This study is the culmination of kingdom living, which is the future kingdom itself. There are four distinct experiences that sum up the announcement and inauguration of the coming future kingdom.
When His Kingdom Finally Comes – Revelation 11:15-19 – Skip Heitzig
Welcome to Calvary Church with Skip Heitzig. We’re so glad you joined us today. As people of God, we are part of a spiritual Kingdom even as we live in the world. Jesus will ultimately establish his kingdom on Earth. But until then, we are called to be his ambassadors here and now. In this series, Pastor Skip explores what it means to occupy till he comes.
OK, make your way, please, to the end of your Bible to Revelation chapter 11, Revelation chapter 11. This is a message that I’m calling When His Kingdom Finally Comes. In this entire series on Kingdom City, we’ve had the name “Kingdom” in every single title, this one notwithstanding. But this is really a message of hope. All in favor of a little more hope these days? Yeah.
[APPLAUSE]
Hope is the confident expectation that something better is going to come. And the Bible says we have a hope that is an anchor to our soul. In a topsy-turvy world that blows in different directions, it’s great to set our anchors in some stable stuff. And that’s what we do in the word of God– so Revelation chapter 11.
20 centuries ago, a politician stood in front of a prisoner. The politician, schooled, trained politically, trained in law, was curious because he was in front of a prisoner who had made some claims. And there was some scuttlebutt going on around the community about who he was. And what threatened this politician is this claim that he was a king.
And so he flatly asked him, “Are you a king?” Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would rise up and fight.” Then he said it again. “But my kingdom is not of this world.” That was then. But do you know there’s coming a day when his kingdom will include this world? And we’re about to read the announcement of that in Revelation chapter 11.
One day, what is only now a spiritual kingdom of Jesus ruling and reigning over individual hearts, all of that will change when he rules and reigns over the Earth. On that day, his kingdom will finally come. His will will finally be done. There is coming that day a day where there will be no more elections. No more campaigning.
[CHEERS]
No more spin, no more empty promises, no more broken promises, no more accusation of misinformation or disinformation from one side to the other. And during that time, it will not be a four-year stint. There won’t be in term for four years like American presidents and their administration. It will not be a coalition government of a prime minister and his parliament or her parliament. It will be the eternal, righteous rule of the Lord Jesus Christ.
[APPLAUSE, CHEERS] Today we come to the end of this series, Kingdom City. This is the 12th and final message in this series. And this passage of scripture takes us to the kingdom in its fullest sense– not just kingdom values, not just kingdom mindedness, not just kingdom example, or being kingdom citizens, and establishing a kingdom city mentality. We’re talking about an actual, real, literal kingdom.
This is not an allegorical kingdom. This is not a metaphorical kingdom. This is not kingdom-like conditions. We’re talking about the kingdom. And know this, all of history has been moving in this direction from the very beginning, from the very beginning. Daniel saw a time when the rule and reign of God would cover the entire Earth and last forever.
Isaiah predicted a Messiah who would rule and reign forever. The angel said to Mary, who was a teenager, “Not only are you pregnant, but you’re going to have the King of Kings. And God is going to give him the kingdom of his father David. And he will rule over the House of Jacob forever.” It is that kingdom that we are highlighting.
I was interviewed this week on a podcast. Alisa Childers had her podcast, and she was asking me some questions. And she said, “If you were to explain the overarching narrative of the Bible in 60 seconds, what would you say?”
I said, “The Bible can be summed up by saying it is about one person and two events. The one person, of course, is the Lord Jesus Christ. The two events, his first coming and second coming. At his first coming, he came to redeem the world from sin. At his second coming, he will come to rule and reign with those he has redeemed from sin.” That’s the Bible, and that’s 45 seconds.
So the two events, first coming and second coming, we’re dealing with the second one– the second, the kingdom coming. And by the way, there’s more in the Bible about the second coming than there is about the first coming, as we belabored that point in our previous series. Dwight Pentecost, whom I quoted last week, said, “There’s more scripture that is devoted to the subject of the kingdom developing its character and conditions than any other subject.”
And Alva McClain, who wrote a great book on the kingdom, said, “The Kingdom of God is, in a certain important sense, the grand central theme of all of holy scripture.” And get this. All the previous studies that we have done on Kingdom City up to this point all have their incentive basis in this study. Let me explain that.
