Will you please turn to the Gospel according to Matthew, chapter 24, verse 14?
And these glad tidings of the kingdom
shall be preached in the whole habitable earth
for a witness to all the nations;
and then shall come the end.
Let us have a word of prayer.
Dear Lord, as we gather here in Thy name, we believe that Thou art here in our midst. As we come into Thy presence, Lord, we want to open our hearts to Thee and say, “Lord, what hast Thou to say to us?”
Please speak to our hearts. We are here in Thy presence. We want to hear Thy word, and we want to follow Thee. May all glory be unto Thyself. In Thy precious name, amen.
Recently, I have been exercised before the Lord over one thing. I believe, brothers and sisters, we are all expecting our Lord Jesus, and we have been waiting for His return. But another year has passed, and the Lord is still lingering. I wonder, why is it so?
Before our Lord Jesus left this world, He told His disciples that He would come back and receive us unto Himself. Especially if you read the book of Revelation, when you come to the last chapter, almost the last verse, the Lord says, “Behold, I come quickly.”
But twenty centuries have already passed, and the Lord seems still to linger. I have been exercised before the Lord, and I wonder why it is so.
I feel the Lord has told me that there is one thing for which He is waiting. In Matthew 24:14, the Lord says that the glad tidings of the kingdom of the heavens shall be preached in the whole habitable earth for a witness to all the nations, and then shall come the end.
So I wonder whether this is the reason for our Lord’s delay. I believe our Lord Jesus is anxious to come back—much more anxious than we are. But why does He delay His return? Probably it is because the gospel of the kingdom of the heavens has not been preached to all the nations as a witness. Then the end shall come.
My burden at this time, with you dear brothers and sisters, is upon this matter of the gospel of the kingdom of the heavens.
When the Lord said that the gospel of the kingdom of heaven shall be preached through the whole habitable world, of course He did not mean that it would merely be preached. He meant that there would be people who respond to the kingdom of the heavens. If there is enough response, then the end shall come.
As we go back to history, we find that after Malachi and his prophecy, for four hundred years God was silent.
Even though at that time the Jewish people had returned to Jerusalem, the temple had been rebuilt, and temple service had been going on for years, yet there was silence.
I think it is a terrible thing when God is silent. The Bible says that our Lord is One who speaks. He is One who wants to reveal Himself to us. When He is silent, it is not because He does not want to speak to us; it is because we do not have the heart and ears to hear.
Think of that. For four hundred years He was silent, even though on earth everything seemed to go on as usual, as if His people were quite religious. Yet God was silent.
Then suddenly, one day, the voice of John was heard. John the Baptist came, and he began to preach. He said, “Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn nigh.”
Brothers and sisters, we know that the age of grace was ushered in by that preaching. Before this age, it was the age of the law. But God wanted to conclude the age of law and bring us into the age of grace.
What is it that introduced the age of grace? It is the gospel of the kingdom of the heavens.
Brothers and sisters, we know that we are now living in the age of grace. But is it strange to you to see that this age was actually brought in by the gospel of the kingdom of the heavens?
We think of grace as something free, something quite cheap. But the kingdom of the heavens is a serious thing. If law demands something of us, then the kingdom should have higher demands. How can something that has such high demands bring in the age of grace?
I think it is because of our misunderstanding. When we think of the kingdom of heaven, immediately in our minds there is a higher demand upon us. It must be higher than the demand of the law. So how can it be that the kingdom of the heavens introduced the age of grace?
We can see that God’s thought is completely different from ours. To Him, the kingdom of the heavens is grace upon grace. If we can really understand its meaning, that is what it truly is.
You remember in the Gospel according to John, chapter 1, verse 17:
For the law was given by Moses;
grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
We know that the law of God came through Moses, but the Bible tells us that grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. The word “came” here simply means that grace and truth were not known before the coming of our Lord Jesus.
It is through Jesus Christ that grace and truth were introduced to us, because He is the One who came to declare His Father. He is the representation of God the Father. It is through Him that we begin to know what grace is and what truth is.
