The video records a worship service at 514 Grace Ministries led by Pastor Keith and hosted by Harry Pitts. The service opens with energetic worship praising the name of Jesus, followed by a sermon that emphasizes the biblical command to "seek first the kingdom of heaven." Pastor Keith outlines four characteristics of seeking the kingdom—God’s rule, agenda, mission, and values—citing Psalms, Colossians, Matthew, John, and the Beatitudes. He then explains how to enter the kingdom, teaching that one must be "born again" (John 3), have faith, confess Jesus as Lord, and be baptized in water and the Spirit (Romans 10, John 3:5). The sermon further describes the kingdom’s constitution as the Holy Bible, likening it to a civil constitution that defines God’s law, judges, and king, referencing Isaiah 33:22 and Psalm 19:7. The service concludes with Harry Pitts thanking online viewers, inviting locals to visit 514 Grace Church, and promoting the church’s leadership team.
Chapters
This program is brought to you in part by the friends and partners of 514 Grace Ministries.
Coming up next on the Grace Nation, Luke chapter 19, verse 10.
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.
One name, one sound, who we call? Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. Who still reigns?
Jesus, Jesus.
We shout one name. Jesus, Jesus. Chains snap when we call that name. We lift one name.
Jesus, Jesus.
Hell backs up when we praise. We shout one name. Jesus, Jesus. Walls fall, giants hit the ground. We lift one name.
Jesus, Jesus. Woo.
King of glory, wear your crown. Light hit the dark, now the night gotta move. Fire in my chest, got my faith in the groove. Storm tried to talk, but it don't run the room. Grave lost the fight when he stepped from the tomb. Man got weight, man got power. Strong, strong tower in the midnight hour. Devil tried smoke, but he lost that flame. We came alive when we called that name. One voice, one cry, hands up, eyes high.
Morning that the Lord has blessed us with.
Amen.
Amen.
Praise God. Praise God. Thank God for our visitor. Amen. Thank you, Miss Debbie. Praise God. I'm not going to keep you long. I have to use an old familiar slant there, so to speak, to use it again. It worked the first time. I think I'll use it again. I'm going to promise you what Elizabeth Taylor promised her 8th husband, I'm not planning on keeping you long. So Elizabeth Taylor had a quick will. I'm going to have to do the job by the grace of God. I'm not going to keep you long. Amen.
Amen.
Praise God. Hallelujah. I'm going to recap just a little bit. the things that we went over last week. Not gonna keep you long with that.
Amen?
Amen. This is what we have been talking about, as most of you know, is the benefits of becoming a citizen of the kingdom of heaven. Jesus himself, the one that we call our King, amen?
Amen.
Our risen Savior. He said our first priority, not second, not third, not fourth, but he said our first priority is what? Seek ye first the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God. And Matthew, uh, um, spells it out more often Then, um, in the other gospel it says the kingdom of heaven. In Mark it relates to the kingdom of God. Amen. But praise God, this is what Jesus said that we are to prioritize— the kingdom of heaven.
Amen.
So we should know what the kingdom of heaven is about, what are the characteristics of the kingdom of heaven, so we can be successful in doing what Christ Jesus told us to do.
Yes.
Which is what? Seek ye first the kingdom of heaven. There must be some characteristics. There must be something about the kingdom of heaven that God wants us to know, that Christ wants us to know, to better us as Christians and to have our relationship better with the Father.
Why?
Because the Father knows us best.
That's right.
How does he know us best?
'Cause he created us.
Yes. Amen. Amen.
I'm not gonna go to Chevrolet about a problem with my Toyota pickup.
That's right.
Because Toyota made my Toyota pickup.
That's right.
Toyota knows my pickup better than Chevrolet.
Right.
I knock on the door of Chevrolet and I ask them, I tell 'em I got a problem with my Toyota pickup, they're gonna look at me like I'm crazy. Son, they'll pick you up the wrong address. Toyota's about 2 blocks down the road. Let me give you a Coke and a little bubble gum while you walk down there.
Amen.
Praise God. You at the wrong door.
