October 30, 2017 WE POSSESS THE KINGDOM
Luke 12:30-32 “For all of these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things. But seek for His kingdom, and these things shall be added to you. Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.”
We tend to live in a state of ‘chasing the carrot’, but never catching it; we may spend the majority of our life pursuing, and not enjoying the present blessings that come from our Father. Even among believers, there seems to be a striving, an ongoing effort, to be ‘spiritual’ or to measure up to some standard that we think will make us a better Christian. Enjoying the present as a child of God does not negate the call to pursue the things of God and it should not cause us to become spiritually lazy. There is a mystery-we have it, but there is more to be discovered. When Jesus was ministering on earth, He made it abundantly clear that His kingdom “was at hand,” and He made it clear that those who believe in Him would be a part of His kingdom, even here on earth. “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in the heavens.” Matthew 16 19. The kingdom that Jesus proclaimed was not limited to heaven, but was a kingdom without end and not limited by physical boundaries. As a believer, our ‘mode of operation’, our view of life, our way of thinking, should be first and foremost that we are living in the kingdom of God-right now, and as citizens of His kingdom, we get to enjoy all the benefits that come with His kingdom. A part of living in His kingdom while here on earth is that we get to spend the remainder of our physical life discovering and learning more about the kingdom. Life is not about us ‘measuring up’, but about enjoying and walking in who He has made us; we have been made new creations who reign with Christ and we are a part of His kingdom. “For by these things He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.” 2 Peter 1:4. We can rest in the fact that our Father knows what we need and that He will supply our needs. God often supplies our needs by giving us the ability to work and a place to work for income, and He will also give to us in supernatural ways as well. The key is that we see all provision coming from our Father. James 1:17 tells us: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” There is one condition to experiencing His kingdom-we must seek it. The riches and blessings of God are reserved for the one who has a heart to seek Him first-and whose greatest desire is to know the Lord. God has designed it in such a way that our eyes are opened to all that He has done only when He is our greatest desire; the one who does not desire Him first, cannot find Him nor understand the ways of God. Indeed, just as the verse tells us, when we come to know God as our Father, there is no reason to fear-anything or anyone. So, wherever you are in life, no matter the circumstances, know that the kingdom of God “is at hand,” and if you seek Him first, you will experience His kingdom in the here and now.
Mark 10:15: “Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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