So, brothers and sisters, I hope from the very outset that we need to change our mentality. Instead of seeing the kingdom of the heavens as something that has higher demands upon us, we must remember that the answer to the demand is grace.
It is true that it does demand more, but the answer to the demand is grace. When we see that it is grace upon grace, I believe it will give us incentive to press on.
We know that when John the Baptist came, he said, “Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn nigh.” I think this is a very strange statement.
To us, repentance means that we have sinned, that we have done something wrong before God, and that is the reason why we need to repent. But here the message is, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has drawn nigh.”
The reason for repentance is positive. It is because the kingdom of heaven is coming; therefore, we need to repent.
At that time, the Jewish people had already returned to the promised land. They had their temple service going on. It seemed that they were a very pious nation, and they appeared to be waiting for the Messiah to come.
But the reality was not there. When they heard that Christ had come, they were troubled. That proves that they were not ready for the Messiah.
That is the reason why they needed to repent. Their lives did not fit with the kingdom of the heavens. Because the kingdom of the heavens had drawn nigh, they needed to be prepared for it. The only way to prepare for it was to repent.
You remember how all the sinners came and were baptized, because the baptism of John is the baptism of repentance, as preparation for the kingdom of the heavens.
Then you find how the Lord Jesus came to be baptized by John the Baptist. John the Baptist recognized in Him a Man who needed no repentance. John himself needed to repent; he needed to be baptized by Jesus.
Yet the Lord asked John to baptize Him in order to fulfill all righteousness. In other words, when our Lord began to appear publicly and to begin His public work, He began by being baptized by John.
It was not because He needed to repent, but because He came to fulfill all righteousness. At that time this was the demand of God. He stood in our place to fulfill the righteousness of God and received that baptism.
After John the Baptist was taken into prison, our Lord Jesus Himself began His public ministry of preaching. When He began to preach, He said the same thing as John the Baptist: “Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn nigh.”
Brothers and sisters, why was this so? For John to preach that message was correct because Christ had not yet been manifested publicly. But for Christ Himself, who had come, to preach the same word—“Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn nigh”—why was it so?
Had not the King of the kingdom of the heavens already come? Why did He say that the kingdom of the heavens had drawn nigh? It was because He had no people. A king without people does not have a kingdom.
Our Lord Jesus came to find His people. But what did He find on earth? When you read the Gospels, you will be surprised. Why did our Lord always meet cripples, blind people, deaf people, and even the dead?
These were the people our Lord came to save. But there was not anyone fit to be in the kingdom of heaven. No one was qualified to be a citizen of that kingdom.
The Lord had to rescue some people until some people believed in Him. But merely believing in Him does not mean that they are in the kingdom of heaven.
Immediately after some people believed in Him, what did He do? He called for disciples. Only disciples who follow the Lord can truly be in the kingdom of the heavens.
When you read the Word of God, you come to Colossians 1:13:
Who delivered us out of the authority of darkness,
and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.
When we come to the Lord Jesus and believe in Him, what happens? Not only are we individually saved; individually we are born from above, individually we receive His life in us, and individually we receive the Holy Spirit dwelling in us.
But together, positionally, there is a position that He has given to us. Formerly, when we were in sin, we were under the authority of darkness.
Brothers and sisters, the people in this world think that they are free. They think they can do whatever they like and that they are their own masters. But the Bible tells us very clearly that they are under the authority of darkness.
They are not only sinners, but they sin because they belong to the evil one. They are under the authority of darkness.
Thank God, when our Lord Jesus came and saved us, He delivered us out of the authority of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of God’s love.
Brothers and sisters, do you realize that when you believe in the Lord Jesus, there is a wonderful position into which you have entered? He has delivered you out of the authority of darkness and translated you into the kingdom of God’s Son.
But remember, this is a position. Our position does not mean that we really possess it. Position is objective; possession is subjective.
Positionally, brothers and sisters, we do not belong to this world. We are out of the power of darkness. Thank God, we are in the kingdom of God’s Son. But experientially, we are not always so.
We do not really possess the kingdom. Not until we truly possess the kingdom do we become the people of the kingdom.
That is the reason why discipleship is so important in the Scriptures. Today we tend to divide believers from disciples, but in the sight of God these two things go together.
It is very true that practically they can be divided, but from the standpoint of truth they are together. Therefore, it is important for us believers that, as soon as we are saved, the call of discipleship comes to us.
When you believe in the Lord Jesus, you accept Him as your Savior. But when you truly accept Him as your Lord, then you begin to be in the kingdom of the heavens.
Unfortunately, most people divide these two things. When we are saved, we are so happy. We think it is the greatest thing in the world, and we think it is enough. But to God it is not enough, because He has something more glorious for us.
The call of discipleship is to all believers. The call of discipleship does not come to unbelievers; it comes only to believers. We are all called to be disciples of Christ.
After Peter, Andrew, John, and James believed in the Lord Jesus, as recorded in John 1, the Lord later called those who had believed in Him to be His disciples.
He said, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left everything and followed the Lord. Discipleship is essential to the kingdom of the heavens.
Now, what is the kingdom of the heavens? The expression “kingdom of the heavens” is found mostly in the Gospel according to Matthew.
There are only two places where a related expression can be found outside Matthew: one in the Old Testament, in Daniel 4, where Daniel says that “the heavens do rule”; and another in the New Testament, where Paul speaks of the heavenly kingdom.
But mostly you find it in the Gospel according to Matthew. If we want to know what the kingdom of the heavens is, we need to concentrate more upon the Gospel of Matthew.
The kingdom of the heavens simply means that the heavens rule. The heavens are not merely an abstract term, because the heavens here refer to a Person. They refer to our Lord Jesus.
In other words, the kingdom takes its character from the King. In this world, when you have a kingdom and the king rules over his people, his ideas and his character rule over his domain. Everything in his kingdom follows after him.
The kingdom of the heavens simply means that Christ is the King, and everything must fit His character.
Brothers and sisters, when we think of this, we realize what a great work the Lord has to do in our lives. So far as we are concerned, we have already developed a character, and He has to come in and change, as it were, our character.
I think there is nothing more difficult than changing a character. Yet this is what the Lord is doing with us. This is what the kingdom of the heavens is.
When our Lord Jesus came to preach, what was the gospel that He preached? The gospel He preached was the gospel of the kingdom of the heavens.
What did the apostles preach? They preached the kingdom of the heavens. On the day of Pentecost, when Peter and the eleven stood up and preached, Peter declared that God had made Jesus both Lord and Christ. This was the peak of his message.
When you read the book of Acts to its end, you find Paul in Rome, in his rented house, preaching the kingdom and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ.
But unfortunately, in church history, you find how the church began to fall. Even at the end of the first century, as you read Revelation 2 and 3, you find the seven churches in Asia Minor representing the condition of the church during that time.
Thank God, there was the church in Philadelphia, which was still faithful to the Lord. Thank God, there was the church in Smyrna, which was willing to suffer for the Lord.
But so far as the general condition of the church was concerned, there were many declensions among them. God had to use persecution to revive them.
That is why in church history you find ten Roman persecutions in which the empire tried to wipe out Christianity.
Then, at the beginning of the fourth century, Constantine appeared to believe in God, and he encouraged his soldiers to be baptized. If a soldier would be baptized, he would be rewarded with money and clothing.
When this happened, most people in the so-called church were not saved at all. How could you expect them to serve God? The environment forced the church to train special people to take care of the truths of God.
Gradually Christianity fell lower and lower. Even salvation by grace became unknown. The Bible was changed, and people were not allowed to read the Scriptures. They could only receive explanations from the priests.
Gradually the church fell. Not only was the gospel of the kingdom unknown; even the gospel of pure grace was unknown.
People in Christianity thought that they had to be saved by accumulating merit. Of course, most people could not accumulate enough merit to go to heaven when they died.
Only a few so-called saints were thought to have enough merit—not only enough merit, but excess merit. People were told that they could pray to these saints, and the saints would share some of their extra merit with them and get them more quickly out of purgatory.
That was the situation in Europe until the sixteenth century.
Thank God, in the sixteenth century, God began His work of recovery. He raised up people such as Martin Luther and John Calvin.
They began to preach salvation by faith. They also began to emphasize an open Bible, and the Bible began to be translated from the original languages into local languages.
But, brothers and sisters, even though there was such a wonderful recovery, somehow the gospel of the kingdom of the heavens was still unknown.
Not until the nineteenth century did people begin to recover the truth of the kingdom. Consider how the enemy had worked in the church. He tried to keep this truth from being known because, when the gospel of the kingdom of the heavens is preached to all the nations, then the end will come—and it will be his end.
Brothers and sisters, realize that for many centuries God’s people were in darkness.
But thank God, in the nineteenth century, He raised up people who began to preach the kingdom of the heavens. Yet even today, among God’s saved people, they have hardly heard of the gospel of the kingdom of heaven.
As a matter of fact, this truth has been resisted. When you try to preach the gospel of the kingdom of the heavens, some people think you are teaching a false gospel.
But if you read the Bible, you will find that this is the gospel. Of course, there is only one gospel, and that gospel is comprehensive. But the kingdom is its most important part.
The gospel of the kingdom must be preached throughout the whole habitable world as a witness to all the nations.
That is to say, God will raise up a people who are truly living in the kingdom of the heavens today. They will become a testimony to the nations that Jesus is Lord—not only Savior, but Lord.
This is not merely a theory; it is a living experience. It will have a spiritual effect upon the world, and these people will bring in the King again.
Brothers and sisters, let us see how important this is. The kingdom of the heavens is the gospel that brought in the age of grace, and it is also the kingdom of the heavens that will bring in the kingdom age.
How did God change the age of law into the age of grace? It was a great change. He did it by the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom of the heavens, because this truly shows us what grace is.
The more you know the kingdom of the heavens, the more you begin to know what God’s grace is. This is the kingdom of the heavens that brought in the King in the first place.
In the same way, how will God change this age of grace into the age of the kingdom? The kingdom today is hidden. So far as the world is concerned, they do not know it, but it is there.
One day it will appear publicly upon this earth. When Christ returns the second time, He will establish His kingdom upon this earth.
How does God make that change? You find that it is also related to the gospel of the kingdom of the heavens. Matthew 24:14 says that the gospel of the kingdom of heaven shall be preached throughout the whole habitable world as a witness to the nations, and then the end will come.
Brothers and sisters, the more you study the Scriptures, the more you realize how important the gospel of the kingdom of the heavens is. But today, even today, it is still neglected.
Let us return to the first coming of the Lord. What was the condition at that time? We have already mentioned that they were religious, but there was no reality there for the coming of the Messiah.
Even though the whole nation was waiting for the coming of the Messiah, every day a priest would offer incense in the holy place, and all the people would stand outside waiting. The priest would pray a national prayer: “May Thy kingdom come.”
They seemed to wait for the Messiah to come, but the reality was not there. Yet God did prepare some people who would prepare for His coming.
If you read the Gospel according to Luke, you find in chapter 1 how God prepared Zacharias and Elizabeth. God’s way is always higher than ours.
In Old Testament times, when you were pious toward God, God would bless you; and the blessing was often that you would have many sons and daughters. When a woman could not conceive and had no children, people regarded it as a sign that she was rejected by God, as though something must be wrong with her.
That happened to Elizabeth. Both Zacharias and Elizabeth loved the Lord and lived piously before Him, yet God shut Elizabeth’s womb. No doubt they prayed much about it.
I wonder, when Zacharias in his old age entered the temple to offer incense, what he prayed for. To have the privilege of burning incense at the altar was a one-time privilege. In his old age he received that privilege.
Of course, at that time you could not expect him to pray merely for his own son, because he represented the whole nation. He must have been praying for the Messiah to come. The Lord answered him: God would, through him, prepare a forerunner for the Messiah.
