Kingdom Kids: Learning to Live as Children of the King

How about we just pray and prepare our hearts to receive from the Lord today. Lord, I thank you that amidst all the things that are happening in this world, if there's one thing that's consistent and never changes, it's you. So, we just come before your presence right now and want to receive what you have for us today. I know you love every person here and I just come before you humbly and say, Lord, would you speak to our hearts today? I ask that your word would come alive and would go into the places that it needs to go in the midst of a a distractive start of their service. I just pray you'd free this place from distractions. And I just ask that God, we our focus right now and our gaze would be on you. Thank you even for that last song that we would turn our eyes towards you that nothing else would matter right now. So I pray that your kingdom would come and your will would be done right here just as it is in heaven. in Jesus name. If you're in

agreement, just shout, "Amen." Amen. Amen. Hey, if you brought your Bible, this is a good time to get it out right now. I want you to receive from God what he has for you. And I know with confidence God has a word for you today. He has a word for you today, my friends. Come on, somebody. He's got a good word for you. If you got your Bible, get it out. Get it out. Hold in the air like you care. Come on. Don't Don't leave me alone up here. We want to receive from the Lord today. Okay, no matter who you are, at the sound of my voice, even those watching by the way of live stream or listening right now, would you shout word on the count of three? Here we go. Word on the count of three. One, two, three. Word. We're getting into God's word. So God's word gets into us. Our theme this year has been kingdom come. We want to understand greater what kingdom is.

Jesus is the king and he has dominion over all things. Kingdom. What does it mean to allow Jesus to be the king of our lives? To have dominion over everything, our thoughts, our dreams, our our finances, our relationships. What does it look like to invite kingdom into our lives? And if there's one thing that will hinder you from the kingdom, it would be a mistaken identity, a wrong identity, a wrong view of who you are. And today I want to turn our attention to how to experience the kingdom by understanding who you are. Your identity shapes everything. What you believe shapes your behavior. So how you see yourself will determine what you experience about the kingdom. The title of today's sermon is really simple, but I need you to track with me here because it actually is lifechanging. It's just two words. Kingdom kids. Kingdom kids.

Kingdom Kids. Would you say that with me? Kingdom Kids. Now, give two people a high five and say, "You're a kingdom kid." Come on, somebody. You're a kingdom kid. Come on. Come on. Give a high five. Give a high five. Don't Don't leave me hanging. Give a high five. You're a kingdom kid. You're a kingdom kid. Let's go. You're a kingdom kid. It doesn't matter if you're eight or if you're 80. You, if you believe in Jesus, are a kingdom kid. I'm so grateful that in our Journey Kids church, we've got a movement of God happening right now in a way that three, four, and 5year-olds are not only believing in Jesus, they're empowered by the Holy Spirit. They're they're praying for their parents. Bold, powerful prayers. I mean there there is a movement of God happening in a

generation in a way that that's that's untangible like we we can't fully define it because God's doing it. I can recall my own childhood uh when I was a kid things just hit different. This is before the days of cell phones. I didn't grow up having an iPad. This is even long before the internet. There was no AI when I was a kid. I mean you give us a cardboard box, we could be occupied for hours. These were the days that you just played outside until the sun came down. These were the days of just dreaming dreams. I mean, you didn't even really watch that much television because if you turned on the TV, you had to just watch what was there. There was no streaming. You got 13 channels on this big box. And uh you knew when you were watching TV, which for every kid was Saturday morning. That was cartoons.

You just knew they were coming, but you couldn't watch them wherever you wanted. And then some transition happened in my life like most you transition from a child into adulthood. And you might think there comes maturity there. But I'll tell you what happens with adults. They get stressed out. They get worried. They get freaked out. And what adults typically do is what the Bible encourages us not to do is they bear the burdens of anxiety. Jesus says, "If anyone's heavy laden and burdened, come to me and I will give you rest." Yes. The Bible tells us if you got anxiety, you ought to cast it on the Lord because he cares for you. In Matthew chapter 18, Jesus is with his disciples. He takes a child, brings them in front of the disciples, and says, "You must be like a child to enter the kingdom of heaven." See, what Jesus said was shocking because 2,000 years ago in

the ancient Middle East, kids were to be seen and not heard. Kids did not have a proper place in society like we often see today with equality. In fact, Jesus said something so shocking. He said, "You to the crowd must be like a kid to enter the kingdom." Now, this is serious here because if you take Jesus teaching seriously, he either meant what he said or he didn't. And Jesus said, "If you want the kingdom, you must be a kid." He's not saying you've got to be childish. Meaning, if you want something, just have a tantrum and maybe your father in heaven will give it to you. That's not what he's saying. He's simply saying your relationship with God ought to be like that of a parent where you trust God. You turn to God. You

believe God provides for you. And you start becoming a kingdom kid where you start dreaming dreams again. you start casting off the worries of this world that you receive what God has for you as a father and you as the kingdom kid. So today I want to talk to you about being a kingdom kid. The text is going to come out of 1 Thessalonians 2 11-13. 1 Thessalonians is one of two letters that Paul writes to the Christians in Thessalonica. The Thessalonians, it's right in the middle of your New Testament. It's in a section of letters. 1 Thessalonians chapter 2:es 11 through13. If if you're able to, would you stand for the reading of God's word? We're only going to read three verses. And I want you to still revere God's word to understand what it means to be a kingdom kid.

