Friday, April 22, 2011

Thy kingdom come, thine is the kingdom

Mat 6:9-13

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.
Amen.


The study of the 'kingdom' began when we were studying Matthew 6:9-13 where Jesus said this- 'After this manner therefore pray ye…' and then He began to teach us the manner of praying. We realized that twice Jesus mentions the kingdom. The importance of understanding the kingdom is something we couldn't, and can't overlook. The kingdom coming, and the kingdom that is the Father's, we need a real understanding of the kingdom and I believe we've begun a little to comprehend such a wondrous subject.


Jesus came to preach the kingdom of God to man, this gospel message is all about the kingdom to come, the kingdom found only in our Savior.


We read these words- 'United Kingdom' and what do we think of? Britain, right? Here's the Wiki definition in part--

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK, or Britain) is a sovereign state located off the north-western coast of continental Europe. It spans an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of the island of Ireland, and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK with a land border with another sovereign state, sharing it with the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border, the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel, and the Irish Sea.


This is the United Kingdom that exists in our world today and when we think of the UK as it's known, we think of territory, we think of a place. Just as if I were say - United States, instantly you think of a place in our world. If I were to say the Kingdom of God you would be inclined to think of heaven, and rightly so because we know God's dwelling place is in heaven. So when we pray 'Thy kingdom come' are we praying for heaven on earth? We are, aren't we? Are we praying for God's kingdom to come and do away with all other kingdom's on earth? We are, yes? We are wanting God's kingdom to rule the entire earth and no other kingdom to be on earth whatsoever. Right now our earth seems to broken up into many 'kingdoms doesn't it? But the truth is it's still one kingdom here on earth in respect to who owns the kingdom on earth. Man likes to believe he owns bits and parts of the earth- Canadians live in Canada and own their bits of Canadian earth, Mexican's living in Mexico own their bits of Mexico earth- we've labeled our bits of earth and parceled it out to people who claim ownership, who claim rulership. In a dictatorship one man claims rulership. In a democracy it's touted everybody in that kingdom of democracy has a bit of rulership. But we have another who claims rulership over kingdom earth, someone who has power to take from any human in existence - any king, any dictator, any president, pauper, person alive. That *other* is Satan. You remember this, we've studied it several times and I think just recently as well.


Mat 4:8,9 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.


Were men on earth at this time? Yes. Was there a ruler in Rome at this time? Yes. Were there rulers elsewhere around the globe at this time? Yes. But at this same time the devil claimed ownership of all the kingdoms of the world. Two rulers? Dual rulership? No. The devil didn't say he had to check with the ruler of Rome over whether or not he could give Jesus Rome, did he? No. The devil had complete authority over ALL the kingdoms of the world.


Did Jesus take all the kingdoms of the world from the devil? No. Why? Because they came with a price. Satan was selling them, not giving them away freely. The price of that sale was worship. Worship! People don't think WHO they worship is important, well guess what, it's eternally important. Jesus could have bought all the kingdoms of the world from the owner of those kingdoms but He wasn't willing to pay the asking price for them. To pay that price would be to deny God's natural right to all the kingdom's of the world. The only reason the devil had all the kingdoms of the world was because he took them from Adam and Eve, He took ownership when Adam and Eve sinned putting themselves first over God, allowing temptation to fill their hearts, succumbing to that temptation that the devil put before them. They chose to follow Satan's will rather than God's will. The earth that had been given to them by God they gave to Satan- choosing him over God. Satan took hold of the rulership of the kingdoms of the world and has never let go. So while mankind believes in their own manner that they own bits and pieces of the kingdoms of this world in truth ALL the kingdoms of this world are the devil's.


All the kingdoms of the world will remain Satan's until- God's kingdom comes. Jesus wants us to pray to the Father who is in heaven, whose name is hallowed- 'Thy kingdom come, thine is the kingdom.'


Thine is the kingdom. The kingdom is God's. Jesus died so that the kingdom of God would come. Jesus preached the kingdom of heaven, Jesus preached the kingdom of God, Jesus brought this gospel to all He could. The kingdom of God WILL come to earth and no longer will Satan have all the kingdoms of the world to offer because they will no longer be his to offer. His power will be gone. Is Satan's power gone right now? Has Satan power to deceive and to destroy been taken away? Is there any evil in the world still? We know these answers, we do. Evil still exists, and evil will NEVER exist in God's kingdom. Satan has been defeated he knows that his ownership of all the kingdoms of the world is temporary. God's kingdom WILL come of this there is absolutely NO doubt.


