At Hand

Nov. 12

Read: Mark 9:1-12, Mark 1:14,15

At Hand

““Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.” - Jesus, Mark 9:1

The Kingdom of God is here and now… it is “at hand”. (Mark 1:15) The “good news” (the gospel) of Jesus is something of immediate importance. It is “present”. It is “around us”. It is happening “real time”. This is the Kingdom of God. As a matter of fact, it has been present and ever expanding for more than 2000 years now!

Our expectations for the supernatural presence and work of God to be unfolding all around us are pretty low sometimes. We forget the nearness of the KOG. We forget who we are in Christ. It is true that there are still great things to come… these are “the better days ahead’. Nonetheless, the Kingdom of God is “at hand” and it has come with POWER now as well. (cf. Mark 9:1) When our ideas of the Kingdom are only those parts we are waiting for, we inadvertently push God’s presence and power far away from us. When we think of the Kingdom of God as something rooted in the future, we cannot look out into the world around us and see any of the work God is doing… it becomes impossible for us to recognize the image of God in others or to believe there is any good to be had in this present world. This thinking - the Kingdom of God is far away and future based - breeds resentment in the people of God towards their current state and the world… and it rests like a dark cloud over their lives. What place does a dark and gloomy cloud have covering over those who have been brought into the LIGHT!?! (cf.1Peter 2:9) A pervading pessimism, hopelessness, and fear have no place resting in the lives of God’s people… none of these are attributes of the Kingdom of God!

The final mind blowing truth is this: the Kingdom of God is so close to us that it is actually IN US as well! It goes wherever WE go. We bring the KOG into every situation we enter. See here:

“Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick in it and say to them, The kingdom of God has come near to you.’” (Luke 10:9) How crazy is that? When you show up you bring the Kingdom of God with you. When you proclaim the message of the Kingdom of God - some will “repent and believe”… when this happens, the KOG remains in a place. Let that settle in for a moment. Likewise, imagine what this means when you gather the people of God together in one place; what a strong concentration of the Kingdom of God… this is “heaven on earth”.

I once heard a gentleman named Phil Hissom speak about Christian Community development. I remember being struck by his approach. He simply began asking people in a neighborhood what they thought “heaven on earth” would look like. I thought it was a strange question to begin with. Over time the people involved used these visions of “heaven on earth” to guide their efforts in the community. This led to ample opportunities to proclaim Christ, people responded and were saved, and the Kingdom of God was manifest and put on display in that neighborhood in a multitude of ways. It takes a certain amount of faith and bravery to trust the Lord to unleash his presence and transform a people and a place. This is the KOG.

As long as we are beset with the notion that “the world is going to hell in a handbasket” we will be hindered in our realization and participation in the KOG / the gospel. If we believe heaven has no home or place here “at hand” among us - then no wonder we neither experience it nor work towards it. We need to ask the Lord to “open our eyes” to the Kingdom of God around us. Do you realize that the ability to see the Kingdom is directly linked to being “born again”? ““Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3) It should shake us up a little bit if we are “born again” and yet cannot see the KOG! Love you guys! - JDP