Activating God's Kingdom on earth
‘In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”’ Acts 1:1-11
Jesus suffered. Jesus died. And in Acts 1:1-11 we read how Jesus came back to life activating God’s Kingdom in the earth unlike any dispensation before that time. The promised Gift of the Holy Spirit was the topic of Jesus’ conversation. The disciples responded from an earthly kingdom perspective, perhaps out of their own deep frustration with Roman oppression asking, “Lord are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” Anne Lamott said, “You can safely assume that you've created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.” The Holy Spirit isn’t here to side with your opinions. He is here to help you more effectively love the unlovable, bless those who curse you and pray for those who mistreat you. This effectively releases God’s Kingdom into the earth.
Jesus pointed the disciples toward a deeper experience and pursuit of the presence God. Peace doesn’t come from the absence of problems. Peace comes from the presence of God. God himself was about to take up residence within them releasing the full impact of a good God and a prosperous Kingdom to a broken world in desperate need of God’s love. This privileged assignment became God’s generational plan to transform the world. This is where we come in as sons and daughters of God loving, serving and giving sacrificially as we follow the promptings and guidance of the Holy Spirit in our everyday lives.
God doesn’t love us because we’re so lovable. God loves us because He’s so loving. Not only does He love us but He loves through us when we learn to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit in our everyday lives.
- Lawrence Neisent
Jesus suffered. Jesus died. And in Acts 1:1-11 we read how Jesus came back to life activating God’s Kingdom in the earth unlike any dispensation before that time. The promised Gift of the Holy Spirit was the topic of Jesus’ conversation. The disciples responded from an earthly kingdom perspective, perhaps out of their own deep frustration with Roman oppression asking, “Lord are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” Anne Lamott said, “You can safely assume that you've created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.” The Holy Spirit isn’t here to side with your opinions. He is here to help you more effectively love the unlovable, bless those who curse you and pray for those who mistreat you. This effectively releases God’s Kingdom into the earth.
Jesus pointed the disciples toward a deeper experience and pursuit of the presence God. Peace doesn’t come from the absence of problems. Peace comes from the presence of God. God himself was about to take up residence within them releasing the full impact of a good God and a prosperous Kingdom to a broken world in desperate need of God’s love. This privileged assignment became God’s generational plan to transform the world. This is where we come in as sons and daughters of God loving, serving and giving sacrificially as we follow the promptings and guidance of the Holy Spirit in our everyday lives.
God doesn’t love us because we’re so lovable. God loves us because He’s so loving. Not only does He love us but He loves through us when we learn to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit in our everyday lives.
- Lawrence Neisent
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