Extending the Kingdom

Introduction and Prayer

These are values that Harvest Alliance, which is the organization that we as a church kind of come under, has held. Alf and Pam have been a part of that for years. We want you all to know that we still value these same values. They are still important, they are exciting, and these are things that we hold as a high value. So, Alf, we are going to pray for you and release you to speak. Thank you so much for Alf. We thank you that you have made him a well of wisdom, and he has such a way of being able to present the word of God where we can understand it and apply it to our lives. We just pray, Lord, that you would speak through them mightily today, and that you would touch people’s hearts and transform them in Jesus’ name. Amen. Amen. Amen.

The Four FIRE Values

Thank you so much. What an exciting day. What an exciting community to be a part of. It’s amazing, getting together today. So, as Patti said, we’re going to be finishing off the four talks on the FIRE values. This is the E value. The Father heart expressed through Jesus is the F value. That’s understanding what we are being given: “As many as received him, to them gave he the power to become children of God.” So it’s understanding all that this means and beginning to walk in it.

Then there’s intimacy, learning how to hear God’s voice. We’re going to talk a lot about that today in extending the kingdom, but learning how to hear God’s voice is really important to our Christian walk. How do we know what’s on God’s heart if we can’t hear him, or if we don’t know how we actually hear him? God’s always talking. The problem is not on his end. If we don’t hear God, it’s because we haven’t learned how we hear God, sometimes, each of us uniquely. So there’s that.

And then restoration. Wow, that’s a huge one. I can just say that Jonathan Boettcher, and then Patti, and then Jonathan Culley did such a good job on the first of the FIRE values. The restoration is so important because of the things that have happened to us that have traumatized us in the past, or anything that we’re carrying around in our backpack. We don’t even know it, but spiritually, or in our soul, we’re walking stooped over carrying this load. And Jesus died to set us free from that. It’s not just that he forgave your sins so you can go to heaven. It’s to set you free, to heal the brokenhearted, to set the captives free, to loosen chains and all those things. So we can walk fully upright and free, and then begin to extend the kingdom of God, which is the E value.

It’s not like we have to get 100% of the Father’s love, the intimacy, and the restoration before we can participate in extending the kingdom. Isn’t that great? Otherwise, some of us probably wouldn’t be able to until we were like 89 or something, because there’s a lot of stuff in our lives sometimes to get set free of. Whatever state we’re at or whatever phase we’re at in this understanding, we can participate in extending the kingdom.

The last words Jesus said to his followers in Matthew were what? Go into all the world and preach the gospel and make disciples of all people everywhere, teaching them to observe everything that I have taught you, and I am with you always. But “go” was the last thing he said. We’ll talk about that in Acts as well in our talk about extending the kingdom. It’s through the equipping, empowering and anointing of the Holy Spirit.

So the Holy Spirit lives where? In us. Why was he homeless before? Did he need a place to live? He wants to live in us. He was released on the day of Pentecost. He’s always been around, of course. He was there at the start. He’s part of the Trinity: Holy Spirit, Jesus, God, the triune God. He’s always been there, but he was released in a powerful, special way on the day of Pentecost, at the introduction of the church of Jesus Christ, as opposed to the people of God, the people of Israel, through all the Old Testament, through the Old Covenant. Now it’s the church of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit came to announce that and to seal that. We’re going to get into that a bit today.

He’s not living in us because he needs a place to live. He’s living in us because God wants fellowship with us. He wants to live in us. And the Holy Spirit in us is the one who teaches us. As Jesus said, “He’ll teach you. He’ll remind you of everything I have taught.” Jesus said that’s the Holy Spirit’s job. He’ll comfort you. He will help you in any situation. He’s with you. We don’t have to call him, “Holy Spirit, come and help me,” and he goes, “Yeah, I’m right here.” Just ask and you will receive. He wants to partner with us in extending the kingdom of God in our world.

The Goal of the Church

So the goal of the church, just so you know, is not to hold meetings. Did you know that the mission of the church is not to have a good meeting on Sunday morning? I love having good meetings. Today was great. But that’s not really the vision of the church. The church is not even meant to be some kind of an organization. In some places I’ve been, the church seemed to be like our mission is to just hold on till Jesus comes back. We’re all looking forward to Jesus coming back. Won’t that be awesome? We won’t have to worry about elections and all kinds of stuff, people south of us who don’t like us anymore and all that jazz. We don’t have to worry about all that if Jesus comes back. That’s going to be startling and amazing. But that’s not the goal of the church. It’s not to hold on till Jesus comes back.

