Episode Transcript
[00:00:07] Speaker A: Foreign.
This is Pastor Chuck Allen, and thanks so much for joining me on today's weekday podcast, where I want to talk about where does the kingdom of God start?
I'm so glad that you've taken a few minutes to breathe, to listen, to let the spirit speak into your ordinary Tuesday kind of life, and I'm grateful for the time. I want to start with the page
[00:00:27] Speaker B: picture that you probably know way too well. You're driving down the road like I was in Tampa the other night, and your gps, and you're halfway listening to the directions, halfway thinking about where you're
[00:00:41] Speaker A: supposed to be or that kid or that bill, and you blow right past your turn like I did in Tampa the other night.
And then that calm voice says, recalculating on your gps.
Now, I typically use Apple maps, and I. I love to change the voice on Apple maps or Waze or whatever. And so on Apple maps, I have this wonderfully enchanting young British accent that
[00:01:10] Speaker B: tells me where to go and what to do.
I think some of us are living out spiritual lives.
Like, I passed the vote. Now, in my case, it wasn't that I missed it.
[00:01:20] Speaker A: I heard the voice I saw on the screen to turn left here.
I'm sorry to turn right here, but I looked down the road and I thought, that can't be right. So I went by it. That's why I went ahead to hear recalculating. Now, the good news is, I mean, if that's how a lot of us live our spiritual lives, then the way the metaphor works is we love Jesus, but we keep blowing past the turn where his kingdom is actually showing up, because it doesn't look like a whole lot.
[00:01:51] Speaker B: Not a big sign, there's no stadium lights, just a small, quiet road called Surrender.
Jesus says in Luke 17:20. One day the Pharisees ask Jesus, when
[00:02:02] Speaker A: did the kingdom of God come? And Jesus replies, the kingdom of God can't be detected by visible signs. You won't be able to say, here it is or it's over there, for the kingdom of God is already among you. You see, they wanted timetables. They wanted headlines. They wanted. And Jesus was trying to give them himself.
They wanted a political schedule, but he offered a personal surrender. The kingdom wasn't out there somewhere.
[00:02:30] Speaker B: The king of that kingdom was standing
[00:02:34] Speaker A: right in front of them, because he
[00:02:36] Speaker B: can't have a kingdom without a king.
So let's make this super practical. The kingdom is not just a place
[00:02:43] Speaker A: to go when you die. It's not just heaven. The kingdom is wherever God's rule is gladly embraced, including in you right now.
Because the kingdom shows up when God's will overrides our will, when God's voice has more weight than our feelings, when God's character shapes our reactions, our money, and our relationships. Often when he shapes our actions, not just reactions.
[00:03:14] Speaker B: Something is king in your life, guys. I mean, no kidding.
[00:03:19] Speaker A: Something.
[00:03:19] Speaker B: We all have a king.
[00:03:22] Speaker A: But if it's not Jesus, it will eventually enslave you.
Because success makes you perform, approval makes you pretend, Comfort makes you numb.
But Jesus, when he's king over your heart, over your soul, over your mind, over your strength, over your life, Jesus sets you free.
So I want to ask you a hard kind of question.
Where does God's rule stop in your life?
[00:03:51] Speaker B: Is he king of your Sundays, but not of your browser history.
King of your theology, but maybe not your temper.
King of your worship, but not of your wallet?
This isn't about shame, y'.
[00:04:03] Speaker A: All. It's about invitation.
The spirit saying, let's recalculate. Let's make the turn right here.
Maybe in your car or at your desk or while you're walking the dog, you might whisper this simple prayer. Jesus, I don't want your kingdom to just be an idea. I want you to be king over my thoughts, my words, over my time, and my secret life.
Show me one place today where I've been calling the shots, and I surrender
[00:04:31] Speaker B: that to you right now, friend. The kingdom of God is a lot closer than you think. It's not just in a church building or a prophecy chart. It's already among you, because the king is with you for you today.
[00:04:45] Speaker A: And his name is Jesus.
So before you move on to your next thing, can I invite you to ask, in this one decision in front of me, what would it look like for Jesus to be king right here, right now?
Boy, that's the answer to where you start in the kingdom. God bless you, friend. Thanks for joining me on today's weekday podcast.
