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Thy Kingdom ComeOur Life in the Kingdom!

21 Day Prayer Guide

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This booklet is produced as a guide for our Bay City Church to use for a focus on praying together for 21 days in February 2019.

As a Church Community, our prayer life is growing in effectiveness and is becoming part of our way of living. This is in unison with the growing move-ment of prayer and prayer networks around our nation. And there has never

been a more critical time to pray and prepare for the changes in our nation.

We want to go on strengthening our prayer ministry by encouraging and equipping more people to pray effectively. This booklet is a tool which captures some of the things which will make us effective in prayer as we live

in the Kingdom of God.

Our Lord is saying to us as a Church Community, and which will help us to pray in step with one another as we read some signposts and learn some ways to

pray as a community over the 21-day period that is planned.

Produced by Tony Cooksey, Martyn Kilian© Bay City Church 2019

Our Life in the Kingdom Preface

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Introduction 4

Week 1 5

Day 1 6

Day 2 7

Day 3 9

Day 4 11

Day 5 13

Day 6 15

Week 2 16

Day 8 17

Day 9 18

Day 10 19

Day 11 20

Day 12 21

Day 13 22

Week 3 23

Day 15 24

Day 16 25

Day 17 26

Day 18 28

Day 19 29

Day 20 31

Conclusion 33

Contents

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We intend this prayer guide to be used by everyone in their own busy schedule, by devoting half an hour each day to read and pray through the daily guideline notes, and by receiving the thoughts that Holy Spirit puts in our hearts as we pray, so that we can align our hearts with heaven’s way of thinking for our lives, our loved ones and our nation.

Our starting point is that Our Lord Jesus is seated on the Father’s throne in heaven, interceding for all of those who come to God by Him, (including you and me); and He invites us to be part of His prayer ministry today because we have been raised up to sit with Him on His throne, with access to Him to obtain mercy and grace every day!

And our part in this grand scheme of His Kingdom reign, is to come to His throne of grace in prayer, worship and consecration.

Hebrews 4:16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

One result we expect to achieve is that Our Lord will prove that He does answer prayer and He will heal our land, and our Community, as we pray for His Kingdom to come, and His will to be done on earth, as it is in heaven.

Every one of us can learn how to pray effectively.James 5:16 The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

If we learn to use scriptures in our prayers, we will learn how to ask things according to His will! And He will give us what we ask!

1 John 5: 14 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

Together we can learn how powerful our prayers can be, especially in a praying Community of God’s people!

Our Life in the Kingdom, Introduction

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Jesus said that a man cannot see the Kingdom of God unless he is born again. Jesus also said that a man cannot enter the Kingdom of God unless he is born again by the Spirit of God. (Billy Graham often used the phrase “Born from above!”)

Jesus also said that the kingdom of heaven belongs to those who are poor in spirit.

He also said that it is the Father’s good pleasure to give us the Kingdom, (if we are in his “little flock.”)

In Matthew 13:11 He said, “… it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven…16 “… blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear;17 “for truly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”

What should we be seeing?What should we be hearing?What should we be entering?What should we be receiving?

When we humble ourselves (become poor in spirit) and seek after God to see, to hear, to enter and to receive, God will graciously reveal to us the mysteries of the Kingdom!

In Week 1 we will pray through some scripture verses that will help us to see and hear from God’s Words some of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.

Week 1: Welcome to the Kingdom

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“Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is near at hand!” (Matt 3:2)

These were the words used by John the Baptist to announce that the Kingdom of heaven was near, and Jesus used the same words when He started His ministry. (Matt 4:17)

Who was John the Baptist? – He was the messenger sent by God to announce the coming of the Kingdom and the King!

Who was Jesus? – Matthew 1:1 says He is the Son of Abraham and the Son of David…

Jesus had Abraham and David in his family tree, both His mother Mary and His adoptive father Joseph were direct descendants of David…

Both Abraham and David had been given eternal promises by Almighty God,

Abraham had an everlasting covenant with God that he would be blessed by God in all his family descendants, his descendants would be made a blessing, and through them all the families of the earth will be blessed!

And David had an everlasting covenant with God that his throne would never fail to have his descendant ruling over his kingdom!

Jesus is the promised One who fulfils those promises – He is the King who will reign forever and ever and through his life, death and resurrection anyone in the world can be included in the promise God made to Abraham!

PRAYER: Holy Spirit I pray that you would reveal the Lord, Jesus, the Messiah to me in a greater way. Please open the eyes of my heart to see Him for who He truly is. Please give me understanding of the great promises

you gave to Abraham and David and how Jesus has fulfilled them and desires to fulfil them in my life, Amen.

