What we do when we are not in the presence of the King will determine what we receive when we are in the presence of the King. The time spent on the journey to the King’s presence is our preparation for a Kingdom encounter. There will be a moment. It will be our moment to appear before the King.
When we come into the King’s presence, we never come without a gift. The queen of Sheba came to visit King Solomon with a caravan of gifts. She came seeking wisdom, but understood the protocol of the Kingdom. Esther came with what the King’s servant to her to bring. “No man should appear before the Lord empty-handed: Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the Lord your God has blessed you.” (Deuteronomy 16:16–17, NIV84) Our gifts reflect our heart towards the King. Our gifts are our demonstration of love. “A gift opens the way for the giver and ushers him into the presence of the great.” (Proverbs 18:16, NIV84) It is not the physical size of the gift that demonstrates love for the King; It is the magnitude of the sacrifice of the gift that shows our love for the King. “As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. “I tell you the truth,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”” (Luke 21:1–4, NIV84) What is the gift we can give our King? It is our very lives, given wholly to Him. “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.” (Romans 12:1, NIV84)
When we come with an acceptable gift, when we offer the entirety of our lives to the King as an act of love, we become empowered to ask the King. We can now lay our requests at the foot of the throne. “”Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. “Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:7–11, NIV84) We know that because our lives now belong to the King, what we ask is what in fact He desires. We know that when our lives are fully HIS we can ask and we can receive. “Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.” (1 John 3:21–24, NIV84)
We started this journey seeking true spiritual authority and that is what we ask for. We ask for the power of God to do the word of God. We ask to be used in a mighty way to establish the Kingdom of God in the places where darkness reigns. We ask to transform the world around us. We ask to fulfill the heart of God. We ask to destroy the strongholds of darkness and establish the Kingdom of light. We seek power not to establish ourselves, to create a ministry for ourselves. We ask to obey the will of God. “As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.” (Matthew 10:7–8, NIV84) It is the great desire of God for us to walk in His authority and so we can ask boldly. “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”” (Matthew 28:18–20, NIV84)
After we lay our lives before the King as a gift to Him, after we ask the King for the authority to establish His Kingdom, we then must receive the authority we have asked for. This authority is a spiritual authority. It is given by revelation directly from the King. “I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.” (Galatians 1:12, NIV84) The word revelation speaks of making clear, disclosing and manifestation. When we truly receive the authority we have sought, we become the manifestation of that authority and make the authority of God known to the world around us. It is a high calling and requires a high price. “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.” (Ephesians 4:1, NIV84) It is a calling that requires us to work and see the Kingdom work completed. “Tell Archippus: “See to it that you complete the work you have received in the Lord.”” (Colossians 4:17, NIV84) It is a calling that demands our worship of the King because He receives all the glory for the authority belongs to HIM. “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”” (Hebrews 12:28–29, NIV84) That authority received becomes the burning passion of our lives and the unction, the anointing that gives our lives purpose and direction. “As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.” (1 John 2:27, NIV84)
As we receive the authority of the King, we must believe that we receive and believe that what we receive changes us and empowers us. “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”” (Matthew 21:22, NIV84) We become people who can overcome obstacles. “”I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” (Mark 11:23–24, NIV84) We become God’s overcoming champions. “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” (Romans 8:37, NIV84) We join the people of faith before us “who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.” (Hebrews 11:33–34, NIV84)
After we have received the authority we have sought, it becomes time to leave the Kingdom and do the work of the King. It is time to establish the Kingdom rule and reign where the Kingdom is not yet ruling. We testify with power the truth of the Kingdom. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”” (Acts 1:8, NIV84) We establish and seek the Kingdom to be established on the earth where we are. “”This, then, is how you should pray: ” ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.'” (Matthew 6:9–13, NIV84) We teach the people around us to obey the commands of the King. “Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:19, NIV84) We obey the will of the King. “”Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21, NIV84)
We become the King’s warriors against the forces of darkness and fight to establish the Kingdom. “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.” (Matthew 11:12, NIV84) We bind evil and loose good. “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”” (Matthew 16:19, NIV84) We preach the Kingdom and demonstrate the Kingdom with the power and authority of the King. “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.” (1 Corinthians 4:20, NIV84)
This world desperately needs people who are walking in the authority of the King. Will you be one of them?
Comments
Powered by Facebook Comments
