In order to walk in all that Jesus afforded us, we must be Kingdom-minded. We know this. We have had it preached to us for the majority of our Christian lives. We know it, because Jesus said it very pointedly: "seek first the kingdom of God" (Matthew 6:33). However, our actions outside of the church prove that we do not take the commands of our Lord very seriously.
Therefore do not worry and
be anxious, saying, What are we going to have to eat? or, What are we
going to have to drink? or, What are we going to have to wear? For the Gentiles (heathen) wish for and crave and diligently seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows well that you need them all. But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides.
~Matthew 6:31-33, Amplified
Does that really mark our lives when we walk outside the doors of our churches? Do we really trust that by putting the plans and purposes of God as our top priority, that He will handle all the other issues of our lives? Our pulpits say that we do. How often do we here messages on topics like Matthew 6:24
No one can serve two
masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he
will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and
mammon
And yet, how often do the messages stop there? When Jesus goes on to say that we are not to worry about our own provision, because that will take away from our ability to be Kingdom-minded?
Being a Christian does not make you a person who is Kingdom-minded. James 1:22 tells us that simply listening to the Bible doing other "religious" things is not enough. In fact, it is delusional to think that way. Doing that which our Lord tells us to do is what is required. Without the doing, we cannot walk Blessed, Anointed lives.
Kingdom ways of thinking do not line-up with earthly ways of living. Unfortunately, earthly mindsets have infiltrated their way into many churches. Think about it: we talk about our jobs, needing to work more in order to "earn" more money. We teach our children to follow the same earthly model as those outside the church: "go to school, get good grades, go to good college, get good job, make good money and have a good retirement." What Scripture is that on, again?
This is a broken model. I have lived it, and it didn't get me anywhere. Conventional wisdom has no place in the Christian life. Proverbs 14:12 tells us that it leads to death. 1Corinthians 2:14 tells us that these natural ways of thinking and living hinder us from receiving revelation from God.
That doesn't mean we shouldn't have jobs or do well in schools. What it means is that it is our responsibility to find out from God what He wants us to be doing. His plan is the plan that is Blessed - not whatever we come up with. What happened to Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" (NIV)? God's plans are the ones that are already Blessed and Anointed. They are the ones that work. Why are we making our own, based upon the world's system around us?
James 4:13-17 shows us that making our own plans without God is both arrogant and sinful:
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin
This passage is telling us not to simply up and make our own plans for life, assuming that since we are men and women of God He will Bless them. Our earthly lives, in the scope of eternity, are too brief for that kind of living and thinking. In fact, to assume that since we said a few prayers, read the Bible on occasion, and remember to add "Your will be done" to the end of our prayers at church, that God will Bless our endeavors is arrogant presumption. You know you are to listen to Him regarding what to do with your life. And when you know what to do and you decide not to do it, for you, it is sin. God cannot Bless and Anoint sin.
Just because you say, "Your will be done" at the end of a prayer does not mean that His will actually will happen, either. Jesus didn't teach us to pray that way. On the contrary, Jesus said to pray that God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven. God's will is heaven on earth. Contrary to religious opinion, that which does not match heaven is not the will of God.
Just because we see it happen in our lives, or in the lives of others, does not mean God ordained it. The "God is Sovereign" excuse is nothing more than spiritual laziness. There are people who hate God, because Christian people have led them to believe God is responsible for poverty, sickness, disease, third-world nations, terrorism, genocide, and every other atrocity this world has. The Bible says otherwise. The Bible says in 1John 3:5 that Jesus came to destroy these things. And that is all that matters.
In order to walk in the fullness of the Anointing and Blessing of God, we must put aside all that we think we know, and get on our knees before Him. Let God tell you exactly what to do - even if it defies "conventional wisdom." Only then will we walk in all that Jesus bought us: the good life.
For we are God’s [own] handiwork (His workmanship), recreated
in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God
predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared
ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which
He prearranged and made ready for us to live].
~Ephesians 2:10, Amplified
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