Close at Hand or In You?

“After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.

“When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house. “When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you. Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near.’ I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.

Luke 10:1-12

 

Welcomed or not, a portion of the message the seventy were to speak in the towns they entered was the same. Read the verses above again and see if you can find it.

“…the Kingdom of God has come near you.”

That begs a couple of questions.

First, what is the Kingdom of God?

The “Kingdom” can be defined as God’s government on the earth through man.

Like the Lord’s Prayer – it is His will done on earth as it is in heaven.

And the second question: How “near” is the Kingdom of God to you?

Do you ‘rub shoulders’ with the Kingdom or are you a ‘carrier’?

Is it close at hand or is it in you?

Are you a citizen of the Kingdom?

Citizenship has its’ privileges but it also brings responsibilities.

Jesus revealed some of those responsibilities as He sent the 70 out.  

Heal the sick and declare the Kingdom has come near!

All of creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.

It is waiting for the Kingdom of God to come near!

Will you submit to His Lordship?

Will His government be brought through you?

How ‘near’ is the Kingdom of God to you?