The Key to the Kingdom
“From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
—Matthew 4:17
There’s a key that makes way to the Kingdom of Heaven—one that many overlook or even resist. Yet, without it, you remain at the threshold, unable to step into the fullness of God’s reign. To reject it is to reject His will, but to embrace it is to pass from oppression to liberty, from darkness to light. This is the turning point. Everything changes here.
REMINDER: WHAT IS THE KINGDOM?
Before we look at the key, let’s get a reminder on what the kingdom of God is:
In general, a kingdom is a territory that is subject to the rule of a king.
In our case, it’s the reigning and ruling of King Jesus in our lives and lands.
Jesus taught that the kingdom of God is within you (Luke 17:21) and to pray that God’s kingdom would come on earth as it is in heaven. Well, we were made of the dust of the earth (Gen. 2:7) so the first place God wants to take dominion is within us! God wants to reign and rule in our hearts.
Outside of Christ, we were under the rule of darkness, but like a conquering king coming to reclaim what is His, He came to set us free from darkness and bring us into the light. (see Col. 1:13, Eph. 2:2, 1 John 5:19)
Under the rule of darkness, there is oppression. Under the rule of Jesus, there is freedom. The oppression of darkness came from our sin, but the freedom Jesus brings comes from His blood.
“For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
–Colossians 1:13-14 NIV
This is the good news of the kingdom!
If you want to step into the fullness of the kingdom of God, you need the key.
What is the key?!
Repentance.
Jesus’ message was “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
You enter this kingdom, this new rule, this new life under God’s reign:
Through repentance.
Let’s look deeper at this kingdom key of repentance.
1. The IMPORTANCE of repentance
Repentance breaks up the hard ground in our hearts and makes us receptive to the kingdom message.
When Jesus told the parable of the sower, He shared about hard ground that didn’t receive the seed. It was sown on the wayside—a well-traveled path, hardened by constant use.
“When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside.”
—Matthew 13:19
The same word for wayside is used in Matthew 3:3 when Isaiah described that John the Baptist’s ministry would “prepare the way of the Lord.”
How was he preparing the way of the Lord? John’s ministry led people to repentance.
Repentance softens the hardened ground and makes it ready to receive God’s kingdom word.
An unrepentant heart is like hardened ground that can’t receive seed. Then the birds of the air, a type of the devil, come and take away the seed. Now, is that the devil’s fault or a problem with the soil?
Check out this passage:
(All the people, even the tax collectors, when they heard Jesus’ words, acknowledged that God’s way was right, because they had been baptized by John. But the Pharisees and the experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.)
—Luke 7:29-30 NIV
The Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God’s purpose—because they did not repent!
A quick definition of repentance is to change your mind. It takes humility to acknowledge that you were wrong and that there is a better way.
Maybe that’s why there’s still hard ground in parts of our hearts…sometimes, we don’t want to humble ourselves.
The “experts” didn’t see the need for repentance…but the “sinners” embraced repentance because they readily recognized their brokenness and need for forgiveness.
I’m not talking about salvation only, I’m talking about transformation.
Repentance is important because it prevents you from rejecting God’s will in specific areas of your heart. Repentance positions you for the liberating reign of King Jesus rather than the oppression of the darkness.
2. The DEFINITION of repentance
Repentance is a heart posture of openness and submission to God.
In Galatians 5:19-21 and 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, Paul lists various sins, warning that those who live this way will not inherit the Kingdom of God. He was letting the churches know, “This is not who you are now and not how we live in the Kingdom!”
Someone could say, “But what if I messed up and did one of these sins?”
I don’t think he was saying, “If you’ve ever committed these sins, you’re doomed.” Confess and repent, turn from your sin, and receive Jesus’ forgiveness. Invite His rulership into that area of your life.
The problem is—having an unrepentant heart that refuses to change.
Ray Hughes says:
“When king Saul sinned, it hardened his heart.
When king David sinned, it broke his heart.”
Philip Yancey writes in his book, “What’s So Amazing About Grace?” about a man who came to him and confided in him that he was going to leave his wife and kids for another woman. The man asked Philip, “Do you think God can forgive something as awful as I am about to do?”
He “went through three cups of coffee before [he] dared attempt an answer.” Then, Philip said:
“Can God forgive you? Of course. You know the Bible. God uses murderers and adulterers. For goodness’ sake, a couple of scoundrels named Peter and Paul led the New Testament church. Forgiveness is our problem, not God’s. What we have to go through to commit sin distances us from God—we change in the very act of rebellion—and there is no guarantee we will ever come back. You ask me about forgiveness now, but will you even want it later, especially if it involves repentance?”
Selah.
Repentance is more than a one-time prayer that gets you saved. It’s an ongoing posture of a heart that is submitted to the King.
3. The CALL to repentance
If you have time, ready the story of the Prodigal Son found in Luke 15:11-32.
In summary, it’s the story of a father and two sons. The younger son left, took and wasted his father’s inheritance, finally came to his senses, and returned home. The father welcomed him with open arms and threw a party for him.
His older brother, however, was at home the entire time, working hard. He was angry that his younger brother was being celebrated like that. The father came to him and urged him to come inside.
One son left home and came home.
The other son was living at home but was never at home.
Read that again.
You can be in the “house” but never “at home.”
The call to repentance is a call home.
You may be like the younger son who has messed up in sin.
The call is: Come Home.
You may be like the older brother who thought he had it all together.
The call is: Come Home.
If we’re honest, there’s probably a little of both in all of us.
The call is: Come Home.
CONCLUSION
The kingdom of God is not just a concept to understand—it’s a reality to step into. But the doorway is repentance. It’s not a one-time event; it’s an ongoing posture of surrender that keeps our hearts soft, our lives aligned with His will, and our spirits open to His reign. Jesus’ message has not changed: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
The invitation is before you. Will you respond? Will you turn from anything that resists His rule and fully submit to King Jesus? The call is clear, and the door is open. Come home.
Question: What would it look like for you to embrace repentance as a daily posture rather than a one-time event?
Check out when I preached this message at REV Church at the link above.