YES

YES, THE FATHER WANTS TO GIVE YOU THE KINGDOM…


Luke 12:32-34 – “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.  33 Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys.  34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” NKJV

If you read these three verses casually, you will undoubtedly be perplexed.  The Lord Jesus addresses several issues, and each is important.

  1. He addresses our State of Mind.

“Do not fear, little flock…”  That is both a command and an encouragement.  It is a specific directive of something that we are to do and a beautiful encouragement because he adds to it ‘little flock,’ indicating not necessarily the size of the flock but his view toward us as a shepherd to his lambs.  He diligently watches over the ‘little flock’ and gives nurture and protection to the lambs.  God does that for us, and thus He says, “Do not fear….”

  • He addresses the Father’s Heart.

“For it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom.”  Two things stand out in this passage. The desire of the Father for us and the extent of His desire!  It is his Good Pleasure or His willingness to care for us.  His Kingdom is His reign and rule, and He wants to give us ‘rulership’ and ‘dominion’ in the earth.  That is something that the devil stole from us, and Adam abdicated that position in the fall, and now Jesus says – “The Father wants to restore you to that position and condition.”

  • He addresses our Lives.

“Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys.”  He specifically and purposefully tells us that ‘mammon’ is not to be and cannot be our source or focus. 

Instead, by receiving the Kingdom from the Father in faith, not fear, we move from the natural to the spiritual, from the temporal to the eternal.  We enter a dimension that mortal flesh outside of Christ cannot know.  In so doing, we are storing up treasures in heaven, and no thief can steal, no moth can eat holes in, and no devil can disrupt.   It is secure and powerful.

  • Then He brings it home.

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  I have told people for years that if I can discover what is important to you and valuable to you, I can know the condition of your heart.  Whatever is most important is where your heart is and identifies the condition of your soul. 

It never fails.  I have seen people driven to ‘make money ’ and ‘amass fortunes,’ and their hearts were easily distracted from the things of the Kingdom of God.  I have seen others who wanted to provide for their families, but the most important thing to them was God and His Kingdom, and they were locked in on pursuing the Kingdom. 

I can say about the latter, as David did in Psalm 37:25-26 – “I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread.  6 He is ever merciful, and lends; And his descendants are blessed.” NKJV

God never fails to take care of His children.  We are the sheep of His pasture, and no shepherd neglects His sheep.  So, as you go through this day and this week, know that you have nothing to fear and that the Father desires that you receive the Kingdom and reign in Christ!

May God bless you as you go through this day!

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YES, SOMETIMES QUITTING WOULD BE SO EASY…


Galatians 6:9-10 – “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” NIV

Have you ever reached a place where quitting would be so easy that it seemed the only logical thing to do?  Yet, in your heart of hearts, you knew that quitting would ensure defeat and you will be in worse shape than if you keep “fighting the good fight of faith”?  I have! 

I have had times when I wanted to just crawl under the Juniper tree and say, “Lord, just take me home.  I’m tired, nothing is happening, and nobody cares.”  Was it a pity party?  Oh yes, but it is more than that, sometimes it is battle fatigue.  Sometimes you have struggled with the same issues for so long that and seen virtually no results that discouragement sets. 

That mindset clouds your ability to see the bigger picture, the promises of God, and prevents you from hearing the encouragement of the Holy Spirit to keep going!  Sometimes you feel like the light at the end of the tunnel is a train coming straight at you not an answer but certain destruction.  It seems more than you can bear and “quitting would be so easy.”

Paul gives us some counsel in this passage that can and should move us from pity, discouragement, despair, and certain defeat to an “assured victory” in the Lord and Life!  The scripture tells us in James 4:17 – “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.” NIV

Of course, we do not want to fall into sin, and we do not want to displease the Lord so we struggle to keep the faith because we know as Hebrews 11:6 tell us – “…without faith it is impossible to please God because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” NIV.  That is part of the problem, we struggle rather than rest in Him!

We want, as Paul urged in Philippians 3:12-14 – “Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. 13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do:  forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” NASB.  Therefore, it is imperative that we keep pressing toward the mark and keep reaching for the prize, the ultimate victory in Christ.

God has promised a “harvest” if we do not “give up.”  He has promised to come through for us if we “refuse to quit.”  He has promised that in His timing He will send the abundance of the harvest into our lives.  Our problem is we want to dictate the timing, but God will never play that game.  He is the Sovereign King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and He knows the end from the beginning and all in between.  He knows, when, where how, and how much needs to be done and that is exactly what He will do, and it is for our “best good” that He does it. 

Our part is to Refuse to Give Up!  I have told people for years – “The devil cannot win Unless we quit!”  If we refuse to quit the devil is already a defeated foe.  He has not stopped fighting, deceiving, and striving to shipwreck lives but, he was defeated at the Cross and Resurrection by our precious Lord Jesus Christ! 

We are now, right now, more than conquerors through Him who loves us!  So, when you feel like quitting, call someone who will kick you in the seat of the pants and tell you NO!  Make sure that you have in your circle of friends one who will be iron sharpening iron, not someone who wallows in the muck with you. Fall on your face before God and repent and allow the Holy Spirit to encourage you and give you “grace for the time of need.”  But above all Do Not Quit!  The only way you fail is If You Quit!

May you have a blessed day and a wonderful week in the Lord!  Blessings abundantly!

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