The reason we can be kingdom citizens, and do kingdom business, and be kingdom minded, and all of those responsibilities is because of the reality that is coming, this kingdom that is coming. This provides impetus, motivation, incentive. With that, let’s begin looking at our paragraph, Revelation chapter 11 verse 15.
“Then the seventh angel sounded. And there were loud voices in heaven saying, ‘The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever!'”
“And the 24 elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshipped God, saying, ‘We give you thanks, O Lord God Almighty, the one who is, and who was, and who is to come, because you have taken your great power and reigned. The nations were angry, and your wrath has come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that you should reward your servants the prophets and the saints. And those who fear your name, small and great, and should destroy those who destroy the Earth.'”
“Then the temple of God was opened in heaven and the ark of his covenant was seen in his temple. And there were lightnings, noises, thunderings, and earthquake, and great hail.”
There are a few ingredients in this kingdom event that I want to draw your attention to. And the first is the arrival of the kingdom, the arrival of the kingdom. That’s the announcement that is made at the top of the paragraph. Verse 15, “The seventh angel sounded.” Now stop there. It doesn’t say it here, but when it says “sounded,” it means “sounded with the trumpet.”
The context of this chapter begins in chapter 8. I’m not going to have you turn to it. Take my word for it, please. The context begins in chapter 8 when John sees seven angels who stand before God being given seven trumpets. And they blow the trumpets. And with each blow, blast of the trumpet is another judgment that falls on the Earth. So six of them happen in chapter 8, chapter 9. Chapter 10 is then a hiatus or a parenthesis. And then chapter 11 has the seventh angel sounded the trumpet.
Now we’re dealing with a period of time– and I know you know this– a seven-year future period of time called the tribulation. Look how good you are. Not only that, but you know the next answer to this. We’re specifically dealing with the last half of that seven-year tribulation period known as the great tribulation. Very good, class. You’ve been paying attention.
So the tribulation begins in Revelation with Jesus Christ being given a scroll. Remember that scroll has seven seals on it? And Jesus, the Lamb, begins peeling off each one of the seven seals. And every time he peels off a seal, the scroll opens further, revealing more judgment. Another seal, it opens up further, more judgment– so seven seals revealing seven judgments.
The last seal ushers in seven more judgments called trumpets. And then the seventh trumpet will usher in seven more judgments called the bold judgments, where the wrath of God is poured out in rapid fire sequence. And then the end comes. So chronologically, Jesus doesn’t take control of the world until chapter 19.
But here in chapter 11, already, it’s like the zoom lens is put on the camera. And we are ushered to the very end, and this proclamation is made in heaven. “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ.” It’s a very important announcement, especially during a dark time. I suppose if there were a weather forecaster in heaven, it might sound something like this. “The weather in heaven today is just fine, and Earth is also clearing up and promises to be a fine day.”
See, the good news can be seen already on the horizon. The King is coming. Now, just a word about trumpets. And again, I know it doesn’t have the word in the text, but the idea of the sounding of the trumpet is trumpets were the most significant instrument in the consort of instruments in the Old Testament, in the Hebrew instrumentality. So they show up, trumpets show up twice as much in the Bible as harps do.
So people get all hung up. You’re going to send on a cloud playing a harp. Well, you know what? Odds are it’ll be a trumpet, first of all. I’m going to ask for an electric guitar, just saying. But trumpets play an important role. When a trumpet was blown, people would assemble together in Israel. When a different trumpet was blown, people would march out to war. The armies would go out.
Another trumpet would be blown, it would be the commencement of a feast in Israel. At Mount Sinai, the law was given when a blast of the trumpet was heard. At Jericho, the armies marched around the city to the blast of the trumpets. In fact, the walls of the city fell down at the blast of the trumpet. In the Old Testament, kings were elevated and anointed to rule with the blaring of trumpets.
And here in chapter 11, the seventh trumpet in heaven is a cue for a very particular chant. And that chant is in verse 15. Let’s put verse 15 up on the screen. Let’s look at it. It’s a little small for people in the past, like, 10 rows, but can you read that? Raise your hand if you can read it in your church. Wow, all the way back there. You’ve got good eyes back there.
So since there’s loud voices in heaven saying this, let’s put all of our loud voices on right now. Put your outside voice on, and let’s say this together. “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ. And he shall reign forever and ever.”
This is a Hallelujah moment. This is a Wizard of Oz moment. This is the ding dong, the witch is dead moment. This is the moment that heaven breaks out in song. Why? Because Satan’s rule is over, and Jesus’ rule is about to begin, so unrestrained joy breaks out.
[APPLAUSE] Now, notice something perhaps peculiar. It says the kingdoms, plural. I know some of your translations say kingdom, singular. Mine says, “Kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ.” Well, how many is that? Well last count today, there are 195– actually, 193 that are member states in the United Nations– so let’s just say over 190 separate sovereign nations, kingdoms on Earth, that will come to an end.
So do you remember Nebuchadnezzar in the Old Testament? Remember he had a dream? And he told his guys, “Interpret my dream. Tell me what I dreamed first, then interpret it.” And they said, “We can’t do that.” And Daniel comes in and goes, “I can do that.” So he goes, “I saw what you dreamed. You saw a big statue, head of gold, chest of silver, stomach of and thighs of brass, bronze, legs of iron, feet of iron and clay. That’s what you saw.”
And Nebuchadnezzar said, “Yeah, that’s what I saw. What does it mean?” “Well, I can tell you what it means. There’s going to be a succession of kingdoms that come to this Earth. But you also saw in your dream a stone, a rock that came out of heaven, and smashed the statue, and decimated it, and turned to dust. And that stone grew into a mountain that filled the whole Earth.”
And Nebuchadnezzar said, “Yeah, that’s what I saw. Now, what does it mean?” And Daniel said, “This is what it means. The God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed. And the kingdom shall not be left to other people. It shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms,” plural. “And it shall stand forever.” That’s way back in the book of Daniel.
By the way, forever, it’s a long time. And just in case somebody might say, well, does forever have an end? It says forever and ever, forever and ever. So if you were to look in your Bible, you would discover 393 times the word “forever” shows up. Another 47 times, “forever and ever,” like here, shows up.
So at that time, all human kingdoms come to a screeching halt. And there’s a very important reason why, and I’m going to give it to you. Mankind, humankind is incapable of governing himself successfully for very long. The best form of human government that there is will fail because mankind, because he and she are mankind, are doomed for failure because of their sin nature.
If you’re a student of history, you know this to be true. The Roman Empire lasted 499 years. The Byzantine Empire lasted around 1,100 years. The Ottoman Empire lasted around 600 years. The United States of America will, on July 4, have lasted 248 years.
But all human governments fail because the only best form of government is a theocracy, not a democracy– a theocracy where God is the only one calling the shots. You don’t vote him in and out of office. He’s in charge. That day is coming when the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ. So that’s the first component, the arrival of the kingdom.
Following on that is the second component, and that is adoration in the kingdom. That makes sense. If the kingdom comes, then there is a response to that announcement. And we find that in verse 16. “And the 24 elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying, ‘We give you thanks, O Lord God Almighty, the one who is, who was, and who is to come, because you have taken your great power and reigned.'”
And you’ll notice that John focuses in on one particular group in heaven– 24 elders. If you know this book, the book of Revelation, you know this group, the 24 elders. They show up several times. They’re in chapter 5. They show up again in chapter 11. They show up here in chapter 11. So 5, 7, 11, and then chapter 19, they show up. Who are they? A lot of guesses.
I’ll tell you who they’re not. They’re not angels. Angels in the Bible never sit on thrones, so these are not angels. We find in chapter 4 and 5 the 24 elders, and besides the 24 elders, a group of angels, so they’re not the same– two different groups.
Without taking you through all the hermeneutical gymnastics, it is my best guess that we’re dealing with here the glorified raptured church, the 24 elders as we have noted before in previous studies. This is the glorified raptured church. And get this. This is now the third round of heavenly praise. In chapter 4, they praise him for being the creator. In chapter 5, they praise him for being the redeemer.
Here in chapter 11, they praise him for being the ruler. And when it says, “Lord God Almighty,” the word “almighty,” Pantocrator means the absolute, all-powerful, omnipotent ruler. He is flatly, firmly in charge. So they’re praising him for that. And I just got to have you make a note of this. Whatever’s going on in heaven, it’s loud. I’m sorry to tell some of you that. You guys turn up the music too loud. You may want to bring earplugs to heaven.
Because in verse 15, the seventh angel sounded. There were loud voices in heaven. And then look at verse 19. and there were lightnings– uh-oh– noises– uh-oh– thunderings– that’s loud– and earthquake, and great hell. So the worship is at least very robust in heaven. What are we dealing with here? We’re dealing with a thanksgiving service in heaven. That’s what it says. “We give you thanks, O Lord God Almighty.”
