Page 34 - TH130 Kingdom of God A4 Final

The Kingdom of God

first been “clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4–5). He
then poured out His Spirit on them on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1–4,
33). As a result, they were empowered for Kingdom ministry.

The story of Philip’s ministry in Samaria is one example of such
kingdom ministry: he was full of the Spirit (Acts 6:5), he preached a
message of the kingdom of God (8:12), and he ministered in the power
of the Spirit with signs following (vv. 6–8). Because of these things, many
people came to know Christ as Savior (vv. 8, 12). Another example of
kingdom ministry is the missionary ministry of Paul (compare Acts 14:22;
19:8; 20:25; 28:23, 31; compare Romans 15:17–20).

The Kingdom Is Coming Today

Imitators of Christ
In everything we do, we are to be imitators of Christ (1 Peter 2:21).
This includes both the way we live or lives and the way we conduct our
ministries. We are to adopt Jesus’ agenda for Kingdom ministry, and we
are to imitate His methods. His methods included two important activities:
Spirit-anointed proclamation and Spirit-empowered demonstration. Don
Williams notes:

If we adopt Jesus’ agenda for ministry, we will pray down the
anointing power of God, and with his Spirit upon us evangelize
the poor, bring release to the captives, recovery of sight to
the blind, liberate the oppressed, and announce to the world,
this is the “favorable year of the Lord” (Luke 4:18–19). (Don
Williams, 139)

Our Kingdom Prayer
Jesus taught us to pray a “Kingdom Prayer.” This prayer is popularly
called the Lord’s Prayer. In this prayer, Jesus taught us to pray, “Your
kingdom come” (Matthew 6:10). What does it mean to pray that God’s
kingdom will come? When we pray “Your kingdom come,” we are asking
God for at least four things:

• For people to be born again (John 3:3–8).
• For people to be filled with the Spirit (Mark 9:1; Acts 1:3–8).

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