I was doing some research regarding a slogan that Microsoft had made popular a short while back proclaiming, “The future is now!”  I followed a link from a person curious, like me, to discover the origin of this phrase.  Where did it first begin?  

Most give credit to NFL Hall of Fame coach, George Allen.  But I beg to differ.  Jesus was singing this tune way back at the turn of the first millennium.  Mark 1:15 reads “The time promised by God has come at last...The Kingdom of God is near!”.  Perhaps Microsoft thought it was a little too long for their slogan?

Certainly, The Lord’s Prayer found in Matthew 6:9-13 is an outline of things to come.  It is an instruction directly from Jesus to repeat His words, just as they are, “May your kingdom come soon.  May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.”  Here, our proper attitude towards prayer can be demonstrated.  We are to pray for and align our lives right now for the coming and doing of God’s Kingdom here on earth.  How are we doing at fulfilling His will?  

Jesus’ burning passion was ultimately Kingdom focused.  It was His life’s work and His obsession. It was the focal point in the majority of His teachings and a central theme in many parables.  Seek first the Kingdom of God, ahead of all else in life (Matt. 6:33).  The Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed, it starts so small but becomes huge, unstoppable, pervasive (Mark 4:26-32). It is the ‘pearl of great price’ for which we gladly surrender all other possessions in order to obtain it (Matt. 13:46). After announcing the coming of the Kingdom, Jesus urgently appealed that we should ‘repent and receive the good news!’ In other words, we are to reorganize our lives and do whatever is necessary to ensure that we become citizens ourselves and thereafter propel the King’s purposes (Mark 1:15).  

Jesus is continually saying to us, “Listen up – it’s all about the Kingdom!”  But what exactly is it?  

I have always defined it as ‘life lived under the primacy, presence and power of God’. It is my life and your life and our world redeemed by His grace. The King of Kings, bringing the restoration of all things and all people and all that is broken. And it is happening now!
Although Jesus could do all the Kingdom work Himself, He has employed us to become His teammates. We, the Church, are a movement of people entrusted with a special mission to be the conduit of His amazing love to all. We are to spread the Good News by planting the seeds of Kingdom faith in others’ hearts.  We are to set right that which is wrong, push back what is evil and work to clothe the world with the beautiful fabric of His righteousness, justice and mercy.   

This is what the KINGDOM now campaign is all about – bringing glory to God by leveraging the collective talents and resources of our congregation to build a lasting legacy of His grace in people’s lives.  Working together, we want to expand the Kingdom of God to all reaches of Calgary and create opportunities to assist our worldwide ministry partners to do the same where God has planted them.  

The Lord’s Prayer says ‘Your Kingdom come’ but it doesn’t mean it will only come sometime in a distant future.  The Kingdom is, simultaneously, both present and future.  The Kingdom is the work we are completing until He comes again. The Kingdom is now. The time promised by God has come at last. So let us begin today...there is no need to wait.