The 42nd Bible Study Meeting 5       This sermon is taken from the evening sermon on July 27, 2010 during the 42nd Bible Study Meeting for All from Home and Abroad.   Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the Lord said,  "I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them." But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.    (Genesis 6:5-8)       The Kingdom of Heaven and The Kingdom of God, Heaven, The Eternal Kingdom Let's take a look at Luke's gospel chapter 17 from verse 20.   Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, "The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, "See here!' or "See there!' For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you." Then He said to the disciples, "The days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. And they will say to you, "Look here!' or "Look there!' Do not go after them or follow them. For as the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven, so also the Son of Man will be in His day. But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. (Verses 20-25)   In this passage, the kingdom of God appears as a kingdom that is to be desired. Because it says that the kingdom of God is within you, one might mistakenly think that the kingdom of God, heaven, or the kingdom of heaven that we are waiting for does not actually exist. There are similar passages in other parts of the Bible. In Luke's gospel it says: "The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, "See here!' or "See there!' For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you." It talks about the kingdom of God. But in Matthew's gospel, it uses the expression "kingdom of heaven." The term "kingdom of heaven" usually only appears in Matthew's gospel. The "kingdom of heaven" that appears in Matthew's gospel may seem similar to the "kingdom of God" that appears in Luke's gospel. However, there's a difference. The "kingdom of heaven" is the kingdom that the many Jews were waiting for during the Old Testament times. The Jews living during the Old Testament times fought in many battles against enemies and were oppressed by gentiles; they were waiting for their Savior that would come to this world one day to rule over them. They were waiting for the Messiah that they would serve. They waited for the kingdom that the Messiah would rule. And this kingdom that they were looking forward to is recorded as the "kingdom of heaven" in Matthew's gospel. The "kingdom of heaven" is the thousand-year kingdom that Jesus will rule over on this earth when He returns once the history of the Church comes to an end and the seven year tribulation passes in this world. Jesus will come to this world and eliminate all the powers of mankind and rule over this kingdom. He won't be ruling from heaven, He will come to this world and rule. This thousand-year kingdom is recorded as the "kingdom of heaven" in Matthew's gospel. The kingdom that the Jews were awaiting is called the "kingdom of heaven." But in Luke's gospel, the term "kingdom of God" appears. Does that mean the "kingdom of heaven" and the "kingdom of God" is completely different places? If you read the two gospels, you may think these two mean the same place, and you become confused.Matthew's gospel is recorded in the point of view of the Jews, and Mark and Luke's gospel is recorded with the gentiles in mind. It is a bit easier to understand the differences if you are aware of this. Not only the "kingdom of God" and the "kingdom of heaven," but there are several other passages that are different between Matthew's gospel and the other three gospels-Mark, Luke and John. In Matthew's gospel it talks about the sheep wandering off on it's own, on the other hand, in Luke's gospel it talks about a person losing their sheep. There is the sheep that wandered off on it's own and there is the lost sheep. There are these differences in Matthew and Luke's gospel. As we read such passages, we are able to see that the gentiles were taken into a lot of consideration when Luke's gospel was recorded. The "kingdom of God" that appears in Luke's gospel is the kingdom that is being fulfilled within us. This "us" is just as it says in the Bible: "God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." (1 Corinthians 1:9) It is those who were "called into the fellowship." "Us" includes all the people how have the same faith who work together; all the born again Christians scattered throughout the world. Each part forms one body. It is referring to the Church that God sees, which is growing as one body. In Ephesians it says, "and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus." (2:6) This does not mean that the place that we live on earth is the kingdom of heaven. The passage signifies that we have this special privilege as people born again through the words of the Bible. Our lives that were lost in Adam are recovered and God acknowledges us. And our spirits are sitting in the heavenly place. This passage is talking about the position of our spirits. In the Bible it says, "Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment." (1 Corinthians 1:10) The Church is accomplishing these words and the kingdom of God is being fulfilled through the members of this group. The history of the Church is flowing in this world. And before Jesus-who is sitting at the right hand of the throne of the Father-leaves the throne and returns to this world a second time, the Church will be brought up. We will see the face of Jesus and later return to this world with him. At this time, the Church will come in a body not of this earth, but of heaven, and will live on this earth with Jesus. And this kingdom that is fulfilled within us is expressed as the "kingdom of God" in the Bible. It's different from the kingdom of heaven. Also, there is a place called "heaven" in the Bible. "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name." (Matthew 6:9) It says He is in heaven. In Genesis it also says, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." (1:1) In certain Bibles in English, it uses the expression "heaven and earth," and in other English Bibles it says, "heavens and earth." It says, "heavens." In the Bible, it also says that Jesus was in front of His disciples. And when He was taken up, there were clouds that received Him and He was out of their sight. (See Acts 1:9) And it also says that Jesus sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (See Hebrews 12:2) We may think that "heaven" exists in some kind of spiritual world; however, the Bible tells us that it is a world that actually exists. And that is heaven. Just as it says, "He stretches out the north over empty space; He hangs the earth on nothing," (Job 26:7) somewhere beyond the vast empty space in the north, there is a place that we can't comprehend with our own imagination. People do not believe in this because they can't see it with their eyes. But through the Bible, we believe that this place exists. We didn't force ourselves to believe this; we naturally came to accept this because we've come to believe in the Bible.  In Second Peter it also talks about an "everlasting kingdom." It says: "an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." (2 Peter 1:11) When the elements of heaven and earth dissolve and all of God's creation is unified as one-when this earth and the many planets visible in the evening sky become one-there is another kingdom that emerges. That place is the everlasting kingdom.   Jesus Who Speaks to Him Who Has Ears to HearEarlier in Luke's gospel chapter 17, we read about the Pharisees asking about the "kingdom of God." And Jesus said, "nor will they say, "See here!' or "See there!' For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you." He explained the mystery that would be revealed in history; the history that would be fulfilled. It is also recorded in the book of Acts that after Jesus resurrected and appeared in front of His disciples, He stayed with them for forty days explaining the kingdom of God in detail. (See Acts 1:3)Let's take a look at the next passage.   Then He said to the disciples, "The days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it." (Luke 17:22)   Since it says, "the days will come," it's not a matter of hastily thinking that it's close to the time when the kingdom of God is coming. First, it's important to think about the gospel being spread to many people during the times that we live and experience being born again through the words of the Bible. It's important for this truth to be fulfilled within us. And then when it says, "the days will come," when the truth is ripe, it says that the time will come when Jesus comes to this world. It says, "The days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it." Here it talks about "the days of the Son of Man." In the Bible, there are many times where Jesus appears to give an odd answer. It would be nice if He gave clear answers to questions, but that isn't the case. Man wants to satisfy their own curiosities so they asked Jesus all sorts of questions, however, Jesus spoke to them in God's point of view and told them things that mankind must hear. When we see how Jesus communicated with His disciples, I often think: "Is this really talking about someone else who has nothing to do with him?" Let's think about what we ask from God as born again Christians. We pray when we face hardships and feel frustrated. But the answers to our prayers don't appear immediately. Although we seek God because we desire something in our hearts, in a lot cases it takes a long time to receive an answer and we may go through many experiences and the answer we receive may not be what we were hoping to hear. In the Bible it says, "For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him." (Matthew 6:8) We pray to God in our own thoughts even though we don't know what will happen a second later. But God who knows everything doesn't answer our prays with something to fulfill our desires. He answers in a way that pleases Him; what we need in His eyes. In this manner, Jesus doesn't answer the questions of mankind as if it's some kind of math equation adding one plus one and answering two. He's explained things to those who have the ears to listen. As we keep Jesus in our hearts as we live our lives and read these kinds of passages, we are able to change our hasty hearts as we think about the manner in which Jesus speaks to us. This is the same for those who aren't born again yet. One might pray: "Although I've been listening to the words of the Bible for a very long time I haven't been able to experience salvation. Why aren't you giving it to me?" Just because one prays with a desperate heart, that doesn't mean God will suddenly say, "Ok. I will give it to you today." It doesn't work that way. It's not that God doesn't hear that kind of prayer. Although God is aware of the prayer of the sinner calling out to Him, He searches where his heart lies. Then God guides our hearts in any possible means and fulfills what we need within us.  In the Bible, there is a passage that says: "I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones." (Isaiah 57:15) There were many times that I thought I should be humble while reading this passage. I seriously started worrying about my spiritual state since middle school, but I was born again when I had become a college student. Because a lot of time had passed since then that time period doesn't seem that long, however, at the time, I was in so much agony. During those frustrating and difficult times I would think to myself, "If I listen to the sermons diligently my heart will become humble." But that never happened. And immediately I would be resentful and think, "Other people seem to get saved so easily. But what about me?" For several years I felt like I was living in hell. I understood the gospel in my mind because I had learned about it since young age, but nothing was realized in my heart. I showed resentment and also prayed to God quite a lot. But God did not immediately give me the answer that I wanted. God knew what I wanted, and He changed me when my heart and thoughts about the Bible were in a state that He wanted. When I think back to the day that I changed, I had a somewhat negative attitude as I thought, "Whatever happens will happen." While I was talking to someone, it was the first time that I realized. "The truth is, I don't know when it'll happen but that isn't my own doing. God will do it for me." Although I was hopeless, I felt this glimmer of hope. And less then five minutes later, everything was settled in my heart. I may listen to the words of the Bible and talk about it, however, those are not my words or thoughts, it's God's. Even reading the Bible out loud is not my words, but is God's. Everything was resolved once I realized that. It wasn't about debating in my own thoughts about whether Jesus who died on the cross forgave my sins. It's not how I viewed myself, but it's how God viewed me that was important. When that light of truth pierced my heart, all my thoughts were settled. When I look back to that day, I often think, "Isn't it possible for me to be living this life because God gave me what He wanted-not what I wanted-in His own method? If God save me the way that I wanted, what would happen if that method was wrong?" It's true I received what I wanted, but it was though God's way that I went through what was needed and He changed me into a new person through His words. The Pharisees asked Jesus, "Where is the kingdom of God?" Rather than acknowledging Jesus, they were people who were proud of themselves and wanted to test Him. And this is an image of me who couldn't accept the Bible. Jesus explained to His disciples about the day that He would return. He explained to those who were willing to listen. And when our ears are allowed to listen, that is when God tells us the things that we need. Although it may seem like Jesus is constantly giving random answers in the books of the gospels, if we take a close look at Jesus' answers, we are able to see how man should make requests to God and how we can entrust ourselves to God. "Please tell me the things that my ears are allowed to hear. I hope that I experience what You expressed in Your words." This is how our heart changes in front of the Bible.   The Days Will ComeLet's return to the main passage. Jesus said to the disciples:   "The days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it." (Luke 17:22)   In the English Bible it says, "The days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it." (Luke 17:22) Let's continue reading the next verses.   And they will say to you, "Look here!" or "Look there!" Do not go after them or follow them. For as the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven, so also the Son of Man will be in His day. (Luke 17:23-24)   This is describing something that will actually happen on this earth. There is a period of time foretold in the Old Testament about the seven-year period after the history of the Church comes to an end. There will be a tremendous plague that sweeps this world. There will be a huge war and famine. Only God knows when this will take place. But we know this will definitely take place. God clearly spoke of these things through the Bible and it's prophesied in the Bible. Because we believe that everything that was prophesied has been fulfilled, we know that events to occur in the future will also take place. During those seven years the natural world will change-there will be serious famines, earthquakes and wars-and when man's wickedness reaches its peak, during those last days, Jesus will come to this world.   But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. (Luke 17:25)   Jesus will come in glory to judge and rule this world, however, first He must suffer many things. It says, "by this generation." Jesus had to be rejected by the generation during the time He actually lived on this earth. T

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