“For the Kingdom of Heaven is like the landowner who went out early one morning to hire workers for his vineyard.”
— Matthew 20:1 (TPT)
Jesus is about to tell us what the Kingdom of Heaven is like. He is going to show us, through a story, a picture of God’s Kingdom. His Kingdom is nothing like an earthly Kingdom. It is set up on completely different principles as we shall see from this parable.
Romans 14:17 says “for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”
Have you ever wondered what that means – His Kingdom is not eating and drinking? From the context in this passage, we see that what we believe can cause us to eat or not eat something. Then it says don’t make another believer stumble because you think it is okay to eat something, and yet it causes the other to sin. As I was meditating on this verse, the Holy Spirit revealed some interesting points about His Kingdom.
God’s Kingdom is not a destination or a certain place. Saying it is not about “eating or drinking” indicates just that. When you eat and drink, you are usually in a room, dining hall or at a banquet table. A place usually comes to mind. God says His Kingdom is not a physical place.
Jesus is saying the way of the Kingdom of God has nothing to do with what you do or don’t do. It’s about the heart of the Landowner who is God. God’s Kingdom comes inside of us when we believe and receive Jesus, when we receive God Himself and all of His gifts.
The Kingdom of God comes into the core of our being and changes our very foundation. The disciples thought the Messiah would set up an earthly kingdom. However, Jesus dispels that very idea. He counters it with the Kingdom of God is IN you. It is internal.
The Kingdom of God is present tense. It is not something in the past for reminiscing or something in the future for speculation. God’s Kingdom is here and now, in this very moment, given to us in Jesus by the Holy Spirit.
The Kingdom of God does not work through human reason or logic. God is a Giver and we will see this in a glorious way through this parable.
“Look and see how God will reveal Himself today”
November 2023 Wallpaper