Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done

Since 1993 I have been observing life and times through Biblical eyes. Today I see a world that has gone off the rails due to a major ‘disconnect’ between God’s plan to establish His kingdom on earth and peoples’ lives within that plan. Put bluntly, humanity has lost the plot…and is now paying the price!

This earth is His creation (Genesis 1:1); it was perfect (Genesis 1:31); it was established for His purpose – “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth…” (Matthew 6:10); we are caretakers of a tiny portion held on His account; thus, “…we are the clay, and thou our potter” (Isaiah 64:8).

The Bible provides the rules and blue-print of the Lord’s plan (Isaiah 33:22); briefly…

* God’s perfect creation was interrupted by sin, separating all humanity from God;

* Sin leads to death & punishment (Romans 5:12) but Jesus took the punishment for ALL (Hebrews 10:10) so that people could, once again, be reconciled to God; it requires that a choice be made (John 3:3-5; 3:16); sadly, many refuse to make it;

* Those who do become “ambassadors for Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:17-19) switch allegiance from the world to the kingdom; from our own business to God’s business;

* Believers are given a commission to spread the good news of the gospel (Mark 16:15); in return Jesus promises all their earthly needs will be met (Matthew 6:31-34);

* Kingdom principles then apply to our lives – love (of God & others); justice, service, humility, compassion, giving & receiving and forgiveness. Fruit is then produced (Galatians 5:22-23);

* We must ‘toil’ (Genesis 3:17; 2 Thess. 3:10) for our raiment (food, shelter, clothing); after setting aside a reserve the rest belongs in the kingdom, as pictured in Acts 4:32-35. It is then used to help the poor, widows & orphans and missionaries who go out preaching the gospel.

In truth, most people do not adhere to God’s plan. Just like the unbelieving world, many Christians make it their life goal to accumulate for personal gain that which belongs to the Master! The great preacher, Derek Prince said, “As the church goes, so goes the nation.” Indeed, the church can become ‘rich pickings’ for charlatans & conmen and their money-making schemes!

Why is this?

First the enemy (Revelation 12:9) gets in and mucks everything up! We (in the Body of Christ) are his primary target…and how the battle rages! Interestingly, love is one of his greatest weapons; that is love of money (1 Timothy 6:10) and love of this world…that is things or idols (1 John 2:15).

Then comes the deception – through false teachers, false doctrines and false Bible versions. Truths such as Luke 6:38, 3 John 2, Malachi 3:10 and Proverbs 13:22 are taken out of context to ‘justify’ their accumulation of that which belongs to the Master (money, assets, riches, etc). This strategy is self-centred, not Christ-centred and not kingdom-centred.

The desire for a passive income stream, speculative gains or a large retirement fund is un-Biblical. They are the world’s ‘answers’ to a perceived need that should not even be on a true believer’s radar! Verses like Matthew 6:20-21, Mark 8:36; 10:24 and Luke 12:15 are conveniently ignored, even replaced by the prosperity gospel, surely a doctrine of demons (1 Timothy 4:1).

Being trapped in this nonsense is not what our Saviour died for! He gave His life to set us free (Galatians 5:1); the enemy comes to enslave us again! We must be vigilant (1 Peter 5:8).

Brother and sisters in Christ, my apologies if this offends; but we need to get firmly focused on Jesus and Him alone…on His plan and His Word of truth. It seems to me that before “thy kingdom come” our kingdom must go; before “thy will be done” our will must be undone!

Peter, for the Kingdom Builders team

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