It’s the impression of Jesus’ deep desire to enlist more people into partnership with him in the mission of freeing people, helping them, and letting them know how much they are loved by Heaven. In a hurting world desperate for answers but met only by empty religious duties and regulations, or a culture overflowing with overzealous morality, this mission is as vital now as much as ever.

It’s not about soul-winning. It’s not about Christian duty. It’s not about transforming society or even populating heaven.  It’s about tapping into divine power to meet the needs of those around us. It’s about feeding those who are hungry — in a spiritual as well as physical sense — and easing the pain and hopelessness of people who are harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd (Mt 9:36; Num 27:15-17).  We see this in Jesus’ heart-felt plea to his followers, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest field” (Mt 9:37-38). Immediately after saying this, he sends them out into the surrounding towns and villages with instructions to drive out evil spirits, heal the sick, and proclaim that the Kingdom of Heaven had arrived. There were so many in need, the burden was too much for him to carry alone.  And he wanted his closest friends to share in the task and with the same divine authority.

Like when Peter wanted to walk on water with Jesus, Jesus responds with characteristic encouragement: “Come on, try it out.”  He is not jealous of his divine prerogatives; he isn’t stingy with his power — especially when there are so many people needing help.  He WANTS us to jump in there with him, to take up the ball and run with it.  So many are depending on us.

You can hear this invitation to partnership when Jesus is faced with a tired and hungry crowd of 5000.  They followed him around, always wanting to hear more, see more, experience more of what he had to offer. And even when he was exhausted from the constant demand on him, he still had compassion on those who were clinging so desperately.  When his protégés wanted to send them away, he replies, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat” (Mt 14:16).  Instead of ignoring the need, Jesus delegates the responsibility to them.

When I read “they do not need to go away,” I hear him saying, “just because I’m tired doesn’t mean the work stops. I’m not the only one who can help. YOU do something about the problem.” Of course, his disciple panic. “How are we going to handle this? We only have a few loaves of bread and two measly fish.”  You can almost hear Jesus sigh as he tells them “bring them here to me.”  “Really? You’re still gonna make me do this by myself. Here, let me show you how.” Then he looks up to heaven, gives thanks to God for the resources (as small as they might be), and starts dividing the bread and fish into meal-sized portions.

But here’s the key: “Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.”  Jesus enlisted their help.  He brought his protégés into the miracle, as though saying “this is what you guys should have done.”  He needed their help, wanted it, even if it meant more hand-holding.  And his disciples distributed the food to everyone. With more coaching from the boss, they we able to meet the need of all those tired and hungry people.

And the result?  “They all ate and were satisfied.”  Catch this. This is the whole point of his invitation. When we partner with Jesus, when we take up his work — as he instructed, as he so earnestly desired — people are satisfied. They move from being needy, from being harassed and helpless, from being tired, desperate and hungry, to being content and fulfilled. It’s a restoring process, the on-going work of the Kingdom. And this is the work assigned to us. No one person can do the job by himself. Your local pastor cannot carry the weight alone. He cannot answer all the phone calls, he can’t visit everyone in the hospital, he can’t do all the counseling, or respond to all the requests for prayer. The work was never meant to be handled by a select few.  It was always intended to be shared by many — by all of us who claim to be Jesus’ followers.

The situation hasn’t changed. The need is great, the harvest is plentiful, but there are always too few workers. Why? Usually because we feel unqualified. We feel like it’s not our job, or that someone else is supposed to do it.  But this is not true, regardless of how inadequate we may feel.  The disciples didn’t feel up to the task; they constantly doubted their own abilities to meet the challenge.  And notice, Jesus NEVER gets on them for trying to do too much. He never criticizes them for wanting to help or even from being presumptuous enough to think they too could tap into divine power to handle situations.  His rebuke only came when they were being lazy or when they lacked the faith.  He attacked their sense of inferiority and inadequacy.  He was trying with all his energy to equip them to take on this great task of helping the people, of freeing them from lack, from bondage, from powerlessness, from fear, from oppression, from spiritual hunger, and from blindness to their great value to the Eternal King. And he knew he could not do it all himself. His job was to train us so we could carry on the work.  And it was the deepest cry of his heart: “send more workers!”  When he saw all the hurting people, he was moved with compassion and stirred to help them. And he longed for many more to come alongside him and join the battle.

That urgent invitation was not limited to those earliest disciple alone. His instructions echo on to us as well. The need is still great. The harvest is still plentiful. People are still hurting, and there is still so much work to be done.

We need to hear the words of Jesus again, this time as a personal invitation to participate in the miraculous. The world is waiting for it. People are counting on it. “They don’t need to go away. You feed them.”

No big revelation there, right?  Most people of faith have no difficulty believing this.  In the next life, we think, there will be no sickness, no financial struggles, no relationship problems, and no personal insecurities. We will be whole, complete, and have everything we need.  Sure. That’s in the next world. 

