SEEK
YE FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD
With these words Jesus set the priority.
How to proceed? To find the kingdom and enter it, we need the keys,
and Jesus said to Peter, "I will give you
the keys of the kingdom of heaven . . .."
We can find those keys only in the utterances of Jesus, which Peter and
the other apostles received and preserved. We specify four of them
below. With them, you, too, can find the kingdom of God.
Just claim his promise, Ask,
and it will be given you; seek, and you will find. Matthew
7:7 |
Key
#1
Unobserved
Being asked
by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, he answered them,
"The
kingdom of God is not
coming with signs to be observed;
nor will they say, 'Lo, here it is!' or 'There!
Luke 17:20
This key tells us how to look..
We must look for the unseen.
Key
#2
In Our
Midst
Where is the kingdom? "The
kingdom of God is in the midst of you." (Luke17:21).
This is a very important key, for now we know both where to look and
how
to look. The kingdom is in our midst, and there are no
visible signs. We must look with the eye of the mind, of the heart and
of the Spirit for what the eye of the body can never see, either now or
hereafter. |
Key
#3
Come Already
When is the kingdom coming? "Take
this, and divide it among yourselves; for I tell you that from now on I
shall not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."
(Luke 22:17,18)
And when they came to a place called
Gol'gotha (which means the place of a skull),
they offered him wine to drink,
mingled with gall; but when he tasted it, he
would not drink it. (Matthew 27:33,34)
After this Jesus, knowing that
all was now finished, said (to fulfil the scripture), "I
thirst." A bowl full of vinegar stood there;
so they put a sponge full of the vinegar on hyssop and held it to his mouth.
When
Jesus had received the vinegar, he said, "It
is finished"; and he bowed his head and gave
up his spirit.(John 19:28,29,30)
(Continued in the next column) |
Key
#3
(Continued)
Amazing! We have learned from
Jesus how to look, where to look, and also when to look,
for the kingdom came on earth when Jesus died on the cross. We must look
now!
Key
#4
The Father's
Will
There are no observable signs, so for
what must we look?
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10)
A kingdom is where the will of
the king is done. We must look for the will of God being done.
Now we know how, where, and when to look, and also
what to look for! The quest will fail without these keys and others.
But
what is the will of God?
Read
more.
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