When we pray 'thy kingdom come' we are praying for the end of the kingdoms ruled by the devil, we are praying for salvation in Jesus Christ so that we may be a part of the kingdom that is to come. Remember the good seed- the wheat, and the bad seed- the tares, will dwell together until the harvest- the end of the world as we know it. The good seed will be gathered up to the kingdom of God, the bad seed will be burned to non-existence. We want to be gathered into the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God.


God's kingdom will come- the kingdom we are to pray for every single day. We are to live for the kingdom of God, the kingdom Jesus preached, the kingdom Jesus died for so we could become part of, the kingdom Jesus brought and bought for us, the kingdom we are to born again into all by His grace, His mercy, His righteousness- in His perfect love!


For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.


Amen

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Jesus... 'I must preach the kingdom of God...'

Mat 10:7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.


Mar 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.


Luk 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
Luk 4:19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord


Luk 4:43 And he said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent.


Luk 9:2 And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.


Luk 9:60 Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.


Act 5:42 And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.


1Co 1:23,24 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.


*******

Preach the KINGDOM of heaven.


Jesus said these words- 'I must preach the kingdom of God…'


I MUST… What does that mean, that word- must.


Let's look at the dictionary definition-

must
1 [muhst]
–auxiliary verb
1.
to be obliged or bound to by an imperative requirement: I must keep my word.
2.
to be under the necessity to; need to: Animals must eat to live.
3.
to be required or compelled to, as by the use or threat of force: You must obey the law.
4.
to be compelled to in order to fulfill some need or achieve an aim: We must hurry if we're to arrive on time.
5.
to be forced to, as by convention or the requirements of honesty: I must say, that is a lovely hat.
6.
to be or feel urged to; ought to: I must buy that book.
7.
to be reasonably expected to; is bound to: It must have stopped raining by now. She must be at least 60.
8.
to be inevitably certain to; be compelled by nature: Everyone must die.

Pasted from


Do you see the words used to describe 'must'… OBLIGED, IMPERATIVE REQUIREMENT, NECESSITY TO, REQUIRED or COMPELLED TO, FORCED TO, URGED TO, EXPECTED TO.


Jesus said… I MUST meaning that Jesus was obliged, Jesus was bound by imperative requirement, Jesus was under the necessity to, Jesus was required to, Jesus was compelled to… PREACH the kingdom of God! Yes, the verse goes on to say more but for this moment right now let's just try to comprehend the importance of what is being said here.


We don't imagine anyone in control having to do much of anything, do we? We believe deep in our hearts that time and time again people who have power don't have to answer to the rules the way the average, common person has to. Power has given them the unspoken right to kill, cheat, lie, steal, rape, beat, abuse as they desire to. Throughout time people in power have lived horrible lives of debauchery this is undeniable. Many of those in power hear the words 'you must' and they turn around and say they will do as they like, there is nothing they 'must' do.


When we think of God the ALL powerful... to use the words- God must- seems absurd. God can do anything, right? Yet we read these words-- Jesus said 'I must'. He didn't only use those two words with preaching the kingdom of God, but this is what we've been studying lately and that is why we are studying this particular instance.


Luk 4:43 And he said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent.


Jesus said He MUST preach the kingdom to other cities. Preaching the kingdom was WHY Jesus was sent. SALVATION! REDEMPTION! This is the preaching of the kingdom! All preaching should revolve around salvation in Jesus Christ. The entire Bible is about this- the old testament looking forward towards it and the new testament looking back at it- salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord.


There is no wonder whatsoever that our Savior said He '...must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also, for therefore am I sent. ' It is the pure truth.


The kingdom exists. The kingdom is NOT fantasy. The kingdom is LIFE everlasting. Preaching the kingdom, preaching the gospel is revealing this reality. We must ALL live in this reality but sadly many don't, many refuse to even think about this reality preferring to live without any thought of the kingdom. It's tragic, very, very tragic but people go day after day after day without truly understanding these words….