Day 1: Who is the King?READING: Matthew 1:1 & Matthew 3:2 & Matthew 4:17

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The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favour with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.” “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her. (Luke 1:30 35)

The angel told Mary that her cousin Elizabeth had conceived and was carrying a child, even though she was old in age. That child was John the Baptist, the son of Zechariah the priest. The angel Gabriel had told Zechariah that his old wife would bear a child and that he should be called “John.”

The miracle of conception for Elizabeth came after the angel brought God’s word to her husband; and the miracle of conception for Mary was an even greater miracle, for though she was a young virgin, it would be the Holy Spirit who would come upon her and, like Zechariah, she had only the Word of the Lord that promised it to her!

But this is the miracle-working power of the Kingdom of heaven!

Day 2: Jesus is Immanuel – “God with us!”READING: Matthew 1: 18-25

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When the Holy Spirit is present with power, and the Word of God’s promise is given, and it is received in faith, believing God to do what He promised, His miraculous power goes to work!This same power is available to us today if we receive the Word of God through the Holy Spirit with faith!

The miracle of Jesus’ birth reveals God’s heart to us, He does not want to be distant. He does not want to be separated from us, His desire and the reason he created us in the first place is because He wants to be near to us, with us. Receive God’s word today and you will also receive God’s presence into your life.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus forgive me for the times that I have believed the lie that you do

not love me or care about me. Let me hear your Word today over me that you want to do your supernatural work in me! Give me faith Lord, to receive you

into my life more and more, Amen.

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To the Jews, the Kingdom of heaven was not new news! It was their desire from the days of the captivity in Babylon and the return of the exiles to Jerusalem around 500 B.C.

They remembered the great King David and his son, Solomon, whose kingdom was greater than all the kings of the earth in his days. (2 Chron 9:22, 23)

They remembered the prophet Daniel who told Nebuchadnezzar the proud king of Babylon that he was to be overcome by Almighty God and lose his kingdom for seven years. He became like a hermit to live with the beasts of the earth and ate grass like an ox; his hair grew as eagles’ feathers, and his nails like bird’s claws. Until he came to his senses, and he understood and blessed the God of heaven and honoured Him “For His dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to generation.” He said, “All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. Everything he does is right, and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble.” (Dan 4:34, 35, 37)

When John the Baptist and Jesus came preaching in Judea, the Romans occupied the land and a wicked king Herod ruled as a surrogate king. They longed for the promise of the Messiah to come and set them free from their oppressors.

But the kingdom of their dreams was far from what John preached and what Jesus brought to them! They had to repent! They had to change their thinking to receive what Almighty God was about to do! And we too have to change our thinking about the things of God and His Kingdom.

Day 3: Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is near You!READING: Matthew 3: 1-12 & 2 Chronicles 9:22-23 & Daniel 4:34-37

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The Kingdom of Heaven is the territory of God’s Dominion – the place He lives and wants us to live.The Kingdom of God is the rule and reign of Almighty God in that place – it is His Kingdom!

And Jesus brought the power and glory of the Kingdom to open the way for us to enter it, to discover it, to know it, to walk in it and to work in the Kingdom of Heaven!

Repentance is a change of mindset towards God. It begins with choosing humility over pride and then choosing faith in God over all the other things in which we find security, comfort, protection, provision and identity in. God is calling us to repentance, to a humble heart and to faith.

PRAYER: Holy Spirit, would you reveal to me the areas of my heart and thinking that need to be turned back to God. Would you reveal to me any false sources

upon which I have come to trust. Reveal to me those things that I lean upon that do not come from God but come from myself, from the world and even

from Satan. (As the Lord reveals, confess and repent) Amen.

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Church is not what you thought it was.Our customs have taught us that we GO to church… Our image of “Church” is a building that we gather in. But only three times Jesus used the word “Church” it had a different meaning, “I will build my church, (ecclesia), and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it!” (Matt 16:18)

The bible talks about the “congregation (ecclesia) in the wilderness” (Acts 7:38), meaning the nation of Israel, being led by Moses through the desert, living in tents which would be pitched around the central place of worship – known as the Tabernacle of Moses. There were about three million people in the nation at that time. But the whole nation was called the congregation, or more accu-rately, the “ecclesia” in the original Greek, meaning “called-out ones!”

The Church is God’s people who have been “called out” of the Kingdom of the World, where sin and Satan and darkness rule, into the Kingdom of God’s dear Son. “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.” (Col 1:13)

We have been “called out” of the ruling influences of this world, and taken into the Kingdom of God, under His rule and reign, and we enter the unseen but ever-present territory of the Kingdom of Heaven. Just as Moses led the Isra-elites out of slavery in Egypt, Jesus Christ leads us out of slavery to sin and Satan’s power in the world.

