A Modern Woman's Perspective On The Kingdom of God on Earth


Showing posts with label Expand my Territory. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Expand my Territory. Show all posts

September 15, 2023

What Exactly Does It Mean To "Expand The Kingdom of God"?


By now, it should be apparent that I am attempting to expand our understanding of the Kingdom of God. And since "Kingdom" has become somewhat of a buzzword among the Christian community in the last few years, it should not be a new concept for the Body of Christ. But I will qualify that statement by saying that although you might be aware that Jesus commanded us to "seek the Kingdom first", you might not be quite sure what that looks like. 

I can remember when I began to concentrate on studying the Book of Matthew, which I found full of the revelation that Jesus is King of a heavenly kingdom realm that was being established on earth with His birth. With that divine disclosure to the human world, it makes "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" a much more powerful statement.

I cannot go forward with this discussion without addressing the difference of opinion as to whether the Kingdom of God on earth is a future event [at the return of Christ] or whether it is present today. I can only share what my spirit is telling me, and each of you have to study the Word and come to your own theological understanding. In fact, we should each establish a Biblical worldview for ourselves, always being open to new revelations from the Holy Spirit.

Several years ago, I established the cornerstone of my Biblical worldview, and as of today, nothing has changed my opinion. And if I had to give you a concise statement as to my belief system, it would be this .... Both John the Baptist and Jesus warned those who would hear them to "Repent!" .... John, saying "for the Kingdom of God is near", and Jesus telling them, "for the Kingdom of God is at hand". It is my belief that both John and Jesus were announcing that God's representative from Heaven (Jesus) had come to plant Heaven's flag, so to speak, in the earth, staking territory for the Kingdom of God; in effect, inaugurating [or beginning] the heavenly Kingdom system of government on the earth. So, in that sense, the Kingdom is present now, or "in your midst" (Luke 17:21), but is not yet complete. The Kingdom is here in a partial sense as we Christians continue to take territory from the devil and take back dominion of the earth until the Day of the Lord, when Jesus will return, bringing His Justice and destroying the evil and corruption in the world, while establishing the good and perfect Kingdom realm on earth that God had planned from the beginning.

And one of the reasons that the Book of Matthew is at the center of my belief system is that it focuses on Jesus's teachings about how people are to behave as citizens of that Kingdom realm on earth, with Jesus as their loving King. Which takes me to the born again experience that Jesus speaks to Nicodemus about in John, Chapter 3. Jesus says, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God."  To me, this says that we come into the Kingdom as a citizen through being born again -- [reborn from above by the Holy Spirit—spiritually transformed, renewed, and sanctified].

When we are born again into the Kingdom, with Jesus as our King, we use a key to enter into that Kingdom. Jesus is the door and that key. Romans 10:9-10 tells us, "For if you publicly declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will experience salvation." To sum it up, when you are born again and confess your faith in Jesus, you are saved and become a citizen of the Kingdom. And with that citizenship come keys. [I have spoken about these keys in a previous post, titled "Have You Accepted Jesus's Gift of the Keys to the Kingdom?".

We see this confession/citizenship/keys relationship in Matthew 16:13-20. Peter confesses Jesus as the Christ (Anointed One from God), is given keys of the kingdom of heaven, and now has the authority "to forbid [bind, stop] on earth that which is forbidden in heaven, and to release [loose, permit] on earth that which is released in heaven." Those rights are only conveyed to one who is a citizen of the Kingdom of God/Heaven! And that is the purpose of the keys of the Kingdom -- to transform this earth, to look like it is in heaven! 

I also want to point out that it is my belief that there is a false narrative that this passage is establishing Peter as the head of the Church; which is a corruption of Scripture promulgated by Constantine. I believe, truth be told, that the keys to the Kingdom are principles given to all who are born again into the Kingdom as citizens; principles to rule and reign until the return of our King. These keys represent our authority and provide access to the Kingdom of Heaven. And that access is initiated through Scripture. It's not enough to just know Scripture ... we must DO Scripture! You see, God is moved by His Word, not our tears. Hebrews 6:17 says, "in His desire to show to the heirs of the Promise the unchangeable nature of His purpose, [God] intervened and guaranteed it with an oath" -- in other words, He says He is bound by His Word. So when we DO His Word, He will move in our lives and in this world; we will see results. 

