The Kingdom Comes
Matthew
{6:10} Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as [it is] in heaven
Luke
{11:2} And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.
*******
Thy kingdom come.
Jesus said these words when the disciples asked Him to teach them to pray. He told them to pray to the Heavenly Father and in that prayer to pray... Thy kingdom come.
Kingdom.
Luke
{9:60} Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.
Jesus spoke a lot about the kingdom of God, before Jesus did though John the Baptist did.
Matt. {3:1} In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, {3:2} And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
{4:23} And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom
{5:3} Blessed [are] the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
{5:10} Blessed [are] they which are persecuted for righteousness sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
{5:19} Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach [them,] the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
{5:20} For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed [the righteousness] of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
{4:17} From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
{6:10} Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as [it is] in heaven.
{6:13} 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.
{6:33} But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you
{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.
{9:35} And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.
{10:7} And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
{12:28} But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you
*******
The Kingdom of God.
We read fairy tales all the time and some of them have kingdoms- there are the tales of evil verses good and we've made them stories, games, unbelievable. We've taken the concept of good and evil and altered it so much that it is just that- fodder for entertainment. We've lost sight of true nobility, of a life dedicated to honor, to a purpose beyond the norm. We think living for a kingdom we can't touch, we can't see, we can't hear- totally ridiculous. People are called crazy who live for 'imaginary' things as if they are real. Try and make it real to another and we're more crazy still. This whole battle between good and evil isn't something real and if we make it real we're crazy. Satan surely has done his work well hasn't he? Seriously, he has. Yes, we allow for a certain amount of religion and we even tolerate zeolots, Jesus freaks, and religious nuts. We humor them and wish them to go away so they're not disturbing our little lives, lives not filled with belief of a kingdom to come, a real kingdom for you and for me.
The Kingdom of God.
Christ is the embodiment of that Kingdom. Christ preached the Kingdom. We too should preach the Kingdom as it is in Jesus.
The Kingdom is real! It's not something made up from someone's imagination, it is real as you and I are real. We are either for the Kingdom or we're not and there isn't any middle ground. Left to our own devices we are not seeking the kingdom and if not sought it won't be found.
May God help us all seek the Kingdom of God, to preach the Kingdom to others.
By the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ now and forever.
Amen.
**
6/5/10
2Ti 3:15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
Why do people believe there is salvation outside of the holy scriptures? Why do people insist they can understand all that is needed to be understood by listening to someone else preach the scripture one day a week? Salvation is found in Jesus alone this is true, but... the scriptures make us WISE unto salvation through FAITH with is in Christ Jesus. We believe once we've obtained knowledge that it, that's all there is. However very few of us can read something one time and retain knowledge of it forever, able to recall any part of what we've read at any time without ever having to reread that something again. I could read a whole book and out of that book maybe be able to recall bits and pieces of it, and very few part would be read exactly as they were written- if any. I could give you the jist of the story or maybe if it really fascinated me I could remember a bit more, but most certainly I would not remember the majority. When people are in school they are given memorization exercises and then tested on their memory. Spelling exercises, vocabulary exercises, and before a test is due people study for that test. The point I'm trying to make here is that we need to study the scriptures.
2Ti 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
We need to know the holy scriptures, especially those of us who haven't learned them from childhood. We know the scriptures can make us WISE unto salvation through faith in Christ Jesus and in knowing that we need to learn the scriptures. The only way we're going to truly learn the scriptures is through study, not a weekly study but a daily searching. The daily searching of the scriptures doesn't have to be hours and hours and hours long, it can be ten minutes, five minutes but to open the Word of God and read just a bit from it and study that bit allowing that bit to inspire thought towards salvation, toward Jesus Christ, this is what is important.
If someone handed you a bottle of pills and said take one every day and you'll be wise to salvation though Christ Jesus, you'd pop that pill without fail wouldn't you? If someone told you where you could find a special juice that if you drank a small glass every day you'd be wise to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus, you'd gladly drink and make sure you had a lifetime supply. We want things to be easy, we want things to require no or very little effort on our part. We don't want to put forth too much effort unless we have a tangible result. Sure you'd work very hard tilling that ground, planting those seedlings, watering and weeding that garden patch because you know the end result will be a grand sight, satisfying to you because of how hard you worked to bring it forth. Yes, you'd scrub the house from top to bottom and bask in the results of the cleaning. You'd go to a thankless job day after day knowing it will result in money for your living expenses. The hard work is necessary for most people, very few among the majority have things just given to them without working hard. We don't want to work at all for salvation- the Bible even says this -
Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
So why should we have to study at all? Studying is work, right?
Jas 2:17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
Our faith results in the works of God as a natural recourse. To claim you have faith and yet remain unwilling to live as Jesus gave us an example to live, as Jesus told us we should live is faithless faith and YES there is such a thing. A hollow faith. An empty faith. Faith that is spouted but NOT lived. We need a LIVING faith, as our Lord lives.
Will works save us? NO. Will faith save us? Yes. Living faith, not dead faith.
By the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior may we have a living faith and may we search the scriptures which are able to make us wise unto salvation through faith in Jesus.
Amen.
6/5/11
Psa 71:3 Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort…
… thou hast given commandment to save me; for thou art my rock and my fortress.
God has given the commandment to save us. Think about it-- He didn't have to save us. People think that there is that *have to* aspect to this but there isn't. God didn't have to save humanity, He almost didn't.
Gen 6:6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
Gen 6:7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
Gen 6:8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
God gives the commandment to save us.
God accepts our repentance and our plea for forgiveness. Does He have to accept? No. There is a choice there is a knowing of us.
Jn 3:19 And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.
1Jn 3:20 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.
God knows all things. God knows if we have love for Him. God knows if we seek forgiveness. God knows if we repent of our wrongs. God doesn't have to save us, but God can and will save us. If we make God our strong habitation where we continually resort, if we put all our trust in God, we have to know that God will give the commandment to save us because HE is our rock and our fortress. God is our ONLY solace. God is our only hope! God is our strong habitation. God is our place of safety. We can go to God for all our eternal needs and yes, our immediate needs as well but we must understand that when we go to God for our immediate needs that He sees the BIG picture and how every detail of our life blends together to lead us to eternal life in Him and while we don't understand our sufferings, our pains, our distress and why we are called to go through things we do not want to go through, He does.
Above all no matter what we MUST remember that God is our rock and fortress, He never forsakes us, never!
2Sa 22:2 And he said, The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer
Psa 18:2 The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.
Jer 16:19 O LORD, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction
My rock, my fortress, my deliverer, my strength, my buckler, my salvation, my high tower, my refuge-- this is our GOD.
No person can be all this for us and so many of us look for these qualities in another human being and are disappointed when they don't live up to the expectations. Only God can be all this perfectly for us, only God.
Do we need a fortress to go to in life? Yes.
Do we need a deliverer? Yes.
Do we need strength? Yes.
Do we need a buckler? Yes.
Do we need salvation? Yes.
Do we need a high tower? Yes.
Do we need refuge? Yes.
WE NEED GOD!
We need to know that He has given the commandment to save us.
Jer 17:14 Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.
Salvation is of the Lord! Praise God! All glory and honor to Him!
Psa 71:3 Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort thou hast given commandment to save me; for thou art my rock and my fortress.
AMEN!
{6:10} Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as [it is] in heaven
Luke
{11:2} And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.
*******
Thy kingdom come.
Jesus said these words when the disciples asked Him to teach them to pray. He told them to pray to the Heavenly Father and in that prayer to pray... Thy kingdom come.
Kingdom.
Luke
{9:60} Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.
Jesus spoke a lot about the kingdom of God, before Jesus did though John the Baptist did.
Matt. {3:1} In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, {3:2} And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
{4:23} And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom
{5:3} Blessed [are] the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
{5:10} Blessed [are] they which are persecuted for righteousness sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
{5:19} Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach [them,] the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
{5:20} For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed [the righteousness] of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
{4:17} From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
{6:10} Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as [it is] in heaven.
{6:13} 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.
{6:33} But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you
{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.
{9:35} And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.
{10:7} And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
{12:28} But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you
*******
The Kingdom of God.
We read fairy tales all the time and some of them have kingdoms- there are the tales of evil verses good and we've made them stories, games, unbelievable. We've taken the concept of good and evil and altered it so much that it is just that- fodder for entertainment. We've lost sight of true nobility, of a life dedicated to honor, to a purpose beyond the norm. We think living for a kingdom we can't touch, we can't see, we can't hear- totally ridiculous. People are called crazy who live for 'imaginary' things as if they are real. Try and make it real to another and we're more crazy still. This whole battle between good and evil isn't something real and if we make it real we're crazy. Satan surely has done his work well hasn't he? Seriously, he has. Yes, we allow for a certain amount of religion and we even tolerate zeolots, Jesus freaks, and religious nuts. We humor them and wish them to go away so they're not disturbing our little lives, lives not filled with belief of a kingdom to come, a real kingdom for you and for me.
The Kingdom of God.
Christ is the embodiment of that Kingdom. Christ preached the Kingdom. We too should preach the Kingdom as it is in Jesus.
The Kingdom is real! It's not something made up from someone's imagination, it is real as you and I are real. We are either for the Kingdom or we're not and there isn't any middle ground. Left to our own devices we are not seeking the kingdom and if not sought it won't be found.
May God help us all seek the Kingdom of God, to preach the Kingdom to others.
By the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ now and forever.
Amen.
**
6/5/10
2Ti 3:15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
Why do people believe there is salvation outside of the holy scriptures? Why do people insist they can understand all that is needed to be understood by listening to someone else preach the scripture one day a week? Salvation is found in Jesus alone this is true, but... the scriptures make us WISE unto salvation through FAITH with is in Christ Jesus. We believe once we've obtained knowledge that it, that's all there is. However very few of us can read something one time and retain knowledge of it forever, able to recall any part of what we've read at any time without ever having to reread that something again. I could read a whole book and out of that book maybe be able to recall bits and pieces of it, and very few part would be read exactly as they were written- if any. I could give you the jist of the story or maybe if it really fascinated me I could remember a bit more, but most certainly I would not remember the majority. When people are in school they are given memorization exercises and then tested on their memory. Spelling exercises, vocabulary exercises, and before a test is due people study for that test. The point I'm trying to make here is that we need to study the scriptures.
2Ti 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
We need to know the holy scriptures, especially those of us who haven't learned them from childhood. We know the scriptures can make us WISE unto salvation through faith in Christ Jesus and in knowing that we need to learn the scriptures. The only way we're going to truly learn the scriptures is through study, not a weekly study but a daily searching. The daily searching of the scriptures doesn't have to be hours and hours and hours long, it can be ten minutes, five minutes but to open the Word of God and read just a bit from it and study that bit allowing that bit to inspire thought towards salvation, toward Jesus Christ, this is what is important.
If someone handed you a bottle of pills and said take one every day and you'll be wise to salvation though Christ Jesus, you'd pop that pill without fail wouldn't you? If someone told you where you could find a special juice that if you drank a small glass every day you'd be wise to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus, you'd gladly drink and make sure you had a lifetime supply. We want things to be easy, we want things to require no or very little effort on our part. We don't want to put forth too much effort unless we have a tangible result. Sure you'd work very hard tilling that ground, planting those seedlings, watering and weeding that garden patch because you know the end result will be a grand sight, satisfying to you because of how hard you worked to bring it forth. Yes, you'd scrub the house from top to bottom and bask in the results of the cleaning. You'd go to a thankless job day after day knowing it will result in money for your living expenses. The hard work is necessary for most people, very few among the majority have things just given to them without working hard. We don't want to work at all for salvation- the Bible even says this -
Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
So why should we have to study at all? Studying is work, right?
Jas 2:17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
Our faith results in the works of God as a natural recourse. To claim you have faith and yet remain unwilling to live as Jesus gave us an example to live, as Jesus told us we should live is faithless faith and YES there is such a thing. A hollow faith. An empty faith. Faith that is spouted but NOT lived. We need a LIVING faith, as our Lord lives.
Will works save us? NO. Will faith save us? Yes. Living faith, not dead faith.
By the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior may we have a living faith and may we search the scriptures which are able to make us wise unto salvation through faith in Jesus.
Amen.
6/5/11
Psa 71:3 Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort…
… thou hast given commandment to save me; for thou art my rock and my fortress.
God has given the commandment to save us. Think about it-- He didn't have to save us. People think that there is that *have to* aspect to this but there isn't. God didn't have to save humanity, He almost didn't.
Gen 6:6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
Gen 6:7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
Gen 6:8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
God gives the commandment to save us.
God accepts our repentance and our plea for forgiveness. Does He have to accept? No. There is a choice there is a knowing of us.
Jn 3:19 And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.
1Jn 3:20 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.
God knows all things. God knows if we have love for Him. God knows if we seek forgiveness. God knows if we repent of our wrongs. God doesn't have to save us, but God can and will save us. If we make God our strong habitation where we continually resort, if we put all our trust in God, we have to know that God will give the commandment to save us because HE is our rock and our fortress. God is our ONLY solace. God is our only hope! God is our strong habitation. God is our place of safety. We can go to God for all our eternal needs and yes, our immediate needs as well but we must understand that when we go to God for our immediate needs that He sees the BIG picture and how every detail of our life blends together to lead us to eternal life in Him and while we don't understand our sufferings, our pains, our distress and why we are called to go through things we do not want to go through, He does.
Above all no matter what we MUST remember that God is our rock and fortress, He never forsakes us, never!
2Sa 22:2 And he said, The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer
Psa 18:2 The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.
Jer 16:19 O LORD, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction
My rock, my fortress, my deliverer, my strength, my buckler, my salvation, my high tower, my refuge-- this is our GOD.
No person can be all this for us and so many of us look for these qualities in another human being and are disappointed when they don't live up to the expectations. Only God can be all this perfectly for us, only God.
Do we need a fortress to go to in life? Yes.
Do we need a deliverer? Yes.
Do we need strength? Yes.
Do we need a buckler? Yes.
Do we need salvation? Yes.
Do we need a high tower? Yes.
Do we need refuge? Yes.
WE NEED GOD!
We need to know that He has given the commandment to save us.
Jer 17:14 Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.
Salvation is of the Lord! Praise God! All glory and honor to Him!
Psa 71:3 Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort thou hast given commandment to save me; for thou art my rock and my fortress.
AMEN!