Chapter 2 11 of First Thessalonians. For you know how like a father with his children, we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God. who calls you into his own kingdom and glory. And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers. This is the word of the Lord. You may be seated. Kingdom kids are called into the kingdom. This might sound obvious, but I need us to understand this today. To

recognize that our identity will be shaped on who you actually believe you are. If you don't believe you're a kingdom kid, you won't understand that God has called you to experience, encounter, live out his kingdom. Kingdom kids are called into his kingdom. Now if Jesus is the king of all kings, if he is eternal God and God stepped into the story of humanity, wrapped himself in flesh and lived a perfect life and is if he who is without sin went to the cross not because he deserved death but because he took your sin on the cross. If he died for every one of your sins, and if he was buried in a tomb, and if on the third day he defeated death, rose from the grave by the power of the Holy

Spirit, he did not do all of that so that you would just come to a church service. He did it so that you would experience the kingdom of God. And if you believe in Jesus, you have the king inside of you, which is the kingdom. Which means now you live differently, you walk differently, you talk differently, you dream differently, your desires are different because you have the kingdom. It changes who you are. And what Paul was writing to the Thessalonians at a time that it was difficult to be a Christian, he says, you were called into his kingdom and glory. Church, I'm here to tell you what was true 2,000 years ago is true right now. You come on, slap somebody and say you. Come on. You. You.

You. You were called into his kingdom and his glory. You were called into this. I don't know how you see yourself. I don't know what you believe about yourself, but many of us are believing the wrong things. And when we get into the word of God, we can have a right understanding of who God is so that we have a right understanding who we are. And the Lord is telling us today that you're not intended to live for this world. You're intended to live for the kingdom. In fact, you got to learn to preach to yourself, I belong to the kingdom. I belong to the kingdom. Say it with me. I belong to the kingdom. And if that's true and my dad is the King of Kings, I must be a kingdom kid. somebody that means my life's got to look a little different. That that doesn't mean

I'm just saved from my sins. We got to understand this. There's a lot of Christians just just have a limited view of what it means to be a Christian. That there are many people that would just say, you know, I I understand Jesus died for my sins and by believing in him, I'm forgiven. I have the gift of heaven. But you're not just saved from something, which you are. You're also saved into something. This is what shapes your identity. When you understand you're you're not just saved from your sins. Well, the Bible says now you're not just a you're no longer a sinner. Now you're a saint. That means you are holy. A saint means set apart. See, we have no problem saying I'm a sinner, but it's time to start changing that language. I'm I'm a saint.

I may not feel like it. I might feel like an ain't, but if I'm a kingdom kid, I am who my father says I am. I'm a saint. So I'm not just saved from something which I am. I'm saved into something which is the kingdom. So today I want to teach you two things from the text. One is I want to teach you what a kingdom life is like. Two is I want to teach you who a kingdom kid is so that our identity would be the same. And my aim is not that you would leave here and say, "Oh, that was a a cute uh clever title of a sermon or that's something I've heard before." I want us to believe this and live differently. I want there to be revival in our region because we actually are putting this into practice.

I don't want you just to come to church and look like a churchgoer. God has called us into something more. So point number one today we see in Paul's letter to the Thessalonians chapter 2 11 is the kingdom is relational. The kingdom is relational. The reason I point this out is for many of us who call ourselves Christians or we go to church, we we think of the kingdom or we think of Christianity as something that's religious. And it's understandable because there are many religions and Christianity will be lumped with all of the religions. But what we you see about the kingdom is it's highly relational. From the very beginning, God did not design us for religion. He designed us for relationship. In fact, Paul uses an example that we see in scriptures of our relationship with God. For you know verse 11, how like a father with his

children, he's speaking as a spiritual father to Christians, being the spiritual sons and daughters. Now, if I just take a pause here for a moment, he he's going to say some things about what a spiritual father does. Earlier in the same chapter, he referred to himself like a gentle mother that nurses her children. So we see here a relational aspect of the church of the kingdom. If we keep reading like a father with his children, here's what the father does. We exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you. We see three things here that spiritual fathers do. They don't just leave you the same. They believe God's best over your life. You see, earlier he said, "I'm like a gentle mother who nurses you." We need spiritual mothers and we need spiritual fathers. What we don't need is people