And we must realize that there is no Master Key of the Kingdom-- no one-key-fits-all system -- and it is inherent upon us to know what the keys are; to understand and employ them to their fullest effect. If not, "my people perish for lack of knowledge", comes to mind. We also need to remember what our Lord tells us in Luke 12:32: "It is your Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom". We are to remember that we are citizens of the Kingdom; "sons of Light", and we are to be operating in the Kingdom system, not the system of the world. Sadly, I think that too many people (including Christians) are not "seeking the Kingdom first". They have gotten too attached to the world system and have compromised for the sake of succeeding in this world.

So, here's a truth we need to be aware of ... If we are born again and Saved, we are citizens of the Kingdom. But which system are we operating in? We can be considered citizens of the Kingdom, but still be operating in the world system. I believe we are all guilty of that at one time or another in our lives. For instance, if we get offended by someone [which is one of Satan's favorite schemes], do we withdraw and sulk, or do we work in the Kingdom government system and handle it with a Kingdom principle; for instance praying for those who curse you? We must recognize that the system of this world is not our system! Our system is Kingdom government!

The bottom line is this: we must know that if we call ourselves Christians, our primary citizenship is in the Kingdom of God! Yes, we wait for the fulfillment [completion] of the Kingdom on earth. But we serve our Lord, who is King of that Kingdom, and He has entrusted us to continue His work in establishing the Kingdom He came to inaugurate. Just because He has not yet returned, it doesn't mean we are to remain idle until that glorious Day. When He returns, we will give an account of the fruit we have borne for the Kingdom. I can imagine Him embracing us as Saved Christians; welcoming us as citizens of the Kingdom of God. And then I can hear Him ask, "What did you do with the keys of the Kingdom that I gave you? Did you read my Word? If so, did you seek to understand and experience it? Did you DO My Word?" 

It goes without saying that we are in a critical time in the history of our country, and the world. If we truly believe we are citizens of Heaven, here on earth to take back the dominion God gave man when He created the world, then it is crucial that we step into our identity and our assignment. As citizens of Heaven, we need to operate in God's government system and call on the power of Heaven, which is by legal rights, ours, as sons and daughters of the King. As citizens of Heaven, we do not settle for this world's corruption, ungodliness, and unrighteousness. We stand for everything that is Good and Pure and Just. It is my prayer that each of us know that the Kingdom in us is greater than the kingdom of this world. Let us use the keys He has given us in His Word to lock and secure our hearts in His Kingdom system. Let us be transferred from this world system into the spiritual realm of the Kingdom of God, where the reality of His Kingdom is apparent, and we bring it into the present through the abundant and prosperous fruit we bear, in the Mighty Name of Jesus. Amen!

Luke 17:21      "The Kingdom is not discovered in one place or another, for God’s Kingdom realm is already expanding within some of you."



October 5, 2022

Do You Know The Measure Of Your Work For The Kingdom of God?

 

I ask that question because it is something I have been considering over the last few days as I laid sick in my bed with a nasty cold virus. When your body is racked with fever, your mind tends to go places not normal for you. I had no energy to write this blog or do much of anything else, actually, and so I asked the Lord to take me to Scripture that I needed to consider a little deeper.  He led me to 2 Corinthians, Chapter 10. The latter part of this chapter concerns Paul discussing his mandate [or assignment] from the Lord. Apparently, within the Church at Corinth, the believers were preoccupied with setting standards of their own regarding the efficacy [value or benefit] of another's ministry. Various opinions, theories, and religious philosophies were discussed and then either copied or compared, resulting in human evaluations that left people either prideful or discouraged, depending on the consensus of the church.

