Page 154 - TH130 Kingdom of God A4 Final

The Kingdom of God

We are the twenty-first century heirs of the Pentecostal mandate
to reach all nations in the power of the Holy Spirit. If we are to fulfill
our reason for being, we must once again come to terms with both the
present and the future aspects of the kingdom of God. In the present,
we must seek God for a fresh outpouring of His kingdom power. We
must also cultivate a renewed expectation of the King’s soon return in
the near future.

The Kingdom and Pentecostal Ministry

Because of their dynamic understanding of the kingdom of God,
Pentecostals have developed a unique approach to ministry. Let’s look
at three aspects of that approach:

Pentecostal Expectations in Ministry
Pentecostals view the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost as the
definitive sign of the coming of the new age, the age of the Spirit. They
also view it as a dynamic reality in
the life and ministry of the twenty-
first century church. Therefore,
Pentecostals look to Pentecostals expect the Kingdom to be
both Jesus and the continuously manifested until the end
of the age. They expect supernatural
early Christians as help from the Spirit as they participate

models for ministry. in fulfilling the missio Dei. This means
that they anticipate demonstrations of
Kingdom power. These supernatural
demonstrations include powerful
Spirit-anointed proclamation, Spirit baptisms, prophetic utterances,
healings, deliverances, and miraculous interventions. A favorite verse of
Pentecostals is Zechariah 4:6, where the prophet proclaimed, “‘Not by
might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty.”

A Pentecostal Model for Ministry

Pentecostals further believe that supernatural manifestations are an
integral part of gospel ministry. As discussed in Chapter 7, Jesus not
only proclaimed the gospel of the Kingdom, He demonstrated its power
with accompanying signs. The apostolic church imitated the ministry of
Jesus. Today Pentecostals look to both Jesus and the early Christians as

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