It’s not even to do a whole bunch of good things. Is there anything wrong with doing good things? I bet that what is recorded of what Jesus did when he walked around on the earth would be a fraction of what he actually did. But I bet that Jesus, in his humanity, many, many times saw something and was moved with compassion. I bet there were things he saw and situations that he encountered as he strolled around geographic Israel where he thought, “Oh, we could do something about that, Father.” And the Father says, “No, that’s not the mission today.” And Jesus said, “Right. I only do what you tell me to do. I only say what you tell me to say.”

So the goal of the church is not to just randomly do a bunch of good things all over the place. Of course the city of Abbotsford is full of need, isn’t it? We could wear ourselves out in about four and a half days if we tried to meet every need that we see. The goal of the church is to be so in tune with God through the Holy Spirit that we understand what our mission is on a big scale and on an everyday scale. That’s the goal of the church. And it’s also the goal for each and every one who is a follower of Jesus: to learn how to hear God’s voice, so you know exactly what your role is, what your job is, each day in every situation that you come into. It’s to partner with God in his business of expanding the kingdom.

Equipped by the Holy Spirit

So the Holy Spirit is the gift of the Father who is sent to live in us and to call us into the revelation and experience of sonship. When I say sonship, forgive me if I don’t say daughtership too. I think we can understand that that’s what I’m referring to. The Holy Spirit tells us what our Father is thinking and what’s on his mind.

So we said extending the kingdom through equipping. First Corinthians 2:10-12 says, “But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit.” Who was it to? To us that God revealed these things. “For the Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. No one can know a person’s thoughts except the person’s own spirit. And no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. And we have received God’s Spirit.” Done. It’s past tense. We have received God’s Spirit, “not the world’s spirit, so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.”

So the Holy Spirit is the intelligence officer for God. He knows ahead of time every situation you will walk into. Wherever your foot lands, he knows the people that you will encounter and interact with, and he’s got God’s answer for the things that are your assignment. You see something in front of you, and the first question is, you see a need, is this my assignment? Yes? No? Yes? Okay, what do you want me to do? What do you want me to say? If we are in tune with the Holy Spirit, he will equip us. That’s extending the kingdom through the equipping of the Holy Spirit.

Empowering and Anointing

Then there’s empowering. We’re provided with the power to fulfill our commission. Go into all the world, right? Go into our world, where we go every day. You each have a constituency, and we’ve said this many times, that I don’t have, or that anybody else in here doesn’t have. You uniquely touch base with different people than anybody else does. So what is our assignment? And then comes the ability to understand what it is. But I’m afraid to do that. “But you will receive power.” Jesus said in Acts 1:8, when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, “you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere, in Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” This is the promise of Jesus to his followers: you will be my witnesses. That includes Abbotsford, right? Or Chilliwack, if you’re fortunate enough to live there.

The power will be given to us. We don’t have to drum up the information. The Holy Spirit will equip us with the information, what’s on God’s heart. We don’t have to drum up the power. The Holy Spirit has promised by Jesus that he will empower us to fulfill our assignment. Through the power of being fully loved and embraced by the Father, and the power to hear what’s on the Father’s heart, we can and will be his witnesses who display and extend the kingdom of God to our world.

And then there’s the anointing, extending the kingdom through the anointing of the Holy Spirit. First John 2:20 in the Amplified says, “But you have an anointing from the Holy One.” Does that sound like something we’re still waiting for? It’s past tense: you have it. If you don’t feel it, if you don’t know it, well, know this. The Bible says if you’re a follower of Jesus, you have the Holy Spirit in you, and the Holy Spirit has put an anointing on you. “You have an anointing from the Holy One.” You have been set apart, specially gifted and prepared by the Holy Spirit. “And all of you know the truth.” How many? All of you know the truth that he teaches, illuminates our minds and guards us from error. So the Holy Spirit is central to extending the kingdom through equipping, empowering and anointing.