just to attend church and think that it's all about you. The reality is the kingdom is relational. We ought to be helping other coming alongside others. In fact, if we just look at those three things that spiritual fathers do, the first one is to exhort. What does it mean to exhort? It means that if you're heading the wrong way, I'm not just going to let you keep heading that wrong way. I'm going to exhort you. I'm gonna say, "Hey, stupid, come this way. you. I'm I'm going to say, "Hey, you're drifting away. You're not doing what God wants you to do." If we're going to have spiritual fathers and mothers in the kingdom, we actually have to love people enough to tell them the truth. We have to let them know there is a truth. We have to let them know that you have an identity and I believe God's best. Now, kingdom fathers, they don't just exhort. They also encourage. I know when my kids come

home and they say they had a bad day, I'm not just going to say, "Well, suck it up, buttercup." You know what I'm going to do is say, "I love you. Come give me a hug. It's going to be okay. You're going to have a better day tomorrow. Let's eat some ice cream. I'm going to encourage you. We We need some spiritual mothers and fathers to do a little encouraging in the house of God. Let let me just tell you this this world's got plenty of evil. But what the church really needs to do is step up and do some encouragement. We we got to let the Let me just testify for a moment. I can't share names because I've not been given permission. Uh we already had one service today, one of three services. By the way, we have a baptism tank today. If you've never been baptized, I want to encourage you to get baptized. And this this last service, I

preached the same sermon I'm preaching now, but a little bit differently. And uh people responded in different ways. And there was someone who got saved who came to church today. Uh there was someone who came to church today who uh got baptized. And he came to Journey Church because he met someone on a trail. Uh he met this person on trail not just once, not just twice, but three times. Uh, now this person said, "I don't think I would actually be here today had you not stopped, said hello, and prayed with me that day." Now, this person who stopped and prayed actually walked by and God put it on his heart that you need to go back and pray for that person. Do you know how weird

that feels to be on a trail to go up to a stranger and say, "I know I don't know you, but I just feel compelled to say hi. And by the way, can I pray for you?" That's called kingdom. Pastor Noah shared with us in January of this year, "I'm not crazy. I'm kingdom because I'm going to do things to the world that might appear crazy." And I tell you that story because friends, there needs to be some encouragement in this world. There are people that want to take their lives and they need to they need to know that God made you not to do that. That's not the best option. The best option is to know your identity. You're a kingdom kid. And so I I I'm just asking you, can we just start some encouragement in this place and and and what I don't mean in this place, I I mean wherever you go, the kingdom goes with you. Lastly, he charges them. That word speaks with authority.

It means to urge. This is what I do at every wedding that I officiate. There's a portion right at the beginning of the ceremony that I always put charge and it's the five to 15 minutes that I just look at the bride and the groom and and I point them to the reminder that this is a covenant and nothing is easier than saying words and nothing harder than living them day by day. And I try to charge them to say that marriage is God's idea. It's not man's idea. And I know they never remember what I say, but but it's always the it's it's the charge of saying th this is important. And so here you have Paul writing to the Thessalonian Christians and he's exhorting, encouraging and and charging and we we have a model here to understand that the kingdom is relational and this world can use some more spiritual fathers and mothers out there.

This is this is the relationship that we ought to have with God. In fact, when John tells us about Jesus in the book of John 1:12, he says of Jesus, he says to all who did receive him and believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. This is the posture of our relationship with God. Of all the descriptions God could give to us, he he doesn't describe himself as this distant deity that we just have out there that we have to obey. It's a beautiful picture of that of a father and a child. You're not a spiritual orphan. God loves you. He wants to come alongside you. And if you're a child of God that is the king of all kings, what does that make you? A kingdom kid.

And you're not just left to do things on your own. You have a God that cares about you. Jesus said in John 15:26, "But when the helper comes," this is one of the names of God. Aren't you glad that God's a helper? You see, when you have kids, they come out and they just want help. When they're really young and they can't even use their words, they'll just cry to let you know, "I'm hungry. I need to be changed." And the role of a parent is to be the helper. I'm not just going to let you sit in this. Not just going to let you starve. And we have a helper, Jesus says, whom I will send to you from the father, the spirit of truth, who proceeds from the father. He will bear witness about me. This is a perfect picture of one God in three persons. We have a triune God. This is called the Trinity. And Jesus says the purpose of

God is to be your father. And when you get to know Jesus, Jesus said, "I and the father are one." And the Holy Spirit's going to help you know who God is in that right relationship. Because many of us have a wrong view of God because we had a wrong relationship with our parents. And if you're not careful, you'll take that expectation of what happened with your parents and you'll put it on God and you'll think that God works that way. But our God is perfect. He never fails. He'll never break a promise. He's always good. So I want to point out three things that kingdom kids do according to our one God and three persons. Number one, kingdom kids listen to the father's voice. Kingdom kids listen to the father's voice. We see

this over and over in the wisdom of Proverbs. The description that Solomon says of the person that grasps wisdom is like that of a son that listens to the father. Proverbs 5:7 says, "And now, oh sons, listen to me and do not depart from the words of my mouth." That would be called exhortation. Don't depart from this. I'm giving you the truth. You're going to be tempted to do things your own way. But like a a a father to a son, God says to us not to depart from his ways. Similarly, Proverbs 7:24, "And now, oh sons, listen to me. Be attentive to the words of my mouth." We have the proclivity to listen to a lot of other things other than the word of God. And God is grabbing our attention saying, "Listen to my word." Proverbs 8:32, "And now, oh sons, listen to me. Blessed are those who keep my

ways." What a great God that he wants us to be blessed. And one of the ways you'll be blessed is to listen to the father's voice. This is why we make such an emphasis on this book because it's not just a book. God wants to speak to you. We can hear his voice through this book. When the culture says you ought to just do whatever you want to do, when the culture says, "Well, if you feel it, then it must be true." When the culture says, "Well, if the crowd's all saying it, then it must be true." We've got to understand as a kingdom kid, I do what my father says. Even if no one else is doing it, I want to do what God wants me to do because I want to hear the father's voice and I want to do what the father wants me to do. Kingdom kids listen to the father's voice. Second, kingdom kids follow Jesus. This may sound obvious, but if

you're going to follow the king, if you want to be a kingdom kid, you've got to follow the king, which is Jesus. Jesus in John chapter 10 referenced himself as a good shepherd. Not just any shepherd. He says, "I am the good shepherd." Then he goes on to say in verse 27, "My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me." There are too many Christians today that when we look at their lives, you can't tell the difference of those who don't believe in Jesus and those who do believe in Jesus. We we've got to be able to identify who are you following because we're all following something or someone. So, we've got to examine in our hearts who is leading me because who's leading you and who you're following is determining where you're going.

Kingdom kids listen to the father's voice. Kingdom kids follow Jesus. Third, kingdom kids are led by the spirit. Kingdom kids are led by the spirit. Let me just show some examples. Galatians 5 verse 20 or excuse me 16 says walk by the spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. The desires of the flesh are the things that you want to do that are contrary to God. And when you allow the Holy Spirit to lead you, the more you allow God to lead you, the less you do what you want to do and the more you do what God wants to do. You you don't just go after your desires, you go after God's desires. We got a great picture of this in Romans chapter 8, one of the greatest chapters that's ever been written in history. And right in the middle of this chapter, the author Paul is speaking. He gives us a picture once again of this triune God,

the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and how that makes our image as kingdom kids. Look, look what he says. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. Can we just stop there for just a moment? When you're led by the spirit, you know who you are. So the more you know who God is, the more you know who you are. Can I just give you the KIV version of this? That's the Keith International Version. It says, "All who are led by the spirit are kingdom kids." You know who you are if you're allowing God to lead you. Look at verse 15. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received the spirit of adoptions as sons. We could put it this way. You've received the spirit to be a kingdom kid. Not to go back to that adult way of fearing everything.

You know how many adults fear so much more than kids? They start freaking out about finances, about retirement. They start freaking out about everything that's on the news. I mean, we freak out about all sorts of things. Have you ever noticed that? You just watch the difference how a kid reacts to something than an adult reacts to something. adult sees a stock market drop and they see that red line go down like this and a kid's like, "Oh, pretty. It's going down." It's like, "Maybe we ought to just celebrate. Oh, Jesus is coming sooner. I'm going to need to trust in him more. There we go." In all seriousness, if you're going to be a kingdom kid, you're giving up your old life, being a slave to sin, a slave to fear. But now, by whom we cry, verse 15, we cry aba, father. That word aba is an ancient term for

a dad in your life. And some have said, well, aba means daddy. It means more than just daddy. It actually means I trust my dad. It means I do what my dad has to say. Have you ever watched a little child run over to a grown man's leg thinking it's their dad and they look up and realize it's not their dad? They don't stay clinging to that person's leg. They don't say, "Well, you're somebody's dad. You could be mine." No, they usually they release that leg and they want their abba. They want their daddy. Verse 16, the spirit himself. That's the Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are again kiv kingdom kids. We're children of God. And if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. You see, when you know your

identity as a kingdom kid, Ephesians 1 says, you've been given every spiritual blessing. So therefore, when I suffer, when times get tough, I don't give up on God as a kingdom kid. I go to God. I recognize that nothing is wasted with God. Even when I suffer, God can be glorified. Because if you forget you're a kingdom kid, you'll think this earth is your home. When the Bible teaches us this is just a journey. Don't get too comfortable here because it's a lot better somewhere someday. This is just preparing us for that day. And you don't have to wait for heaven to start experiencing heaven. But do not be mistaken. This isn't heaven. There's something so much better coming your way. Kingdom kids listen for the father's voice. They follow Jesus and they're led by the spirit. This is what sets us apart.

