Contending
What I am contending for, where my eyes are looking, and what my strength is spent on, determines where I will go. If I am contending for success in business, that will define my interest and where I pour out my strength (time, money, talents). Is it family? Comfort? Style? Position? Recognition?
We all contend for something. We all have a dream in our mind that is driven by the desires in our heart. The desires, the longings, were planted there by God. Whether you know Him or not, He is the author of your heart,and the desires placed there.
There is only one way to satisfy all the desires in my heart:
Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
The kingdom of God is vast and full of amazing treasure. It is literally full of satisfying and exciting things. Things like supernatural knowledge of God's plans, the ability to pray for people and see them actually recover, an ability to speak and have people learn in a supernatural way, supernatural insight into how God does things, or deep understanding of His words and how they connect to observable truth.
There is supernatural love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, self control, and goodness. There is a stunning ability to be obedient as a part of the kingdom, to speak in unknown languages, to be really good at administration and organization. An ability to sing or play "new songs".
This is just scratching the surface of what is available in the kingdom. God's kingdom is literally infinite in size. It will take forever (trillions and trillions of years is just the beginning) to explore what is available in God's kingdom. Heaven will not be boring...at all...ever! The problem is not a limited availability of fascinating and satisfying parts of the kingdom to go after. The hard part is knowing what is available. The world offers some cheap imitations we can see and touch, like financial success, fame, and physical comforts, these are a distraction. We forget to look a little deeper for what is in the kingdom.
The deeper you have to look, the more satisfying the treasure is. Gold usually doesn't just lay on the ground in plain sight. You have to dig for gold!
We only get more of the kingdom to the degree we are willing to go after it. The kingdom doesn't come in one shot. I didn't accept Jesus and get a love for the Word at the same time. Wisdom didn't come with salvation, nor did peace, patience, or joy. These are all parts of the kingdom that are "added unto me" as I go after them. Sometimes life forces us into contending for peace or joy. These times, although they are God's merciful tools to draw us near, are generally unpleasant. But God has made available the kingdom to us.
We don't have to wait for life to require wisdom, we can start contending for it before we need it. We don't have to wait for life to require a healing touch, we can contend for that gift before it is necessary. Seeking the kingdom adds everything we need to us!
Jesus told us how to get more of the kingdom by contending for it:
Luke 18:17 Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.”
A child doesn't try to earn anything. They don't consider the value of what they ask mom and dad for. They don't entertain the idea of trying to produce it themselves. It isn't a special style of asking, or frame of mind they have to get in to request it. They simply and humbly go to the one they know has what they want, and they simply ask for it. This is the ONLY way to enter into more of the kingdom, according to Jesus.
Contending for more requires persistence:
Matthew 7:7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
Jesus said ask, seek, and knock. When you were little, did you ever knock on a friends door that you knew was home, and have them not answer? Did you walk away, or did you keep knocking until they heard you? This is what Jesus meant by "knock".
Contending for nothing in the Kingdom will get you nothing in the Kingdom. Even salvation I had to request at one point in time. Salvation is entrance to the kingdom, it is walking through the gate. Can you imagine walking into Cedar point, getting inside the gate, and then standing there looking out at all the activity in the parking lot? Never turning around to see what rides you could experience? You would miss everything that was available to you by being distracted by a boring and unsatisfying parking lot!! This is what it is like to get saved and go no further into the kingdom of God!
Contending for (asking for) hunger FOR the kingdom, will eventually get you everything in the kingdom.
Matthew 5: 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.
I am going to Knock until I get what I came for. It is for me!
We all contend for something. We all have a dream in our mind that is driven by the desires in our heart. The desires, the longings, were planted there by God. Whether you know Him or not, He is the author of your heart,and the desires placed there.
There is only one way to satisfy all the desires in my heart:
Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
The kingdom of God is vast and full of amazing treasure. It is literally full of satisfying and exciting things. Things like supernatural knowledge of God's plans, the ability to pray for people and see them actually recover, an ability to speak and have people learn in a supernatural way, supernatural insight into how God does things, or deep understanding of His words and how they connect to observable truth.
There is supernatural love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, self control, and goodness. There is a stunning ability to be obedient as a part of the kingdom, to speak in unknown languages, to be really good at administration and organization. An ability to sing or play "new songs".
This is just scratching the surface of what is available in the kingdom. God's kingdom is literally infinite in size. It will take forever (trillions and trillions of years is just the beginning) to explore what is available in God's kingdom. Heaven will not be boring...at all...ever! The problem is not a limited availability of fascinating and satisfying parts of the kingdom to go after. The hard part is knowing what is available. The world offers some cheap imitations we can see and touch, like financial success, fame, and physical comforts, these are a distraction. We forget to look a little deeper for what is in the kingdom.
The deeper you have to look, the more satisfying the treasure is. Gold usually doesn't just lay on the ground in plain sight. You have to dig for gold!
We only get more of the kingdom to the degree we are willing to go after it. The kingdom doesn't come in one shot. I didn't accept Jesus and get a love for the Word at the same time. Wisdom didn't come with salvation, nor did peace, patience, or joy. These are all parts of the kingdom that are "added unto me" as I go after them. Sometimes life forces us into contending for peace or joy. These times, although they are God's merciful tools to draw us near, are generally unpleasant. But God has made available the kingdom to us.
We don't have to wait for life to require wisdom, we can start contending for it before we need it. We don't have to wait for life to require a healing touch, we can contend for that gift before it is necessary. Seeking the kingdom adds everything we need to us!
Jesus told us how to get more of the kingdom by contending for it:
Luke 18:17 Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.”
A child doesn't try to earn anything. They don't consider the value of what they ask mom and dad for. They don't entertain the idea of trying to produce it themselves. It isn't a special style of asking, or frame of mind they have to get in to request it. They simply and humbly go to the one they know has what they want, and they simply ask for it. This is the ONLY way to enter into more of the kingdom, according to Jesus.
Contending for more requires persistence:
Matthew 7:7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
Jesus said ask, seek, and knock. When you were little, did you ever knock on a friends door that you knew was home, and have them not answer? Did you walk away, or did you keep knocking until they heard you? This is what Jesus meant by "knock".
Contending for nothing in the Kingdom will get you nothing in the Kingdom. Even salvation I had to request at one point in time. Salvation is entrance to the kingdom, it is walking through the gate. Can you imagine walking into Cedar point, getting inside the gate, and then standing there looking out at all the activity in the parking lot? Never turning around to see what rides you could experience? You would miss everything that was available to you by being distracted by a boring and unsatisfying parking lot!! This is what it is like to get saved and go no further into the kingdom of God!
Contending for (asking for) hunger FOR the kingdom, will eventually get you everything in the kingdom.
Matthew 5: 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.
I am going to Knock until I get what I came for. It is for me!
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