Wait for the Holy Spirit

Now Jesus said to his guys in Acts 1, “But don’t set out yet.” He told them, “Go into all the world,” but wait. Didn’t he? He said, “Wait. Don’t leave Jerusalem.” I’ll read it for you. Acts 1:4: “Once when he was eating with them, he commanded them.” He didn’t say, “I’ve got a good idea,” or “This is a suggestion.” He commanded them: “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

Why did he want them to wait? Why do you think he wanted them to wait? Well, I’ll tell you. Peter was going to lead the New Testament church, and what were his last few days like? He denied, cursing with an oath, that he ever knew Jesus. A few days before this. Then after Jesus did get tried and executed and died, where were the disciples? Locked in an upper room, hiding. In human terms, of course they were. This is serious business. Their leader just got executed, right? And Peter was terrified to even be associated with Jesus. Jesus had the thing by the seaside where he cooked them breakfast and all that. He said, “Peter, you love me,” and I believe there was a measure of restoration. But can you imagine the New Testament church being led by a bunch of fearful guys, a bunch of insecure guys, a bunch of guys in such terror that they could barely even admit that they belonged to Jesus, that they were followers of Jesus? Can you imagine what the church would have been like? Not good. Not good at all. That’s why he said to wait, because when the Holy Spirit came, wow.

So you see, Peter wasn’t the ideal candidate to carry on Jesus’ mission, was he? He was not. But when the Holy Spirit came on him, he became a completely different person. He was bold, and even fearless. And this is why Romans 5:5 says, “For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.” There’s that Holy Spirit again. His job is to fill our hearts with his love. That’s what happened to them on the day of Pentecost. They were suddenly filled with the knowledge of God being their Father. You see in John 20, when Jesus said in verse 17, “I’m ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God,” the guys were going, “Okay, whatever.” They didn’t get that God was really their Father, or how that would work out. But when the Holy Spirit came and poured the love of the Father into them, wow, a complete personality makeover, really. What a total difference when that happened. They were suddenly aware of who the Father is to them and who they were to the Father. It produced this personality change from fearful to bold, from insecure to confident, from denying they even knew Jesus and hiding in a locked room after Jesus died, to boldly proclaiming Jesus to crowds of thousands of people.

And Peter wasn’t shy. He stood up on that day and he preached a long message. He’s my hero. He said, “This Jesus whom you crucified.” Wow. Before, he said, “I don’t even know Jesus,” and he swore with an oath. I would repeat the oath, but we’re in church, so I won’t say it. It says he swore with an oath, “I don’t even know him.” He did that to a little servant girl around a little fire in a courtyard. Now he’s standing before thousands of people because he’s filled with the Father’s love. He knows who he is now. He’s not an orphan. He’s a son. The Holy Spirit has poured the love of the Father into him, and now he stands before thousands of people and says things like, “This Jesus whom you crucified is the Messiah.” Wow. What a total change. So the Holy Spirit is central to extending the kingdom. The church would have been, I will just have to say, fairly pathetic if the Holy Spirit hadn’t shown up and changed Peter and the rest of them completely and totally.

Salt and Light

So Jesus’ mission right from the beginning was to extend the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven. Matthew 4:17 says, “From then on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the kingdom of heaven is near.'” Other versions say it’s at hand. Then he passed on the mandate to his followers. That’s the beginning of his ministry. At the end of his ministry, in John 17, he says this as he’s praying to his Father: “Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world.” So the mandate that he got from the Father to extend the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven has been passed on to his followers, and by extension, all these years later, to us. We are sent into the world on a mission. I’m on a mission from God.

Jesus intends for his followers to be salt and light, in Matthew 5, again at the beginning of his ministry. Basically in the Sermon on the Mount, he says, “You are the salt of the earth.” What does salt do? It flavors things. How many have ever had a meal of something you really like, and it gets served to you on a plate, or you dish it out, and you go, “Oh, there’s something missing here. Something’s not right”? That happens. Salt brings out flavor. Amazingly, Jesus said to his followers, “You are the salt of the earth.” You are to bring flavor into your constituency, as a church into the city of Abbotsford, and wherever else God leads us as individuals, into your constituency where you are. You are to bring the flavor of the kingdom of God into your situation.

That doesn’t mean that every time, and we’re going to talk a little more about this later, somebody sins, you’re going to grab them by the ear and say, “Repent or you’re going to hell.” Listen, I’ve been witness to that way in my lifetime. It didn’t work. It didn’t take. It was the kindness of God that actually brings us to repentance. So Jesus started the mission of extending the kingdom and made the kingdom his focus right from the beginning, and he passes the mission on to us. So we are the salt of the earth.

