Faith Matters: The effortless release of the Kingdom of God in your life
“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.” John 14:12
In my quest to be more like Jesus, I love to read the mind-blowing miracles He did. I am motivated by the above passage to step out and take risks. It is important to notice not only what He did but also how effortlessly He did it.
As others before me have taught, Jesus was fully God and fully man when He walked the Earth; however, He chose to release the supernatural power of God as a man relying on the Holy Spirit. He did this to give you and me the blueprint of how to live the kingdom life.
Some have trouble with this part of Jesus’ life. Here are passages that will uphold this important truth.
How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. Acts 10:38
He existed in the form of God, yet he gave no thought to seizing equality with God as his supreme prize. Instead he emptied himself of his outward glory by reducing himself to the form of a lowly servant. He became human! Philippians 2:6–7 TPT
Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him. 23 So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town. And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything. 24 And he looked up and said, “I see men like trees, walking.” 25 Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly. Mark 8:22–25
In this last passage we see even Jesus laid hands twice. I would imagine that if He was doing this as God, there would have been no need for a second attempt. Perhaps, Jesus is giving us an example to press in until we see breakthrough.
Here are five principles that I believe will aid in the effortless release of the Kingdom in your life.
1. Intimacy
2. Humility
3. Availability
4. Accountability
5. Testimony
Today I will talk about the importance of intimacy. I will address the other four in future columns.
Roberts Liardon’s book, “John G. Lake, The Complete Collection of His Life Teachings,” is filled with a multitude of treasures. I am particularly drawn to the following excerpt from the forward by John G. Lake’s grandson:
“What gave my grandfather, John G. Lake, his power? That was the question asked of me in a letter from a friend several years ago. I came upon the letter recently while sorting and unpacking to move across town. As I thought about the question I kept coming back to the same conclusion. Grandfather had the power of God in his life because he was utterly consumed with the prize: A closer walk with Jesus.”
This statement inspired the title of this last article, “The Effortless Release of the Kingdom.”
“A lifestyle of Hallowed be Thy Name, will effortlessly release a Kingdom Life”
In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Matthew 6:-9–10
These verses of Scripture have been the foundation of my life and ministry for many years. “Loving the King, Demonstrating His Kingdom” is not a slogan; it is a lifestyle available for every believer. But you will not fully walk in verse 10 until you are truly consumed with kneeling in verse 9.
Some years back, while reading the Gospels, I began to see the principle of those two verses throughout Scripture. This discovery began in Matthew 14:21–27. Verse 21 ends the story of Jesus feeding the multitude. Following this amazing miracle, He sends the multitude and His disciples away. Then He goes to a mountain to pray all night. The word “pray” in this passage includes worship. Jesus was a worshipper. Otherwise, why would He tell His disciples to begin with worship when He taught them how to pray, “Our Father in Heaven, Hallowed (Holy) be Your name”
When I pray, that particular verse takes me 30, 60, and even more minutes in worship. Jesus set a powerful example of this, but first we must remember that we worship Him out of love and intimacy for intimacy’s sake. Making Jesus our first love is making Him the joy of simply loving Him with no agenda. Moreover, there is always something that will be powerfully birthed from intimate time with the Father.
After Jesus sends everyone away and goes to a mountain to pray alone, the Bible says He comes to the disciples on the fourth watch, walking on top of a raging sea. Let’s do some math. Being a good shepherd, I would imagine He sent the thousands of men, women, and children home with plenty of daylight left. Then, He may have begun His prayer time mid- to late-afternoon, finishing at the fourth watch, which is between 3 to 6 a.m. One important lesson for all of us who minister is that our prayer time after a successful meeting is as important as before the meeting. Bookends of worship and prayer will keep us grounded and humble, reminding us of the source of our success and to always give Him the glory.
The more you kneel in the other world, the more you will walk on the top of this one.
The story continues with Jesus walking to them on top of furious waters. Here, we see Matthew 6:9–10 made manifest. You see, His lifestyle of Hallowed Be Thy Name effortlessly released the realm of Heaven on Earth to such a degree that He was empowered to literally defy the gravity of Earth.
Most likely, a storm was part of this event, so we can conclude that there was cloud cover, causing it to be very dark. But when the disciples saw Him walking on the water, they thought He was a ghost. They did see a ghost — the Holy Ghost! The same Spirit of God that once hovered over the dark chaos on the Earth in the beginning was now illuminating the Son of Man to walk in the glorified state of His true identity, the Son of God! I am persuaded that the state Jesus was in was the glorified state that Peter, James, and John witnessed on the Mount of Transfiguration. This was another example of Heaven and Earth becoming one, when Moses and Elijah, now residents of Heaven, physically joined Jesus for a meeting!
Beyond anything else we could ever share with you; we offer you Jesus. Regardless of who you are, or what you’ve done, God is good, and He loves you. He sent His Son who paid the ultimate price for you. He died on a cross for your sins, but death could not hold Him. Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, you too can have a new and eternal life. Ask Him into your heart. Ask Him to heal you, to teach you His ways and to use you to help others. Welcome to the Kingdom, welcome to the Family of God!
Don Sturiano is the Senior Leader of Kingdom Life Christian Church which meets Sundays at 10:30 a.m. and Wednesdays at 7 p.m., 3700 26th St W. Bradenton FL, 34205. He is also the Chaplain for the Bradenton Police Department, and a member of the Bethel Leaders Network in Redding, California. For more information and to watch online please visit www.kingdomlifechristianchurch.org.