10.4 Your kingdom come

Jesus taught His disciples to pray for the kingdom of God to come. So what is the kingdom of God? Has it already come?

Most people think of the kingdom of God as the external kingdom. The masses wanted Jesus to be their political king to deliver them from the Romans. Even Jesus’ disciples thought that it was the external kingdom of Israel. But when Jesus answered them, He pointed them to the kingdom that is inside them. He talked about the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit.

(Acts 1:6-8)
Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the KINGDOM TO ISRAEL?” And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Therefore the kingdom of God is not on the outside. You cannot see it with your eyes. It does not come with observation. It is on the inside. The kingdom of God is within you!

(Luke 17:20-21)
Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the KINGDOM OF GOD IS WITHIN YOU.”

The kingdom of God has come within everyone who receives Jesus. So what is that experience within that comes with the kingdom? It is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

(Romans 14:17)
…for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

When the Spirit comes upon a believer, He sanctifies the believer. He produces righteousness, peace and joy. We experience that within us. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit.

Today, don’t look on the outside. Remember that the kingdom of God is within you. Experience righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.