God is a grand designer. He is an expert in masterpieces. God is an impeccable architect. He is a perfect renovator.
Even when things are seemingly out of hand, this grandmaster called God almighty, will find a way out of the most complex situations or circumstances.
This God who is also the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, surely knew what to do when the Adamic project failed. His answer? THE KINGDOM.
The kingdom is God’s total answer to man’s total need. The kingdom is the absolute satisfaction for the absolute desperation of man. The kingdom is the integral solution to the totality of man’s need. The kingdom is God’s comprehensive response to man’s utter desperation.
That is why in Matthew 3:1-2 “In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
When John the Baptist started his ministry, he started it by proclaiming the kingdom. The reason is because as the forerunner to the New Testament ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ, he had been given the privilege by God to proclaim that dispensation which is to come. THE DISPENSATION OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD.
Though a forerunner, John the Baptist might not have known all the intricacies of the gospel of the kingdom. Yet, he knew that it’s going to be the focus of the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. To God, this was a major event. Not just in that Jesus Christ was born, nor in that he was about to start his ministry. What is of equally important significance is the message that the Messenger would carry. To God that message was extremely important. So he gave a foresight of that message to John the Baptist to proclaim ahead of the beginning of the ministry of Jesus Christ.
John could not have started his ministry with any other message apart from the message of the kingdom, for it was to become the central message of the New Testament. God had to see to it that the opening message to this new dispensation, lines up with his ultimate agenda for the earth. The gospel of the kingdom is an integral part of God’s redemptive plan for man. It is to become that total answer that God provided to the total need of man. Hence, it could not be mistaken by John the Baptist. His proclamation must be right, because it is the ultimate solution to the ultimate desperation of man.
- The gospel of the kingdom is God’s solution.
- The gospel of the kingdom is God’s answer.
- The gospel of the kingdom is God’s response.
- The gospel of the kingdom is God’s formula.
- The gospel of the kingdom is God’s pointer.
- The gospel of the kingdom is God’s clarification.
- The gospel of the kingdom is God’s interpretation.
The reason is because, it was the kingdom that was lost when Adam and eve sinned in the Garden of Eden. The reason is because, when men sin, we all come short of the glory of God. That glory is the kingdom. The glory departed, the kingdom departed.
Remember that it was only after the glory departed that Adam and Eve discovered their nakedness. It was only after the glory departed that they were chased out of the Garden of Eden. That glory was their covering. The same glory which is the light of the kingdom of heaven (Rev. 21:23).
Our whole problem is that kingdom departed from the earth. When kingdom departed, we got nakedness. When kingdom departed, we got shame. When kingdom departed we ran away from God. When kingdom departed we began to find ways to solve our own problems. Why? Because the kingdom of God was the total answer to man’s total need in the Garden of Eden. Just like the glory of God is still that total answer to heavens total need in the kingdom of God.
God knows that if the kingdom that was lost in the Garden of Eden would be restored back to the earth, it would again constitute a total answer to man’s total need. Even up till this day, God’s glory provides a total answer and solution to heaven’s total need. THE GLORY IS THE LIGHT OF THE CITY. That same glory is capable of been a total solution to man’s total aspirations, just like it did in the Garden of Eden. The kingdom is the glory.
Dear readers, I hope it would make sense to you why our Lord Jesus Christ had to start his own ministry with the same message as John the Baptist. It is the message of the new dispensation. In Matthew 4:17 the kingdom of God became the very first message in the ministry of our lord Jesus Christ. It became the centrality of His earthly ministry. 75% of Jesus’ teachings and preaching, were about the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is the in thing. Why the kingdom? Because the Kingdom is God’s total answer to man’s total need.
The essence of the kingdom message as preached by John the Baptist and as preached by Jesus is that, men should repent as a first step into forsaking their old sinful lifestyle. So that they could now step into a new life in the kingdom of God.
