KINGDOMS ADVANCEMENT

 Advance the Kingdom

In the Great Commission, Jesus came and spoke to the remaining Apostles, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen.” (Mt. 28:18-20)

    “Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.” (Lk. 24:49)
    “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

The Great Commission was the Apostolic Mandate designed to delegate and release authority to the apostles for the Kingdom of God to Advance. It was meant to stir the valiant heart, so that simple men would find their destiny. Yet, that which these men carried was feeble and frail… like dry wood awaiting a flame. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit was the flame, a mighty rushing wind that would release power to accomplish God’s mandate. Without this authorization and spiritual flame working together, there would be no progress beyond Jerusalem and no impact in the Nations. But because of it… the Church is a Triumphant People fully engaged and fully equipped by the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Hallelujah!

This is our Mandate…

To Go… in the authority and power of our King – Jesus! Christ is Head of the Church and the True Light of Salvation, yet He is also the Baptizer in the Holy Spirit. He is the One in whom we hope for the fulfillment of our call in reaching the unreached.

It Requires Authority & Power:

The Apostolic Mandate cannot function on human strength, it is designed to necessitate an outpouring of authority and power from heaven. We follow Jesus as Lord of the breakthrough, who breaks us out of confined places and leads with Kingdom influence into all the World. This was the purpose for waiting for the Promise of the Father in the earliest moments after the resurrection, to establish the platform for advancement. This was not some optional request, but a central focus for the followers… to wait for power was and still remains the key to success in the future purposes of God, in Christ.

The Prophet Micah: “The One who breaks open will come up before them; they will break out, pass through the gate and go out by it; Their King will pass before them, with the Lord at their head.” (Micah 2:13)

The Prophet Joel: “And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.” (Joel 2:28-29)

The Apostle Peter: “And they shall prophesy” (Acts 2:18). Note – prophecy is a forward speaking, declaration of God’s purposes empowered by the Holy Spirit. Prophecy is the voice of Kingdom Advancement!

The Early Church Advanced:

    Beginning in Jerusalem: “So those who received the word were baptized and there were added that day about 3,000 souls.” (Acts 2:41)
    Advancing beyond the City of Samaria: “Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the Word.” (Acts 8:4)
    Among Gentiles of Caesarea: “While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the Word.” (Acts 10:44)
    Into Regions of Galatia: “So the churches were strengthened in the faith and they increased in numbers daily.” (Acts 16:5)
    Throughout Regions of Ephesus: “So the Word of the Lord grew and prevailed mightily.” (Acts 19:20)

Defining Destiny:

Under the guidance and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Matthew and Luke are defining destiny. One Apostle lays out the mandate while the other lays out the keys to its fulfillment. They are laying the platform for how we must see our future. Luke speaks to us of the triumphs of the Gospel of the Kingdom, because we must understand where our strength comes from. The Battle Is the Lord’s and we are His volunteers, following our advancing King. We must not just settle for an assignment… we must become people of triumph who take the next step, under the authority and power of the Holy Spirit.

“…from the days of John the Baptist until now the Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.” (Mt. 11:12)
These are the Days of Great Purpose – Where a People of Triumph… Advance the Kingdom of God!

The Bible Text (Luke 9:57-10:2)

“And He was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest” (Luke 10:2).
(from NASB).

Prayer for Kingdom Advancement (Lu 10:2a)

Seventy apostles seem like a lot, but is it really for the thousands of people? The solution for this is that we would pray that God would raise up those to go into His harvest. Jesus says it this way, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

If you do not pray for missions on a regular basis, you are not being at all sensitive to what God wants to do through your life. If you are one of those people who complain to God “Why do you let the lost die?” but do not pray, let me just state that you are part of the problem.

A Christian, a Christian family and a Christian church that is worth anything must integrate missions into its prayer life, care and budget. I praise God for the vision here to keep lifting the budget of this church for missions.

Jesus was talking to these disciples about prayer not because they were the only ones to pray but because they would see so much more need when they went out where they were supposed to. It is good and proper to have people know more about the needs out there. I myself get a lot of requests for pastors and Bible colleges for material (they are poor and have no money to order). Where can they get the training materials? So I have made it my recent prayer to help me supply a library to many of these training places. I don’t have the financial resources to do this, but I pray.

By praying that God would raise up new missionaries, it does not mean we are to neglect prayers to sustain those that are out there already! What missionaries are you supporting? Our children know the names of the ones that we support because we regularly pray for them. We get their prayer information.

Jesus’ instruction has a powerful punch to it. He is basically saying that if you prayed like you should, there would be enough workers on the field to bring the harvest in. The problem is not God but us.

This is where many people do not understand the Lord’s plan. They think God will save the ones He will save. Yes, He will. But we also can say, and with much more relevance to our lives, that God will save those that we send workers to. We as a congregation can have a great impact if we just started to seriously pray. God is waiting for us to pray so that the workers would go and so that the harvest would be reaped.