'Thy kingdom come', 'Thine is the kingdom'.


They might say these words - some might say them even daily- but do they live them? Do we live with the living kingdom of God in their hearts as a reality they need to share with others? A reality that Jesus came to preach? A reality we must preach, a reality we must live.


By the grace of God may we live the kingdom that Jesus was born to give to us, that Jesus preached to us, that Jesus died to fulfill, that Jesus was resurrected to give to us fully.


Amen!

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Entrance...into the everlasting kingdom

2Pe 1:1 Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:
2Pe 1:2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,


Like precious faith- the faith of the apostles. Obtaining this precious faith comes THROUGH the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.


That didn't say through our righteousness… it said through the righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus Christ.


Grace and peace be multiplied. Amazing! Multiplied grace, multiplied peace, who wouldn't want their grace and peace multiplied? If someone were to tell you that your grace and peace could be multiplied wouldn't you quickly ask how? We are told this-- grace and peace be multiplied…through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. Through what? Through KNOWLEDGE of God and of Jesus our Lord. KNOWLEDGE. Through the knowing of God and of Jesus our Lord.


And there is more…

2Pe 1:3-4 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.


We are given exceeding great and precious promises! It is through the promises that we are partakers of the divine nature- partakers of our Savior! We escape the corruption in the world through lust by being part of that divine nature of our Savior, through HIS righteousness. The fact that we have to escape the corruption in the world through lust should tell us something very important. There is something we have to ESCAPE. We cannot be all caught up in the world and truly believe that Jesus Christ is our Lord. Satan is lord of this world, if we worship this world we are worshipping Satan. If we don't escape the corruption that is in our lives in this world through lust then we are part of this world and we are not part of the divine nature. Our Savior gives us many promises and it's through Him, through His righteousness that we have any hope at all.


Let's continue with this passage…


2Pe 1:5-8 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.


Add to our faith (given to us by the righteousness of Christ)… add virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and charity.


Add. When you add to something you had to have something first in order to add to it. We have to have the faith given to us through the righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus Christ. Without that faith we can't add to anything. Is it possible that too many seek to have virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness and charity without having that faith? We have to give diligence to ADD to our faith, we can't ignore adding to our faith and we can't presume to add to something we might not have. Accepting the gifts of God is so important. Understanding that these spiritual gifts though unseen are the essence of what makes us who we are is very important. Accepting the faith given to us is paramount.


Continuing on…


2Pe 1:9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
2Pe 1:10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:
2Pe 1:11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.


Spiritual blindness, unable to see the reality of future promises, forgetting that we were redeemed from our old sins… we can't be blind, we can't forget the future promises, we can't allow ourselves to ever forget that we were purged from our old sins, we can't! But people do and people will forget. People will go blind, people will stop seeing far off and only live in the here and now. We have to give diligence to make sure that we are right with our Savior, to make sure He is our all in all. If we do these things… WE SHALL NEVER FALL.. We will be Christ's forever! And make no mistake, you can be Christ's and then leave Him, you can forget and it a forgetting that can cost you eternity.


An entrance shall be given to us abundantly…. INTO the everlasting KINGDOM of our LORD and SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST!


An entrance shall be given to us!


An entrance shall be given to us…. how amazing!


We want an entrance into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior, don't we? This entrance shall be given to us abundantly. We must listen to these words we can't ignore them, we just can't. We are admonished in many ways and for our own good. To think that we can do otherwise is to be blind, to be shortsighted, to forget.


By the love of our Savior may we forever be His, forever! May we never ever forget! May we have our eyes opened, may we see far off, may we NEVER forget all through the grace, through the righteousness of our God and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!.


Amen!

Deadly fallacy

Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.


The will of the Father.


The Father's kingdom will come.


Today I read an article that was a bit disturbing. The article talked about a mega superstar preacher who seems to believe that everyone will be in the kingdom of heaven- without exception. He believes there is a new Christianity on its way and the old hell-fire and damnation is a thing of the past. It makes me incredibly sad to read things like this because I know who is behind it all- the great deceiver.


How can anybody read this…


Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.


… and believe everyone will be in the kingdom of heaven no matter what, that there is no eternal result to not repenting of sin and accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.


Who can read this…

Ecc 12:13

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter
Fear God, and keep his commandments
- for this is the whole duty of man.


