Winter 2002
The Kingdom of God is at Hand
Dennis Shearer

John the Baptist came from the wilderness with an “ear,” having been trained to hear Spiritual words. Annas and Caiaphas were the high priests, according to Luke 3:2, and should have heard; but they were unable to hear a present word.

John then went on to preach this “present word” to the people - “Repent ye, for the Kingdom of God is at hand.” Matt 3:2. He declared that literally, the power of the age to come had arrived. Jesus then spoke the same message (Matt 4:17), which was followed with powerful demonstrations of the fact that “the power of the age to come” had indeed arrived.

Miracles of healing, deliverance, and provision were common in the ministry of Jesus Christ as He revealed the Father to humanity. “At hand” literally means, near by, ready, available, perceivable. The sphere or dimension of the way that God desires, or intends, for mankind, was at hand in the ministry of Jesus Christ. John had prepared the way for Him, by announcing it in that manner.

Today, the Kingdom of God is still “at hand.” The church has a problem with “futuristic preaching” which has obscured our view of the Kingdom of God, and our sense that “the power of the age to come” is nearby.

The new birth allows us to see the Kingdom of God, according to John 3:3.

“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

The Baptism in the Holy Spirit allows us to experience the power of the Kingdom of God, according to Acts 1:8.

“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon
you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in
all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”

“I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but He that cometh
after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: He
shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.” Matt 3:11.

It is this “fire” of God that will produce in us the qualifying access to the lifestyle of the Father, in experience, right now in time - because the Kingdom of God is at hand. Our response to this process, or the dealings of God with us, will enable us to become a victorious believer who knows God intimately.

The world is longing for such a people right now! Our reaping a harvest of souls for God, when we are filled with his life changing Glory, is the goal of the Father. It is His good pleasure to give us the Kingdom, which Paul would magnify as righteousness, peace and joy (freedom) in the Holy Spirit.

Presently, God is apprehending a people who desire to hear His voice, and who seek to move into a more powerful dimension of His Kingdom. Our response, according to Song of Solomon 1:4 should be to ask the Lord to draw us to Himself – to make us hungry for His Word and Thirsty for His Presence, and to run with Him, and allow His Spirit to work in us, through His dealings, to reveal His Glory in us – for, “The Kingdom of God is at hand.”