Why are they giving him thanks? Because they’ve been anticipating this for a long, long time. All of God’s people have been looking forward to this from the beginning. Jesus 2,000 years ago said, “When you pray, say, ‘Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done.'” Now, the announcement? It’s come. That’s why the thanksgiving erupts.
But let’s not wait until heaven to be thankful people. Would you agree with this statement? We, Christians, God’s people, should be the most thankful people that live in this city. We should be thankful people. And this thanksgiving service in heaven should just remind us that though we’re not there yet, we should get a little practice before this event. We should get in practice.
You know I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating here. Every year when Thanksgiving comes up, I always think the thought. It’s like, you know I think we have this wrong. We have one day a year. I’m so thankful. And especially if you have pumpkin pie added to it, I’m really thankful. And we get thankful for, like, a day. It’s Thanksgiving day, as if we are given the unrestrained privilege of complaining for 364 other days.
And so I think that we have it wrong. I think we should get it all out on one day and say, now you’ve got 364 days to be thankful, thankful, thankful, thankful. Have one day. Call it Grumpsgiving.
[LAUGHTER]
You just get grumpy. You get mad. You complain about everything you don’t like because then you won’t do it for 364 days on Twitter or Instagram, right? You’ll be thankful. So this is a thanksgiving service. The arrival of the kingdom brings adoration in the kingdom, takes us to a third component, and that is antagonism at the kingdom.
What we notice in this paragraph is not everyone in the scene is happy. Verse 18, “The nations were angry, and your wrath has come.” And the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that you should reward your servants the prophets and the saints, and those who fear your name, small and great, and– there’s a lot of ands. There’s like six ands in this sentence– and should destroy those who destroy the Earth.
That verse is so comprehensive, it covers the entire 3 and 1/2-year great tribulation. In fact, it covers past that into the thousand-year reign of Christ, because saints are being given rewards here. So there’s the great white throne judgment that will come. There’s the rewards given to the saints. Jesus will close out revelation by saying, “Behold, I am coming quickly and my reward is with me.”
This is where what we read last week comes to pass. Remember last week the parable of the minas? And Jesus said to two servants, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You’ve been faithful in a few things, the little things, so I’m going to make you ruler over 10 cities and five cities. You get rewarded.” This is where these rewards are realized.
There’s a reward coming for your life. Single moms who are raising those children for the glory of God, busy business people who are building your business because you want to spread the Gospel and love your family. And then the people in the office, they yell at you because you’re a Christian, your reward is coming. Don’t expect to get rewarded anytime soon on this Earth.
If you are living for the plaudits of people, the pats on the back, you’re going to be very disappointed, because you won’t get a lot of it, and for one simple reason– the world hates God. And so God’s representatives don’t rank very high in most admired people. So even though you live with Kingdom City principles and you pour out your life– and we should– your reward is coming. It’s coming.
The reality that it is coming is what gives us incentive today. Or put another way, the promise of the future kingdom will help you endure the present crisis. The promise of the future kingdom will help you endure the present crisis, the pressure of the present crisis. How am I going to make it through? Put your eyes a little bit on the horizon. Go a little higher to when we say, they say, we hear, “The kingdoms of this world have become his kingdom.”
But again, look at verse 18. “The nations were angry.” It means enraged, hostile. One of the discoveries we make in the book of Revelation is that as the tribulation progresses and God pours out judgment, you would think that would, like, I don’t know, soften a few people’s hearts. OK, I give up. It makes people angrier, more mad. They shake the fist. They blaspheme God all the way through to the very end.
And so the nations were angry. This is antagonism that is directed at God for establishing his kingdom. They’re mad that God is imposing a kingdom that everyone will have to submit to. And this has the feel of Psalm 2. I was reading Psalm 2 last week. Let me refresh your memory. “Why do the nations rage and the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the Earth have set themselves, the rulers have taken counsel together against the Lord and against his Christ, saying, ‘Let us break their bonds in two. Let us cast their cords far from us.'”
It has the same feel. The nations were angry. They’re antagonistic for God establishing his kingdom, so the nations will show hatred toward Christ to God’s people who are living through this horrible time. They will show hatred to the two witnesses mentioned a paragraph back in chapter 11, all the way to the end.
