What
are we called to do, seek ye first the kingdom of God, as it says in the Lord’s
Prayer.
Matthew
6:4
– On earth as it is in Heaven.
It
also says in that prayer your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.
Not our will but
his will.
The
Spirit is willing but the flesh is weak
Matthew 26:41 – he stated the spirit is willing but the
flesh is weak.
What
is the spirit willing to do?
Instruct
us, comfort us, guide us, teach us how to pray, when to pray, what to pray
about. He is willing to help us, assist us every moment of every day on what to
think, say and do. This is the spirit of Jesus Christ we are talking about. He
is willing to assist us in doing the will of the father. He is willing but our
flesh (our bodies) are weak.
Weak – having little
strength or energy, feeble. Easily damaged or broken, fragile. Marked by,
indicative of, or resulting from insufficient intellect, character strength or
will power. Lacking the usual required strength. Lacking the ability to
function normally, properly. Unconvincing. Having inadequate capability or
skills.
This
description closely sums up the condition of our bodies when we lack the
spirit.
The
spirit is willing to take the lead, willing to give us the strength and energy
we need. He will provide us with sufficient intellect, character, will power,
skill to do the work of the Lord. He will make our bodies strong, durable and
tough; we will have strength in our navel and in our sinews. Where we fail, he
will succeed, where we stumble, he will pick us up. He will instruct us on what
to say and when to say it, what to do and when to do it, what to think, how to
act and where to go. He will counsel us every minute of every day if we just
ask him by praying continuously, continually throughout the day.
Matthew 7:7 – Ask and it will be given unto you, seek and
you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks
receives, he who seeks finds and to him who knocks the door will be opened.
Not
everyone who asks receives, those who seek, find or those who knock, the door
may be closed.
Seek
ye first the kingdom of God and all things will be added unto you!
Matthew 6:33 – seek first his kingdom and his righteousness
and all these things will be given to you as well.
What
do we need to do first? Seek first the kingdom of God.
What do we do
next? Believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior
John 3:16 – For God so loved the world
that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not
perish but have eternal life.
Third, we need
to repent of our sins.
Matthew 4:17
From that time on
Jesus began to preach, “Repent,
for the kingdom of heaven has come near.
Luke 13:3 I tell you, no! But unless you repent,
you too will all perish.
Luke 5:32 I have not come to call the
righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Acts 17:30 In the past God overlooked such
ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.
After repentance
we need to forsake our sins
Acts 26:20 – Repent and turn to God and prove their
repentance by their deeds.
Luke 3:8 – Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.
Matthew 7:16 – By their fruit you will recognize them.
Matthew 7:15-23
True and False
Prophets
15 “Watch out
for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are
ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will
recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles?
17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a
bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree
cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down
and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their
fruit you will recognize them.
True and False Disciples
21 “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. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we
not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name
perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell
them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
The
fruit of the spirit is love and joy.
Galatians 5:22. Isaiah 55:7 – Let the wicked forsake his ways and the evil man his thoughts.
Probably you need to repent, then be baptized, then forsake your ways.
The next step is
- Baptism
Mark 16:16 – Whoever believes and is baptized will be
saved, but whoever does not believe and is not baptized will be condemned. Acts 2:38 – Peter said repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of
Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. And you will receive the gift of the
Holy Spirit. John 3:6, 7 – Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the spirit
gives birth to the spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying. You must
be born again. After we have been baptized we are called to receive the gift of
the Holy Spirit.
Receive the Gift
of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 2:38 – we see that
after we are baptized we will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Peter replied, “Repent and be
baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your
sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Interesting
passage on the Holy Spirit in Luke 11:13
– Your Father in Heaven gives the Holy
Spirit to those who ask him. Do we not need to be baptized??
Interesting
question.
Once we have received
the gift of the Holy Spirit we are called in to obedience, following his words,
his commands and his instruction (the bible).
Matthew 28:20 – he says obey everything he has commanded.
John 14:23 – He who loved me will obey my teachings. Acts 5:29 – We must obey God
rather than man. 1 John 5:3 – A love for God to obey his commands.
We
have now come full circle, hopefully this helps you see that our Lord and
savior resides in us, his holy temples, we are here to do his will, his
purpose, and his work.
If
we are walking in full accordance with God’s will, God’s spirit will be with us
and he will provide us the strength, energy, wisdom, insight, knowledge,
understanding to break the chains of our addictions which lead us astray from
loving and serving the Lord our God with all our heart and soul.
Deuteronomy
10:12
– It is our choice, he gives us free
will. Galatians 5:3 – You my brothers were called to be free.
But
do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature, rather love and serve one
another in love – love your neighbor as yourself.
