The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!

Because Jesus is the King of heaven, when he came to earth, the kingdom came!

Matthew 4:17 says that Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Sometimes I think we get the idea that the kingdom of heaven is that future place that we'll go to after we die, in the sweet by and by... But when Jesus talked about the kingdom, he wasn't referring to something in the distant future, he said that the kingdom is here! NOW!

The phrase "is at hand" is in the perfect tense, meaning that the kingdom had already come and was remaining. One commentary states that the kingdom of heaven is the same thing as the kingdom of God, which is God's reign, his sovereign rule accompanied with the blessings experienced by humanity.
Remember the Lord's prayer (found in Matt 6:9ff)?
"Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."

When Jesus called for people to repent, he gave the reason that they should turn away from their sin and turn to God: because the kingdom is now here! Repentance is a gift from God. When I repent I am set free from the bondage of destruction and despairing living. Being brought into the kingdom of heaven delivers us from the hopeless kingdom of darkness.

Jesus ushered in a new era - the era of grace and forgiveness under the sovereign rule of the King of Kings. The entrance into the kingdom is through repentance and it results in obedience. Just calling Jesus your "Lord" doesn't save you (see Matt 7:21). Turning from sin and turning to God is an act of surrender. Surrendering my position as ruler of my life. Surrendering my "right" of self-determination. Surrendering my will to His will. And when I follow his will, I will seek first His kingdom and his righteousness (Matt 6:33). I will offer my body as a living sacrifice and no longer conform to the patter of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of my mind (Rom 12:1-2).

There is a future kingdom that we look forward to, but we don't have to wait until then to walk in the fellowship and blessings of our king. His rule has already begun, and those who are in Christ through faith have entered into the kingdom and can live day by day in light of the reality of God's kingdom-rule here and now!

"Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven!"