Yes.
I don't know Toyota. They know Toyota.
Well, it's the same way with God.
Amen.
God the one who knows us.
Yes.
He knows what makes us glad. He knows what makes us sad.
He knows what things are around the corner that we can't see.
That's right.
That we need to avoid.
Amen.
Amen.
So, uh, just to recap just a little bit, amen.
Not going to take too long.
Like I said, Elizabeth Taylor, she wasn't going to keep her 8th husband that long, and we're not going to keep you that long, amen. The first part of last week that we went over concerning the kingdom of heaven was, first of all, was to identify what the kingdom of heaven is.
That's right.
The kingdom of heaven is God's active sovereign reign, the way he reigns, breaking into the present world, expressed through obedience through Jesus. Because it's Jesus that did the works, the finished works that we have to believe in. To make our walk successful.
Amen. No more do we have to—
there's no more sacrifices like in the Old Testament.
The sacrifices back then was only temporary to hide sin or to cover sin momentarily. The high priest had to go back into the Holy of Holies, uh, continually.
Well, Jesus said once and for all, the work is finished. I'm that perfect sacrifice.
Once and for all, it's over with. Believe in what?
My finished work.
I'm the one that did the work.
I, I've sacrificed my life.
I laid my life on the cross.
I willingly gave my life.
Amen.
So express the obedience to Jesus's teachings and proper participation in God's redemptive purposes.
Kingdom.
The Greek word for kingdom is basileia, referring to reign. We can spell it B-A-S-I-L-E-I-A. Basileia refers to reign, rule, authority, not territory. We cannot say that the kingdom of heaven is in Or that it's in Carrollton, or that it's in Las Vegas, or something of that nature right there. Amen.
We—
the ways that we first— that we pursue seeking the kingdom of heaven are fourfold. We seek God's rule. This is one of the characteristics or ways of seeking the kingdom of heaven, to seek God's rule.
Yes.
The second step is to seek God's agenda.
Amen.
This is the steps of pursuing the kingdom of heaven.
Amen.
Seek God's mission, number 3. Number 4, seek God's values. Let me go over those 4 again. To seek these characteristics, characteristics help us seek the kingdom of God. Number 1, seek God's rule. R-U-L-E. Seek God's agenda. Seek God's mission. Seek God's value. I'm going to go over these very quickly, so I'm— I know we're going to go into the main, uh, next part here. We're taking 4 parts to go over the kingdom of heaven. Amen. This whole month of June. Seek God's rule is coming from Psalms 103, verse 19. Out of the English Standard Version, it says, the Lord has established his throne In the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all. This refers to universal rule. Colossians chapter 1, verse 13. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his Son. To be transferred into the kingdom is to come under Christ's rule.
Amen.
Seeking God's agenda. Matthew chapter 6, verse 10, out of the English Standard Version: Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Seeking God's agenda to be done on earth. John 5:30: I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just. Because I seek not my own will, but the will of him who sent me.
Amen.
Jesus explicitly uses the verb seek to describe pursuing God's agenda.
Amen.
Next, God's mission in his redemptive work, his purposes in the world, and his desire to bring people into the kingdom.
Amen.
Amen.
Matthew 28, um, verses 18 through 20 says, and Jesus came and said to them, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Verse 19, go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Verse 20, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
Amen.
And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. This is the Great Commission. Jesus commands his disciples to make disciples of all nations.
Amen.
Luke chapter 19, verse 10. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. This is Luke chapter 19, verse 10. Jesus' mission defines the mission of the kingdom. Seek God's values.
Yes.
The 4th characteristic of the way of seeking the kingdom of God. Seek God's values, the moral, ethical, and relational qualities that reflect his character.
Yes.
Whose character? God's character. Micah chapter 6, verse 8. He has told you, O man, what is good and what does the Lord require of you. but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with God. This is foundational. This is a foundation— foundational trait for God's values. Matthew chapter 5, verses 3 through 12. Blessed are the pure. We're talking about the values of the kingdom, seeking the values of the kingdom of heaven. Amen.
