Jesus said many times that,

“The Kingdom of God is at hand”.

The Cambridge Dictionary defines the phrase …”at hand”…as happening or present at the current time.

I have understood that,
in the past few years,
to mean He was telling those who were listening to Him that because He was present with them… The Kingdom of God was present with them.

IT was where HE was.

Wherever He was, IT was there.

The Kingdom was not merely high
up in the Heavens…
it was on the horizontal plane of Earth….
as He was on that horizontal plane of Earth.

When He instructed His Disciples to go and wait in the Upper Room… He was temporarily separating them from the horizontal world ….while awaiting a vertical intervention.

During those few days the Spirit had not come and He was not physically present with them.

The Spirit came to
and into them
and empowered them
to accomplish the work
intended for them to do.

It changed them.

Forever.

It changed the world.

Forever.

The Scripture tells the reader that
The Spirit is God and equal to God.
The Spirit is an equal entity of
The Trinity.

Since The Spirit of God came into the Disciples …..
He has never exited the Earth.

He is still here today.

Because He is here,
The Kingdom of God is here.

Christ’s words are still relevant…
“The Kingdom of God is AT HAND”.

Its not being prepared.

It is not waiting on us in Heaven.

It is present on the horizontal plane of Earth.

Therefore,
may we realize,
acknowledge and
going forward, live accordingly.

Let’s us live as though Christ is among us.

Because He is among us.

Happening and
present at the current time.

If you believe Scripture is true….
then you believe His Spirit is here.
And, consequently that He is here.

If you visually saw Christ
sitting at your table,
walking with you,
heard Him preaching to you from the podium…
would you live differently than you do ???

Would you serve any differently than you do???

He IS sitting at your table.
He IS walking with you.
He IS preaching to you from the podium,
through the person of your Pastor.

His Spirit is here.

He is here.

The Kingdom of God is at hand.

Look up and read PROVERBS 18:16.

It might positively impact your life.

What is your “gift”…???

I would encourage you to think on this and seek the answer in prayer… if you cannot name your gift currently.

To know ones GIFT …
is to operate in a
Strength and a Capability
not present in everyone else.

Knowing it,
Exercising it,
Building on it…..

will give you access and potential not present before.

To me, it’s the secret to success.

It puts you at the intersection of
Ability and Opportunity.

Ask the few people closest to you what they see your gift as.

If married….ask your Spouse.

If you do not know it….
Ask, Seek and Knock regarding it …
in prayer to The Father.

You WILL get an answer…..soon.

Knowing your gift ….

IS a gift.

It will set you in places
you have not occupied before.

Take the writer of Proverbs at face value and believe it.

“A man’s gift maketh room for him,
and bringeth Him before great men”.

Know it
Walk it it
Touch the world with your gift.

This thought arose in me this morning.
You might hear it from me again.

The same God Who has touched so many is the same God Who we pray to and hears our prayers.

The same God Who spoke to
and made eternal promises to
Abraham…
speaks to you and me.

Read that again and consider it.

The same God Who anointed David
has anointed your Pastor as Shepherd of your Church.

The same God Who came to earth as Jesus…lives in all hearts who seek and pursue Him.

The same God Who prompted and led Martin Luther …
prompts and leads us.

The same God Who has led and directed preachers like
Charles Spurgeon and Billy Graham leads and directs the preacher who preaches to you.

The same God Who moved in Mother Teresa to give a life to minister to multitudes who could never return the favor…. can move in you and me.

The same God Who changed the life and work of Peter,
Who used the zeal
but changed the intentions of Paul…
can change and use us today.

The same God Who has grown great churches…
and deepened the walk of His Followers…
is the same God Who spoke
to me this morning,
and might be speaking to you
right now.

Therefore……

If it’s the same God …

the only different variable is you…
and me.

I pray that I take what
God gave to,
and did in,
all the above people…
as much as He allows me ….
and walk,
in Him,
towards similar results.

I pray that for you this morning.

 

I have fallen five times in my life as an adult.

I can recite the place and year.

Actual hard physical falls.

Once I slipped and hit pavement really hard….
it requires several stitches over my left eye.

Stitches are something my body has had great experience with.

