DAY SEVEN
When we receive instructions from the Father and walk into the works, He prepares for us, we do so with His authority. As God is bringing heaven to earth through us, it can be said that wherever our foot treads, we carry the authority of the kingdom. Wherever God leads us, we take back ground from the enemy and heaven is restored on earth.
As children of the King, we get to do what was promised to Joshua as he was entering the promised land.
Joshua 1:3 says…
1 "…the LORD spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' servant, saying,
2 ‘Arise, cross this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel.
3 Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses.’”
When we venture out with authority based on God’s assignments, we operate in the heavens. As members of the kingdom of God, we are no longer operating in the earthly realm alone. When we are on assignment from God, He gives us “every place the sole of our foot treads.” We no longer just walk; we march for the kingdom. We no longer take steps; we tread upon the ground of the enemy and take it back for God.
As our assignments come from the Father, we can forge ahead knowing that Jesus promised that He would build His church and gates of hell will not prevail against it.
“…I will build my church and the gates of hell will not overpower it.” – Matthew 16:18
The idea here is offensive, not defensive. This is a picture of the children of God becoming the army of God and knocking down the gates of hell. The gate is the gate of hell. The enemy will try to fortify his holdings and keep us out, but the enemy’s gate will not prevail. It will not be able to hold back the advance of the kingdom of God.
When we venture out with authority based on God’s assignments, we also align ourselves with His purposes.
Luke 4:14-22 describes the content of what might have been Jesus’ first sermon…
14 And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding district.
15 And He began teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all.
16 And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read.
17 And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written,
18 "THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED,
19 TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD."
20 And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him.
21 And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."
22 And all were speaking well of Him, and wondering at the gracious words which were falling from His lips; and they were saying, "Is this not Joseph's son?”
Jesus was likely reading from the scroll of Isaiah, proclaiming the prophetic message of Isaiah 61:1-4…
1 “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, Because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners;
2 To proclaim the favorable year of the LORD and the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn,
3 To grant those who mourn in Zion, Giving them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.”
When we become children of the King and place ourselves under His authority; we align ourselves with His kingdom purposes. We align our lives with the life of Jesus. We abandon all other pursuits for the sake of living our lives for the same reason Jesus lived His life.
The “afflicted” are the meek and the humble, those who have been literally pushed to the ground because of the circumstances of their life. They are in a place where there is no hope. We get to proclaim good news to them. The gospel is that the kingdom of God is here. The good news is that we are invited to surrender to the king and partake of the blessings of the kingdom.
The “brokenhearted” are those whose lives have been shattered by evil and whose hearts have been broken into pieces. They are the abused, the abandoned, and the betrayed. The good news is that Jesus is the one who bandages shattered hearts and makes them whole again. We get to experience His healing and introduce others to His healing hands.
The “captives” are those who have been taken captive against their own will. They have been imprisoned by the evil in the world around them or made captive by their own blind choices. They have no way of escape. There is no way out. The good news is that Jesus came to proclaim a message of liberty to them. The idea of liberty is to flow freely, like a river no longer damned. We get to point the captives to the one who can finally set them free.
The “prisoners” are those who find themselves in a prison cell with four walls. Because of life’s circumstances and poor choices, they cannot see anything outside the walls of their prison. They are blind. They know nothing of the fullness of life God designed for His children. The good news is that Jesus proclaims freedom for the prisoners. Literally, He opens their eyes. He tears down the walls and for the first time, they can see a whole new world beyond anything they could ever imagine. We get to point prisoners to their liberator.
Jesus also came to announce, “the favorable year of the LORD,” the year of Jubilee, the year when all debts are cancelled and everyone returns home, with a fresh start from the previous 50 years. In the kingdom of God, our sins are forgiven, our debts before God are cancelled, and we have a brand-new beginning. All things are made new. We get to invite the hopeless to experience the favor of God, something they never have knowns before.
Along with Jubilee, Jesus came to announce, “the day of vengeance of our God,” the day of God’s revenge. Jesus understood that many of us have been hurt, abused, abandoned, and wronged. He also knew that vengeance belongs to God, not to us. By proclaiming His vengeance, we are free to let go of any spirit of revenge, bitterness, unforgiveness or resentment. We get to experience this release and invite others to join in God’s freedom.
One of the most powerful invitations in the kingdom is an invitation to comfort in the midst of the deepest sorrow. Jesus came to comfort all who mourn deeply because of calamity or death. Even more so, He came to those whose sadness stems from their own choice to live apart from God and try to find their own way. Instead of the ashes of defeat and hopelessness, He gives them the crown of victory. Instead of deep mourning, he anoints them with the oil of gladness. When they reach that point where it seems that the lights are dimming, that ultimate point of sadness before complete darkness takes over, He clothes them with praise. He gives them a reason to live. We get to point the grieving to the comfort of Jesus.
In the kingdom, when Jesus redeems the lost, He also restores them to amazing greatness. He takes them from death to abundant life. He takes them from scattered dreams to awesome reality. Ultimately, Jesus’ work in the lives of His followers takes them from instability and insecurity to a place of stability where they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD. In the end, God gets all the glory because it is something that we cannot do for ourselves, and the people we invite cannot do for themselves. We invite them from the instability of life to a stability that cannot be uprooted.
Finally, Jesus takes the weak, the downtrodden, the weary, the hopeless, and the helpless and he uses them to change the world. Once they walk with Jesus and experience His healing, Isaiah says, they will rebuild the ancient ruins, they will raise up the former devastations; and they will repair the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations. When someone accepts this invitation into the kingdom, they become the generation that breaks all the curses of the past generation. They become the kingdom generation, the generation that walks in and spreads the authority of the kingdom of God.
How is this possible? It is possible because we get assignments from God and we march with His authority. The results are supernatural. What happens is extraordinary, because it comes from God. It is His kingdom, His power, His authority, and His glory. Doesn’t that sound familiar?
No wonder Jesus said to pray in this way in Matthew 6…
“Our Father who is in heaven, let your name be holy. Let your kingdom come. Let your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven…. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”
Four years ago, I walked by a man in the hallway at work. We both turned around at the same time. I looked at him and said, “I know you.” It was Rick, someone I had not seen in almost 10 years.
Ten years ago, in 2007, I had this crazy idea of taking two men of influence to Superbowl #41, the Bears and Colts. God has given me two callings in life: Journeying together with couples toward the beauty God designed for marriage and reaching men of influence and unleashing them to use their time, talent, and treasure to build the Kingdom of God.
The idea behind reaching men of influence is that these are men who may never set foot in a church or accept an invitation to church. But they would certainly accept an invitation to the Superbowl where we could introduce to the Kingdom.
God provided four Superbowl tickets for the adventure and I sponsored a table for my guests at the Bart Starr Award breakfast where I knew there would be an invitation to the Kingdom. I brought an executive who worked with me at HP. My friend, Rick, brought one of his clients who had just sold his software company for $9.1 billion.
We became friends through the course of the weekend, and I remember him saying to me, “Why are you doing this? No one has ever done anything like this for me unless they want something from me. This is what I usually do.”
We attended the award breakfast, where Tony Dungy was the first coach in the Superbowl to attend the breakfast, several NFL veterans and stars shared their testimony, these influencers heard the message of the kingdom, we enjoyed a number of meals together, and we went on our way.
I knew I had done what God called me to do, but I was not aware of the results. When I met my friend randomly in the hallway, I got to hear the rest of the story. Rick’s guest met Christ, created a foundation and has given away almost $100 million to Kingdom work. He and his wife have determined to give away their entire fortune by the time their life on this planet is over.
There are many things we do for the kingdom where we never know the full impact of the things we have done. Who would think that simple obedience, hosting someone to the Superbowl, could unleash millions of dollars into kingdom work?
As God is bringing heaven to earth through us, we carry the authority of the Kingdom wherever our foot treads, and heaven is restored on earth. The KINGDOM OF GOD IS HERE AND NOW! It is not future, and it is not somewhere else. It is here and now. We are meant to experience it every day. It is better than anything we could possibly imagine! Living life every day with God is the best of the best. It is what we were designed to experience. It is how we are meant to live.
WORSHIP: Spend some time rehearsing the mission of Jesus Christ. Imagine what He must have been like, living every moment with this vision of freedom, redemption, restoration, and abundance. Worship Him as the God who is consumed with bringing heaven back to earth.
PRACTICE: Read through the Isaiah 61 passage again. This time, underline anything that jumps out to you as relevant to you. Then journal about why each underlined passage is relevant to you. What part of your life does it touch? Why is it important to you?
MEDITATION: Take the passages you have underlined. Memorize them. Then spend 20-30 minutes praying through them, repeating them, and asking God what He wants to say to you through these passages. Journal anything you hear from God.
ABIDING: Go back and read through this teaching one more time. Ask the Father if there is anything in these passages specifically for you. Write down anything you hear from Him. Spend some extra time listening to see if He has anything more to say to you or if there is a deeper teaching for you today. Write down whatever you hear. Ask the Father if there is someone He wants you to share this with and follow through with His assignment.