Seek the Kingdom of God First

Matthew 6:33

"Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added.."

Have you ever wondered what the benefits of serving God are? God is a righteous God and he intends to bless us. He wants us to be prosperous even though were are sinful in nature. From the beginning God intended for us to be "fruitful, to multiply, and to replenish the earth, and to subdue it: and to have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air and over every living thing that move upon the earth." Read Genesis 1:28. God intended for his to be rulers--kings and queens.

But, when Adam sinned we lost that power and authority over the Earth. We gave our power over to Satan. God wants us to be powerful. For generations, God has made several covenants (i.e. promises) with man, in order for us to regain our power and authority over the Devil (the ruler of this Earth). (We will examine God's covenants in another post)  The final covenant of God, restored man to his rightful place. We are know able to have power and authority of the devil; however, the residue of sin still remains, until Jesus returns. We are rulers in our own personal space. We have dominion and authority over our minds, body, and soul. The devil no longer has us imprisoned because Jesus has freed us from Satan's power and authority. 

How do we seek the kingdom of God?

1. We must get to know God
2. We must understand God
3. Be obedienet to God

Once we follow these three steps then God will begin to bless us---give us the "additions". If you do what is written, then you shall receive the additions that God has promised. 

If we quit seeking things to be added to our life first such as a new car, new house, new job and start seeking God first, then God will give us the desires of heart. Read Psalm 37:4. When we do not seek God first and his Kingdom , we cause our spirit to feel anxiety because we are trying to add things in our manly ability which cannot be done. It can only be done spiritually, through the will of God. The consequensces of not seeking God first can result in God substracting from our lives-- taking away things...until we start being obendeint and seeking his righteousness. 

I pray that this post has opened you minds and planted a new seed within your heart. If you have any questions please contact me. 

How to be Successful in the Kingdom of God

What is is success in the kingdom? Is there such a thing since we all are imperfect by nature? Success is defined in many ways. One particular definition that I am fond of is that success is "the favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors." In order to be successful in the Kingdom of God, we have to believe that we will be successful; despite the fact, of our inherited nature. 

We can be successful in the kingdom by: 

1. By being obedient to God;
2. By following the Word; and
3. By having faith. 

Obedience to God

We must obey our heavenly. Just as we obey our natutral father, we must obey our spiritual father. God is not of this world "his ways are higher than our ways". As Christians, our responsibility and sole purpose on this Earth is to save souls and build the kingdom of God. We cannot build the kingdom of God if we are not being examples and being obedient to our spiritual father. When we are not obedient to God, we send the message to non-believers is that they do not have to be obedient to God and his word. 

However, being obedient to God in this secular world can be hard. We live in a world where the world tells us to question everything. The problem is...God is a god who cannot be questioned. He is the most HIGH. To be obedient to God means to listen to God and not question him.

Be Dependent on the Word of God

Read Deuteronomy 6:4-7, we must embed the word of God in our hearts. The bible holds the basic truths for living in the world. Consider this , the BIBLE stands for Basic Instruction Before Leaving Earth...Cool right? Who would not want to follow a God who is as cleaver as that? But seriously the truths contained in the bible--God's word are:

1. The Ten Commandments
2. The Lord's Prayer
3. The 6 Covenants God made with Man
4. Apostle's Creed
5. Contains all of God's original words

The Bible is inspired of God. "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness". 2 Timothy 3:16

Having Faith

To have faith is hard to accomplish, especially if you are a rationally thinker who requires reason for everything. Unfortunately God is a god of mystery. To be his servant we must believe in him in faith. 

Hebrews 11:1 (KJV)

" Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

I pray this will help you in your endeavors with being successful in the Kingdom. Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns. 

Trusting God's Timing

The moment you prayed, God has a "set time" established to answer your prayer. We must have faith to trust God and know that our time is coming. We have to stop worrying and thinking about when "something" is going to happen.

Hebrews 4:3 (KJV)
" For we which believe enter into rest."

Habakkuk 2:3 (KJV)

" For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie, it will not tarry."

Through having faith in God, that he will do what he says he will do and waiting through patience, we will inherit God's promises. We must quit trying to figure things out on our own and allow God to do things his way.

Consider Sarah and Abraham. They wanted a baby. God told them that they will bear a son and he will carry God's blessing. But years past and Sarah began to get older and older. She lost faith and patience that God's word will come true. So Sarah tried to take matters into her own hands. She gave her maid to her husband in order for her husband to impregnate the maid so Sarah can have a child. When Sarah took matters into her own hands all other problems arose. She became jealous of the maid and the child so she sent them away.

The point is, we must wait on God's timing and not take matters in our own hands. When we take matters into our own hands the results can be disastrous.

When you get anxious and want to make things happen, sit still and relax. Be patient and rely on God through faith. Be at peace with the Lord. Be at rest with the Lord.

Pray this daily if you are struggling: Father, give me the grace to accept your timing.

I hope this post helps. Please contact me if you have any comments or concerns.

Disappoinments of Life

At some point or another we all have been disappointed because our expectations were not met. In life, as long as sin exists, we will be disappointed. We cannot isolate these "disappointing events" and hold grudges. We as Christians, must recognize that everything happens to us according to God's purpose.

Romans 8:28 (NIV)
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

For example, consider baking cookies from scratch. You have your flour, eggs, margarine, sugar, milk, but you forgot the baking soda at the store. You decide to go ahead and bake the cookies without the baking soda. You figure it is only a tablespoon that you need and it won't harm the cookies. When you pull the cookies out the oven, they were flat and tastless. All from missiong 1 tablesppon of baking soda.

