Go a little deeper
Pastor Keith Kirkpatrick opens a series called "Kingdom: Here and Now" by arguing that the kingdom Jesus announced is present rather than distant. Drawing on dictionary definitions and the preaching of John the Baptist, he says a kingdom is defined by its king's word rather than popular opinion, and that John and then Jesus both called people to repent because the kingdom of heaven is near. Repentance is framed as ongoing change of mind rather than a one-time transaction.
The sermon turns to identity through Jesus' baptism and wilderness temptation: the Father's declaration of love came before any ministry, so the kingdom rests on whose you are rather than on proving yourself. From the Sermon on the Mount, Pastor Keith highlights the Lord's Prayer, Jesus' teaching that no one can serve two masters, and the command not to be anxious because the Father knows our needs.
The message closes with an invitation to repentance and faith, with hands raised and prayer over the church. Pastor Keith describes the kingdom as love rather than force and prays for renewal and for God's will to be done in Central Oregon as in heaven.
Take this with you
Repentance is ongoing change
Using the same message preached by John the Baptist and then by Jesus, Pastor Keith defines repentance as changing your mind about God and about how you live. He says it is not only a prayer at salvation but a repeated turning that continues, and he argues that where the kingdom is present there is change.
Identity precedes proof
At Jesus' baptism the Father speaks love before Jesus has preached or performed any sign, and the wilderness temptation immediately attacks that identity with a challenge to prove it. Pastor Keith contrasts the world's posture of trying harder with the kingdom posture of resting in whose you are as a child of God.
Anxiety and money compete for the throne
From the Sermon on the Mount, Pastor Keith treats anxiety as a kingdom issue: Jesus commands His hearers not to be anxious because the Father already knows their needs. Money is named as a rival master that cannot share the throne with God, and seeking the kingdom first is presented as the alternative to chasing provision on your own.
The kingdom is received through belief, not earned
At the close Pastor Keith returns to Jesus' call in Mark to repent and believe the good news, stressing that no preacher, parent or personal effort can save anyone; Jesus can. He describes the kingdom as love rather than force and says heaven celebrates one person who repents, emphasizing grace received through belief.
The conversation,
in their words.
Transcript from the recording’s captions. Select any timestamp to hear the original audio.
um super blessed well you're in for a treat today because we're kicking off a new series today which means if you're here you haven't missed anything and I believe what we're starting today is going to shift some culture in your heart in this church and in our community and I'm so super excited the series is called Kingdom everyone shout Kingdom Kingdom Here and Now didn't you just love that song that Brandon shared with us today Vapor that that life is so short why are you GNA wait for another day why not start living out God's kingdom now right here not another day not a better day there's no greater day than to take God serious than right now now I have a desperate
need to depend on God for this sermon so I'm tap tackling the most important topic that I could share with you and I have nothing to offer you I am not qualified to share with you what we're going to share I will simply share God's word and I'll pray that the Holy Spirit Will grip your heart on the seriousness of the subject but before we do I'm just going to ask you in your heart would you pray and ask God to speak to you would you would you just genuinely in your heart right now just invite God because one of two things are going to happen today one is you take God so seriously you cannot stay the same you will be transformed and changed by God himself because God loves you
that much yes God loves you so much your time will not be wasted taking god seriously or number two is you'll be distracted and you won't even know why you're distracted but it's demonic that the devil does not want you to take the kingdom of God seriously and if that sounds weird like the preacher getting a little weird talking about demonic uh I I would tell you there's an unse realm that's impacting your mind and your heart and if you don't start taking control over your mind and your heart and surrendering it to God you'll be fed something spiritual that's not of God you ever get sleepy in church that's
demonic I know it sounds funny but you got in front of you a preacher this ADHD dddd that's going to yell for the next 30 minutes you shouldn't be falling asleep but I'm telling you if you do we try to keep this place right below 32 degrees so that way you're awake I'm just asking you you work on this I can't do the work but you can Surrender Your Heart to the holy spirit so I'm going to pray but I'm going to ask you in your heart you can pray out loud if you want you can pray in your heart but just for just a minute let's just take God really seriously and ask him to speak to us Lord we just sing of your greatness of your glory of who you are that you are
holy that the Angels cry holy the very creation that you spoke into existence Cries Holy and now I just ask from the humility of my heart that that Holiness would be evident in this place that we would have a reverence of your Gra greatness and your glory that we would not take you lightly God for you are great you are glorious you are Majestic you are Almighty I pray that before you God we would take you so serious that we cannot stay the same that like Isaiah we we would say woe is me a man with unclean lips that we would allow you to purify us that you would touch touch us Lord with your holiness
show us who you really are may your kingdom be ignited in our hearts that we burn for you that our passions would align with who you are Lord forgive us where we've fallen short in this area as a church as a people we need you and we are desperate In This Moment For You Lord I pray for a spirit of repentance in this house that we are known for changing who we are to become who you want us to be we want to be holy because you're holy we want our kids to see the genuine gospel the goodness of Who You Are God show a generation the reality of who you are unlike any other generation may this be a Revival generation in jesus' name may
