It Takes Power to Extend the Kingdom copied

This from Chapter 7 of ABLAZE for GOD Book by Wesley Duwel

It Takes Power to Extend 

the Kingdom

The kingdom of God, of heaven, of Messiah is a great Bible theme that was proclaimed by Old Testament prophets and repeatedly mentioned by Christ in the Gospels. 

God is our Sovereign King. His reign in our hearts today and in the world until the return of Jesus is His saving kingdom. It is built through human hands but not by human hands. It is built by the power of God working through the cooperating joint ministry of the Holy Spirit and the Spirit-filled.

"The kingdom of God never means an action undertaken by men or a realm which they set up the kingdom is a divine act, not a human accomplishment, not even the accomplishment of dedicated Christians." 

The power of the kingdom is operative in and through God's representatives. But the power is not their power; it is the power of God. Christ gives to His own the keys of the kingdom to use in binding and loosing through prayer and obedience (Matt. 16:19; 18:18-20). But the power of the keys remains God's power and is usable only by the Spirit's guidance and enabling.

Kingdom power was present in the ministry of Jesus, and it was present in the ministry of His followers. Indeed, it can be present in your ministry today. But it is not your power. It continues to be given and manifested through you only as God makes it operative and evident.

Our best efforts of themselves do not build or advance the kingdom. Christian efforts are not sufficient. Even the best endeavor of the Spirit-filled is totally inadequate. Nothing less than the Holy Spirit guiding, empowering, and using the efforts of the Spirit-filled can extend Christ's reign in any heart or in any group. The extent to which God can use the influence, witness, and service of a holy people is governed by the extent to which He sovereignly empowers and works through them.

POWER

Purity and power are closely associated, but they are not identical. We need both. God wills both for us. They are essential in our living. They are even more essential in our service. 

Purity can be beautiful and positive, or it can be largely negative. 

Purity can be retained, power must be renewed.

Purity in the form of positive goodness and righteousness is the result of power to be what God wants us to be. God wants to give us the Spirit's power both to be and to do what He has called us to be and do. 

Purity pertains to living, power specially to service.

The spiritual measure of Christian leaders is the fullness of the Spirit and His endowment of power. 

Oratory, effectiveness of delivery, and speech are good, but they are not enough. Content, orthodoxy, and solid biblical truth are essential, but they are not enough. Personality, graciousness of speech and action are important, but they are not enough. The power of the Lord must be upon them. All these qualities can exist on the human level. 

The kingdom must be built, advanced, and manifest on the level of the divine empowering of the human. It must be God working through us.

When some in Corinth began to criticize Paul and his ministry judgmentally, it did not concern Paul greatly. The apostle regarded the Lord as his judge (1 Cor. 4:4). Only God knows the measure of His power working within us. Paul makes it very clear: "The kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power" (v. 20). Paul said he would come to Corinth and check both the words and the power of those who were creating confusion. Truth is essential, but in Christ's service it must be truth on fire. Truth without power does not accomplish the will or work of God. It may only deaden or offend.

By the presence or absence of God's power in their lives and ministry, Paul wanted the Corinthians to evaluate the credentials of Christian leaders who came among them. How would you have passed Paul's scrutiny and inspection? In 2 Corinthians 6 Paul gave a list of many ways in which he commended himself as a servant of God. Important among them was ministry "in the Spirit" and "in the power of God" (vv. 6-7).

Paul reminded the Thessalonian church, "Our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake" (1 Thess. 1:5). Paul was deeply conscious that the power of God was at work. The Christian leader is usually aware when God's power is specially present. Are you frequently aware of this in your ministry? It was normal to Paul.