Kingdom Power (6)

“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”  Acts 1.8

Transforming power
The power of God’s Spirit, which is the power of His Kingdom, is utterly transformational. Where the Spirit of God is at work, willing and doing according to God’s good pleasure, nothing stays the same. Spiritual power works through Spirit-indwelled men and women to engage all the powers of this temporal domain in the pursuit of righteousness, peace, and joy.

Jesus commanded us to seek this power as our highest pursuit in life (Matt. 6.33). He said that we should pray that the power of the Kingdom – power for righteousness, peace, and joy in the Spirit – would be at work within us and throughout the earth, just as it is in heaven (Matt. 6.10). That power, Paul wrote, is able to do exceeding abundantly more, in and through us, than we have ever dared to ask or think (Eph. 3.20).

Beginning within us, in our hearts, minds, and consciences, the power of the Kingdom of God works out through all our words and deeds in forms and expressions of righteousness, peace, and joy that reflect the character and purpose of Jesus, our eternal Savior and King, empower all who have made the Kingdom turn to engage all other forms of power for the advancement of Christ’s rule on earth as it is in heaven.

This is real power, transforming power – power which belongs to and is expressed by every person who is seeking the Kingdom of God, everyone in whom the Spirit of power is increasingly at work.

The Kingdom of God is not just an interesting theological subject, to define, debate, or deny. It is real power, power to produce work and get results, power that flows by the Spirit of the living God from within our souls out through every aspect of our lives to refresh, renew, and redeem everything and everyone. We do not know the Kingdom of God unless and until we know this transforming power throughout our souls and lives.

They who belong to Jesus, all who have made the Kingdom turn, understand full well why He commanded them to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, for this is the natural citizenship and endowment of the redeemed, and in this heavenly domain they find all their meaning, purpose, power, joy, and peace.

The Spirit at work within us
So it is no wonder that this same power at work within us for righteousness, peace, and joy should also issue in witness for the Lord.

We know that Christ has forgiven our sins, has sent His Spirit to dwell within us, is opening up the truth of His Word to our understanding, and is at work within us to will and do according to His good pleasure (Phil. 2.12, 13). It fills us with joy and hope to know the Lord in this way, and it transforms our outlook on life – our worldview – so that we begin to long earnestly for others to know the liberation into light and life that we have come to know in Christ.

The power of the Kingdom which is transforming us from within will make us alert to and ready for opportunities to talk with others about this glorious Good News (1 Pet. 3.15).

So, given an opportunity to direct the attention of others to Jesus, the citizens of His Kingdom will do so – eagerly, joyfully, and with full conviction. The citizens of the Kingdom of God do not need a program, course, or schedule to get them talking about their Savior and King. The power of the Kingdom within them wells up and overflows to touch the lives of others out of sheer love for God and neighbor (Jn. 7.37-39).

In so doing they are neither pushy nor smug. Rather, grace guides their listening and their speaking as they tell the old, old story of righteousness, peace, and joy which only Jesus can bring (Col. 4.6).

Sent like Jesus
The Lord God has sent each of us into the world after the same manner that He sent Jesus – to live and proclaim the reality of the Kingdom and to show its power to everyone through our lives. Where the transforming power of God’s Spirit is working to unfold the rule of Jesus in the life of any man or woman, that power will issue in words of testimony and witness to all who ask a reason for the hope that is within us.

The Spirit’s power for witness builds up within us like rushing water behind the spigots of our mouths. All we need to do in order to let that power flow is open our mouths and begin to speak about Jesus and what He means to us.

The Kingdom power of God’s Spirit will take it from there.

Next steps: Who are the people in your life who need to hear the Good News of the Kingdom of God? Begin praying daily that God would give you opportunities to “open the spigot” and let the Spirit’s power for witness flow through you. Enlist a believing friend to pray for you in this matter.

T. M. Moore

This week’s study, Kingdom Power, is the sixth of an eight-part series on The Kingdom Turn, and is available as a free download. T. M. has written two books to complement this eight-part series. You can order The Kingship of Jesus by clicking here, and The Gospel of the Kingdom by clicking here.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.