You
need to ask yourself the following questions. Are you ready willing and able
to:
1. Seek first the
kingdom of God.
2. Accept Jesus
Christ as your Lord and savior.
3. Come to him with
a humble and broken spirit, and contrite heart.
4. Willing and
ready to receive repentance of your sins.
5. Be baptized for
the remission of your sins.
6. Ready to receive
the gift of the Holy Spirit.
7. Ready to forsake
your sins.
8. Ready to walk in
obedience to his commandments, his commands and his word.
9. Ready to lose
your life for the sake of finding the life God has in store for you.
10. Accept your
reward on earth as it is in Heaven.
If
you are ready, willing and able then get on your knees and pray to our Heavenly
Father giving him thanks for your decision.
Then
begin your life anew. If you are not ready, willing and able at this time, once
again get on your knees and pray to our Heavenly Father for forgiveness, wisdom
and ask him to open your eyes and ears to receive the glory of the light of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
The
choice is yours each and every moment of each and every day.
We
either choose the light of Christ or the darkness of Satan.
As
for me and my house we choose the light of Christ. Remember we are asked to
take up our cross daily and follow him.
Luke 9:23 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my
disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.
We
make that decision to follow Christ each moment of our waking day. Choose the
right, choose to follow Christ.
Luke 18:27 – What is impossible with man is possible with
God.
I
don’t know if I can do it? Of course you can’t, you can’t do anything without
the help of the Lord.
Take
out the I in life and replace with our Father in Heaven.
Once
you have made a choice to follow Jesus, you need to lose the “I” because it is
not about you anymore. Instead of saying I can do this or I did that or I want,
I need, I wish, I, I, I. Say my Father in Heaven or my Lord and redeemer Jesus
Christ.
So
instead of saying I wish I lived in a big beautiful house say my Heavenly
Father desires for me to live in a big beautiful house and if it is his will,
he will provide a way for this holy temple to reside there.
Our
needs, wants and desires take a back seat to our father’s will.
He
will provide for us, he will give us food shelter, clothes and water. We will
lack absolutely nothing. Accept what the Lord has given you stewardship over,
be a good steward with what he has given you.
Take
what he has given you and multiply it.
Matthew 25:14-30
The Parable of the Bags of Gold
14 “Again, it
will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted
his wealth to them. 15 To one he gave five
bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to
his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The
man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work
and gained five bags more. 17 So also, the
one with two bags of gold gained two more. 18 But
the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his
master’s money.
19 “After a long
time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received five bags of gold brought the
other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I
have gained five more.’
21 “His master
replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a
few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your
master’s happiness!’
22 “The man with
two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags
of gold; see, I have gained two more.’
23 “His master
replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a
few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your
master’s happiness!’
24 “Then the man
who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are
a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not
scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and
went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’
26 “His master
replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not
sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with
the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with
interest.
28 “‘So take the
bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. 29 For whoever has will be given more, and they will have
an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from
them. 30 And throw that worthless servant
outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Do
not be envious of others, take what you have been given and nurture it.
Remember
we can’t take anything or anyone with us beyond the grave.
Work
on your own salvation as you are loving and serving the Lord.
We
are not to question why or necessarily understand God’s will; we are called to
be obedient to his word.
Remember
if we are walking in obedience to his word – all things will be added unto us.
When
we are walking faithfully in obedience to the Lord our minds and bodies will
never stop desiring to love and serve him.
We
will have an unquenchable thirst for increased light, truth, knowledge, wisdom
and understanding.
The
good news is we will receive it just by asking according to his will and
purpose for us.
Each
of us has been given many talents; the Lord uses these talents to bring about
the immortality of men.
The
Lord requires we develop our talents so that we may be a witness to others of
our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. If we don’t use the talent God have us he
will take it away and give it to another.
I
don’t know if I can keep up the pace, I don’t know if I am capable of getting
an A+ in math, I don't know if I will be successful in business. I don’t know
if I will win the race.
This
is call (FUD) fear, uncertainty and doubt.
This
is what the evil spirit uses to stop us from walking in faith, truth and
righteousness. Of course you can’t do it, but with the strength and support all
things are possible.
Parable of the Fig Tree – Mark 11:20-25 In the morning, as they went along, they saw
the fig tree withered from the roots. 21 Peter remembered and said to Jesus,
“Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!”
22 “Have faith in
God,” Jesus answered. 23 “Truly[a]
I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’
and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen,
it will be done for them. 24 Therefore I tell you,
whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will
be yours. 25 And when you stand praying, if
you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven
may forgive you your sins.
If we have faith and believe we will be able
to move mountains.
We can’t do anything on our own, you are
correct when you say I………, remember those who ask will receive, let the Lord
help you.
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