The point is, God allows things to happen to us because they are the "key ingredients" needed to shape and mold us. If God prevents events from occurring then we will be missing key ingredients and then we will come out flat and tasteless just like the cookies. We must recognize that God is the master chef. He knows the recipe for our lives. He knows how to add key ingredients into our lives according to his time.

In life we will face situations that do not make sense and it will cause us to feel bitter when we look at that incident alone. Always remember that nothing in life happens to you, it happens for you. 

Do not let life change your name. For example consider Naomi. Her name means "my joy" but when she went through a rough time in life she changed her name to Mara , which means "my sorrow: (Read Ruth 1:1-22) Naomi allowed life to make her bitter. Always know that your future will be greater than your past. You just have to have faith and patience in God. 

I pray that this has helped you. Please contact me if you have any comments or questions.

Fasting

Ah---Fasting..... I do not know about you but I loovvvvvvvvvvve to eat. So, the concept of fasting was a little difficult for me at first, until i did some researching, I found the real reason for fasting, which made it a lot easier to do. 

What is fasting?

It is another means by which we can "suffer" for the Lord, through voluntary abstinence from eating. The purpose of the fast is to bring "spiritual results", and NOT for physical purposes. Fasting is one of the keys needed to unlocking and inheriting the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 4: 1-4 (NIV)

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. ² After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. ³ The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” ⁴ Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

Reasons for Fasting

1. We receive spiritual cleansing and as a result our spiritual eyes are opened.
2. We can obtain victory of the Devil by breaking bonds of wickedness (Read Isaiah 58:6) 
3. Fasting helps build our faith.  
4. When we fast, it makes it easier for us to hear the voice of God.   

When we fast we our afflicting our soul and saying to our flesh, "flesh you are wanting to eat, but God is stronger than the desires of my soul. My spirit shall rule my soul and my soul shall not have dominion over me." God wants us to be ruled by the spirit and not by the flesh. By fasting, we bring the flesh into subjection of the spirit. (Read Matthew 4:4)

We should not eat out of habit or tradition, but rather that we might eat to glorify Christ in our bodies:

"Whether therefore ye eat , or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." (Read 1 Cor. 10:31) 

Therefore, the purpose of fasting is bring our flesh into subjection of the will of God by strengthen our spirit by feeding him God's word. I fast for various reasons. Mainly to break strongholds and to strengthen my relationship with God. In addition to fasting, I will not only inflict pain on my tummy :) but on my mind as well. For example, I may abstain from doing activities I really enjoy doing such as watching tv, exercising, texting, checking emails, etc., so that I am not distracted from feeding my Spirit the word of God. When determining how long I should fast, I always pray to God and he gives me an answer. He will give you an exact schedule on when, how, and how long you should fast. Just pray and he will answer you as always if you are earnestly seeking him.

I hope this helps. If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact me.

Surrendering to God's Purpose

I believe one of the hardest task in life is "surrendering" to His purpose. It is not enough to say "I believe", "I have faith", "Jesus is Lord and Savior"-- it simply is not enough.

When we come to a pivotal point in our lives when we realize we are not in control and that our lives are not our own, then God says , " come to me."

Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)

 ²⁸ “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

God cannot use us if we intend on doing what we want. Our lives are not our own. We were bought at a price. 

We must surrender to His will, His purpose in order to be at peace and under His wonderful grace.To surrender means to yield to the power, control, and/or demand. It is a hard concept to grasp when we see things on tv that states "you have control of your destiny", "pick a good college in order to get a good job", "choose your husband wisely", "you can chose what gender baby you have", and the list goes on.... but this is a misconception. The world tells us we are in control. We have been conditioned to think that we are the "masters and captains of our ships" , but it is not so.

To know this truth is devastating to the flesh and our minds. The flesh feels that this means I cannot do what I want--and sadly, that is why so many of us flee from God because we do not want to stop doing what we want. The truth is , God is our heavenly father; he wants the best for us. He can see the future , "for his ways our higher than our ways and his knowledge and understanding surpasses ours." (Read 1 Isaiah 55: 8-9)

God will grant us the desires of our hearts as long as those desires are aligned with His will and purpose. In order for God to grant the desires of heart we must "check ourselves" and make sure that our heart is in line with God. "For whatever proceeds out of the mouth is where the heart is." (Read Matthew 15:18) The statements that we make , determines where our hearts really are. For example, if we state that we really want to be rich , then our heart is set on money. Wealth is not a bad thing. God in fact wants us to prosperous. Wealth only becomes a bad thing when we make it a priority over God and His purpose.

  
Question to ask yourself when surrendering: Am I ready to stop "doing me"? Am I ready to start doing what God wants me to do? 

How to Surrender to God's Will

1. Set goals through God   
2. Surrender your thoughts
• Our thoughts are often "demonic" in nature. (i.e. wanting revenge on someone who has wronged you, jealousy, lust, and etc)
• If your mental state is not right, then your spiritual state will not be right
• Pray to God and ask him for a "clear mind"
3.  Stop wasting time on foolishness
• You become what you watch, see, and speak
• Turn off the distractions
4.  Change your vision
• Every time you try to do things your way it will fail
• You must ask God what is His will and to use you as an instrument to accomplish His will
• Look to Jesus as an example on how to surrender
5. Establish your contract with God 
• You will be accountable for your agreement with God
• Your "walk" with God is your responsibility  

I pray that this was helpful. I know one of biggest struggles for me was surrendering to God. I kept searching for answers on how to do it and when I heard this sermon message it helped me. Keep praying and asking and he will provide the answers to what you are seeking. 

If you have any questions or concerns please contact me.