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The Kingdom Advances | Pat McCalla · Rewind

Rock Point Church

Pastor Pat McCalla · Sep 26, 2021 · 66 min watch · 3 min read

The Kingdom Advances | Pat McCalla

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In this message

Big Idea
Key points
Application

Scripture in this message

Matthew 11
Philippians 3
Matthew 11:7
Matthew 11:8
Matthew 11:12
Matthew 16

Big Idea Key points Application

Big Idea

Quoting the message: The kingdom of God is forcefully advancing not by the love of power, but by the power of love, end quote..

Drawing from Matthew 11 and Philippians 3, Pastor Pat McCalla shows that Jesus' kingdom is unlike any earthly empire — it has been forcefully advancing for two thousand years and cannot be stopped, not even by the gates of hell. From John the Baptist doubting in prison, to Rome's persecutions, to ISIS and the Taliban, history confirms Jesus' declaration. Because followers of Jesus are citizens of this kingdom, they are called to reject fear and half-heartedness, to love boldly, and — like Paul — to say 'I'm all in and I'm not turning back.'

Key points

1
1John the Baptist doubted from prison, yet Jesus defended him — showing that doubt does not disqualify us from the kingdom.
2
2The kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing since the days of John the Baptist, and not even the gates of hell will stop it.
3
3Jesus declared at Caesarea Philippi — the very 'Gates of Hades' — that He would build His church and hell would not prevail against it.
4
4Enemies of the cross are focused only on the temporary things of this earth, but citizens of heaven fix their focus on the eternal kingdom.
5
5Paul, though imperfect and still struggling, committed fully to pressing forward in the kingdom — 'I'm not turning back.'
6
6The kingdom advances not by power and might but by the power of love — the same love Jesus modeled the night He washed the disciples' feet.
7
7Two thousand years of history — Rome, evil regimes, ISIS, the Taliban — confirm that no force has been able to stop the advancing kingdom of God.

Application

Pastor Pat closes with three concrete challenges rooted in the sermon's big idea. First, stop meandering — if you have slowly drifted into going through the motions, taming the dreams God gave you, or tiptoeing around critics, today is the day to say with Paul, 'I'm all in and I'm not turning back.' Second, love someone — ask God right now to put a face or name on your heart, someone who is hard to love, and before the sun goes down reach out with a text, a letter, an act of service, or the words 'I forgive you.' Third, replace fear and anxiety with the peace that comes from knowing you belong to an unstoppable kingdom. When the news cycle feels overwhelming, hear Jesus whispering: it's okay — My kingdom is forcefully advancing and not even the gates of hell will stop it.

Take it into your week

Made by Rewind AI from the sermon transcript. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

Scripture in this message

From the transcript
“So let me show you what I mean, Matthew chapter 11, if you have your Bibles, open to Matthew 11, hold that spot, and then find Philippians three”
From the transcript
“open to Matthew 11, hold that spot, and then find Philippians three. We're gonna start in Matthew 11, we're gonna go to Philippians three”
From the transcript
“look at verse seven, as John's disciples were leaving, Jesus began to talk to the crowds, talk about him to the crowds. So he turns back to the crowds and he starts to talk to them again”
From the transcript
“Keep reading, verse eight. He says, or were you expecting to see a man dressed in expensive clothes? No, people with expensive clothes live in palaces”
From the transcript
“go ahead and put that up, Matthew 11 verse 12, and from the time John the Baptist began preaching until now, this is the key, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing”
From the transcript
“it's found in Matthew 16, you can read it later, Jesus takes some of His disciples on this crazy journey”
From the transcript
“Look at Philippians three, starting in verse 19, he's gonna be writing about the enemies of the cross. He actually says when he's writing, he's going, I have tears in my eyes to write about the enemies of the cross”
From the transcript
“Verse 20 starts with? But. Oh, no, it's a big beautiful but. You gotta say it like you mean it. But. But we are citizens of heaven”
From the transcript
“look what he writes, verse 10, Philippians three verse 10, I gave up all that inferior stuff, he's talking about his resume, he was just listing his resume, he had a good resume”
From the transcript
“Look at, he goes on, verse 12, I'm not saying that I have all this together, that I have it made, but I'm well on my way reaching out for Christ who has so wondrously reached out for me”
From the transcript
“But then look at verse thirteen and fourteen. He keeps going, says, friends don't get me wrong, by no means do I count myself an expert in all this”

Made by Rewind AI from the sermon transcript. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

7-day devotional

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John the Baptist was one of the most courageous voices in the ancient world — and yet there he was, locked in Herod's prison, sending messengers to ask Jesus, 'Are You really the One?' Pastor Pat made something clear in the sermon: doubt did not get John disqualified. Jesus didn't roll His eyes or revoke John's standing. He defended him. He honored him. He called him the greatest born of women. That is a remarkable response to a man in the middle of a crisis of faith. If you've ever sat in your own version of a prison — a diagnosis, a broken relationship, a season where God felt distant — and found yourself whispering the same question John asked, you are in good company. Jesus' answer to doubt is not condemnation. It's compassion. What Jesus said about John tells you something about how He sees you in your hard moments, too. The kingdom He is building has room for honest doubt. That doesn't mean doubt is the destination, but it is not a disqualifier. The invitation today is simply to bring your questions to Jesus honestly, the way John did, and trust that He can handle them.

For reflection

Is there a question or doubt you've been holding back from bringing honestly to Jesus? What would it look like to bring it to Him today?

Pray

Pray for the courage to be honest with Jesus about any doubt or uncertainty you're carrying right now.

Pastor Pat leaned into this verse with real conviction: the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing since the days of John the Baptist, and it has never stopped. That word 'forcefully' is not accidental. Jesus wasn't describing a quiet, polite movement slowly winning people over with good manners. He was describing something unstoppable — a kingdom that moves with purpose and power through history. Two thousand years have passed since He said those words. Rome tried to crush the early church. Evil regimes rose and fell. In our own lifetime, ISIS and the Taliban attempted to erase the name of Jesus from entire regions. And yet — the church is still here. The gospel is still spreading. The kingdom is still advancing. That is not a small thing. It is one of the most verifiable facts of human history. When the news cycle makes it feel like darkness is winning, this verse is an anchor. You are not fighting for a kingdom that might prevail — you are living inside one that already is. That changes the posture you bring to your day, your relationships, and even your fears.

For reflection

Where in your life right now does it feel like darkness has the upper hand? How does the reality of an advancing, unstoppable kingdom speak to that place?

Pray

Pray for eyes to see evidence of God's kingdom advancing — in your community, your relationships, or the world — even when it's hard to see.

Pastor Pat pointed out the geography here, and it matters. Caesarea Philippi was not a neutral location. It was a place deeply associated with pagan worship and known locally as the Gates of Hades. Jesus took His disciples to that specific place and made His declaration there: 'I will build My church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.' He didn't say that from a safe hilltop in Galilee. He said it standing at the symbolic entrance to the underworld, as if to say — I see exactly what I'm up against, and I'm not afraid. There is something deeply steadying about that image. Jesus is not building His kingdom from a distance, unaware of the opposition. He names the opposition and then makes His promise anyway. When you are standing in your own version of a hard place — a workplace, a family situation, a community that feels hostile to faith — Jesus is not surprised. He already stood at the gates of the worst and declared victory. You don't have to be afraid of the places that feel dark. His church is being built there, too.

For reflection

Is there a situation in your life that feels like 'the gates of hell' — dark, resistant, or overwhelming? How does Jesus' declaration in this verse speak to it?

Pray

Pray for boldness to trust that Jesus is building something in the hard and resistant places of your life.

Paul draws a sharp contrast in these two verses. There are those, he says, whose minds are set on earthly things — who live as if this world is all there is, whose ultimate loyalty is to the temporary. And then there is a different kind of person: one whose citizenship is in heaven, whose life is oriented around something eternal. Pastor Pat connected this to the sermon's core idea: when you know you belong to an unstoppable kingdom, you stop living like a citizen of a crumbling empire. That's not a call to escape the world or be indifferent to real suffering. It's actually the opposite. Citizens of heaven engage the world differently — with more courage, more generosity, and more love — because they're not clinging to what can be taken away. If fear and anxiety have been driving your decisions lately, it may be worth asking: which kingdom am I actually living as a citizen of today? That question isn't an accusation. It's an invitation to reorient. Your citizenship is already settled. The question is whether you're living in light of it.

For reflection

In a practical, day-to-day sense, what does living as a citizen of heaven look like for you this week — in your home, your work, your relationships?

Pray

Pray for a renewed sense of your true citizenship — and for the peace that comes from knowing where you ultimately belong.

Before Paul talks about pressing forward, he tells us what he is pressing toward. In Philippians 3:10 he writes that he wants to know Christ — and not just know about Him, but know the power of His resurrection and share in His sufferings. That is a stunning and honest thing to say. Paul doesn't skip the suffering to get to the power. He holds both together. The kingdom advances through resurrection power, yes — but also through the willingness of people to enter into hard, costly, loving service. Pastor Pat pointed to the night Jesus washed His disciples' feet as the picture of how the kingdom actually moves: not by force or domination, but through love that stoops down. Knowing Christ, in Paul's terms, means following Him into that kind of life. It means letting the love that drove Jesus to the cross be the same love that drives how you treat the person who is difficult to be around, the neighbor you've been avoiding, or the family member you've been keeping at arm's length. This is not easy. But it is the shape of the kingdom.

For reflection

What would it look like for you to 'know Christ' more deeply this week — not just as information, but in the way you love and serve the people around you?

Pray

Pray for a deeper, more personal knowledge of Jesus — and for the willingness to follow Him into the places that cost something.

Paul is remarkably honest here. He doesn't say, 'I've arrived, follow my example.' He says, 'I haven't got this all figured out — but I'm pressing on.' He acknowledges the gap between where he is and where he is going, and then makes a decision: he will not let that gap become an excuse to stop. He forgets what is behind. He strains toward what is ahead. Pastor Pat used this to issue one of the sermon's direct challenges: stop meandering. If you've slowly drifted into going through the motions — taming the dreams God gave you, tiptoeing around critics, doing just enough to feel okay about yourself — today is a good day to say with Paul, 'I'm all in and I'm not turning back.' That phrase isn't about perfection. Paul himself says he hasn't arrived. It's about direction. It's about picking back up and pressing forward, even imperfectly, toward the life Jesus is calling you into. The kingdom doesn't need you to be finished. It needs you to be moving.

For reflection

Is there an area of your life where you've been going through the motions or holding back? What would 'pressing forward' look like there — even one small step?

Pray

Pray for the courage to stop drifting and to take one deliberate step forward in the direction God has been calling you.

We began this week with John the Baptist in prison, doubting. We end with the whole sweep of Matthew 11 open in front of us — and with the week's core truth resting in our hands. The kingdom of heaven is forcefully advancing. It has been since John's day. It moved through Rome and through regimes that tried to stop it. It moves through imperfect people like Paul who press forward anyway. It moves through ordinary acts of love — a text, a letter, the words 'I forgive you' spoken before the sun goes down. And it moves through you, when you live as someone who actually believes they belong to something unshakable. Pastor Pat's three challenges from the close of the sermon are worth sitting with one more time: stop meandering, love someone today, and replace fear with the peace of knowing whose kingdom you're in. None of those are one-time decisions. They're daily postures. But they are possible — not because you're strong enough, but because the kingdom behind you is. Jesus is still whispering: it's okay. My kingdom is advancing, and not even the gates of hell will stop it.

For reflection

Looking back at this week's reflection, what is the one thing you most want to carry forward — and who in your life might you invite to walk in that truth alongside you?

Pray

Pray for the peace and boldness to live as a full citizen of an unstoppable kingdom — all in, not turning back.

Made by Rewind AI from the sermon transcript. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

Small-group discussion guide

For leading a group conversation about this message.

Open

This message lands on a bold claim: the kingdom Jesus is building has been advancing for two thousand years and nothing — not Rome, not doubt, not the darkest headlines — has been able to stop it. Let's dig into what that actually means for how we live.

Discussion questions

1
In Matthew 11, John the Baptist — the one Jesus called the greatest person ever born — sends messengers from prison asking, 'Are you really the Messiah?' What does it tell us about Jesus that He defends John rather than dismisses him in that moment of doubt?
2
Matthew 11:12 says the kingdom of heaven has been 'forcefully advancing' since the days of John the Baptist. Looking at the two thousand years of history Pastor Pat walked through — Rome, ISIS, the Taliban — what patterns do you notice in how the kingdom keeps moving forward despite opposition?
3
Jesus made His declaration that 'the gates of hell will not prevail' against His church while standing at Caesarea Philippi — a place Pastor Pat described as literally called the Gates of Hades. Why do you think the location matters, and what does it add to the weight of that promise?
4
In Philippians 3, Paul contrasts people whose minds are set on 'earthly things' with those whose citizenship is in heaven. What does that contrast look like in practical, everyday terms — and how might a kingdom focus actually change the way a community of people handles fear or discouraging news?
5
Pastor Pat pointed out that the kingdom advances not by force or political power but by love — and he anchored that in the image of Jesus washing His disciples' feet. What does that kind of love have to do with an unstoppable kingdom?
6
Pastor Pat challenged us to think about someone who is hard to love and to reach out before the day is over. As a group, what does 'loving boldly' actually look like in ordinary life — and what tends to get in the way of people doing it?

Pray together

Ask God for the courage to press forward — all in, not turning back — and for the peace that comes from belonging to a kingdom that cannot be stopped

Made by Rewind AI from the sermon transcript. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

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Go deeper

Where these passages are preached

Matthew 11 Philippians 3 Matthew 16

Explore related topics

Commitment to Christ Doubt and Faith God's Kingdom Advances Love and Boldness Overcoming Fear

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