Luke 17: 20 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
I was talking to a friend who is a spiritualist. Now this person is not a christian, but they like to think they are a student of all religions. Her view point was that the 'god force' was in each of us and as we discover our Spirituality the God within us is what we find. This is not what Jesus was talking about when He said the Kingdom of God is within you. Look at what he says about the Kingdom of God in Romans 14: 17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
The Kingdom of God comes from the Holy Spirit, by the Holy Spirit, and through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit (Ghost) is the presence of God in our lives. We cannot have or obtain the Kingdom of God within us unless the Holy Spirit comes and dwells within us. Our bodies are the temple, the vessel of the Holy Spirit, but if the Holy Spirit does not dwell within us than we are empty vessels. There is no god-like essence or force that is within us that was part of us from birth. It is not within man to be god-like, or to evolve spiritually into a god-like essence inwardly. When God comes and fills us with the Holy Spirit the Kingdom of God just took up residence in our lives. How do you know the Spirit of God is in your life. You will experience at least one of these three things, righteousness, peace or joy. Or you may experience them all at once.
Most people are looking for relief because their circumstances are SO BAD that what they search and hunger for is relief from their current circumstances in life. What they don't get is that God said if we would seek the KINGDOM FiRST that all those things that we need would be added to us. Now what was the Kingdom of God again? It was righteousness, peace and joy that we obtain in the Holy Spirit. So when we seek the Spirit of God, the presence of God in our lives FIRST AND FOREMOST God adds to us everything that we need.
Quit looking so hard for a relationship! Seek after the Holy Spirit and that relationship will find you. Quit trying so hard to change the people you love. Seek after the Holy Spirit and God will not only change you, but them as well. Quit trying so hard to get your bills paid! Seek the Holy Spirit first and foremost and God will see to it that your bills are taken care of.
When we were young my husband and I began running after God, and seeking his presence, yielding our lives to His Word. We put that above career, above family, above money, above our own health and well being, we put the presence of God in our lives above everything else. It was tough at first. While others our age were out partying and having a good time we were seeking God, fasting, sharing the Gospel, laying down our lives. I remember very well when I was 33 years old, I had been fasting and praying and seeking God with all my heart for 16 years at that time in my life. The enemy came to me and said, "Why do you labor so hard, you pray and fast and deny yourself, don't you want to have a good time like other people your age?" It was a sobering moment. I thought about it and I replied, "No. I will continue to lay down my life so that Christ can live through me."
As we got older we noticed something happening in our lives. God added wealth to us, so that we always have much more than we need. God added health to us in that no matter what sickness comes into our lives God has healed us completely. He added peace into our home, and then with our children, who are all in the ministry. In our immediate family and our extended family we have no fights, quarrels or stress with any of them. By the time we were 40 years old we were completely out of debt and sickness free, and there are no stresses in our interpersonal relationships within our family. It is not our efforts to have those things that brought those things about in our lives. What we did was seek God and His presence above everything and everyone, and about 15 years later God just started adding everything to us and blessing us beyond measure.
People have said to me, "I want you to teach me to have what you guys have." I just look at them and smile. I know that the secret is to lay down your life, and abandon it completely to the pursuit of the presence and Kingdom of God, and few are wise enough, faithful enough, and brave enough to do that. Every time I explain that to someone, they try to make it something super spiritual, or they say, ""yes that is what I want." Then they go out and do the same things they have always done. It is not rocket science. It is as simple as Jesus said it. Lay down your life and you will gain it back again. Hang on to your life and you will lose it. That goes beyond sowing a few seeds and hoping to get something back.
There is something better than having your finances fixed, there is the Kingdom of God which brings the presence of God into your life and I would rather have that then have my finances fixed. There is something better than having perfect health, there is the presence of God, and I would much rather have his presence than to have health in my body. There is something better than having good relationships and less stress in your home, there is the Kingdom of God which brings you righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. At a very young age we decided to seek the Kingdom and the Kingdom alone. We did not go after anything else in life, and God added all those other things to us in time, and the best part was that we have spent a life time enjoying his presence. How can you get your life straightened out? Don't every try to straighten it out, you will fail. Just abandon it to the pursuit of seeking the presence of God. Abandon everything and seek the Kingdom alone. I can tell you from experience it will be tough at first, but as the years go by you will find that God actually does straighten everything out and make it right when you surrender your life to him and seek him alone.
No comments:
Post a Comment