Kingdom Building.
Simply put: we are either working toward building God’s
Kingdom or our own.
Jesus says, "Anyone who isn't with me opposes me, and anyone
who isn't working with me is actually working against me” Matt 12:30 NLT (emphasis mine
throughout)
You might be thinking, “I
go to church, I volunteer, I tithe, I’m not building my own Kingdom more than
God’s.”
But God is showing me ways we (me) ARE building our kingdoms
more than His.
In Luke 14:33
Jesus says, “So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has
cannot be my disciple.”
In this verse Jesus is telling HIS FOLLOWERS to renounce, give away, forsake, and say “goodbye”
to the things that possess them otherwise
they CANNOT be His disciples. (No minced words there, pretty straight
forward)
There are things we
all hold onto (technology, check book, drivers license/pass ports, etc). Possessions we all hold dear (cars,
homes, boats, cell phones, etc.). Titles
we are all proud of (mom, daughter, graduate, etc) People we love more than life itself (children, parents, siblings,
etc).
All these are good things. Gifts from God.
God wants us to enjoy life, to love others, to work hard, to
take care of our possessions.
He does NOT want those possessions, gifts, or people to OWN
us.
EVERYTHING and EVERYONE belong to Him.
They are in our lives by His will, His grace, and are on “loan”
to us. He gave them and He can take them away ("Naked I came from my
mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken
away; may the name of the LORD be praised.” Job 1:21 NIV)
We cannot hold onto them so tightly that we elevate them
higher than God, refusing to let them go, refusing to trust God with them,
refusing to praise God more than the things/people in our lives.
"If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother,
wife and children, brothers and sisters--yes, even their own life--such a
person cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:26 NIV
Strong’s Concordance defines “hate” in this verse as “loving
less” or having a preference for one over another.
Again, these are strong words by Christ.
He is saying nothing, and no one, can come before our
devotion to Him.
His Kingdom, His will, MUST come over our own.
That isn’t the only place Jesus tells His disciples this
harsh reality.
Matt 6:24
Jesus says to those who want to follow Him, "No one can serve two
masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be
devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
You cannot be holding onto your Kingdom and think you can
squeeze into God’s.
Very plainly, Jesus says you CANNOT serve 2 masters, you
CANNOT be His disciple if you don’t love Him more than everything/everyone
else, you CANNOT be His follower if you don’t renounce the things that hold
onto you.
Matt 7:14,
Jesus tells CHRISTIANS, “But small is the gate and narrow the road
that leads to life, and only a few find it.”
A few verses later Jesus says, "Not everyone who says to
me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does
the will of my Father who is in heaven.” Matt 7:21 NIV
How much plainer can He say it?
The way to heaven is narrow. There are tons of wonderful
things in this life, things HE gives you—that satan distorts—that will get in
your way of your devotion to Him.
“Then Jesus said to His disciples,
“If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his
cross, and follow Me.” Matt
16:24 NKJV
Over and over Jesus is telling His church to DENY
themselves. Deny their flesh. Deny the pull possessions have. Deny the lie that
says you can “have it all”.
You cannot live with one foot in the doorway to heaven and
one foot in the world. In Rev
3:16 Jesus says He will vomit those people (luke warm Christians) from His
mouth.
It’s time we take God at His Word.
Stop downplaying, distorting, or outright ignoring His
Word.
Enjoy life. Enjoy His blessings. But DO NOT let them own you. You were bought at a very high price. You're life is NOT your own. (1 Cor 7:23)
Enjoy life. Enjoy His blessings. But DO NOT let them own you. You were bought at a very high price. You're life is NOT your own. (1 Cor 7:23)
I encourage you to ask yourself, “Do I downplay the meaning
of these verses? Do I believe everything He says? Do I justify certain aspects
of my life so that I don’t feel the sting of His Words?”
Lastly: Congrats Betty from Wise Hearted! You won a copy of “A
Christmas Chance” by Laura Hodges Poole.Betty, I'll email you soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment