Embracing the Kingdom: Surrendering to God's Authority

Devotional

Day 1: The Kingdom of God Is God’s Rule and Reign, Not a Location

The kingdom of God is not about a physical place, but about God’s authority, rule, and reign in the lives of His people. It is present wherever hearts are surrendered to Jesus, and it is both a present reality and a future hope. Even in times of tragedy or confusion, God remains sovereign over all, and His kingdom is established over everything. When we pray for God’s kingdom to come, we are asking for His will and authority to be made real in our lives and in our world, not just for a distant heaven but for His rule to be evident here and now. [52:00]

Psalm 103:19 (ESV)
The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.

Reflection: In what area of your life do you most struggle to let God have full authority and rule? What would it look like to truly surrender that area to Him today?

Day 2: Surrendering to Jesus Means Giving Him Everything

To experience the kingdom of God, we must surrender all that we have and all that we are to Jesus. Surrender is not partial or conditional; it is a wholehearted giving up of our rights, desires, and possessions so that Christ’s authority can reign in us. This surrender is costly, but the treasure of knowing Jesus and living in His kingdom is worth more than anything we could ever give up. True discipleship means daily asking Jesus what He wants and being willing to follow wherever He leads, holding nothing back. [01:07:00]

Matthew 13:44-45 (ESV)
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls.”

Reflection: What is one thing you are holding back from Jesus? Are you willing to lay it down today so that He can have full authority in your life?

Day 3: The Kingdom Grows from Small Beginnings

God’s kingdom often starts small, like a mustard seed, but when we offer even the smallest step of faith, He grows His kingdom in and through us. You don’t have to have it all together or know everything; God simply asks for your willingness to start where you are. As you surrender to Him, He will use your life to impact others, and His kingdom will expand in ways you could never imagine. Don’t underestimate what God can do with your simple “yes” today. [01:09:30]

Matthew 13:31-32 (ESV)
He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

Reflection: What is one small act of obedience or faith you can take today to allow God to grow His kingdom in and through you?

Day 4: The Kingdom of God Requires the Help of the Holy Spirit

Life in the kingdom is not something we can achieve by our own effort or goodness; it is only possible through the work of the Holy Spirit. Jesus made it clear that entering the kingdom is impossible for us on our own, but with God, all things are possible. The Holy Spirit draws us to the Father, empowers us to live under Christ’s rule, and enables us to do what we could never do by ourselves. Relying on the Spirit is essential for living as citizens of God’s kingdom. [01:03:01]

Matthew 19:23-26 (ESV)
And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Reflection: Where are you relying on your own strength instead of the Holy Spirit? How can you invite the Spirit to lead and empower you today?

Day 5: Living for the Kingdom Means Seeking Jesus First Every Day

To live in the kingdom of God is to seek first His rule and righteousness above all else. This means making Jesus the priority in every decision, relationship, and desire, and trusting that as you do, He will take care of everything else. Each day is an opportunity to get up and ask, “Jesus, what do you want to do today?” Living for the kingdom is not about our own comfort or plans, but about following Jesus wherever He leads and letting His authority shape every part of our lives. [01:28:00]

Matthew 6:33 (ESV)
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Reflection: As you begin your day, what would it look like to truly seek Jesus’ will first in your schedule, your conversations, and your choices? Will you ask Him to lead you in every step today?

Sermon Summary

Today, we gathered as a family deeply aware of the pain and tragedy that has touched our community and our nation. In the midst of loss, confusion, and questions, we turned our hearts to the only true answer: Jesus. We began by lifting each other up in prayer, calling out one another’s names before the Father, trusting that God hears every name and every need. There is something powerful and healing about being known—by God and by each other. In our brokenness, in our gratitude, in our worship, we come as we are, and God meets us there.

We then turned to Acts 1, where Jesus, after His resurrection, spent forty days teaching about the kingdom of God. This kingdom is not about a physical place, but about the rule and reign of God in our lives. The kingdom is both present—seen in God’s saving action in us—and future, to be fully established when Christ returns. God’s original intent was for us to rule and reign with Him, but sin disrupted that. Now, through Jesus, the kingdom is brought near, and we are invited to live under His authority.

Living in the kingdom means surrendering everything—our plans, our possessions, our relationships—to Jesus. It’s not about working our way in or being “good enough.” Only through the Holy Spirit can we truly live as kingdom people. The kingdom often looks different than we expect; it grows from small beginnings, like a mustard seed, and requires total surrender. The treasure of the kingdom is worth more than anything else we could possess, but it also demands everything from us.