This is what sets us apart from the world. When Paul wrote this letter to the Thessalonians in Thessalonica, you've got to understand history in the context of who he's writing to. Thessalonica was a very important city. It was a port city, probably the most important city in Macedonia. So many people would not only come from the city, they would settle there. There was a booming economy. There was a a booming uh religious uh environment. It was a a city of Rome. So, they were advancing in all of the technologies. It it was there was so much happening there. when he writes to them, he says in chapter one of the Christians there, he says, "You turn from idols and instead you turned to serving the one true living God." He's recognizing it's not easy where you are to follow Jesus. Why wasn't it easy in Thessalonica? Because there were many loyalties to many different gods. It was

very normal in the Greco Roman world to have multiple gods. In fact, in Thessalonica alone, archaeology would support this that there were so many gods worshiped. Zeus, Apollo, Artemis, Aphrodite, uh, Demeter, Dianus, Capus, all of these Greek, Roman gods who functioned in a way the same way we have today. Zeus was the king of the gods. Apollo associated with prophecy, healing, and light. Artemis, the goddess of fertility. Aphrodite, the goddess of love. Uh, Dionis, the god of wine. Listen, today we say, "Well, we don't worship those gods." Yes, we do. They're demonic spirits that take you away from the one true living God. We have them right in our own region. We We can drive down the street and there'll be shops

where people rent these spaces and say, "You can get a spiritual experience. We can talk to the spirits. We can you can experience light in your life." All of that is is a fraudulent version of the one true God. And and so any counterfeit that sounds like the truth is not the truth. And so in the days of old, it would be named after uh Dionis, the god of wine. That same demonic spirit still exists today. It says that you ought to get drunk to to replace whatever is happening in your life either to numb your life or to feel good or to celebrate. This is debauchery. That spirit exists today. And the Bible says you're not created for drunkenness.

You're created for the Holy Spirit. Th this this is so important that you understand this identity because it shapes who we are in our region. We don't condemn those who struggle with these false gods. We actually want to liberate them and say, "I used to be like you. I'm a kingdom kid and you could be a kingdom kid. You could be set free from this false worship." Now, it wasn't just the false religions of the world that day. There was a a big imperial cult in Thessalonica. Here's it's a fancy way of saying the government was worshiped. You see, the Roman Empire was so extreme that Caesar himself required people to call him Lord. The Caesar himself thought he was a god. So the more loyal you were to the

Roman government, the better you were treated. Now, you need you to track with me here because we might say, "Well, that's so like antiquated or barbaric. That that's weird." What they were simply saying is the government is the one that's going to provide for my needs. The government's the one to save me. that if I trust in the government, everything will be okay. Does that sound familiar at all to what some people do today? This is the very thing that's happening in Thessalonica. And I need you to understand that the word of God is true and ought to be applied to our lives as well. So, what does a kingdom kid look like? I'm going to break this down for you. Kingdom kids walk worthy. Kingdom kids walk worthy. Here's what that means. We don't walk like everyone else, but rather 1 Thessalonians 2:12 says, "Walk in a manner worthy of God." Now, now the word walk is a metaphor for

life. As you're going about your life, live in a way that's worthy. I I need you to know what walking is not. Walking is not just a moment. Walking is not attending a church service. Walking is not an arrival. It's a journey in life. Just think about this. When you get out of bed, how do you get to your coffee? You got to get out of bed and walk. Once you've had your coffee, you got to walk to the shower. Once you're out of the shower, you got to walk to your car to get to work. This is the metaphor of life that while you're living in this life, do it in a way that's worthy. Now, that might sound simple, but I will just say this. In my experience, many Christians today are not walking worthy. They are completely asleep spiritually. It's time to get out of bed and live the life God has planned for you. You're destined for this. You're designed for this. In fact, Ephesians 2:10 says, "For

you, we are his workmanship." The word workmanship here is the Greek word poma. Some translations say, "For we are his masterpiece." You are. God made you. He loves you. And he did not make mistakes. There's no one like you. Even science would support this. You've got a unique uh thumbrint. You've got a unique DNA structure. God made you. And the Bible says he created you in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Every day when you wake up, God has a good plan for your life. Every day he's prepared for you something good. You may

not even know it, but God has something for you that is not for anyone else but you. And the kingdom is not proven by us coming to church. The kingdom is proven with how we walk on Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday. When Paul was in prison, of all the things he can encourage Christians to do, he says in Ephesians 4:1, I therefore, prisoner of the Lord, urge you, there's that word again. It's it's the same word that we saw in First Thessalonians. This is this is a a charge. I charge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called. You see, my friends, too many Christians don't remind themselves they've been called. If you believe in Jesus, you've been called. You have been called. Meaning, there is a high purpose for your life.

You're not meant just to coast. You're not meant just to to wander in this world. You've been called by God. God called you into something. He called you into something greater than yourself. Kingdom kids walk worthy. We don't walk like everybody else. Colossians 1:10 says, "Walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God." I can testify to this. I've been following Jesus for 30 years. And as I've been walking with Jesus for 30 years, I keep discovering there's more to know of God. It's awesome. I keep falling more in love with Jesus. The more you walk with Jesus, the more you realize there more is to know about Jesus and the more his

fruit starts to be produced in your life. Jesus says you could tell a tree by its fruit. A bad tree doesn't produce good fruit and a good tree doesn't produce bad fruit. When you walk with the Lord in a manner worthy of the Lord, you start producing the fruit of the Lord. That's the fruit of the spirit. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, self-control. A kingdom means this. If a kingdom life, if we're going to walk in a man worthy of God, we don't live like the world. That means we're holy in a corrupt world. That means we're pure in a lustful world full of pornography. Ain't nobody shouting, "Amen." That's because there's a conviction. If you're a kingdom kid, you don't live like the world. You can't just binge

watch any series you want on Netflix or Prime or Hulu or Paramount or HBO or whatever. Do you understand? If you're a kingdom kid, you don't have to live like everyone else. Just because you look at it and it looks good doesn't mean you ought to do it. A kingdom kid walks in a manner worthy. That means my money is not my money. God, I actually want to honor you in a world that's selfish. I want to see what you have planned for my life, God. And let me just tell you, he could bless you in your life financially. Nothing is wrong understanding that my life is God's. In a world that is offended and cancelled culture, I'm going to live out forgiveness. I'm going to forgive quickly. I'm going to love my enemies. I'm going to pray for people who persecute you. I wish somebody would get this and just shout, "Amen, because I'm feeling a little lonely up here. I want

to be a kingdom kid. Would you be my friend today?" Come on, somebody. Don't you love it? The kids just want to be friends with everyone else. The older I get as an adult, I realize I'm an introvert. I want to be by myself. That's not of God. The kingdom is relational. Today, when you realize kingdom kids recognize that this earth isn't our forever home, man, we're destined for something so much greater. Our citizenship is in heaven. You might be in this world right now, but the Bible says your citizenship is not here on earth. It's in heaven. You might live in this world right now, but this is not your forever home. You could be in this world, but you don't have to live like the world. You get to live out the kingdom in your life. But you've got to determine who you are. And if Jesus is the king of all kings, that means he still rules. I still get his spirit and I can have his

kingdom now, not just someday. I don't know about you, but I walk for the king. Friends, that word walk means I live my life. I walk for the king. Somebody say it with me. I walk for the king. Listen, the kingdom is not about shouting. It's about obedience. It's about the daily discipline of saying, "God, I want what you want in my life." Kingdom kids, we see in verse 13, receive and believe the word of God. Kingdom kids, receive and believe the word of God. Look, look what he says to them. I thank God constantly that when you received the word of God, you heard it from us. You didn't treat it like an ordinary book. You didn't treat this like the words of men, but you treated it for what it really is, the word of God. What he's saying is you didn't treat this like it's an opinion. You didn't treat this just like a religious book.

This is the divine truth of God that reveals who God is. And when you receive the word of God, God's word is activated in your life. And oh my friends, when you get God's word, every promise of God is yours in Jesus. He is the yes and amen. And so when you get in this book, you get to see what God has for you. You get to see the power and the authority of a believer's life. When we honor God with our lives, God will honor us. But if you have a weak view of the scriptures, you have a weak view of God. God can do anything. I love how Hebrews 4:12 reminds us, for the word of God is living and active. This book is alive. Amen. It's sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing the division of soul, of spirit, of joint, and marrow.

