“ It's culture is the love of the Father, expressed through the sacrifice of the Son, and experienced through the presence of Holy Spirit." Kathy Spampinato

The Kingdom of Heaven is the dwelling place of God. It's culture is the love of the Father, expressed through the sacrifice of the Son, and experienced through the presence of Holy Spirit. How do we bring the culture of this kingdom to earth, as it is in heaven? What do we understand about this kingdom?

The term Kingdom of God, occurs 68 times in the New Testament, while the Gospel of Matthew uses Kingdom of Heaven 32 times. Together that is 100 specific references. So what is the Kingdom of Heaven, and what is it's culture? What are it's values? The "Gospel of the Kingdom" is the good news of God's redemptive plan for all of mankind. The Kingdom of Heaven is explained by describing the character of the King. This exposes us to the culture of His kingdom.

Matthew 4:17 ESV states, "From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.'"

Matt 7:21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven."

Matthew Chapter 13 is filled with clues and stories of the Kingdom. It opens with the Parable of the sower who sows the seed into different kinds of soil.

Matt 13:10-11, 13 Then the disciples came and said to him, 'Why do you speak to them in parables?' And he answered them, 'To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.... This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.'"

Jesus is saying that the true disciples will understand the significance of what they are hearing, but others will hear the same words, and not understand. They are hearers only, and not doers of the Word. Then follows other parables describing this kingdom.

• The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed into his field. (vs 24)

• The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed. (vs 31)

• The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid. (vs 33)

• The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. (vs 44)

• Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. (vs 45)

• Again the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. (vs 47)

In each of these parables the true value of the kingdom is not perceived at first. Someone is searching. The clues to finding the treasure are not on the surface. It takes some digging, patience and perseverance to discover the prize. In our case, the culture of the Kingdom of God is not in the obvious. It is not in following the patterns of this world or even the patterns of religious practice. The treasure of the kingdom is in discerning the love of God for you specifically. You begin to experience God's love in a transformative way, and you are never the same. You recognize that your citizenship is in heaven. Your culture becomes reflective of your citizenship, and the character of the King.

2 Peter 1:3-4 "His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires."

My friends, let's immerse ourselves in the love of the King and experience His culture. When we carry His love within us, we are representing Kingdom Culture to others. Perhaps they will be curious and start digging into the character of His love. Perhaps they too will come to know the love of the Father, expressed through the sacrifice of the Son, and experienced through the presence of Holy Spirit.