GOD’S WORD FOR DECEMBER 4 ~ ~ Luke 11:28 ~ ~ “But He said, “More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”

  Dr. Michael Youssef’s book, How to Read the Bible, finishing Chapter 6 David and Solomon: foreshadowing God’s Kingdom

Section “The Promise of an Eternal Kingdom”

But even in the humiliating Babylonian captivity, there was one faithful prophet who still believed in the Kingdom of God.  That prophet, Daniel, told King Nebuchadnezzar, “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people.  It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever.”

Daniel was prophesying about the Kingdom of God.

For a brief time, David’s kingdom sparkled like a diamond in a gold setting.  The people of Israel thought it was the Kingdom of God and would endure forever.  When they read the Old Testament prophecies of the coming Messiah, they pictured a new David, a warrior-king who would restore his political nation-state and sit upon David’s throne.

In Acts chapter 1, the risen Jesus appeared to His followers, walked with them, and talked with them for forty days.  The account says that, during this time, He “spoke about the kingdom of God,” (Acts 1:3)  On one occasion, the disciples gathered around Him and asked, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?  (Acts 1:6)

After walking with Him for three years, hearing Him teach about the Kingdom, and witnessing His death and resurrection, the disciples were still locked into the Old Testament way of thinking about the Kingdom.  They were still looking for a revived political kingdom with Jesus on the throne.   They didn’t realize that the Kingdom of God was already among them.  David’s kingdom foreshadowed the Kingdom of God, but it was not the true and everlasting Kingdom founded and ruled by King Jesus.

Jesus replied, (Acts 1:7-8):

“But He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know periods of time or appointed times which the Father has set by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and as far as the remotest part of the earth.’”

And the moment He finished speaking, He was taken up out of their sight.

Now, as then, there is a temptation to mistake worldly political power structures for the Kingdom of God.  When God told Abraham, “I will make of you a great nation” (Genesis 12:2) and “Look up at the sky and count the stars…so shall your offspring be” (Genesis 15:5),  Abraham undoubtedly thought that God was promising to create a POLITICAL nation made up of his PHYSICAL descendants.  And Abraham was not entirely wrong – God gave him many descendants who still make up the nation of Israel.

But that promise had a much greater meaning that was hidden from view until Jesus the Messiah came among us.  As the Apostle Paul wrote in Galatians 3:16:

“The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed.  Scripture does not say “and to seeds,” meaning many people, but “and to your seed,” meaning one person, who Christ.”

God promised Abraham a kingdom made up of SPIRITUAL descendants, those who believed in God’s promises.

Abraham must have had an inkling that God’s promise extended far beyond any geographical boundaries or political divisions.  As  the book of Hebrews tells us, he “was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” (Hebrews 11:10)

That city is among us now.  The Kingdom of God is within all of us who follow Jesus and who are indwelt by the Spirit of God.

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Helen Steiner Rice:

Do you want what you want when you want it…….Do you pray and expect a reply, and when it’s not instantly answered, do you feel that God passed you by?

Well, prayers that are prayed in this manner, are really not prayers at all, for you can’t go to God in a hurry, and expect Him to answer your call….

For prayers are not meant for obtaining what we selfishly wish to acquire, for God in His wisdom refuses the things that we wrongly desire….

And don’t pray for freedom from trouble, or ask that life’s trials pass you by.  Instead, pray for strength and for courage to meet life’s “dark hours” and not cry …….

That God was not there when you called Him and He turned a deaf ear to your prayer, and just when you needed Him most of all, He left you alone in despair……

WAKE UP! You are missing completely the reason and purpose of prayer, which is really to keep us contented that God holds us safe in His care….

And God only answers our pleadings when He knows that our wants fill a need, and whenever “our will” becomes “His will”  then there is no prayer that God does not heed!

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John 3:16

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life

Philippians 4:6&7

Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.                                                                                                                        

Isaiah 51:11

 Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head; they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away. 

Isaiah 26:3

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You; because he trusts in You.

John 14:27

Peace, I leave with you, my peace I give unto you;  not as the world gives, give I unto you.  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid

Revelation 22:16

“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you of these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”

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