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The Kingdom of God Spreading



"The parables of growth imply that the kingdom is already present, although they also express a future element of the Kingdom.  (Mt 13:24-53)"
AMFCC Lectures - Kingdom of God (Page 2)

Jesus likened the Kingdom of God to crops, trees, and plants.  The seed of the Kingdom is sown, and at the time of sowing, its so small and seems insignificant. For a long time people don't even notice it.

In history, there was so much that was happening during the time of Christ, that you find history books full of other significant activity and events that occurred between 3BC and 33AD, making no mention of Jesus or the great things that we now know were taking during that time.  The kingdom then was like a seed sown in the ground. Only those with interest in the Kingdom knew that something great was brewing, while the rest of the world was treading unknowingly over the ground where the seed was sown, planning their lives, and doing business as usual.

Jesus sowed the seed of the Kingdom into 12 men, which in the context of the human population is like not reaching anyone at all.  But this is the character of a seed.... It'll seem like nothing has happened when it is sown.  Even so with salvation. For many people, when they received Jesus it's as if nothing has happened, yet a seed had been sown.  

Later in Acts 1:15 we hear there were now about 120 disciples praying together in the upper room.  The kingdom had now spread to ten times more people than the ones whom Jesus sowed the initial seed into.  Likewise in our lives, if we continue engaging with the Kingdom through seeking God in prayer, reading the word, and participating in the church, and exposing ourselves to the things of God, it won't take time before we grow ten times stronger in the spirit.  Look how quickly a seed sprouts and becomes ten times larger than it was when planted.  This happens through watering, nurturing, and being exposed to sunlight.

We later read in Acts 2:41 that 3,000 souls were added to them, which means the Kingdom had grown 260 times from the day Jesus ascended, to the day of Pentecost.  This rapid, exponential growth is the character of the Kingdom of God. God designed crops to grow exponentially, and even so, He did the same with the Kingdom.  Yet even while it has grown nearly 300 times larger than when Jesus had left, it was still far from covering the earth and being of significance.  However it was only a matter of time before it would become the most influential Kingdom on earth.  Right now there are 2.2 billion people who profess to have faith in the Jesus, the King of this great Kingdom. However the Kingdom of God has not even covered half of the earth's population.  There is still a lot of work to do.  But we can have great joy in knowing that this Kingdom will only grow and grow until "...the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea." (Habakkuk 2:14). 

Even when we say the Kingdom of God is quite matured in its propagation around the world, we still see there is a lot of territory to be conquered.  In my life, the Kingdom of God has spread, but there is still so much territory to be conquered.  Yes i can say, like the earth, even up to 70%.  Though the word is in me, and the power is available, i need to fight to conquer areas of my life until the Kingdom fills all of me.

http://www.kidsmaps.com/geography/images/fullsized/map-christianity.png 

This map shows the percentage of Christianity on the earth.  The very light area in parts of North Africa, the Middle East, and parts of Asia are areas where there are very few Christians, and in some places almost none.  If I take this map and apply it on my body for the sake of making an example, i will see that there are North Africa's, Middle East's, and Asia's in my life.  Places in my life that have not yet been reached.  It can be my attitude, my work ethic, my finances, temper, or even my hands or my mouth.  As a child of God, i am saved, but i have un-reached territories.  What do I need to do?  I need to send missionaries to those parts of my life. 

This year in ZAOGA FIFMI, the servant and Apostle of God Dr. Ezekiel H. Guti was given a revelation by God that this is a year of "Pulling down strongholds that hinder me from entering into my inheritance."  In these nations where the gospel has not yet reached, there are strongholds which must be pulled down through bringing the seed of the Kingdom of God the way Jesus did in the beginning.  Not in a way that makes noise or war, but like a seed, secretly planting the Kingdom, and allowing it to spread.  Same with my life, those difficult areas in my life need this formula of the Kingdom.  To plant the seed, and begin nurturing it until it grows thirty, sixty, and hundred fold (Mark 4:8).  I need to sow the seed of the kingdom in each territory one by one, targeting it like a missionary.  If it is anger, i must go on mission to that area until i have cultivated the seed there, and the work can grow and replace all traces of anger.  If its my finances, i need to send missionaries into that area to spend time teaching and grounding in kingdom finance, until i have conquered. In the end, my whole world will eventually "be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea." (Habakkuk 2:14).


 

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