Kingdom #2: Kingdom Humility

Having said last week that I want to talk to you more about the Kingdom of God and urge you to study this subject seriously, I want to make something as clear as I can. I do not consider myself an expert on the subject. I have been seriously studying Jesus’ teaching on this vital subject for the last thirty months. My friend, Steve Brown, and I have written a book on the topic, but I am still very much a learner and a student, and expect I always will be.

The Kingdom of God is as majestic and monumental a topic as you can find in Scripture. One of the key verses that has captured my attention during our study has been Hebrews 12:28-29: “Since we are receiving a Kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us worship God will reverence and awe.” Two key insights come from this text.

Scripture #1: "Kingdom Come"

To view today's presentation as a video click here.


Today represents a bit of a milestone for us as it is our 200th week to send out a Mind Change Moment. Sheila and I want to thank you for so much encouragement and support that you have given us so to help keep these messages going out. After today were going to take  a break, and not be sending out any our regular podcasts for a while. But I do want to talk to you about something else we're going to make available.

Scripture #2: See to It

Hebrews 3:12-13

    See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.  But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.

 With only two passages to go, here is one of many in the New Testament that shows just how much we need each other to live a kingdom-first life. With the use of the phrase "see to it" and the phrase "let us" which is used an astonishing twelve times in Hebrews, the writer is calling us to be involved in each other's lives.

Scripture #3: The Much More of the Heavenly Father

With only three weeks to go I am down to the last three passages of Scripture that have greatly influenced my life. As I have said earlier, these are not in any certain order, like you would get on the David Letterman Show or the Top Forty Hits. We aren’t counting down to number one.

Today’s passage comes from Matthew 7:11 and is not one you hear quoted that often. In the Sermon on the Mount, which Steve Brown and I call the Sermon on the Kingdom, in the context of teaching on prayer, which we believe must be seen in the context of Jesus’ Kingdom teaching, he says:

If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

Scripture #4:Seek First

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33)

How could this one not be on my list? In all our lives there is going to be something we seek first. What is it for you? It may be something noble like the good of your marriage or the good of your family. For a few people it may be their country. It may be a long time dream or something you want to achieve. It may be something not so noble like your own pleasure or your own self-centered 

happiness. Something is going to be first in all our lives.

Create in Me a Pure Heart, O God

Counting down toward number one, this passage is a slam dunk for my list. Thirty-three years ago it sprang to life in me and helped set me on a new course. I had been a follower of Jesus for ten years, looking for ways to be used by him, but slowly and unknown to me my heart had grown hard.

I still preached and taught and wrote, and I still sat down with others and shared my faith. I still gathered my wife and children, and we worshipped God in our home. But I had become a negative presence. I had let bitterness come in and set up shop.

The Power of the Cross

Passage number six is 1 Cor. 1:18:

"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."

The first book DPI published was: Thirty Days at the Foot of the Cross. Now some 200 plus books later, it is still one of our most popular. In the introduction, eighteen years ago, I focused on this passage and then wrote the following words that describe my convictions: