kingdom of God

Living In the Fullness of the Kingdom – Barbara Potts

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In a sentence, God’s Kingdom is where His government rules and His supernatural life is manifested. 

     In Matthew 13:11, Jesus said: “It has been given to you to know the mysteries of the Kingdom.”  Jesus personified the Kingdom. He spoke the Kingdom, He lived the Kingdom, and He demonstrated what life in the Kingdom should be like: Jesus commanded the elements, walked on water, exercised authority over demons and sickness, made Himself invisible and walked through crowds, saw inside of people’s hearts, accelerated time, turned water into wine, multiplied bread and fish, and raised the dead!  This was the Kingdom manifesting on earth.  

     For a number of years now I have been on a journey of discovery about who we are and what we have in Christ and how we are to manifest and proclaim the Kingdom as Jesus did. The truth is: because the cross defeated the curse that came as a result of Adam’s sin, we are opened to a whole new realm of living! Galatians 3:22 tells us: 

“Jesus is the Savior who brings the Kingdom realm to all who believe.”

     I would like to share a little Kingdom analogy that has flowed out of my experience of walking in and declaring Kingdom realities: 

My husband and I love to hike. When you are hiking in mountain country, sometimes there is a long hike just to get to the foot of a mountain. This hike along the trail to the mountain affords you a beautiful, yet limited, view. Then, as you are making the ascent, you are so focused on where to place your foot that you only see what is directly ahead of you. When you finally reach the summit and turn around to see from whence you have come, it takes your breath away. A whole new vista is opened up to you that was there all the time, but you just couldn’t see it from your earthbound vantage point. This is life in the Spirit that reveals the Kingdom!

 I feel like most of my life I have been hiking along the valley, and now I am climbing the mountain. I am not talking about having a “mountain-top” experience in the traditional sense. I am talking about gaining a Kingdom perspective that lifts you out of the natural and into the supernatural, out of time and into eternity, out of limitation and      into “nothing is impossible.”

      This is how Jesus lived on earth. And since Jesus, the Creator of all that is, lives inside of us, should we expect anything less? 

     As Paul reminds us in the letter to the Colossians: 

Christ’s resurrection from the dead is your resurrection too. This is why we are to yearn for all that is above, for that’s where Christ sits enthroned at the place of all power; honor; and authority! Yes, feast on all the treasures of the heavenly realm and fill your thoughts with heavenly realities, and not with the distractions of the natural realm. Your crucifixion with Christ has severed the tie to this life, and now your true life is hidden away in God as you live within the Anointed One … . And every time Christ Himself is seen for Who He really is, who you really are will also be revealed, for you are now one with Him in His glory!   Colossians 3:1-5, The Passion Translation 

      Seated with Christ in heavenly places, at one with Him in His Glory, declaring HIS KINGDOM COME AND HIS WILL BE DONE. This is to be our life in the Spirit!

     This is how we proclaim Heaven to Earth prayers. This is how we are going to demonstrate the Kingdom of Power and Light against the increasing darkness that is coming upon the world in these last days. Only a supernaturally-living and speaking people can accurately reflect the image of a supernatural God and bring the reality of the life of His eternal Kingdom here on earth — now — as it is in Heaven!

Once Upon a Time – Gary Florence

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I am sure we all have read “Once Upon a Time” stories, like once upon a time there was a king who lived far, far, far away in a kingdom etc. Did you know before Christ was born there were Greek philosophers who believed that there was a “Supreme Being”? This Supreme Being”  lived far, far, far away in the heavens, where his kingdom was, and that mindset has been passed down to the western church even to this day but now people refer to Him as God.

In order to build muscles in the natural you have to stretch them until they tear and they will then rebuild themselves even stronger. Can we allow our spiritual muscles to be stretched to where we can tear away from vain philosophy and the traditions of man?  What if God is but a breath away? Remember when Jesus said “Some will say that the kingdom is here and others will say no the kingdom is over there but I say to you the kingdom of God is within you.” Christ inside of us the hope of glory. Where the king is you will also find His kingdom. So what if this King Jesus’ kingdom isn’t in a far, far, far away land but is inside of us?