Then he used another word picture: “You are the light of the world.” What’s the only thing that can rule over darkness? Darkness can’t beat darkness, but light sure can. Light can beat darkness. Light trumps darkness. Oh man, I shouldn’t have said that word. Anyway, you are the light of the world. “No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket.” That would be dumb, right? You don’t turn on a light and then cover it up with something so it doesn’t produce any light. “Instead, the light is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”

Listen, for a long time when you’re an orphan and you’re trying to earn favor with God and so on, you subconsciously even want your good works to be seen so that you get the praise and the honor. Am I the only one in the world? No. It’s human nature. But Jesus said, “Don’t be ashamed or afraid to let your good works be known, so that your Father gets the glory.” What we do is not to build up our name, or to build up The River Community Church’s name, or The Stream’s name, or the Spirit Cafe, or anything else that we do. It’s so that the Father gets glory out of what we do. “So that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” Wow.

Loving Each Other

So how do we extend the kingdom of God in our everyday, ordinary lives? I’m going to tell you something that sounds so simple, but it was so important to Jesus and the whole New Testament. I’m going to show you that through Scripture. I’ve got a few scriptures today. I’m keeping Robert on alert there. I’ve got so many scriptures today. You don’t mind if I read the Bible to you, right? Is that okay? All right, good.

So how do we extend the kingdom of God? By loving each other in real terms. John 13:34, Jesus talking: “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” Again, it’s the on-display thing. It’s the salt and light thing. Your love for each other will prove to the world that you belong to Jesus. I think it was Francis of Assisi or somebody who said, “If necessary, in your witnessing use words, but mostly do what you see the Father doing.” Love each other. Loving each other sounds like, well, that’s a good idea, we should, we’re supposed to. But loving each other is actually extending the kingdom of God. Did you know that? Because then people will know that you’re my disciples.

But there’s more. In John 17, again, in the prayer of Jesus before he goes to the cross, he says, “I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one, as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us, so that the world will believe that you sent me.” So our unity says something to the world, whatever state our unity is in. I hope it’s healthy. I hope it’s good. But our unity says to the world, “so that the world will believe that you sent me, Father.” Wow.

I thought extending the kingdom was all about preaching on street corners and stuff, which is great if that’s what you’re called to. Good stuff. But it is about simple things like loving each other and staying in unity. How many know that loving each other, I mean, loving me is quite easy, but loving you guys, like what? I can be in unity with you as long as you agree with everything I say, right? Come on, can’t we get along? In other words, can’t you just see it my way? But you see, our love for each other as demonstrated in action, as we’ll see, and our unity is a statement to the world. Somehow Jesus has decided that those two things are how we are salt and light in our society. All right. “May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.”

Love in Action

First John 3:18 says, “Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.” We are showing, again. Whether we like it or not, we’re salt and light. We are on display. That doesn’t mean, oh, I’m under so much pressure. That’s not what it means. It means that as we grow in knowing who our Father is, as we grow in being able to hear his voice in intimacy, as we grow in getting the hurts of our lives restored, our souls restored, we will just naturally find ourselves doing things that a year or two ago we wouldn’t have done. How many have ever had something happen to them and you reacted in a way that was different from the way you reacted ten years ago? I’ve had that many times, and I go, “Wow, thank you, God. I guess there’s hope for me. I guess I’m growing. I guess I’m changing. I must be getting more mature or something, because that used to really bug me, and now it just didn’t bother me at all. I didn’t even have a big judgmental thought towards that person.” So let us show the truth of our love for each other by our actions.

First John 3:16 says, “We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us. We ought to lay down our lives for the brothers and sisters.” That’s how we show love. We don’t show love by saying, “I love you.” Okay, all of you, remember, every person you see, just say “I love you” to them when you start, and when you stop, and you’re good. That’s all you have to do, right? You can say anything, right? It’s what we actually do that makes a difference. Laying down our life, what does that mean? That means allowing ourselves to be occasionally inconvenienced. When somebody has a need, again, we go to the Father. We have the Holy Spirit in us, who tells us what’s on the Father’s heart, and we say, “Is this my assignment?” Sometimes he says, “No, get Pam to do it.” And I go, “Great. I love that. That’s my default.” But no, we find out from the Holy Spirit, who is equipping us with the knowledge of what’s on God’s heart for that person in that moment, in that situation. We have to tune into it, though, or we’ll just function out of our mind or our soul or whatever. But laying down our life means allowing ourselves to be inconvenienced from time to time for our brothers and sisters.

