The Kingdom mandate is strongly on my heart right now. The Kingdom of God is exploding, and we’re right in the thick of it.
For years, the Body of Christ has been in a John the Baptist-type movement, when our message has been “Prepare the way of the Lord!” Now, however, the Holy Spirit is sitting on us strongly with a new message: “Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world!”
Lou Engle, founder of The Call—a global movement which is raising up the Body of Christ into fasting and prayer, with massive stadiums being filled with worshippers and intercessors—recently preached on the current transition between the John the Baptist movement and the supernatural manifestation of the Kingdom.
Engle related that he had been feeling discouraged, so he went to the Lord and asked: “Lord, the whole purpose of The Call was to turn the nation back to God. But the nation looks like it’s getting worse and worse. Did The Call fail?”
The Lord responded with a simple, but revolutionary message. He told Engle that, if a John the Baptist movement prepared the way, we should rest assured that the manifestation of Christ is next.
Wow! That answer should chase discouragement away from any believer. The manifestation of Christ is coming, and our cry is changing from “Prepare the way!” to “Behold Him!”
Our mandate is no longer merely to announce the coming of Christ, but to see and carry the manifestation of Jesus Himself, and of His Kingdom. This is the Kingdom mandate.
What does this Kingdom mandate look like?
The Kingdom mandate is a mandate to increase the government of Jesus on the earth. And since we are His hands and feet on this planet, this is a mandate for you and me to shine: to show ourselves as the lights of the world (little “l,”), filled with the Light of the World (big “L,” Christ Himself).
Isaiah 60:1 contains the Word of God for this hour: “Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.”
God’s Word tells us that we are to shine. No matter what things look like from day to day, our light has come and God’s glory is risen upon us. That means we’re to shine in difficult circumstances and easy circumstances alike.
I believe we in the Body of Christ need to step up our “shine factor” in three specific ways right now:
1. We need to shine even in the midst of controversy.
The devil might be attacking you right now. Maybe he’s even using other people to do his dirty work. But you know what? We serve a God who isn’t intimidated, and He has promised to defend you against every onslaught of the enemy.
Psalm 3:1-6 says:
“Lord, how they have increased who trouble me! Many are they who rise up against me. Many are they who say of me, “There is no help for him in God.” Selah
But You, O Lord, are a shield for me, my glory and the One who lifts up my head. I cried to the Lord with my voice, and He heard me from His holy hill. Selah
I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord sustained me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.”
We are not the accuser of the brethren. Accusing is the work of the devil, and Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). So when someone accuses you or the devil attacks you, you don’t have to be afraid. You don’t have to lose sleep over it. You can rest assured that our Father will never allow His people to be defeated. The righteous shall not be put to shame!
Let’s ramp up our faith, Church. Our God didn’t send His Son to the cross to secure a weak victory for us. No; He’s in us; He’s sitting on us with His anointing; and He’s completely on our side. So if you’re going through a tough time right now, you can stand in faith in His promises and watch Him fight your battles for you.
All YOU have to do is look at Jesus, keep your armor on, and keep shining no matter what kind of controversy arises around you. And as you stay in obedience to Him, He’ll vanquish your enemies.
2. We need to shine in the midst of obscurity.
John 9:34-38 tells us the story of a man who was born blind but, as an adult, was healed by Jesus. After this miraculous healing, the Pharisees dragged the formerly-blind man before their council and mocked him. When he didn’t fall for their bait, they excommunicated him.
The story doesn’t stop there, though. When Jesus heard that this man had been excommunicated, He found the man and revealed Himself to be the Son of God. This formerly-blind beggar believed in Christ and was saved.
What a story of grace! The man was nothing in the eyes of the religious people. He couldn’t do anything, and he had nothing to show for his life. He had been a blind beggar since birth.
But you know what? God knew that man personally, and God called him “son.” Father had not forgotten this young man. And when that son’s time had come, he was given the gift of eternal life because of his faith.
The Pharisees missed what was right in front of their noses, but this man whom the world considered to be nothing received the best gift of all—salvation in Christ Jesus.
Do you feel like nobody knows who you are? That nobody notices; nobody cares?
If so, I want you to know today that the voice which is telling you nobody sees you and nobody knows you is a demon voice. It’s not God. The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. He wants to hijack your anointing and keep you from having God’s best in your life.
So how do you fight off the lies of the enemy so you can shine in the midst of obscurity?
