54.5 The Kingdom Of The Messiah

(Psalm 72)

Teach the king to judge with your righteousness, O God;
share with him your own justice, so that he will rule over your people with justice and govern the oppressed with righteousness.
May the land enjoy prosperity; may it experience righteousness.
May the king judge the poor fairly; may he help the needy and defeat their oppressors.
May your people worship you as long as the sun shines, as long as the moon gives light, for ages to come.

May the king be like rain on the fields, like showers falling on the land.
May righteousness flourish in his lifetime, and may prosperity last as long as the moon gives light.

His kingdom will reach from sea to sea, from the Euphrates to the ends of the earth.
The peoples of the desert will bow down before him; his enemies will throw themselves to the ground.
The kings of Spain and of the islands will offer him gifts;
the kings of Arabia and Ethiopia will bring him offerings.
All kings will bow down before him; all nations will serve him.

He rescues the poor who call to him, and those who are needy and neglected.
He has pity on the weak and poor; he saves the lives of those in need.
He rescues them from oppression and violence; their lives are precious to him.

Long live the king!
May he be given gold from Arabia; may prayers be said for him at all times;
may God's blessings be on him always!
May there be plenty of grain in the land; may the hills be covered with crops, as fruitful as those of Lebanon.
May the cities be filled with people, like fields full of grass.
May the king's name never be forgotten; may his fame last as long as the sun.
May all nations ask God to bless them as he has blessed the king.

Praise the Lord, the God of Israel!
He alone does these wonderful things.
Praise his glorious name forever!
May his glory fill the whole world.

Amen! Amen!

54.4 The Kingdom Is Not Of This World; It is For Those Who Are Committed To Truth

(John 18:33-37)

  Pilate went back into the palace and called Jesus. "Are you the king of  the Jews?" he asked him.

  Jesus Answered, "Does this question come from you or have others told you about me?"

  Pilate replied. "Do you think I am a Jew? It was your own people and the chief priests who handed you over to me.  What have you done?"

   Jesus said, "My kingdom does not belong to this world; if my kingdom belonged to this world , my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish authorities. No, my kingdom does not belong here!"

   So Pilate asked him, "Are you a king, then?"

   Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. I was born and came into the world for this one purpose, to speak about truth.  Whoever belongs to the truth listens to me." 

54.3 The Kingdom Is For Those Who Are Ready

(Matthew 25:1-13)

"At that time the Kingdom of heaven will be like this, Once there were ten girls who took their oil lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.  Five of them were foolish, and the other five were wise.  The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any extra oil with them, while the wise ones took container full of oil for their lamps.  The bridegroom was late in coming, so the girls began to nod and fall asleep.

It was already midnight when the cry rang out, "Here is the bridegroom! Come and meet him!" The ten girls woke up and trimmed their lamps. Then the foolish ones said to the wise ones, 'Let us have some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.' 'No, indeed,' the wise ones answered, 'there is not enough for you and for us. Go to the store and buy some for yourselves.' So the foolish girls went off to buy some oil' and while they were gone, the bridegroom arrived.  The five girls who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast, and the door was closed."

"Later the other girls arrived. 'Sir, sir! Let us in!' they cried out. 'Certainly not! I don't know you,' the bridegroom answered."

And Jesus concluded, "Watch out, then, because you do not know the day or the hour."

54.2 For People Who Are Humble As Children

(Matthew 18:1-3)

At that time the disciples came to Jesus, asking, "Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?"

So Jesus called a child, had him stand in front of them, and said, "I assure you that unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the Kingdom of heaven."

54.1 It Is As A Mustard Seed And Yeast: It Grows: The Whole World Will Be Filled With The Spirit of God

(Matthew 13:31-33)

Jesus told them another parable:  "The Kingdom of heaven is like this.  A man takes a mustard seed and sows it in his field.  It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it grows up, it is the biggest of all plants.  It becomes a tree, so that birds come and make their nests in its branches."

Jesus told them still another parable: "The Kingdom of heaven is like this.  A woman takes some yeast and mixes it with a bushel of flour until the whole batch of dough rises."