Romans 12:10 says, “Love each other with genuine affection.” Genuine, not fake. Don’t love each other with fake affection. “Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.” When I was a big orphan, I used to just sit around waiting for someone to recognize how great I was, right? Instead, now I’m just so happy when somebody else is getting honored, and I have no problem honoring, because I know that if I honor somebody, it doesn’t take anything away from me. Whereas when you’re an orphan, you think, “Oh man, there’s probably only so much honor to go around. I can’t give any away.” “Take delight.” Say “delight.” Is that what it means? Take delight. Enjoy it. Laugh a little. Enjoy honoring. That’s the culture of the kingdom of God. That’s extending the kingdom of God into the atmosphere, when we honor.

First Peter 4:8. Say this with me: “Most important of all.” Half of you aren’t even saying it. “Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.” So what’s the most important of all? Love. By our love for each other, people will know we’re followers of Jesus. By our love for each other and our unity, people will know that the Father sent Jesus into the world, and that’s Jesus’ mission. It will just happen by our love and by our unity. “Most important of all.” And then Peter gives you a few examples. “Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay.” Say “cheerfully.” Not begrudgingly. “God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Then do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever. Amen.”

Peter is saying that when we do these things, it’s giving glory to God. It’s actually extending the kingdom. Showing hospitality, using our gifts (we try to emphasize that, we talk about the prophetic and prayer teams and different things), using our gifts to bless the body, to bless individuals, to bless people, is extending the kingdom. Sometimes we think it’s only evangelistic crusades, and those are great. When we were in the UK, Rick Oldland, who pastors our church in Lytham St Annes, was an hour and a half drive away from Manchester, where Franklin Graham was. You know Franklin Graham, anybody know that name? He put on a crusade. There were thousands of people there. Rick and his church participated, and Franklin preached a no-nonsense message, the gospel of Jesus Christ, and hundreds of people streamed to the front to accept Jesus. I don’t know what it is about the Graham family, right? But he didn’t preach anything that was new or brilliant. He wasn’t a fantastic orator who had them all eating out of his hand. He preached the good news about Jesus Christ, and hundreds of people streamed to the front to give their life to Jesus. Wow. That’s extending the kingdom.

But sometimes we think that’s the only way we can extend the kingdom, through crusades or through evangelism or through personal evangelism. I used to be terrified that my pastor would ask me to go knock on doors. In Whitehorse in our early Christian days, we had Mormons and who else? Jehovah’s Witnesses. They were knocking on our doors all the time, trying to get you into their cult or whatever. And I was terrified that my pastor was going to say, “Okay, I’ve got a good idea. We’re going to go knock on doors,” and I’d think, “No, please, dear God, send me out of town, please.” Then I’d probably have to knock on doors wherever they sent me. But I used to be terrified of that. And Pam has shared before, too, that she was afraid she didn’t really know everything about the right way to lead someone to Jesus. What if she did it wrong, and they think they’re saved, but they’re not, and they only find out after they die? Oh, dear Lord, we’re terrified. Terrified to witness, right? So much pressure.

But those kinds of things, in their season and when the Holy Spirit leads, are great and wonderful. I’m not ridiculing that at all, because many people have come to Jesus through things like that. I’m just saying all of us can participate every single day in extending the kingdom through what Jesus said: love each other in unity. Hebrews 13:1 says, “Let love of your fellow believers continue. Do not neglect to extend hospitality to strangers, especially among the family of believers, being friendly, cordial, and gracious.” I love the Amplified version because it just amplifies everything. “Cordial and gracious, sharing the comforts of your home and doing your part generously, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember those who are in prison, as if you were their fellow prisoner, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body and subject to physical suffering.” How many have ever had a pain in their body? So can you associate with, or comfort, somebody else who has pain, because you also have pain? That’s what this is saying here. Since you are also in the body, we know what it feels like, so we can sympathize and empathize and comfort with the comfort God gave us when we were in that situation.

Galatians 5:14: “For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ But if you are always biting and devouring each other, watch out! Beware of destroying one another.” So there’s the opposite of unity and love. How many know that the church in general, for far too long, has been characterized by criticism and division and strife, and people stay away from church because of what they have heard? “Let’s kick out this leader,” and “Let’s divide and take half the church and go that way,” and whatever. That’s not unity. That’s not love. That’s not extending the kingdom. That’s what Paul is encouraging the Galatians about: if there’s criticism, “if you are always biting and devouring each other,” I mean, he just goes right after it, doesn’t he? “Beware of destroying one another.” I’ve talked to so many people who have quit church for good, they say, because of stuff like that. It’s not like the church needs to be perfect. No, it’s not that. But there needs to be a sense of community. There needs to be a sense that we love each other, and that love has actions attached to it, or is displayed by actions, not just words, right? And that we’re in unity. We don’t all see everything exactly the same way, but can we be in unity? Yeah. Unity of the Spirit.

And James 2 talks about faith. Remember that one? Faith without works is dead, right? And I would say love without works is dead. He says here, “Someone will argue, ‘Some people have faith; others have good deeds.’ But I say, how can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I’ll show you my faith by my good deeds.” Same with love. You can say anything you want. Oh, I love the church. I love the body. I love people. I love the leaders. But faith or love without works is dead. It’s just words. Words are good. Words are okay. But not without action. Love is action. Love is a verb. Yeah, it’s action.

A Cup of Cold Water

So how do we extend the kingdom of God in our ordinary, everyday lives? Jesus was aware that he was putting a lot on people. So here’s what he says in Matthew 10:42: “And if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers,” and that’s a pretty low bar, right? “Then you will surely be rewarded.” I like The Message version, and it says, “This is a large work I’ve called you into, but don’t be overwhelmed by it. It’s best to start small. Give a cool cup of water to someone who is thirsty, for instance. The smallest act of giving or receiving makes you a true apprentice. You won’t lose out on a thing.”

So it’s not like you all have to aspire to be Franklin Graham, or a door knocker, or to grab everyone you meet at work and try to preach the gospel to them. In its season, when the Holy Spirit tells you, yes. But what can we do every day? If Jesus said it, then it’s good, right? Then it’s okay. Jesus said if you even give a cup of cold water to somebody, you won’t lose your reward. That’s extending the kingdom. That is showing the character and nature of God. That’s showing care and concern and love. And the cup of cold water really doesn’t cost us much of anything, does it? But he’s just saying that anything you do to express the love of God to somebody makes you a true apprentice.

Living as a Son or Daughter

So how do we extend the kingdom of God? By living a free life as a son or daughter. As we get to know our Father and develop an intimate relationship with him and hear his voice, we will grow in being more secure, less fearful or anxious, like on the day of Pentecost. We will stop competing with each other. We will stop grabbing at honor. Instead, we will give out honor. We will stop competing. We will grow in knowing we don’t have to earn the Father’s love. To me, that was the biggest takeaway of my experience with the Father initially: I don’t have to earn your love. I already have it.

We will grow in living by the rule of love. We will grow in being generous, because we don’t have to worry about provision. Don’t you know that your Father knows what you need before you even ask him? As a son or daughter, we can grow in learning how to live in that place and therefore be more generous. We’ll be quicker to forgive, because we don’t have to hold things against people. We know we are forgiven and we have been forgiven, and so we can extend it. We can grow in confidence. We’ll know God as a Father. People around us will begin to notice a change in us. The people who know you best will begin to notice a change, and that is extending the kingdom of God, as Jesus said.

Sharing Your Testimony

First Peter 3:15 says, “If someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it, but do this in a gentle and respectful way.” Wow. So yes, there is sharing your faith with people, absolutely. Especially if somebody asks, then they’re open to it. When somebody walks through the door here, they expect to have the Bible preached at them, and that’s what they’re going to get. But on the street, they’re not expecting the Bible to be preached at them. If they were to say, “How did you stay so calm? You’re so calm in this situation,” well, you’ve got a minute. Be ready to give your answer. Years ago we did a class where we said, “Okay, you’ve got one minute. What would you say to somebody who said, ‘What does it take to become a Christian?'” Remember that? Go practice. Get good at what you would say. Be ready to give an answer to anybody who asks.

We are ministers of reconciliation. Second Corinthians 5, verse 18: “God has given us this task of reconciling people to him.” Wow. God has given us the task of reconciling people to him. “He has given us this wonderful message of reconciliation.” Verse 20: “So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through you. We speak for Christ when we plead, ‘Come back to God!'” So be ready to answer, be ready to share, be ready to know what you’re going to say. And the best thing to share with someone when that situation comes up is what you’ve experienced personally. I don’t even think you need to quote a bunch of scriptures or whatever. Share your experience of your relationship with God. You know why? Because your experience is yours and no one can refute it. Your testimony is your testimony. What God has done for you is what he’s done for you, and nobody can say that didn’t happen. “Oh, well, you weren’t there.” Baby, it did happen. So at whatever stage we’re at in receiving and growing in all these things, we can always share something of what God has done for us. The words of your testimony cannot be denied. But do it in a gentle and respectful way. I like Peter saying that. Before I was a Christian, I had people beating me over the head with the gospel, and it just made me think, “I already know God hates me and he’s mad at me. Why are you telling me all this junk?” Like, thanks.