Jesus taught that at the end of the age, there will be a separation between those who have surrendered to His kingdom and those who have not. Each of us lives under the authority of one kingdom or another—either the kingdom of God or the kingdom of this world. The call is clear: seek first the kingdom of God, surrender fully, and let His rule and reign shape every part of your life. Today is the day to lay down whatever you’re holding back and step fully into the life Jesus offers.

Key Takeaways

1. The kingdom of God is not a location, but the active rule and reign of God in our lives. It is present now through the work of Jesus and the Holy Spirit, and will be fully realized when Christ returns. Living in the kingdom means daily surrender to God’s authority, not just waiting for heaven someday. [49:33]
2. True surrender to Jesus is not partial or conditional. It means giving up every right to ourselves—our plans, possessions, and preferences—and allowing Jesus to direct every aspect of our lives. Anything less is not true surrender, and it is only in this full surrender that we experience the richness of the kingdom. [60:00]
3. The kingdom of God often grows in unexpected ways, starting small like a mustard seed but expanding beyond what we could imagine. God is not waiting for us to have it all together; He asks us to start where we are, and He will grow His kingdom in and through us as we yield to Him. [67:00]
4. The treasure of the kingdom is worth more than anything else we could ever possess, but it also requires everything we have. Jesus calls us to value our relationship with Him above all else, to the point that we would joyfully give up anything that stands in the way of following Him. [70:00]
5. At the end of the age, there will be a clear separation between those who have surrendered to the kingdom of God and those who have not. Each of us is living under the authority of one kingdom or another, and the invitation is to choose today to live under the rule and reign of Jesus, seeking first His kingdom in all things. [74:50]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[02:00] - Announcements and Ministry Opportunities
[05:30] - Community Tragedy and Prayer Introduction
[10:00] - Praying for Each Other by Name
[18:14] - Corporate Prayer for Healing and Unity
[24:14] - Worship: Bringing Brokenness and Praise
[41:31] - Preparing Our Hearts for the Word
[44:00] - Celebration of Generosity
[47:00] - Acts 1: The Kingdom of God Explained
[53:00] - The Kingdom: Present and Future
[58:00] - Surrender and the Authority of Jesus
[63:01] - You Can’t Work Your Way In: The Role of the Holy Spirit
[67:00] - The Mustard Seed: Small Beginnings, Big Growth
[70:00] - The Treasure and the Cost of the Kingdom
[74:50] - The Wheat and the Weeds: Two Kingdoms
[80:00] - Living Under the Right Authority
[85:00] - Responding to God’s Call
[91:42] - Dismissal and Ongoing Worship

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Acts 1:1-3 (ESV) — > In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

Matthew 13:31-33, 44-45 (ESV) — > He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”
> He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.”
> “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls…”

Matthew 6:33 (ESV) — > But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Observation Questions

According to Acts 1, what did Jesus spend his last forty days teaching about after his resurrection?
In the parables from Matthew 13, what are some of the ways Jesus describes the kingdom of God?
What does Jesus say is required to “seek first the kingdom of God” in Matthew 6:33?
The sermon said, “The kingdom of God is not a location, but the active rule and reign of God in our lives.” What examples did the pastor give to show how the kingdom is present now? [[49:33]]

Interpretation Questions

Why do you think Jesus focused so much on teaching about the kingdom of God in his final days with the disciples? What does this say about its importance? [[49:33]]
The parable of the mustard seed shows the kingdom starting small and growing large. What might this mean for how God works in our lives and in the world? [[01:07:00]]
The sermon said, “Living in the kingdom means surrendering everything—our plans, our possessions, our relationships—to Jesus.” Why is full surrender necessary, and what does it look like practically? [[01:00:00]]
Jesus taught that at the end of the age, there will be a separation between those who have surrendered to his kingdom and those who have not. How does this challenge the way we live now? [[01:14:50]]

Application Questions

The pastor said, “There is something powerful and healing about being known—by God and by each other.” When was a time you felt truly known by God or by someone else in the church? How did that impact you? [[10:00]]
The sermon challenged us to surrender “everything—our plans, our possessions, our relationships—to Jesus.” Is there something specific in your life right now that you are holding back from God’s rule? What would it look like to surrender it? [[01:00:00]]
The kingdom of God often starts small, like a mustard seed, but grows beyond what we imagine. What is one small step of faith or obedience you could take this week to let God’s kingdom grow in you or through you? [[01:07:00]]
The treasure of the kingdom is worth more than anything else, but it also “demands everything from us.” What is one thing you value highly that might compete with your devotion to Jesus? How can you put Jesus first in that area? [[01:10:00]]
The sermon said, “Each of us lives under the authority of one kingdom or another—either the kingdom of God or the kingdom of this world.” In what ways do you see the “kingdom of this world” influencing your decisions or priorities? How can you intentionally choose God’s kingdom this week? [[01:14:50]]
The pastor encouraged us to “seek first the kingdom of God” every day. What would it look like for you to start your day with this mindset? Is there a practical way you can remind yourself to do this each morning? [[01:25:00]]
The sermon began with a time of praying for each other by name. How can your small group continue to practice this kind of prayer and support for one another, especially in times of pain or confusion? [[10:00]]