this be a generation that seeks you and finds you because they seek you with all of their hearts let it start with us God I renounce any lie of the devil in Minds right now that it's too late anyone that feels they've send too greatly or that too much has been done to them you're the great restorer the Redeemer you are the lifegiver speak to our hearts through your word I pray it is so living and active you can do what I could never do God speak to the hearts of those who hear and may your church have ears to hear today I ask in Jesus name amen and am well let me give you a little history
of why we're doing this series so that you would understand my heart leading into this summer I I thought we were going to do a series we did in 2021 called the elephant in the room it was a series we did in the the summer of 2021 where we address issues that are hot topics that often the church ignores and there's nothing too big for God that we shouldn't talk about or discuss and and so much has happened in three years I thought this would be a great chance to readdress the elephants in the room and as I was praying about that leading into this summer I kept thinking about these these topics and they're hot topics whether it be gender or sexuality or politics and all of these things you know these are
elephants in the room the church should be talking about but then I thought to myself I don't want to just talk about these things I don't want to just give you information of what we should believe we are definitely a church where we don't share what we're against we want to share what we're for but as I I thought about that I don't want to just preach to you I want us to be a church that puts this into practice are you tracking with me like if you come in here and all you get is information and you leave and the world stays the same what good is that if I load you up with information so you could debate with more people to tell the the world why we're right according to God's word because not a single word of this will ever fail that does no good the world
will not be saved through arguments or through great debates or through more information the world will be changed by the Kingdom so we're going to focus the next several months just leading into the remainder of the summer and it feels like it's almost gone we're going to just spend our time focusing on Kingdom what we ought to be putting into practice kingdom is a way of life that ought to be in the heart of every believer so what my focus will be on preaching is that the kingdom of God would be great inside of you Jesus preached about the kingdom Jesus would teach about the king Kingdom now what's the difference
between preach and teach preach is when you exhort when you bring inspiration to make the word of God come alive teaching is the ex of Jesus it's the explanation of the word we need both preaching and teaching and Jesus did both Jesus would tell Parables about the kingdom this these are fictional stories he he knew we are entertainment driven because we're made for imagination and so he would tell us these Parables these f stories about the kingdom most importantly about Jesus is he is the kingdom incarnate Jesus practiced the kingdom of God so we ought to do the
same I looked up the definition of kingdom so that we would have an accurate understanding the Oxford dictionary defines Kingdom as two things one is a country state or territory ruled by a king or queen number two is a spiritual Reign or authority of God the spiritual Reign or authority of God Miriam Webster dictionary defines Kingdom as number one a politically organized Community territorial unit having a monarchial form of government headed by a king or queen or number two they emphasize kingdom is often capitalized the Eternal kingship of God and the realm in which God's will is fulfilled so even dictionaries Define Kingdom as something more than just what we see on
the earth which by the way there are kingdoms presently all over the Earth I'm speaking of physical kingdoms that implies there is a king or a queen over a region or over a people so when we think of Kingdom we we must have some type of ruler or a king the the definition I'll just paraphrase for the sake of this series is kingdom is the way of the king the way of the king and I'm referring to King Jesus just to be really clear not a political leader not a person that we vote into Power let's be really clear that a kingdom is nothing like a
republic which is what we are familiar with I love the great nation that we live in God Bless America I absolutely love this nation this Republic where it's about the people it's for the People by the people that we actually get to determine who gets into office that we actually get to determine what happens in each particular state that but a kingdom is nothing like a republic a kingdom is ruled by a king a person's opinion does not matter in the Kingdom now in the Republic in which we live in we have a place of free speech which
is one of the many reasons I love this country we can say whatever we want to say and so many people actually think that their opinion matters but in a kingdom your opinion absolutely has no weight only what the king says and we can't view the kingdom of God with a democratic mindset that somehow through our prayers we persuade God or somehow through who we are that God's going to do what we think his will ought to be you you see democracy has a lot of problems and God knew exactly what we
needed and that is a kingdom theologians and Scholars would say the kingdom implies that the Lord God Reigns supremely over all he is Sovereign as the king Sovereign means in complete control he does not lack any control so often we think of Kingdom as something on the outside so if the Lord God is supreme over all the universe and all things the reason your body is even held together right now is because God is Supreme Over All We can miss what kingdom is because it's not on the outside as much as it is on the inside kingdom is allowing Jesus to be the king over all including what's on