This transition happens when we become born by the Spirit of God. Our inner spirit which was dead in sin is born again, receiving new life, which is the life of the Anointed One - Christ Jesus. This life is given to us by the Holy Spirit, sent by Our Lord Jesus to give us the same spirit of life that is in Him, that raised Him from the dead, and that lives in us who are born again!

Day 4: Called out into the KingdomREADING: Matthew 16: 13-20

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The familiar territory of this life is the Kingdom of Heaven, and this life of the Spirit enables us to live in it!

We who are born again become part of the family of God – His “ecclesia” – His called-out Church people, and we get together at every opportunity to share this new life with our brothers and sisters, who are called into fellowship with one another and with our Lord Jesus Christ.“We tell you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.” (1 John 1:3)

PRAYER: Father God, I want to respond to your call upon my life with faith. I desire

to come out of the kingdoms of this world and become part of your called-out people. Please forgive me and cleans me by the blood of

your Son Jesus Christ once for all and would you fill me and clothe me with your Holy Spirit.

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Jesus describes two different types of people in the world: “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matt 7:13)

There are those who find the way of life and those who walk in the broad way to destruction! Satan’s goal in this world is to destroy the souls of men and women in any way he can.

He deceives the whole world, offering them power, riches and fame, so he can keep them from Christ. He entices men and women with temptations to cause them to destroy their lives with “trying to get your own way all the time: repet-itive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet- never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divid-ed homes and divided lives; small- minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community.” (Gal 5:19 -21 MSG)

He does this by enticing them with the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. This tempts us to fall into a life of “wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important.” (1 John 2:16 MSG)

Day 5: Jesus is the Gateway READING: Matthew 7:7-23

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But when we are born again, the Holy Spirit sets us free from this by showing us that Jesus can give us His Way of Life, if we will choose the narrow gate, and that gate is Jesus Himself. He said, “I am the Gate. Anyone who goes through me will be cared for--will freely go in and out, and find pasture. A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.” (John 10:9 MSG)

PRAYER: If this word today speaks to your heart, if you can feel the power of the Spirit moving upon you, that is God’s power for salvation ready to act upon your life. Repent from your sin, confess with your mouth your faith in Jesus and ask Him to become Lord and King over your life and you will be born again!

(Do this in your own words)

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Today we take time to thank God for what he has done in our lives through this past week.

The Word of God is incredibly powerful. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible. Hebrews 11:3

By His Word, God created every part of this universe out of nothing. God has complete faith in His Word. Which is why His Word becomes powerful in our lives when we have faith in it.

Faith in God’s Word has three stages:1.First we hear it and choose to believe it as God’s Word (Mark 4:20)

2.This releases faith in our hearts, and we can begin to declare it for ourselves (Matthew 21:21). If you have not done so already, declare aloud, over your life the very things that God has said to you from His Word this week.

3.And lastly, we begin to give thanks because we know that His Word will work mightily in us as believe it. (1 Thessalonians 2:13)

So let’s take time today to thank and worship and praise God for all that he has declared over our lives this week through His Word.

PRAYER:Lord Jesus I thank you that you are the King of all Kings and that you are

my King! Lord Jesus I thank you and worship you because you are not far off, but

you are right here, you are in me and with me. Lord Jesus I thank you that you have opened the power of repentance to me by the sacrifice of your blood and your body. Thank you that all sin which I confess and repent of is removed from my life as far as the east

is from the west. Lord Jesus, thank you that you have called me by my name, to come out

of the darkness and to come join you in your kingdom of holiness. Lord Jesus thank you that you are the way, the truth and the life and that

by coming to you just as I am, you receive me, cleanse me, welcome me, clothe me and set me in a place of honour in your very presence.

Lord Jesus, I thank you and I praise you! Amen and Amen!

Day 6: Thanksgiving

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Now that we have understood what it means to become part of the Kingdom of God we need to learn what daily life in the Kingdom looks like.

Jesus modelled this life to His disciples and he taught them how to walk in the Kingdom. The apostle Paul calls this “walking by the Spirit” (Gal 5:25) and the apostle John calls it “walking in the light” (1 John 1:7).

We have discovered that Jesus is the Gate and the Way into the Kingdom. When we enter through the Gate, we discover the adventure of walking with Jesus. And in this new territory of the Kingdom, the Holy Spirit teaches us the way to walk by the Spirit because the Kingdom of Heaven is the spiritual realm we are born again to live in. As we choose this path, Holy Spirit guides us into discoveries of truth from the scriptures, especially the teachings of Our Lord Jesus.

The teachings about walking in the kingdom are designed to show us how we are to live within this new reality of being born from above so that we may grow spiritually and eventually reach maturity as Sons of God.

We must continue to ask:What should we be seeing?What should we be hearing?What should we be entering?What should we be receiving?

Many believers, once saved, simply stay stagnant and show almost no growth towards maturity. They never learn to walk. It would be like arriving in the country you have longed to visit your whole life and after passing through customs, you simply sit in the airport terminal for the remainder of your stay. It would be a crime not to go and explore what is now available to you.

We don’t want to be like that, we want to learn what it means to walk in the Kingdom so that we can become mature in our faith and lay hold of the promises and plans of God for our lives. We need to learn to walk by faith…

It’s time for us to open our hearts so that Holy Spirit can show us things that are freely given to us in Christ. It’s time to learn how to walk in the Spirit and be led by Holy Spirit to do what Our Lord Jesus wants us to do.

Week 2: Walking in the Kingdom

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In the sermon on the mount Jesus describes in detail what Kingdom life should look like. Some of these teachings seem so far out of reach to us because they are so foreign to the world we know and live in.

If we are to learn what it takes to live in the Kingdom, we must have a major shift in our hearts. Our hearts need to move from the self to a heart for the Kingdom, for the King and His people.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.“Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.“Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness,for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.“Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely sayall kinds of evil against you because of Me”

These verses highlight that a new heart is what is needed. They describe the new heart Our Lord promised to give us. (Ezek 36:26) If my identity and sense of achievement is rooted in the kingdom of darkness I will never be able to respond to life in these ways. My heart needs this change. With this new heart and new spirit, I will begin to see the world in the light of God’s Kingdom and its eternal perspective.

“Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

The Father gives us this new heart when we are born again but we must cultivate these Kingdom attitudes, or we can very easily be lured back into a worldly way of thinking.

PRAYER: Father I thank you for my new heart! Now Holy Spirit please teach me how

to live from that place of newness and transform me daily into the image of Christ.

Day 8: The Heart of Kingdom PeopleReading: Matthew 5:3-12

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In the story of the Prodigal Son, when the eldest son complains to his father about his extravagant treatment of the returning son, his Father says to him: “Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours”.

In the Kingdom, you have access to all the wealth of the Father, but we often feel that God is withholding things from us because we have not understood Kingdom Prayer.

When you ask, the answer is that God is the source of all. When you seek, look into His Word for His promises, and you will find Him. When you have found Him, you must knock until the door is opened. The key to having our prayers answered is to ask what the Father has already promised to give you as a blessing. We find all the blessings that He has promised us are in His Word in the Bible scriptures.

If you know the answer to your problem is behind that door, and if you know the one who holds your answer loves you and is your Father, and if you know that the answer is not from selfish motives but in line with the heart of God then you will knock on that door until it is opened.

Jesus also said, “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” (Mark 11:24)

He has told us how we can be sure to receive the answer, by believing His promises in our hearts when we pray!

PRAYER: What is the area of greatest struggle in your life? Where do you need

breakthroughs? Ask God to reveal to you His Word on this matter. Remain in prayer over this over the coming days and consistently read His Word until He reveals the answer to you. Once you have the answer, pray according to

God’s Word knowing that the door is opened.

Day 9: The Power of Kingdom PrayerReading: Matthew 6:9-13 & Matthew 7: 7-12

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When God saved Abraham’s descendants out of Egypt it was a miracle on another scale but only half the work was done. Now God had to teach His new people that they had a new relationship with their Lord, they were no longer slaves to Pharoah, but they were the people of God. So for forty years he fed them with manna from heaven and water from a traveling rock. He kept them cool in the desert days with a cloud and warm at nights with a pillar of fire. All of this to show them that as the Children of God, He is now the source of their provision, because He is their God Who is present with them,

When we become God’s children He needs to teach us the same. Jesus taught us to pray and ask God for our daily provision and then trust Him as our source for each new day. He gives us all we need for life and godliness. This is a crucial part of the lifestyle of a King’s kid.

When we learn to trust God as our provider, and that He never leaves us, we can move on to maturity to trust Him for the greater things He has planned for us. Your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”Paul writes to say, “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” (Phil 4:19)

PRAYER: Father please teach me, Holy Spirit please open my spiritual eyes, Lord

Jesus please show me the way to trust in your perfect provision and perfect supply. Lord I need faith for the greater things but first I need faith to trust you in the small things. Lord please open the scriptures and teach me your

ways, Amen.

Day 10: The Source of Kingdom LifeReading: Matthew 6:11 and 25-34

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No-one is tempted by God. He works all things together for our good. But there are three influences we will face to tempt us to fall. They are the world around us, the weaknesses of our old sinful nature, (called the flesh in scripture), and our adversary the devil – he is the enemy of our souls.

Nowadays, Satan sends his agents in many ways to oppose us in our spiritual walk in the realm of the Kingdom of Heaven. We can see the way he tempted Jesus in the wilderness by appealing to his human nature, and how Jesus overcame.Satan tempted Jesus in the same way he tempted Adam and Eve, by the three weaknesses of our human nature - wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important-- these have nothing to do with the Father.

Scripture calls these the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, and they are the world’s ways, the ways of fallen humanity. (1 John 2:16)These passions and lusts just isolate us from Him, and they are the target for Satan’s strategies to tempt us.

But Jesus overcame these temptations in His own humanity and gave us these ways of escape:

• Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word from the mouth of God;• You shall do nothing that tempts or tests the Lord your God; and• You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve!

Our victory can be made sure by our obedience to Our Lord and His Word!

PRAYER: Lord open my eyes to the enemy’s schemes, and give me the resolve to

stand against them. Lord, expose the true motives of my heart and heal my double mindedness. Lord, set a desire in my heart for you that trumps all other desires so that my whole body, soul and spirit would find its joy in

trusting you in every situation!

Day 11: We can Overcome TemptationReading: Matthew 4:1-11

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Never underestimate your enemy, he is very shrewd, but praise be to Jesus He has overcome him. He overcame the enemy’s hold on mankind by being able to offer forgiveness for sins through his atoning death. That removed the enemy’s power of accusations over us.

So what is another one of his strategies now? To tempt believers to carry offence so that the flow of God’s grace in our lives is stifled. Jesus warns us that if we do not forgive, God will not forgive us. Like the servant in Matthew 18, it is completely unreasonable to have received such great forgiveness and then not even extend a fraction of that to your fellow man.

Walking in the Kingdom one must learn to forgive immediately, to live even one moment with God’s grace impeded when it’s been paid for is one moment too long. But there is an even more serious aspect to unforgiveness. It is not by coincidence that we are strongly warned about giving direct access to Satan in our lives over this issue (Ephesians 4:27). Unforgiveness lies at the heart of many forms of demonic oppression in the lives of believers. If we do not forgive it hinders God’s grace and allows direct access to the demonic. But when we forgive, it closes that space for demonic activity in our hearts.

Not only that, keeping unforgiveness in our heart scars our conscience, and faith only works through love and a clear conscience. (1 Timothy 1:5)

Someone once said; “Holding onto anger or bitterness in your heart is like drinking poison with the hope that your enemy will die.” Bitterness is not the way the Lord has dealt with us, it is not the attitude of a follower of Jesus and what is more, it is very damaging to those who hold onto it.

PRAYER: Holy Spirit I ask for your clear discernment in my life to expose all forms of

anger, bitterness, hatred, strife and unforgiveness that are seated in my heart. (As the Lord reveals, confess these as sin and repent from them and pray

forgiveness and blessing over the person(s) in question)Now Lord, because you have forgiven me and because you have given me the grace to forgive others, I command Satan to leave every area of influence in

my heart in the name of Jesus Christ the LORD!

Day 12: The Power of ForgivenessReading: Matthew 6:12 and 14-15 and Matthew 18:21-35

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Today we again take time to thank God for what he has done in our lives through this past week by His powerful Word. Let’s not be overcome by the circumstances around us. Don’t just look at the circumstances; turn to look at the promises of God! Learn that we walk by faith, not by sight! So let’s just remind ourselves again about how our faith works, with a slightly different understanding:

1. First we hear God’s Word and we choose to believe it. (Mark 4:20)2. Then, as we accept it, faith comes by hearing, and it is reinforced by Holy Spirit giving us “the spirit of faith” (Romans 10:17; 2 Corinthians 4:13) 3. And the spirit of faith in us can speak with a cleansed conscience, because the righteousness in us has a voice (Romans 10:6) and it speaks with the Word of Faith! (Romans 10:8)4. But last of all, when our conscience is clear, and our motivation is by the love of God in our hearts, faith will work in us through love, from a clear conscience! (1 Timothy 1:5)

So let’s take time today to thank and worship and praise God for all that he has declared over our lives this week through His Word.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus I thank you that you have removed my hard heart and have given me a soft, pure heart after your heart so that I can live with humility and love,

and walk in faith. Lord Jesus I thank you that you have given me access to all the resources

of your kingdom through prayer and that you never withhold any good thing from me.

