Kingdom Awareness

29 Thursday Aug 2013

Posted by eisakouo in Kingdom of God, Luke

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Abraham, Adam and Eve, Elijah, Exodus 3:2-5, hearing God's voice, Jacob, Jesus, John 19:10-11, kingdom of God, Luke 17:20-21, miss God's will, Moses, physical signs, Rome, signs, spirituality

The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is within you. Luke 17:20-21

Jesus said people miss out on what God is doing in and around them because they fail to detect or discern what the Lord desires to accomplish in them personally. In this verse Jesus calls His followers to become Kingdom Aware.

So are you Kingdom Aware? Are you looking for the Lord to work outside you or inside? When we are looking for the Lord’s action some other place rather than inside ourselves, we will probably miss the Lord’s movements. I wear glasses. Occasionally, I misplace them and go searching for them. In desperation, I will finally ask my wife… “Have you see my glasses?” She will give me one of those looks and say… “They are on top of your head!” It is embarrassing. It must have been embarrassing for Jesus’ followers to hear Him say, “Stop looking and expecting the Kingdom of God to arrive with physical signs…The Kingdom of God is within you.” Jesus could have said, “Hey, stupid… the Kingdom is starring you in the face… can you feel me now?” Jesus is, was, and will continue to be a perfect gentleman.

The major focus for Jesus was the Kingdom of God. It still is! The power of Rome and its occupying force was hardly a blip on the radar for Jesus, even though it was foremost in the minds of almost everyone else. Jesus wasn’t concerned with the power of Herod, the Jewish leaders or even Pilate. In fact, when Jesus was being questioned by Pilate at His trial, Pilate said to him, “Do you refuse to speak to me? Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?” Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above” (John 19:10-11).

Jesus’ focus was not on the power of the government, but on the power of God. He stood before Pilate in complete confidence. What was it that freed Jesus from fear and gave Him such confidence? It was the constant awareness of the presence of the kingdom of God. The same Kingdom that ruled and reigned in Jesus’ heart and life should be ruling and reigning in ours as well.

Unfortunately, we miss Kingdom’s movements all the time. Most of our favorite Bible characters did too. It started in the garden with Adam and Eve. God told the first couple they could do anything they wanted and eat anything they wanted except for one small item. As soon as they thought God was off somewhere snoozing, they proceeded to make a dinner of the forbidden fruit. They acted as if God didn’t exist anymore. Because God was absent, His presence didn’t seem to appear as important. Bottom-line, the first couple didn’t value the Presence of God or His Kingdom.

God broke into the world of both Abraham and his son. He made special promises to both generations. Apart from these special visitations, they seem to be unaware that the Lord was continually with them. It was mainly during down times of testings and trials in which they doubted God’s word and forgot His promises.

Abraham’s grandson, Jacob was on the run when God spoke to him in a dramatic way. While he was sleeping, the Lord revealed to him that earth and heaven were not two separate places, but connected. Jacob saw a ladder connecting heaven and earth with angels traversing in between. Jacob called the place “Bethel”, which means “house of God.” He was partly correct. God did live there, but He also lived everywhere. This dream was not a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence…. it was an eternal truth about the Presence and Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is always waiting to be discovered by seekers. Bethel was not an unusual experience for one man way back in history, but a reality for every person, in every place, in every time. How many of us have had times when God’s presence broke through into our everyday lives? These experiences should have made us want more of God and His Kingdom.

I have had Bethel type experiences in prayer or when reading the Scripture, and I have had them when I least expected it. The point is, God is always trying to break through our world, if we will only be aware of Him. I believe God had been attempting to speak to Jacob many times earlier in his life, but he was not ready to experience Him. It was only until Jacob became desperate enough and needed the Lord that the Lord was able to capture his heart.

At first Moses tried to force the Kingdom of God into action and killed a man in the process. It was not until Moses had spent a long time away from Egypt, and came to the point of desperation that he was ready for God to speak to him.

The Bible says, “There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up… When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, ‘Moses! Moses!’ And Moses said, ‘Here I am.’ ‘Do not come any closer,’ God said. ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground” (Exodus 3:2-5).

I believe that every place can be holy ground, and the only thing that keeps us from experiencing God is our willingness and readiness to experience Him.

Elijah may offer the best example of how the Kingdom of God should move in our life. Elijah knew and experienced the power of God. He had witnessed God consume the sacrifice on Mount Carmel. Immediately following this great victory, Queen Jezebel sought to kill him. Feeling dejected and depressed Elijah ran. At this point he desperately needed a word but couldn’t get one from the Lord.

God sent a great a powerful cyclone, but the Lord voice couldn’t be heard in the cyclone.
God sent a great earthquake, but God’s voice was absent here as well.
Then the Lord sent a consuming fire that ravaged the area, but God was not in the fire.

NOTE: This is why it is never a good idea to attempt to discern God’s will right after a natural disaster. Yet, you hear people all the time attempting to do so. If you find it difficult to hear God in peaceful quiet times, how much more difficult do you think it will be to discern His voice when melee ensues.

Finally, Elijah heard God’s voice in a gentle whisper (small voice). This gentle, small voice was so holy and full of the presence of God, it made Elijah pull his cloak over his head, cover his face and fall on his knees.

Maybe you have been in this place? You desperately needed a word from the Lord, but couldn’t hear. You sought for the Lord to speak in a big way, but heard nothing. Later, God spoke in a still small voice. Why does God move in this way? Because the Kingdom of God will not arrive with signs to be observed… the Kingdom of God is within you.

The Good News is the Kingdom of God is coming! The better news is even though God’s Kingdom arrives in small ways… it doesn’t have to stay small. Jesus confirms to us that God’s Kingdom will grow if we water, nourish, and allow it to grow within us. It is a mistake to believe that just because the Lord is quiet at times, He is not with us. Our job is to be constantly Kingdom aware. We bless the Lord when we value His presence whether we sense it or not. Keep Seeking!

Blessings – From God’s Incubator,

Pastor

Is Faith Really a Secret Weapon?

13 Tuesday Aug 2013

Posted by eisakouo in Kingdom of God, Luke, Our Spiritual Process

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doing the impossible, faith, Hebrews 11:1-2, increase our faith, James 2:17, Luke 17:5-6, more faith, Mount of Olives, move mountains, must be planted, mustard seed, never feel ready, pods, seeds have life, spiritual gas tank, spirituality

5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” 6 And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea’; and it would obey you. Luke 17:5-6

Almost every believer I have ever met felt like they needed more faith. They’ve prayed for it, attended conferences, read books, attended services to bolster their faith, and even prayed earnestly for increased faith. The twelve closest to Jesus sure felt the need for an increased level of faith. Evidently they looked at Jesus and concluded,”Hey, we are lacking!” Jesus basically told His small band of ruffians they were not lacking, but slacking. The faith they had was enough! They were simply not properly using what faith they did possess.

Has your spiritual gas tank ever run dry? You go to church, worship, or spend some time with the Lord to fill yourself up. While your spiritual life may resemble a gas tank which occasionally needs filling, your faith level doesn’t operate along these same lines. Faith is not like a gas tank which constantly needs topping. The church is not a gas station that merely exists to service your Christianity. Like Jesus’ disciples, we falsely conclude if we had just a little more of God, just a little more faith, just a little more spirit …. then we could accomplish all of the things the Lord requires. Our request for the Lord to “top off our tanks” or “increase our faith” is invalid. These types of requests will not make us better disciples or stronger followers.

According to Jesus, we don’t need more faith. Faith is such a powerful weapon, we only need a tiny amount of it to do incredible things in the Kingdom. Faith is like an atomic bomb. The energy released from a tiny mustard seed amount of faith can literally move mountains. If you are a believer, then you already possess some faith.

I had the opportunity to visit the Holy Land a few years back. As our group was walking down the Mount of Olives I began to pick some of the branches and twigs from the trees along the path. I noticed some little pods growing from some of the trees and asked our guide about them. He told me they were mustard seeds. The pods were about the size of a pencil eraser. As I examined these little pods, the guide then instructed me to break one open. It was then that I discovered the real size of mustard seeds. Thousands of little ground pepper sized seeds burst forth from the little pods. They were minuscule. Jesus obviously used the smallest item known to his followers to explain just how little faith we need to see God move.

Faith is our secret weapon, but it is not used to destroy like the atom. Just a minuscule amount of faith brings about the impossible. Jesus used the example of mustard seeds because even though they are the small, they possess something a pebble, a grain of salt or a grain of sand doesn’t possess. Mustard seeds have life! The question is not whether there is life in the mustard seed. Each seed has an abundance of life. The question is have we planted our faith in God’s Kingdom so that He might do the impossible? Sized doesn’t matter. What does matter is action. Have we planted what faith we do possess?

