Today we are going to talk about what on earth God is doing. I know there have been a lot of changes going on at church and in our lives, but I also know that God is doing something great with each change and there is a purpose. We just need to understand God’s plan and what He is doing on earth, then we will learn how to be involved in His plan and do not need to feel uncomfortable when changes come. Today we will talk about three things. First …

I.     WHAT ON EARTH IS GOD DOING?

He is BUILDING A KINGDOM.

The Bible said that God is building His Kingdom on earth, and we need to seek Him first and His Kingdom. However, the concept of kingdom might be hard for us to grasp nowadays, because we’ve been living under a government that is governed by Republicans or Democrat parties. It’s not ruled by kingship. So we need to first understand what the Kingdom of God really is from the Bible before we know how to seek Him and His Kingdom. The scripture said that, “God's secret plan has now been revealed to us; it is a plan centered on Christ, designed long ago according to His good pleasure. And this is His plan: At the right time He will bring everything together under the authority of Christ - everything in heaven and on earth.” (Eph. 1:9-10 NLT) God’s secret plan regarding the Kingdom of God is revealed through Jesus. The Kingdom of God is to have everything brought under the authority of Jesus, and this Kingdom is composed of everyone who does God’s will. Where is God’s kingdom then? Is it at a particular church or at a particular location? It is actually at wherever Jesus is king! We actually became part of God’s kingdom at the moment we accepted Jesus as our Lord and King. It was written, “Jesus said, ‘My kingdom is not of this world.’” (John 18:36 NIV) Unlike any government or royal court on earth, God’s kingdom is the only one that lasts forever and overcomes any political or cultural boundaries. It is a spiritual kingdom. As we accept Jesus into our lives and invite Him into our hearts, God’s Kingdom is actually within us. Therefore, our hearts are very important to God.

A lot of us probably wonder when the end time would come and when Jesus is coming back. The Bible said that, “The Good News about God's kingdom will be preached in all the world, to every nation. Then the end will come.” (Matt. 24:14 NCV) It is a very important sign regarding when Jesus comes back. When God’s words spread all over the world, that is the time for Jesus to come back. God knows who is going to say yes to accept Jesus, so when the last one who will say yes accepts Jesus, Jesus will be back. But the Bible never tells a specific date and time when Jesus comes back. So it really depends on when God’s words spread all over the world. The faster this goal is attained, the sooner Jesus will be back! The delay of Jesus’ coming back is because evangelism must be completed first. God wants everyone to hear the Good News before Jesus comes back. So …

II. HOW IS GOD DOING IT?

How does God plan to build His Kingdom and spread the Good News all over the world so that it is known to everybody? God has planned to do it through us! If we want to see Jesus coming back sooner, we’d better speed up the process of evangelism.

He is doing it THROUGH PEOPLE.

God is building His Kingdom through us sharing Jesus with others. While God uses us in the process of building His Kingdom, He never abuses people. And He only gives this task to us as a privilege to be Kingdom builders. The scripture said that, “We are God's coworkers.” (1 Cor. 3:9 GWT) and “...God made peace between us and Himself, and God gave us the work of telling everyone about the peace we can have with Him... So we have been sent to speak for Christ.” (2 Cor. 5:18, 20 NCV) So we are here on earth to tell everyone about Jesus, which means that we have to include the ones we don’t like at all as our audience! You need to tell your lousy neighbors about Jesus, and also need to tell your unfriendly coworkers about Jesus. That is how God builds His kingdom, to have us telling everyone we know about the peace we’ve got from Jesus. The time you accepted Jesus was also the time you have seen the cross. You became a missionary once you have seen the cross and understand what this cross means to you. This will make you have the desire to tell people about Jesus. You don’t need to go overseas as a missionary. You are a missionary in your work and other places you are in right now. Nothing is better or bigger than God’s Kingdom. 

III. HOW CAN I BE A PART OF WHAT GOD IS DOING?

There are three things we need to do when partnering with God in building His Kingdom. Before we can tell everyone about Jesus, the first thing we need do in this partnership is to make God’s Kingdom our primary purpose.

1. MAKE IT MY PURPOSE.

It was written that, “God will give you all you need from day to day if you live for Him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern.” (Matt. 6:33 NLT) You should desire the advancement of the Kingdom of God above everything else, and put building His Kingdom as the primary purpose in life. This motivates us to tell people about Jesus. Let’s examine ourselves now and ask whether the Kingdom of God is what we want the most in life? I understand that there are distractions and worries in our lives so that we do not put God’s Kingdom as our top priority. A lot of us are probably struggling with security, success or finances and they have become our top priority now. However, those things are actually secondary. The primary priority should always be the Kingdom of God. And the truth is that if you put God’s Kingdom first as your top priority, God will take care of everything else in your lives and you do not need to worry. The Bible said that, “God's kingdom... is what God does with your life as He sets it right, puts it together, and completes it with joy.” (Rom. 14:17 Mes) We are all created for the Kingdom of God. When we put the Kingdom of God as our first priority, we give our lives to God so that we let Him set our lives right and He completes our lives with His joy. Only God can set our lives right. Thus, when we don’t put the Kingdom of God as our first priority, our lives will only fall apart and nothing is right in life. And the devil will come to steal and destroy the joy God has given us. Therefore, since we now know that God will take care of everything else when we seek His Kingdom first, let’s put God’s Kingdom as our first priority. While it may seem that there is happiness when you get a promotion or when something good happens but this happiness does not last. Only the joy from the Lord lasts forever. After you put God’s Kingdom as your primary purpose and priority in your life on earth, the second thing you must do is to pray for God’s Kingdom to be advanced.