Lord Jesus I thank you that you are the source of my life, that everything I ever need is in You.

Lord Jesus, thank you that by your power and your life working in me I have overcome all the power of temptation and that I will never again be a slave to

sin. Lord Jesus thank you that you have forgiven all my sin and given me the

power to forgive all those who have hurt me. Thank you that I am truly free! Lord Jesus, I thank you and I praise you! Amen and Amen!

Day 13: Thanksgiving

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Our growth into maturity starts with the change in our hearts and leads into a life of overcoming!When we learn to walk with Our Lord in the Kingdom of Heaven, we discover the power of our spiritual life. This life springs up in us from our new heart, by the flow of the Holy Spirit giving us grace to empower us to walk in love and faith, and power to overcome the challenges between living in the world around us and living in the Kingdom realm.

We have discovered how we are motivated with different attitudes of Christlikeness, and that we have access to Our Lord by prayer, and He knows and provides for our needs every day.

We have discovered that we can overcome the world, the flesh and the devil, and that there is overcoming power in being forgiven and being able to forgive.

These are the basic training points to live an overcoming life. But there is more!

It is time to look at how we can learn to work with the King in the Kingdom!

As we learn to walk with Our King, He will soon show us how important our daily work of faith and our labours of love can be, to bring the power of the Kingdom into our daily lives! And we will find how we can be ambassadors who carry authority to make a difference in the world we live in!

Week 3: Working in the Kingdom

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When Jesus offered to go to the Centurion’s house to heal his servant who was sick, he got a surprising answer – ““Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed.”

Only speak a word! This centurion recognised that Jesus’ words carried authority. He believed that a word from Jesus could heal his servant even though he was back at home, sick. He saw that the words of Jesus were just as effective as his commands when he would tell a soldier “Do this.” And he would do it, Or, if he said to a troop of his soldiers, “Go there.” And they would go at his command!

He saw that the words of Jesus carried authority to heal, and they were powerful as commands in the realm of the Kingdom of Heaven, to do the will of the Father and to overcome lawlessness. (Matthew 7:23)

Jesus recognised this and said the Centurion had greater faith than he had seen in all of Israel! So Jesus spoke the word – ““Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same hour!

We can see that the Centurion had faith in Jesus, and faith in His Words. But he also had faith to receive, because the way he spoke with his own lips were words of faith! This is the way to work with God by faith – to believe His words and to speak them ourselves in faith.

Just like Jesus said in Matthew 7:24 -25, we can build our lives on the words Jesus speaks and the storms of life and the lawless powers of darkness will not overthrow us!

PRAYER: Father God I believe that you have made me light and salt in this world. I

receive your mandate over my life to work with you by faith to bring life into dead places, to bring truth that conquers deception and to bring healing

where the enemy has brought devastation.

Day 15: Working with God by FaithReading: Matthew 8:5-13

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The words of Jesus are powerful, but so are your words! We use our words to speak when we pray, and often we pray as if we believe, but after praying, we have doubts and we start speaking in unbelief. That’s how our words contradict what we were praying for, and it shows that we are double minded. James, the brother of Jesus, wrote to tell us that a double minded man will not receive anything from the Lord!

Jesus spoke to a fig tree just to show the power of speaking in faith and how it actually can make a difference in our prayers and in our lives. One day he looked for fruit on that tree and found none. So, he said to it, “Let no fruit grow on you ever again.” Later the disciples saw how it had shrivelled up and asked about it.

Then He told us that if we have faith and do not doubt, our words of faith will move the mountains in our lives! But we have the challenge of learning that the words of Jesus bring faith into our hearts, when we receive and believe them. Not just into our heads! The word comes into our hearts and we sense the inner conviction that His words are true. Now it is our responsibility to speak to the mountains in our lives with the words of faith that He has given us.

And if we get that kind of faith, we need to learn that way of acting in faith in our prayers and in our everyday speech. So when doubt comes, we have to remind ourselves of His words, “And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” And make sure that we are using His words and His promises in our prayers and in our declarations today. That way, we can be sure of the answer, because He keeps His promises!

PRAYER:Father I cannot live without your daily Word feeding me. Father please would you make me a mature son who not only hears your Word and is fed by it but is also speaking your Word into the daily situations that I face. Today I want

to bring your kingdom into this world through your Word by faith. Amen.