Jesus knew that the quantity of faith is not as important as whether faith is present at all. It’s like being pregnant- either you are or you aren’t. There is no such thing as being a little pregnant. In the same instance, you either have faith in God or you don’t. If we do, then God will work amazing things in our lives. It serves no purpose to keep asking God for more of something we have never used in the first place. Faith, like seeds, must be planted. This is why James said, “Faith by itself if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” James 2:17

Are you planting what faith you do possess today or are you still waiting for the Lord to give you more. Your faith will not increase until you begin to use the faith you possess. None of us will ever feel qualified enough, know enough, or have enough experience to feel comfortable in seeing God move in our life. He only requires we believe in His process.

Blessings – From God’s Incubator,

Pastor

Three Components of Every Spiritual Battle (Part 3) War Over Our Worship of God

17 Friday Aug 2012

Posted by eisakouo in Times of Testing

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A.W. Tozer quote, defeat the worshiping believer, devil, distracted, emunah, faith, fall down and worship me, feeds the soul, Luke 4:5-8, satan, spiritual onslaught, spirituality, stability, subtle fashion, ten commandments, things of the world, worship

5 And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said to Him, “I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. 7 Therefore if You worship before me, it shall all be Yours.” 8 Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘ You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’” Luke 4:5-8

You might imagine this issue would occupy a major portion of the battle for good and evil. The first four commandments deal with this issue of worship. Satan came blatantly at Jesus, showing Him all the world’s kingdoms, and their glory… offering them for His worship. Satan probably will not approach you so blatantly. The devil comes at us for the same purpose but often in a more subtle fashion.

There was once a poor country pastor who was livid when he discovered his wife had purchased a $250 dress. “How could you do this!” he exclaimed.
“I don’t know,” she wailed, “I was standing in the store looking at the dress. Then I found myself trying it on. It was like the Devil was whispering to me, “‘You look great in that dress. You should buy it.'”
“Well,” the pastor persisted, “You know how to deal with him! Just tell him, “Get behind me, Satan!”
“I did,” replied his wife, “but then he said ‘It looks great from back here, too.'”

Satan never said to me, “Fall down and worship me.” But he has tried to get me to deviate from God’s plan for my life. He has gotten me so off track it almost ruined my commitment to God. Satan has tried to fill my life with so many other things and other people so they would occupy the Lord’s time and ministry. Many times we can find ourselves withdrawing from the physical act of worship for various reasons. The number one way Satan accomplishes this is by getting believers preoccupied and focused on other things.

He begins to attack us by making the “things of this world” so appealing and luring. He continues to lull us to sleep, getting us to focus on the wrong goals, the wrong areas, and the wrong people. He gets us to trade the best for something better, then we trade the better for something good, then we trade the good for something bad.

Jesus wasn’t even remotely fooled by Satan’s attractions. He quickly stood up and said, “I’m not getting distracted. It is written, ’You shall worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shall you serve!’” Note how passionate Jesus was when he rebuked Satan over the issue of worship. Nothing was going to diminish the intensity of His love for God, and the passion with which He expressed it.

The same should be true for every believer. Our worship should always be guarded. We would all stay out of trouble if we would quickly and passionately defend our worship of God. In a Catholic church a sign was hanging over a shrine which said, “This Shrine is out-of-order. Do not worship here.” This is a little parable of what sin does to the Christian. It makes us spiritually out-of-order. Satan knows this truth and attempts to keep us out-of-order so that real worship isn’t important as it once was.

I read recently in Hebrew the word for faith (emunah) is the same word for stability. They are linked to each another. The Lord knew long ago the only way for His followers to survive the spiritual onslaught of the devil was to remain in faith. Faith creates stability. Worship feeds my soul like no other spiritual vehicle. I can be a physical, mental, and spiritual wreck. But… when I worship my Creator all the planets, sun, moon, and stars become aligned. Everything makes sense. Satan knows he will never be able to defeat the worshiping believer. There is a war going on in and around you today for your worship. How are you doing?

Blessings,

Pastor

Living In Uncertain Times

07 Saturday Jul 2012

Posted by eisakouo in Living In Uncertain Times

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bad news, God will always do His part, II Chronicles 32, King Hezekiah, Life is uncertain but God is not, Lincoln quote, rains on the just and unjust, real believers are planters, responsibility, safe and secure, Sennachrib, spirituality, trusting God in difficult circumstances, uncertain times, wading through quicksand

We do live in uncertain times. I don’t think you need me to tell you this fact. I am sure you have been watching the news or catching blimps here and there. It seems here lately there has only been BAD NEWS. I want you to ask and answer yourself this question.

Do you feel safe and secure?
Do you feel like the Hand of God is upon this nation?
Do you feel like the grace and blessing of God is continuing to protect us, even from ourselves? Or have you noticed lately, no matter how hard we try every effort is like wadding through quicksand…. everything turns into an effort of futility.

Now, if you believe we are living in uncertain times, be of good courage. A lot of people lived in uncertain times and learned to trust God through difficult circumstances. And now we live in uncertain times too and this means the Bible should be more relevant today than any other time in our life. We should be looking to it for answers to the difficulties we face. II Chronicles 32 speaks to this very issue and I am going to spend four or five blogs talking about what King Hezekiah did to face the same uncertainties we face.

Take moment and find a sheet of paper or pull up the notepad on your computer or phone. Write down or type in the thing or things you are most worried about in your life right now. Set it aside, because we will come back it later.

There is a core principle which must be established in our lives before any of us can even attempt to trust and know God more intimately in difficult circumstances. It goes like this… Life Is Uncertain, but God Is Not. Life will throw a lot of uncertain people, things and events at you. But, it must be settled in your heart and spirit… life is totally uncertain, but God is not. No matter what happens you will always be the apple of God’s eye and kept in the center of His hand. God loves you. He is not trying to make life more difficult for you. He seeks only the very best for you. As Christians, knowing God is in control, should dictate how we respond to crisis.

Now listen to what I am about to say… Most Christians are not going to fare well in these future difficult times. Why? The truth is not in them and the difficult times will bear that reality. Just because some believers will be exposed shouldn’t dissuade you from pursuing the Lord with all your heart. Real believers are planters. They plant truth in their lives in good times and bad. Bad circumstances only causes them to plant more vigorously.

This is why Hezekiah is a good example for us today. When he became king, corruption abounded. Yet, he pursued the Lord with all his heart. After 11 years of reform, you would have thought he would have blessed with peace and tranquility, but no.

After these acts of faithfulness Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah and besieged the fortified cities, and thought to break into them for himself. 2 Chronicles 32:1

Does anyone have a problem with this? For 11 years, Hezekiah has done everything right, but trouble still came his way. Now most people would say something like this “God, I don’t understand…I was doing everything right, why did You let this happen? God I thought if I followed You, I wouldn’t have these types of problems!” Have you ever question God like this?

Here’s what Hezekiah knows: Life is uncertain, but God is not. This young king is more familiar with God than the difficult circumstances he faces. So rather than shaking his fist at God and blaming Him or pouting, because God is not fair. He simply concludes, “that’s life. It rains on the just and unjust“. Hezekiah didn’t turn to Prosaic to fight off depression. He moved forward by taking steps to ensure he had done all he is supposed to do. In times of uncertainty, we still have responsibility.

This is important. Let me explain. Suppose you knew a farmer and visited his farm one day. There you saw him sitting on his tractor, pouting. You ask, “what’s wrong?” The farmer quickly retorts, “Well I’m mad with God, because the harvest isn’t what I thought it would be.” You look out at the fields and sure enough there is nothing growing. Out of curiosity, you start to ask questions, “What’s wrong? Did it not rain enough?” He confesses, “It rained plenty.” You further inquire, “Is the soil not fertile?” He says, “No, it’s great. That’s why I am so mad. I’ve got good soil, I’ve had good rains. It should have been a good harvest.” So you inquire, “Well what kind of seed did you plant?” “Well I didn’t plant any,” he asserts.

What are you going to concude from a situation like this? If you don’t sow the seed, how can you expect a harvest? Yet, this is precisely what people do in difficult circumstances. They stop praying. They stop giving. They stop putting the word of God inside their heart. They stop fighting for right and wrong. Even in difficult and uncertain times we must be planters, knowing we cannot harvest if there is NO SEED in the ground.

When uncertainty comes and it always does… There are some things we are responsible to do. God will always do His part. We have God’s promise in His word. This is what Hezekiah knew…Life is uncertain but God is not. Hezekiah knew he could count on God, but he also knew his responsibility.

Stay with me… next we will see what Hezekiah did next to assure Sennachrib didn’t defeat him.

Blessings,

Pastor