The Coming Kingdom

God is raising up an army. There is a shift begining within the body of those who are wanting more from Church, life, family, and God. Jesus said to pray "on earth as it is in heaven" - establish the Kingdom! Peter said a shaking would come, first to the household of faith. I believe we are seeing that today. As a result, a people will be and are being prepared to bring in the Kingdom of God on earth. The coming kingdom is actually already at hand, but we aren't walking out in it:

"Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”
Then He said to the disciples, “The days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. And they will say to you, ‘Look here!’ or ‘Look there!’ Do not go after them or follow them. For as the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven, so also the Son of Man will be in His day. But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.

Some things to point out here - Are we not living in the days of Noah? It seems as though we live in a lost and dying world with no regard to God. People are eating and drinking and being marry - even within the church! It is time to press in to the things of God - to gather around Jesus, not just talk about Him. Church should be a way of life, not an event. It is something we are to participate in, not just spectate on Sunday mornings. And as we move into these things, Jesus says above, "Do not go running after them!" We could debate what He is referring to here, but besides the occult, I think there is another meaning here. The kingdom of God is within us. When we hear of good reports in far off places - praise God! But it doesn't mean we need to hop on a plane or drive off to see the Lord. Obviously if He tells us to, we must go, but the King of kings lives within us. If we yield to Him and are willing to be purified and sanctified by Jesus, and to allow Him to work through us, the Kingdom will manifest. Jesus said He came to "give us the fullness of life." Normal Christianity should be the blind see, the deaf here, the lame walk and the sick are made well.

A friend and brother in the Lord said to me, "It is all about gathering around Jesus. I just want to gather around Jesus." I've been pondering that point for some time now - I want to talk less about the things of the Lord, and start seeing it manifest in myself, my family, and my community!