If I were to paraphrase the gospel that John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus Christ preached, “repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”. In my own paraphrase it would sound thus “Hello everyone, are you not aware that the kingdom of God is right here, near you? Rejoice, be happy, that which was lost in the Garden of Eden is here now. Begin to rejoice. Remember when it was lost in the Garden of Eden then all the problems came to the earth and to man’s life. You men of Israel, turnaround from your lifestyle, forsake your old lifestyle, repent and embrace God’s solution. The solution that was in the Garden of Eden that resolved all the problems of Adam and Eve is been returned to the earth to us. It is the kingdom, the solution is here. Forsake the old lifestyle, embrace the solution. The kingdom, which would become a total answer to your total need.”
When John the Baptist saw the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the lawyers, the soldiers and all those who were living a sinful lifestyle, he only had one solution for them. “Don’t you know? I have got good news for you, the kingdom of God is here, repent forsake your old lifestyle, I have good news for you, here is the kingdom. THE KINGDOM, IS THE GOOD NEWS”
The same thing with Jesus, when he started his own ministry, he proclaimed the gospel of the kingdom. So what is the gospel? The gospel in Greek means good news. So if it says Jesus preached the gospel of the kingdom, it means if we are to hear it in our modern English today, we would hear him say, “I have brought to you the good news of the kingdom”. So the gospel is the good news, the good news of what? Of the kingdom. The kingdom therefore is the good news.
The only thing God referred to as gospel in the New Testament is the kingdom, because that is where the good news is, that the kingdom that was lost in the days of Adam, has now been returned to the earth. That is the Good news that is the gospel. The good news is the kingdom. He called the gospel of the kingdom, the good news of the kingdom. So it is the kingdom that is the good news. Sometimes we think, any message is good news, but that is not how Jesus described the good news, that is not how John described the good news. They specifically said the gospel of the kingdom of God, the good news of the kingdom of God.
Every time you read the word gospel, it is always qualified. The gospel of what? Now that we know that the gospel means good news in Greek, whenever you read it, it means the good news of what? Each time you meet the word gospel in the New Testament, it is always qualified as the gospel of the kingdom of God. You always find that after the word gospel comes the word kingdom. Anytime the word gospel is used, it is always qualified. It doesn’t say the gospel of salvation, the gospel of faith, the gospel of prosperity, the gospel of healing, etc, it’s always the gospel of the kingdom. The good news is the fact that the kingdom of God has been brought back to the earth. That is the good news Jesus proclaimed, that is the good news John the Baptist proclaimed.
Friends, this is a big deal. If we don’t get this message we would never understand the Bible, especially the New Testament. But even more importantly, if we don’t get this message we would not be able to find answers and solutions Gods way. That is why most people who don’t know this message would believe in all kinds of deceptions. They would believe that their answer is in casting out demons from each other or in some generational curses or in weekly deliverance. People would look for answers in some very funny places, just because they don’t know Gods point of view and Gods provision to their total needs.
In actual fact though, God is such a caring God, he is such a master architect, a grandmaster that he had made provision for man’s total needs in one all comprehensive fashion – The Gospel Of The Kingdom.
The gospel is good news that the kingdom of God, has been restored back to us as God’s ultimate answer to our ultimate needs. In the kingdom of God we find peace. In the kingdom of God we find joy. In the kingdom of God we find righteousness. In the kingdom of God we find health. In the kingdom of God we find solutions. In the kingdom of God we find help. In the kingdom of God we find companionship. In the kingdom of God we find covering. In the kingdom of God we find love. In the kingdom of God we find hope. In the kingdom of God we find compassion. In the kingdom of God we find everything that a man or woman could ever be in need of.
The kingdom of God, is God’s absolute provision to your absolute needs. How do you make that to work for you? The very first thing to do to make the kingdom of God work for you is:
- To repent from your previous lifestyle and embrace the lifestyle of the kingdom. That makes you to become a citizen of the kingdom, with all the rights and privileges of a kingdom citizen.
