As Christians, we are called to do kingdom work. There are no exceptions to this calling and no excuses for not answering the call. There are no prerequisites to serve the kingdom other than being saved by Jesus. It is Christ who brings you into the kingdom, but it is you who must work once you get there.
Our success for the kingdom is not measured by how much we have gathered but by how much we have poured out. “God is always fair. He will remember how you helped his people in the past and how you are still helping them. You belong to God, and he won’t forget the love you have shown his people” (Hebrews 6:10 CEV).
It is not by your efforts that you will accomplish things for the kingdom but by His. The more you try to plan and to plow using your own power, the less you will receive of His. Kingdom work is letting the Holy Spirit work through you. The secret to doing more is surrendering more to the Lord in all His ways.
In the kingdom, when we yield ground, we gain ground. “…when I am weak, then I am strong—the less I have, the more I depend on him [Christ Jesus]” (2 Corinthians 12:10 TLB).
When I entered the prison ministry, I started out with the best of intentions but the worst of plans in how I could best serve the Lord Jesus. I was naturally organized and dutifully hard working and thought myself quite useful to the needs of the kingdom.
It’s not the strongest who go far in the kingdom, but those who are the most yielded. “Do not yield your members to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but yield yourselves to God, as those who are alive from the dead, and your bodies to God as instruments of righteousness” (Romans 6:13 MEV).
What I learned along the way was how little I could accomplish when relying on my power. Later, I met some quiet, soft-spoken, selfless souls along the way who most would not be very impressed by. What I came to learn from them was the secret that humility outweighs all when it comes to the kingdom.
In the kingdom, your stature is determined by how low you will kneel. “Humble yourselves [feeling very insignificant] in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you [He will lift you up and make your lives significant]” (James 4:10 AMPC).
God cannot do very much through a proud person because that person will not let Him. A proud spirit is an evil spirit, for it cannot thrive in the kingdom. We think we must be “all that” to be useful for the kingdom, but it is when we know how much we need Him that we will be used the most by Him.
You can’t be under the anointing until you get over yourself. Jesus taught, “Blessed [spiritually prosperous, happy, to be admired] are the poor in spirit [those devoid of spiritual arrogance, those who regard themselves as insignificant], for theirs is the kingdom of heaven [both now and forever]” (Matthew 5:3 AMP).
There was a point in time when I came to realize just how useless natural strength is to the kingdom of God. It was a liberating time, yet also a shameful time, when I realized how much all my effort was wasted. How much we need Christians in our day to stop relying on themselves.
If people would seek a higher faith as much as they do a higher position, they would be giants in the kingdom. From the Song of Mary, “God’s arm is strong. He scatters the people who are proud and think great things about themselves. God brings down rulers from their thrones, and he raises up the humble.” (Luke 1:51-52 ICB).
Our job in kingdom work is to rely on God with our whole being. We can accomplish more for Him when we turn to Him for the plans and the purposes that He has for us to do. He will make the way, and He will provide all we need if we would just fall to our knees and ask Him.
Until you learn to rest in the Lord, you won’t get much work done for the kingdom. “Rest in the Lord and be willing to wait for Him” (Psalm 37:7 NLV).
When I surrendered my will and sacrificed my striving, then the kingdom work began for me. The burden of what needed to be done no longer fell upon my shoulders. I came into the prisons to minister with the power of God and the leading of the Holy Spirit to all that would be accomplished on that day.
In the kingdom, the harder you work, the less that gets done. “It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies” (Zechariah 4:6 NLT).
I remember when I would be with a prisoner in the chaplain’s office and anoint them with oil and start to prophesy. There was more teaching done in those few minutes than in a bucket of classes and a cart full of services done along the way. We must yield to the Holy Spirit to be used by the Holy Spirit.
Stop organizing the Holy Spirit out of your services. “And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. …And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit…” (Acts 2:2,4 NKJV).
Christian, what about you? Are you ready to do kingdom work where you must rest in His power? Are you ready to accomplish more in your weakness by His strength? Are you willing to be so humble that only God would get the glory from all your service? What are you waiting for?
Be the one that God can use to build His kingdom. “The Lord wants to use you for special purposes, so make yourself clean from all evil. Then you will be holy, and the Master can use you. You will be ready for any good work” (2 Timothy 2:21 ERV).
Blessings to you,
Paul Balius