Now let’s pause for a moment. Would you think back with me to the messages we’ve given throughout this series? Don’t worry if you don’t remember what they are. I had to take notes to remember what they are. So one of our messages was Acts chapter 1, the apostles. And they’re thinking about the kingdom, the kingdom that is coming. And they watch Jesus blast off, go into heaven from the Earth.
They’re looking up and the angels said, “What are you guys standing around looking around for?” So they’re preoccupied. And they were told not to be preoccupied, but be productive. Then, then we looked at the Sermon on the Mount and our mandate to be salt and light, to shine light into dark places, to be a disinfectant in this world, the salt of the Earth.
Then we did a follow-up message on Jeremiah chapter 29, which was quoted just moments ago, where Jewish refugees who were captive in Babylon were told, dig in. Be responsible. Improve this place. Make Babylon a better place than you found it. Then we looked at the life of Joseph, and Esther, and then Daniel– all who lived out these principles.
We looked at kingdom compassion when Jesus had compassion on the multitude, gave them truth, fed them lunch. All these wonderful things that serve people and bless people, the world won’t appreciate it. The world won’t appreciate it because it doesn’t appreciate people of faith. The world is enraged, like the parable last week. “We will not have this man reign over us.” Same sentiment.
And that’s OK. It’s OK because our reward is coming, as we just mentioned. But also, God’s justice is coming. He is going to settle accounts. So if you walk away from work one day, and it’s like, they always get away with stuff. Man, I always get put down, and I’ve been trying to serve the Lord. And I go through so much hardship and heartache, and these unbelievers don’t. Today’s Friday. Sunday’s coming. Judgment’s coming.
So notice this. “they say, “For your wrath has come, and the time of the dead that they should be judged.” As I was reading through this this week, something struck me. This is part of a worship song. This is part of a thanksgiving hymn, right? Verse 17, “We give you thanks, O Lord God Almighty.” So they’re thanking him. It’s a thanksgiving song, a worship song.
Part of the worship song is the lyric we just read. “Your wrath has come, and the time of the dead that they should be judged.” Question, and this was what struck me. Who in their right mind would be thankful that God is going to pour out judgment upon the Earth? Well, I thought about that. And the more I thought about it, I thought, I actually get it. And I think you will, too.
Think for a moment of all of the persecution against God’s people the last several centuries. To give you a snapshot, it’s estimated from AD 30 to 2000, the year 2000, 70, seven-zero, 70 million Christians have died as martyrs for their faith. They’ve been killed by a world that hated them.
How do you feel when you hear of injustice, when you hear of corruption, when you hear of certain violent crimes? What goes through your mind and heart as you read a news article or see a YouTube video of atrocities and rapes? Does that ever bother you? OK. God reads every article of every crime. He has seen every YouTube video ever created. In fact, he saw the events as they happened in real time.
And if those things that I’m talking about offend your sensitivities and sensibilities, how much more a holy God? So that’s why in heaven when judgment comes, it’s like, yeah, awesome. It’s about time. It’s about time. God’s going to end this nonsense, bring justice where it needs to be brought.
And then it says– I know some of you are like, you’re ready to applaud at that. You’ll have your chance in heaven, OK, because you’ll be singing this song. But I’ve got to get through this. So notice how that ends. “And”– look at verse 18– “And that you should destroy those who destroy the Earth.” And be careful here. Don’t think, oh, God is siding with the environmentalists, all right?
[LAUGHTER]
This is not God saying, I’m mad at those people who don’t recycle. Not saying that. Or, I don’t like straws. People throw straws everywhere, or a climate denier. It has nothing to do with that. We’re talking about people who destroy the Earth by sin and wickedness. He’s referring to those who pollute the Earth with sin. It’s the worst kind of trash. It’s the moral filth.
Listen, the most destructive thing in the world is an unredeemed person who pollutes this world with sin. And so God is going to destroy those who destroy the Earth. You guys destroyed the Earth. I gave you this. It was a stewardship. You messed it up by pouring sin, upon sin, upon sin. I’m done. Judgment will fall.
So we have the arrival of the kingdom, adoration and the kingdom, antagonism at the kingdom. Fourth and finally– I think it’s the best part of the story– we have acceptance by the kingdom. Now look at verse 19, a simple verse. “Then the temple of God was opened in heaven.” Wait a minute. Is there a temple in heaven? Well, this might be symbolic.
However, you remember the book of Hebrews belabors the point that the tabernacle and temple on Earth in the Old Testament was really just a model of a real temple in heaven. It’s a shadow of the reality of heaven, so there actually may be that. “The temple of God was opened in heaven and the ark of his covenant was seen in his temple. And there were lightnings, noises, thunderings, earthquake, and a great hail.”
