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“Looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
As we move into a new year, I want to talk about vision—but not the kind of vision that’s about you catching my vision or figuring out what box you need to stand in so you can help accomplish my goals for this church. I do have vision. I do have goals. I know what God has called me to do. But what matters just as much is that you know what you and the Lord are doing together in the earth.
“It’s not about you catching my vision and then you figuring out what box I need you to stand in so that you accomplish my vision and my goals for this ministry.”
The kingdom of God is far bigger than showing up on a schedule or serving in a role—important as those things are. The real question is deeper than participation. What are you giving your life to that is bigger than your job, bigger than your responsibilities, bigger than yourself? What does it look like to live with a kingdom mindset?
Jesus framed His entire ministry around the kingdom. When He began to preach, His message was simple, direct, and revolutionary:
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Repentance here is more than turning away from sin. It is a call to change the way you think, because reality itself has changed. The kingdom has arrived. In my mind, I hear Jesus saying, “You’ve got to change the way you think because the kingdom is here. The kingdom is all around you.” Don’t say, Who will go up to get it? Don’t say, Who will go down to bring it? The kingdom is not distant. It is present.
Throughout Jesus’ teaching, the Word and the kingdom are inseparable. In a sense, it is the Word of the kingdom. The Logos—the logic, intelligence, character, and very being of God—put on flesh and became human. In Christ, we see God’s idea of what a human looks like. The kingdom didn’t arrive as a system; it arrived as a person.
To help picture this, I often think about a snow globe. The earth is like that globe—a visible, contained realm. But surrounding it, intersecting it, is a much larger reality. The kingdom is not “out there.” It’s not over there somewhere waiting for us in the future. It’s all around us.
Think about time. We experience it constantly, but we can’t point to where it exists. You can leave an apple on a table and come back later—time has affected it. Time is invisible, but real.
“Time has an effect, but it’s all around us, so we don’t really even know what it is.”
That’s how the kingdom works. We live within it.
“In Him we live and move and have our being.”
Unfortunately, some theology takes the truth that God created everything and turns it into the idea that God controls everything—that every tragedy, hardship, or injustice is either caused or allowed by God for some mysterious reason. I don’t see that in Scripture.
What I see is real responsibility, real accountability, and real authority given to humanity. The reason the earth—and even the universe—feels broken is not because God failed, but because we broke it.
“I see much more responsibility, much more accountability, much more authority that mankind has.”
Jesus came into the earth to restore what was broken—to repair the breach and reunite heaven and earth. Not so that we escape this world, but so that heaven could once again affect it now.
You see this restoration clearly in the way Jesus treated people. Take the woman caught in adultery. Earthly law demanded condemnation. Kingdom law released mercy. Jesus said, “I don’t condemn you.” Mercy restores dignity before it corrects behavior.
“The kingdom works from the inside out.”
Mercy reaches into the heart, restores value, awakens purpose, and then transformation follows. That is how the kingdom operates. That is how the church is meant to operate.
Many in Jesus’ day expected a conquering king—someone who would seize political power and enforce righteousness from the outside. That mindset still exists today. But Jesus revealed a different kind of reign.
“When God becomes king in this earth, He sits on the throne of your heart.”
God rules inwardly first—your heart, your mind, your soul—and from there His reign flows outward. One day, all things will be fully restored. Scripture is clear about that. There is resurrection. There is final judgment. There is an end. But right now, we are not waiting. We are participating.
That’s the purpose of our lives—not just to get by, stay healthy, accumulate things, or even do good works.
“What it is, is to participate in the increase of God’s kingdom.”
Two people can walk the same road, live in the same culture, face the same challenges—and one lives in the kingdom while the other does not. When Jesus spoke about “entering the kingdom,” He was often talking about experiencing the reality He brought, not simply getting saved.
This is why Hebrews 12:2 anchors this message:
Hebrews 12:2 – “Looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
You were the joy set before Him. He endured the cross to bring about restoration.
Isaiah saw this clearly:
Isaiah 9:1–2 – “Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom… The people walking in darkness have seen a great light.”
This is not only future. This began when Christ entered the earth.
Isaiah 9:6–7 – “For unto us a child is born… and the government will be upon His shoulders… Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end.”
Jesus is called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.
“If you ever run across anybody that says Jesus is never referred to as God—you go right there.”
Daniel confirmed the same truth:
Daniel 2:44–45 – “The God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed.”
Matthew shows the fulfillment:
Matthew 4:12–17 – “From that time on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’”
Jesus Himself said:
Luke 17:20–21 – “The kingdom of God is in your midst.”
And He explained it like this:
Luke 13:18–21 – The kingdom is like a mustard seed… like yeast working through dough.
Paul summarized it perfectly:
Romans 14:17 – “The kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.”
The kingdom is internal. It is growing in you. Your choices matter—not to earn the kingdom, but because your heart is the soil where it grows. Repentance means becoming fully persuaded that what God says is true, even when experience argues otherwise.
“Even if I have a different experience out here, the Word says this—I’m gonna believe that.”
That is faith. That is warfare. That is kingdom living.
Christmas is about restoration. God repaired the relationship between Himself and humanity in Christ. Peace has been established.
“I have peace with God.”
As you set goals for the coming year, place the kingdom first. Let Christ rule your heart. Guard your mind. Set your thoughts on things above, where He is seated at the right hand of the Father.
“It will bear fruit in your life. I promise you, it will.”