 

Another time I was pulling a vine out of the ground, it was not cooperative, so I used my legs and hips.

When the vine broke, I fell backwards off of the four foot waterfall in my backyard and fell onto the rocks and boulders in the creek below.

When I landed on my back I rested between two jagged and protruding boulders which could have broken or cracked important places in my spine.

I was between those jagged edges.

I lay there looking at each boulder,
realizing I felt no pain but was in awe that I landed where I did, having fallen blindly.

These falls were not laying down in green pastures.

They were full body hard falls.

But I was not injured with any long-lasting severity from any of them.

 

I have fallen spiritually more times than are described above …. and have been protected in seemingly greater ways than I was when I fell physically.

Gravity has pulled me to the Earth when I have physically lost my balance.

Bad decisions,
and the gravity of the weight which accompanies them,
have thrown me off of the proper path already laid out for me and dropped me to my knees and my face more times than I can count.

The shame of these falls and failings,
like the time I lay on my back in the creek between the boulders…                                  were terrifying and frightful…
but because of The Light that is a “lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path”…….

I have been kept from long-lasting and severe harm.

Just as the stitches,
of which I have had many,
heal my skin and leave only a small mark, if any trace at all…..
The Word which was spoken and written long ago constantly heals my heart and has redeemed the life I am blest to live.

What kind of messages are you giving out at this time???

Or over the past few weeks?

Not merely the verbal communication you engage in…
but the looks and unspoken messages you convey.

You probably set the tone for your house and family.

Are you sending out vibes that are
peaceful, pleasant, positive??

Or are the messages
going out from you
and being received by those
closest to you …
Irritating, negative, burdensome??

If you do not know…
ask your wife.

Ask your closest friend.

In the middle of struggle and strife you can still give off messages of peace and positivity.

Pilots call it an “even keel”.

Scripture calls it a
“Christ-like nature”.

Momentary messages can be across the board …..
but the constant and consistent
vibe coming from us should be that of what Christ exhibited on the boat with His Disciples…

in the middle of the storm.

The definition is to exert force
or pressure to something.
It’s the root word of pressure.

To press in or exert pressure is to force an issue.

In my basketball days,
a press was put into place to
change the tone or tempo of a game.
It was added to potentially force a change in momentum.

The Apostle Paul referred to pressing in a spiritual manner, to push toward a better result.

You press something
to change something,

You press in on a relationship
if you desire more closeness,
more intimacy.

You press in,
you force the issue.

In business,
if goals have not been met
and time is short…
measures are many times put into place to lead everyone to press a bit harder to achieve the desired results.

If you press in on your walk with Christ….
you are seeking a better and desired result.

No matter how long the walk has been, no matter how mature the walk has become… pressing in toward Christ will deepen and enhance one’s walk with Him.

If you do not desire a
deeper or more meaningful walk…
I would think you are not in possession of a deep and meaningful walk.

Press in with your thoughts.
Think of and about Him.
Think on Him.

On and of His Words.

Be still and KNOW HIM.

Pressing there will move you in closer.

Read His Words.
Pressing in through a consistent study will deepen your walk and your relationship.

Pressing is a form of seeking,
and seeking over a period will
sell-sanctify you in that the press will set you apart as you seek after Him. It will increase your thirst
for Him.

As you seek after Him
and His Presence,
He will set you apart and sanctify you.
His sanctification will satisfy you fully….. and satisfy your thirst.

In a group of believers
I am involved in currently,
it is time for all of us to press in.

There are times when we are led to press in, and there are times one can sense the importance of pressing in toward Christ.

For me,
this is a time when I can sense the importance of pressing in … for myself,
for the flock I walk with.

Individually,
I will press in toward Christ.

I will press in toward relationships I have in this flock.

I will press in toward those I do not know well.

As well,
I will pray that every member of this flock will press in on their individual relationship with Our True
Shepherd.

This press will change the tone and tempo of our personal lives.

This press will deepen the corporate walk of this group
and the walk of those around us.

Pressing in requires effort.

Pressing in arises out of desire.

If the press of our desires and efforts are vertical in nature, toward The One above….
there is no limit to the
width and depth of the horizontal effect on all of the lives around us.

What makes you get up and go after something?

