Make the kingdom of God your number one priority

Make the kingdom of God your number one priority.

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. (Matthew 6:33)

The kingdom of God is where God reigns. Those of us that have Christ reigning in our lives have been translated into the kingdom of His dear Son.

He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, (Colossians 1:13)

God wants to establish His kingdom on earth. Adam and Eve failed. Israel failed.

And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel." (Exodus 19:6)

But God continues to rule over the nations and excercise His sovereignty from His throne.

For the kingdom is the LORD's, And He rules over the nations.
(Psalms 22:28)

The LORD has established His throne in heaven, And His kingdom rules over all.
(Psalms 103:19)

They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom, And talk of Your power, To make known to the sons of men His mighty acts, And the glorious majesty of His kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.
(Psalms 145:11-13)

But there is a future day when God will establish His throne (the throne of David) on this earth.

And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.
(Daniel 2:44)

The good news is that God is in control.

How great are His signs, And how mighty His wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And His dominion is from generation to generation. . . . And at the end of the time I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me; and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever: For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, And His kingdom is from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of heaven And among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand Or say to Him, "What have You done?"
(Daniel 4:3, 34-35)

Yours in Him,
Pastor B.

Happy Mother's Day to the Moms and Five Minutes Peace to All of You

There is a cute book called, "Five Minutes' Peace" by Jill Murphy that tells the story of a mother that just wants five minutes peace from her young demanding and often noisy children.

It's so right on with respect to the demands of motherhood, and I hope that all of you that are mothers have a great day tomorrow, and that you even get a rest and some peace from the day to day grind of motherhood. And for those of you that are not moms, I also hope you guys get some peace and some time to reflect on the goodness of God.

We are giving out a book to the ladies tomorrow at Calvary Chapel Space Coast that is called, Stones of Remembrance- A Rock-Hard Faith from Rock-Hard Places". It is the story of women of God that have chosen to walk in faith in the most difficult times.

What about you? Are you going through difficult times? Most of us would like a little less drama and a lot more down time. But the question is, are you walking out your faith in the hard times as well as the good times?

strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, "We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God."
(Acts 14:22)

who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
(2 Corinthians 1:4)

We strengthen one another's souls by exhorting one another to walk out our faith in the midst of the hard times. Be of strong. Be of good courage. Wait on the Lord and He will strengthen your heart (Psalm 27:14). And while you're waiting, take some time to encourage a few of your brothers and sisters in Christ to walk out their faith. When the going gets tough, those grounded in Christ renew their determination to be faithful witnesses and servants of the one true God.

Yours in Him,

Pastor B.

Weaknesses and Weapons

We all have our weaknesses, but one thing you can be sure of. No matter what your weakness, God can do extraordinary things through you, and there is no weapon in heaven or earth that can successfully be used against you by your adversary. Do you understand what that means? Your adversary is helpless against you, because God is in you and because God is your strength where you are weak.

SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY- THURSDAY
And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Christ is in you and the power of Christ rests upon you as you serve God in the Spirit. There is a heritage that can be claimed by ALL SERVANTS OF THE LORD, and that heritage is that no weapon formed against you will work. Satan and his demonic horde can muster tanks, land mines, and even nuclear missles, but none of them will work against you and keep you from your destiny in Christ.

SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY- FRIDAY
No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, And their righteousness is from Me," Says the LORD.
(Isaiah 54:17)

The prophet Moses didn't think he was the man for the job because of he was not an eloquent speaker and had a speech impediment. The Lord told him that He would be his mouth and teach him what to speak (Ex.4:10-12). Isaiah didn't feel that he had it together good enough to be a prophet (Is. 6:5). Jeremiah didn't think that he mature enough (Jer 1:6). Yet God called all of these people and used them in a mighty way.

Has God called you to serve Him? Then rest assure He can use you to do extraordinary things, weaknesses and all!

Yours in Him,
Pastor B.

The Day of the Lord is Coming!

The Day of Reckoning is Coming! It's a world wide 'come to Jesus' meeting. It is a day when the nations will be judged for their wickedness and their persectuion of God's people. It is what the prophets called "The Day of the Lord".

It is not the day when the Lord Jesus came as the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. It is the day when the Lord Jesus comes as the Lion of Judah, the son of David.