the inside Supreme rule power and authority over your heart over your mind over your past including your present and over your future there's a man in the scriptures we read about named John Matthew introduces us to John right away in fact all four of the gospels that tell the life of Jesus Matthew Mark Luke and John all talk about this man John that W was was purposed to prepare the way of Jesus the prophet Isaiah would talk about this one that would prepare the way in the wilderness and here comes this man and he's extremely unorthodox he's not wearing religious robes he's wearing camel hair he's not
eating kosher he's dipping Locust into honey and and he's preaching a message and he's he's baptizing people to this allegiance of a new era of a new way that we're no longer going to do things the old way that God's doing a new thing and John the Baptist preached in Matthew 3 3:2 repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand it was a simple sermon repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand he doesn't go into detail of the 66 chapters of Isaiah he doesn't go back into the Torah and talk about the the laws and Commandments of God rather he gives a clear concise message repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand and he's pointing us forward to the
person of Jesus as people were baptized he was ushering in this era simply saying it's not even about me it's about the one that will come after me where he tells us in Matthew 3:1 John says I baptize you with water for repentance but he who is coming after me is mightier than I whose sandals I'm not worthy to carry he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire see normally in leadership especially when you're the the head leader the head honcho you're building something even if you don't articulate
it out loud you you would rarely say listen there is someone that will be a much better leader than I there's someone who I I shouldn't even tie his sandals let alone carry his sandals there there's someone who's coming after me that will do something I can never do and that's exactly the way John preached I want you to know someone who's unlike anyone else in fact he's so that he will do something that's not on the outside which is baptism the word baptism in the Greek is baptis it means to immerse underwater and John says there is coming one who will baptize you not on the outside but something's going to happen on the inside it's God himself and he's going to burn with fire he will consume you and here you've got this guy John
who who we could call the goat of preachers the greatest of all time and as he's preaching he's saying you've got to know there is someone that I want you to see so clearly because he will do what I can never do his baptism will be better than my baptism is not about me in fact he points us and says it's all about Jesus for the kingdom of God is not about being elevated it's about the essence of God in you and through you that when you know the kingdom you can simply say I don't deserve this I don't earn this it's not something that I did on my own I didn't vote this King into Power I get to be a part of his kingdom because he allows me to be a part of this Kingdom it's an honor to serve the king that actually made you the Creator
it's an honor to love the king that loves you with a lavish love it's an honor to allow God himself to come inside your life and change what needs to be changed to allow God now to lead you to guide you and to do more in your life than you could ever do on your own by the power of the Holy Spirit and John simply says that's who is coming that's who if we could put it in the present tense is here the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand simply meaning it's here it's here it's here it's here now people were awaiting the anointed one of God people were awaiting who the Christ would be people were waiting for a king that would flip upside down our understanding of a king that would lead like no other
king so many thought it would look political so many thought it would look like power so many thought this would come in force and then John the Baptist gets arrested we read this in the gospel accounts John is now arrested he's given the nickname John the Baptist for what he would be doing and after his his arrest we read in Matthew 4:17 from that time it's no longer about John from that time Jesus began to preach you get on the edge of your seat what would Jesus preach give us something if you're the Christ what are you going to preach Jesus and he would preach saying
repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand does that sound familiar today we would call that plagiarism hold up Jesus we've heard this sermon before I was just with John out in the wilderness I heard him preached this message before you preached it so did he steal it from you or did you steal it from him yes Jesus preaches a simple concise message about the kingdom aren't you glad that God doesn't
make things difficult he didn't come preaching a new religion you've got to understand all the rules and the rituals and then you get the kingdom Jesus didn't come preaching the government I want you to give me more taxes and then I'll I'll be a greater King no Jesus made it simple and he reiterated the message that John already prepared the way for repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand is here here we go you get the kingdom it's yours but first you need to repent now if the idea of repentance is new to you it is the kingdom repent means to change your mind to change your thinking the way you
thought God was you need to change that the way you thought you should live you need to change that in Mark's account in chapter 1 he gives us a little more detail and description of what happens in Mark 1 ver14 and 15 now after John was arrested Jesus came into Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God that's good preaching right there proclaiming the gospel of God now the gospel means what shout it out so gospel is good news and here's here's the preaching of the good news saying the time is fulfilled so what was written for so long in the prophets in the historical books the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand another translation would say the
