Where is the Kingdom of God manifested on earth?

Another installation of the Luther Rice responses. I didn't feel the need to go too deep this time. Just a basic answer with no strings attached I guess. With all the struggles I have had in dealing with the content I have been covering; It is just good to hear the Gospel preached rightly. I am so encouraged by the elders at my church and I thank God for them. With all that has been going on this past week, I have remained thoroughly busy. From work to school to bailing my sister our of jail. God has been merciful in letting me enjoy good fellowship this weekend with many brothers. A church where the Kingdom is manifested..... here goes.

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A church in which God reigns? I think the main characteristic is the spirit filled preaching of the Word of God. In most cases, the assumption is that music for an hour or so depending on what kind of "church" your in, is the ”worship" time. When believers come together to worship, yes, we sing songs of praise to God, but that is by no means where worship ends. Meaningful worship takes upon many different facets, preaching, sacraments, ect, but I think it comes down to whether or not you know who God is. Greater than having your sins forgiven, which is a miracle, is knowing Christ. The people in the congregation of a church in which God reigns will outwardly show their faith in Christ in the form of personal evangelism amongst their own family, which is the main ministry of parents, and amongst strangers, friends, and co-workers alike. All people when it comes down to it. "But I don't have the gift of evangelism!", well neither do I honestly, but we must be faithful to this great commission, and put aside all of these great suggestions that we have received from the world. In season and out.

A church in which the kingdom of God is manifested is shown by the fruit of the Elders and the flock. Are people genuinely being converted by the Spirit? Is the preaching anointed of God? Are we absolutely saturated with the word of God and not just standing on top of it? Do we love Jesus? Do we plead with sinners to repent and trust the savior in our own personal lives? Is God in our church, or standing at the door knocking? Do we love the brethren? There is a laundry list of questions when it comes down to the qualifications of a church in which the kingdom of God is manifested. When I was looking for the church I am currently at, I asked brothers and sisters, and read a lot about what a true church looks like. I searched for a church where the kingdom of God is manifested if you will, and I was helped greatly by Mark Dever and his list of 9Marks.

1. Expositional Preaching
This is preaching which expounds what Scripture says in a particular passage, carefully explaining its meaning and applying it to the congregation. It is a commitment to hearing God’s Word and to recovering the centrality of it in our worship.

2. Biblical Theology
Paul charges Titus to "teach what is in accord with sound doctrine” (Titus 2:1). Our concern should be not only with how we are taught, but with what we are taught. Biblical theology is a commitment to know the God of the Bible as He has revealed Himself in Scripture.

3. Biblical Understanding of the Good News
The gospel is the heart of Christianity. But the good news is not that God wants to meet people's felt needs or help them develop a healthier self-image. We have sinfully rebelled against our Creator and Judge. Yet He has graciously sent His Son to die the death we deserved for our sin, and He has credited Christ's acquittal to those who repent of their sins and believe in Jesus' death and resurrection. That is the good news.

4. Biblical Understanding of Conversion
The spiritual change each person needs is so radical, so near the root of us, that only God can do it. We need God to convert us. Conversion need not be an emotionally heated experience, but it must evidence itself in godly fruit if it is to be what the Bible regards as a true conversion.

5. Biblical Understanding of Evangelism
How someone shares the gospel is closely related to how he understands the gospel. To present it as an additive that gives non-Christians something they naturally want (i.e. joy or peace) is to present a half-truth, which elicits false conversions. The whole truth is that our deepest need is spiritual life, and that new life only comes by repenting of our sins and believing in Jesus. We present the gospel openly, and leave the converting to God.

6. Biblical Understanding of Membership
Membership should reflect a living commitment to a local church in attendance, giving, prayer and service; otherwise it is meaningless, worthless, and even dangerous. We should not allow people to keep their membership in our churches for sentimental reasons or lack of attention. To be a member is knowingly to be traveling together as aliens and strangers in this world as we head to our heavenly home.

7. Biblical Church Discipline
Church discipline gives parameters to church membership. The idea seems negative to people today – “didn’t our Lord forbid judging?” But if we cannot say how a Christian should not live, how can we say how he or she should live? Each local church actually has a biblical responsibility to judge the life and teaching of its leaders, and even of its members, particularly insofar as either could compromise the church’s witness to the gospel.

8. Promotion of Christian Discipleship and Growth
A pervasive concern with church growth exists today – not simply with growing numbers, but with growing members. Though many Christians measure other things, the only certain observable sign of growth is a life of increasing holiness, rooted in Christian self-denial. These concepts are nearly extinct in the modern church. Recovering true discipleship for today would build the church and promote a clearer witness to the world.

9. Biblical Understanding of Leadership
What eighteenth-century Baptists and Presbyterians often agreed upon was that there should be a plurality of elders in each local church. This plurality of elders is not only biblical, but practical — it has the immense benefit of rounding out the pastor’s gifts to ensure the proper shepherding of God’s church.

This is what I believe a church where the Kingdom of God is manifested looks like.