His Kingdom Here

All right, how many of you guys are ready to break open the Word this morning? Get some fresh bread? We need some of that. We’re going to do it a little differently today. Are you guys ready for this? Yeah. We’re going to do it a little differently. And I believe this is important, because I really want us to get a picture this morning. I want us to get a picture of what the Lord does in the spirit when we worship Him. What’s taking place in the spirit? What are we entering into?

We’ve been in this series called The Throne Room. And we’re not just talking about a throne room like a normal king’s. No, we’re talking about the throne room of heaven, the throne that is above every other throne. Okay? And we’re talking about being people who come into the throne room with praise and with thanksgiving and with worship, who come into His presence. And it’s at the throne that we see something called grace. Everybody say, “Grace.”

I don’t know about you, but I can use a little bit more grace all the time, right? I feel like I’m always asking for more and more grace: “Lord, I could have done that better. Lord, I messed that up. Lord, I didn’t even see that one.” Right? We need something called grace. And not only do we need grace from Him; we need to give it to other people. Amen.

What is heaven like?

But I want us to talk about coming into the throne room, and I want us to look this morning at what is happening in that atmosphere. What we’re going to do is, we have a slide that’s going to be put up here in just a moment called “What Is Heaven Like?” What is heaven like? There’s a lot that we don’t know about heaven, but Scripture does give us some visualizations and some explanations of what is actually happening in heaven. Okay? These aren’t all of them; this is just some.

And what I’m going to have us do this morning is actually break into groups. Everybody say, “What?” We’re going to break into groups. And I’m going to ask that we actually turn to these different scriptures and read them together. And I want us to make some observations of what is happening in heaven. What is the atmosphere like? What is taking place? Who is there? Okay? And I want us to take some notes as we have some discussion and talk about what heaven is like, what is taking place, what the atmosphere is, who is there. And then I want us to write some things down, and then we’re going to have a little bit of time of sharing.

I’m going to have Pastor Suzie come around with this very microphone, because we only have one of these wireless ones. Okay? So she’s going to walk around, and we’re just going to have people who are comfortable sharing — not everybody sharing, okay? Everybody say, “Okay.” All right. No, no, we don’t need that. We’re just going to have a couple of people share some of the things that they found from the group: “We found that heaven is like this. This is what’s happening.” You might already know some of this; you might not. Don’t assume everybody does. There can also be other scriptures. If there’s a scripture where you’re like, “This one came to mind; this is what’s happening,” read it and share it with the group. Can we do that?

So we’re going to spend about ten minutes — ten minutes, because there’s a lot of scripture here — in groups of about five to six. And if you don’t know everybody, that’s okay. If you don’t know what to say, don’t feel obligated to share. It’s okay. But this is a time for us to read the Scripture together, to make some observations, and allow the Lord to reveal something to us this morning. Okay? Are we good with that? All right. And if you don’t know everybody, you can introduce yourself. I’m giving you thirty seconds to introduce yourselves. Okay, so let’s do that. We’re going to take ten minutes. We’re going to leave these scriptures up. You can go through these; you can go through others. But let’s answer that question: what is heaven like? Go ahead, break into groups. And we’re going to leave this up online as well; if you’re online, you can follow along and take some time to do this.

After the groups share

Jesus said the meek will inherit the earth. And I really think we’re going to be surprised, once we get to heaven, how many people who were of low status will actually be leading those who are of high status. You’ll have janitors leading pastors, even, in heaven. It’s a different set of rules.

Heaven is accessible now

If you weren’t able to get through all the scriptures, maybe just snap a photo, and then you can read those throughout the week. I think it’s really important for us to get a picture of what’s happening, because we’re talking about the throne room of heaven. That’s literally what we’re talking about. Because there’s a sense that I have that the Lord is just wanting to reveal Himself in a new way to each person.

Maybe there are things that you’re hoping for, things that you’re praying for, things that you’re believing for. And I really believe that in this next season, as we press into the Lord, we’re going to see different facets of Him, each one of us personally. Does that make sense? It’s nothing new, as in a new creative way in Himself. But He’s endless, right? He’s limitless. And we’re going to spend eternity learning and experiencing more of who He is.

And so I really want us to sit and think about what is happening there. We’re going to go through and talk about a few scriptures here, but this is what I want us to recognize this morning. We talked about what heaven is like, right? We talked about what was taking place, what the feel is, what’s happening, who’s there. Okay? And I want us to recognize that wherever we find ourselves in life, Jesus has made it possible for us to bring heaven — what is happening in heaven — to our very situation, right here on earth.