What is it that changes the course of a business, a relationship, an individual life?

In most instances,
it’s the desire for something.

The desire to get something,
to change a circumstance,
to get away from something,
or to get somewhere….
is what propels us from where
we are to where we want to get.

What are your desires?

Whether you are young or old,
7 or 70, you most likely have desires.

At 7 you cannot always put words to it….but you want what you want. At 70, you can and should have words for it.

What is your deepest desire?

Some desires are not deep.

Wanting something to nibble on while you watch television is not a deep desire.

Looking In a dumpster or standing in a food line at a shelter after having not eaten for days… is a deep desire which has developed into a physiological need.

What is your deepest desire?

Has it become a need yet?
The desires that are so deep no bottom has yet created satisfaction or comfort …..
are the desires that change lives and can change the world.
A desire to improve ones life may lead to a diet,
it will lead to changing a behavior.
It might lead to changing jobs.

As a businessman,
a desire to grow or expand will lead to decisions about commitment and if that commitment is strong enough it will lead to the spending of money. That step evidences the desire is serious.

As a spiritual person,
do you have a desire to grow deeper in the spiritual life you have?

Do you desire it seriously enough to go after it?

If you wish to get better,
you will change a behavior.

When the simple wish becomes a desire, one may begin going to Church. It may involve volunteering to help.

Those are steps toward meeting the desire. Some get satisfied there.

Are any of us there….
content or satisfied?

I would challenge myself and anyone to consider that being content and satisfied will restrict us from growing further and from going deeper.

At the table, we put the utensil down and push away when we get full. After that, satisfaction comes and can lead to a sedentary period.

The challenge is to not get satisfied.
There have been times in your life when you were not easily satisfied.

You did not “settle”.

Do you get easily satisfied when it comes to spiritual matters?

Be careful that it does not come quickly.

Spiritual growth has no bounds.

There is no ceiling,
There is no floor.

It’s deep and wide.

No matter where we have grown to….
there is more.
Some people work for,
and get money
and cannot ever get enough.

If that pursuit is dominant it can create continual feelings of frustration.
From experience,
many can tell you that the unceasing pursuit of spiritual growth does not lead to frustration, but to escalating levels of Joy, Understanding, and a fulfillment that comes with the excited anticipation that there is so much more to receive.

Read that again. It’s true.

The streets of Alabama were mostly empty last Saturday afternoon. Desire kept people indoors and in front of a television.
Very little, if anything, would have kept fans from watching that game.

May very little, if anything, keep us from pursuing a deeper spiritual walk.

What we truly desire…
we work toward,
we go after,
we get up,
refuse to give up,
change circumstances
and make sacrifices.

May unceasing Desire drive us toward a deeper life with The One Who gives us that very life.

 

You have to go and get them.

People sometimes come to you and seek friendship, communion and relationship.
However, things do not get done,
friendships are not developed if we sit and wait on others to come to us.

More than likely,
if you are married……
when you advanced in the relationship you have with your wife to the point of getting engaged…you asked her to marry you.

You pursued her,
you courted her,
you went to pick her up for most of,
if not all of your dates….
then, eventually,  you asked her the question.

You did not sit at your house waiting on her to come to you.

You sought her out.
Won her over.

You did not wait on her.

Do not wait to get what you want.

Excluding the patience we are instructed to walk in through Christ….                               and there is a place for that….
we make things happen in our life.

Waiting on The Lord is done when you hear from him instructing you to do so.

Short of that…
you do not sit and wait.

We would still be living in caves if everyone did that.

The job you have was most likely one you applied for,
one you went after.

You go to buy groceries.
You go to get the things you need.

In Matthew 28….
Jesus said to His Disciples to sit in Jerusalem and wait on the world to come to them.

Oh…..
if you know that Chapter then you have already corrected me.

He told them to ….
“Go, and preach.”
“Go, and make disciples.”
“Go, and spread this Gospel.”

The instruction was to go and get them.
Not to wait on them.

 

The example has been set.

 

Do not wait in your church pew for people to come and ask about  JESUS.

Go get them.

Do not sit in your chair and wait on people to pursue you for friendship.

House are not build by themselves.
Hammers are used, nails are driven,
paint is brushed on, doors are hung.
Effort is extended.

Introduce yourself.

Pursue them.

It worked with your wife.

It will work with new friends and new relationships.

Their lives can be changed by your
effort of getting involved with them.
Your life can be elevated by the effort extended to pursue new relationships.

Don’t wait on them.

 

 

terrybethea.com

The most widely read and followed book in our lives tells us to tend to ourselves first.

Only then after getting our own individual house in order… can we influence correctly,
lead appropriately,
or even hope to be followed.

In most any endeavor,
it’s not a “them”
or really even a “we” thing…
it’s almost always a “me” thing.

Rick Warren-opened his best selling book with these four words…. “It’s not about you”

I agree completely.

Life is NOT all about us.

But we have to tend to ourselves before we can worry about, tend to,
or try to influence or lead others.

Get the beam out of your own eye before trying to remove the speck in someone else’s eye.

Love your neighbor….as yourself.

These two well known phrases tell us to take care of our own issues… then go out to
positively affect others.

Jesus retreated many times…
to pray,
to meditate,
to commune with His Father.

He set our example.
He studied Scripture even though He Was The Word.

Before and after ministering, He
went off by Himself, many times,
to tend to Himself and commune
with Our Father.

When you travel by airplane,
if it’s a commercial flight
you have heard the attendants say the same instructions for years.

“When the mask drops from above your head…
place the mask over your mouth and head first…
before giving assistance to anyone else.”

I must look at myself first,
inspect myself first,
tend to my heart first,
check my spirit and motive first,
and be honest with myself first……
before I can do any of these things
for any other person.

If I am healthy inwardly ….
then as a part of a greater group
I am helping that group be healthy.

If I am spiritually healthy …
I am assisting in the spiritual health
of a greater Group.

If we each tend to our own selves first,
we are,
before we say a word,
before we think a good thought about someone else…
we are helping those around us.

If I set myself straight,
or get help in doing so…
then I am taking steps to create
“straightness” all around me.

Because I am a part of a greater whole I contribute and affect those around me.

Read 1Corinthians 12: 14-31

I must tend to whatever part of the “body” I am….
so the whole body is healthy.
All parts matter.

May I look at the face I see in the mirror and set that face straight…. judge that face first,
Inspect that heart first,
check those motives first….
submit my thoughts, actions, words
to The Lord first….

before I judge others
inspect others,
check others,
think about others
act or speak to
or about anyone else.

I need to clean up my own yard before commenting on the neighbors.

The whole neighborhood gets better if I look to my house and yard first.

Have you heard Francesca Batistelli’s song….HOLY SPIRIT…???

If you have attended a worship service in the past year or two you have most likely heard it or even sung it yourself.

It is a song that draws the one listening into close proximity to a prayerful worship attitude.

After hearing this song a few times
I gathered a whole new meaning from it.
Maybe you received this the first time you heard it.

It took me a few times.

I believe the deeper message that
Francesca sings is not about the
“atmosphere” in. a church building.

“Flood this place and fill the atmosphere” …..
to me is a call of invitation to the Presence of God
to fill the atmosphere…..

within me.

Within my heart.

In my spirit.

In my mind.

For if my heart,
my spirit
and my mind
is occupied by the Presence of God…..

I am in line to truly worship….
I am in line to truly receive from God.

It’s the attitude we need to have each time we walk into a worship service…. each time we approach God
in prayer.

In a corporate setting…
if it’s the atmosphere of the building
which is filled with Gods Spirit…
great things can occur.

If the atmosphere is extended to the inner sanctum if each individual heart, each individual spirit
and each individual mind……

then the room,
and each worshiper in the room
is at the place for God’s Holy Spirit
to truly be empowered,
glorified and exercised.

When Jesus’ Disciples were in one place and of one accord…… the Holy Spirit descended and
invaded not merely the room they were in….
but He invaded their individual
hearts and minds….

and that small number changed the world.

The next time you hear
Francesca’s song….
place your hand on your heart ….
and say the words ….
“Holy Spirit you are welcome here.
Come flood this place
and fill the atmosphere”……..

and allow that place to be your own
heart.

And be prepared to be invaded.