kingdom of God is here Repent Jesus said and Believe In The Gospel so the gospel shout it out again what does it mean the good news is associated with the kingdom I hope you'll agree with me that this world could use some more good news Jesus said the kingdom is here and the kingdom is good news we don't need more Debbie downers we don't need no more bad newers out there we we need some good news and the good news is the kingdom of God you can't have one without the other you get the real gospel you get the real Kingdom you get the real Kingdom you get the real gospel too many associate Jesus with
religion that's not the gospel nor is it the kingdom Jesus says clearly in Mark 1:15 believe in the gospel he Associates the Kingdom and The Gospel to Faith it's what you believe in it's not the family you were born into it's not the church that you attend it's not even following the right rules and rituals it's about your belief what do you believe Jesus didn't say I just hope you'll be a good person and one day you'll get into heaven no Jesus asso IES the Kingdom and The Gospel to believing in who he is he is the king of all Kings and as we explore the kingdom of God we will understand greater what this is because of
Jesus he could not help but talk about the kingdom he would go on and say the Kingdom of Heaven is like the Kingdom of Heaven is like the Kingdom of Heaven is like he he just has to explode our understanding of of a republic or or or a kingdom on Earth and he would show us the Kingdom of Heaven is unlike anything we know and we've got to get to know what this kingdom is and Jesus tells us the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand meaning it's here what do you waiting for that's why we're calling this series Kingdom Here and Now it it's it's right here now see Jesus would explain his
behaviors by simply saying the Kingdom of Heaven is why I'm doing this see wherever Jesus went he would heal people and he would cast out demons and do you know how who had the biggest problem with that the religious and when they challenge Jesus on why he was casting out demons and how he was casting out demon and where he was casting out demons he simply said that's this is the kingdom where the kingdom is there cannot be a marriage of demons and God's goodness let me put it another way because some of us are scared of demons which you ought not be in the name of Jesus Christ sin and salvation cannot coexist in the same place so when you have the kingdom you
cannot have what you used to have which is why Jesus says repent repentance is required for the kingdom which means you're going to change the way you've done life repentance is a recognition that I am not God but I surrender to God repentance is saying I've been playing the king of my life and I'm done with that I'm going to align my heart with the king of all Kings repentance says not only do I need a savior I need a lord for my life are you still tracking with me so the only way to have the kingdom is to have repentance and repentance means change everyone shout change change so if you have the kingdom you have change so therefore and I'm going to let the Holy Spirit judge you on this one if you don't have change in your life you don't have the kingdom of God in your life some of you think that repentance
just happens at Salvation you believe in Jesus he forgives your sins you repent of those wrongdoings and then you just become a Christian and that can be true you ought to confess your sins the Bible says he's faithful and just to forgive your sins and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness yes that's how you get saved but you keep repenting and you keep repenting and you keep rep repenting and you keep repenting until one day we get to Revelation 21 and 22 there'll be a new Heaven and a new Earth and there's no need to repent anymore but until that day you need to change you need to change your thinking and I'll tell you the trickery of the devil are you ready for this the devil doesn't want you to have the Kingdom so he will trick you to not even think about the kingdom and if you're not
thinking about the kingdom you've made your own kingdom and do you know who's the king king of your kingdom you are you've become your own King it it happens so quickly the devil tried to trick Jesus as well but you can't trick the king who rules the kingdom in Matthew chapter 3 Jesus gets baptized by John which no wonder his nickname's now called John the Baptist you baptize Jesus you get that nickname John the Baptist and Jesus didn't get baptized because he sinned he got baptized as a foreshadow as a picture of what he would do he would be buried and he would he would be risen from the grave so it's a it's a picture of what Jesus did he died he rose from the grave
when he was baptized we get the image of a Triune God one God in three persons the son Jesus is getting baptized the Holy Spirit descends on Jesus like a dove and then the father our heavenly father speaks and says this is my son whom I'm well pleased could you just imagine that deep beon voice of Morgan Freeman speaking right over that baptism everyone hears this everyone hears it at this point no one has witnessed a sign or wonder from Jesus they've not even heard that preaching repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand and still the father says to the son this is my son whom I'm well pleased you can know this that God doesn't love
you because of what you do with your life but whom you believe in his one and only son so the father says this is my son then immediately after the baptism the Holy Spirit takes Jesus out to the Wilderness you really want to get to know God go to the Wilderness this is a metaphoric picture this is a place of desperation a place of drought and while in the wilderness Jesus fasts for 40 days and you know what the Devil comes and does he tempts Jesus the the first thing he tempts Jesus with is if you are the Son of God are you tracking with me God's already given his word you are my son and I'm well pleased with you now the Devil comes and says if you really are prove
it so so in the Kingdom of this world it's all about proving it it's a posture of trying harder but in the kingdom of God it's not about trying or being better it's about identity I know who I am because of whose I am I'm a Child of God not because of my good behavior I am a child of God because I'm a citizen of Heaven because of what was done for me by Jesus Christ on the cross that's Kingdom my king came and did what no other king would ever do my king came and served instead of being served he gave his life instead of asking us to give our lives my king laid down down his life so that I can have true everlasting life so the kingdom is not
about anything I could do so that when the Devil comes and tries to tempt me and says try to tell somebody else prove it that you love me prove it that you're loyal prove it that you this well and the kingdom is not about proving anything it's about the position that I am I'm a Child of God so if I serve God I don't do it out of obligation I do it because I get to it's not because I have to we're a get to church not a have to church I get to serve God I get to hold kids and pray over them I get to to to to lead these kids in a new generations that's going to be unlike any other generation we are a get to church because we're a kingdom church we change our thinking of the way that we understand things now some of us we have an understanding of God we have an
understanding of church we have an understanding of kingdom and this is where we got to keep repenting kingdom is not about us or what we've understood it's about the king and what he wants for our lives the Kingdom of Heaven is your purpose because you're created for the kingdom we know this in the very first book of the Bible in the very first chapter here's what we read Genesis 126 then God said let us so one God says let us Triune God the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit let us make man in our image after our likeness and let them have dominion man mankind have dominion over the fish of the sea over the birds of the heavens over the livestock and over all the Earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth everyone shout Dominion Dominion you are made for
Dominion because we have a king who has a kingdom and this King has dominion and he is supreme and Reigns over all when he made Man In His Image he says you're going to have that same dominion and authority over all the living creatures all the hunters said amen come on I should have got some more amens right over here this is the hunting section over here this is the vegan section over here we got the mix in between right here all right it's true there's like cultural how many vegans over here just H show hands I see that hand they're like a little embarrassed vegan and introverted listen sin entered the story by Genesis 3 sin
entered the story and you know what happened to Dominion instead of creation serving us we've served creation now we have to pull weeds with our hands now we have to labor to get what we need food prior to sin we had dominion over all everything was perfect but because sin into the story The Kingdom message that God created in us the king put in his creation which there's no other creature Like Us by the way way none you you could love the little creatures of the world but they do not have the soul and the spirit that God created in you meaning they don't need to repent you do we have to repent to align all hearts
with Gods so how do we do that well here's the key to repentance it's not about doing more or trying harder it's allowing more of the Kingdom in our lives and the more the kingdom is in you the the more the lies of the enemy disappear the more you go to the grace of God the more your sins are eliminated the more you have the kingdom inside of you the more you understand your king is the great provider of your life let me just give a little illustration Matthew 56 and 7 Jesus preached a most epic sermon it's a little longer than the first sermon in Matthew chapter 4 where he said repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is a hand now he spends three chapters some believe he spent three days preaching this powerful sermon Matthew 56 seven it's often been called The Sermon on the Mount we here he sits down as a teacher and he presents this great
sermon and he teaches us what the kingdom is let me just give you some sound bites from the sermon Jesus taught us to pray in Matthew 69-13 right in the middle of this sermon pray then like this says the preacher Jesus Our Father in heaven so we see it's not just my father it's our father he loves you like a dad Hallowed be your name you you should have a reverence for God he's holy and then Jesus teaches us verse 10 your kingdom come your will be done not one day not someday on Earth as it is in heaven so what would Kingdom look like look at verse 11 give us this day our daily bread it's provision verse 12 forgive us our debts as we've also
forgiven our debts this is Kingdom God will forgive you of your sins but you've got to forgive others as well you can't hold the debt of offense or something against someone when God's not going to hold it against you if you ask for forgiveness and then here's the key verse 13 and lead us not into temptation but Deliver Us from Evil or another translation says the evil one so therefore we see clearly that we ought to be praying because if God's kingdom is real the enemy wants to take it away from you through temptation he doesn't want you to understand the kingdom experience the kingdom and have God's will to be fulfilled in your life
now Jesus demonstrates this practically and he profoundly speaks into all hearts even today we have the same problems is when he first preached this message Matthew 6:24 Jesus continues says no one can serve two masters could you imagine if we tried to have two presidents of the United States of America it it can't work you serve one or the other there there can only be one master for either he will hate the one and love the other he'll be devoted the one and despise the other and then Jesus gets really clear here you cannot serve God and money or God and Mammon that which you think will satisfy that what you think you need now this is where it's like timeout Pastor here's where preaching isn't practical I need money to pay my bills I need money to pay my rent or
