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This week we conclude our study of Luke chapter 17. Please read verses 20-25 every day this week and, if possible, use a different translation each day, asking God to open your eyes to fresh revelation from His Word.
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Luke 17:20-21 (New International Version)
‘Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.”’
If there are any Star Wars fans reading this, then the phrase ‘May the force be with you’ is a familiar one. The series of films has received massive acclaim over the past few decades and has millions of fans across the world. The franchise has earned billions of dollars and the Disney Corporation has spent millions attracting a new fan base by having a dedicated Star Wars area in its theme parks.
That famous line quoted earlier mentions ‘the force’. This, as explained by one of the film’s characters is ‘an energy field that is created by all living things, it surrounds and penetrates the being and binds the galaxy together’. It is unseen and yet it’s power is seen when used by people who are known as ‘Jedi’. Anyway, that’s all made up stuff but it certainly mimics in many ways the reality of God’s Spirit. Scripture teaches us that God ‘holds all things together by the Word of His Power’. It is God that does that and not some made-up concept of ‘The Force’.
The reason I mention this is because for many people, whenever we talk about God’s Spirit being within us, they believe that it is some kind of ‘Force’ that has to be used or exerted in a similar way as is shown in Star Wars. The enemy of our souls is clever and will do all he can to distract us and detract us from the truth of God’s Word. He is very happy if he can side-track us or get us to think that anything spiritual is mythical and unimportant. We live in an age where place a huge level of faith in science and diminish anything that can’t be seen or proven in a laboratory.
Jesus is very clear in what He teaches in our verses today. As I explained yesterday, the Pharisees were under Roman rule and had been oppressed by the invading army. They wanted to break free from the reign of the Roman Emperor and were desperate to ‘see’ a physical change to their circumstances. They were firing questions at Jesus and demanded to know when they would see God’s Kingdom arrive. His response was that they would not be able to use their eyes or to observe the entrance of His Kingdom. It wasn’t something that was visible in one place or another. It wasn’t going to be seen in Judea or Jerusalem. He then used a statement that is massively challenging and yet so profound in its simplicity: ‘The Kingdom of God is within you’.
Unlike ‘The Force’, Jesus isn’t referring to an inert power that is resident within us or outside of us, He is saying that the rule, the reign and sovereignty of God’ is within you. Whenever there is person who has submitted their lives to God’s Will and to His purpose, the Kingdom of God is found within them. One commentator says “Wherever God is truly recognised and honoured as King, there one finds His Kingdom and His Kingship”.
At Oasis Community Church, we’ve been incredibly blessed to see so many lives that have been transformed by the Gospel. The individuals have surrendered their lives to Jesus and we have seen His Reign at work. May our constant aim be that His Rule is evident in our lives and that we pray “Your Kingdom come in earth as it is in heaven”.
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