- Once you embrace the kingdom, you are delivered and transferred from the kingdom of darkness and you are brought to the kingdom of light. The consequence of that is you are no more subjected to the forces of evil. They lose their grip over your life. You are henceforth covered by the light of the kingdom. You are covered by his glory.
- When you embrace the kingdom, the spirit of God comes to regenerate your spirit man. Your inner man becomes born again, making you a bona fide son of God. You become Jesus’ younger brother.
- Once you are regenerated in the kingdom, your spirit man is seated in the right hand of the father in Christ Jesus. Making you thereby to be above all principalities and powers. That makes you to be placed over all forces of darkness, henceforth Satan and his cohorts are under your feet.
- When you become a citizen of the kingdom, you should never make the mistake of thinking, that it is your good works that secured you the position. No! It is rather by grace through faith. Meaning that you sustain yourself in this kingdom by faith, rather than by works.
- As a citizen of the kingdom, you must now begin to value above all things your father son relationship with the heavenly father. The bloodline of this kingdom is your ongoing warmth relationship with your heavenly father. Your savior Jesus Christ and your companion the Holy Spirit.
- A major secret to success and victory in this kingdom is the knowledge of your right. You must know the truth about your kingdom citizenship. If you don’t, you shall be deceived by the enemy. When you know the truth in this kingdom, that is when you are free. When you don’t know the truth, you would still remain in bondage.
- Even though you are made righteous by the reason of your right standing with God, you can easily lose this standing when you don’t maintain a warmth relationship with the father through faith. For here the just shall live by faith. You only live in this kingdom as long as you maintain active faith. As long as you keep on believing and walking in faith. That is to say as long as you keep on believing God for the things not seen and accomplishing those things you still hope for, you are regarded as just. When you stop living by faith, you are no more Just and Righteous in this kingdom.
- Your daily aspiration should be to emulate and imitate your elder brother, Jesus Christ. When you fashion your life and your lifestyle according to the model that was laid down by Jesus, who was the first born among the brethren, then you can never fail.
- Only those who read the bible to better discover for themselves who their heavenly father is, in order to better reflect him on earth, live a victorious Christian life.
Unfortunately in the body of Christ today, people don’t seem to know that our living heavenly father has already made a comprehensive provision for our total need, through the gospel of the kingdom. The kingdom embraces everything. The kingdom supersedes all things. The kingdom is superior to all. The kingdom is more powerful than any other kingdom.
When the citizens of this kingdom however don’t recognize their right and privileges as citizens, they become subjected to the very same element of the world that they were supposed to be ruling over. Sons and daughters of the kingdom of God, debase their value, they debase their worth so much that they now begin to run helter-skelter in search of solutions for their problems, whereas their solution is in the kingdom. The kingdom is in the good news. The kingdom entails in itself answers to all things any human being could ever encounter on the earth.
That is why Jesus said the only thing worth seeking on this earth is the kingdom and its righteousness. When you do that, the kingdom on its own part begins to provide everything you ever need on earth. When you believe in the kingdom, the kingdom commits itself to you. When you are totally committed to trusting in the kingdom, the kingdom would commit to you her resources. When you trust in the kingdom with all your heart, the kingdom would back you up with her securities. The kingdom would back you up with her provisions. The kingdom will back you up with her solutions. The kingdom would back you up with her power and with all her possibilities.
Ladies and gentlemen, how I hope you hear me today. There is a total comprehensive solution we have been given by God to function on the earth. That comprehensive solution is what Jesus refers to as the good news. It is what John the Baptist called the good news. It is what the disciples preached. It is the gospel of the kingdom of God.
No wonder Jesus himself the head of the church, says he would not come back unless this gospel of the kingdom is preached as witness in all nations. Please take note that it is this gospel of the kingdom that must be preached before he could come back. Not any other gospel, not the gospel of benefits, not a fragmented gospel, not the gospel of blessings, it is rather, when this gospel of the kingdom that he brought is preached as a witness to all nations, then could the end come (Matthew 24:14).
