by David Brenneman
"Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” Acts 1:4-8.
“Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’ For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions." Matthew 6:9-15.
"Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.” Luke 17:20-21.
The Kingdom of God. The Disciples, soon to be Apostles, spoke at length about it with Jesus for 40 days after His resurrection.
The obvious statement Jesus made that we read in Luke must have been missed at the time that they spoke to Him now.
The Kingdom came and there was nothing that Satan could do to stop it. The beginnings we read here are of the foundation being laid. The Spirit comes and does indeed teach them all things.
We soon read of the teachings of the Apostles. Their testimony turns the hearts of thousands in a matter of days to true life in the Living Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
They became the hands and feet of Jesus and there was no stopping it.
The Lord's Prayer, after acknowledging the Father, is a prayer for the kingdom of God to come. On Earth as it is in Heaven.
No doubt this was part of what they talked about. But weren't yet understanding.
We are doing kingdom work when we're being the body of Christ, which is the Church of God.
Jesus is a runner, did you know that? He will run as far as it takes, do wherever He needs to, in order to catch every a single person to save them whom it has been appointed unto salvation.
There sadly are some who will continue to reject the offer of salvation unto their dying breath.
The power that came then is more than alive and well today. It's alive and will remain in place until Jesus Jesus returns. Then the role of the Spirit of God will change.
Last night I had the opportunity to talk to someone about kingdom things. Pointing them to Jesus, whom the Bible says is, the Author and the Perfector of our faith.
We talked about many things to do with Dr. Charles Stanley's Life Principles.
Our intimacy with God--His highest priority for our lives--determines the impact of our lives.
Obey God and leave the consequences to Him.
God does not require us to understand His Will, just to obey it, even if it seems unreasonable.
Whatever you aquire outside of God's will eventually turns to ashes.
Anyway you hold too tightly you will lose.
The Kingdom certainly didn't come with physical signs to be observed.
Just like last night's conversation, the kingdom was in the midst of the conversation.
Point people to Jesus get out of the way of Jesus.
We talked about how much of the life of the Believer is indeed training in righteousness. A soldiers training. That we are often injured spiritually and require special triage to deal with it.
These are kingdom things. These are God working in the lives of people.
The next part is very important.
His will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.
That's what became of the conversation in Acts. Now was the time for it to begin to be on Earth as it is in Heaven.
You and I, if we are indeed saved, aren't to sit on our laurels waiting either to die or waiting for Jesus to come back. We, as part of the body of Christ, have a job to do. As parts of the body of Christ leave this world others are brought in to take their place.
No one who is saved should sell themselves short on their Kingdom impact. Great or small, any work for Jesus has an impact.
If indeed Jesus is the forgiver of your sins and the leader of your life...you have an assignment. You have a part to be completed in reaching others for Christ.
Take this however you will...but I know that God DOES cause all things to work together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. Why say that right now? My Dear Reader, it took a hurricane to bring someone to my home whom I would never have been introduced to otherwise, to have a particular kingdom inspired conversation. They were over 1,100 miles away several days ago with no other hope of being with me in my fireplace room apart from the work of God in Christ Jesus.
In the Kingdom, it really is God’s way or the highway. Jesus said that the path to Hell is wide that leads to destruction. A highway to Hell. Narrow is the way that leads to life eternal in Christ Jesus.
In Christ we are alive in ways those not yet saved cannot even begin to understand. We can see the hand of God in lives around us.
We can help those He brings into our lives to a better understanding of the love of God in Christ.
The Apostles journey began with testifying to the wonderful love of God in Christ Jesus. Thousands who were dead in Christ were now alive in Christ. Old things are passed away, behold new things have come.
Don't know what your part in the Kingdom is? Just be who you are to the best of your ability as unto the Lord Jesus Christ. Colossians 3:23-24. Whatever you do, do as unto the Lord Jesus. Still another passage, He who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, sins.
Pray about your day before you step into it. You my Dear Reader, if you are saved, you are an Ambassador of God in Christ. Your Bible, by studying it, reading it, is making you adequate, equipped for every good work in Christ.
Last night I didn't have to worry about how to have that conversation with this visitor to my home. The Spirit did the talking.
Seeds were planted or seeds were nurtured. The Spirit causes the growth as the Bible says.
All Believer's have a role in the Kingdom of God. Keep your priorities straight and He will make your paths straight. Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.
All NASB 1995 and NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. (C) Lockman Foundation.
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