They went through situations that could not be explained. They would be looked upon as people whom God had rejected, yet they continued to be faithful. Through them God prepared the forerunner of the Messiah.
Then you find Joseph and Mary. They were both godly people, yet God chose Mary. Before they were married, the Holy Spirit came upon her, and the Holy One was born.
So far as Mary was concerned, that was the most difficult decision of her life. The people would not understand. They would consider her immoral, and she could have been stoned to death.
It was not an easy decision for her. When the news came to her, she said, “How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?”
Brothers and sisters, God’s way is mysterious. It was not only difficult for Mary; it was also difficult for Joseph. Do you think it was easy for Joseph to take Mary as his wife?
Being a righteous person, Joseph knew that he had to put Mary away. But he did not want to do it publicly. He was thinking of doing it privately, until the angel came and told him what had happened. Then he had faith to believe.
Brothers and sisters, you see what they went through. They went through serious discipline. They had to lay down their own lives for God’s purpose to be fulfilled. They were among those prepared for the coming of the Lord.
Simeon had received a revelation that before he died he would see the Messiah. When he saw the Messiah, he said, in effect, “Let me depart. That is enough. There is nothing better than that.”
Anna also faithfully served the Lord and received a revelation to tell the people about the coming of the Messiah.
Then you find the shepherds. We are told that they were not ordinary shepherds; they were temple shepherds, taking care of lambs that would be offered. They were very pious shepherds, and when the Messiah came, they were among the first to see Him.
As you read the Scriptures, at the coming of the Lord Jesus it was not the nation that was preparing for His coming. God chose a few to prepare for His Son to come.
This principle will be carried forward to the second coming of the Lord. We all seem to be waiting for the coming of the Lord, but actually we are often hoping that He will delay His coming.
But thank God, God is preparing a people—hidden ones, here and there—whose hearts are pure toward God. They are willing to give their lives to the Lord and allow the Lord to have His way.
These will be the people who truly prepare for the coming of the Lord Jesus.
In the New Testament, we find the principle of the overcomers. The church is supposed to prepare for the coming of the Lord, but when the church fails, God calls for overcomers among His people.
They are willing to give themselves to the Lord, live for the Lord, and testify for the Lord. With these people, the King will be brought in.
But how can we be such people if we know only the so-called gospel of grace? The gospel of grace that many people know today is cheap grace: “Everything is for me. Save me. Give me.”
We find that we are still living a self-centered life. We have not been fully delivered.
God’s purpose is that those whom He has called should be conformed to the image of His Son. Whom He called, He also justified; and whom He justified, He also glorified.
Brothers and sisters, we need to see that God has a higher purpose for us. Are we willing to respond to God’s calling?
In Luke 21, the Lord Jesus said, in verse 36:
Watch ye therefore, and pray always,
that ye may be accounted worthy to escape
all these things that shall come to pass,
and to stand before the Son of man.
Let us go back to verse 34:
But take heed to yourselves,
lest at any time your hearts be overcharged
with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life,
and so that day come upon you unawares.
For as a snare shall it come on all them
that dwell on the face of the whole earth.
This is negative. How we need to be saved from this world.
Then verse 36 is positive:
Watch ye therefore, and pray always,
that ye may be accounted worthy
to escape all these things that shall come to pass,
and to stand before the Son of man.
May the Lord have mercy upon us. We need to know what the kingdom of the heavens is. How can we today live in the reality of that kingdom?
Only those who today live in the reality of the kingdom will see the kingdom appear publicly upon this earth. Then they will reign with Christ for a thousand years.
May we be encouraged. I believe this gives us an incentive for our life today. We cannot simply live casually, having no difference from the people of this world. May we be a separated people and live for God.
May we pray.
Dear Lord, we do present this important message to Thy people. We pray that it will prepare us for Thy return.
May we not live carelessly, thinking that we are saved after all. Thou hast something much nobler and higher for us.
We want to live for Thee and to be among those who bring in the King. We ask this in Thy precious name. Amen.