Luke 17:20-21. “Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”

Jesus was asked by the Pharisees; don’t forget that the Pharisees were the teachers of the law, highly knowledgeable and religious, they were in total control of the affairs of things. But they were concerned about a matter, perhaps they ask the question in anticipation. The kingdom that was promised, when will it come? This question showed that they have long waited for this nation and kingdom to come. So, they asked; when will the kingdom of God come? And Jesus replied by saying the kingdom does not come with observation. The disciples of Jesus asked a similar question in Acts 1 verse 6-8, they said Lord will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. But you shall receive power, So, the question the Pharisees and His disciples were asking was a question of power, how do we know that the kingdom has been restored? We have the knowledge, in fact we can quote the Torah from beginning to end, we pray always, we give arms but we think something is missing. We have come to realize that there is a need for a kingdom to come. Until that happens, what we doing may not have a lasting impact.

 So, Jesus simply replied by saying that the power, the kingdom is not by seeing thunder and lightning, it is not by earthquake, the power is within you. Power is important for the sustenance of every kingdom, the Scripture says the kingdom of God is not in words but in demonstration of power. So, the restoration of the kingdom is the restoration of power, because with the power, assignments, judgement and legislation will be carried out with ease. There will be a rebirth of a new nation, a new kingdom, it will appear as if it had no form or comeliness but it shall be a mighty nation proclaiming the praise of the Holy One.

So, Jesus went further to say the power of the kingdom will only come when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. The Holy Spirit begins the work from the inside and the manifestation is seen from the outside, that is how prosperity and expansion of the kingdom is achieved. We could have been asking this same question, when will God repair and restore our dear nation? when will our society become a near perfect society? When will all these criminalities stop? When will God come down to deliver us from oppression, poverty and fear? These were the questions they were asking failing to perceive, discern and realize that, this very kingdom they longed for is within them. Jesus said “the kingdom is within you” the solution is within you, God has strategically positioned answers to the problems that confront us and it is within you. It is in your midst.  

As much as we ask questions, complain, wail and cry about it, there is something we are missing, which is perception and discernment. Situations, circumstances and occurrences have happened in our dear nation which have thrown communities, states and families into panic, delusion and confusion, and while the onlookers seem to be confused about what is going on, others have taken it as a burden to make inquiries concerning the state of the nation.

The aim of this article is to declare the counsel of God on behalf of God for our dear nation, and to make us understand the dynamics of the workings of God in setting nations free from oppression, from affliction and from territorial powers, so that the kingdom of God will rise and be established on the earth. Please be patient as you read along I believe very strongly that the Lord has a word for your people, your tribe, your race, your family, your community, your state, and for your nation. I want us to take a close look at the word of God and see what the Holy Spirit is pointing out to us. Exodus 3:8 says; “So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, in other words the kingdom of God has come down, the power of God has come down. So, God said I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites.”

I want us to begin our meditation by noting this statement God made; He said “I have come down-the kingdom is within you, stop looking around, stop making observations, the kingdom is here, the power is here, I God have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians” how can God say He has come down to deliver a people yet He would send a man? (Moses.) The power of God does not come on wood, on stones or on bricks, it comes upon men who are yielded. So, there are yielded men who have become full carriers of Gods kingdom. They are the sent ones. What does this show us? It shows that men are an embodiment of certain dimensions that God wishes to reveal to a certain generation. These men are a representation of an agenda sealed and signed to be experienced on the earth.

This also means that men are carriers of solutions, men are vessels that the solutions, the power and the glory of God have been imputed into. When these humans are not recognized or discerned the solution is lifted, suspended or delayed. Disaster looms around any leadership that fails to recognize and to tap into the potentials of its human resources. When God wanted to avert the famine that was coming upon the earth, He didn’t sow a single seed of grain in Egypt, that talks about physical observation, He didn’t build a storage facility, He simply sowed a man. (The kingdom is within you). When God wanted to salvage mankind from corruption, He simply sowed a man (Jesus Christ). The land of Egypt will never experience famine as long as the potentials of Joseph, the kingdom of God in Joseph is recognized and harnessed by Pharaoh.

And this is where we are missing it. Pharaoh made a statement in Genesis 41 verse 38, He said can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God? In other words, a man in whom is the Spirit of the kingdom. The positions we appoint people to oversee, the men we select or vote to represent and serve us, do they have the Spirit of God? Peter said seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom whom we may appoint over this business. Our problem is that we appoint men of good reputation, we are so good in doing physical observation but fail to discern whether they are full of the Spirit or not. God says the problems of this nation cannot be fixed by men of good reputation, we must rise up to seek men who are full of the Spirit; i.e. They must fear God, they must have sound understanding, they must be full of wisdom, they must have the Spirit of counsel, the Spirit of might, and the Spirit of knowledge. How many of such men do we find in our leadership today? Why then do we think that the nation will be steered towards the right course.

