The Kingdom of God is Forever
Jesus teaches His disciples how to pray, when He was asked, and in Matthew 6:9-
13 He says “after this manner therefore pray you; Our Father which art in
heaven. Hallowed by Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done in
earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our
debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us
from the evil one, for Yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
forever, Amen”.
Many times through out the Bible, we are told that He is the beginning and the
end; and that He is the same, yesterday, today and forever.
Jesus began His ministry by saying “the kingdom of heaven is at hand; and He
taught many things pertaining to the kingdom of God. Jesus established that the
kingdom works by love (Matthew 22:37-40) “Jesus said to him, you shall love the
Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.
This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like to it, you shall
love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hand all the law
and the prophets”.
Jesus made us a promise that the gates of hell will not prevail against His church
(Matthew 16:13-19) “when Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, He
asked His disciples, saying, whom do men say that the Son of Man am? And
they said some say that You are John the Baptist, some, Elijah; and others,
Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. He says to them, but whom say you that I am?
And Simon Peter answered and said, You are the Christ, the Son of the Living
God. And Jesus answered and said to him, blessed are you, Simon Barjona; for
flesh and blood has not revealed it to you, but My Father which is in heaven.
And I say to you, that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church;
and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give to you the keys of
the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever you shall bind on earth, shall be bound
in heaven; and whatsoever you shall loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven”.
Once we accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we enter into the
kingdom of God (II Corinthians 5:17-21) “therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a
new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
And all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and
has given to us the ministry of reconciliation. To say, that God was in Christ,
reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them; and has
committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for
Christ, as though God did beseech you by us; we pray you in Christ’s stead, be
you reconciled to God. For He has made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin;
that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him”.
We are told that we are the body of Christ and that Christ is above all (Ephesians
1:20-23) “which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set
Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places. Far above all principality, and
power; and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this
world, but also in that which is to come. and has put all things under His feet,
and gave Him to be the head over all things to the church. Which is His body,
the fullness of Him that fills all in all”.
In Hebrews 12:22-29 the Bible says “but you are come to mount Zion, and to the
city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company
of angels. To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written
in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made
perfect. And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of
sprinkling, that speaks better things than that of Abel. See that you refuse not
Him that speaks. For if they escaped not who refused Him that spoke on earth,
much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from Him that speaks from
heaven. Whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying,
yet once more, I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word, yet
once more, signifies the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things
that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace,
whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our
God is a consuming fire”.
After the resurrection from the dead, Jesus declared that He had all power and
authority, then He commissioned us, His body to go out (Matthew 28:18-20) “and
Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, all power is given to Me in heaven and in
earth. Go you therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Teaching them to observe all
things whatsoever I have commanded you, and, lo, I am with you always, even to
the end of the age. Amen”. And again in (Mark 16:15-20) “and He said to them,
go you into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that
believes and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believes not shall be
dammed. And these signs shall follow them that believe, in My name shall they
cast out devils, they shall speak with new tongues. They shall take up serpents,
and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on
the sick, and they shall recover. So then after the Lord had spoken to them, He
was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. And they went
forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the
word with signs following, Amen”.
Notice that Jesus sent out His 12 disciples, and then the 70 others, and then us
who would become His disciples. However, He didn’t send us out alone (Acts 1:4-
8) “and being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should
not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, says He,
you have heard of Me. For John truly baptized with water; but you shall be
baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from here. When they therefore were
come together, they asked of Him, saying, Lord, will You at this time restore
again the kingdom to Israel? And He said to them, it is not for you to know the
times or the seasons, which the Father has put in His own power. But you shall
receive power, after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you, and you shall be
witnesses to Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and to the
uttermost part of the earth”.
We are given power through the Holy Spirit which came to live on the inside of
us, when we were born again. The Holy Spirit is there, but we must listen to Him
(Romans 8:14-16) “for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons
of God. For you have not received, the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you
have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit
Himself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God”.
Look at Paul and Barnabas how they followed the leading of the Holy Spirit (Acts
13:1-5) “now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and
teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene,
and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As
they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, separate Me,
Barnabas and Saul for the work whereto I have called them. And when they had
fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. So they,
being sent forth by the Holy Spirit, departed to Seleucia; and from there they
sailed to Cyprus. And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of
God in the synagogues of the Jews, and they had also John to their minister”.
We also see where Paul was not permitted to go certain places by the Holy Spirit.
Christ is the Good Shepherd and we are told to follow Him, remember that Jesus
is the word of God.
Christ is the head and we are the body. The apostle Paul reminds us to “follow
me as I follow Christ”. So our eyes must not look to man, but to Christ at all times.
Jesus teaches us in John 15:4-7 “abide in Me, and I in you; as the branch cannot
bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can you, except you abide
in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he that abides in Me, and I in him,
the same brings forth much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If a man
abide not in Me; he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered, and men gather
them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and
My words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done to you”.
For almost two thousand years, the devil has been trying to destroy the church
and the kingdom of heaven, but without any success. The devil came upon and
against the early church, to persecute and even to kill them, but the church grew
all the more (Revelations 12:11) says “and they overcame him (the devil) by the
blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their
lives to the death”. They were torn by animals, they were cut in two, yet they
witnessed and because they stood strong, many were added to the church. The
church went through the dark ages, where the Bibles were taken away from the
average Christian’s hand. However, God was able to preserve the Bible.
Even as Constantine made Christianity the legal state religion, some thought that
was a good thing, yet he forbid them from following the doctrine of Christ.
Everybody was ordered to become a Christian, yet they did not believe the
foundational principals; and the church was filled with pagan ideas. Even to
today the church is being persecuted, however, if we believe in the basic
principals of our faith, we can stand strong as the early church members. Just
knowing that Jesus said “the gates of hell shall not prevail against His church,
should make us determined to stand on His words. After all, the Bible says that
He never lied.
Study by: Harriet Bond
Date: November 1, 2011
Jesus teaches His disciples how to pray, when He was asked, and in Matthew 6:9-
13 He says “after this manner therefore pray you; Our Father which art in
heaven. Hallowed by Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done in
earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our
debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us
from the evil one, for Yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
forever, Amen”.
Many times through out the Bible, we are told that He is the beginning and the
end; and that He is the same, yesterday, today and forever.
Jesus began His ministry by saying “the kingdom of heaven is at hand; and He
taught many things pertaining to the kingdom of God. Jesus established that the
kingdom works by love (Matthew 22:37-40) “Jesus said to him, you shall love the
Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.
This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like to it, you shall
love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hand all the law
and the prophets”.
Jesus made us a promise that the gates of hell will not prevail against His church
(Matthew 16:13-19) “when Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, He
asked His disciples, saying, whom do men say that the Son of Man am? And
they said some say that You are John the Baptist, some, Elijah; and others,
Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. He says to them, but whom say you that I am?
And Simon Peter answered and said, You are the Christ, the Son of the Living
God. And Jesus answered and said to him, blessed are you, Simon Barjona; for
flesh and blood has not revealed it to you, but My Father which is in heaven.
And I say to you, that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church;
and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give to you the keys of
the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever you shall bind on earth, shall be bound
in heaven; and whatsoever you shall loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven”.
Once we accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we enter into the
kingdom of God (II Corinthians 5:17-21) “therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a
new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
And all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and
has given to us the ministry of reconciliation. To say, that God was in Christ,
reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them; and has
committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for
Christ, as though God did beseech you by us; we pray you in Christ’s stead, be
you reconciled to God. For He has made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin;
that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him”.
We are told that we are the body of Christ and that Christ is above all (Ephesians
1:20-23) “which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set
Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places. Far above all principality, and
power; and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this
world, but also in that which is to come. and has put all things under His feet,
and gave Him to be the head over all things to the church. Which is His body,
the fullness of Him that fills all in all”.
