Serving The Kingdom

Introduction

Here we are, on the edge of the biggest event in world history outside of the advent of the Lord Jesus Christ coming to die for our sins.

What do we need to be doing?

How do we need to go about doing it?

Are we even ready to do what God is requiring of us?

To discover that, let’s look at what Jesus was doing when He started His earthly ministry.

Mark 1:14–15 NKJV

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.”

In this statement Jesus makes; we see several things

The time is fulfilled

The kingdom of God is at hand

Repentance is a requirement

Belief (Faith) in the Gospel is required

We MUST understand that God’s kingdom does NOT operate the way earthly kingdoms do!

If you go about trying to God’s work in your flesh, you are in for a world of frustration friend.

You Must Be Living In The Spirit

I am 100% convinced that we need to not only be born again; but it is VITAL that we become baptized and anointed by Jesus Christ with the infilling of the Holy Ghost for empowerment to serve!

Acts 1:4–8 (ESV)

And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me;

for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”

He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

What in the world do we think we are going to do on God’s behalf without the power to operate within His Kingdom?

We have wondered why the Church has seemed so powerless for years and years. It is because most of it is dead or dying!!!

Look at what Jesus said to the church in Sardis:

Revelation 3:1–3 (ESV)

“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. “ ‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.

Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.

Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you.

I seriously don’t know what folks have been thinking all these years running around pretending. Running business models through leadership in churches is shameful and a disgrace before God.

Church, we are in the process right now of beseeching the Lord on your behalf. We have GOT TO HAVE THE WORD OF THE LORD as our vision!!!

The WORD so far is this; WAKE UP! strengthen what remains and is about to die!!!

What do I mean?

I mean wake up to your absolute desperate need to be moving by the fire of God in your life!

Most Christians are STILL struggling within themselves to become better and you will NEVER be able to!

Galatians 5:16–18 ESV

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

What I want you to get out of this is this...

I want to make it just as plain as I possibly can so that there is no confusion at all.

Until you allow the Holy Spirit to be stronger in your life than your flesh, you will always struggle to be the servant God is calling you to be.

Be Bold In His Strength

We need to know that there is a marked difference in someone that knows how to move in the authority of God versus their own authority.

There have been times where you just wanted to shake the snot out of someone because they are just being foolish and destructive to themselves and everybody around them.

What does that accomplish?

Well pastor, I would feel a little better...

So its your kingdom we are worried about then? When your feelings and thoughts hold the highest priority in your life, you are not serving God, you are serving yourself.

Don’t let yourself be deceived

That is why we are told in

Ephesians 6:10 ESV

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.

Think of how many times we have tried and tried with nowhere near the results we had hoped for or needed.

The Lord says today for us to be strong in Him!

To boldly stand in the strength of His might!

The battle that is before us is beyond every one of our natural capabilities.

You’re not going to fight your way through it

You’re not going to negotiate your way through it

You’re not going to beg, barter, spit and scream your way through it

No, if you come through these things, you will know beyond the shadow of a doubt my friend that it is none other than the Hand of The Living God that has delivered you!

In fact, God will NOT ALLOW you to get His glory

What am I saying here this morning?

If you are going to be an effective servant for the Kingdom of God, you must allow His Authority, His Boldness, and His Glory to be revealed through your weakness!

Jesus Himself said to Paul the Apostle:

2 Corinthians 12:9 (ESV)

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Paul continues in this thought

2 Corinthians 12:10 ESV

For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Allow God to use your weakness, your vulnerability for His glory and His honor

That will look different for many of you. But I say this to you today;

Allow the Holy Spirit to lead you into those situations that you think are too much for you. If you KNOW that it is the Holy Spirit leading you, you have nothing to lose.

Start Acting Like You Are In The Kingdom

The Church has had all types of people come through its doors. And that is 100% fine, ALL ARE WELCOME!

I don’t care what or where you are coming from. What your clothes look like, how much money you have or don’t have.

The Church was never meant to be the museum some people treat it as; but it is designed to be a Holy Ghost hospital for the sick, the dying and the dead of this world that need a Savior!

The Church is designed to be staffed by Holy Ghost filled apostles, prophets, evangelists, teachers and shepherds and we can hardly find a decent preacher these days.....

You may have came in the doors one way; but if you are going to serve the Kingdom of God, YOU WON’T LEAVE HERE LIKE YOU CAME IN JESUS’ NAME!!

Philippians 3:20–21 ESV

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

Every single day you are alive, you are to be made more and more into the image of Christ and move in His power and grace.

Acts 17:28 ESV

for “ ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “ ‘For we are indeed his offspring.’

Allow yourself this morning to come to the realization that you were made for so much more than what the world has told you, what you have maybe told yourself.

We serve a kingdom that this earth has not yet fully realized.

The world has been shown that there is a kingdom that for now is out of their view, but is over every other kingdom that has ever existed.

We are to stand in this last day as servants of that kingdom that is about to come into full view regardless of their thoughts, beliefs, or disagreement.

Stand all over God’s house today as we read the Lord’s Prayer

Matthew 6:9–13 (ESV)

Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Focus on that first part as we close this morning with your eyes closed.

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your Name.

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Just ask the Lord in this moment; what is your will that I might submit to it right here and right now.