Thy Kingdom Come?
Acts 1:6-8
August 5, 2007
What is the kingdom of God?
Why do we pray for the kingdom to come?


Restoring Israel’s Past     
  What three mistakes to the disciples make in this question? V 6


Nature of the Kingdom
Is it David’s kingdom re-established, or something greater?
What about the promises of returning to the land?


Extent of the Kingdom
“Restore the Kingdom to Israel”  
Is the Kingdom for the Jews only? (Genesis 12:3; Ephesians 3:6)
What do dispensationalists believe about the kingdom of God?
When will the second coming arrive? Should we ask this?
What would you do if the world would end next week?
Which Christians should have a heart for the world?
Why is it that conservative reformed churches have just trouble with evangelism?

Arrival of the Kingdom
When and how does the kingdom arrive?
Matt 13:32-33 


Conquering Earth’s Future
Who empowers us to bring the gospel of the kingdom to the world?
Who can be witnesses?

Application: Kingdom is here, it is now.
Kingdom comes through bearing witness to Jesus the Christ.
 Kingdom comes through you.

The Kingdom of God
“… The equation of the gospel with the kingdom of God is an important one. It is at this point that we most clearly see the continuity between the church in Acts, and the ministry of the church today. When viewed from the perspective of the advancing kingdom of God, the gospel is a picture of the sovereign God accomplishing his eternal purposes, saving those that he has chosen in Christ from before the foundation of the world. When the Word of God confronts unbelievers in power of the Holy Spirit, through the Law and the Gospel, God is advancing His kingdom in the power of the Holy Spirit. He is conquering unbelief and the kingdom of Satan, and now ruling in the hearts of those who he calls to faith in Christ. Thus the kingdom is necessarily a spiritual kingdom. It is directly connected with the preaching of the whole counsel of God, both the full terror of the Law, and the full sweetness of the Gospel. And it is through the proclamation of this message, God advances his kingdom. And since the covenants can be seen to be various historical administrations of the Kingdom of God, the sacraments, as covenant signs and seals of the promises contained in the Gospel, are administered as helps to God's people, wherever the kingdom has gone.
… The kingdom of God is not something that we can see or control, or that we can extend through our own energies or efforts. The kingdom is God's rule, not ours, and God extends it as he wills. But we are told that God does in fact extend his kingdom through his Word and the means of grace in the power of the Holy Spirit, which means through the preaching of the Law and Gospel, and the faithful administration of the sacraments. Thus when the word is rightly preached and the sacraments properly administered, we can confidently believe that the kingdom is advancing. Thus the mission of the church is clear. It is not social reform, not to entertain, to meet felt needs or to provide programs for us to fix things. The purpose of the church is to preach Christ and him crucified and to administer Christ's sacraments. As the people of God we should all come to this place each and every Lord's day with the confident expectations that the kingdom of God is in our midst. We should all pray for God to speak through his word, for Christ to be exalted in the preaching, for God to be present with us in the power of the Holy Spirit. We should come to this table with the confident expectation that God will feed us with the crucified body and shed blood of his own dear Son. This is how God's kingdom advances. Our confidence should be in him, not in our own efforts. “
– Dr. Kim Riddlebarger, Pastor Christ Reformed Church (URC)