The Kingdom

Mark 1:10
And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting (being ripped open or torn apart) and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove.

This is one of those moments that defines our history as a people. Not just American, but everyone who lives upon this planet. Jesus, God-in-flesh, has been baptized by John, and when he is coming up from the place of his baptism, something happens. The heavens...the atmosphere....the air.....the sky.....is torn apart by a force that is greater than anything the world has even seen. And through that torn place, the Holy Spirit of God descends. The Spirit of God, unhindered by the dark forces of Satan, makes his way down and lands upon Jesus. God has entered our time and space to bring about his plans to destroy the works of the devil (I john 3:8).

Then, if you continue reading in Mark, you'll come to verses 14 and 15: Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God, and saying "The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel.'
This idea or thought that the Kingdom of God is here but not yet is the very heart of my belief's. It is as relevant today as it was the day Jesus spoke. Sometimes we read scripture and act as though it has all ceased and no longer is relevant to our time. Even though the scriptures were written thousands of years ago, the power and purpose, not to mention the Presence of God, is still at work in the hearts of those who are committed to Him. In fact, the Scriptures are at work in the hearts of those who don't know this Jesus, wooing people to come to Salvation. This gospel is the good news and, as Paul stated in Romans 1...The power to save!

We read in Matthew 4:23: And Jesus was going about in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the gospel of the Kingdom,and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people. In other words, whenever Jesus would teach, he would back up his teaching with a demonstration of power. This gave credence to the claims that he made.
For me, the teaching of the Kingdom of God is central to my belief. The Kingdom of God, or his divine rule and reign in the hearts of those who are his followers, provides a frame work that helps me to understand the reality of healing and the moves of the Holy Spirit as we pray for those that God has given up appointments with.

Jesus central message was:
1.) The Kingdom is here: Mark 1:15 - and saying, "The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.

2.) The Kingdom is near: Luke 21:31 - Even so you too, when you see these things happening, recognize that the Kingdom of God is near.

3.) The Kingdom is in you: Luke 17:21 - "Behold the kingdom of God is within you.

So the Kingdom (or rule and reign of God) is at hand....It has entered our time and space.
It is near....which means it is not complete or functioning the way we read in other portions of Scripture. If you read in Revelation, you'll see that at some point when we are with God, there will be no more death, no more pain and He will wipe away our tears. We don't yet see such things in our world today. So we don't really have the consummation or completeness of God's Kingdom here on earth. We see glimpses of it when we pray for someone and they are healed. I had a young man come to Bible study last Tuesday night with an abscessed knee. Looked horrible and he was in much pain. I asked him if we could pray for his knee and ask God to heal him. He agreed, so I gathered some men and we prayed a very simple prayer."God, come and heal this knee. Remove the infection and relieve the pain." Wednesday when I got to the camp, there was a note delivered to me from this young man. "I got up this morning. Pain gone. Swelling gone. Knee is normal. Praise God!" In less than 10 hours, God had healed this young man. What we saw was a glimpse of the Kingdom of God at work. That is why we pray...."Your Kingdom will be done...here on earth as it is in heaven."

The Kingdom of God involves God's intervention into our history.
      A.) His power and rule breaks into the affairs of men.
      B.) He confronts the forces that seek to destroy us and fight against us.
      C.) He breaks the hold and power that sin has over the lives of people.
      D.) In other words, Jesus intervenes on our behalf to break the plans of the enemy.

When Jesus stood on a hill outside of Jerusalem before he ascended to heaven, he conferred upon his disciples the mandate to carry on the dynamics of His kingdom. In other words, they were given the authority and power to do the things He did. Now this is where some folks differ with me. I believe that as a believer and follower of Jesus, I have been given that same authority and power. Not because I am a pastor or that I am anything special.I'm not. I believe that such power and authority is given to every believer to be exercised so that the Kingdom of God will be extended. We have been given the right to pray for the sick and see them healed ( not my power, but his) We have been given the right to break off and cast out demonic spirits from those who have been demonized for years. In other words..........as John Wimber used to put it..."We have been called to "do the stuff" that Jesus did. Today, I am being splashed upon by the fullness of the Kingdom of God that I will see complete in the future.

Ask God to give you someone to pray for today.
Believe that prayer and see the kingdom at work.

God on you.....
mb