole world lies under the power of the
evil one. And other places in the New Testament, you know, Satan was called the
God of this world, the ruler of this age. And so I just thought it would be
interesting to take a look at, like, you know, what maybe the, after some
time had ticked by and after the fall and after man came under the dominion of
Satan, you know, what the State of the Union looked like. And so I look at
Genesis 6 5 as kind of, this is Satan's State of the Union address.
This is how things went on the planet once he took over. And it says,
then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that
every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. I mean,
we can't imagine what that looked like, but let's just say it wasn't a great
place to live. In fact, God, you know, God was grieved at what he saw happen to
earth, and I think it's important to point out at this point that Satan had
to work through humans. Again, this is going back to the stewardship that God
gave man for the planet. So he had to work through humans as the earth was
irrevocably given to man to steward. So chapter 3, so God begins then working
through covenant with various humans and human agencies. So I call this the great
glory comeback. So we got to see what Satan would do unbridled, and that
culminated in Genesis 6 5, but then God started looking for a human, looking for
a man or men. So the first time we see this is with Noah. In Genesis 6 8
says, but Noah found favor or grace in the eyes of the Lord. And verse 9 says
that Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time, and Noah walked with God. So
God established this covenant with Noah, and you know the story of the
flood, and pretty much turned the etch-a-sketch over and shook it, and
started over again with this Noah and his three sons, and then all the animals
of course. And then down through the ages, God has worked through various humans,
you know, in covenant with, you know, Moses, and with Abraham, and then
ultimately with the nation Israel, and he gave the law and the Mosaic law. And you
know, you get a picture, a little glimpse of what God's vision
and expectation and agenda, if you will, for the earth was through man. And this
is in Numbers 14, and this is just such an intriguing scripture. So Numbers 14
verse 21, this is when this is when the children of Israel refused to enter the
promised land because of unbelief. They heard the evil report from
ten of the twelve spies, and you probably know that story. And God was
pretty ticked off, and he basically said he was going to wipe them
out. And you know, this is when, of course, Moses pled with God. He interceded for
the people and said, don't do that for your name's sake, you know, spare them and
pardon them. And God says something very interesting. He says, according to your
word I will pardon them. But then he makes this incredible statement. He goes,
but as I live, this is God speaking, as I live the earth will be filled with the
glory of the Lord. And the implication there is that the earth being filled
with the glory of the Lord had to do with the men, the people, going into the
promised land and taking his ways. Because remember he made promises of
them and said, if you live this way, if you walk this way, your enemy will not
be able to stand before you. I'll make you the head and not the tail. And you
can read in Deuteronomy all the promises of what would happen if they would keep
in covenant with him. He would then begin to expand his glory on earth again
the way that he initially intended back to Adam's mandate. So again, God was
working through men and his plan is to fill the earth with his glory through
human beings. That was his plan from the beginning. So then number four, this is
when it starts getting exciting. Chapter four of this seven chapter saga is
Jesus won back the dominion on earth for man as a man when he defeated Satan
at the cross and resurrection. There's a reason he had to come and go through the
human experience. You know, Jesus, I like to say, he didn't take a shortcut. He was a
nine-month baby. He could have appeared as a 33-year-old, done his thing, taken
over, and then gone back. But he didn't. He lived through the whole human life. He
became as one of us.
So, as a man, he won back the dominion that Adam lost, so he's called the last Adam, or
Adam 2.0, and he won back that dominion, and then he handed it back to man.
And I want to just point out that when Satan tempted Jesus in Matthew 4, 8 and 9, and Satan
says, all these kingdoms of the whole world under the heavens, I'll give to you, basically,
if you'll bow to me and serve me.
And of course, Jesus didn't go that direction, but I want to point out, Jesus didn't argue
with Satan that those were Satan's to give, that Satan had that place of authority.
And I think in the back of his mind, he's thinking, oh, if you only knew.
So he was going to win back all those kingdoms, but it wasn't going to be by bowing to Satan.
And it's interesting, so just before the cross in John 12, 31, Jesus said to his disciples,
he goes, now, and the implication is now, what I'm about to, this journey I'm about
to go on through this suffering and my resurrection, he goes, now the ruler of this world will
be cast out.
So after his resurrection and before he ascended, he said to his followers, and we all know
this as the beginning of the Great Commission, he said, all authority in heaven and on earth
has been given to me.
Now he would not have said that before the cross, because it was not his at that point,
it legitimately was Satan's, Satan had won that back.
But it's so important to know that when Jesus came, he won that place of authority back.
So it was a regime change when he came to earth the first time and he suffered and died
and rose again.
So Jesus, chapter five, Jesus ascended to a throne at the right hand of the father where
he reigns now, and he's reigning as the king of kings, Revelation 17, 14 and 19, 16 both
say that.
It doesn't say he's the king of pastors, it doesn't say he's the king of the church, he
says he is actually the king of all kings.
