Do You Yearn for His Kingdom?

 Do You Yearn for His Kingdom? - Nathele Graham - twotug@embarqmail.com The King is coming! Are you excited? If you claim to be a follower of Christ then you should be very excited. Prophecy is being fulfilled faster than most people can keepup with. Remember to keep your eyes on Israel to see prophecy come alive. There’s talk of a train from the Ben Gurion Airport to the Temple so people can easily go to worship there. The Temple hasn’t been rebuilt yet, but it will be. Five red heifers wereflown from Texas to Israel. One of them just might be qualified and selected to be the sacrifice whose ashes will be used for the purification process. “This is the ordinance of the law which the LORD hath commanded, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel,that they bring thee a red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke: and ye shall give her unto Eleazar the priest, that he may bring her forth without the camp and one shall slay her before his face: and Eleazar the priestshall take of her blood with his finger, and sprinkle of her blood directly before the tabernacle of the congregation seven times and one shall burn the heifer in his sight; her skin, and her flesh, and her blood, with her dung, shall he burn: and the priestshall take cedar wood, and hyssop, and scarlet, and cast it into the midst of the burning of the heifer.” Numbers 19:2-6. The red heifer seems to have shown up in time to purify the coming temple. God always provides, and He’s never late. This is excitingand prophecy buffs are keeping their eyes on this. We know that the Temple must be built because Scripture tells us that the Anti-Christ will pridefully set himself up as God. “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except therecome a falling away first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.” 2 Thessalonians2:3-4. He is not God, but halfway through Daniels 70th week he will deceive those who have rejected God Almighty and convince them that he is God. The signs of the times are happening quickly. Most people just go about life without giving a second thought to the increase in number and intensity of earthquakes. We can’tturn on any news broadcast without hearing about war. Israel is the target of much hatred from the nations of the world, but they are in the land that God gave them, and there they will stay. There are many prophetic Scriptures which talk of Israel being backin their God-given land and never being uprooted again. The dry bones coming together, as described in Ezekiel, is exactly what began happening in 1947. The bones came together and are now coming alive. Israel is coming alive spiritually. “Again he said untome, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up fleshupon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.” Ezekiel 37:4-6. It’s exciting to see the Jewish people coming together with life and a fresh spirit. “But, The Lord liveth, that brought upthe children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them; and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers.” Jeremiah 16:15. God is with Israel, and they won’t be driven from their landagain. “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar,and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.” Isaiah 11:11-12. It gives me shiversknowing that I am living in the time of God’s prophecy being fulfilled. Christians should be very aware of what this all means. I remember cartoons of the past showing a scraggly bearded hippy-type holding a sign that said “The end is in sight”. Guess what! The end is in sight! Actually, for Christians, the Rapture is in sight! Brothers and sisters, what do you yearn for? Do you want God to delay His coming so you can get a big promotion at work? Do you look forward to buying a new house and don’twant God to interfere with your plans? This life does hold many blessings and we need to enjoy our life, but nothing on earth can come close to the glorious Home awaiting us in Heaven. Each and every one of us should yearn for Him to call us Home. There isa reward awaiting all who yearn for His appearing. “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” 2 Timothy4:8. Do you love thinking about that glorious day when we hear His call to “Come up hither”? The more wickedness I see in this world, the more I yearn to be with Jesus. There are those who may feel a little guilty for yearning for God’s Kingdom to come. The truth is, Jesus directed us to pray for it. We all know the words. “And he said untothem, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done., as in heaven, so in earth.” Luke 11:2. That prayer is prayed so often, but it can become just words with little thought to the truth behind them.The disciples had been listening to Jesus pray, and desired for Him to teach them, and us, how to pray. The first thing to notice is that Jesus directed them to pray to God, the Father. Not to Mary, Peter, or any pope-appointed saint. Only God can answer prayer.The next directive is that we are to recognize that God is holy, and He is deserving of our respect and honor. The next part may be misunderstood. “Thy kingdom come”. What does that mean? When you pray those words, you are praying for God’s Kingdom on earth.It will happen whether you pray for it or not, but every Christian should yearn for God’s Kingdom on earth. If you don’t, maybe you don’t want God’s perfect rule over all things. Is your desire to continue with fallible rule by humans? My desire is for Christ’sperfect Kingdom on earth, and I yearn for that day. When you pray for His Kingdom to come, do you mean it? What about the next words? “Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.” Do you want to live under His perfect will? I hope so. Actually, you canstart today to do your part by doing His will. First, accept the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ for salvation, then let go of the sin in your life and start living to please Him. We all fail when it comes to living the way God wants us to live, and the way we will be expected to live when Jesus is King. We easily loose our temper over nothing important,and we don’t forgive others. We suffer from pride, but God wants us to be humble. Jesus is our example. When He entered His creation, He left the glory and worship in Heaven. He could have been prideful because He was God; Jesus is much superior to mere humans.Instead of boasting and making sure everyone knew just how great He was, He became one of us, and submitted Himself to the mocking, humiliation, and pain of death. He paid the price for your sin and mine. If the God of all creation humbly became a man, andwas obedient unto death, can’t you see your need to set your pride aside and humbly serve Him? If you yearn for His kingdom on earth, shouldn’t you be obedient to His will now? If you don’t want to follow Him now, what makes you think you’ll be happy livingunder His authority for eternity? “Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine Heart.” Psalm 37:4. That was David’s thought about life. He was right, but don’t misconstrue this verse to mean if we delight ourselves in theLord, He will give us anything we want. It does mean that if we earnestly desire things of God, rather than the things of the world, we will find that our needs are taken care of and the desires of our heart center around Godly desires. If we yearn for HisKingdom on Earth, we will find ourselves living for Him. Jesus also told us to seek first the Kingdom of God. Instead of seeking after fame and fortune and earthly pleasure “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness. And all these thingsshall be added unto you” Matthew 6:33. What things will be added? If you read the previous verses, you’ll see that He was talking about food, shelter, and clothing. If you yearn for God’s Kingdom to come, then don’t be double minded. Start living as if it’salready here. This is not intended to validate the heresy of “name it and claim it”. If you seek after Godly things and live a Godly life, things like food, shelter, and clothing will be provided by God. God loves you and gave His life for your salvation. He will call us Home soon. Keep looking and listening. The signs tell us that that blessed day is approaching quickly.sI yearn for it. How about you? You should, because it’s going to be wonderful! God bless you all, Nathele Graham twotug@embarqmail.com