There’s a new heaven and a new earth on the way.

Steve Brown:
There’s a new heaven and a new earth on the way. Let’s talk about it, on Key Life.

Matthew Porter:
This is Key Life. We’re here to let you know that because of what Jesus has done, God will never be angry at you again. Steve invited our friend Pete Alwinson to do the teaching this week. Pete is a former pastor, founder of ForgeTruth.com, and the author of Like Father Like Son.

Steve Brown:
Thank you Matthew. Hi Pete.

Pete Alwinson:
Hey man.

Steve Brown:
It’s been a fun week. I’ve really loved it.

Pete Alwinson:
Rich.

Steve Brown:
I’ve learned new stuff from you.

Pete Alwinson:
Oh man.

Steve Brown:
And a new way to think about this walk with Christ. We’ve been talking all week about the Kingdom and the King and how central it is in Scripture. You said it was in other places, it wasn’t just Jesus, everybody’s talking about it.

Pete Alwinson:
Really, really. Paul deals with it probably most of all the others, but it’s infrequent, but because there’s so many metaphors to the rule of God, the Kingdom, that really it’s in the epistles the most, or excuse me, the gospels the most. Jesus talked about the Kingdom the most.

Steve Brown:
More than anybody else.

Pete Alwinson:
More than anybody else. But you know, there are many spots, like for instance, in Galatians, when Paul’s talking about behavior that has to be gotten out of our lives. He says.

If you carry on in those areas, you’re not going to inherit the Kingdom of God.

Right? So, our Kingdom, Paul would say at the end of Galatians is an ethical Kingdom where Christ has changed us. And so, we’re different in how we live it out. And the Kingdom always has practical ramifications in our life. And he talks about the, so in Ephesians, he talks about the inheritance of the Kingdom. When we get to I Thessalonians. Interesting at the end of first, or excuse me, at the end of Colossians talks about a guy and he says.

Jesus, whose name is Justice.

Could you imagine if your name was Jesus in the early church, they’re going to give you a nickname.

Steve Brown:
We’ve got a problem here. Call me Sam.

Pete Alwinson:
So, his name was Jesus, but they decided to call him Justice. He says.

These are the only fellow workers for the Kingdom of God who are from the circumcision.

And so, Paul uses this idea that in the body of Christ, we’re brothers and sisters, we’re part of the family, we’re part of the athletic group, but we’re part of the Kingdom. We’re all, as men and women, we’re warriors in advancing the Kingdom of God.

Steve Brown:
What we do is Kingdom work.

Pete Alwinson:
We’re doing Kingdom work. We are advancing the Kingdom.

Steve Brown:
You know, I suspect you ought to say something about the few, you know, the argument that sometimes is, takes place among theologians. Is the Kingdom now, or is it later? And you said at the beginning of this broadcast on the Kingdom that it’s both. Well, we live in a dark time, unless you’re an idiot, you don’t see that. You can see it. I mean, it really is dark. I don’t know a time when I felt so oppressed and depressed about what’s going on in our culture.

Pete Alwinson:
Right.

Steve Brown:
But Sunday’s coming, isn’t it? There’s more than that.

Pete Alwinson:
And I love how you said that. These are dark times and so many of us as Christians and there are times I get into a jag too, you know, where you just, can any good thing come out of the United States of America? No. And so, that’s why we have to keep in balance the fact that when Jesus came, the Kingly rule of God came near. It’s here. And we have to remember that. So yes, read the New Testament again, through Kingdom eyes, realizing his Kingdom is here. But it is also coming, you know, it is that reality of the already and the not yet of the Kingdom of God. It is here and the empty tomb in Jerusalem proves that the King is alive and that the King is coming back because he said he would die and rise again. And he did. He said he would come again and he will. And so, this is what we have to keep in mind right now. And that’s why the Kingdom focus helps us understand such a powerful way that there are good things going on. So, that’s why, frankly, quite frankly, we need to go to church. Why I need to be, because the church is the local expression of the Kingdom of God at work, where you’re hearing hope filled messages, Biblical messages, where you’re seeing people who are, yes, sometimes getting healed, sometimes not getting healed, but dying well. Who are, who are coming to Christ, who are being baptized, who are having babies that are being baptized. The Kingdom of God is advancing, and when we live in our own little world, we fail to see it. And if you’re just living in the secular world, you miss it. You’ve got to get to church.

Steve Brown:
You know, the problem is we live in a secular world. We read secular press. We read secular books. We watch secular movies and they’re lying to us.

Pete Alwinson:
That’s right.

Steve Brown:
Because they’re not part of the Kingdom.

Pete Alwinson:
That’s right.

Steve Brown:
They don’t get it.

Pete Alwinson:
That’s right.

Steve Brown:
And our response to that isn’t anger, it’s sadness.

Pete Alwinson:
It should be. So often, I think, for guys, and I deal with a lot of guys, we get ticked off. You know, we’re just mad. And a lot of Christians are seen as angry, mean, and nasty. Angry, mean, and nasty. We are sad and saddened. And so, what we ought to do is allow that sadness to cause us to love our enemies, actually. And to introduce them to the King who invites them into his rule, that is so much better. And his rule is here now and the change of lives around us.

Steve Brown:
Oh, you can see it everywhere, if you’re willing to look.

Pete Alwinson:
If you’re willing to look. And that’s why also, as we go to church, but also we ought to think in terms of praying for, as people like Dr. Martin Lloyd Jones and others prayed for revival. Jonathan Edwards, the second Great Awakening in America. The Businessmen’s Revival in 1857. There’s several revivals. What used to always bother me about reading about revivals is how strange sometimes people acted. That was too emotional.

Steve Brown:
It’s okay to do at a football game, but not in a religious setting.

Pete Alwinson:
There you go. And I think some of the excesses, I’ve come to see that sometimes, what happens in a revival is that God comes even closer than we thought. And the peoples, the people take the truths, the great truths of the historic gospel and they feel forgiven. They feel loved. They know the Spirit is near. They know the King is here. And so, as a result, they get happy and so there are sometimes some emotional excesses. But most of the time, and why we ought to pray for revival is that we see the real power of God, like we see it in the new century, but he’s coming again. And that’s why Revelation is so powerful. When you flip back, Revelation really doesn’t answer the question, when is Jesus coming back? It answers the question, what’s going to happen in the meantime before Jesus comes back, and then what’s it going to look like when He does?

Steve Brown:
And the culture to which that was addressed and the context is not dissimilar to ours.

Pete Alwinson:
Total, totally accurate. It’s the culture of the world since this, since Revelation was written, the Book of Revelation, it’s just like ours. It’s chaotic. It’s filled with turmoil, suffering. It’s filled with beasts, governments that are perpetually oppressing people. And so, that’s why when the King comes on his white horse and sets it straight and brings his Kingdom into reality. It’s the new heavens and new earth that Revelation 21 is talking about. And he’s going to remake it and re establish. And then Genesis comes full circle in the Book of Revelation.

Steve Brown:
Yeah, it really does. You know, D. L. Moody, when he worked in the inner city of Chicago, had a number of volunteers that worked under his direction. And those volunteers would say that Moody would say to them, You work hard, you be faithful, and when I have time, I’m going to come back and see what you’re doing. And those workers and volunteers said to themselves, the thing that motivates us is that Mr. Moody is going to come back and see what we’ve done and praise us for it. That is what Jesus says to us. You know, you keep trucking. You remember the Kingdom. It’s here. You’re my ambassador, and one day I’ll return the King, and we’ll rule together.

Pete Alwinson:
Oh man. That is it. That is it. And that is the blessed hope. The blessed hope of the Christian is the second coming of our King, our Lord and Savior, the Prophet, Priest, and King, our risen Savior, Jesus Christ.

Steve Brown:
Oh Pete, this has been such a good week talking. It’s really helped me, you know, I sometimes just think this is not working. I need to be reminded that this is not supposed to be working yet. The King has ordained everything that is, and it’s going to, and when he returns, it’s going to all be right. Every tear will dry, there’ll be no more death, and we’ll rejoice. And that’s what, you know the great thing is that Jesus not only said I’m the King, he not only said you’re the citizens, he said we’re going to rule together.

Pete Alwinson:
That’s right. That’s right. And what all does that mean? I don’t know.

Steve Brown:
I don’t either.

Pete Alwinson:
But it’s going to be glorious.

Steve Brown:
It really is.

Pete Alwinson:
It’s going to be glorious.

Steve Brown:
Okay. Great teaching this week on the Kingdom of God, particularly the King. So, if you’re depressed, if you’re tired of watching the news and weeping, if you wonder if this is going to work out all right, remember what Pete taught you. The King is here. The King is coming. You think about that. Amen.

Matthew Porter:
Thank you Steve and Pete. That wraps up Steve and Pete’s week of teaching on the Kingdom of God. Wasn’t that good? Remember, if you missed any episode or maybe you just want to listen again, or maybe even share with a friend, you can stream all our shows for free at keylife.org and if you still need one more fix of Steve and Pete, be sure to tune in tomorrow for Friday Q&A, when they will answer this question, was there jealousy in the family of Jesus? Oh, it’s juicy. Tune in for that one. On the topic of questions, you may have asked some of these. Who is the Holy Spirit? What does he do? What are the gifts of the Holy Spirit? Does God still do miracles? Good questions lead to good answers. So, you may want to get our free booklet called Questions About the Holy Spirit. Just call us at 1-800-KEY-LIFE that’s 1-800-539-5433. You can also e-mail [email protected] to ask for that booklet or to mail your request, go to keylife.org/contact to find our mailing addresses for the U.S. and Canada. Again, just ask for your absolutely free copy of the booklet called Questions About the Holy Spirit. And finally, if you value the work of Key Life, would you join us in that work through your financial support? You can charge a gift on your credit card or include a gift in your envelope. Or you can now give safely and securely through text. Just pick up your phone right now and text Key Life to 28950 that’s Key Life, one word or two. It doesn’t matter. Text that to 28950. Key Life is a member of ECFA in the States and CCCC in Canada. And we are a listener supported production of Key Life Network.