In this world, we know from the Gospels that Jesus performed all kinds of miracles: he brought the power of God out of the unreachable world of heaven into our earthly existence.  He healed people who were sick. He raised the dead. He experienced God’s presence in a physical, tangible way.  Angels appeared to him, voices from Heaven spoke.  He saw visions, he could read people’s hearts and thoughts, he saw the future and the past.  He spoke with the authority of God.  He met financial need miraculously (remember that coin Peter found in the fish’s mouth, or the huge catches of fish Jesus led his disciples to?). He reconciled squabbling friends. And he spoke encouragement into people’s lives, telling them what they could be, who they are in God’s sight, and the mighty things they could accomplish.  He was the walking embodiment of the Kingdom of God.

That was then, that was him.  But what about here and now, what about us?

When Jesus first began his public ministry, he began with the message of calling people back to God and telling them that the great era of unleashing God’s presence and power into this world had commenced.  “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand.”  It has arrived, and we are to change our thinking and our actions to adjust to this new reality.  And he informed everyone that the Kingdom of God was in their very midst, it was in them and among them at that moment.  And they could be participants in it. Later when he sent out his disciples, he gave them that exact same message to declare.

This is the crucial point, the very foundation of Jesus’ message: the Kingdom of God is here and now.

Our mistake too often is in thinking that the Kingdom is some future time or some other heavenly place. It is not a place, it is not a time.  It is a state of existence.  The Kingdom is where the rule of God exists: “thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.”  Wherever God’s will is done, wherever his power is active, THAT is the Kingdom of God.  And by submitting yourself to God, by joining his family and declaring your allegiance to Jesus, you are actually turning your life into sovereign territory. You become an agent and ambassador of God’s Kingdom, a plenipotentiary. Your home, your work place, becomes an embassy.  His laws apply. And everything you touch — and everything that touches you — becomes subject to that law.

Those credit card bills you have: subject to God’s sovereign rule.  Because they contractually bound themselves to you, they now fall under Kingdom jurisdiction.  Diabetes? Blood pressure? Cancer? HIV/AIDS? Situations at work?  Obnoxious people?  Strained family relationships?  Friendships?  Guess what?  If they touch you, they automatically become subject to God’s will, God’s rule, and God’s power. 

YOU are the Kingdom — if you are a child of God, and if you have declared Jesus your Lord.

Wrap your mind around this fact. Change your thinking. Change your behavior and your actions to fall in line with this truth.  Inside this Kingdom, in this jurisdiction, all things are possible because all things are possible to God.  Hold your credit card bills in hand, and pronounce Kingdom rule over them. They just got “nationalized”.  Touch your frail body, and declare it subject to God’s jurisdiction, subject to his power and his supernatural laws of life.  Walk into your office, stand in your doorway, and announce that the Ambassador has arrived and he carries the full weight of God’s authority.  When toxic people enter your space and start spewing poisonous gossip, smile, and reclaim the air around you for the Kingdom.  Assert its domain. (And don’t compromise that eminent domain by participating in things illegal under Kingdom rule.)  Stop seeing all these difficult situations and stressors in your life as unbearable burdens, or hopeless situations.  Nothing is out of the realm of possibility to you now.

You are a Royal Ambassador.  You carry clout and awesome authority. You embody the Kingdom of God. Everything is possible. So act like it.

There are some things we can do about all that’s on our minds — and we should do them. But some things are completely outside our control. We can turn the rudder of our boat and have some influence over the direction of our lives, but we are mostly subject to the winds and waves of the world around us. Being in control is mostly an illusion.

As people of faith, we bring God into the mix. We don’t try to handle everything ourselves, and we don’t believe the outcome of every situation is completely up to us. On the other hand, neither should be just throw up our hands in total surrender, and just say with heavy sigh, “Oh well, God’s will be done.” No. We must do our part, what is in our hand to do, and rely upon God’s strength to do it. Then we can trust God to work things out to suit his plan. God is responsible for the results, but not the effort.

With all the stressful thoughts on my mind when I woke up, I did the mental checklist. Yes, I’ve done as much as I can or know how to do. I’ve done my part. Now I can get a little peace. I can put the burden of responsibility for the outcome in God’s hands. And those powerful words from the Lord’s Prayer rushed across my mind and out of my mouth: Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done!

Those are not words of surrender to the world. They are not passive. They are not whiney or wimpy. They are an assertion, full of power. They are a command, an issuance of authority, invoking God’s presense, his power, his will, and his rule over our situations.

