Here is the revelation shaping my life today – you do not make God’s kingdom come, you see that it is coming in you and die to everything that stands in its way.
Luke 17:20-21 TPT
[20] 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. [21] The kingdom is not discovered in one place or another, for God’s kingdom realm is already expanding within some of you.”
Observation
The presence, principles and promises of God, ‘His Kingdom realm,’ expands within me as I be still and know it to be so. It is not released in accordance with my efforts or worthiness, it’s release is happening as I yield to its expansion. It’s as I walk in faith and as I sit in contemplative intimate presence does the awareness, passion and joy of kingdom life posture me for its release.
For the kingdom to come it always displaces what is contrary to its presence. There is a death and resurrection, a mortification and aspiration, a desire for the things of God that has me lay down, and die to the ways of the world that have shaped me. There is awareness, followed by the journey of healing and freedom, where in my hidden times with God he breaks the influence and shape of the world from me, where I sell all I have invested in that life to gain the treasure of Heaven, and then the joy of new life and it’s passion propels me into kingdom life.
The kingdom is not discovered, “over there,” it’s a journey of discovery within me. It’s an intimate, sometimes long, sometimes daily, sometimes lifetime, journey of death and resurrection. And it is a journey I undertake in response to coercive manipulation, I take the journey because I have discovered the treasure hidden in me, I have tasted, experienced something of it, and there is a longing now for its release. The Kingdom does not come through obedience to the law, letters never work, it comes through the discovery of treasure and the passionate hunt for its release in me. It’s an Indiana Jones Epic!
Application
Nothing happens without discovery and awareness, and this is what happens in the presence of God, his glory becomes heavy and you desire more. Without rhythms of being present to his presence, without the intimacy of being with him, then awareness never comes. I do life on the treadmill of sameness and miss a kingdom dawning within me. So be present to his presence. Create rhythms of presence that the quest of Kingdom come will be ignited within me. Then die, simply die, sell all I have and receive the treasure.
Response
Thank you for your kingdom come in my life. You are always restoring more of you to me so that I may be restored more to my true self, and then reflect that self into a world I encounter, effectively bringing heaven to earth. Thank you that it’s intimately being with you, not through the removed study of you, that your kingdom comes. I will never comprehend the fullness of your call, invitation and desire for intimacy with me, but I will never stop finding life from intimacy.
Meditation
Meditate – God’s kingdom realm is already expanding within you.
Consider:
How do you understand the coming of God’s kingdom?
How is the kingdom expanding within you?
JOURNEY DEEPER