And I think sometimes we think of heaven and we think, “Well, I get there when I die.” But actually, the Lord has made His kingdom accessible to every believer. And I think it’s important that we understand that reality. Yes, there is hurt. There are disappointments. There’s grief. There are all these things that we process every day. But there’s this reality that is taking place in heaven right now. And in that reality there is a God, and there is Jesus, who is ruling. There is Jesus, who is reigning. There is a divine order taking place that isn’t just reserved for those who have passed away. We can see His kingdom rule in our lives today. You guys with me?

And this is so important, because I feel like so many times we go through life just thinking, “Oh, I can’t wait to be with the Lord,” or, “Man, Jesus, come soon.” And those are things that are okay to want — that the Lord would return soon. But what I’m saying is, He’s given us full access to Him at any time. And so as believers we need to know how to invite His kingdom, how to invite the atmosphere of heaven into our situation, into our day-to-day, where we are right now. And so this is not only something that we can do; it’s something that we should be doing.

That’s why it says in Hebrews 4:16 — this has been our primary verse — “Let us come boldly to the throne of grace.” It’s not talking about just when you die. It’s saying, no, there is a way to come to the throne of grace, “that you may receive mercy and grace to help in time of need.” I don’t know about you, but I need help. And so we’re not without resources. We’re not without the Lord, who is wanting to reveal Himself to us. And so we’re going to look at a few scriptures here this morning, and we’re going to go pretty quickly, but we’re going to look at what takes place in the spirit realm as we invite His kingdom to come. His kingdom to come.

Go into your room and shut the door

All right. So I want to start — we’re going to look in Matthew chapter 6. If you have your Bibles, you can turn there. This is Jesus speaking to His disciples, and they’ve asked Him, “Lord, how do we pray? Teach us how to pray.” And so Jesus is responding to His disciples, and I want us to notice what Jesus says in Matthew 6, starting at verse 6. He says, “But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.”

And so this is Jesus teaching His disciples: this is the manner in which you should pray. Notice He’s not saying, “This is how you need to pray every time.” It’s not necessarily these exact words. It’s “in this manner.” And so there is a dissection of things that Jesus is trying to impart, or teach, His disciples, saying, “When you pray in this way, not only are you in your room; you’re inviting God, who is in heaven, to come right into your midst.” Okay?

And so Jesus is saying, “In this manner, therefore, pray. When you pray, go into your room.” How many of you know the gospel is so simple that there really isn’t an extravagant approach that’s required? How many of you know you don’t just get to experience Jesus on a Sunday? But Jesus is saying, “No, go to your room.” That means wherever you are, whenever you are, go to your room and find those moments where you can fix your eyes on Him. Go to your room and pray.

“And when you have shut your door …” How many of you know there are a lot of things going on in our lives that sometimes we need to close the door on? Sometimes you’re in such a mental capacity that you’re like, “I don’t even know if I can pray right now.” Anybody else been there? “I don’t even know if I can pray. I don’t even know how to come to God right now. I have this going on, I have this, I have this. I have all these words.” How many of you know we need to learn how to shut the door on some of the things that are taking place in our lives and look to Jesus?

You know, I think sometimes we just get so caught up in our day-to-day, our moment-to-moment. And sometimes we just need to keep it simple and remember: shut the door. It’s time to look to Jesus. Shut the door. “When you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place.” Now, when we pray — how many of you know we pray to the Father in Jesus’ name? Right? That’s just a little side note. We pray to the Father in Jesus’ name, because His name is above every name. Okay?

So Jesus says, “In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed” — everybody say, “Hallowed” — “hallowed be Your name.” I can’t tell you how many years went by where I was like, “What does ‘hallowed’ mean?” Right? What does that even mean? It means holy. It means set apart.

I want us to notice how Jesus says this. “When you pray, I want you to start off in this way.” He says, “I want you to start by declaring who God is.” We start with praise and with worship. There is something that happens in us, but there is something that happens in the spirit when we start to declare, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty.” Not only is there something happening in us — how many of you know there is something happening in the spirit? There is something taking place where there is no longer this gap between where we are and where God is in heaven. It’s in the spirit that those two things meet in that moment.

That’s why our times of praise and worship are so powerful. It’s not just a time to sit and be like, “Oh, woe is me.” No. “I’m going to shut the door to what I’m feeling. I’m going to shut the door to what I’m thinking. I’m just going to shut the door and declare who God is. I’m going to look to Him and declare who He is.” Because in that moment, He meets me right where I am.

So Jesus is saying, when you pray, shut the door and say, “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Your name.” I’m getting caught on a word. “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Your name.” And then notice: “Your kingdom come.”

“Your kingdom come”

How many of you know Jesus was not just being figurative in that moment? It didn’t just sound good. Even when we just read it, it’s like, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done,” right? You kind of just go through it. But how many of you know Jesus was being intentional in that moment, saying there is actually a way for His kingdom order, His kingdom rule, His kingdom reign to be present in your life right now?

What a difference that would make. I mean, just think about that. What difference would that make when you’re going through your job, when you’re going through your workday, when you’re having dinner with your family? What difference would it make when you invite Him, and you start off saying, “Lord, You are worthy. You are holy. Lord, I ask that You would come — that Your kingdom, Your order, would come right now”?

It realigns our thinking. It realigns what you’re feeling. And those things that you had originally shut the door on — how many of you know they’re not even a thing anymore? Why? Because now I’m face to face with the Lord. Okay? You guys with me?

And so Jesus says, “Your kingdom come.” And a kingdom has a king, and kings sit on thrones. How many of you know that’s where Jesus is — seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven? And we just read those scriptures in Revelation talking about how He is surrounded by the elders. He’s surrounded by angels who are singing, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty, who was and is and is to come.”

And I want to show us that when we come in with that kind of approach — where we shut the door, where we look to Him and we say, “Your kingdom come,” and we pray, we praise, we’re in an atmosphere of worship — we’re not only in a room here on earth, but we can literally enter the secret place, into the very throne room of God, and say, “Lord, Your kingdom come.”

Now, we see this throughout the Bible. We see that there are these two distinct locations that are referred to: here on earth, and then this kingdom, heavenly reality. And we see in Hebrews 4:16, where it says, “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace.” That is something that we can experience right now, right where we are. And so this isn’t just something to sound good. This is Jesus saying, “No, when you pray, pray, ‘Holy are You, Lord.’” Recognize that we enter with praise and worship, but then we get to invite His kingdom reality to come into our situation, into our lives, whatever is happening.

God’s will doesn’t happen automatically

How many of you know the will of God does not come to pass automatically on earth? Did you guys know that? Yeah. It’s so simple to think, “Well, if God wants it to happen, it’s going to happen.” No. His ultimate will happens. But there are a lot of things that God wants to happen that don’t actually happen, right? The Bible says God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. But how many of you know there are people who will perish? There are people who are dying who will be separated from the Father in eternity. And so His will is that none should perish, but the reality is that some are.

But how many of you also know that if we open our mouth and confess Jesus as Lord, and believe in our heart that God raised Him from the dead, the Bible says you will be saved? How? Because I opened my mouth. Because I declared Him as Lord. And when we declare that and we believe that in our heart, the power of God comes in, and it gives you a born-again spirit. It gives you the Holy Spirit. You are filled with the Spirit, and you are now a new creation. Are you guys with me? It all begins when we speak and declare what He has made available to us.

In the same way, the kingdom of God does not come until we begin to open our mouths, and we begin to praise, we begin to worship, and we say, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty. Lord, Your kingdom come.” How many of you know we can’t just think it? We can’t even just want it. We need to declare it. That’s why Jesus says, “No, when you pray, you say this: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come.”

I don’t know about you, but I would really like His order, His rule, more present in my life — where I’m not worried about what I can do or what I’m seeing, but I can stand on His promises, and I can walk in the fullness of who He’s called me to be. Amen. “Your kingdom come.” And when we speak that — His kingdom is a kingdom that is centered around the throne room in heaven. And when we open our mouths, at that moment we penetrate this atmosphere, and we come into His throne room, the throne room of God.

A door standing open in heaven

Okay, I want to look at this. This is one of my favorite passages in Scripture. Revelation chapter 4. How many of you know the book of Revelation is not just about the end times? It’s the revelation of Jesus Christ. And when we’re talking about Jesus revealing Himself to us, I feel like there’s such a beautiful picture portrayed all throughout it, but here specifically in Revelation 4, starting at verse 1. And I want you to notice what is taking place in the throne room of heaven.

Revelation 4, starting at verse 1, says, “After these things …” Okay, John is having this vision of what is taking place in the spirit, in the heavens. “After these things I looked, and behold, a door” — everybody say, “A door.” Didn’t we just talk about shutting a door? There’s a physical door that we need to shut. It doesn’t mean you literally need to shut your bedroom door, but there’s this approach, right, of shutting out our current reality and stepping into a heavenly reality.

It says, “After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven.” I love that it’s open. It’s open to every believer. Amen. “And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking to me, saying, ‘Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.’ Immediately I was in the Spirit.”