2) PRAY FOR IT.

It was written, “May Your kingdom come and may Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matt. 6:10 NIV) You need to pray for God’s Kingdom growing and advancing. And I dare you to pray the most dangerous prayer, which is to ask God to use you every day to build His Kingdom anywhere at any time. God can use you in any circumstances; you just need to tell God that you are available for His work. When God uses you, the next thing you need to do is to share the Good News with people.

3) SHARE IT.

You already know how much God loves each of us and the Good News in Christ. So you just have to share this to people. You don’t need to know a lot in order to share the Good News. You don’t need to read the whole Bible first before sharing Jesus. You just have to share what you have received from Christ and how much He loves you and them.

Many years ago, I was with my friend Mike. He didn’t know Jesus yet. And I was thinking how he could get to know about Jesus. Then the Lord showed me that Mike could know about Him through me. So I started sharing with Mike myself though I was just a new Christian that time, because I had asked God to use me any time and anywhere. Do you know how much God loves you and everybody? Do you know how God forgives all our sins through Jesus’ salvation on the cross? Do you know God made everyone for a purpose? If you know all these, you can start sharing with people. But you have to remember not to shove Jesus down someone’s throat. You don’t need to force them to go to church. Since the Kingdom of God is within you, you are the church already. You just need to bring yourself to people, and go slow with whomever you share with because love is patient, kind and gentle. We have to be slow as it takes time for people to understand what Jesus has done. We might have a habit of wanting people to listen to us right away. However, that is not how it works when sharing Jesus with people. A lot of kids disappeared after high school because they don’t want to be forced to listen. So if we don’t want people to disappear before they accept Christ, we need to go slow and be patient with them while they still don’t understand Jesus yet. I had to be very slow with my friend Mike, too. We just need to captivate people’s hearts by loving them with God’s patience first when we share. And I thank God every day for Jesus’ salvation, that He brought Pastor Wayne into my life to share Jesus with me, and Pastor Wayne was very slow, patient and loving with me. He didn’t shove Jesus down my throat. If he weren’t slow and patient, I wouldn’t have known Jesus now. So let’s be patient and slow when sharing Jesus with others. Besides, you don’t need to panic, as you are not responsible for the whole world. You are just responsible for your world, which are the people you are close to. Your world includes the people you work with, your family, your friends and your neighbors. You just need to share as often as you can. There are two facts you need to know about before you share.

2 FACTS:

1. Everyone has a hunger for God at the deepest level!

2. Jesus is the answer to that hunger!

Everybody is wired to ask why they are here on earth. Some people answer themselves with success and money but there is still no satisfaction at the end. People often don’t show their hunger but they do have the hunger to know the truth! And Jesus is the answer to their hunger. Churches are vessels and it’s not about the titles, it’s all about having a relationship with Jesus. It’s the relationship with Jesus that satisfies the hunger for everybody. The scripture said that, “Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe.” (Heb. 12:28) Human governments will fall, human kingdoms will fall, and even the economy falls, but God’s Kingdom never falls. God’s Kingdom cannot be destroyed! It’s a privilege for us to be involved in building a Kingdom that lasts eternally. Before we end, here are some important questions I would like to bring up to you. What on earth are you doing for heaven’s sake? Who are you going to reach? Who in your world is not having Christ right now? Who is going to be in heaven because of you sharing with them? You are saved today because someone cared for you and invited you to Jesus. So from now on, let’s invite those who do not know Jesus by sharing with them. The Kingdom of God is different from any other kingdoms as it is the only kingdom where the King - Jesus, sacrificed Himself for His citizens. The book of Revelation showed us that there is going to be a big party in heaven worshipping the Lord. I am thankful that I am going to be in this party because Jesus is in my heart and saved me. But how much better it would be if we can take others to this party with us? Let’s put the Kingdom of God as our primary concern from today on as it is the only thing in life that lasts in the eternity. Let’s keep praying, sharing and giving.

“Unless you are born again, you can never see the Kingdom of God.” (John 3:3 NLT) Only those who accepted Christ and were born again in Him will get to see the Kingdom of God. For those of you who haven’t accepted Christ yet, I invite you to make a decision now. If you decided to open your heart and welcome Jesus into your heart today, you just have to tell Jesus in your own way, that you would like to receive Him into your heart, to receive a brand new life from Him, and let Him set your life right from now on. This is going to be the best decision you have ever made in your life. I pray for you and ask God to bless you who responded to Jesus. May God help you with your walk in Him; may He help you be a Kingdom builder and take care of everything you need when you have put His Kingdom above everything else. Amen.

Discussion Questions:

1. What is the Kingdom of God?

2. How does God build His Kingdom?

3. What are the three things you need to do to be Kingdom builders?

4. What is the top priority in your life right now?

5. Who are you responsible for in sharing Jesus?