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              Abouna Angelos
          Upper Room Fellowship
            The Kingdom of God
                2019-01-17


A kingdom has:

  - ruler

  - subjects

  - protected border (not easy to enter)


There are three levels of the Kingdom of
God:

  + earthly - sojourners, travelers

    - (1) within (individual)

    - (2) without (community)

  + (3) heavenly - destination


There are three corresponding types of
parables of Jesus:

  + Individual: e.g., the treasure in the
  field

  + Community: e.g., good servants and
    house steward, king and talents, king
    and feast

  + Kingdom to come: e.g., the dragnet,
  the 10 virgins


How to enter this kingdom?

  + When you want to enter a country, to
    immigrate, the country has customs,
    rules, qualifications for admittance.

  + “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His
    righteousness, and all these things
    shall be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33)

  + The kingdom of God is not eating and
    drinking, but righteousness and peace
    and joy in the Holy Spirit.
    (Romans 14:17)

  + Conclusion: The Kingdom of God
    requires righteousness which produces
    peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.


What is righteousness?

  - perfect standing with God, being just,
    or justified.

  - δίκαιος (dikaios, equitable in
    character or act, innocent, holy,
    just, meet, right, righteous)

  - tsadik (just, lawful, righteous).


How to be righteous?

  1. Kenosis (emptying) (confession of
     sins) + Theosis (filling with God).

  2. Be re-created. The earth was taho and
     baho (formless and void). You need to
     be recreated just as the earth was
     created, to have a clean, pure form;
     then to be filled with the Holy
     Spirit.

  3. Be born again of water and spirit.

  4. To be pleasing to the Lord. Are there
     those who are beloved but not
     pleasing? Yes, the prodigal son for
     example. The Father does not stop
     loving you because you sin. Therefore
     you ought to focus on your heart and
     your love for Him, before your works.


There are three types of works:

  + Works of the Law (failure)

  + Works of the Flesh (perfect failure)

  + Work of the Faith (God’s way)


Now that you are righteous, what?

  + If we live in the Spirit, let us also
    walk in the Spirit. (Galatians 5:25)

  + For those who live according to the
    flesh set their minds on the things of
    the flesh, but those who live
    according to the Spirit, the things of
    the Spirit. (Romans 8:5)

  + I, therefore, the prisoner of the
    Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of
    the calling with which you were
    called, (Ephesians 4:1)

  + If you love God and do all His
    commands, what then? “When you have
    done all those things which you are
    commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable
    servants. We have done what was our
    duty to do.’” (Luke 17:10)


Why would you be righteous, seeing as it
requires sacrifice?

  + What made Abraham attempt what
    purports to be homicide? Would you
    offer your son as a sacrifice?

      [God said to Abraham] “Abraham! ...
      Take now your son, your only son
      Isaac, whom you love, and go to the
      land of Moriah, and offer him there
      as a burnt offering on one of the
      mountains of which I shall tell
      you.” (Genesis 22:1-2)

    Abraham was to be the Father of a
    nation...

  + What made David attempt what purports
    to be suicide? Would you offer
    yourself as a sacrifice?

      Goliath stood and cried out ... “I
      defy the armies of Israel this
      day....” When Saul and all Israel
      heard these words of the Philistine,
      they were terrified and utterly
      frightened. (1 Samuel 17:8-11)

    David was anointed to be the King of a
    nation...

  + “Are you able to drink the cup that I
    drink, and be baptized with the
    baptism that I am baptized with?”
    (Matthew 20:22; Mark 10:38;
    Luke 12:50; Acts 1:5)


Next time, we will talk about the calling
of Nicodemus to baptism.