What Difference Does the Reality of the Kingdom Make in My Life? | I Am Not at the Mercy of My Past, My Limitations or My Circumstances

by Alan Smith

I, the Lord, have called You in righteousness, and will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the Gentiles, to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the prison, those who sit in darkness from the prison house. I am the Lord, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, nor My praise to carved images. Behold, the former things have come to pass, And new things I declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.
Isaiah 42:6–9

A lot rides on your credit score—home ownership, employment, insurance coverage … the list could go on for a while. The basic concept of a credit score is that the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. Those who paid their bills yesterday are likely to pay their bills tomorrow.

Many things in our lives work like that. Present circumstances and current limitations are defined by that which has been. Many people feel trapped—defined by past mistakes and regrets; limited by decisions made and words spoken long ago; held captive by “would haves” and “could haves” and ‘should haves.” This is really the natural course of things. We get what we’ve got coming. What comes around goes around.

Isaiah 42 speaks of the coming Messiah seven centuries before Jesus’ birth. He is the one called in righteousness, the one who holds the hand of God, the one given as a covenant to the people and a light to the Gentiles. But when this Messiah comes, what will he do? What will the nature of his Messianic role be?

Isaiah lists two descriptors: He will open blind eyes and release prisoners. Those held captive by what they cannot see and do will be set free. No longer will God’s people be held captive to their past. Through the Messiah, God will declare a new thing that will displace the old. The blind will see. The prisoners will be released. God himself will step in and interrupt the natural flow of cause and effect. In the kingdom of God, I have access to a completely different reality. I can have a new start. I can be set free from my past into a brand-new kind of life, a brand-new way of seeing and a brand-new freedom from previous limitations and current circumstances.

1. In what areas of your life are you blind or imprisoned because of your past?

2. What would it look like if Jesus were to release you from that completely?

3. How might your outlook on the future be different if you were no longer defined by your past?

What Difference Does the Reality of the Kingdom Make in My Life? | He Does for Me What I Cannot Do for Myself

by Bob Hamp

Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.
Matthew 20:27–28

He walked into the office and waited his turn. The man he came to see had was a world-renowned dentist in great demand—known for his ability to repair and restore very difficult cases. When he was finally called into the treatment room and the exam was completed, the hygienist came in to give him the news. His mouth was in great shape. He had no cavities, and his gums were healthy; a simple cleaning was all he needed. His dental hygiene was great. But he left the office and never got to meet this renowned dentist. 

We all live with the weighty realization that we’ve been created to bring glory to God. Our lives are intended to glorify the One who created all things. All too often however, we shoulder the very burden that God intends to carry for us. In doing this, we glorify ourselves and not God. Showing Him our skills and strengths does not glorify Him. Bringing Him our needs and our weaknesses gives Him the opportunity to demonstrate His nature.

If God were a taskmaster, we would glorify Him by our work. If He were an employer, we would glorify Him by our service. God, however, introduces Himself as a father, a healer, a redeemer and one who binds up the brokenhearted. We glorify God by needing Him. We glorify Him by presenting openly to Him our need for healing and redemption. If you have taken care of all these things yourself, you may actually be glorifying yourself and not Him.

Jesus did not come searching for those who did a good job of managing their lives so that he could present them as trophies of man’s success to His Father. He came for the wounded, the brokenhearted, the captive and the blind. He can present people like this as trophies of His success and evidence of His goodness, rather than man’s capabilities.

1.  What is it you most want to present to God—your success stories or your needs?

2.  In what area have you been trying to do for God something that He may actually want to do for you?

3.  Have you ever known someone who seemed to have it all together who you later discovered was really struggling?