Sermon Clips

The kingdom of God is not as much about location as you and I think. When you hear Kingdom of heaven, we think about heaven. When we think about getting the kingdom of heaven to come to earth, we wonder, how are we going to get heaven to come to earth? And what we're going to learn today is that the kingdom of God is not about location. It is about the rule and the reign of our God and his authority in our lives. [00:52:27] (26 seconds)

Our God is in charge. And the reason that we have to understand that he was in charge last week is because our only hope, our only hope in the world is that our God is in charge this week. And he can't be in charge moving forward if he wasn't in charge in the past. So we don't understand it all. We don't get to go to him and go, God why did you make this decision? Why did you allow this? Why did you—I don't think we get those answers many times in our lives. But I know this: if we cut him out of the past, we're cutting him out of the future. [00:53:48] (32 seconds)

The kingdom of God is present—seen in God's saving action in the world and in the lives of believers. See, pick up on that. God, in the original deal, he wanted the rule and reign of God to be with his people and he wanted us to rule and reign. Sin took that away from us in that sense that he wanted. So what he's done now is he's brought the kingdom into us, and the way that we see the kingdom of God in the world today is through him ruling and reigning in our lives. [00:55:33] (37 seconds)

Once you surrender to the authority and the rule and reign of Jesus, you don't get to pick what you do tomorrow. You don't get to decide who you date this time. You don't get to decide who you marry this time. You don't get to decide—you got to go to Jesus and say, Jesus, what do you want from me? Because if we're going to surrender—I think we have taken the word surrender and really mess it up in our culture today. We have this mindset that we can surrender and then keep all of our stuff. [01:03:03] (29 seconds)

Surrender is when I come to Jesus and say, Jesus, I'm giving you everything that I have. It's all yours. And he says thank you, and he takes it, and then he begins to use me for his glory. And that means when he says, hey, we're gonna get up, go do this today, my answer is, yep, how fast you want me to get there? Because I don't get a choice in that anymore. I've surrendered that. I have, I've come under his authority and his rule and reign. [01:03:51] (26 seconds)

The kingdom of God does not always look like we think it's going to look. Anybody ever had something in your life that that came along and you're like, God, I didn't really think that's what we were going to be dealing with? Just this week we can see it all over our world, things happening that we would look and go, wow, God, that doesn't seem to me how you would do that. [01:05:19] (22 seconds)

You can't work your way in—life in the kingdom of God requires the help of the Holy Spirit. Listen, we would love to think that we're just going to be good enough to get to heaven, we're going to be good enough that God's going to honor us and we're going to live the kingdom and it's going to be fine, we do everything Jesus tells us to so we're fine. Listen, you can't pull that off without the Holy Spirit in your life. [01:07:11] (27 seconds)

It's good that it's worth all that you have, because number five says it requires all that you have to experience the kingdom. It takes all you got. Listen, in Luke 9:23, when Jesus said, man, if you want to follow me, pick up your cross, die to who you are, live for who I am, and let's walk, let's follow. [01:15:17] (23 seconds)

Every one of us, whether you're sitting in this room, whether you're online with us, all of us right now are living our lives under the authority of one of those two kingdoms. You are either following Jesus and living under the authority of the kingdom of God through a relationship with Jesus Christ, or you are following the evil one and you are living under the rule and reign and authority of the king of this world. [01:20:42] (26 seconds)

Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Man, every day, what are we doing to say, I'm seeking first the kingdom of God? What does that mean? It means this: I'm getting out of bed tomorrow morning and I'm not living for my own desires, I'm living for the desires of Christ. What does he want to do? See, we've wrapped it up in our world—seek first the kingdom of God, look, okay, we're seeking heaven. No, no, we're seeking the rule and reign and authority of Jesus right now on this earth. He brought it to us, he's put it in us, and that's what we're seeking. And when we understand that and when we grab a hold of the rule and the reign and the authority of Jesus, everything else will be taken care of. [01:23:04] (46 seconds)

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