The kingdom of God is within you

Jesus inaugurated the kingdom of God in his incarnation on earth. The kingdom of God represents the rule and reign of God. Think about it. The word “king – dom” means king domain. Jesus Christ brought the domain of the king, God the father into manifestation on a daily basis. This kingdom was one of immense good news. The miracles, radical love, intentional community and sacrificial service that Jesus modelled were all semblances of this kingdom that he inaugurated.

Jesus not only initiated this kingdom, but passed it on to others. His disciples as they believed on him received the kingdom. Jesus said the “kingdom of heaven is within you” to his disciples, including us in this amazing statement. The kingdom of heaven being inside of us has tremendous ramifications. Could God be saying that heaven’s power, and manifestation potentially lies inside of us? Is this real or abstract? How do we make this kingdom a reality in our world?

I believe the key to seeing the kingdom of God established in our lives is an acute awareness of the existence of the king within us. Recently God has been impressing on me the need for intentional evangelism. One key reason I believe people don’t evangelize is they simply don’t realize firstly their potential, and secondly the dire need. If I really believed that I was the answer to the poverty, hunger, disease, social oppression, injustice, wickedness, vile and every unthinkable perpetration of fallen humanity I believe that I would wake me up. If I understood that in heaven I will cry tears of regret for every wasted moment, I would be more intentional in the here and now.

See, you and I can understand that Jesus is the answer. After all we glibly say “if God wills” he can do anything. Yet Jesus said the kingdom of heaven is within you. Not above you. Not in heaven. Not in Jesus. But within you. See with Jesus within you, God’s grace and power to alleviate the suffering of humanity has been transferred to you. Christ is in heaven, his job on earth is finished. We are the answer. He has left you and I with the Holy Spirit to establish his domain (the domain of the king) on this earth.

Fellow revolutionary, the hour is short. Jesus says night comes quickly when its too late to labour. The harvest is ripe. Lift up your eyes and see the vast world around you in need of desperate care. Catch an eternal view, and realize that you are the difference between people entering God’s kingdom or being destined to perdition in hell. Manifest the kingdom today. Pray for your neighbour, visit a friend, tell them about your story, see God move to establish just a bit more of his rule in their life, and catch a glimpse of heaven here on earth.