mortgage or whatever that is I need money to pay you fill in the blank your lavish vacation whatever that is money is the master of our day because you need money to do what you want to do is that true so even if you don't admit that money's my master Solomon says you know what man does man Works to die and if I could just paraphrase Solomon he says that sucks he uses the word vanity he says it's vanity meaning it's empty it's worthless what good is it just to work to die what good is it because here's the deal we think that if you're rich you'll be a posture position that you wouldn't be if you're not rich but here's the deal a lot of rich people are absolutely
miserable they still get divorced they still commit suicide they're still addicts they still have lots of problems so money is a terrible Master now Jesus is not saying money is evil he's simply saying you cannot serve both me and money if you really want provision what did he teach us to pray a few verses earlier give us this day our daily bread do you know where everything comes from the provider he's a god of abundance there's absolutely nothing that he won't hold back in his kingdom so Jesus goes on to explain and I'm going to wrap this up here I have too many pages to share with you right now Jesus goes on and I'm going to let let you read this and study it for yourself he says therefore in the very next verse you cannot serve both God and money says therefore I tell
you do not be anxious about your life do not be anxious about your life this is a commandment in the kingdom of God you're not allowed to be anxious so you got anxiety in your heart I want to warn you that's not Kingdom don't be anxious about what you will eat what you will drink nor about your body what you put on he just uses outside metaphors here you might say your rent you might say alimon your child's support you I don't know what you would say but is not life more than food and the body more than clothing then then he gives like a childlike illustration and this is perfect for the summertime because the birds are singing they're dancing there's love birds everywhere I love this time of year in Bend Oregon this is heaven on Earth some of you say heaven won't be
100° I say yes it will can't be hot enough I love it look at the birds of the air he says verse 26 look at the birds of the air just look look at them they neither sew nor reap nor gather into Barns and yet your heavenly father feeds them are you not of more value than they and which of you come on point to your neighbor and say you you which of you any of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of Life can we just get relentlessly real real quick there's no judgment here I I totally mean this in the last 24 to 48 hours the last two days if you've had anxiety would you just hold your hand nice and high up in the air I'm going to do it too okay look around with all the anxious people come on you're not adding to your life you're taken away science has proven are you
guys in agreement Jesus has something to say about this listen carefully verse 28 why are you anxious about fill in the blank clothing consider the lies of the field how they grow they neither toil nor spin yet I tell you even Solomon in all his glory was not a raid like one of these but if God clothe the grass of the field which today is alive tomorrow is thrown into the oven will he not much more clothe you and then Jesus connects belief to the kingdom oh you of little faith therefore do not be anxious saying what shall we eat or what shall we drink or what shall we wear for the Gentiles seek Gentile means pagans they're they're they're not believing in God they seek after these things they they they seek after Hedonism
pleasure the going after the things of this world hoping that it will satisfi but your heavenly father verse 32 says your heavenly father knows that you need them all so God actually knows you need rent money he knows you need what F in the blank I don't know what your need is or what you're anxious for but you know what fear is you're worried about something that hasn't happened and Jesus says your father knows it already and he might provide a little differently than you even thought he would provide you ever had that Miracle check com in you're like didn't see that coming it's a lot better when you've been praying for it because then you get to thank God for the answer prayer so here's what he says verse 33 come on don't miss this but seek first
the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you you seek after the kingdom you're going to be like a bird here's what I mean by that I've never seen a bird so stressed out they need medication they need a vacation from the other birds seriously you ever seen a stressed out bird just dressed like I need a bigger nest honey you're just not providing we need a bigger nest for more eggses they don't do it
and Jesus is saying listen just like they're not meant to stress about what's next you're not meant to stress and this is this is so countercultural because this is Kingdom but if you have Jesus in your heart he is the king and if you let him rule in your heart you choose this day will I worry and be anxious which is counter a kingdom and if I do I can't allow the kingdom to rule in my heart so let me just fast forward to where we started I'm going to go back to Mark 1:15 Jesus said the time is fulfilled right now you don't need to be anxious you don't need to stress here and now the kingdom of God is at hand
repent and believe in the gospel repent some of you been going to church a long time and you you don't even add that to your prayer Lord I Repent I'm sorry I've been dependent on my things I'm sorry that I've wanted my way I'm sorry that I've thought about the I'm sorry I've thought about people this way I'm sorry I said that I'm sorry that I I went into church without a greater expectation of more of you I'm sorry you fill in the blank I can't repent for you but I'm just you and your life should know that if I'm not dependent on the kingdom of God in my heart I'm dependent on something other than God it's here now I share all this and I'm just I got to say this believing that God will give you Revelation on this
Jesus is coming soon he always keeps his promises so why would you waste any moment not experiencing the kingdom of God which by the way has no anxiety has no stress no worry no fear is the number one commandment in the Bible do not be afraid do not fear it's a requirement to repent and surrender to the king I'm referring to Jesus if you've never done that before today your day there's no greater day to give your life to Jesus then today here's why the Bible does not say go get your life right first then you follow Jesus not true the Bible says if you believe you get the kingdom you get
salvation you're forgiven of your sins you're given the gift of eternal life you're given the hope of glory you're given the power of the Holy Spirit God himself the one that baptizes with fire praise God if you've not received that great gift of Grace today is yours you just have to believe a preacher can't save you a parent can't save you I even want to just tell you right now you can't save yourself but Jesus can he's a great Savior and when you allow him to be your savior you keep allowing him to be the king of your life you keep coming back to the king so I want to ask you if that's you today and you're saying I am so done living my life on my own I was brought here today to hear the word of God so that I would surrender my life to Jesus if that's you would you just throw
your hand up and say that's me yes I'm saying yes to Jesus I'm so done living my life on my own I want to just publicly profess it's no longer about me it's all about Jesus I wonder if that's you your heart is racing and you're saying I didn't expect to be changed today but I am I'm Changed by Jesus if that's you would you just raise your hand nice and high I just want to see who it is praise God man the Lord is so proud of you this is the day that shapes and shifts everything sometimes all it is is a moment that changes your whole Destiny but may I encourage you today you made for this you're a child of God a son of the king of all Kings this is your day that God says I love you I love you I love you says the Lord Almighty the one that put every
star in the sky knows everything about you he cannot love you more than he does right now please receive that God cannot love you more than he loves you right now he loves you he loves you that's Kingdom the kingdom is love it's not force it's not power it's love he forgives you because of love he gives you Grace because of Love is there anyone else today just raise your hand say yes that's me that's me I'm saying yes to Jesus it's right where you are you never have to be ashamed of this Grace it's so great anyone else come on somebody Jesus says there's there's more
joy in heaven over one sinner that repents than over 99 righteous who have no need for repentance do you hear that Heaven has a party over one person that repents not 99 people who come to church saying I don't need to repent of anything we all need some repentance right if there's something that comes right to your mind right now that you know you know I haven't given that to God I'm not passionate about that I'm not living for that I I want to do more if you know there's something in your heart you you should repent of maybe you've been following Jesus a very long time but you just you want to renew your faith today repentance for the kingdom of God would you just raise your hand say that's me I just I want a I want a renewed faith I want a passion for the kingdom I want God's fire to burn in my
heart I'm believing God's best over me my family I want God's Kingdom in my heart no more anxiety you see there's there's hands all over the room but there was a lot more hands that went up and said I've been anxious the last two days if you raised your hand and said you were anxious you ought to say I Repent of that today I want to replace it with joy with peace with patience I want to replace replace place that anxiety with faith right now so just in a posture of prayer Would You Close Your Eyes Lord I pray over your church for a spirit of repentance that you would replace whatever it is we're changing our thinking of and you would give us your kingdom your kingdom in our hearts God your kingdom and our lives deep deep down inside that there'd be no room for any lies of the enemy to say if you are but we would simply take out the word of God and with conviction
use your word as our weapon oh God I trust you today that you will have your will in your way through the church revive your church with a reminder of your word not a reminder Lord a conviction a burning I thank you for the young man that raised his hand and in the name of Jesus Christ I pray a blessing upon his life I pray your favor that the enemy would have no domain in his mind or in his heart but you would seal him with the guarantee of your Holy Spirit I plead your blood Jesus over one man that if he would just be on fire god the whole world would be changed I thank you God that all it takes is one that Lord we'd be willing like John the Baptist to say less of me and more of you less of me and more of
you oh let your kingdom come and your will be done right here in Central Oregon as it is in heaven it's not too much to ask because you taught us to pray you taught us Jesus forgive us where we've prayed small prayers forgive us where we haven't taken you at your word your word says that we should love our enemies pray for those who persecute us forgive us if we've condemned or shamed or acted like the enemy instead we want your kingdom let the least be greatest may we take the narrow Road may we sell it all and surrender it for that very Kingdom that's that seems to be hidden but it's right before our eyes may we go after the pearl of great
price I love you Jesus thank you for this time amen amen amen
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Repentance That Keeps Going
Both John the Baptist and Jesus preached that people should repent because the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Pastor Keith defines repentance as changing your mind and says it does not stop at salvation; it continues until the new heaven and new earth. Change is presented as evidence of the kingdom at work.
Matthew 3:2 · Matthew 4:17 · Mark 1:14-15
- What is one way your thinking about God has already changed since you first believed?
- Where might you have treated repentance as a past event rather than a continuing practice?
- How does Pastor Keith describe repentance as an ongoing change of thinking rather than a one-time moment?
Identity Before Proof
At Jesus' baptism the Father declares love before any ministry, and the wilderness temptation immediately attacks that identity with a challenge to prove it. Pastor Keith contrasts trying to prove yourself with resting in whose you are as a child of God.
Matthew 3:13-17 · Matthew 4:1-3
- Where does the pressure to prove yourself show up most in your life?
- How does knowing you are loved before you perform change how you serve?
- What did Pastor Keith say about serving God because you get to rather than because you have to?
Kingdom Provision and Anxiety
From the Sermon on the Mount the message cites the Lord's Prayer, Jesus' teaching that no one can serve two masters, and the command not to be anxious because the Father knows your needs. Seeking the kingdom first is set against chasing provision.
Matthew 6:9-13 · Matthew 6:24 · Matthew 6:25-33
- What recurring worry most competes with trusting the Father's provision?
- In what ways can money function as a master even when you would not call it that?
- How does Pastor Keith contrast seeking the kingdom first with being anxious about what you need?
Hearing the Call to Repent and Believe
The close returns to Jesus' call to repent and believe the good news, stressing that no preacher, parent or personal effort saves anyone. Pastor Keith describes the kingdom as love rather than force and prays for renewal and for God's will in Central Oregon as in heaven.
Mark 1:15 · Matthew 6:10
- What makes it hard to receive grace instead of trying to earn it?
- Where might God be inviting you to a renewed faith rather than a first-time faith?
- How does the closing prayer reflect Pastor Keith's explanation of praying for God's will to be done on earth as in heaven?
Answers from this recording
Start a conversation.
What does it mean to repent?+
In this message Pastor Keith defines repentance as changing your mind and your thinking: changing how you thought about God and how you thought you should live. Drawing on the shared preaching of John the Baptist and Jesus in Matthew that the kingdom of heaven is at hand, he describes repentance as a recognition that you are not God and a surrender to God, and says it does not end at salvation. It continues because it is required for the kingdom, until the new heaven and earth where repentance is no longer needed.
What would ongoing repentance look like in a season where you feel spiritually settled?
Why did Pastor Keith call the kingdom "here and now"?+
The title comes from the repeated preaching of John the Baptist and Jesus, recorded in Matthew, that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Pastor Keith reads "at hand" as present, not merely future, and says the kingdom is something to put into practice rather than only information to debate. In introducing the series he describes the kingdom as Jesus ruling over the inside of a person's life now, including heart, mind, past, present and future.
How would you tell the difference between kingdom teaching and ordinary information?
How does the sermon connect baptism and identity?+
Pastor Keith recounts Jesus' baptism in Matthew, where the Spirit descends and the Father declares Jesus to be His beloved Son. He emphasizes that this declaration came before any sign or preaching. Then the wilderness temptation comes as a challenge to prove that identity. The message applies this by saying the kingdom is not about proving yourself but about knowing whose you are as a child of God.
What would change if you treated God's love as settled before your performance?
What did the message say about anxiety and money?+
Drawing on the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew, Pastor Keith presents anxiety as incompatible with kingdom life: Jesus commands His hearers not to be anxious because the Father knows their needs. Money is named as a rival master that cannot share the throne with God; Pastor Keith clarifies that Jesus is not calling money evil but saying you cannot serve both. Seeking the kingdom first is offered as the alternative to chasing provision.
What response was invited at the end?+
The close returns to Jesus' call in Mark to repent and believe the good news, and invites anyone who has been living life on their own to say yes to Jesus. Pastor Keith describes it as a day to receive grace rather than to get your life right first. He stresses that a preacher, parent or personal effort cannot save anyone, and says the kingdom is love rather than force. Hands were raised in response, and Pastor Keith prayed over the church and the region.