Sound familiar? But it was Paul's statement regarding this human evaluation that got me to thinking. Paul's response was this: But we are those who choose to limit our boasting to only the measure of the work to which God has appointed us...  You see, I've always had a problem with the Church deciding they were the arbiter of God's commission on my life. It has always seemed to me that if I didn't follow the prescribed "rules" of what ministry was supposed to look like, it was made clear that I was outside God's domain. But once I received the revelation that Christ passed His authority on to us, I began to realize that God was the administrator of where and how I would serve Him. 

Furthermore, I came to realize that God has designed each of us in a unique manner that serves Him best. We have been given the gifts and spiritual authority that are necessary to continue Christ's dominion on this earth. In other words, there is a unique job for each of us, and my job may look different than yours, but we both have the same objective -- to see God's Kingdom expanded upon the earth.

Let's refer back to Paul's statement. There is a "measure of work to which God has appointed us". The Passion Translation of 2 Corinthians 10:13 says that this word "work" comes from the Greek word metron, which was the length of a race course, and it was used to define the boundaries of a Greek stadium. This should make us think of the references to "running the race" that Paul makes throughout his letters to the various churches:  "let us run with endurance the race that is set before us" (Hebrews 12:1), and "if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus" (Acts 20:24), for instance. This tells me that we have each been given a sphere of influence that will be suited to our gifts and the level of authority we have been given.

But there is more to this concept of "running in our lane" [which is the boundaries of our ministry from God]. There is the idea of the expansion of those boundaries to benefit the Kingdom of God. I believe it was in the 1990's when The Prayer of Jabez was so popular. The verses in 1 Chronicles 4:9-10 read, There was a man named Jabez who was more honorable than any of his brothers. His mother named him Jabez because his birth had been so painful. He was the one who prayed to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and expand my territory! Please be with me in all that I do, and keep me from all trouble and pain!” And God granted him his request.

The Christian culture was captivated by what they discerned was a quick prayer to increase their material well-being. I will agree... we serve a God of Increase and Enlargement. But our material well-being is a by-product of how well we administer the territory [or sphere of influence] and the gifts we have been given by the Father. Just as Jesus prophesied that the Apostles would be His witnesses first in Jerusalem, then Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth, we have each been given the same potential to expand our territories of influence for His Kingdom.

If we are obedient to the leading of the Holy Spirit, to His promptings, and to His instructions, we can expect the measure of our ministerial influence to expand. It goes without saying that our primary purpose is to expand the Kingdom of God and not our personal empire. But it is also true that we can expect God's blessings when we use our authority to widen God's influence in the world. As we fulfill our potential within the boundaries God has established for our ministry, He will push those boundaries back, giving us room to grow and widen our sphere of influence for Him.

And I hope that everyone realizes that we each DO have a ministry; a purpose for our life to serve others as we serve our Lord. If you aren't aware of what yours is, ask Jesus to show you. You may start out small, but as you are faithful to your calling, and you desire to expand your territory in a spirit of humbleness and love for the Lord, the Father will do as He did for Jabez, and grant your request. 

So, I come back to my original question ... Do you know your measure in the Kingdom of God? Do you know what your purpose and your assignment or mandate is? Can you identify your sphere of influence and perceive the boundaries of your spiritual territory? If not, then pursue those answers. Because it is going to be vitally important as we enter into a time on this earth when the Antichrist spirit will rule and reign like we've never seen before. Thanks be to God, that it will be for a short time, before Jesus arrives on the earth to settle the score with His ancient enemy and establish His Millennial Kingdom.

When we know the measure of our work in that Kingdom, then we are confident and bold to carry out our assignments so all the world knows it is the Lord that commends and expands our work. Do not be afraid or ashamed to declare it to a world [or Church] who needs to know that Christ gives us divine power in our ministries to demolish strongholds! Your life will be eternally richer for it. And if, like Paul, you know the course of the race set before you, do not be satisfied with limits on your boundaries. Ask God to expand your territory so that you can expand His Kingdom. You, too, will find eternal rewards beyond anything you desire.  

#sphereofinfluence #kingdomassignment #spiritualterritory   

Isaiah 54:2    Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes.