People who are unsaved have no idea that they live in the kingdom of darkness. They believe all is well and go on with their lives, suppressing the truth in unrighteousness. Once a person is given the grace of becoming aware of their sin, and the spirit of repentance is bestowed upon them, their eyes are opened to the reality of their pitiful state. Without Jesus, there is no hope. All is dark, because HE is the Light.
Grace Gems: Deliverance from the power of darkness What is the power of darkness, and how God delivers us from it. The Apostle speaks of “the power of darkness.” I shall, therefore, with God’s blessing, explain first what “darkness” is, and then enter into the meaning of the expression “the power of darkness.”
In this essay, I speak of the importance of small acts of faith and obedience to God. I share my humble perspective as an ordinary individual, asserting that even minor contributions can create significant spiritual impacts, likening these efforts to a domino effect that can influence future generations for the Kingdom.
We’re human beings. We’re living on this planet, in a city or town, in a neighborhood. We have jobs, many of us, where we engage daily with corporate politics, personalities, infrastructure. We have hobbies and groups and clubs. We are involved.
Sometimes we get so busy and so involved, we become unwisely invested in the systems around us. It’s good to be involved, but not to the point that we become so embedded that we forget about the kingdom.
We are on this earth to advance the kingdom. We are supposed to be ambassadors for Christ. We’re supposed to reflect His likeness through our holy living, our kindness, our faith, our witness.
If we become SO involved in world systems we incorrectly focus on that and shunt to the side our real job, which is involvement in church and in spiritual practices.
Here is what my pastor had to say about the advancement of the kingdom in a recent sermon:
Well finally, it should go without saying but it needs saying. That the Kingdom of God advances only by His Gospel. The Kingdom of God advances only by the Gospel. That truth should be so obvious, but it is so frequently cast aside. The Kingdom of God is not advanced by any other means.
It does not advance by political power. Or by turning nations into theocracies. Or by winning elections. It does not advance by military might. Or coercion. Or a legal mandate. It does not advance by entertainment. Or by acquiescing biblical truth in order to find common ground with sinners. He does not advance by having more children, or by educational practices, or by withdrawing from society.
When Jesus said, My kingdom is not of this world, He meant just that. We cannot and must not use the world’s means to advance His kingdom. Many false teachers have come who exploit believers and pervert the mission of the church for selfish gain. Throughout the history of Christianity, wherever and whenever people have hijacked the church in order to advance their conception of the Kingdom of God by means of the world’s methods, it has not only failed, but it has soiled the name of Christ, produced an abundance of false converts, and wrecked the [local] church.
Where is the Christian nation today? Where are its holy leaders and humble people? It’s nowhere to be found because the kingdom of God will not be established as a government on this earth until the King returns. Jesus is the King, not us. It’s His kingdom, not ours. Therefore God’s people must use only God’s methods to spread God’s message in order to advance God’s kingdom while we wait for our King. And so let’s wait for our King. –end
When 12 year old Jesus stayed behind at the temple and his parents could not find Him, His reply to his mother as to why He had treated His parents that way, was,
And He said to them, “Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49). NASB
Or as the NKJV says more familiarly, “Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?“
We must prioritize our charge on earth that we have been given. Not that we neglect the daily things we must do. I mean, dishes must be done, salaries must be earned, children must be tended to… but the priority of our lives is Jesus, and being about our Father’s business. We advance the kingdom in only that way.
People who are unsaved have no idea that they live in the kingdom of darkness. They believe all is well and go on with their lives, suppressing the truth in unrighteousness. Once a person is given the grace of becoming aware of their sin, and the spirit of repentance is bestowed upon them, their eyes are opened to the reality of their pitiful state. Without Jesus, there is no hope. All is dark, because HE is the Light.
Grace Gems: Deliverance from the power of darkness What is the power of darkness, and how God delivers us from it. The Apostle speaks of “the power of darkness.” I shall, therefore, with God’s blessing, explain first what “darkness” is, and then enter into the meaning of the expression “the power of darkness.”
Grace Gems: Deliverance from the power of darkness What is the power of darkness, and how God delivers us from it. The Apostle speaks of “the power of darkness.” I shall, therefore, with God’s blessing, explain first what “darkness” is, and then enter into the meaning of the expression “the power of darkness.”
Two spiritual kingdoms: A Chart This is a lesson about two kingdoms. They are spiritual kingdoms. This does not mean they are imaginary or philosophical constructs. They are real but not political or geographical kingdoms. Rather they are world wide and exist in people’s hearts. Every person in the world belongs to one of these kingdoms. In this lesson we compare the two kingdoms according to certain criteria or characteristics.
Does Satan have his own kingdom? Was Satan correct in saying that the kingdoms of the world are under his authority? Whether Satan has his own kingdom today is a cause for a difference of opinion among Christians.
Grace Gems: Deliverance from the power of darkness What is the power of darkness, and how God delivers us from it. The Apostle speaks of “the power of darkness.” I shall, therefore, with God’s blessing, explain first what “darkness” is, and then enter into the meaning of the expression “the power of darkness.”
I’m no Charles Spurgeon, laboring from morning till night on a million different projects that have an impact in my day and 150 years beyond.
I’m no George Muller, trusting the LORD in amazing depth to raise and care for hundreds of orphans.
I’m no John MacArthur, preaching for 50 straight years in one church, faithfully going through every book of the New Testament and seeing the Spirit take the ministry global.
I’m just an old lady in a backwater town in rural Georgia. I go to church, go to work, do my best to obey Jesus daily, confess my sins and ask His help to do better, and move on to the next day. What impact can I have for the Kingdom? I’m not looking for a huge impact or a famous impact, but something, anything for His name, in obedience to His word and gratitude for my salvation. Does what I do matter? Does it have an effect?
Why, yes, what we do in His name when put into His hands will have an impact. Maybe not immediately, but eventually the results will show.
This video is interesting in itself for the science of it, but I’m also thinking of the spiritual reality: One small word spoken in His name can have domino effect that ‘turns the world upside down.’ Amazing. 🙂 Be obedient to His word today and share His truth in word or deed, in even a small way.
so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:11)
For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.
(2 COrinthians 10:4)
Video blurb:
A domino can knock over another domino about 1.5x larger than itself. A chain of dominoes of increasing size makes a kind of mechanical chain reaction that starts with a tiny push and knocks down an impressively large domino.
the-end-time.org 