… and believe that man can do whatever he pleases and he will be in the kingdom of heaven.


Who can read this…


Joh 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.


…. And believe that those who are NOT born again will be in the kingdom of God?


Who can read this…


Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.


… and believe that you don't really have to believe in an active, living, breathing way and you'll still be saved.


Who can read this…


Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God


….and believe that they don't need an active, living faith in the grace and in the gift of God?


Who can read this…


Mat 13:36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.
Mat 13:37 He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;
Mat 13:38 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
Mat 13:39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
Mat 13:40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
Mat 13:41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
Mat 13:42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Mat 13:43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.


… and believe that the good seed and the tares will both be in the kingdom of heaven?


I could go on and on and on but truly is it necessary? There will be righteous people and wicked people when Christ comes again and they will be separated. The righteous in Christ will go to the kingdom of heaven and the wicked will eventually be burned completely up in the lake of fire and be no more. We are NOT guaranteed the kingdom of heaven just because we are alive, just because we are human beings. This fallacy that is spreading and finding a home in a 'new' sort of Christianity is a deadly fallacy and those who believe the lies will hear these words of Christ our Savior --


Mat 7:23 … I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.


If Jesus is telling us the truth, and He can do nothing but that, then NOT EVERYONE…shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. If some of those saying Lord, Lord are not going to be in the kingdom of heaven how can we ever believe that those who don't even say Lord, Lord, will be in the kingdom of heaven? It's ludicrous.


Who dares to contradict the words of Jesus Himself? Obviously some do and many believe the lies that others are spoon feeding them as they are told they are being fed the truth. It truly saddens me to know that many are being swallowed up by the deception of Satan and lost to the truth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.


May God help us to fully give our hearts, our lives wholly to our Savior. May we truly have the grace of Jesus Christ, may we have His righteousness save us in the purest love that ever existed and still exists and will forever exist in Him.


Amen.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Not every one...shall enter into the kingdom

Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.


Not every one that saith unto me- Lord, Lord…


Mat 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.


Mat 25:11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
Mat 25:12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.


Luk 6:46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
Luk 13:25 When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are


Jesus said- there will be people saying to Him - Lord, Lord, and ALL that say Lord, Lord will NOT be His. Many will say - Lord, Lord. Will YOU be among those who say Lord, Lord? You could be, I could be and we could be among those who say it genuinely, we could be among those that Jesus Christ knows. We could be among those that do the will of the Father in heaven. We could very well be among those who are ready- watching and prepared for His return. We could be among those who DO the things He says to do.


One thing is certain ONLY those who do the following will be known of the Lord--


Those who do the will of the Father in heaven.
Those who are prepared and waiting for Jesus to return.
Those who do the things Jesus says to do.


We are guaranteed NOT to be among those known by the Lord if we do not do the will of the Father in heaven, if we are not prepared and waiting for Jesus to return, if we are not doing the things Jesus tells us to do.


So many believe that we are supposed to do NOTHING. They really do. They sit around day after day assuming that they are ready for our Savior when He returns and they do so because Satan wants them to believe that they are saved. If you believe something to be true you don't do much to change that belief, right? For many years people believed smoking was harmless and the people that enjoyed smoking didn't try change that perception- why would they? They held the belief that smoking was fine and that was that. It wasn't until other people started making connections to smoking and bad health that people who enjoyed smoking began to suspect that maybe this supposedly harmless pastime wasn't quite so harmless. Then there began tests, experiments and the data started adding up that yes, it's factual that smoking is harmful. People were forced to believe that the smoke they inhaled could hurt them. Does this mean that ALL people believe it? Most do, but there are a few that don't. Does this knowledge change the fact that people smoke knowing it harms them? No. The point is… people believed that it was harmless only to find out different later. People believe right now that they know the Lord and will be saved by Him, but MANY are going to find out later that they don't know Him. How is that possible? How? They are convinced they know the Lord. So if someone is convinced they know the Lord then how are they being deceived? We have to study the word of God and find out. We have to ask ourselves these questions.


Are we doing the will of the Father?
Are we prepared and waiting for Jesus to return?
Are we doing the things Jesus' says to do?


