Douglas

Pride. The answer in one word. "I don't need anyone's help"!! We also don't want to owe anyone anything. We resist being on the hook of the "favor owed". We seek independence from God for a couple of reasons that come to mind. First of all, a lack of knowledge. It is difficult to pray for ourselves when we should be praying for others. We have to remember that it is Jesus himself who teaches us to pray "Give us this day our daily bread". We also seek independence from God because we know that our wants are different from our needs and we don't want to be limited to our "needs". Circumstances change. Our needs change. I might not be able to earn my own living tomorrow. Health, both economic and physical, could keep my from making a living. My resources are limited, GOd's are not.

We are asking that the "Father's Kingdom should come" in the sense that we pray for the reign of Jesus here on earth be the same as that in Heaven. We are petitioning for God's will to be manifest here and now. In a sense we are ushering in the Second Coming of Jesus. This should affect our way of life in that we should be ever mindful of the return of Jesus, having our lamps lit and ready. This should be reflected in our priorities and our values.

The name of our Father is "hallowed" in our lives and in our words when we live our lives as separated unto God. When we speak words that reflect honor and reverence and respect for God. When we are careful to use His name carefully and in bringing life to a situation and not death. When we don't do these things, when are aren't careful in our conversations and lifestyles we bring a reproach on His name. When we begin to pray we "hallow" our Father's name when we approach Him in humility and reverence.

John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." 4 Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mothers womb and be born?" 5 Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. Jesus is teaching about the spiritual nature of the Kingdom of God. He is teaching that there must be a change. A change from the natural to the spiritual. Nicodemus doesn't get it. His remark about being naturally reborn from his mother a second time reveals his lack of understanding about what Jesus is teaching him.

Jesus teaches us the incalculable value and worth of the Kingdom of God. It is to be sough first and with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. We are tempted to value it so little because of fear and unbelief. It is a Kingdom not seen with our natural eyes, the benefits of which are recieved by faith. All the world has to offer is immediate gratification for the most part and our flesh battles us for it. Practicing the presence of God by growing in our faith and living in the joy that His presence affords, exhibiting by our lives that peace that is beyond understanding and serving God and others would help seeking friends to value God's Kingdom more.

We learn from the Old Testament as well as our own consciences that our deeds of righteousness are as filth rags to God. There is no sacrifice we can make that is adequate. Our motives are self serving and our hearts are deceptive. Jesus asked this man to follow Him to bring him to a point of deliberate decision. He lead this man to the place of making a choice. The choice he made was tragic. I wonder if he knew how tragic it really was. Do we know the full consequence of some of the choices we make that undermine the Lordship of Jesus in our lives? The great exchange. If this man had traded all he had for all Jesus had to offer, what a privelege. This same privilege is offered to each of us today. He rejected the offer because of fear. A fear rooted in spiritual blindness. He could not see what Jim Eliot saw when he wrote, "He is no fool who gives up that which he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose".

Jesus percieved that this man's heart was about his fortune. His hopes, his dreams, his reputation, his self worth were all dependent upon his possesions. This troubles us because we can so relate to the dilema of this challenge. It even troubles me now to write about it. We need to be very wary of the spiritual dangers of wealth. The comforts and priveliges it affords are temporal at best and give no peace, yet we hold and hoard for the sake of security. Fear needs to be let go and faith embraced. Then and only then will we experience the abundant life that Jesus promises.

Both of these parables of Jesus speak to the giving up of what is currently possesed to acquire that which is of a far greater value. They speak of the recognition of that which is of a greater value by the "great joy" experienced by the finder. The main point of these parables is that the sell off of the temporal sinful pleasures of this life for the fullness of life in Christ, both and now and after death, is a wise, prudent and fruitful decision. Making a decision of this magnitude should affect our values and our lives in every way. Passions and priorities should all become subject to acquiring and maintaining this treasure as well as leading others to finding it.

Jesus uses the story of Noah and the flood, as well as the story of Sodom and Gommorah to illustrate how like the flood and the fire came suddenly, so to He will come suddenly. When he does there will be no further warning. We are being warned now, and this should cause us to live our lives with an attitude of urgency, expectancy and hope. Our focus should not be on the material of this world but rather on that of the coming Kingdom of God.

The Kingdom of God was present in the Person and Ministry of Jesus in His Deity. He is the Son of God. The Kingdom of God was also present in the Person and Ministry of Jesus through the Holy Spirit. This also is the way the Kingdom of God is present today. It is through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that we can say with Paul, "In Him we live and move and have our being".

12 "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. We have an enemy. An enemy Jesus says who seeks to kill, steal and destroy. An enemy who goes about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. If we are passive and in denial we will become a spiritual statistic in the non affective file. Persistance forged in the furnace of tests of faith gives us a spiritual toughness that equips us to lay hold of the kingdom of heaven and not let go. Jacob, wrestling with God in the Old Testament and not letting go, is a picture of our laying hold of the Kingdom.

Asking, seeking and knocking is essential because it was not only taught by Jesus but modeled by Him as well. Think of the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus petitioned God three times. Jesus often separated Himself from the others to pray. We give up so easily because we are so conditioned in this culture to immediate gratification, not to mention our recognition of an answered prayer may be biased by what we expect the answer to be. We gain boldness and persistence by believing that God loves us and that He really desires fellowship in prayer with us. As we persist boldness increases as our trust for God increases.