Discerning. Look at this. Listen carefully. Discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. The Bible is the only book that when you read it, it reads you. It discerns your heart and your thought. Listen, when you read the Bible, here's the good news about it. The Bible describes itself like a mirror. It's going to tell you what's already in your life. And if there's something that shouldn't be there, the Holy Spirit will reveal that to you. And now you have a choice to obey God and receive the word of God or reject it and keep living your way. But kingdom kids are transformed by God. When the word of God goes into your heart, it was the very first sermon that was preached in this kingdom series. The word of God goes in like a seed. But

seeds, when they go into the ground, they don't stay that way. They're meant to grow. It's meant to bear fruit. And I'll tell you, if you're uncertain of the Bible or you're you haven't opened the Bible in a while, it's never too late with God. The word of God convicts, corrects, heals, renews, transforms, strengthen. If there's one thing that I know the devil wants to do in your life is to distract you from this book. Because as long as you stay away from this book, you don't understand the power of God. We have a God that rescues, a God that redeems, a God that restores, a God that rebuilds. We have a God who by his very name said, "I am the resurrection and the life. Nothing is too hard for me." Thus says the word in the book of Jeremiah. He is the one that can still heal every disease. He can cast out every demon. He

is the one that is for you. And if he's for us, who could be against us? Oh, it's no wonder the devil doesn't want you to get in this book. Go ahead and keep doom scrolling. go ahead and stay away from God and you will miss that you are a kingdom kid. But when you know you're a kingdom kid, Romans 1 says, "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. For it is the power to save." It doesn't matter who you are, where you came from. God doesn't care what family you were born into, what school you graduated from. He cares about your heart. And when the whole world looks at the outside, God says, "I care about the heart." And we got to be careful because if we're kingdom kids, we can't take the Bible and edit it and say, "Well, I want this verse and this verse and this verse." That's why I call the Hobby Lobby life. But I tell you, you don't

get to pick which verses you want out of the Bible. You let the Bible edit your life. I'm going to take out this and I'm going to take out this, but I'm going to give you this and I'm going to give you that because God is for you. Jesus said, "The helper." He calls the Holy Spirit once again, the helper of the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name. He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Praise be to God that the Lord loves you so much. He wants to teach you. He wants to remind you who you are. In Psalm 119, you've got this epic description of God's word. And if you want to know how not to sin against God, store God's word in your heart. Let God teach you. How can a young man keep his way pure but to hide God's word in his heart?

You see, the word still works. Let me just say it again. The word still works. In a world of AI and the world's wondering what's going to happen in the future, let me just tell you, the word of God will endure forever. The grass will wither, the flowers will fade, but the word of God is still going to endure. This is a book you ought to get to know because as a kingdom kid, you can know God is still speaking and this is not the words of men. It's the very words of God. Second Timothy 3, Paul is writing to Timothy and he says all scriptures God breathes and it's not meant to be information. This is a book that according to God's word is profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, for training in righteousness that you, my friend, would be complete, equipped. Now you're going to do the good works that God has

planned for you. But if you're you're not in the word of God, you won't be encouraged by it. That God uses people like Gideon who thinks he's in the least of all the clans. And God says, "Yep, I could use you." God uses women like Rahab, who seems to be forever cemented in history as a prostitute, but is in the lineage of Jesus. I'm so grateful that God uses men, women, children, because he knows you better than anyone else. And what you've done in your life doesn't define you. God does. He died for your sin once and for all. He sees you as a kingdom kid. Come on, somebody. Kingdom kids want what God wants. And this is what we read in verse 12. This is what it's all about right here. You walk in a manner worthy of God. Here's

why. Because he calls you into his own kingdom and glory. Notice this. It's his kingdom and glory. It's his kingdom and glory. This is so important that you see this. Kingdom is the rule and reign of Jesus in your life. But glory is the presence of God. Glory is the awe and the wonder and the majesty and the might of who God is. He's eternal yet he meets you in the present reality. That will mess with your mind. He stands outside of time yet he's willing to step into your time. Just if you think about the magnificence of God. He is far superior than any ray of sunshine. He is far greater than anything we can see with our natural eyes. He is the one that made the cosmos and holds all of the universe together.

And he doesn't strain to do it because he's the sustainer. He put every star in place. And the Bible says he knows every star by name. He knows every one of the hairs on your head. They are numbered or the hairs that are not there. He knows it all. This God. Says you are called. You, my friends, he has called you into his kingdom. Not someday or another day. And glory. It's yours if you want it. The most astounding thing of all is that this infinitely glorious great God stepped into our story. God became a man, wrapped himself in flesh and made himself known. We call him Jesus Christ.

In the ancient Middle East, when he walked and talked in this world, he went by the Hebrew name Yeshua. And they called him Hamashiach means Messiah. He is the one. Jesus is the Christ that gives you access to the kingdom. He is the one that will rule and reign forever. This is not a fantasy. This is not fiction. It is the eternal reality. Kingdom kids want the kingdom life. Now, what does the kingdom life look like? All we have to do is look to Jesus. Kingdom kids want the kingdom life. That means you love your enemies. That means you forgive quickly. You pray boldly. You give generously. You worship passionately. You obey immediately. You pursue holiness because he is holy.

