Two
weeks ago I spoke about unlocking the kingdom of God in our lives. Jesus
said we should pray …
Matt
6:10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it
is in heaven.
The
will of God is done in His kingdom! After Peter had made a
confession of faith in Jesus as the Son of God, Jesus said to him
… and to all who make Christ the Savior of their soul …
Matt
16:19 "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven;
As
I was reading about the kingdom of God, the question I had was …
How does the kingdom come into our lives? And where can I find
the keys to the kingdom? By searching through Matthew I came
upon several scriptures which would seem to be the keys to the kingdom.
The
first of the keys of the kingdom is found in these verses:
Matt
5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven.
The
next key to the kingdom is obedience to the Word of God.
Matt
5:19 "Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments,
and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the
kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall
be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
The
third key is righteousness.
Matt
6:33 "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness (moral
character), and all these things will be added to you.
What
are the results of seeking God’s kingdom?
Matt
10:7-8
7 "And
as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'
8 "Heal
the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely
you have received, freely give.
As
we live daily in the kingdom, we have God working mightily within
our lives! We receive much from Him and have much of which
to give to others! After hearing that Jesus wants us to pray
for the kingdom to come into our lives … is it of any significant
value in the 21st Century for us to have the kingdom of
God come into our lives? I know we all would reply “yes” to
that questions, but listen to Jesus’ words about understanding
the word of the kingdom
Matt
13:19
19 "When
anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it,
the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his
heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road.
Do
you understand the word of the kingdom? Satan
does not want us to understand the kingdom, or its value. One
of the many responses I’ve heard from those who do not grow in
Christ and mature in their faith is that they don’t understand. If
this is where you are … pray for understanding! Jesus said
He would give understanding to those that ask!
If
understanding the call of living in God’s kingdom escapes you, be
aware that it is Satan who is robbing you of blessings and the benefits
of the kingdom by turning your attention away from understanding! I
beg of you to not lose the life of the kingdom by allowing Satan
to cloud your mind as to the value of the Word of God sown in your
heart! Pray for understanding as you enter the kingdom of God!
The
more you understand the value of this priceless treasure we have
in the kingdom of God, the more you will find joy in doing the will
of God, and the more fruitful your life will become! God has
wonderful plans for your life in the kingdom!
With
understanding the word of the kingdom … listen to the wisdom of
Jesus:
Matt
13:24-30 (Matt 13:47 fish)
24
The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed
in his field.
25 "But
while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among
the wheat, and went away.
26 "But
when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident
also.
28
The slaves said to (his master), 'Do you want us, then, to go and
gather them up?'
29 "But
he said, 'No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may
uproot the wheat with them.
30
'Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time
of the harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather up
the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather
the wheat into my barn."
The
wisdom of the kingdom is to love. One truth
we need to know about the kingdom is that there are both wheat
and weeds growing side by side! And it is not our job to
pull the weeds! Jesus said the wheat and the weeds are
to be allowed to grow side by side until HE chooses to separate
them! Your job and mine is to keep on being wheat … and
to keep on loving the weeds!
Some
Christians have taken the job upon themselves of deciding who are
the “wheat” and who are the “weeds”… and have caused damage to the
kingdom. Let Jesus decide that … you should maintain your own
integrity and keep on loving the weeds.
So
… enter the kingdom with spiritual understanding and compassion! Then
expect to grow!
Matt
13:31-32
31
The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took
and sowed in his field;
32
and this is smaller than all other seeds, but when it is full grown,
it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that
the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.
The
goal of the kingdom is our maturity! God’s primary
goal for your life is for you to grow into spiritual maturity. You
may feel as if the faith that is within you is as small as the
mustard seed, but God’s plan is for that faith to sprout and
to grow into full maturity!
In
the references in Ezekiel, Psalms, and Daniel where “the birds of
the air” come to build nests in the tree of Israel … the reference
is that the tree is a place of refuge for those who need protection
and care. The spiritual growth of a Christian becomes
evident when people begin to come to them for prayer and ministry! There
should be people building nests in your heart!
“Thy
kingdom come …” is not just a simple prayer!
Living
in the kingdom
is
to live with understanding,
it
is to live with compassion, and
it
is to grow into maturity where others can find strength from your
life |