The kings of earth are subjected to the king of kings in heaven.
Now to the degree that they're disobedient, that'll be dealt with at a later point in
time and it's being dealt with down through history.
It also says in Revelation 1, 4 that Jesus is the ruler over the kings of the earth.
He's not going to be the ruler over the kings of the earth, he is right now.
He's reigning on a throne in heaven as the king of kings.
So he came that first time to bring regime change.
It says in Daniel 2, 44 that the God of heaven in the days of the kings, in the days of the
Roman empire basically, he says, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom on earth which
will never be destroyed, will not be given to another people.
So how does he extend his kingdom then on the earth?
He's seated on a throne in heaven.
So chapter 6 is, his government, his reign is being extended on the earth in and through
his redeemed ones.
Again, he's always working through people on the earth because that's the way the father
set this thing up in the beginning, he gave the earth to man.
So Revelation 5, 10 tells us that Jesus redeemed us and he made us kings and priests to reign
on the earth.
So now he's got man back on the plan.
He's got man back in a place of dominion under his headship, under the headship of King Jesus.
Ephesians 1, 22, couldn't be any clearer.
It says that he, the father, put all things under his, Jesus' feet and gave him to be
head over all things to the church, which is his body.
So we are the embodiment of his rule on earth.
He's redeemed us and made us kings and priests to reign on the earth.
So Ephesians 2, 6 goes on to say that we're seated with him in heavenly places and he's
seated on a throne.
He's not sitting on a love seat.
He's not chilling, watching the ships go by.
He's actively involved in reigning on earth through his body, which is us, which is his
church.
Matthew 16, 18, we talked about it in the first class that Jesus said that he was going
to build this ekklesia, this church on earth.
He says he's going to build it and the gates of hell would not prevail against it.
And again, that ekklesia is a legislative body on earth.
So we're in this season of time right now where Jesus is reigning, seated at the right
hand through his body who's on the earth.
Romans 16, I think it's verse 20, says the God of peace, and he's talking to the church
at Rome, that the God of peace will soon crush Satan underneath your feet.
Talking to human beings.
He's talking to the church.
So legal regime change is one thing, but driving out the insurgents from the defeated regime
is another.
And this is the season that we're in.
were between that time when he was crowned as the king and went to sit at the right hand of the
father and the time when he will return and that's what we'll talk about next is the final
chapter in this big saga this earthly saga is Jesus will return to earth and he'll return to
judge the living and the dead to destroy the last enemy which is death and then to hand the kingdom
back to the father so the scripture that i'll refer to there is first corinthians 15 24 through
26 and i'll just read parts of that then comes the end when he jesus delivers the kingdom
to god the father when he puts an end to all rule and all authority and power for he must reign
until he has put all enemies under his feet the last enemy that will be destroyed is death so
catch that it says for he must reign until he's put all enemies under his feet well we know where
he's reigning he's reigning at the right hand of the father on a throne so i refer to psalm 110
this is uh this is the most quoted psalm in the new testament psalm 110 verse 1 says and this is
the father talking to the son it says sit here at my right hand until i make your enemies a footstool
for your feet the lord will stretch forth your strong scepter from zion saying rule in the midst
of your enemies so jesus is not coming back by the word of god by the word of the father
jesus is not coming back to earth until the father determines that his enemies have been made a
footstool for his feet and yet that first corinthians 15 verse says he must reign until
he has put all enemies under his feet so we know that he's reigning on a throne at the right hand
of the father and he's staying right there until his enemies are made a footstool and this is this
is the really the crux of this course is this is our part when he says in psalm 110 that the lord
will stretch forth your strong scepter out of zion saying to rule in the midst of your enemies that
mandate is for us to rule in the midst of the enemies of jesus it's the wheat and the tares
growing together on the planet so um so i like to say that when when project earth is done that's
when jesus will return and it's interesting here that he says to hand the kingdom back to the
father so you can see this picture of this earth given given to man in the first place to rule over
it to have dominion over it man loses it satan gains it jesus comes gets it back and then says
now now rule in the midst of your enemies and bring this earth back under the order bring that
bring the enemies of jesus underfoot and then jesus will come back when we're done and he'll
destroy the last enemy which is death well how do you do that how do you destroy death well you
empty out the graves and you judge the living and the dead and and we know where the we know where
the unrighteous go and we know where the righteous go and then revelation says he throws death and
hades into the lake of fire and there is no more death there is no more no more hades so um so this
is a this is the exciting saga that we have been uh conscripted into as as the redeemed ones and
it's so important that we that we find ourselves in this in this storyline so in subsequent classes
we're gonna we're gonna dive a little deeper and we're going to talk about what does this period
look like this period right now between the first coming and the second coming of the king when he
hands the kingdom back to the father so um thanks so much for for being with me today and i look
forward to uh being here with you for the next class of kingdom reformation