You fight lies with truth. The TRUTH is that your Father in Heaven sees you and knows you. He sent His Son to die a terrible death on a Roman cross for you. He has assigned a number to every hair on your head, and He loves you more than you could ever imagine.
Father God notices you. He sees every tear you cry and hears your every whisper. He is the God who both sees and sees to it. And if you will cozy up to Him, He will comfort you, fill you up, and help you shine for Him even when you think you don’t matter.
The truth is that you DO matter.
Even if you’re a small light, your light matters. Our Father wants your light to shine before men so that men may see your good works and glorify Him. You count. You are important in the Kingdom. You have an assignment and a call on your life, and even in apparent obscurity, you can shine on.
3. We’ve got to shine with God’s glory.
When Moses came down from the mountain, straight from God’s presence, He was carrying so much glory that his face shone. He actually had to put a veil on his face in order to go about his daily routine in the camp because his face was shining so much!
Can you imagine what that must have been like? To be so close to God that His glory is shining through your eyes and face?
I don’t know about you, but I want that! I want it for myself; I want it for my family; and I want it for every member of Abba’s House. I’m done with religion. I want God’s glory!
The good news is that God is no respecter of persons. He may have His intimates, but those intimates, like Moses, have simply gone to the effort of seeking Him out. If you want to, you can seek Him out and become His intimate friend too.
I believe it’s time for us in the Body of Christ to shine with God’s glory.
We were born for God’s presence and His glory. We were not merely redeemed to forgiveness of sins or eternal life. Romans 3:23 tells us that all have sinned and fallen short of the GLORY of God. Carrying God’s glory was always our purpose. We lost God’s glory and anointing when we sinned, but thank God; the blood of Jesus Christ bought us back … back to glory.
Just as Moses shone with God’s presence, we are called to carry God’s glory always.
Let’s make our cry the same as Moses’ cry: “Show us Your glory!” If we will seek Him, honor Him, and give Him first place, He will fill us with His glory just like He filled Moses.
Brothers and sisters, it’s time to shine. The Kingdom age is here. The Kingdom is now, and the Kingdom is shining with power. We’re carrying not just the message of Christ’s coming, but the message of His arrival.
We’re called to manifest Jesus everywhere we go, so that lost and dying sons and daughters will come back to the Father’s table. We’re called to heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out demons, and cleanse lepers. And it’s not for our own sake, or our own glory. It’s all about seeing the children Jesus died for come home to the feet of the Father.
Will you shine with me?
God has called me to shine not only in helping to pastor Abba’s House, but also to take the Gospel to the far reaches of the earth. We’re hosting an evangelistic crusade in Managua, Nicaragua this year. By the grace of God, we’ll be preaching salvation through Jesus to thousands of Nicaraguans.
We’re also called to minister to the hurting and broken in the Dominican Republic. Just a couple of weeks ago, the Lord supernaturally provided the money for the construction of our new children’s center in the Dominican. Construction has begun and is going well. But there is so much more to do!
And we need your help.
My wife, Kelly, and I have a huge but simple vision for reaching people for Jesus. We’re reaching the broken where they are with the good news that Abba Father loves them and gave His Son for them.
The Lord is blessing and multiplying our efforts, and He’s giving fruit. But it’s a team effort, and we can’t do it without you.
We need your prayers most of all, because we still believe that there’s mercy and grace to help in time of need when we go before the throne of grace.
But after that, we need your financial support. We are looking for 1,000 new partners who will come up beside this ministry and covenant with us to carry the work of the Gospel forward into the next generation.
Will you be one of our 1,000 covenant partners? Will you link arms with us and stand with us, shoulder-to-shoulder, as we carry the message of Abba Father to the ends of the earth?
If you feel the Holy Spirit calling you to be one of our 1,000 new partners, please email me. I want to hear from you. And you can give online using the “Give and Partner” buttons above.
Also, mark your calendar...
My inaugural Ronnie Phillips Ministry International conference is going to be held April 24-27 at Faith Worship Center in Chatsworth, Georgia.
Check out the conference speakers and schedule here and make plans now to join us. It’s going to be a powerful time of worship and the Word of the Lord for this season. My dad and many of my brothers and sisters in the Lord are coming to help preach and minister in worship, and we’re expecting a mighty outpouring. We’d love to have you come sit in the River of the Holy Spirit with us!