THY KINGDOM COME (9)

“And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains.  When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him. And he cried out with a loud voice and said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me” (Mark 5:2-3, 6-7 NKJV)

The sole duty of the church on earth, and hence that of every believer is to bring the kingdom of heaven to the earth. Jesus had commanded us to pray for the coming of God’s kingdom to earth so that His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. The overwhelming preoccupation of making sure we go to heaven seems to stand on the way of our primary assignment, which is to bring heaven to earth. Going to heaven is our destiny, which is guaranteed in Christ. Our Lord gave this assurance to believers; “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:1-3 NKJV). While we wait for Him to come and take us with Him, we are to be busy releasing the atmosphere of the kingdom throughout the world.  This was the model of life our Lord left for us to follow.  The whole authority of the kingdom of God is within you to change the world around you.

A mad man who was possessed with at least 2000 demons had been terrorising his neighbourhood for a long time. Nobody could hold him under control as every effort to get him chained came to nothing. He was screaming day and night in the cemetery and cutting himself with sharp stones. All these changed when Jesus appeared on the scene. “When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him. And he cried out with a loud voice and said, ‘what have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me.”  Our Lord brought the reality of the kingdom of heaven anywhere He went. His presence was enough to change the atmosphere and unleash the glory of His Fathers kingdom. The violent lunatic behaved differently on sighting Jesus –he ran to Jesus and worshipped Him. Is it not interesting that the two thousand or more demons inhabiting him could not stop him from worshipping the Lord? If they could not stop him then, they could not stop us today in serving God. The powers of satan and those of his agents are subject to us in the name of Christ. We just have to live in the consciousness of this reality. The Greater One with all His power is still resident in us!

The thousands of demons in the man, acknowledging our Lord’s authority over them and begged Him with a loud voice that He should not torment them; but rather to be allowed to enter into the herd of swine roaming around in the vicinity. If the demons were disarmed and weakened in the presence of our Lord, we should expect them to react in similar ways to our presence as bearers of the kingdom of heaven. Casting out demons is one of the signs of the presence of the kingdom (Matthew 12:28). When we heal the sick, lead a soul to Christ or have our prayers answered, we accomplish the will of God and release the atmosphere of the kingdom on earth. The transformation that came upon the former demon-possessed was immediate and remarkable.  He dressed in normal clothes and begged to join our Lord’s travelling team. “However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you” (Mark 5:19 NKJV).  He took off from there and declared the goodness of Christ to people in ten cities, sharing the testimony of the transformation he experienced through Jesus. He will be among our crowd of witnesses in the last day! There is a river inside each of us and not a well (John 7:37). We should let the river flow out from us to bring live to people around us. We have the answer the world needs.

God wants to release impartation in our lives today to enable us bring the influence of the kingdom with us wherever we go. The kingdom of God is within you. Line up with the Holy Spirit as He directs you on how to release its influence in your context so that others can experience the love of God in Jesus name.