In Hebrews 12:22-29 the Bible says “but you are come to mount Zion, and to the
city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company
of angels. To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written
in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made
perfect. And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of
sprinkling, that speaks better things than that of Abel. See that you refuse not
Him that speaks. For if they escaped not who refused Him that spoke on earth,
much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from Him that speaks from
heaven. Whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying,
yet once more, I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word, yet
once more, signifies the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things
that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace,
whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our
God is a consuming fire”.
After the resurrection from the dead, Jesus declared that He had all power and
authority, then He commissioned us, His body to go out (Matthew 28:18-20) “and
Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, all power is given to Me in heaven and in
earth. Go you therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Teaching them to observe all
things whatsoever I have commanded you, and, lo, I am with you always, even to
the end of the age. Amen”. And again in (Mark 16:15-20) “and He said to them,
go you into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that
believes and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believes not shall be
dammed. And these signs shall follow them that believe, in My name shall they
cast out devils, they shall speak with new tongues. They shall take up serpents,
and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on
the sick, and they shall recover. So then after the Lord had spoken to them, He
was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. And they went
forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the
word with signs following, Amen”.
Notice that Jesus sent out His 12 disciples, and then the 70 others, and then us
who would become His disciples. However, He didn’t send us out alone (Acts 1:4-
8) “and being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should
not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, says He,
you have heard of Me. For John truly baptized with water; but you shall be
baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from here. When they therefore were
come together, they asked of Him, saying, Lord, will You at this time restore
again the kingdom to Israel? And He said to them, it is not for you to know the
times or the seasons, which the Father has put in His own power. But you shall
receive power, after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you, and you shall be
witnesses to Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and to the
uttermost part of the earth”.
We are given power through the Holy Spirit which came to live on the inside of
us, when we were born again. The Holy Spirit is there, but we must listen to Him
(Romans 8:14-16) “for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons
of God. For you have not received, the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you
have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit
Himself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God”.
Look at Paul and Barnabas how they followed the leading of the Holy Spirit (Acts
13:1-5) “now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and
teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene,
and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As
they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, separate Me,
Barnabas and Saul for the work whereto I have called them. And when they had
fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. So they,
being sent forth by the Holy Spirit, departed to Seleucia; and from there they
sailed to Cyprus. And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of
God in the synagogues of the Jews, and they had also John to their minister”.
We also see where Paul was not permitted to go certain places by the Holy Spirit.
Christ is the Good Shepherd and we are told to follow Him, remember that Jesus
is the word of God.
Christ is the head and we are the body. The apostle Paul reminds us to “follow
me as I follow Christ”. So our eyes must not look to man, but to Christ at all times.
Jesus teaches us in John 15:4-7 “abide in Me, and I in you; as the branch cannot
bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can you, except you abide
in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he that abides in Me, and I in him,
the same brings forth much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If a man
abide not in Me; he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered, and men gather
them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and
My words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done to you”.
For almost two thousand years, the devil has been trying to destroy the church
and the kingdom of heaven, but without any success. The devil came upon and
against the early church, to persecute and even to kill them, but the church grew
all the more (Revelations 12:11) says “and they overcame him (the devil) by the
blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their
lives to the death”. They were torn by animals, they were cut in two, yet they
witnessed and because they stood strong, many were added to the church. The
church went through the dark ages, where the Bibles were taken away from the
average Christian’s hand. However, God was able to preserve the Bible.
Even as Constantine made Christianity the legal state religion, some thought that
was a good thing, yet he forbid them from following the doctrine of Christ.
Everybody was ordered to become a Christian, yet they did not believe the
foundational principals; and the church was filled with pagan ideas. Even to
today the church is being persecuted, however, if we believe in the basic
principals of our faith, we can stand strong as the early church members. Just
knowing that Jesus said “the gates of hell shall not prevail against His church,
should make us determined to stand on His words. After all, the Bible says that
He never lied.
Study by: Harriet Bond
Date: November 1, 2011