When Jesus was born didn’t He bring His kingdom with Him remember the angelic ( who are part of His Kingdom) gathered on the hill side to sing praises to God because where the King is so is His Kingdom. Just saying that statement causes my natural mind to rise up and rebel, but the things of the natural mind cannot comprehend the things of the spirit. Jesus told His disciples “I go to prepare a place for you so that where I am you too can also be” I am just asking a question here? What if that place He is preparing is us so that we may mature into sons and daughters and manifest His kingdom here on earth? Remember where the King is so is His kingdom.

When Jesus died on the cross, the temple’s veil was ripped from top to bottom exposing the Holy of Holies. What if, because of Christ inside of us, the Holy of Holies (Christ) can be exposed to the world for all who freely want to come, and see clearly this Christ inside of us?

What if now you and I can become the stories; “Once Upon a Time there was a King (Jesus) who did not live in a far, far, far away land but instead He lives inside of us and we are privileged to allow all who desire to come and read and partake of this kingdom that is available to them not when they just die but in the here and now.” Knowing where the king is you will find His kingdom. That kind of puts the ball in our court doesn’t it? Let me ask you a question, are you ready to play some ball???

The Crowd and the Crown – Karen Austin

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Many of us have had to deal with crowds in our lives. I remember being in a mall right before Thanksgiving and it was so crowded that I had to walk sideways to get through. Finally, I had to go outside and get some fresh air because it was just too crowded for me. Today, I want to talk about the crowds in our lives….things that come to crowd you out of your identity, your place of time in the Word, and intimacy with the Father. Everyone of us are pressing through some things, some sort of crowd is pressing against us to keep us from the place of overcoming and receiving the crown of victory.

To Crowd: to press closely together; force into a confined space; cram; to push; shove; to fill to excess; fill by pressing or thronging into; to place under pressure or stress by constant solicitation.

We must understand our enemy is relentless, but John 16:33 assures us “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me, you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” As He is, so are we in this world! [1 John 4:17] So we have been given overcoming power and authority! Tribulation can be oppression, stress, anxiety, crushing, affliction or squash by distress.

For some of us it is the crowd of our past, and/or bondages from our past. Things that you may be trying to overcome from your past are crowding you from your freedom in Christ today. When you hang out with a crowd, it is easy to be influenced to do what they are doing. It is easy to get caught up with the press of the crowd and do what they are doing.

For others, it is the crowd of sickness, either you or a loved one. Your heart is to do so much for the Kingdom of God, but because of recurrent physical sickness or limitations, this crowd of symptoms and fear keep pushing you back. Well-meaning doctors continue to place you in the category of the crowds…”You have a 90% chance of being in a wheel chair in five years.” I’d prefer to be counted among the crowd of faith to continue to press into the promise of “By His stripes I am healed!” It is so very easy to be influenced by the crowd of infirmity and to not give into the crowd of pain and weakness. But as you step forward in faith, He will give you the strength to overcome.

For others, it is the crowd of emotional pain – the crowd of rejection. Somewhere along the way in this journey called life, things happened. Someone, through their words or actions, told you that you were not valuable…you were not good enough and didn’t measure up. They may have implied you weren’t smart enough or popular enough…you weren’t attractive enough, rich enough or you weren’t as successful as your older brother. You can fill in the blank. Whatever it was, the intent of the enemy behind those words or actions was the same…to cause you to see yourself as “less than” you were created to be.

You were made in the image of God. “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:27. The enemies plan is to get your focus (what you see) off who God says you are, what God said you can do and instead cause you to focus on (to see only) your failing. Whenever we self-inspect, we will always come up short in every area of our lives without Him. We cannot become all that we are meant to be while we look at ourselves through the eyes of judgment and not through the eyes of grace and the love of our Father. No one knows our shortcomings more than we do – except our Heavenly Father and He is crazy about you and knows your true identity. Do you know that He rejoices over you with singing [Zephaniah 3:17]? Do you know that you are the apple of His eye [Zechariah 2:8]? He is extravagant in His love towards you!

“Can a woman forget her nursing child and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you. See, I have engraved you on the palms of My hands.” Isaiah 49:15-16.

His love towards you is everlasting, His love for you is constant. When all everyone else fails us and our dreams seem to fade away, He is there. He is secure – always. His love and His mercy towards you are forever.

~~to be continued