THY KINGDOM COME

When Jesus was asked to teach the disciples how to pray He said, “When you pray say, Our Father, which art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name…” As we have learned in proceeding chapters, clearly the Sons must identify with the Father. Jesus Christ is the express image of the Father, but He is also the first fruits of many brethren. There are others who are created liken unto Him. There are other Sons who realize they are partakers of the divine nature of God. They acknowledge the fact that they are the righteousness of God in the earth. They live in the Spirit, and thus they also walk in the Spirit. They have the emotions of Christ and the wisdom of God. They are new creatures, another race, and as a colleague of mine put it, ‘a new species.’

There is nothing like the Sons of God on earth. We are one with the Father and one with each other. This is not a theory or just some cliché to put inside of a sermon. It is the truth. We are a manifestation of the sure Word of God. The fact that you have not entertained the son of God who consistently walks after the Spirit and not after the flesh, does not suggest they do not exist. God will never be left without a witness and manifestation of His Word. However, I must concede that a legitimate question would be, “Where are they?” This brings us to another portion of the prayer Jesus instructed us to pray. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven. The ministry of the New Testament is to be conducted from the earth. The Spirit of God has come to the earth to dwell in men. Therefore, it is the sons who must bring the power of deliverance to mankind. While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word (Acts 10:44).

It is the preaching of the gospel from the lips of the righteous that provokes the outpouring of the Holy Ghost. The disciples were told to pray that God would send His Kingdom to the earth. Paul later defined that Kingdom as righteousness, joy and peace in the Holy Ghost. So in essence they would be praying for the Holy Ghost to come down from heaven to the earth. The implication here is that once the Kingdom comes, the will of God can be done on the earth, just as it is done in heaven. There are some points we need to make note of here. The Kingdom of God is righteousness, joy and peace which goes beyond all understanding. That righteousness came to the earth in the embodiment of the Holy Ghost. But where did it go? Where can it be seen? We see no manifestation of the literal Millennial Kingdom as yet, so when the Kingdom comes where does it appear? Well, the prayer mandates that it comes to the earth and it did. It came to dwell in earthen vessels.

Let us take a good look at the example of the Kingdom of God the Father has given us. Of course the man Jesus is that example. There are many instances in His three and one half year ministry, which He stated emphatically, “The Kingdom of God is at hand.” Consider His meaning. The Kingdom of God was within Him. It came without observation. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit (St.John 3:8).

Note that not only is the Kingdom of God, which is the Spirit of God, like the wind, but Jesus makes the born again Son of God one with this definition. When the wind blows, you cannot see it or discern from whence it came. The same is true with the presence of the Spirit. Nevertheless, you know it is there because you are able to feel and see the effects of it. It is accurate for the Sons of God to pray for the Spirit of God to come to the earth and fill the hearts of men. But is that the extent of the meaning here? The Lord spoke in the midst of this and said, “Out of your belly shall flow rivers of living waters.” Beloved, we are the Sons of God. The Spirit of God is in the earth already. It is in us.

One Sunday at the end of one of our Church services, a couple approached me about the possibility of the wife losing the baby she was carrying; seeing as how she had had two miscarriages due to tubular pregnancies. We laid hands on her and the next day a trip to the doctor revealed all to be well. I cannot say that this has never happened in our services before, but I can say that we never discerned the entire meaning of such behavior. The Father said, when Jesus went about choosing the disciples, they followed Him with just so much as a beckoning. The presence of the Son created a spiritual atmosphere by the Holy Ghost. The Spirit of God caused these men to abandon all human reasoning and obey the power of the Spirit. This is the dispensation of the Spirit of God. He is the leader and guide for the Church. It is by Him the gifts operate wherein souls are saved and bodies are healed. But He is in us. “Quench not the Spirit,” says 1 Thessalonians 5:19. This word ‘quench’ means to extinguish or cause to go out.

For us, it is to maintain reason for the Spirit not to operate at our request in certain situations or under certain circumstances. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: (Eph 4:30-31). To grieve is to distress or make sorrowful. It is our negative spiritual disposition or rather our walking after the flesh that grieves the Holy Spirit. He is sent to procure more Sons. But He is instructed to work through the Sons, as long as they obey the will of the Father. If we were not to quench or grieve the Spirit of God, He would move and do great exploits in our midst; but He will not aid and abet lawlessness and sin. The walk of holiness compels an outpouring of the Spirit from within. Paul said, But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord will, and will know, not the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power. For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power (1 Cor 4:19-20).

The presence of God is power and authority, love and mercy. But that power and authority are not commodities to be used in building the kingdoms of men. When we walk after the Spirit the power of the Kingdom of God is made available to us. We are able to love with the love of God and forgive those who despitefully use us. The gifts of the Spirit are able to flow freely and the glory of our Father is accomplished. The point here is that the same Power of Presence Jesus was able to walk in is given to us.

Demons and devils will acknowledge our presence, sicknesses and diseases will surrender to our word. It is the same today, even as it was from the beginning of time. Pray as you will, continuously asking God to send forth a manifestation of His Kingdom. Fast if you must, but nothing will happen on your behalf until your prayers are accompanied by a walk in the Spirit. You are the ambassador of the Kingdom whose mission is the ministry of reconciliation. But, you will not be able to work that ministry without complete authorization from the King. All rights and privileges are revoked when we bring dishonor and shame to the name of our Master. God is not impressed with your diligence in prayer.

The Pharisees were faithful to pray daily. He is not moved by your dutifulness. He is only impressed with what He created you to be; the Christ, an anointed vessel tried and true to His purpose and His alone. To walk in the Spirit is to have the mind of Christ. It is to be aware of the power of the presence of God within. It is to do nothing to grieve or quench that power. But surely we are to make ourselves subject to the will of the Spirit in all things. This will ensure that we will prevail in every encounter with Satan’s power over men. You must endeavor to experience this awesome administration of the Spirit. If the administration of the law which was written on tablets of stone was glorious in so that the children of Israel could not look upon the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, how can the administration of the Spirit be any less glorious? Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord (2 Cor 3:7-8, 17-18).

We have been subjected to this great hope. To be in the Spirit is to be as one looking into the face of Christ and seeing yourself. That is the reality of salvation. But you will never know that kind of liberty if you do not first believe that you have been changed into the same image as our Lord. You are now the one whom Satan knows to be the power of God’s presence. The Kingdom will come when you approach the Father as a true citizen of that Kingdom having maintained righteousness and eternal purpose in all your doings. Come to the throne of grace in the power and humility of the Kingdom and express only the needs of the Kingdom. I guarantee, the King will answer.