Let me ask you: how can we engage in the throne room of heaven here on earth? We do it in the spirit. You’re not transported physically, right? When you look around your room, you’re still in your room. But how many of you know, in the spirit, when we come to the Father, we look to Him, we shut the door, we begin to give praise, we begin to give Him worship — how many of you know in the spirit we’re in the throne room? You guys with me?

It says, “Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne” — talking about Jesus. “And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white robes; and they had crowns of gold on their heads.”

And from the throne — listen to this — “from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices.” How many of you know in the throne room of heaven there is an atmosphere of power? You want the power of God in your life? Begin to look to heaven and call out to Him, and invite His kingdom rule into your life.

It says, “And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back.” It’s probably not that freaky. It’s in glory.

Verse 7: “The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying” — notice this; they do not rest, saying — “‘Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!’”

What are they saying? “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come.” Now notice the first word in verse 9: “Whenever.” Meaning every time. “Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever,” notice, “the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns” — that’s talking about everything that they’ve accomplished, every win, every success, good or bad, righteous or worldly, whatever; every accomplishment, they lay at the feet of Jesus — they cast them “before the throne, saying: ‘You are worthy to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created.’”

I want you to notice: this is an atmosphere of praise and worship. This is an atmosphere of worship where they are singing, “Holy, holy, holy.” And this is important for us to understand: in the throne room of heaven, at the throne of God, there is an atmosphere of praise and worship.

The doorposts were shaken

Now I want you to notice another revelation of the throne room, in Isaiah chapter 6. This is seven hundred years before John would have his vision of the throne room. Seven hundred years before. And notice what it says in Isaiah 6 — and we started off this morning by reading this. It says, “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim” — that’s angels — “each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another” — notice, very similar picture; notice each one cried to another — “singing: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!’”

And notice what happens in verse 4: “And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.” How many of you remember the door in Revelation chapter 4? There was an open door. And John went through the door and saw the throne room of God. And here is Isaiah, saying these creatures are singing, “Holy, holy, holy,” and the posts of the door — the door to the throne room of heaven — were shaken.

You see, I think that there is an underestimation that we have. When we begin to give praise and worship to the Lord, His kingdom really does want to come. Literally, the doorposts of heaven are shaking with anticipation of believers who will look to Him and say the same thing — who will look to heaven and look to Him and say, “God, I come to You. You are holy. You are worthy.” And when we do, heaven literally will come right where we are. And it’s not done in the physical; it’s done in the spirit, where in the spirit we are sharing that same place. Are you guys with me this morning?

And so this isn’t just stuff to know. This is a reality to live in. Holy, holy, holy. When that happens, heaven comes to earth, and we share the same space. And how does it start? It starts when we give Him praise, when we speak with our mouths and we declare, “Holy. Hallowed be Your name. Holy is Your name.” And we align ourselves.

Think about this. When we begin to sing, “Holy, holy, holy,” how many of you know we are aligning ourselves with the very throne of heaven? We are aligning ourselves with the doorposts of heaven. If we aren’t speaking those things, if we’re not giving Him praise, how many of you know we’re not lined up? And why would we ever expect to see His rule or His reality on earth? But when we begin to match that atmosphere of praise, that atmosphere of worship, right, we begin to line up, saying, “Holy is the Lord. Your kingdom come.” How many of you know there is an alignment that is taking place? And whatever situation we find ourselves in, His reality becomes our reality. Is that good?

This is why it’s so important that we don’t just go through the motions. How many of you know He’s not looking for vain words or vain repetitions? This is why it’s so important that when our worship leader comes up and says, “Let’s worship the Lord,” we actually worship with our whole heart. Why? Because if we’re just saying vain words, we’re not doing anything. But when our heart is in alignment, and we begin to declare in spirit and in truth, “Lord, You are holy. You are the first priority in my life. You are worthy of everything I have” — how many of you know, on the inside, we are aligning ourselves with the throne room of heaven? And we get to see Him. We get to experience Him. We get to receive His reality, where heaven meets earth.

And from this throne, where the Creator of the universe sits, comes lightning and thunder. How many of you know from His throne comes power? We need the power of God in our lives. There are things that God has called you to do that you can never do in your own strength. It’s intended that way, because He’s wanting you to look to Him. He’s wanting your heart. He’s wanting your attention — that you would have faith, that you would believe that not only will His kingdom make a difference, but His kingdom will come when I begin to look to Him and begin to declare who He is. His kingdom comes for a purpose, because His kingdom is power. Amen. Amen.

Transcribed from the message recording and lightly edited for reading.