This chapter closes, this verse closes with a glimmer of opportunity. This is a vision of heaven’s temple. It’s like God is holding open house in heaven. And you can see past the veil into the holy of holies to the ark of the covenant. You remember in the New Testament this happened one other time when Jesus died on a cross and the veil of the temple was ripped?
And because the veil of the temple was ripped, it means that you could have stood outside and looked into the holy of holies and been able to see the ark of the covenant. We know what that symbolized. It symbolized there’s no more separation. Now you can come. Now we can have intimacy. That’s what this is about.
So real quickly, the ark of the covenant, remember that? You’ve seen Raiders of the Lost Ark, right? OK, so in the very least, you know Hollywood’s version of that. But it was a gold box. It was 45 inches long, 27 inches wide, 27 inches high. It was wood covered with gold. The top was a lid of pure gold. Inside the box was a copy of the Ten Commandments, the two tablets of the law.
Here’s the problem with that. Carrying around the law was a perpetual reminder to Israel that they failed, because they broke God’s law time, and time, and time, and time, and time again. And as long as they carry around the law that they keep breaking, it’s a reminder of their failure.
Except what makes it the most valuable piece of furniture in the temple is that once a year, the priest would come in and sprinkle blood on that lid. And now the broken law of God was covered with blood. And by that, God was saying, you and I, we can have intimate fellowship with each other. This is the basis that I will meet with you over. The shed blood of this animal once a year on Yom Kippur, we will meet together.
What God is saying here in heaven is similar– that in the midst of judgment, God throws open the holy of holies, and invites people in, and says, in effect, we can have fellowship with Him because of the shed blood of his Son. That when you place your faith in Jesus Christ, that will admit you into the very presence of God. So this is the acceptance by the kingdom.
So to close this out, the seventh trumpet is about the declaration that man’s governments, rule, authority is very temporary, very temporary. Man rules presently. He will not rule ultimately. Jesus Christ will come back. He will set up his kingdom. He’ll be in charge. He’ll rule and reign. It’ll be perfect righteousness, and he will rule and reign with those that have been redeemed from sin.
So my question to you is, does that include you? Are you sure? Does that include you? Are you sure? We’ve been talking kingdom in every message. Kingdom, kingdom, kingdom, kingdom, Kingdom City. Kingdom implies control. Kingdom implies there is a King who is in charge. And the kingdom of God comes now when the King is in charge of your life.
Have you asked God to control your life? Have you asked God to change your life? Chuck Colson, who was in government, he worked for President Nixon. He went to jail on the Watergate scandal. He became a strong believer after his years in politics.
Chuck Colson, a great influence in my life, said, and I quote, “Human politics is based on the premise that society must be changed in order to change people. But in the politics of the kingdom, it is people who must be changed in order to change society.” So where does Kingdom City begin? Right here in my heart, where I step off the throne of my life and I invite Jesus to take the royal place of controlling my future, my decisions, my life.
I live my life not according to my will, but according to an alien will, his will. Your kingdom come, your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven. What’s the first step? The first step, let go. Let go of you. Let go of your life. Relinquish surrender, control, and let him sit on the throne of your heart.
Father, that’s where we must begin and that’s where we ought to live, in a place where we are no longer kings and queens of our destiny, running around singing, I did it my way, but living our life that declares, I did it his way. And Father, we know that that’s a choice, and you don’t force anybody to make that choice. Yes,
You’re going to impose your kingdom one day. And when that is happening, the world will hate it until it is finally established, and everybody will love it. But Lord, right now, that’s eternity, but we have now. And right now, Lord, you are calling men and women to place their faith in Jesus Christ. You’re giving people a chance. You’re throwing wide open the doors of heaven.
You’re saying, come in. Let’s hang out. Let’s have fellowship. Let me forgive your sins. Be my child. Be part of my plan. It’s the greatest invitation ever, but we have to choose it. And so Lord, I pray that many who are here today would choose it.
OK, with your heads bowed and your eyes closed, you’re just thinking about your life. Think about this. What would my life be like if Jesus Christ were in full control, if I let go, relinquish my ownership– not responsibility, but my tight grip of my life– and I let him be the King of my heart, the King of my life? If you’re willing to do that, I’m going to give you an opportunity to do that now.
So our heads are bowed. Our eyes are closed. If you’ve never given your life to Christ, I mean really, sincerely, authentically, or you’ve said yes to Jesus Christ, or maybe you made some religious decision in the past, but today you’re not hanging out there, you’re not living that way, you need to come back to him. Rededicate your life, re-surrender, so to speak.
If you’re willing to do that, if you want to do that, if you want to know that you’re right with God, I want you to raise your hand up in the air. Just raise it up in the air. Keep it up for just a moment, please. I can see your hand. I want to pray for you. I need to know who I’m praying for. God bless you toward the back. Anyone else, raise your hand up. Raise it up so I can see it. Right there. God bless you. Thank you.
Who else? God bless you. Toward the back right there in the middle toward the back, thank you. Right over here, a couple of you. Anyone else, just raise it up high. Got it. Awesome, yeah. Father– again, a couple of you right over here to my right.
Father, we thank you. Each one of these are so important to you. Lord, I pray for each life that is making this very important eternal decision. Lord, I pray you’d fill them with a sense of confidence, assurance. Lord, I pray that as Jesus comes into their life, you’d give them strength to live for you. You’d fill them with a sense of joy and purpose they thought was never imaginable.
Lord, I pray they’d feel lighter than air. I pray they would feel just so deeply satisfied by saying yes to you. Encourage them to live for you. In Jesus’ name we ask, Amen. Amen, Amen, Amen. Let’s all stand.
We’re going to sing a final song. And those of you who raised your hands, I’m going to do something that is a bold step for you. Some of you thought, I never thought I was going to do this when I came to this church today. I like going to big churches because I can hide. That’s over. And I’m going to call you out into the aisle, if you raised your hand.
And I want you to come to the very front and stand with me, not to embarrass you but to encourage you. Something happens when somebody says publicly, I’m going to follow Jesus Christ. It settles, it cements something deep inside your heart. So if you raised your hand and I just prayed for you, now I want you to come to the front.
And when you all gather to the front, I’m going to lead you in a prayer making Jesus Christ Lord and Savior. We’re going to do this thing right now. So come on. Come on right now. Come on up to the front.
[APPLAUSE] Awesome, awesome.
[MUSIC PLAYING] Awesome. Thank you. Yeah. Come on up. Come on. Awesome, you guys. So good. It’s so good. Please, welcome. Welcome.
Can you feel the encouragement with this applause? I hope you can.
[CHEERS, APPLAUSE]
Wow. I hope you can, because what everybody is saying by their applause, they’re saying, you’re making the most important and the best decision you could ever make in your life. That’s what all that applause means. That’s what it means. Anyone else want to join them? Whether you raised your hand or not, come on up. Come up to the front. Make this the day. Today is the day
[APPLAUSE] Some of you are saying, I’ll do it one day, but I don’t feel really holy today. I’ve really blown it a lot this week. I want you to know something. Listen carefully. God is not mad at you. God is madly in love with you.
Yeah.
He’s mad about you, not at you. He’s madly in love with you, so give your life to him. Surrender to him. Anybody else want to come up? If so, bee line it up here. Come on up right now.
[CHEERS, APPLAUSE] Hey, listen. I love church. I love the music. I like preaching the word. I love, love, love this part of the service. It’s the best part.
[APPLAUSE] Hey, you guys. I know a dirty little secret about every one of you. You’re imperfect.
[LAUGHTER]
And now you know a dirty little secret about me and everybody else. So are we.
[APPLAUSE]
That’s what salvation is all about. He takes people the way they are. So I’m going to lead you in a prayer. I’m going to say the prayer out loud. I want you to pray this prayer out loud after me. But you’re saying this not to me, not to us, but to him. Let’s pray. Please, come, yes. We’ll wait for you. Thanks, Rob.
[CHEERS, APPLAUSE] Now say Lord, I give you my life.
Lord, I give you my life.
I know that I’m a sinner.
I know that I’m a sinner.
Please forgive me.
Please forgive me.
I believe in Jesus.
I believe in Jesus.
That he died for me.
That he died for me.
That he shed his blood for me.
That he shed his blood for me.
That he rose again.
That he rose again.
I turn from my sin.
I turn from my sin.
I turn to Jesus as my Savior.
I turn to Jesus as my Savior.
I want to follow him as Lord.
I want to follow him as Lord.
Help me do that.
Help me do that.
In Jesus’ name.
In Jesus’ name.
Amen.