“Already, but not yet” is a phrase I learned in seminary (sometimes referred to as ‘cemetery’) to describe the Kingdom of heaven/God. Right now I’m working on a sermon series on heaven, but I don’t feel led, or excited, to talk about pearly gates and streets of gold, mainly because I don’t think we’ll see either. Instead, I’m thinking more about what Jesus had to say about heaven.(I know, far fetched to look at what Jesus has to say)
He talks of the Kingdom of heaven/God over 100 times, more than $$$ or anything else. Yet, when was the last time you heard a sermon or series on that subject? I’ve never once heard a sermon on it. Had it not been for faithful Bible teachers at Milligan College and Fuller Seminary, it seems I would have missed out on what Jesus thinks is rather important.
This is the first of a number of posts on the Kingdom. But I want to start with this one thought, namely, heaven is not as much about place as it is presence. To be exact, I am speaking of God’s presence.
Have you heard much on the Kingdom of heaven/God?
patrick mitchell 
The main place I have heard and read someone expound scripture concerning the kingdom is from T. Austin-Sparks. His stuff is available for free at austin-sparks.net
I’m looking forward to further posts on this subject. This is something I plan on writing about soon. Time permitting, I’ll probably link to your posts on my blog. May God bless you with enormous visions of the glorious, risen Christ!
Thanks for the referral Bobby, I’ll have to check Sparks out. Kingdom is hugely important yet also somewhat mysterious and rarely talked about…funny how those three can go together