So we need to learn to tap into the presence of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the key. The equipping, the empowering and the anointing of the Holy Spirit is how each one of us can take part in extending the kingdom of God.

I couldn’t end without a demon-possessed naked guy reference. I won’t tell the story. It’s in Mark 5. You can read it if you would like to. But what I love is the ending of it, where Jesus has just completely and radically changed this man’s life. Nobody can say they have been worse off than this guy, and now he’s completely sane and in his right mind. Verse 18: “As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. But Jesus said, ‘No, go home to your family, and tell them everything the Lord has done for you.'” See, it’s your testimony. It’s your testimony that’s powerful. Everybody knew this guy, the demon-possessed naked guy. You couldn’t get anywhere near him without him freaking out. Now he’s saying, “But look what Jesus did for me.” And you know what it says? “So the man started off to visit the Ten Towns of that region and began to proclaim the great things Jesus had done for him. And everyone was amazed at what he told them.”

So in our everyday life, just as we’re closing, whether it’s a hug or a smile, it doesn’t have to be quoting scripture or preaching. It can be a hug, a smile, a glass of cold water, a helping hand, an answer for why you’re so calm today in spite of what’s going on. Showing generosity with our time, energy and money. All those things are extending the kingdom, and all of us can participate in that every day if we decide to, because we have who living in us? The Holy Spirit, who is going to equip, empower and anoint. Wow. Thank you, God. We’re just going to close in prayer.

Closing Prayer and Invitation

Okay, good word. You know the words “living and active.” I want you to take a moment and just feel the activity in your heart right now. It’s living and it’s active in you. Father, thank you that your words aren’t just sounds that we make, but they actually have the life of Christ on them. Your words bring life, and they stir us from dullness to activity. They stir us from complacency to activity as we want to receive your words this morning. We want to receive your words. We want to get aligned. If that’s you, I want you to tell him, “Align me with your will today. Align me with your love today.” And if you need to repent of something, then do it. Don’t let the block stay there.

How about you guys stand up as we end, and how about the prayer team come up. Alf told you this morning that you will receive power from on high when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and in you. That’s that activity some of you are feeling already. But maybe it’s time to throw a few more logs on the fire. Maybe it’s time to stir the fire up. So if you need the Holy Spirit to empower you this morning, I want you to come and get prayer, because the Holy Spirit is essential to you extending the kingdom.

I’m going to ask you a couple of questions. If you’ve been fearful of what God is asking you to do, would you let the Holy Spirit empower you today? If you’re afraid that you’re not good enough, would you be like Peter and let the Holy Spirit empower you past your mistakes? If you need deep love for others, would you let the Holy Spirit empower you to love?

So, Father, we stand here today in alignment, we hope, with your heart and with you. We want to be honest. We need you, Holy Spirit, to empower us. So if that’s you, I want you to say that to him: “Holy Spirit, I need you. I need you to empower me. I need you to stir me up.” Come on, Holy Spirit, come right now and start stirring some fires. Start stirring some faith. Start kicking out fear and just bring in boldness. Start kicking out insecurity and bring in confidence. Father, kick out selfishness and pour in love, because that’s what we want. We’re your sons and daughters. You love us, but you said to wait and be empowered. And some of us have been waiting a long time. So if that’s you, we just want to open the altar up to you today. Even though there’s going to be some hustle and bustle at the back, don’t let that distract you. If this is your moment, if you’ve been asking God about this, then please let the kingdom be extended through you, allowing the Holy Spirit to empower you to be bold, to love better, to love deeper, to honor, all of those things.

So just hold your hands out, and I’m just going to pray a blessing on you. Father, we thank you for your word today, and we just say, we receive. Wherever each of us is at, just say to him, “I receive. I receive you. I want more. I don’t want to be satisfied. Kick me out of my comfort zone in the nicest, gentlest way. But empower me, Holy Spirit.” Amen. Amen. Now, make sure you don’t just go and sit back there.