Day 16: Speaking and Praying in Faith Reading: Matthew 21:19-22

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1. 26

“Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”

This is a very practical principle which tells us how to fulfill the requirements of the law of God for our lives.Jesus had already told us that the greatest commandment is to Love the Lord Our God with all our heart, with all our soul and with all our mind. The second greatest commandment is to love our neighbour as ourselves (Matthew 5:43, 45)

But how we do this practically? Simply “whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them!” If we want people to be kind to us; we should be kind to them, if we want people to respect us, we should respect them; if we want people to show love to us, we should show love to them!

On the negative side, if we are aggressive with people, they would be aggressive to us in return! Solomon said, “A man who has friends must himself be friendly, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” Proverbs 18:24

We have found that Jesus is the friend that is closer than a brother, but Holy Spirit has also poured the Love of Jesus into our hearts, so we can be friends to others who need it.

It is supernaturally natural with Christ in us to show kindness and tenderness to others; to forgive others in love, just as God in Christ forgave us! (Ephesians 4:32)

How is this possible at all? It’s possible because our heart has been changed to make it like Our Father’s heart. That happens when we have been born again!

In the Kingdom of Heaven, we have a new culture and behavior; where Our Lord shows us that love is an action; where we show other people the heart of God which is pure, forgiving, patient, kind, able to bear pain and suffering without losing control. Jesus even told us that we can show this kind of love to our enemies! (1 Corinthians 13:4-7; Matthew 5:39-44) And we learn how to do this in our “Kingdom Community” – the Church!

Day 17: Our Works of Love Reading: Matthew 7:12

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In fact Paul says this behaviour fulfils the “Law of Christ” when we help others with their burdens, (Galatians 6:2), and he compliments us when we serve others with our labors of love! (1 Thessalonians 1:3)This love of God in us motivates us into actions which show people the love of God every day. And this love will change our lives! This will change our society!

PRAYER: Father I desire to be like your Son. I desire to love with a pure heart and seek

the best for those around me. Show me today how I can love a brother or sister in my church with real and tangible love. Show me where there is need

so that I can act with the Love of your Spirit in me. Amen.

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1. 28

When I was a teenager just out of school, my first job was as a mine trainee, to become a mine surveyor. When I was still in the underground training school, I fell one day and when I got home, I discovered a hernia, like a small balloon, sticking out in my groin. This happened a few weeks after I started work and I had passed a very strict medical examination before they accepted me for the job!You can imagine my fear of losing that job. But as I sat on my bed, I turned to my bible, and it opened at this scripture, and I read it with my hand on the bible:

When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon- possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: “He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses.”

And as I read it, my heart cried out to the Lord, and His anointing came on me and that hernia disappeared right there! It was a miracle!

To this day it has never returned, nor have I had any further hernias at all!

I realise now that when Jesus died on the cross, He died for my sins and my sicknesses, just like it said, He bore my sicknesses!

So when Jesus sent out His disciples to proclaim that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand, He told them to “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.” (Matthew 10:8)You see, healing is in the finished work of the Cross; it is in the Kingdom inheritance we have, and it is in the Commission to preach the good news of the Kingdom. He himself took our infirmities and bore our sickness! And by His stripes we are healed! (Isaiah 53:4, 5)

PRAYER:Take time to today to pray for those who you know that are battling with their health. Intercede for them. Listen to God on their behalf. Read and

meditate on scriptures about healing. Ask God to give you Words of encouragement for them. If the Spirit leads you, go and visit them and

pray with faith over them to receive healing.

Day 18: Healing is in Our Inheritance!Reading: Matthew 8:16,17

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1. 29

“The Kingdom of Heaven is like…” Jesus used many parables to illustrate the way things happen in the Kingdom, and one of these is this parable of the talents.

Our Lord Jesus made it very clear that He came to serve, not to be served, and that whoever would be great in the Kingdom of Heaven must learn to be a faithful servant. In fact, Mark records that He said anyone who has the ambition of being the first shall be the last and the servant of all.

Learning to be an effective servant is so important, because Our Lord has plans to give us responsibilities when we have grown to know Him so well that we are able to do things His way. Only then can we share in His inheritance and then He can call us mature Sons of God.

But He starts by giving every one of us talents, or gifts of being able to serve in whatever work we are gifted to do. And every one of us has some gift to work with.

This parable tells us that two faithful servants did exactly what was expected of them - they used their given talents and faithfully put themselves to work. The talents are a measure of money which they were given, but the story also represents the God-given gifts which Our Lord gives us to use. Their work was done fruitfully, and it multiplied the talents given to them.