God has come down into men, the problem is that there are Pharaohs, and kings who have refused to utilize this portion of God that He has shared with the nation. The decay and corruption that goes on in the nation, family, community or state today is simply because men and women have simply failed to recognize whom God has sowed into their lives, into their nation to bring the help that they need or require. Competence is shown when a leader selects or appoint and lead with the right people. Pharaoh lacked what to do but a competent man in the person of Joseph was in charge. And as a result of that they were never hungry even in the midst of famine.

The verse we just read expressly stated a fact that we may never have realized. God said I have come down to deliver them. Then He said “from the hand of the Egyptians” One thing amongst many other things we know about the hand is that it is used for grip, for carrying, and for securing. But the hand is also a weapon and a tool used by an oppressor to his or her own advantage. It is used to squeeze and crush and inflict pain. So, God knew exactly what He was saying when He made that statement. Note that God didn’t say “hands of the Egyptians” the task masters are many but they all have one hand, there is something that is common to them all, that hand talks about what they do collectively, which is to steal, exploit, afflict, destroy, and perpetuate evil. So, God was simply saying Egypt was offering nothing but affliction and sorrow.

One of the things that have continued to keep people perpetually in bondage is that they have failed to recognize, perceive and discern the hand that has continued to afflict them, and the hand that God is using to deliver them. God is saying here that there is a hand that is responsible for whatever a nation, a people, a state, a family or organization is going through. Here we could see that the purpose and intention of God is not for this people to remain in the hand of the Egyptians, He intends to take them up to a land flowing with milk and with honey. But they have a major problem and that problem is that there is a hand pulling and holding them back.

Now see what God said again in verse 19 of that very chapter, But I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not even by a mighty hand. Did we see that? God was simply telling Moses here that the hand that was referred to here was a king, a ruler, a prince, a god, a demon or whatever. And He was also saying that this kind of deliverance will not be possible or carried out even by another mighty king, prince or god. Have we not seen situations where a nation is running to other nations for their rescue or for their deliverance? God is simply saying here that it is not by power nor by might, it is not even by connections, it is not because we lack the right military arsenals, tactics and strategy. The Bible says horses are prepared for the day of battle but safety is of the Lord. When the systems of Egypt hold a nation bound it is only the hand of God that can deliver them from the hands and the systems of Egypt. The hand holding this nation is a spiritual hand, we may call it banditry, poverty and hardship, but God called it a name; He said it is a hand. Do we understand?

Okay let’s see what the following verse says; So I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My wonders which I will do in its midst; and after that he will let you go. Did we see that? The problem with your nation and my nation is not that there is no hand that can deliver us, but because we have failed to recognize the hand of God, we are still in the mess that we are in. God said I will stretch out my hand and strike the hand of affliction, how was He supposed to that? By sending a man, although He has come down, He requires a vessel He can use, a vessel He can possess, a vessel that can carry the kingdom. So, while Moses wrought signs and wonders in Egypt it was the hand of God shaking the hand of Egypt to let go of the grip it has on the children of Israel. Whenever you see the hand of God at work in a man, it is simply God and His kingdom coming down to shake every other hand.

The Scripture says in Acts 19:11-12 that; God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them. Did we see that? He worked unusual miracles by the hand of Apostle Paul. So, are you willing to submit your hand to God as an instrument to deliver His people? When God comes down, when His Spirit comes down, when His kingdom comes down, He is seeking a man, don’t just complain and murmur about the sick state of things, simply submit your hand to be used by God to wrought signs and wonders.

It says and the diseases and the evil spirits left them or went out of them. So, this was God coming down to manifest Himself through a man. See what Matthew 9:8 says; Fear swept through the crowd as they saw this happen. And they praised God for giving humans such authority. This was a testimony about Jesus Christ, having demonstrated so much authority, men recognized that this can only be done by God. If a man is able to do these things, then God must have given authority to that man. Jesus said if I do these things by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God is upon you. And as Jesus Christ was leaving His disciples, He also gave them this authority to do same.

The earth realm and the principalities in it have hands of affliction, and this hands cannot be shaken off until the hand of God, until the kingdom of God moves through and within a man. But it will rather be unfortunate for a nation and a people who rather see the hand of God move in men yet refuse to acknowledge that indeed God has come down to deliver us. The nation should beware the kingdom does not come by physical observation; it may come as tiny as the hand of a man but it has the capacity to produce the sound of abundance of rain. The Kingdom of God has come; God has come down to deliver Nigeria, God has come down to deliver your nation.   

Thanks for the gift of your time, I am Apeh Francis Abah!

Feel free to share your thoughts or testimony in the comment box below. I promise to respond to them as soon as possible!