Lord, save us from ourselves!

From yesterday…

Clearly the Bible has instructions on our thinking, yes?

Do we listen to God's word? Do we listen? Do we obey the truth we are given?

Our minds and bodies are at war, our flesh and our spirit are at war, is it any wonder that our Savior speaks as He does to us?

He tells us that we don't want the truth if we want our flesh nature to rule us, we prefer darkness rather than light. We'd rather have no knowledge than have knowledge that will cause us to comprehend our own self worth, and in comprehending know that we are NOTHING without God, without our Savior.

Joh_3:19  And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

Men LOVED darkness.
Men LOVED darkness BECAUSE their  deeds were EVIL.

Men don't WANT understanding, they want to remain in ignorance, they don't want to know the truth because the truth wars against their flesh nature and they want to indulge that flesh nature.

Sin becomes a heavy weight when we recognize it for what it is, and people do NOT want to feel that weight, they do not want to feel bad about their sins.  They want to love their sins so they love their darkness.  They do not  want to reveal sin for what it is.

Sin is what separates us from God.
Sin is what kept us from eternal life and introduced death to us.
Sin is what has brought every single bad thing in the world into existence.  Think of something bad, something sad, something awful, and it's root cause is sin.
Sin is the transgression of the law of God, because the law of God is love, and God is love. And when you separate from love you are left with sin.

Sin is self serving.
Love is selfless.

The war exists because our flesh nature craves to be self serving.

The light of the truth reveals our Savior's complete selflessness.
The light gives us understanding, do we want understanding? If we don't then we admittedly love sin.

When our sins are reveals we have to seek forgiveness.  Our Savior gives us the light of the truth so that our sins are revealed. And being born again, born of water and spirit, we are born with the ability of our spirit to do truth in Christ, to have understanding, to comprehend the light.

No matter how filthy our sins are, no matter how slight our sins can be, any stain of selfish sinfulness must be exposed to the light of truth in Jesus Christ.

We seek constant forgiveness.

Paul detested his flesh nature, crying out to be saved from his own sinfulness, and we TOO must detest our flesh nature, our propensity to sin. We cannot CALL any sin in us good! As soon as we call any sin in us good, we are inviting darkness into our lives.

We must BELIEVE in Jesus Christ our Lord, He is the ONLY One who can save us from ourselves!

Please LORD, Save us!  Keep us in Your LIGHT, Your TRUTH, always!

Do truth

Do truth.

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.

How?

Joh 3:5  Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Joh 3:6  That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Joh 3:7  Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

How?

Joh 3:10  Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?
Joh 3:11  Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.
Joh 3:12  If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?

How?

Joh 3:13  And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.
Joh 3:14  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
Joh 3:15  That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

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.
Joh 3:17  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
Joh 3:18  He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Joh 3:19  And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
Joh 3:20  For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
Joh 3:21  But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

*******

Truly Jesus speaks from the heart and tries to explain, but in explaining He comes right out and tells us that to believe we must believe, to want understanding, we must do truth.

Do truth.

Jesus says- 'He that doeth truth…'

Doing truth.

To do truth- you must know truth, and Jesus speaks nothing but the truth.

When we LIVE the truth, then we are given understanding.  Our actions are manifested as being truth, and truth is wrought in God!

Living truth.

Jesus said this- 'If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?'

Believing.  We want to know the answers but when they are given to us we refuse to believe them.

If we are evil we do not want to hear the truth, we do not want understanding, we do not want to believe, not really. We'd much rather live as we please than be told our actions are not of truth, not of Christ.

To come to Christ, to come to the truth, to come to the light is to comprehend that every single act we commit is either done in truth, or done to be reproved. There is NO middle ground!

We strive for that middle ground, that place where we can coast by without feeling too guilty about our lives.  We don't want to live our lives constantly being reproved but we are at a loss as to live our lives without doing things that are contrary to the truth that our Savior gives to us.

Again- Paul sums it up incredibly well-

Rom 7:14  For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
Rom 7:15  For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
Rom 7:16  If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
Rom 7:17  Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:18  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
Rom 7:19  For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Rom 7:20  Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:21  I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
Rom 7:22  For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
Rom 7:23  But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
Rom 7:24  O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Rom 7:25  I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

Beautifully summed up isn't it? Who of us hasn't felt this way?

We need to truly THANK GOD THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD.

We can serve the law of God with our minds, even when our bodies are prone to sin.

Mind and body.

Let's see what the Bible has to say about our thinking-

1Pe 4:12  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
1Pe 4:13  But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

Think - it not strange.

Php_4:8  Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Think- on these things.

Gal 6:3  For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.
Gal 6:4  But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.

Think- himself to be something when he is nothing.

2Co 10:4  (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
2Co 10:5  Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
2Co 10:6  And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.
2Co 10:7  Do ye look on things after the outward appearance? If any man trust to himself that he is Christ's, let him of himself think this again, that, as he is Christ's, even so are we Christ's.

Bringing every THOUGHT to the obedience of Christ.

Think- that as he is Christ's- even so are we Christ's.

2Co 3:5  Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;

Not…think- any thing as of our ourselves
Think… our sufficiency is of God.

1Co_8:2  And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know.

Think- he knows, he knows nothing.

Rom_12:3  For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

Think- not highly of ourselves.
Think- soberly.

Joh_5:39  Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

You think- you have eternal life

Mat_5:17  Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

Think not- that I come to destroy the law.

*******
We can serve the law of God with our minds, even when our bodies are prone to sin.

Mind and body.

Thinking.

Clearly the Bible has instructions on our thinking, yes?

Do we listen to God's word? Do we listen? Do we obey the truth we are given?

Our minds and body are at war, our flesh and our spirit are at war, is it any wonder that our Savior speaks as He does to us?

He tells us that we don't want the truth if we want our flesh nature to rule us, we prefer darkness rather than light. We'd rather have no knowledge than have knowledge that will cause us to comprehend our own self worth, and in comprehending know that we are NOTHING without God, without our Savior.

More tomorrow by the grace of our Lord.

We need LIGHT. We need TRUTH. We need to BELIEVE. We need JESUS CHRIST OUR SAVIOR!

Please LORD, bring us closer to YOU, give us truth, give us light, we would KNOW YOU and have YOU KNOW US!

We want to be born again, we want our spirit to be born in You.

Please LORD, help us!

Born of water, born of spirit

Joh 3:1  There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
Joh 3:2  The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
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.

*******

Born once, born again.  Without the second birth we cannot see the kingdom of God. 

So, like Nicodemus we all have to as- How can we be born again, can we enter into our mother's womb a second time and be born?

Clearly an impossibility.

Joh 3:4  Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?

The second birth is of a different sort, it's not of the flesh, but of the spirit and water.

Joh 3:5  Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

So unless we have this second spiritual water birth, we cannot enter the kingdom of God.

Jesus expounded on this second birth further-

Joh 3:6  That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Joh 3:7  Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

All of us are born to the flesh it's how we come into existence. However spiritual birth is not something that everyone experiences, it's not an automatic milestone in our lives such as getting our teeth, growing tall, hitting puberty, aging in general. There is no approximate date for everyone to have their spiritual birth.

Spiritual birth is something that happens when a person is convicted by the Holy Spirit that Jesus Christ is their Lord and Savior.

Read on-

Joh 3:8  The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
Joh 3:9  Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?
Joh 3:10  Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?
Joh 3:11  Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.
Joh 3:12  If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?

Joh 3:13  And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.
Joh 3:14  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
Joh 3:15  That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

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.

Joh 3:17  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
Joh 3:18  He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Joh 3:19  And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
Joh 3:20  For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
Joh 3:21  But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

Spiritual birth. 

Baptism signifies this second birthing, it's a result of the spiritual birth.

Mar 16:15  And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
Mar 16:16  He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

Rom 6:3  Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
Rom 6:4  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

Birth signifies new life. First birth, second birth, any birth signifies new life.  So if a second birth signifies new life- what has to happen to the old life?

Rom 6:5  For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
Rom 6:6  Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

The old life, the product of our first birth is the old us. It has to be the old us if we have a new birth.  No birth produces an old anything. All birth brings forth new life. Never an old life on top of a new one, not ever. 

To be born again means we are born into a new life and our old life has to be dead.

Our old self is crucified with CHRIST.
Our old self is buried with CHRIST.

We know Jesus tells us that the new birth is a water and Spirit birth.
That water in baptism covers us and symbolizes that old life dying. If left under that water death occurs.  Burying our old life- a life of just flesh- under that water and rising to a new life of spirit and flesh is truly being born again.  A flesh life without a spiritual birth, without being born again truly cannot inherit the kingdom of God.  Remember-

Joh 4:23  But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
Joh 4:24  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Christ tells us we must be born again, our spirit must be born and once our spirit is born it makes our entire life new. We are no longer dead in spirit but alive and our spirit is only alive because Christ gives it life!

More on this tomorrow by the grace of our LORD, JESUS CHRIST! Our wonderful Savior! The Giver of new life!

Gift of the Kingdom of Heaven

Are you covetous? 

Let's define covetous first of all- it's not a term we hear all the time-

'cov·et·ous
ˈkəvətəs/
adjective
adjective: covetous
    1. 1.
having or showing a great desire to possess something, typically something belonging to someone else.

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Do you ever have a great desire to possess something that isn't yours?

We call that normal, don't we? We see no harm in desiring what others possess.

Can we be content with the things we have if we are coveting, if we are in a constant state of desiring the things of others?  No, we can't.

Can coveting become an endless pursuit? Yes.  No sooner than one coveted desire is met than another pops up to take its place. There is no shortage of things to covet.

The Bible tells us that the Pharisees were covetous.  Pharisees, men of Israel, God's chosen people.  Men who prided themselves on following all of God's laws and teachings. Clearly they fell far short of keeping the tenth commandment, the moral law of our God teaching us not to covet.

Read the following, the Pharisees deriding Jesus-

Luk 16:14  And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him.

And Jesus said to them-

Luk 16:15  And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.

That which is HIGHLY esteemed among men is ABOMINATION in the sight of God.

Do we believe this? We should. Seriously, do we believe this?  Right now is our gift giving and receiving season and it is especially notable during this time just how much we covet things.  We even covet things to give to others.  Coveting is coveting, we can't justify it.  With Christ the desire for the Kingdom of Heaven was paramount!  The desire for the Kingdom of Heaven was truly something we need to treasure. Things eternal, not things temporal. Yet right now we fill our homes with gifts and sit back wishing we could do more for others and for ourselves. When we do this are we truly placing our treasures in heaven? Are we helping others to place their treasures in heaven?

Before anyone thinks I'm against gift giving/receiving, I'm not.  But the extremes people go to are not of God!  'That which is highly esteemed among men is ABOMINATION in the sight of God.'  This  is something we cannot allow ourselves to forget. No matter what it might be the seemingly best, most selfless situation it can be turned to deceit and abomination. Satan loves nothing better than to turn our hearts to serve him, and he loves it all the more when he can do it and keep us in the dark about it all.  Let us imagine we are serving God when all the while we are serving Satan, the Evil One likes nothing more.

Do something this gift giving season- pray before you buy every gift, pray that the gift of the Kingdom of God is first and foremost in the hearts of those you are giving gifts to.

The Pharisees did not want people getting to know Jesus, they did not want to hear the kingdom of heaven preached by Jesus, they wanted to stick with their sacrificial system. Their idea of a Messiah was someone who would come and use the same sacrificial system and bring earthly power to their people.

Listen to this - from when Jesus went to Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus, and then raised Lazarus from the dead-

Joh 11:44  And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.
Joh 11:45  Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him.
Joh 11:46  But some of them went their ways to the Pharisees, and told them what things Jesus had done.
Joh 11:47  Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles.
Joh 11:48  If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation.

They did NOT want people to believe in the Kingdom of Heaven being preached by Jesus!  To believe what Jesus was saying meant believing in a way of life totally contrary to what they desired. A thief, a prostitute, a tax collector all on equal footing?! Never. They were the scum of the earth, they were a much lower class and had no right to have hope of the kingdom of heaven without a lot of ceremonial sacrificing and even then it was doubtful they'd desire the kingdom of heaven. 

These men saw and heard of Jesus doing miracles and they couldn't just let Him continue on that way or else the way of life the Pharisees and priests had come to would be forever changed. They didn't want ALL men to believe on Jesus,  if they did then those men would no long believe in them!

The kingdom of heaven, Jesus came to preach this kingdom of heaven and He taught his apostles and disciples to preach the kingdom, He wanted the kingdom preached. He want the kingdom of heaven realized! He wanted everyone to know they had hope in Him! He came to make the kingdom of heaven available to all those who would believe on Him and in believing on Him they would believe in LOVE, for He is LOVE. Love for God and love for each other.

Satan wants us to be absorbed in ourselves and our selfish, self-serving love.

We need to preach the kingdom of heaven found in Jesus Christ our Lord, our Savior!

Please Lord, help us to recognize any coveting we may do, understanding that whether we are giving, getting or simply hoping to do either that ultimate that Your kingdom and Your kingdom alone found in You is the only gift - giving or receiving - that any of us really need.

Guide our hearts, Lord, be in our lives teaching us, chastising us when necessary, we need You Lord more than anything else in life! You are life!

All in YOU, by YOU.

All glory, praise, and honor unto You, Lord!

God's pleasure to give us the kingdom

God wants to give us the kingdom! If pleases God to give us the kingdom!

The kingdom!

I keep stressing and can't stop stressing this fact- the kingdom of God is REAL!

The kingdom of God is a REAL KINGDOM.

It's a kingdom unlike any other anywhere.

We marvel at historical kingdoms and their lavish settings. Even some modern day kingdoms are outrageously extravagant in such a way we can't fully comprehend.

'The Swisshorn Gold Palace in Hong Kong is 650 square meters of the stuff. Everything, including the desk, the bed, the couch, the carpet and, yes, even the toilet is gold. The project took five years to complete at the cost of $50 million.

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That's just one little example, google modern palaces and just read about the 'kingdoms' on earth.  None of these kingdoms, not a single one of them can begin to compare to God's Heavenly Kingdom!

Not one of these kingdoms is worth anything in eternity. Every single earthly kingdom will fail, will fade, will deteriorate, will turn to dust.  Only God's kingdom is forever yet we keep building our earthly kingdoms! We keep telling ourselves that things here matter!

We are heading into a season of giving and receiving. When you are asked what you want- ask yourself if it something God would want you to want. Seriously, ask yourself that question. Chances are you'll be able to answer, 'yes'. God isn't monster devoid of feeling and He doesn't want us to suffer, He wants us to be happy. Yet when our SUPPOSED happiness depends upon our wants, we might just be exceeding what God wants for us. He doesn't want us to be content with earthly treasures. He wants us to be content with Heavenly treasures.  If our treasures are TRULY in heaven, then nothing on earth can take away the happiness that resides in that treasure. Nothing on earth can STEAL that treasure. Nothing on earth can rob us of that wondrous treasure.

Our Savior wasn't telling us to put our treasures in heaven without reason, He had a VERY good reason. 

Where our treasure is, so is our hearts.

Our hearts need to be in heaven.

We can LOSE everything we have, every loved one, every possession, our health, and our lives. We can LOSE it all and as long as we do still have our lives even in the loss of all things, if we have our hearts in heaven that's ALL that matters right here, right now.

Luk 12:22  And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on.
Luk 12:23  The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment.
Luk 12:24  Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?
Luk 12:25  And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit?
Luk 12:26  If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest?
Luk 12:27  Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Luk 12:28  If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?
Luk 12:29  And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind.
Luk 12:30  For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.
Luk 12:31  But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Luk 12:32  Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

Seek the kingdom of GOD.
It's the Father good pleasure to give us the kingdom.

What amazing joy we can have in our heart here and now if our hearts reside in the Kingdom of God and not here, not on anything here. The sorrow we will continue to feel over life's many hardships is normal, but they don't have to lead us to despair. All the sorrows will be over one day, all this here, right now is temporary to eternity except our love, our choice to believe in our Savior who is love!

Please LORD we would receive the kingdom that it is your good pleasure to give to us!

Pleas LORD we would be with YOU in YOUR kingdom in heaven one day! We long for Your kingdom, for You, for LOVE!

All by YOUR GRACE!
YOUR LOVE!
YOUR MERCY!
YOU!

Be our everything!

Waiting for the Kingdom of God

A disciple of Jesus.

Mat_27:57  When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple

Mar_15:43  Joseph of Arimathaea, an honourable counsellor, which also waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus.

Luk_23:51  (The same had not consented to the counsel and deed of them;) he was of Arimathaea, a city of the Jews: who also himself waited for the kingdom of God.

Joh_19:38  And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus.

Joseph of Arimathaea--

A rich man.
An honorable counsellor.
A disciple of Jesus.
A dweller in a city of the Jews.
A Jew.
Fearful of the Jews.
A kingdom of God seeker.
Possessor of the dead body of Jesus.

We've been told that rich man will find it all but impossible to enter into the kingdom of heaven, yet here we have a rich Jewish man, an honorable counsellor seeking the kingdom of God. He WAITED for the kingdom of God.

We are waiting for the kingdom of God too, aren't we?

We know that the way to the kingdom of God is our Savior, Jesus Christ.  Joseph of Arimathaea knew this too. He knew that Jesus was the key to the Kingdom he was seeking. 

When Jesus died, it was Joseph who went to Pilate to beg for Jesus' body.  Joseph knew God's Son had died. Joseph knew that it was important to get Jesus' body and bury Him in a tomb quickly, before the Sabbath which was quickly coming on. For the Savior of the world to remain on the cross any longer than necessary was unthinkable. 

Was it easy to get Jesus' body?

No.

We tend to think it was just one of those little details that aren't really important, but it is important to realize that it wasn't easy to claim Jesus' body.

It was much more common for crucified bodies to be left upon the cross for the elements and wild life to decimate. They were left on the cross as a reminder to others of the horrific punishment that awaited all who disobeyed Roman law.

Joseph - 'went in boldly unto Pilate'

Boldly. It was a very bold move on Joseph's part to go before Pilate.

Luk 23:52  This man went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus.

Begged the body of Jesus.

It simply was NOT common for anyone crucified to be taken down off their cross.  

Perhaps Pilate allowed Joseph to take the body not only because he came to him boldly and begged him, but because there was an element of guilt on Pilate's part.

Mat 27:22  Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified.
Mat 27:23  And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified.
Mat 27:24  When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.

Pilate didn't want to order Jesus crucified. He went so far as to wash his hands before them and say he's innocent of the blood of Jesus.

It's easy to imagine that Pilate wanted to make this uncommon gesture to Joseph, do I have proof of it, no, but it's easy to imagine.

Joseph was a rich man waiting for the kingdom.
Joseph was an honorable Jewish man.

Joseph was a disciple of Christ's.

We are disciples of Christ's, we are seeking the Kingdom of God just as Joseph of Arimethaea.  Joseph loved Christ so incredibly much. We must love Him just as much as He did.

Waiting for the Kingdom of God.

Are you waiting for the Kingdom of Heaven?

We need to be described in this way- as those waiting for the Kingdom of God.

Please Lord, help us to be YOURS so fully, so devotedly as only You can help us be.

We wait for the Kingdom of God! We wait for Your Kingdom! Please, may Your Kingdom Come, Your Will Be Done!

Please Lord.

Not far from the kingdom

Can you imagine hearing Jesus say this to you-

'THOU ART NOT FAR FROM THE KINGDOM OF GOD.'

Just imagine it! How wondrous would it be to hear those words.  That particular scribe wasn't far from the kingdom of God. This, when Jesus went about saying that is wasn't good to be a scribe-

Mat_23:13  But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.

Scribes as a rule were not very receptive to Jesus . 

This particular scribe however was receptive to the Lord's teachings. 

Read the following--

Mar 12:28  And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?
Mar 12:29  And Jesus answered him, THE FIRST OF ALL THE COMMANDMENTS IS, HEAR, O ISRAEL; THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD:
MAR 12:30  AND THOU SHALT LOVE THE LORD THY GOD WITH ALL THY HEART, AND WITH ALL THY SOUL, AND WITH ALL THY MIND, AND WITH ALL THY STRENGTH: THIS IS THE FIRST COMMANDMENT.
MAR 12:31  AND THE SECOND IS LIKE, NAMELY THIS, THOU SHALT LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR AS THYSELF. THERE IS NONE OTHER COMMANDMENT GREATER THAN THESE.
Mar 12:32  And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:
Mar 12:33  And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.
Mar 12:34  And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, THOU ART NOT FAR FROM THE KINGDOM OF GOD. And no man after that durst ask him any question.

The scribe agreed with Jesus.

To love God and to love others is MORE than ALL WHOLE BURNT OFFERINGS AND SACRIFICES.

The scribe said this! It was true! No wonder Jesus told him that he wasn't far from the kingdom of God.  To most scribes and Pharisees the sacrificial system was everything. The form of godliness was everything. To have a scribe say that love meant more than all that was truly amazing.

Love is of God, to love and have all our actions, every single one borne out of that love is everything. 

Love in every single commandment, how else could our Savior tell  us this--

Joh_14:15  If ye love me, keep my commandments.

If loving God and loving others are the greatest of all the commandments it stands to reason that loving God and loving others is found in the ten moral laws of God. Is it? We've discussed it before but let's quickly recap.

    1- Exo 20:3  Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
    2- Exo 20:4  Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
Exo 20:5  Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
Exo 20:6  And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
    3- Exo 20:7  Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
    4- Exo 20:8  Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Exo 20:9  Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
Exo 20:10  But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
Exo 20:11  For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
    5- Exo 20:12  Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
    6- Exo 20:13  Thou shalt not kill.
    7- Exo 20:14  Thou shalt not commit adultery.
    8- Exo 20:15  Thou shalt not steal.
   9-    Exo 20:16  Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
    10- Exo 20:17  Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.
   
The first four reveal our love for God, the last six reveal our love for others.
   
It makes PERFECT sense!

A summation- love God, love others.

God is love!

The scribe comprehended this. The scribe knew that even though they were bound under a sacrificial system in order to be at-one with God, that the love of God made all that possible and without that love for God and man, the sacrifices meant nothing.

Our Savior became the ultimate unique Sacrifice of all Sacrifices and His death meant the end of the old sacrificial system.  Perhaps the scribe was 'not far' from the kingdom because he had a little bit further to go, accepting Christ as God's Son, accepting Christ and His sacrifice.

I'd like to imagine this scribe will be one of those that will make it to the kingdom of heaven, that he will rise upon that day of Christ's return to call all of us to the kingdom with Him. 

By the grace of God ALL of us will enter the kingdom to be with our SAVIOR, to be with LOVE.

Please LORD we would be in Your kingdom with You!

Let us fully comprehend the truth of Your love revealed to us perfectly in Your Ten Moral Laws all by the grace of GOD, all through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ our Lord.  Help us to LOVE GOD and to LOVE OTHERS, always!

Help us, LORD. Bless us! Keep us in You!