In the next talks by Darren Rouanzoin at New Wine LSE 2011 continuing the exploration of the Kingdom of God he shared exactly what the Bible says about the Kingdom and what the disciples would have expected or understood by what Jesus said.
The Kingdom of God is the sovereign rule and reign of God and is not an actual place but paradoxically it is in the place where God reigns. Darren described it as the 'ultimate reality', which supercedes all other kingdoms. It is what God intended the world to be in the first place. It brings life where there is death.
The Kingdom will never end nor be destroyed (Daniel 2:44) and amazing things will happen (Joel 2:28-29). We will be given new hearts and the Spirit will help us (Ezekiel 36:24-27).
He likened our relationship with the King and the Kingdom to marriage, which is often mentioned by Jesus to describe the relationship He has with us. We are His bride and He is the bridegroom. It would be silly and disrespectful (!) to carry on dating other people after we were married, we need to be fully committed to our spouse. Just like when we say 'I do' in the marriage service we need to do this with God - be fully committed. We should be fully immersed in Him all the time. We need to sign up and say 'I do'.
What I found interesting is the use of the word 'time' in Mark 1:14-15 - “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” Darren explained that the Jews would have recognised this use of the Greek word for 'time' as a fulfillment of the prophecies mentioned above. That 'shalom' would come: peace, wholeness and healing - proof of the Kingdom and evidence it is present. The time is now.
We are called to be 'agents' of this kingdom, ambassadors. It is not about us, its about Him. How hard is that?! Going through hard times can make us very self-centred and me-obsessed but reading the Word, praying and listening can really help to keep us God-focused in this crazy world.
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