The Kingdom of God within the church body should be a reflection of the Kingdom of God within the individual believer, and that Kingdom reality demands expansion instead of fearful retreat. Today is the day to begin your expansion.
The world today is still waiting for the true warriors of Jesus Christ to come forth and shine – to come forth and bring the glory and power of God to the lost. Expansion, not retreat – and expansion by the love, grace, and power of God in this very needed time.
We must repent of the great ‘escape artist mentality’ that holds us back in fear.
What is an escape artist? In the world of entertainment you have “escape artists” that place themselves in seemingly, and sometimes, actually dangerous conditions – only to evade death and escape their bondage at the last moment. In the world of entertainment this makes for a great show full of excitement and energy, in the church however, it spawns forth apathy, fear, and may I even say – great disobedience to our great commission.
I do believe in the second coming of Jesus Christ – the only time I heard the wonderful and frightening audible voice of the Lord was when he answered one of my questions with a thundering, “because I am coming soon.” Yet, I cannot use that promise of his soon return as an excuse. An excuse to sit back warming the church pew and simply waiting to go a heavenly home, is so prevalent in the church today it is considered normal.
We have stood on the foundation of generational weakness and apathy and yet we call it holy? We must begin the expansion and obey what Jesus told us to do in Matthew 10:7-8, “go forth and proclaim the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand, heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, and cast out demons.”
Instead we have proclaimed, “watch for his return any moment, paint the church building, have a bake sale and yard sale, visit the sick instead of healing the sick, and oh yes – give your tithes.” We portray a fear of sin and the world around us, and we just pray for death or the rapture to rescue us from our own misguided theology.
Our escape mentality has cost the Kingdom an untold multitude of lost souls, premature deaths, broken homes, and stillborn destinies. Can you imagine for a moment what the church would look like, what our individual communities would look like, as we take his great commission as a commandment instead of just another cliché sermon title. I am certain that as we move in our communities and families by the fruit of the spirit, then the gifts of the spirit would have a place and person to manifest, and bring transformation and glory to those in need.
The next time we proclaim and pray for the glorious return of Jesus – we should stop and remind ourselves of how many people have not yet received salvation – how many people still need to know the love and grace of our Father. To pray for the immediate return of Jesus is nothing more than selfishness based on an escapist mentality! Instead we must show love and grace, heal the sick, and proclaim the message of His Kingdom to the world – that is our commandment!
An escape artist finds himself tied and shackled simply waiting to the last moment – the excitement of the escape is tantalizing to all involved. However, the escape mentality in the church is pulling down destiny into the clutches of despair and aborting the very destinies that people have been born to fulfill.
What is your destiny that has been assigned to you? What people are you predetermined to reach with the love, mercy, grace, and power of the living God within you? Are you taking the reality of a Heavenly Kingdom within you, into the lost and dying world around you? It is time we stop “hanging on till Jesus comes” and actually go forth as we have been told to do – and spread the gospel of the Kingdom to the world so desperately in need of it.
Go forth walking in the fruit of the spirit, and let the gifts work through you, for the Kingdom to be manifest – on earth as in Heaven!
