So Much More: Moving Beyond Kingdom Principles to Kingdom Power (24 page)

—M
ATTHEW
10:17–22

Jesus pointed out exactly what they could expect as ambassadors of His kingdom. You will get in trouble because you represent Me.

The same is true of us. When we go out as ambassadors representing the King of kings in our neighborhoods, workplaces, campuses, or wherever we find ourselves, there will be times we can expect to get into trouble simply because we represent Him. But Jesus also said, “Don’t worry about this because you are not going out alone. You have all the resources of the kingdom at your disposal. The Holy Spirit, the very same Spirit who empowers Me to say what I say and do what I do will be in you, and in those times when you don’t know what to say or do, He will tell you.

He said, “Don’t be surprised when men hate you because of Me” (John 15:18–19). He was literally saying, “Don’t be surprised when men hate you because of My name.” Isn’t it amazing how the name of Jesus is such a lightning rod? At the first inauguration of President Obama, Pastor Rick Warren was asked to pray and was instructed not to pray in Jesus’ name. They told him it was okay to pray in the name of God but not Jesus. As Rick Warren wrapped up his prayer he prayed, “I humbly ask this in the name of the one who changed my life—Yeshua, ‘Isa, Jesus [Spanish pronunciation], Jesus.”
⁴
He ignored the instruction because he knew as an ambassador of the kingdom he answers only to the King.

Jesus told us that as His ambassadors in a foreign land we should expect that we will face hardship because of His name. What do we do when we face this hardship? Do we stop representing and advancing the kingdom? No! Jesus said, “When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another [Matt. 10:23]. When you face persecution, don’t go underground just take different ground. Don’t ever stop taking ground from the enemy and advancing the kingdom.”

We have been given a key mission to go out as His ambassadors to advance His kingdom. There is a kingdom that will oppose us. We can expect it but we have no reason to fear because we have been given all the resources, all the power, and all the authority of the King at our disposal. He has filled us with His Spirit so we can represent Him not just with words about the kingdom, but with works that demonstrate His kingdom as we fulfill our assignment as ambassadors.

One day Jesus asked His disciples a critical question: “Who do men say that I, the Son of man, am?” (Matt. 16:13,
NKJV
). They responded by saying some things like—some say you are Elijah, others John the Baptist or another prophet (v. 14). Then Jesus drew a bull’s eye on them and asked pointedly, “Who do you say I am?” (v. 15). Peter piped up and replied,

“You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”

—M
ATTHEW
16:16–18

Perhaps, like I did for years, you have misunderstood this verse to say that God will protect the church from the attack of the enemy. In fact, I have heard this passage taught that way many times and it also really fit my theology pretty well too. I pictured the church in this compound, trying to survive against the big bad devil as he beat down against us. On closer examination though, that is not what this verse says. As I began to understand the kingdom, the authority and dominion that Jesus has given us to represent Him as His ambassadors and preach His message of the kingdom and do His ministry that advances His kingdom, I began to see this verse totally differently.

It does not say the armies of hell will attack the church and God will protect us. It says the gates of hell cannot prevail against the church. In other words, we are on the offensive, not the defensive. It is Satan who is cowering in fear when we advance the kingdom because he knows he doesn’t have a gate big enough or strong enough to stop us when we are empowered by the King’s Spirit and working as the King’s ambassadors. So Jesus told us we would face trouble because of His name; but we have no need to fear, because we are ambassadors of the King of kings and nothing can stop us!

Chapter 12
ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN

S
MITH
W
IGGLESWORTH WAS
quoted as saying, “If you want anything from God, you will have to pray into heaven. That is where it all is. If you live in the earthly realm and expect to receive from God, you will never get anything.”
¹
One of the clearest instructions we have of our assignment to pray heaven down to earth is found in what we often call the Lord’s Prayer. In this prayer, Jesus told us to pray, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10).

I have often heard people pray things like, “Lord, if it is your will to heal this person of cancer . . . ” We need to ask ourselves, “Is there cancer in heaven?” Of course there is no cancer in heaven. If there is no cancer in heaven, then we already know the Lord’s will. His will is for us to pray heaven down to earth. He is clear that His will is for earth to reflect what is in heaven. That’s another evidence of the assignment He has given to us in the kingdom. Many believers confuse their destiny with their assignment. Our destiny is to go to heaven someday when we die, but that is not our assignment. Our assignment is to bring heaven to earth so that His will is done on earth as it is in heaven.

Let’s walk through the Lord’s Prayer and see how we are to pray as we bring the kingdom of heaven to earth. This is really important for us to learn. Luke told us this prayer was given by Jesus to His disciples in response to a question. One day they came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, would You teach us to pray?” (Luke 11:1). Why did they ask that question? It is not that these disciples hadn’t been taught to pray before. They were good Jewish boys, and I guarantee you they had grown up learning to pray the appropriate prayers at the set times of prayer throughout the day. So why did they want Jesus to teach them to pray? Because evidently as they had been watching Jesus for awhile and had compared their own prayer lives to Jesus’ prayer life, they recognized there was something different, something distinct that took place when Jesus prayed that they didn’t see when they prayed. They recognized that when Jesus prayed things happened. The sick were healed, the lame walked, the blind saw, and miracles occurred. But when they prayed, not much happened. They wondered if maybe they weren’t doing it right; so they said, “Lord, would You teach us to pray?” In other words, “Jesus, we want to pray like You pray. We want to experience kingdom power when we pray the way You experience kingdom power when You pray. We want to see heaven move on earth, so Lord teach us to pray like that.”