The only gospel we are all charged to preach is not the gospel of salvation. It’s not the gospel of healing. It’s not the gospel of Prosperity. It’s not the gospel of blessing. Even though these are good things, but they are only benefits of the gospel. They are not the gospel itself, they are the benefits of the good news, and they are not the good news. The good news is that the kingdom of God has been restored back to us. We can now receive the kingdom of God in our hearts to receive a total solution to our total needs.
The kingdom of God that left the Garden of Eden is now within us, so that we might impose it upon every square meter of the earth. The kingdom of God has come to dwell in our hearts, so that we might establish it wherever we go in all spheres of human endeavor. The kingdom of God is in us, so we don’t need to run up and down for solutions and help anymore. The kingdom of God has to dwell in us, so that we could proffer solutions to all people that we meet without dragging them to a church building or a prayer meeting.
When we preach only the benefit of the gospel, as in the gospel of faith, healing, deliverance, prosperity, etc. We actually reduce the gospel because, we don’t proclaim it in its entirety. When we preach the benefits of the gospel alone, we reduce the kingdom only to a personal remedy and a selfish refuge. Anything, but not a total answer to man’s total need which God had intended it to be, that is why he called it the good news, because it provides total answer to man’s total need. It is an absolute solution to an absolute need.
If we preach anything other than the gospel of the kingdom, it means we don’t believe in the kingdom. We don’t believe in its entirety, we don’t believe in its all comprehensiveness, we don’t believe in its totality, we don’t believe in its finality.
Some Christians have turned the gospel and the church of the lord Jesus Christ into some kind of escapism, instead of us to boldly say, there is solution in the kingdom of God, we try to comfort and appease, adherents of our faith to simply endure till the by and by. Some simply sweep the needs of their adherents under the carpets, instead of presenting them with the kingdom in which there is a total provision for man’s total need.
Many preach the gospel talking about heaven as the only comfort for man, thereby propagating a solace in death as if our gospel is only relevant after you die. It is the direct opposite of Jesus’ excitement and attitude when he declared rejoice, be happy for the kingdom of God is at hand.
God wants us to return to that fundamental message of Jesus Christ and John the Baptist. The awareness of the closeness of the kingdom of God should be a thing of Joy to all. Whenever you as a kingdom carrier is close by, people should begin to experience joy because, the total answer is near. Whenever we open our mouths to speak, we should be full of confidence knowing that the total solution of man’s total need is in us.
There is no other gospel that the lord Jesus Christ recognizes than the gospel of the kingdom, it is the only one that would work, be effective and give true and sincere solution.
For this gospel to work for you however, you must dedicate yourself to it especially in all the ten points that were mentioned above. You must embrace this kingdom with all your entirety for it to work for you. When you are half committed to the kingdom, the kingdom is half committed to you, but when you are totally committed to the kingdom, you get the total commitment of this kingdom.
Those who think the gospel of the kingdom doesn’t work for them are right because it shows who they are and how committed they are to the kingdom. This kingdom would only work for those who are totally sold out to it. This kingdom would only work for those who know its essence. This kingdom would only work for those who work for it. This kingdom would only work absolutely for those who are absolutely committed to it. This kingdom will only work for those who are not working for the kingdom of God, 50% or even 90 %. This kingdom is a kingdom of absolutes and only an absolute commitment provokes an absolute reward. If your commitment to the kingdom is not absolute, then it is paralytic. The faith that must work in this kingdom must be total.
Dear friends, let your faith in the kingdom be total, let your belief in the kingdom be total, let your commitment to the kingdom be total, let your service to the kingdom be total. Your total commitment commands a total response from the kingdom. It is God’s total answer to man’s total need.
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, CHURCH AND NATION
By Pastor Sunday Adelaja.
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