Do we know what the will of the Father is?
Do we know how to be prepared and waiting for Jesus to return?
Do we know what things Jesus tell us to do?


It is MORE than just assuming we are saved. It is more than saying Lord, Lord, and believing He know us because we say that to Him. Why would Jesus tell us all this if He didn't expect us to study it and learn more? Jesus wants us to understand that people will be deceived, people that believe they know Him. We cannot be among those who assume we are saved. We cannot be among those who only have a superficial relationship with our Savior. We cannot be among those who sit in a pew and pay our tithes to a church and believe we belong to Jesus. We cannot be FAKE in our relationship with our Savior, He knows any falseness we possess.


Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.


By the grace of our God we will know HIM! By the grace of God we will enter the kingdom of heaven! By the grace of God we will DO the will of the Father in heaven.


May we continue to study to understand all that Jesus would have us understand! In His amazing, wondrous love!


Amen.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven

Mat 18:2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,
Mat 18:3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 18:4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.


Be converted and become as little children.
Whosever therefore shall humble himself as this little child.
Whoso shall receive one such little child in my name.


All our young lives we are told to 'grow up'. It's offensive when someone tells us to 'grow up' when we are already physically mature. Here Jesus is telling us to be as little children and IF we do not become as little children we shall NOT enter the kingdom of heaven.


Jesus didn't just leave it there in telling us to become as little children, first He says- be converted. He knows that we are not naturally going to be as little children that some sort of conversion has to take place first so we can become as little children.


Conversion-


Mat 13:15 For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.


People who aren't converted have dull spiritual hearing, they're spiritually blind, their hearts are unable to be spiritually clean. People who aren't converted are spiritually sick and in need of spiritual healing that can only be found by being converted.


Mar 4:12 That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.


Conversion results in the forgiveness of sins.


Converted - to be converted means to turn about again. When Jesus tells us that we need to be converted He means we need to turn from our sin-filled life back to God.


Be converted and become as little children.


Be converted - be turned about… and become little children.



Mat 13:15 ...and should be converted, and I should heal them.


Should be turned about again and be healed by Jesus.


Mar 4:12 ... they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.


Should be turned about again and our sins will be forgiven.


The turning, the conversion that takes place is changing from one thing to another it is an action.


We have to be converted, we have to experience this turning about so we can become little children. Jesus didn't leave it there either…


'Whosever therefore shall humble himself as this little child.'


Jesus adds that we have to HUMBLE ourselves as the little child is humble. Just how is a little child humble? The word meaning here is this--


G5013
ταπεινόω
tapeinoō
Thayer Definition:
1) to make low, bring low
1a) to level, reduce to a plain
1b) metaphorically to bring into a humble condition, reduce to meaner circumstances
1b1) to assign a lower rank or place to
1b2) to abase
1b3) to be ranked below others who are honoured or rewarded
1b4) to humble or abase myself by humble living
1c) to lower, depress
1c1) of one’s soul bring down one’s pride
1c2) to have a modest opinion of one’s self
1c3) to behave in an unassuming manner
1c4) devoid of all haughtiness


With all that in mind when we attribute this to a child it can mean attaining a lower rank, it could mean to have the pride of a child which by no means is ever like that of an adult consumed by pride, it could mean to be unassuming- most children do not take on great airs. If we think about how children are raised today we might not understand this as much because today with all the corruption children seem to be nasty and full of self, full of pride. Then too we have to try to imagine the age of a child- a little child would be a very young child 1-3 years old perhaps. We have to remember that 13 years old was the age a boy became responsible as an adult to follow God's law. So young child, older child, young adult, adult in the realm of spiritual responsibility leaves us with this as a possibility- 1 to 3, 4-7, 7-10, 10-13. Truly to understand this we have to have some idea of the age of the child we are to become. Because the older the child the more self involved they are. The younger the child the more innocent they are, the less filled with self they are.


Mat 18:2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,
Mat 18:3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.


Unless we are converted and become as little children we will NOT enter the kingdom of heaven. This is important, very, very important. We can't continue to pride ourselves on our *grown up* lives in respect to losing the humbleness of a child. We can't lose our understanding that we are CHILDREN of God. We could be 100 years old and we are still CHILDREN of God. We have to live with a humbleness in that knowledge. We have to be converted from our selfish, sin-filled natures to a selfless, humble, forgiven nature in Christ. No one who holds tight to their pride will enter the kingdom of heaven, no one.