You want what God wants. And I'll tell you what God wants for you to reflect who he is. You're a kingdom kid. He wants you to reflect the father. You know what Jesus said of himself? He says, "I am the light of the world." Now, it'd be easy that most gods would say, "Yep, I'm out here and you're down here." But Jesus says, "I am the light of the world." And then he looks to you who believes in him. He says, "Now you are the light of the world." Hallelujah. You want to know how people know you're a kingdom kid? Kingdom kids shine bright. You ever hear those teachers that just say, "That kid's different. That kid sticks out." I always got that on my report cards. You know, when the teacher writes those things down, he's a great kid, but he talks too much.

You know, like like that kid's different. There's something about that kid. When God looks at you, he says, "There's something different about you." I want to close with this and invite the worship team up here. Jesus came announcing of all the messages he could say. He started with this and he ends with this. He starts with the kingdom and he ends with the kingdom. And Jesus said, "The time is fulfilled. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel." My friends, if you're here today and you're wondering, "Well, what does it mean to be a Christian? What does it mean to believe in? What is what does it mean to be a kingdom kid? You're you're saying all of this, but how do I do this? Well, Jesus made it really simple. Repent and believe. Repent means to turn to God. But it's really important that we see Jesus continued and said, "And believe in the gospel." So repent means you turn to God. But when you believe, you don't

keep going back to your old ways. It means your old identity is gone and the new has come. Where you were a spiritual orphan, you're now a kingdom kid. When you were addicted to sin and a slave to sin, now you are set free in Jesus. Where you were wandering and doing your own thing, what you were feeling, now by faith, you walk in a manner worthy of God. You see, when you repent and believe in the gospel, gospel means good news. It means God's ways are always good. They never stop. I want what God wants. Repent and believe in the gospel. And today, if you've never done those two things, I want to give you an opportunity right now. There's no better time. You see, the Bible says, "Today is the day of salvation." I I don't want to manipulate anyone in what I'm about to say, but I mean this with all seriousness. Life is short and you're going to die.

You don't know the day that's appointed for you, but just this weekend, I saw a 25year-old in Primeville that lost his life. You could be 25 or you can be 85. The reality is God does not want you to wait upon salvation. The kingdom is yours today, but you must believe. A preacher can't save you. A parent can't save you, but Jesus can. And I want to know if that's you today. You can make that decision right here, right now. You don't have to take a class. You don't have to have all the answers, but you do have to have Jesus. And when you have Jesus, from this day forward, it changes everything. You keep growing in the knowledge of God. You make Jesus your priority where you walk with him. You talk with him. Praying is talking and listening to God.

And I want to pray with you right now. And you can know this when you leave here as a kingdom kid. You could pray wherever you go. You don't have to say the right words or repeat words. God just wants your heart. He just wants you. Would you close your eyes? I want to just ask you in the seriousness of this moment, if that's you and you want to believe in Jesus, would you just raise your hand nice and high and say, "Yes, that's me today. I want to receive this gospel, this good news of Jesus." [music] Praise be to God. Yes. You keep your hand up. We're going to get you a little booklet that tells you about the best decision you've ever made. Anyone else today, right where you are, just raise your hand nice and high. Tell you, God loves you so much. He's been waiting for you just to say yes, to surrender your whole life.

You're never too old. You've never made such a mistake that God can't say, "I forgive you. I love you. You're now a child of the most high." So, anyone else today, just raise your hand nice and high. So, I need you to know when you say yes to Jesus, he himself says there's more joy in heaven over one sinner [music] who repents than 99 who need no repentance. God is so happy when you turn to him and trust him. Come on. If you've been living a life of depression, sin, evil thoughts, this is your day to separate from those and receive that. Praise God. I see you. Amen. This is your day. Praise God. Praise God. Anyone else today? Amen. Amen.

I want to pray with those of you that want that relationship. And let me just tell you, from this day forward, you can call yourself a kingdom kid. I don't mean that to be cliche or even cute. I mean it to be the reality of your identity. Right where you are, would you pray with me just out loud? Anyone that's ever believed in Jesus, let's join with those who are learning to pray for the first time. Lord Jesus, Lord Jesus, I believe in you. I believe in you. Save me from my sins. Forgive me, Lord. Forgive me. You are my king. You are my savior. I trust in you. I've received the Holy Spirit. Help me walk with you. Help me walk in a manner that's worthy. I am called into your kingdom. And your glory in Jesus name.

And now someone shout amen today. Amen. [laughter] Amen. Praise be to God.