Today we continue our new series entitled, “Heaven on Earth,” by teaching on God’s Kingdom.
This morning I want to go back to the scripture we looked at yesterday. In yesterday’s message I talked to you about how God’s Kingdom is WITHIN us and how it EXPANDS. Today we will flow in that same vein with a message about continual EXPANSION.
(Luke 17:20,21 Passion Bible)
Jesus was once asked by the Jewish religious leaders, “When will God’s kingdom realm come?” Jesus responded, “God’s kingdom realm does not come simply by obeying principles or by waiting for signs. The kingdom is not discovered in one place or another, for God’s kingdom realm is already expanding within some of you.”
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
1. God wants to help you tear down the “invisible fence” that is holding you back. Pastor Bill Winston said, “Inside every one of us is an image I call an “invisible fence,” which dictates how far we can go and what we see ourselves doing and being. It is an invisible wall between you and God, holding you back, and keeping you from stepping out and doing what seems impossible. If you attempt to go outside this fence, your subconscious mind brings you back. I call it your “autopilot.” It’s designed to keep you on course at the level of your self-image.” Said another way, you will never routinely go beyond your level of thinking. You may get pushed — by God or someone else — to venture out beyond your “invisible fence” from time to time, but your “autopilot” will bring you right back before long. Therefore, to maximize your divine purpose and potential in life, you have to SEE yourself doing it and becoming it first. If you can’t SEE it, you will never BE it. If it is not part of your self-image, it will never be part of your “normal”.
2. Jesus talked about a Kingdom that is IN us and how this Kingdom is EXPANDING. The goal is for the reality of God’s Kingdom to continually EXPAND in us. We should ever-be evolving, expanding, growing, developing and become like Jesus.
3. Many of us have conscious and subconscious boundaries, barriers and limits in our minds. We judge what we think we can accomplish by how much education we have or don’t have, how much money we have or don’t have, and/or what we have been told by society that a person of our background (ethnicity, gender, neighborhood, etc.) should expect to accomplish. But our God is limitless and He lives IN us. His limitless power is ever EXPANDING on the inside of us. The more we open our hearts to His truth, the more we will get rid of the limits and boundaries that have held us back.
4. Right thinking produces right living. Divine success begins on the inside. The measure of success you experience in life will come as a result of the measure of divine success within your soul. This is why God deposited His Spirit and His Kingdom on the inside of us. The more we embrace the reality of God’s limitless possibilities, the more we will experience a life that far exceeds our dreams.
5. If you open your heart to God’s ever EXPANDING Kingdom that is on the inside of you, God’s limitless dreams will become a reality in your life. The seemingly impossible will become your everyday norm.
6. I will close by making it personal. Growing up as a child of immigrant parents in Brooklyn, NY, I had a limited view of what I could accomplish in life. East New York, Brooklyn in the 1970s and 1980s looked more like a warzone than it did a neighborhood. I was surrounded by drug dealers and addicts every day. I saw people killed in front of me on multiple occasions. I had a .357 magnum placed to my head when I was 12 years old, for a pair of adidas. And as bad as that sounds, believe me, it was much worse than anything I really want to describe. So as a child I did not have big dreams. A major dream I had was to still be alive at the age of 18. On July 25, 1990, I turned 18 years old on Fort Jackson, SC, while I was in U.S. Army Basic Training. I felt like I had escaped New York City. I was thankful to be alive. I did not tell anyone I it was my birthday, but that morning, I quietly went into the bathroom and cried. I cried tears of joy and gratitude. Not because I had accomplished anything, but because I was still breathing. That’s how low my outlook was. I don’t have the time to tell you how much God’s Kingdom reality has changed me. But I will simply say this: God’s Kingdom is IN you and it is ever EXPANDING. If you die to self, you will die to every limit you have ever seen and God’s ever EXPANDING Kingdom will take you beyond anything you have ever dreamed! I am a witness.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You for teaching me the reality of Your Kingdom. Your Kingdom is within me NOW. It is EXPANDING in me day-by-day. The more the reality of Your Kingdom EXPANDS in me, the more I open my heart to endless possibilities. So I declare by faith that I see myself the way You see me. I think of my future the way You do. I align my plans with Your purpose. I take every limit off, because You are a limitless God. There is nothing You can’t do, and You live IN me. Therefore, there is nothing I can’t do. The impossible for me. And the best part is that my outlook EXPANDS in You every second of every day! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