Mat 18:2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,
Mat 18:3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 18:4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.


As we learn more and more of the kingdom of heaven we can't ignore any aspect of it, not a single bit. We know that the kingdom of heaven is something we have to seek above all and that is seeking our Savior above all. Our Savior wants us to understand and this part about being converted, being as a little child, about being humble is something we need to keep in our hearts by the grace of God or we will not enter the kingdom of heaven. We need Jesus fully in our lives and this is what we are being taught. We need to turn again to our God, we need to seek Jesus as a child would seek a parent, trusting in Him, humble knowing He is our all in all.


In His amazing love!


Amen.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Kingdom parables concluded

Mat 13:44 Again-
The kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field, the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.

The kingdom of heaven - a TREASURE! Not just a treasure but a hidden treasure discovered in a field. Just imagine you, yes, YOU, going on a little trip somewhere let's say a camping trip. You set up your camp and start to dig a hole for a campfire and suddenly you discover gold! You dig up another spot close by and there is more gold! You've found a hidden treasure. Just think about how that would make you feel. Estatic! Thrilled! Overjoyed! You're so excited you hurry to find out if the land is for sale and when you discover it is but that it will take everything you currently own to buy it, well you immediately sell EVERYTHING that you own and buy the field. Why? Because you know what's in that field is worth more than everything you own. The kingdom of heaven is worth more than EVERYTHING we own, worth more than everything in existence. Jesus is worth more than everything! Salvation through our Savior has no price comparable. Yet we live as if this world means more than the kingdom of heaven. We do! Don't deny it! We live our lives with the kingdom of heaven as a second thought not a first thought. Some of us live with the kingdom of heaven as a third, fourth, fifth… last thought, and it's tragic.


We are born into a world under siege, yet we aren't taught this in our schools. We aren't raised knowing we have entered a war zone. We aren't brought up to comprehend that the entire earth is a battlefield. We aren't made to understand that we have been giving life to seek the kingdom of heaven- that this is our greatest endeavor. We are kept in the dark and taught all manner of worldly things, taught to strive for worldly things- worldly success, worldly happiness, worldly riches, worldly love, worldly status, worldly life. In fact children who might be raised to put God first, to put the kingdom of heaven first- would be considered brainwashed and this is NO lie! Being taught to do all we can to possess the treasure of heaven is a rarity. Believing that we should seek the kingdom of heaven like a treasure is another rarity, yet some do, especially those in countries where they don't have the freedom to worship as they desire. Those whose very lives hinge on whether or not they are caught worshipping God and our Savior Jesus Christ understand the value of the treasure the kingdom of heaven truly is.


Our Savior would have us understand that the kingdom of heaven means more than ANYTHING else in all the world, more than even our lives here and now. Giving up EVERYTHING for the kingdom of heaven - this is realizing its true worth.


Mat 13:45,46 Again-
The kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.


One pearl of great price worth EVERYTHING we possess to make it ours.
The kingdom of heaven worth EVERYTHING we possess to make it ours.
No greater treasure exists.


Mat 13:47-50 Again-
The kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:
Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away.
So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.


The kingdom of heaven- a net that will capture us ALL. The kingdom of heaven made available to all! The kingdom of heaven affects EVERY single human being that is in existence and was ever in existence. In that wonderful net of pure love some will be justified by acceptance of the Sacrifice made for them and others will reject that Sacrifice. Those who reject salvation will be painfully destroyed- and this will be their choice- their heart choice, a choice made freely.


Mat 13:51-52 Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things?
They say unto him, Yea, Lord.
Then said he unto them- Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.


Have you understood these parables? We NEED to understand these parables. We need to understand the truth of the Kingdom of Heaven! Jesus taught and we need to learn from the greatest teacher ever. The lessons our Savior would have us learn are eternally important.


Every scribe instructed unto the kingdom of heaven -shares this wondrous message that combines the new and the old into the marvelous understanding of salvation in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior!


Our Father which art in heaven...


Mat 6:13 ... thine is the kingdom.


PRAISE GOD! All glory, all honor, all power to our God, our King!


Thy kingdom come…thine is the kingdom.


Amen.