Amen.
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Amen.
Blessed— verse 4— blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Verse 5, blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Verse 6, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Verse 7, blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Verse 8, blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Verse 10, blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Verse 11, blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you, and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice. Verse 12, rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. So what were those kingdom values that we just listed out of Matthew 5? Humility, mercy, Purity. Purity.
Yes.
Peacemaking.
Yes.
Righteousness. Endurance in persecution.
Amen.
Go over that again. The values of the kingdom we just went over in Matthew 5:3-12.
Humility.
Mercy. Purity. Peacemaking. Righteousness endureth in persecution. Amen.
Amen.
Now we're going to go over, uh, I'm going to be going over part 2 and part 3. Part, uh, part 3, I'm sorry, I won't be able to finish part 3 today. Amen. Because I'm going to divide part 3 in this week and next week. Amen. Once again, we talked about prioritizing the kingdom of heaven, which Jesus said out of his own mouth. Amen. Seek ye first. So that means priority. Today we're going to be discussing how to enter into the kingdom of heaven. Amen. It's good that we see these things about the characteristics of seeking first the kingdom of heaven, but it'd be good to know how to Enter into the kingdom of heaven. Amen. Don't leave me at the, at the cliff and not going to show me nothing to be safe. Praise God. Give me wings or something.
I don't know.
I don't want to fall down a 1,000-foot cliff.
Amen.
Hallelujah. And then this is part 2, seek, uh, how do we enter the kingdom of heaven? And the 3rd part, part 3, that we're going to be discussing in this week and next week Is what is the constitution of the kingdom of heaven?
Wow.
Part 3. So go over those parts 2 and part 3 again.
How to—
how do we enter the kingdom of heaven? Part 2. And part 3, what is the constitution of the kingdom of heaven? Let's look at 2 scriptures that answer this question fairly simply of how we may enter the kingdom of heaven. Amen.
Yes, sir.
John chapter 3, verse 3, from the English Standard Version, and John chapter 3, verse 5, from the English Standard Version. John 3:3, John chapter 3, verse 3 says, Jesus answered him, truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Amen.
Amen.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist for those who have a little understanding of God with us, of the heaven, amen, to understand that. Must be born again. God leaves nothing to chance, so he went further in explaining the steps to becoming born again. Everything is in the Bible. That's why we said last week the Bible is its own, uh, best commentary.
Yes.
If we want to understand the Bible, we can— God, through the help of the Holy Spirit, can show us other scriptures that can make the scripture we're dealing with more understandable.
Amen.
Cross-references to other scriptures helps it bring to life, help us to understand.
Amen.
The Bible is its own best commentary. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, He cannot enter the— cannot see the kingdom of God. Um, now we're about to go over the— some simple steps that God left to help us to know how to be born again. Romans chapter 10, starting at verse 8, going through verse 10. Romans chapter 10, starting at verse 8. But what does it say? The word is near you. God makes this thing so simple. He loves us so much. He said, "You don't have to go to California. You don't have to take 1,500 miles to get on the next Amtrak train." So God, I'm about to miss the train.
Can you make it a little bit closer? I got to say, I love you.
It's near you. The word is near you in your mouth and in your heart. My Lord. That's a loving God.
Amen.
That is the word of faith that we proclaim. Let's take time to just not go over that too fast. God already gave us the cheat notes, as you want to say, always put us a step ahead. He said the word of faith is what? In us.
That's right.
In our mouth and in our heart. What does the scripture say? It is impossible to please what?
God.
Without what?
Faith.
Wow.
We must have faith.
Yes. Amen.
When Gabriel came to Mary to tell, to announce to her that she was gonna be carrying Jesus, and Mary was a little befuddled about it and said, how can a woman have, you know, a child without a man?
But she said, nevertheless, be it unto me according to your word.
And her cousin, who had John the Baptist, said, it's because of your belief, not because you qualified any other way, but because you believed.
Faith. Yes. Wow.
Does that make any sense?
So God has already said, I'm going to help you out. Amen.
The word of faith that's in your heart, that's in your mouth.
Amen.
That is the word of faith that we proclaim.
Verse 9, because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you shall be saved.
Wow.
Thank you, Lord.
God says you didn't have to go to Oxford. You don't have to go to Timbuktu. You don't have to go to Georgia Tech. You don't have to go to MIT or those other places, Stanford or whatever. You don't have to go to Duke and get a PhD. He said believe.
Hallelujah.
Makes it so simple for anyone. The very first step I've seen So many times, just a little side note real quick, that even the Lord has had to deal with me before at times. Why this is so simple and why it's so hard for some of us in the world to grasp is to do the first step of believing. The very first step is the hardest.
Yes.
To humble ourselves, to admit that we're wrong.
It's true.
Can I, can I make it any more simple? Some people, because they have taken the devil's lie of pull ourselves by our own bootstraps, got enough talent, got enough muscle, got enough friends, tons of friends, tons of muscle, tons of popularity.
I don't need the armor myself.
What I'm about to say, I'm telling you the absolute truth. God is my witness of this. I'm telling you, there was a job I was on, uh, years and years ago.
I was telling the gentleman—
he was an engineer, educated man, um—
and I told him, we were talking about the Bible, and I was telling him about the part that says every knee shall bow.
And he said he doesn't bow to no one. He's not gonna bow to nobody.
That's right. Wow.
We'll see.
You see what I'm saying?
Yes.
To have the unmitigated gall to believe that you're educated enough, you're in a position that you're academically excellent or whatnot, that you have worked hard for this degree, worked hard for that where you are and whatnot, probably have a nice home in the suburbs and whatnot, maybe, um, 1,800 square feet or 2,000 square feet, good paying one now, but refuse to humble yourself to say that you need God.
That's what can keep people away.
It's like I heard one pastor say, sin is not the thing that'll send you to hell, it's rejecting Jesus.
Yes.
You see what I'm saying?
Yes, sir.
Not sin and need.
That's good.
For Jesus, that first step to humble ourselves, to say I'm wrong, to admit that I've done it all wrong. That's right.
Apostle Paul had to be knocked off his horse to see that.
Yes, I'm an educated man, a man of, of—
that was raised high in his Judaism, because as we taught one time before, When Jesus came in the land, the, the religion or the, or the ideology that was being taught at that time was Judaism.
Yes. Jewish tradition and teachings from the rabbinical priests.
And Jesus had to come teach another thing.
Yes.
The kingdom of God. Hallelujah. His finished work. And there was a clash.
Yes.
With the conscience of that.
Oh, yes.
Because it helped the Pharisees and the Sadducees, whatnot, look big and whatnot, because they were astute in knowing the Torah, the knowing that the, the prophets, the writings, and whatnot. The Old Testament is divided for the Jews, that is.
The Jews would divide the Old Testament in 3 parts: the law, the prophets, and the writings.
And they were astute, they were sound in knowing that. So when Jesus come teaching a thing in a different way, the kingdom of heaven, there was a clash. That's right. That's why Jesus had so much trouble. He had better time talking to a person who robbed a bank. He could get a point across to someone who robbed a bank faster than he can the Pharisees. The scripture said the Pharisees many times went away trying to plot how to kill him.
Yes. Wow, that's right.
Because they— and deep down in their heart, they knew he knew what he was talking about, but it was taking away the attention of the people from them and putting it on him.
That's the greatest sin that the Pharisees couldn't stand.
I'm used to being called Rabbi in the marketplace. I'm used to being called the high and lifted up and whatnot. You come in Jesus and you still in detention. So wait a minute, don't y'all all be looking at me? They said no, we're looking at him. Here's your cherry pie. See you next week.
Praise God.
This man's teaching is a little bit better than yours.
Praise God. But he's getting the point.
Yes.
Hallelujah. So let's, um, God didn't leave nothing to chance. Amen. Verse 9, because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you shall be saved. Verse 10, for with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
Yes.
John chapter 3, verse 5 says, Jesus answered, truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. We're talking about the ways to, uh, the one way to enter the kingdom of God. Amen. Born of water and the Spirit means undergoing God's cleansing and renewing Worked promise in the Old Testament. Water equals cleansing.
Yes.
Spirit equals new life.
Yes.
Together they represent regeneration from above. Yes.
Amen.
Amen.
We're about to start but not finish talking about part 3. What is the constitution of the kingdom of heaven? There's more to be taught about this that I'm going to be doing next week, by the grace of God, give us permission for us to live to see it. And we hope everyone can be here to listen to it next week. But we're just going to get started. Let's begin by defining what a constitution is. A constitution is a supreme set of fundamental principles and rules or laws by which a country, state, or organization is governed. It establishes the structure of government, defines the scope of its power, and guarantees the basic rights, liberties, and responsibilities of its citizens. Amen. The Holy Bible covers every aspect of that definition.
That's right. That's right.
So what is the Constitution for the kingdom of God?
The Holy Bible.
Amen.
That's good.
Yes, sir. Just to let us set the answer to the sick nerd in our hearts again, let me read that again about the Constitution. The Constitution is the supreme set of fundamental principles, rules, or laws by which a country, state, or organization is governed. It establishes the structure of government, defines the scope of its power, and guarantees the basic rights, liberties, and responsibilities of its citizens. The Holy Bible covers every aspect of that definition, and that's what we're going to be going over this week and next week.
Amen.
The Bible has the, uh, King's Law. Isaiah, talking about the law. Isaiah 33, verse 22, from the English Standard Version again. Isaiah chapter 33, verse 22. For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king. He will save us.
Amen.
This is talking about the aspects of, um, of the Constitution, looking at the Bible as our Constitution for the Kingdom of Heaven. If you're living in a somewhat sovereign territory, like State of Georgia has a state constitution, Texas has its constitution, United States has the Constitution.
Amen.
You want to know what the laws are to keep us out of jail.
Amen. I don't want you sending me a postcard next week saying, It was nice knowing you, man. We took way too long. We're going on vacation. I'll send you some pictures here from—
hallelujah.
Have your phone with you there at the Grand Adventure so I can send you some pictures and let you know what it was like. I didn't know you was going to break the law. See, I haven't told you to try to study the Constitution before.
He's got that. God says laughter works like a medicine. That's what the Bible says. So it's good to laugh every now and then. Amen.
Isaiah 33:22.
For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king. He will save us. A kingdom's constitution expresses the will of a judge, lawgiver, and King. All roles God holds. God holds all of those roles.
Yes.
The judge, the lawgiver.
Yes.
He's our King and he saves us. Psalms chapter 19, verse 7. We're talking about the King's law. The Bible function as the lawgiver, setting up the law for the kingdom. Psalms chapter 19, verse 7. The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The Bible is not advice. It is legal foundation of God's rule.
That's right.
Amen. Thank God. First point. Amen. Thank you. Hallelujah. Turn back over to Pastor Pitts.
Thank you for looking at us on Facebook and YouTube and Twitter and commenting and subscribing on our videos. God bless you. We love you greatly. Tracy and I want to say that if you're in this area, both you and your family, or if you're just visiting, come by and shake our hands. Tracy and I, the leaders, and Minister Ophelia, Pastor Keith, we'd love to meet you, shake your hands, Hug your neck. If you're looking for a good church, consider 514 Grace Church. We are a very solid ministry. We're just getting started, and God wants to do great things in this area, West Georgia. We're right here in Villa Rica, not that far from Atlanta, right outside of Douglasville. Look us up, call us, message us, and I tell you this: you will not be disappointed in Jesus' name. God bless you. Thank you guys for watching. We're not out of word. I want you to come back next week because Pastor Keith is going to continue part two of this series on the Kingdom of Heaven. God bless you, and we'll see you next time.
One name. One sound who we call Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, who still reigns. Jesus, Jesus, we shout one name. Jesus, Jesus, chains snap when we call that name. We lift one name. Jesus, Jesus, hell backs up.