But this fruitfulness doesn’t come overnight! It takes faithful work, day after day being faithful at the work, using what we were given. They did this until the fruitfulness showed that their work was effective and done well. Peter tells us that every one of us has the opportunity to serve others with the gifts Our Lord has given us. (1 Peter 4:10)

And Paul says that whatever we do, we should do it with a good heart, as for the Lord, and not just for men’s approval, and we shall receive our inheritance from the Lord! (Colossians 3:23, 24)

Day 19: Working in the Kingdom, for the KingReading: Matthew 25:14-30

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So many of us today are enticed by social media and by what we see on reality TV to become bored with our job, to become dissatisfied with our lives, become jealous of the lives of others and all of these are powerful deceptions the enemy uses to lure us out of faithfulness. Many people miss out on God’s destiny for their lives not because of some great sin but simply because they give up on it too soon.

Let’s learn to be faithful in the process of working with Our King, and if we are faithful and fruitful in our work, He will promote us and give us authority over many things!

PRAYER:Holy Spirit I ask that you would give me daily courage and perseverance to

stick at the plan of God for my life. Lord I ask for wisdom so that I will not be deceived by the appearance of a more fulfilled life elsewhere. Lord I want to

be faithful today and grow where you have planted me.

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1. 31

Let’s take special time today to thank God for what he has done in our lives through this past week.

Remember that this whole world was created simply by God’s Word, (Hebrews 11:3) and the Living Word Jesus was the one speaking those things into being. But He also came to earth to show us the way He worked with God by faith. This is what the centurion saw and he acted in faith, believing in the words of Jesus.

How we respond to God’s Word in faith is the single most important thing we will ever do in our lives. God’s Word has all the power to bring real change to you and me and to this desperate world. When we walk by faith in God’s Word we become agents for change in the world around us. We carry His Word in us and its power begins to release faith in us that works through us. Isn’t that exciting!

If you have heard the Word God has spoken to you this week. If you have chosen to believe it and you felt the faith rise inside and you have begun to declare it, now is the time to begin to thank Him for His Word because we are certain that it will produce exactly what He says it will!

Jesus was the one who first said that we could do “good works”, (Matthew 5:16), and Paul said that we were created in Christ Jesus for good works that He has already prepared for us to do! (Ephesians 2:10) Every day we will have an opportunity to do the good works that He has prepared for us to do! So let’s thank Him for the opportunities when they arise. Let’s trust Him that He will help us to do things by faith, and His Word will be confirmed as He helps us in each good work!

Day 20: Thanksgiving

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PRAYER:Lord Jesus I thank you that I can hear Your Word and believe it is the Word

of God.

Lord Jesus I thank you that faith is rising in my heart more and more each day.

Lord Jesus I thank you that you have prepared good works for me to do every day.

Lord Jesus, thank you that Your Word works mightily in me to show Your power!

Lord Jesus thank you that I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me!

Lord Jesus, I thank you that You will work with me as I walk in faith in Your Words, and I praise you! Amen and Amen!

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We often think that doing the “Works of God” can only happen if we are in “full-time ministry” as a missionary or a pastor or preacher. But in fact the promise of Jesus is – “I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.” (John 14:12) So the only requirement for this promise is to be a real believer!

Yes, we are Ambassadors for Christ! Anointed by Him and appointed by Him where He wants us to be. We are the sons and daughters of the Kingdom that Our Lord sows into the world, where He wants us to let our light shine to show our good works! (Matthew 5:16)

We have discovered that the places we live, or work, or wherever we go to are just where Our Lord wants us to do these good works. Those people we meet may never have another experience of Jesus and His powerful love, and His Word that is working in us!

Whether you are a married or single. Whether you are at school, college or working. Whether you are a parent or a child. Whether you are employed, unemployed or a have many people working for you. We can be faithful in the opportunities that we have been given to show the love and power of Jesus to others!

All of these are fields of loving service and opportunities to do good works and to show faithfulness and trustworthiness in a way that makes a positive con-tribution to society! And that will make a difference through our good works! What can make this especially effective, is for us to walk by faith in God’s Word, and not just to walk by what we can see. Let’s pray and ask for the anointing of the Spirit of God to come upon us so that we may bring amazing answers and solutions to people around us.

This is what can change our society, and this is how we will bring in the influence of the Kingdom of God. Little by little, one step at a time, we will displace the power of darkness as we let our light shine, so that they will see our good works and glorify Our Father in Heaven!

Conclusion

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The Lord showed Daniel something important-: “I was watching; and the same horn was making war against the saints, and prevailing against them, “until the Ancient of Days came, and a judgment was made in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom.” (Daniel 7:21, 22)

And Jesus said, “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” (Luke 12:32)

Yes! We are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, so let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. (Hebrews 12:28)

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