You are not far from the Kingdom of God

Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." But after that no one dared question Him. Mark 12:34 NKJV

A scribe who gave the right answer. Who did not argue with the Lord Jesus. And what does he receive as an answer? “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” Was this not a missed opportunity? The Lord Jesus could have evangelized right then, couldn’t He? He might have won this man for the Kingdom. And then he could have passed it on to all the others, and maybe even more people would have come to faith?

This is the difference between religion and the Holy Spirit. Jesus is full of the Holy Spirit. All His answers were through that same Spirit. He is completely one with His Father and He spoke the words of God. The same assignment has been given to us: that He may increase and we may decrease. I see many methods on how to read the Bible and how to evangelize. They are certainly not all fruitless, and I don’t want to dismiss them all. But the most important source is being neglected more and more, and that is the Holy Spirit.

Peter denied Jesus three times (Luke 22:61), he began to rebuke Jesus (Matthew 16:22–23), he doubted (Matthew 14:31). Evil spirits could not be cast out by him and the other disciples (Matthew 17:16–17). They all seemed like failures. But then the power from above came, the Spirit of God. And Peter began to speak. And what happened? People were cut to the heart and asked, “Brothers, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37). This is the work of the Holy Spirit, who convicts of sin. And what a harvest there was. And thus there is no boasting, no personal glory—after all, it is His work.

Much evangelism is focused on fear of judgment. But consider this: judgment has not been given to us; it has been given to the Son (John 5:22). Our task is to be led by the Spirit who led Peter and with whom the Son of God is filled. And it was by that power that He could withstand the evil one (Matthew 4:1, Luke 4:1), even in the weakness of His flesh.

My country, the Netherlands, is heading toward a dark time, and to slow decay we need salt that truly preserves. Be filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). Let the Holy Spirit work through you. Then you will be a witness, and people will begin to seek—and they will not only come near to the Kingdom, they will find it. He, our God, still grants time; He still grants grace. Seek His will for your life—not dogmas, not religion, but a relationship with the Most High. He came to give us Life, and the Spirit came to give us His power. Be filled with the Holy Spirit, pray for the baptism with fire. Let us do the works of God until He comes, the One who said:

"And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work." Revelation 22:12 NKJV