April 26, 2026 - The Son is Rising - Living in light of His Kingdom Malachi 4:2

Apr 26, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Presenting Aganze at Dawn

The temple courts buzzed with lambs and doves as Mary laid her newborn in the priest’s arms. Rough carpenter hands trembled, not from wood splinters but holy awe. Every parent who brings a child to Jesus repeats this ancient surrender—not of ownership, but stewardship. [07:57]

Jesus honored these raw offerings. He rebuked disciples who dismissed parents crowding their kids toward His blessing. Dedication declares: “This life belongs to the One who breathed it.” Your home becomes a temple when you lift small hands in prayer.

Where have you clutched control instead of consecrating what God gave? Write one area you’ll place back in His palms today.

“When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.”
(Luke 2:22, NIV)

Prayer: Ask Jesus to anoint your stewardship with daily dependence.
Challenge: Write “Aganze: dedicated” on your mirror; pray it aloud while brushing teeth.

Day 2: Kingdom Within Arm’s Reach

John stood waist-deep in Jordan’s current, shouting, “Repent—the Kingdom’s at hand!” Not a distant throne but a present invasion. Jesus later held broiled fish, scars gleaming, declaring the same urgent nearness. The Greek word engizo means “within grasp”—like Judas’ betrayal breath in Gethsemane. [38:09]

This Kingdom isn’t geography but authority. Where Jesus rules, demons flee and fevers break. His reign starts small—mustard-seed prayers, yeast-like obedience. But it grows until every shadow flees the Light.

What stronghold feels immovable? Command it in Jesus’ name: “The Kingdom is here.”

“From that time on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’”
(Matthew 4:17, NIV)

Prayer: Confess one area where you’ve ignored Christ’s available rule.
Challenge: Text someone: “Can I pray for God’s Kingdom to break through your ____ today?”

Day 3: Earl or King?

Peter gripped the temple colonnade, voice booming: “God made this Jesus—whom you crucified—both Lord and Messiah!” The crowd staggered. Messiah meant more than savior; it meant sovereign. Yet many still wanted a consultant, not a commander. [53:05]

We divide our lives into earldoms—career, relationships, finances—offering Jesus limited jurisdiction. But partial surrender breeds shadowed corners where fear festers. True peace comes when the banner over every room reads “The King’s Domain.”

Which drawer still bears your name instead of His?

“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”
(Acts 2:36, NIV)

Prayer: Kneel while repeating: “Jesus, take the keys to ____.”
Challenge: Open a neglected closet/drawer; pray over its contents as Kingdom territory.

Day 4: Dawn Shadows and Sunbursts

Malachi’s sun of righteousness rose with healing wings, yet the prophet died waiting. For 400 years, Israel saw only shadows—until Bethlehem’s star. Even now, we straddle dawn and noon: tumors vanish, yet graves still dig. [58:27]

Don’t resent the shadows—chase the light. Every healed marriage, freed addict, or reconciled enemy proves the sun climbs higher. Your testimony fuels others’ hope.

When did you last share how Christ’s light broke your darkness?

“But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays.”
(Malachi 4:2, NIV)

Prayer: Thank Jesus for one “sunburst” He’s given you.
Challenge: Tell that story to a neighbor or coworker this week.

Day 5: Tasting the Coming Age

The Hebrews tasted the coming age—demons fleeing, limbs strengthening, dead rising. These weren’t magic tricks but appetizers of the Kingdom feast. Jesus’ forty-day teachings whetted disciples’ hunger: “Wait for the Spirit’s power. Then proclaim the full menu.” [48:07]

We’re waiters carrying platters of healing and hope. Don’t let past shadows make you serve half-portions. Boldly declare: “Taste and see—the King is good.”

What Kingdom dish can you offer someone today?

“[They] have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age.”
(Hebrews 6:5, NIV)

Prayer: Ask for boldness to offer Christ’s power, not just platitudes.
Challenge: Carry a $5 gift card; give it when you sense someone needs a “taste” of God’s care.

Sermon Summary

Morning worship opens with child dedications and affirmations of God at work, then pivots into a teaching that centers the kingdom of God as the core announcement of the Christian faith. The kingdom does not primarily name a future country but identifies where a King exercises authority, and Jesus inaugurates that reign through his resurrection, forty days of revealed teaching, and ascension to the throne. The gospel of the kingdom appears repeatedly in Scripture: John the Baptist, Jesus, the Twelve, and the early church all proclaim that the kingdom has come near. That nearness means the kingdom is present, manifesting as pockets of healing, justice, deliverance, and transformed lives, even while full consummation remains ahead.

The sermon unmasks common reductions of Christianity — mere niceness, moral self-improvement, or only evangelistic duty — and argues that each truth, when isolated, distorts the fuller kingdom claim. Kingdom life reorders loyalties; Jesus calls for whole life submission rather than segmented devotion. The image of sunrise captures the tension of already and not yet: rays of light break through shadows now, but the final daylight will come when God fully sets all things right. Reversing from the consummation in Revelation, the teaching identifies features of that coming reality, then searches the present for signs of those features, such as justice, deliverance from bondage, healing, and communal worship.

Practical response follows theology. Kingdom people pray for the kingdom to come, proclaim its gospel to all nations, participate in its advance through prayer and deeds, and practice kingdom ethics in daily life. Personal submission matters. If Jesus is not lord of all areas of life, his rule remains partial and kingdom activity is limited. The congregation receives an invitation to examine where Jesus reigns in their lives, to offer surrender, to expect breakthrough in specific prayers, and to engage as agents who help pull others from shadow into light. The tone blends urgency and hope: the kingdom is at hand, the King reigns, and the church can both receive and manifest more of God’s reign now while awaiting its full arrival.

Key Takeaways

1. Kingdom already, not yet complete The kingdom appears now as partial, living realities like healing, justice, and deliverance, yet it will reach fullness in the future. This tension explains why some prayers see sunlight and others remain in shadow. Christians must hold both certainty and longing, working for manifestations of the kingdom while awaiting its consummation. [39:47]
2. Jesus must be king everywhere True kingdom life requires Jesus to have lordship over every domain of life, not merely select areas. Partial allegiance creates small, private earldoms rather than surrendered kingship. Whole-hearted submission aligns daily priorities with the reign of God and unlocks deeper participation in kingdom work. [57:03]
3. Participate by praying and acting Believers join the kingdom through prayer, proclamation, and practical ministry that push shadows back and widen the light. Spiritual agency includes praying for healing and justice, confronting demonic oppression, and embodying righteousness in community. Such participation anticipates the coming age by manifesting its powers now. [47:24]
4. Personal surrender unlocks kingdom power Making Jesus personally Lord moves a person from consumer to agent of God’s reign. Publicly bending the knee breaks private compromises and enables the Spirit to work through ordinary lives. Surrender invites tangible breakthrough for others and expands the reach of the rising sun. [67:31]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[07:57] - Child Dedications and Blessings
[24:07] - Announcements and Midweek Teaching
[25:10] - Series Introduction: The Sun Rising
[26:00] - Plane Conversation on Christianity
[29:09] - Forty Days After Resurrection
[32:03] - Gospel of the Kingdom Explained
[36:11] - Defining Kingdom, Heaven, Near
[41:12] - Sunrise Metaphor for the Kingdom
[49:08] - Make Jesus King in Your Life
[60:01] - Prayer Time and Altar Invitation

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Acts 1:3 (NIV)
"After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God."

Observation Questions

What did Jesus focus on teaching during the 40 days after His resurrection (Acts 1:3)?
In Matthew 3:2 and 4:17, what identical message did John the Baptist and Jesus preach?
How does the sermon describe the metaphor of sunrise to explain the kingdom’s “already but not yet” reality? [41:12]
What does Hebrews 6:5 mean by “tasting the powers of the coming age” in the context of kingdom ministry?

Interpretation Questions

Why might Jesus have spent 40 days teaching about the kingdom of God specifically, rather than other topics, after His resurrection?
How does the “already but not yet” tension of the kingdom help explain why some prayers are answered now while others remain unresolved? [39:47]
What does it mean for Jesus to be “Lord of all” areas of life, and how does partial allegiance limit kingdom impact? [57:03]
Why does the sermon connect practices like healing, justice, and deliverance to “manifesting the powers of the coming age”? [47:24]

Application Questions

What area of your life (e.g., finances, relationships, habits) have you not yet fully surrendered to Jesus’ lordship? What practical step could you take this week to invite His rule there? [57:03]
Identify one “pocket of light” (healing, justice, deliverance, etc.) you’ve seen God’s kingdom break into your community. How could you actively participate in expanding that light? [47:24]
The sermon urges believers to pray expectantly for kingdom breakthroughs. What specific situation or person are you being prompted to pray for with renewed faith this week? [01:07:31]
How can you intentionally “reverse engineer” the future reality of God’s kingdom (e.g., justice, wholeness, worship) to guide your choices and priorities today? [43:54]
Where do you feel discouraged by “shadows” (unanswered prayers, ongoing struggles)? How might the “already but not yet” truth renew your hope in God’s timing? [39:47]
What daily habit or attitude could you adopt to remind yourself that Jesus is King, not just a partial ruler? (Example: pausing to surrender decisions to Him, worship as rebellion against worry, etc.)

Sermon Clips

37s

#KingdomHeals

“``When the kingdom fully comes, all injustice will be righted. Only justice will exist. And so now when we see expressions of of true justice, injustice being turned on its head and justice being made manifest. Guess what? That's an expression of the kingdom. There's gonna be no more death. There's gonna be no more wounds. There's gonna be no more weeping in in that full kingdom. So so if the kingdom is already inaugurated, we should be seeing bodies healed.”

33s

#KingdomNotSanta

“If you want the blessings of the kingdom, Now I'm not saying that god doesn't sometimes in his grace extend it to draw you into the kingdom, but you can't treat god like a Santa Claus and just say, well, I'll take this and I'll take that. But if you're in the kingdom and you're you're believing you want the king to receive the glory, then they're near in a position where you can ask for, maybe expect that there would be the light shining even though there's shadows still around.”

32s

#KingdomBreakthrough

“So, for example, we see in the book of Revelation that when we get to the end of time when this new age is gonna come, Jesus is riding in there, and it says on his robe, it says, king of kings and lord of lords. That's going to be the kingdom in its fullest expression. But when someone comes and gives their life to Jesus and says, he's he's my king, that's a breakthrough of the kingdom here and now.”

27s

#SetTheCaptivesFree

“When that kingdom fully comes, we know that Satan is gonna be bound, and he's never gonna be released again. He's gonna be bound, and he's gonna be thrown into hell, never to harm anybody again. So if we reverse engineer that, then that shouldn't surprise us that one of the expressions of the kingdom is when Jesus is able to set people free who have been in bondage to Satan.”

34s

#JesusLordOfAll

“But, no, I I don't want you to I don't want you to have control over my finances. I once I think it may have been the very first sermon I ever preached, and I made a statement. It wasn't original with me, but I made this statement. And there's a guy significantly older than me who did not like it. He came and and and let me know that he did not like this. I said in that message, I said, if Jesus is not lord of all, he's not lord at all.”

44s

#RadicalKingdomFaith

“And I don't understand why there's shadows here and why there's sunlight there, but I do know that there are rays of sunshine breaking through. And I don't know, Lord. I wanna drag some people out of a shadow into the sunlight, or I wanna chop down a a branch if you tell me to so that more sun can be here than than it was a moment ago. But I pray that you would ruin us for regular churchgoing, that you would make us radical believing that your kingdom is at hand.”

32s

#PrayProclaimKingdom

“So here's a handful of things I wanna do during this teaching series, and I'm a zero in on one of them today. But I'm gonna want you to know we're gonna pray for the kingdom. Right? Because Jesus told us to pray. May your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We're going to proclaim it. We're gonna talk about what does that mean. John the Baptist proclaimed it. Jesus proclaimed it. The disciples proclaimed it. We're told to proclaim it to all the nations.”

26s

#GospelOfTheKingdom

“Well, that is good news, but that's not the whole gospel. That's not the whole kingdom message. That's just part of the kingdom message. It's the gospel, the good news of the kingdom. Jesus spent these critical days doing only two things in terms of teaching. One, he's telling them wait for the Holy Spirit to come. And number two, he's telling them about the kingdom of God.”

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April 26, 2026 - The Son is Rising - Living in light of His Kingdom Malachi 4:2

Devotional

Day 1: Presenting Aganze at Dawn

Day 2: Kingdom Within Arm’s Reach

Day 3: Earl or King?

Day 4: Dawn Shadows and Sunbursts

Day 5: Tasting the Coming Age

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

April 26, 2026 - The Son is Rising - Living in light of His Kingdom Malachi 4:2

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