Kingdom of God

Keep your eyes on God

King Jehoshaphat on a 17th century painting by...

King Jehoshaphat on a 17th century painting by unknown artist in the choir of Sankta Maria kyrka in Åhus, Sweden. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“O our God, will you not judge them? For we have no might against this great multitude that is coming against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon you’ (2 Chronicles 21:12).

King Jehoshaphat was confounded by the size of the army that was coming to attack Israel. So, instead of relying on his own wisdom and the strength of his army, he sought God’s intervention; he prayed:

“O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you. Did you not, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? And they have lived in it and have built for you in it a sanctuary for your name, saying, ‘If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before you— for your name is in this house—and cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save.’ And now behold, the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, and whom they avoided and did not destroy—  behold, they reward us by coming to drive us out of your possession, which you have given us to inherit. O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? We are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you” (2 Chronicles 20:5-12).

In your own strength and in your own wisdom you are vulnerable, but God never wants you to be in a place where you are dependent upon yourself. God never wants your confidence to rest upon your own understanding.

  • It is one thing to know that there is a great enemy against you; it is another to know that God is greater than any enemy you face.
  • It is one thing to know that you are weak; it is another thing to know that God is all-powerful.
  •  It is one thing to know that you don’t have all the answers; it is another thing to know that God has perfect wisdom, knowledge and understanding.

You will never face defeat as long as your eyes are upon, and your trust is in the One who knows no defeat.

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Are you steadfast and determined to follow Christ?

Jesus is considered by scholars such as Weber ...

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 Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.  For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, (Hebrews 3:12-14).

The word “steadfast” is an important part of your spiritual journey. This word helps to define the condition of your heart as you travel God’s pathway.

You cannot be steadfast in your walk if you are uncertain about God and His ways. Being steadfast means that each step you take, however small or big, will be taken in confidence, dependency, and certainty in who God is and what He has said.

As a believer and follower of Jesus Christ, your walk can be steadfast, not because you are steady and consistent, but because the foundation under your feet will always remain solid, firm, sure and unshakable. You can be steadfast in your faith and your obedience because Jesus Christ’s love for you will never waver, and His promises to you will never fail.

A Prayer of the Steadfast

Lord, I thank you for your faithfulness. I thank you for the certainty of Your ways, Your Kingdom, and Your Word. I thank You that I can count on You, lean on you, trust in You, abide in You, and walk with You. I thank You that You are the foundation of my footsteps, the light upon my way, the destination I seek after, and the hope I carry in my heart.

I purpose to follow You in cheerful obedience, in singleness of focus, and in steadfastness of heart. Empower me by Your grace, oh God, to keep on keeping on doing Your will. I thank You, Lord, for the assurance that You will never change, never falter, never waver, and never turn Your love away from me.

God does not look at your possession; He looks at your Heart

English: Sacred Heart

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“Naked a man comes from his mother’s womb, and as he comes, so he departs. He takes nothing from his labor that he can carry in his hand” (Ecclesiastes 5:15).

Think for a moment about the things you own; like your house, your car, and the money you’ve saved. Think about your many assets and the stocks you’ve traded, the clothes and electronics toys you have purchased. Contrary to what some people think, there is nothing wrong about owning stuff. It is good to have stuff after all! But let me remind you that your stuff cannot save you–only Jesus can.

So while you are on your quest to owning as much stuff as you can get your hands on; bear in mind that your heavenly father says you are to: “Seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33). “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for you treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:20).

“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36) It is a fact that your stuff isn’t really yours. They are loan to you; enjoy them while you can; because when you die you’ll take nothing with you. When one of the richest men in history, John D. Rockefeller, died, his accountant was asked, “How much did John D leave?” The accountant replied, “All of it.”

All that stuff is not yours, and it’s certainly not who you are. Who you are has nothing to do with the clothes you wear or the car you drive. Jesus said. “Life is not defined by what you have, even when you have a lot” (Luke 12:15). God does not know you as the fellow with the nice suits or the woman with the big house or the kid with the new bike. God knows your heart.

Mankind looks at your earthly possession, but God looks at your heart. In the end, it is the pureness of your heart that will define you when you appear before the judgment seat. Solomon spent much of his life pursuing riches but he soon realizes that all was vanity. “Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 2:11).

What’s the benefit for enduring hardship for Christ?

Holy Spirit Stained Glass

“If we endure hardship in His name, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us” (2 Timothy 2:12)

There are many blessings that belong to those who endure hardship while carrying out the work of Jesus Christ. “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me” (Matthew 5:11). Some of those blessings are for now and others are for later. The grace and joy that are yours in the Holy Spirit are an important part of your present blessings. As wonderful and precious as these blessings are, the future blessings are quite astonishing.

So, as you press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, brace yourself to suffer affliction from those who oppose Christ. Affliction is a very real part of every believer’s journey here on earth. Affliction includes anything that brings difficulty, tribulation, persecution, or trouble because of your love for Jesus Christ.

The Bible tells us that the early believers celebrated when they were persecuted for their faith. That response is possible because there is an amazing grace that God gives you when you walk through affliction of any kind.

It is a grace that provides you with an inner joy even during the hardest of times. This joy is produced by the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who puts within you everything you need to endure. The apostle Paul say best in 1 Thessalonians 1:6: “And you became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit:

Beloved, as you continue to faithfully serve, irrespective of your circumstance, the One who reigns over all, you will one day join Him and reign with Him when He returns to establish His kingdom here on earth. Think of it, you will actually reign with the One who now reigns over you.

What a glorious future is ahead of you. No wonder the Bible declares, “What we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory He will give us later” (Romans 8:18).

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Let The Kingdom Manifest Through You

Christ and The Pharisees

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“Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people” (Matthew 4:23).

The gospel of the kingdom moves Jesus Christ into the center most part of your personality, your spirit, and your heart. He cannot be on the fringes of your life and be the king of your life.

When the King and His kingdom enter your life, they come with great power and authority. His government rules you, His words direct you: “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all the other things which you want shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33),

His love motivates you: “Greater love hath no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13),

His wisdom guides you: “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group, and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?”  They were using this question as a trap, to have a basis for accusing him.

But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”  Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

 at this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.  Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

 “No one, sir,” she said.

“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and sin no more.”

His grace frees you: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:8-10),

And His heart draws you close to His: “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3).

His kingdom has not come to hide within you, but that it may manifest through you. You can proclaim His kingdom to others by the way you live, by the choices you make, by the attitudes you express, and by the love you demonstrate.