And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;
(2 Thessalonians 1:7-9)

And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
(Revelation 19:11-16)

We all know John 3:16, but how about Joel 3:16?

The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel. (Joel 3:16)

Who can you tell about the second coming of Jesus and the Day of the Lord?

Yours in Him,
Pastor B.

What Does God Require?

What does God REQUIRE of us? Interesting question. Not what would He like of us, or what He would want for us, but what does He REQUIRE of us?

Moses recorded the following in the book of Deuteronomy-

"And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the LORD and His statutes which I command you today for your good?
(Deu 10:12-13)

Wow! That sums it up, doesn't it? Some would have you think God doesn't require much, BUT . . . it's just the opposite. God requires EVERYTHING!

But that doesn't mean that the God following Christ following life is a complicated one with lots of rules. The prophet Micah put it this way-

He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?
(Mic 6:8)

The bottom line is that you and I have been purchased with the blood of Christ (Acts 20:28), all that we are and all that we have belongs to Him, and we are REQUIRED TO FAITHFULLY MANAGE WHAT IS HIS.

Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.
(1Co 4:2)

So how have you been doing in managing yourself and all that you have? Have you been managing it as if it belonged to Him? How faithful are we as stewards of what the blood of Christ has purchased?

Yours in Him,

Pastor B.

What Kind of Seed are YOU Sowing?

In Matthew 13 Jesus tells the parable of the sower that sows good seed in the ground, and the good seed is the Word of God.

Those that walk humbly with the Lord speak often of the wonderful works of God and the Word of God.

I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the LORD; The humble shall hear of it and be glad. Oh, magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together.
(Psa 34:1-3)

Do you sow the good seed of the word of God and of testimonies of the wondeful works of God?

Believe it or not, arrogance and pride is one of the greatest enemies of those that are busy sowing the seed of the Word of God. One of the reasons for this is that arrogance and pride are subtle, and the schemes of the devil are subtle.

SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY:
But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: "GOD RESISTS THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE." Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. (Jas 4:6-7)

Being a God-follower or Christ-follower is challenging, but not complicated. As the prophet Micah once said,

"He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?" (Mic 6:8)

When we get puffed up and full of ourselves we tend to be judgmental and critical and see what is wrong with our brothers and sisters in Christ, rather than encourage them as they minister in the name of Jesus.

King Solomon once wrote,
"These six things the LORD hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil, A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren."
(Pro 6:16-19)

May the Lord help us to actively sow good seed into those around us, and to encourage those others that are sowing good seed in the name of Jesus.

Yours in Him,
Pastor B.

Heed the Lord- Dig the Ditches

If God tells you to dig a ditch, dig a ditch. Whether it makes sense to you or not. How often we likely miss out on God's magnificent demonstrations of His power when we fail to heed His word to us.

Tonight is our first night at our Port. St. John campus, and we are excited about what God is going to do. He told us to start a contemporary casual service on Saturday nights in PSJ, and we have obeyed. Tonight is just the beginning of some neat things God is going to do.

On Sunday mornings here at Calvary Chapel Space Coast Titusville campus we are going through 2 Kings, and have seen how God sometimes calls us on us to do strange things in order to demonstrate His power.

The Israelite army is facing the army of Moab and God tells them through the prophet Elisha to dig ditches!

And he said, "Thus says the LORD: 'Make this valley full of ditches.' For thus says the LORD: 'You shall not see wind, nor shall you see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, so that you, your cattle, and your animals may drink.' And this is a simple matter in the sight of the LORD; He will also deliver the Moabites into your hand.
(2Ki 3:16-18)

What's really strange, is that even though God says He will miraculously provide water for them if they dig the ditches He doesn't really tell them what this has to do with winning a victory against the Moabite army.

You'll have to read the rest of 2 Kings chapter 3 for yourself if you want to see what God had cooking. What I WILL tell you is that God showed up big, and the Israelites came out on top BIG.

As we go through our survey of the whole Bible in six weeks during our daily abide in His word teaching (abideinhisword.com) it reminds me of how often God asks His children to trust Him and how He demonstrates His love and power to deliver in some pretty amazing ways.

God can work in the midst of the ordinary, but He takes great delight in working in the midst of the out-of-the-ordinary so that man doesn't think his victories are through his own wisdom or might.

Not by power, not by might, but by My Spirit says the Lord.

Yours in Him,
Pastor B.