Manifesting the Kingdom

Manifesting the Kingdom

Opening Scripture

Jesus's ministry was characterized by teaching, preaching, and healing. As we read in Matthew 9:35–10:2:

Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.

Jesus then told his disciples: The harvest is truly plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore, pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.

Signs Point to a Greater Kingdom

Jesus's ministry was accompanied by signs—healing every sickness and disease. We must ask: why? Because our world is broken. Things are not exactly as they should be. There is difficulty, hardship, injustice, and suffering everywhere.

But here is the critical truth: the signs are not the kingdom. The signs point to the kingdom.

We often become so fixated on miracles, signs, and wonders that we forget what they signify. Sometimes we say, "Lord, give me a business. Lord, give me money. Lord, give me a strong ministry." But if all our hope and dreams rest only in this present world, we have missed the point entirely. As Paul writes, if we had hope in this life only, we would be of men most miserable.

Understanding the Gifts of the Spirit

When we speak of the gifts of the spirit—prophecy, healing, working of miracles, words of wisdom and knowledge—we must understand what they reveal about the kingdom to come.

Prophecy points to a day when God will speak to us face to face, no longer through visions, dreams, or similitudes.

Healing and miracles show us that God can reverse the brokenness of this world. They testify that one day there will be no more sickness, no more pain, and no more sorrow. Your world will be redeemed. Your body will be transformed, free from aching and pain.

All these signs are previews—divine signposts pointing to Christ's coming kingdom.

The "Already and Not Yet"

We live in a tension. Jesus's victory is perfect, but not yet complete.

When Jesus died and rose from the grave, he won over death, hell, and the grave. Yet he said, "I am coming back again." Why? Because everything that is to be has not yet been fully revealed. We have the Holy Ghost, signs and wonders, but we are not yet in the fullness of the kingdom.

This concept is captured in the Greek word telios, used in Matthew 5:48 (Be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect) and Ephesians 4:11–13. Telios means not just "without mistake," but rather the fullness of what something is meant to become.

Consider an apple seed. It is perfect in being what an apple seed is supposed to be, but it is not yet everything it will become—a tree bearing fruit. Similarly, we are being developed into the fullness of the stature of Christ. We are not yet everything we're supposed to be.

There is still a story unfolding. Your salvation is being worked out in you. This is called sanctification.

Compassion Fuels Mission

Jesus was moved with compassion for the multitudes because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. They had no leader, no direction, no real path to salvation.

We must recognize that we live in a fallen world. Even after we are saved, we cannot become comfortable with the brokenness around us. Wars, rumors of wars, broken homes, broken relationships—these have become so normal to us that we barely flinch.

But the earth is groaning for the manifestation of the sons of God. Our world is crying out. We cannot afford to be indifferent.

Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit—the helper, the comforter, the active agent of good in our world. Where there is anything good experienced in this world, it is by the power and virtue of the Holy Spirit.

You Are an Answered Prayer

We sit thousands of years and countless miles away from Jerusalem. Yet we are the answers to the prayers of the disciples.

They prayed: Lord, send out laborers into the harvest. You are here, 2,000 years later, continuing the gospel of Jesus Christ. Tell me that is not a miracle.

You are an answered prayer. You are here to set others free. You are here to preach the good news. There is someone who needs to hear your testimony and your story.

We must not count ourselves out. We cannot belittle ourselves or our testimonies. There is a reason you have been called. There is a reason you have been chosen.

The Loss of Hunger

When we first get saved, we are so hungry to tell everyone about the gospel. We are eager to warn others of condemnation. We feel the urgency—the Lord's coming tomorrow.

But after a while, something shifts. We realize that not everyone in the church has it all together. We see messy things happen in the body of Christ. We think, Should I really invite that person to my church? We grow afraid of being embarrassed, of having our failures exposed, of losing credibility.

And so we become silent.

But remember: you found Christ because of your brokenness, not because of your perfection. God uses the foolish things of this world to confound the wise. The reason you are here is not because you are perfect.

The Power of Honest Testimony

When the devil whispers, "You haven't received healing. Why are you talking? I saw you yesterday," turn to him and say: "Shame on you. You're a liar from the beginning."

You should be confident in what you are becoming. Yes, you made a mistake yesterday. But you are here today. The fact that you turned up, that you made a mistake and found yourself back home—that shows the will of God is working on your life. It shows the Holy Ghost is still moving. It shows God is still real.

It's not because you're perfect. It's because he is perfecting you.

We have enough polished testimonies. We do not need another perfectly curated story of success. What we need is honest, raw, powerful testimony.

I wish someone would stand up and say: I used to lie and cheat my whole life. I was wrapped up in pornography for 20 years. My life was a mess. I had anger issues. I was living in everyone's bed. But today, look at me. That is the power of Christ. That is the power. Not the perfection—but the transformation.

If you could just lean into your struggle—I'm struggling to stay in my marriage. I'm struggling with lust. I'm struggling to tell the truth. I'm struggling not to go back to my old life—then we would see the anointing pour out. Because in that vulnerability lies the revelation of God's goodness.

Jesus Embraced His Embarrassment

In Mark 6, when Jesus returned to his hometown, the people were offended: Is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary? We've seen him grow up. Who does he think he is?

It was embarrassing. Humiliating even. God became man. God took on flesh, experienced childhood, grew up in a family, used the bathroom like everyone else. For many, this was scandalous and hard to accept.

But here is what is profound: the anointing comes by embracing the story.

After this rejection, Jesus didn't start over with a new group. He didn't say, "Never mind, you've let me down." Instead, he called his twelve disciples and sent them out with the power to heal the sick and cast out demons—right after being publicly disrespected by everyone closest to him.

Do you understand the power in that?

• If Jesus can be embarrassed, so can you.
• If Jesus can get over the rejection from those who watched him grow up, so can you.
• That is when you can lay hands on the sick. That is when you can preach.

The power is not found in your perfection. The power is found in your willingness to accept your broken story and speak anyway.

Mark's Testimony of Peter

Consider Peter. This is the Peter to whom Jesus said: "Get thee behind me, Satan." This Peter denied Jesus three times. This Peter fled and abandoned his Master.

Yet after the resurrection, Jesus appeared to him in John 21:

Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me more than these? Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. Feed my lambs... Tend my sheep... Feed my sheep.

Notice that Jesus asked Peter three times—once for each denial—restoring him completely.

Then Jesus revealed to Peter how he would suffer: When you are old, you will stretch out your hands and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish. Peter was being told he would die a martyr's death.

And indeed, history tells us Peter was crucified upside down because he did not feel worthy to die in the same manner as his Savior.

Peter's Ongoing Journey

But Peter's journey did not end there. After Pentecost, Peter preached that great sermon and thousands were saved. Yet he continued to struggle and grow.

God gave him a vision showing unclean beasts and told him to eat. Peter refused: "No, Lord, I can't do that." Jesus had to rebuke him: Do not call what I have called clean, unclean.

Even after this revelation, Paul later had to rebuke Peter as a hypocrite because Peter refused to eat with Gentiles.

Here is the truth: Peter was still in process when he preached at Pentecost. Peter had seen the risen Jesus with nail-pierced hands, and he was still not everything he would become.

Yet Peter became one of the greatest apostles in history. And his story teaches us: You are not invalidated because you are still in the process. You do not need to be perfect to preach the gospel.

The Gospel Through Failed Witnesses

The disciples saw countless signs. Yet they fled when Jesus was arrested. They doubted even when the risen Jesus stood before them. When Jesus appeared to them, he didn't rebuke them or start over. Instead, he said:

These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you... Thus it is written and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things.

He kept them. He empowered them anyway.

Historians and skeptics have noted something remarkable: these ordinary, uneducated fishermen—who ran away, who denied their Master, who doubted the resurrection—went on to die gruesome deaths for the cross. Why would they do this if it were a lie?

There is no greater witness than failure turned to victory. There is no more compelling testament to the power of God than mistakes transformed into triumph.

What kind of God would humble himself to the death of the cross, only to rise in glory and commission broken, doubting, failing men to preach his gospel to the whole world? This is the power of the gospel. This is the power of Christ.

Stand in Your Calling

Do not count yourself out. If there is one thing to hear from today: do not count yourself out.

• Do not invalidate your testimony.
• Do not pretty it up for anyone.
• Do not pretend to be something you're not.
• Lean into the discomfort of your life. Lean into the discomfort of this world.

In the discomfort is where God's power is truly revealed.

Your brokenness and struggle is not Jesus's failure. It is the evidence of his work within you. The Holy Spirit is working on you. You are being developed into that perfect stature.

Manifest the Kingdom

Heal the sick and tell them: This isn't it. There's a kingdom coming.

Prophesy and tell them: This is the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Give a word of knowledge and tell them: God knows everything about you. And you shall know him too. For when we see him, we shall see him as he is.

Work the gifts. Be apostles. Be prophets. Be teachers. Be pastors. Be evangelists. But make clear that all this is coming to an end. When we reach the fullness of what he's made us to be, there will be no more need for these things.

Tell someone: Not only do I have an answer today, but there's an answer for tomorrow too. There's still more.

A Final Word

You are the book that people are reading to learn about Jesus. Do not shy away from your story. Do not hide your scars.

Show someone the nail-print hand. Show someone that transformation is possible. Show someone that despite shame, affliction, pain, and frustration, there is something better in Christ.

For every messy, doubting, failing witness—there is a preacher. There is a word inside of you. There is a message for somebody.

The kingdom of God is manifesting through imperfect people in process. And that is exactly how God designed it.

Preach the gospel. Tell your story. Shame the devil. Lift his name on high.