PREACH THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS AT HAND
By John Evans
The reason that we are not seeing the power of God flowing into and through our lives in a powerful was, is because we are not doing what we are told to do in the Word.
We are told to FAST. Most Christians DO NOT fast one day as unto the Lord. But Jesus said, "When you fast..." not "If you fast..." When we fast, we are telling God that we value being in His presence and seeking His face for a season more than that food to sustain our physical bodies. It shows God that we are serious about Him.
We are told to PRAY with our natural minds in our on native language. Most Christians DO NOT even asked the Lord to bless their food before they eat their meals, much less, spend as the old church song says, a "sweet hour of prayer". Jesus was often found in prayer morning, noon and night, sometime all night long. Prayer is vital to keep our communication lines open between heaven and earth. It is in these times of prayer that the Lord will speak to us about our lives and ministry.
We are told to PRAY IN THE SPIRIT. Every Holy Ghost baptized person received a "pray language". The apostle Paul spoke of "speaking in the tongue (or language) of men and angels". We are told that that the person who speaks in an "unknown tongue" DOES NOT speak to men but to God. This type of prayer comes from the spirit and not the natural mind. This type of pray is in and through the Holy Ghost moving upon us from within and sometimes praying through us when we DO NOT know what or how we should pray in a given situation.
We are told to STUDY THE WORD, THE BIBLE. "Study to show yourself approved unto God, a worker that doesn't need to be ashamed, correctly explaining the Word of Truth." Most Christian HAVE NOT read their Bible through ONE TIME since they got saved. We need to read the Bible through every year from cover to cover. It is in the Word of God that we find out about the very nature and character of God. It is in His Word that we find out what God requires of each person who calls themself a born-again believer in Jesus Christ. If we do what the Word of God requires, then and only then can we expect God to do what He has promised. The Word of God is called the "Sword of the Spirit". If we DO NOT read and study the Bible, we will be going into our daily battles without our weapon to fight the Devil with and win.
We are told to seek the baptism in the Holy Spirit. "And YOU shall receive power AFTER the Holy Ghost has come upon you." Acts 1:8 Without the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we CAN NOT live the Christian life. Jesus said, "Apart from Me YOU can do NOTHING!" Apart from the help of the Spirit of Christ, we will fail every time. The Apostle Paul said, "I can do ALL things through Christ which strengthen me".
We are told to SEEK SPIRITUAL GIFTS. A spiritual gift comes from the Holy Spirit within us. It is He who picks and chooses what spiritual gifts He wants to give us and these gifts become predominate in our Christian lives. These gifts are meant to be used to become a blessing to the Body of Christ wherever they are needed. Wherever you are, in whatever circumstance you find you're self in where one or more of the gift are needed, you can depend on the Holy Spirit to use that gift to flow from you to the person that needs a touch from God at that particular time and place.
We are told to seek to PROPHESY. All born-again, Holy Spirit filled believer can prophesy as the Holy Spirit moves upon them. This DOES NOT make them a Prophet. It is just one of the gifts called the gift of prophecy being used as the Holy Spirit wills. The church badly needs the saints to learn to prophesy. People need a Word from the Lord from time to time, and God will use any believer who will step out in faith to prophesy into someone's life who needs it.
We are told to seek FAITH. "Faith comes from hearing the Word of God". Romans 10:17 The More we read the Word, listen to the Word being preached and taught, FAITH will arise within us to "do the work of ministry", because every thing a believer does is done in and through their measure of faith at that time. That is why we need to prayh for the Lord to increase our faith. As our faith increases, we are more likely to minister to people that fear would have only a few days before not attempted to do.
We need to preach "the kigdom of heaven is at hand" everywhere we go. Because wherever we are, the Lord is in us and will work through us to "preach the Gospel, heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers and cast out demons." If we will step out in simple childlike faith to minister to whomever God brings across our path, we will see God work miracles in the lives of these people. If they aren't saved, He will forgive their sins, cleanse them from all unrighteousness and save their souls.
The kingdom of God is within us. We need to go forth in the knowledge that the King of kings is on the throne of our lives and He wants to continue to minister to people in and through us just as He did 2,000 years ago, if we will only become His hands to bless and heal, and His feet to go wherever the Holt Spirit sends us.