Today we continue our new series entitled, “Heaven on Earth,” by teaching on God’s Kingdom.
We spent the latter part of last week looking at Luke 17:20&21. I want to go back to that passage again this morning. I keep thinking about it. The more I meditate/medicate on it, the more God speaks to me concerning it. The Bible says:
(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.”
Let’s take a look at something else Jesus said. In John 11 Jesus was talking to His disciples about his cousin, John the Baptist. Jesus said, “Since the time John the Baptist came until now, God’s kingdom has been advancing strongly.” (Mat 11:12). There was only a short time between John the Baptist’s ministry and Jesus’. While John was preaching, Jesus was alive, but His ministry had not started yet. So the arrival of the Kingdom had not been announced. So John was preaching, “The Kingdom is NEAR!” Jesus came and He preached, “The Kingdom is NOW!” And as you can see, in the relatively short time between the two ministries, Jesus said, “God’s kingdom has been advancing strongly.” It is God’s intent for His Kingdom to advance. His Kingdom is IN us. It must advance IN us before it can advance THROUGH us!
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
1. God wants His Kingdom to advance all throughout this world. The goal is for the kingdoms of this world to become the Kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ (Rev 11:15). If you understand this, you won’t spend your life focused on leaving the earth and going to heaven. You will spend your life attempting to be used of God to bring heaven to the earth.
2. When you open your heart to reality that God (yes, the one true God), LIVES IN YOU, and that not only are you in His Kingdom but His Kingdom is IN YOU, you can’t help but live different. God will change you from the inside-out. He will give you insight you would have never seen as a mere human. He will give you wisdom that far exceeds your education and experience. He will give you the clarity to make decisions in situations where even the most educated are baffled. He will do this because He wants what is INSIDE of you to impact the world AROUND you. That’s how Kingdom EXPANDS. It EXPANDS in you first, where no one can see it. And it then EXPANDS so much that pretty soon everyone gets to see it!
3. Many believers compartmentalize their lives. They put God in the “church bucket” and they do not let Him out in their “work bucket” or in any other area of their lives. They see God and worship as something they do on Sunday and maybe some Wednesday nights. But these people have missed the mark altogether. God is either LORD OF ALL or He is not LORD AT ALL. The goal is for God to be seen, heard, felt and experienced through you. This can happen at church, but unless you are a member of the clergy, your greatest impact will not happen at church. Your greatest impact happens outside of the church. Which is why you must open your heart to God’s Kingdom and the reality that is is ever-EXPANDING inside of you. Once you get a revelation of the KINGDOM EXPANSION that is occuring IN you, you can’t help but manifest that KINGDOM EXPANSION through you. It will be seen in your business. It will be heard in your presentations and conversations. It will be felt as people engage with you. People won’t know how to explain it, but they will know there is something different about you. Something special. Something unique. Something that causes them to WANT to do business with you. That something is someone and that someone is GOD!
4. There is no limit to what God can do in and through you. If God’s influence through your life is being limited or minimized in any way, it is happening through you. You are holding Him back. You are hindering His EXPANSION and ADVANCEMENT. It’s time to stop. Make a decision right now that you are going to remove every artificial limit you have ever placed on our limitless God, that you are going to fully open your heart to God’s ever-EXPANDING Kingdom, and that you are going to advance His Kingdom in this world without excuse and without shame. If you boldly RE-present God in this world, He will boldly cause you to advance so your influence can increase. I am a witness.
5. I will close with a brief testimony. On Friday afternoon I had a meeting with the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS). One of my team members attempted to explain to me what Medicaid was, as opposed to Medicare. I told him that I needed to explanation, because I was raised on Medicaid. I was beneficiary of Welfare and Medicaid from the time I was a child until the time I joined the Army. As I was walking into the building I could not help but think, “Look at God! I used to be require these services and now I am here to help them provide the services I used to rely on in a more efficient way.” This is not but another small example of what happens when you allow the Kingdom of God to EXPAND, INCREASE and ADVANCE in and through you.
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. I open my heart to this KINGDOM EXPANSION. I see myself the way You see me. I give myself over to You, to be used as a conduit of KINGDOM EXPANSION in this world. What’s happening IN me is something others cannot see. But I declare that it spills over into this world in ways everyone will be able to see, notice and benefit from. I enter this day as the answer to problems people have been struggling to figure out, because I have access to wisdom and insight this it OUT OF THIS WORLD! Heaven comes to the earth today and it happens through me! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
