Preach The Kingdom of Heaven is Near

The disciples were instructed by Jesus to preach the kingdom of Heaven is near



A Kingdom is a politically organized community or major territorial unit having a monarchical form of government headed by a king or queen.

Matthew 10:7,8
– As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near.' Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.

Matthew 4: 17
– From that time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."

Jesus begins his preaching ministry after he’s water baptized, baptized in the Holy Spirit and overcomes the temptations of the enemy.

Their are three things that should predicate an authoritative preaching ministry

1. Personal Repentance – Water Baptism is a symbolic event that demonstrates an immersion into Christ and a death to self and selfish desires. Jesus never sinned but was water baptized as an example to us.
2. Holy Spirit Empowerment – When we are Baptized in the Holy Spirit we are endued with power (dunamis) from on high to be witnesses for the Lord.
3. Walking in Victory – Jesus overcomes the temptations that he’s faced with. Hebrews 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

What’s the Kingdom of Heaven Like?

Of the 35 times the words kingdom and heaven appear together in the New Testament, 32 times they appear in the book of Matthew. Let’s take a look into the book of Matthew to try and develop our understanding of the Kingdom of Heaven.

1. Poor In Spirit
– Matthew 5:3
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

People who come to a realization that they are lost without a savior thus poor in spirit and come to saving faith in Christ will receive the kingdom of Heaven.
Ephesians 2:8
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—

Before a person can come to Christ they must see some kind of need. This need generally comes when they realize they are poor in spirit. They may be wealthy in other areas of their lives but people who are poor in spirit are never satisfied and always striving for something. When Christ comes in they find the life that is truly life.

The Law is very good at getting people to see their need. It crushes a person’s ideas of self righteousness and brings them to a place of realization that they are a sinner in need of a savior.
Let’s watch this video clip of Ray Comfort sharing the Law of God with a young man so they come to an honest realization that they are poor in spirit.
• Psalm 19:7
The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.

Watch this video now


2. The Persecuted– Matthew 5:10
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

• Persecution will come to the righteous.
• John 15:20
Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.

• 2 Timothy 3:12
In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
• The Persecution Curve


3. Taught by example– Matthew 5:19
Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
• Break and Teach commandments
– Least in the kingdom of Heaven
• Practice and Teach commands
– Greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven

• Jesus is saying here that what you do teaches others very loudly. What you do springs from what you are. We must allow Jesus Christ to have our hearts and lives so we become transformed into his image and likeness.


4. True Righteousness– Matthew 5:20
For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
• Righteousness that surpasses the Pharisees.
Leviticus 19:2
"Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: 'Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.
• 1 Peter 1:16
for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."

• Luke 18:9-14
– To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: 10"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.' 13"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' 14"I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."


• Self Righteousness will not allow a person to see the kingdom of Heaven.
– Isaiah 64:6
All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.

Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God
Jonathan Edwards
July 8th 1741
Your wickedness makes you as it were heavy as lead, and to tend downwards with great weight and pressure towards hell; and if God should let you go, you would immediately sink and swiftly descend and plunge into the bottomless gulf, and your healthy constitution, and your own care and prudence, and best contrivance, and all your righteousness, would have no more influence to uphold you and keep you out of hell, than a spider's web would have to stop a falling rock.

• Righteous By Faith

Romans 3:21
But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.

Romans 4:9
Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham's faith was credited to him as righteousness.

5. Pray for the Heavenly kingdom to take over the Earthly kingdoms– Matthew 6:10
your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
• Jesus teaches us to pray that the Kingdom of God would come.
– This can come in majesty and glory with the heavenly angels and the triumphal second coming of Christ.
• This is somewhat out of our realm of control
– This can come in our daily witness where the kingdom of God within our hearts expresses itself through words, deeds and attitudes. People around us surrender their hearts to the Lordship / Kingship of Christ as a result. This causes the kingdom to advance and thus take over the kingdoms of this world.

• The kingdom of heaven is a hidden kingdom now that will one day be revealed.

Colossians 3:3
For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

6. Obedience is a key to entering the Kingdom– Matthew 7:21
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
Obedience prompted by faith is a true measure of a kingdom person. Kingdom people will be about the business of the kingdom. They won’t be only talking about the kingdom they will be talking and working.
It’s important to not get faith and works reversed. Works without faith are dead just like faith without works is dead.


7. Heaven is not a birthright– Matthew 8:11,12 I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

Romans 9:30-32
30What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; 31but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. 32Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the "stumbling stone."

Jubilee Family Church