One of the things I find fascinating is that Jesus took them up on it. He said, “OK, I’ll teach you to pray.” The implication is that there is right way and a wrong way to pray. Before Jesus taught them how to pray in kingdom power, He first of all instructed them how not to pray.

And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

—M
ATTHEW
6:5–6

Religious people love to pray to impress an audience and perform for a crowd and Jesus has a name for that: hypocrite. They pray loudly and eloquently to try to impress people, but there is no power in that kind of prayer. Religious people love to put themselves out in front of people so everyone will notice them and want to be like them. While calling these hypocrites out, Jesus was saying, “Don’t pray like that.”

“And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words” (v. 7). Religious people also like to heap word upon word and repeat themselves, like chanting a mantra; and Jesus said not to do that because God is a good Father and He knows what you need before you ask Him.

As a dad I would be so frustrated if my kids came up to me and said, “I want a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, I want a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, I want a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.” I would say, “Look, I get it; you want a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. You don’t have to ask me 100 times. I’m your dad, just ask.”

Religious people don’t have a good understanding of God as a loving Papa, and as a result there is not a correct understanding of prayer. Religious prayer is repugnant to God. So Jesus said don’t pray like that. He said, “This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven . . . ’” (Matt. 6:9). Pay attention to the fact that Jesus started with the words “our Father.” At first glance we might be tempted to simply skip over this as an address kind of like “good morning” or “dear so and so” when we are writing a letter, but this is very important. God is our Father. If we really get this, if we recognize that God is our Dad and that we are His sons and daughters who are approaching a Dad who loves us very much, then we will know how to pray.

When Jesus taught His disciples to pray “our Father,” it was a revolutionary concept for them. When you study the Old Testament, the word
Father
is used in reference to God only fourteen times and always refers to God as the Father of the nation of Israel. It is never used in a personal sense to refer to God as my Father personally or even as our Father collectively. There is no prayer recorded in the Old Testament in which He is referred to as Father. But Jesus taught us to pray differently, personally, to our Father.

The word translated “father” is the word
abba
which means
daddy
. This word
abba
really came to life for my wife when she visited Israel. She was walking by a school in Jerusalem and the children were outside playing when a dad came by the school. One of the children affectionately called out, “Abba!” Don’t miss the significance of this. God is not impersonal. He is a very personal God. He is not some distant force out in the universe somewhere. He has a name. He is not an angry tyrant. He’s a loving Dad who wants to be intimately involved in the lives of His kids. Until we grasp our identity as sons and daughters of the King, who approach Him as a Dad who is madly in love with us, we will always struggle with prayer. So Jesus said if you want to learn how to pray, don’t look to religious people, look to children who have a good dad and see how they interact with their dad. That’s how you learn about prayer. He moved prayer out of the realm of religious activity and put it into the context of family relationship.

“Our Father in heaven” (Matt. 6:9). Our Dad is the heavenly Creator of all things. He is the one who rules and reigns over heaven and earth. Our Dad is the King of the kingdom. He rules over all times, all places, all kings, all kingdoms, all governments, and all people. He is it. That is our Father whom we address when we pray. There is nothing and no one that is not under the authority of our Dad, so we can talk to Him about anything and He has the power and the ability to do something about it. He is sovereign. Sometimes people ask me, “If God is sovereign why should we pray?” The answer is because God is sovereign. It’s like saying my dad is in charge over everything so why should I ask him to do anything? Because he’s in charge of everything! He is actually in a position to help. Because our Dad is in heaven and reigns as King over heaven and earth, He is in charge; and that should encourage us to pray with expectation.

“Hallowed be your name” (v. 9b). “Hallowed” means to be respected or revered. It is an expression of praise and worship. I believe the reason that Jesus started this prayer with worship is that worship is to be our number one priority. Psalm 22:3 says, “But you are holy, Enthroned in the praises of Israel” (
NKJV
). God responds to our worship by literally showing up and manifesting His presence.

Isaiah prophetically described the city of God, the place where God dwells. He wrote, “You shall call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise” (60:18,
NKJV
). Isaiah said the gates of God’s city where we enter His presence are called praise. The gates of the city are where resources and blessings are brought in. Trade goes in and out through the city gates.

Do you get the picture? When we go through tough times and we feel defeated, when the enemy says things like, “You are bankrupt, you will never prosper,” or, “you are sick and you will never be healed,” we need to start praising God. God shows up and inhabits the praises of His people. Praise Him before the breakthrough is manifested. That is what the Bible calls walking by faith and not by sight. Start with praise. He is worthy. Hallowed is His name. In other words, Jesus says this Dad that we have is so good and so powerful, He’s in a class all by Himself. His name is hallowed.