Those words taught by Jesus are not words of weakness or surrender. In the Greek texts, they are in the imperative: “Come, Kindgom! Be done, thy Will!” And the original Hebrew words which Jesus most likely spoke would have carried the same sense. Not a begging “may your kingdome come; may your will be done, if it please you.” They were — and are — words of affirmation that we declare and impose God’s authority over the situation. We assert his rule, his reign, in our lives. And not as a sort of “once for all” event. In Hebrew, the words indicate continuing action. And because they are spoken in daily prayer, they are an on-going assertion. Like the other words in the Lord’s Prayer where we ask for our daily bread, or for forgiveness as we are forgiving others, we assert God’s authority in our lives daily. And we proclaim our roles as agents in that kingdom; we are continually actively involved.

We don’t always know how things will work out. And we certainly can’t always control the results. But when we have done our part, we can relax, knowing that the outcome is in the hands of the supreme God of the universe who voluntarily granted us his royal bloodline and calls us his sons and daughters. He made himself our Father, and he took on that loving, caring role. He already knows how it all plays out, and his hand is already involved. So, even when we don’t know what or how to pray, we can make that simple assertion Jesus taught us. They are words that cover any situation, words that allow us to continue participating in the circumstances, even after we’ve done everything in the natural we know how to do. And they are words which actively invite his participation and invoke his powerful involvement.

As believers, we never quit. Far from giving up, or lamely using God as a crutch for our own laziness, we continue to live, to be involved. With our hand on the sometimes ineffective rudder, we can still shout at the wind and the waves, commanding them to submit to God’s plan. But we don’t have to stress about it. We don’t need to worry, even when we don’t know what that ultimate plan may be. There should be peace even in the storm. We do what we can, and then invoke God’s rule and reign over the results. Speak those words — “Kingdom, come! God’s will, be done! Here, now!” — and rest.

But his assertiveness compells me to stop what I’m doing and think.  There’s a powerful message here, something stirring in my memory, a moment of spiritual recognition of truth.  And it suddenly dawns on me: this is how we should be with God and with our lives. “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it” (Mt 11:12).  

Zack knows I love him.  He knows I’m willing to hold him, to pet him, and that I’ll interrupt what I’m doing to attend to whatever he needs if he’s persistent enough.  And sometimes, like just now, he won’t wait for me to initiate the affection. 

This is what we are supposed to be like.  We all know that God loves us, that he cares for us, that he wants the best for us.  Jesus describes him as the loving Father, yearning for our presence, to gather us in his arms, and eager to help us.  And like a Father, expecting us to grow, become mature and functional in life and in our relationship with him.  He expects us sometimes to take the initiative.

The advancing Kingdom of Heaven that Jesus speaks about is not a place, it is simply the reign of God in our daily lives. It is the divine presence at work in us and through us, touching the world around us.  The Kingdom of God is an active force in this world now, energized by God’s power, governed by his principles, enacted by his people as we put his teachings into practice.

What is striking to me as I consider this, is that this leaves no room for passivity — either in life or in our relationship with God. 

How often do we complain (even if just secretly to ourselves) that we wish God would show us his love more, or in a more personal way?  How often have we quietly expressed our frustration at the lack of “real” signs of God’s power in our lives?  Where are the miracles, the signs and wonders?  And why don’t things work out better, a little easier for us, or the way we expect?  Sure, sometimes we’re not ready to have our prayers answered, and God withholds things from us for our own safety, but what about when we ARE ready?  Maybe we’re too busy — too busy waiting.  Perhaps we’ve settled comfortably on that verse that says “those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength.”  But what is that renewed strength for?  More waiting, or inactivity?  

The power of God never falls upon those who sit passively with their hands folded, eyes perpetually turned to heaven.  Jesus walked the earth, healed the sick, cast out demons, taught and mentored those seeking the truth.  He went off by himself to rest and to reconnect with the Father. He spent time with friends, built loving relationships, went to weddings and dinner parties, fully enjoying being with people.  So much so, in fact, that the religious people of his day called him a drunk and a glutton.  He went about all the routines of daily life, just as we do — but he allowed the love and power of God to be expressed through him in everything he did.  And when he did, it was “by the Finger of God, the Kingdom has come upon you” (Mt 12:28).

So when my relationship with God feels dry and stale, God’s love is waiting for me.  When my life seems uneventful, pointless, and stuck in the mud, he’s made his strength, his power, and his wisdom available to me to help those around me.  Maybe I just need to shake myself out of my passivity, to stop waiting with folded hands for a personal invitation, and get up and do something.  God’s love and power only flow through action. 

Zack could have stayed at the doorway making those little grunts, or he could have given in to the sense of futility and walked away.  But then his need, his desire, would have gone unfulfilled.  Instead, in confidence (dare I say, “in faith”?), he forced his way onto my lap and was rewarded to his satisfaction.  Sometimes in order to experience the love and power of God we’re looking for, a little assertive activity may be required on our part.  Like Zack, sometimes you just have to jump into it instead of waiting for it to come to you.

Just something to consider …