Jesus and the Kingdom

Jesus came to save sinners; plain and simple.  That was His purpose.  It had been talked about, predicted, prophesied all through time, all through the Old Testament, that a Messiah would be coming one day.  Jesus did just that; and His purpose was to save sinners....said many times in the NT, but one place is 1 Timothy 1:15.

What Jesus talked about the most during His time on earth was the Kingdom, the Kingdom of heaven.  It is by being a part of His kingdom, where He is the king, that we receive the salvation that Jesus came and died for.  Here are a few things that He said about the kingdom:

Matt. 10:7    "The kingdom of heaven is at hand."
         13:11  To His disciples, He said, "..it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom.."
         13:24  In the parable of the wheat and tares(weeds), Jesus taught that good seed planted will bring    
                    forth crops and weeds.  At the harvest, the weeds will be gathered and burned, the crop will
                    then be gathered and stored.
         13:31  "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed...the least of all the seeds...but when it is grown
                    it.....becomes a tree.."
         13:33  "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven.."  A small amount has great effect.
         13:44  "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for
                    joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field."

And this is just a sampling of all that Jesus had to say about the kingdom.  But here is a key passage that Jesus said about the kingdom:  "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.  Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' and then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!' "

Much more can be said about the kingdom of heaven.  The main point is that we, as His people, need to be sure that we are a part of it.  Have a good week; may God bless you!