I'm writing for Five Minute Friday and today's prompt word is ACCESS.
How do we access all that God has for us?
How do we access the fullness of the kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven, in our lives?
Jesus says in Matthew 5 that those who are poor in spirit, the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matt 5:3
What does that mean? Kingdom and poverty seem to be opposed to each other, just as concepts.
And yet that is the prerequisite for receiving from Him. And it goes on to speak about other aspects of the kingdom, but the very first one is poverty of spirit.
I've been meditating on that for weeks, and wrote about it a while back, about coming empty.
But lately I've been learning that it takes the fear of the Lord to really access all God has for us.
Oh, how great is Your goodness,
Which You have laid up for those who fear You,
Which You have prepared for those who trust in You
In the presence of the sons of men! Ps 31:19
Praise the Lord!
How blessed is the man who fears the Lord,
Who greatly delights in His commandments. Ps 112:1
The reward of humility and the fear of the Lord
Are riches, honour and life. Prov 22:4
The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him,
And rescues them. Ps 34:7
And with that fear of the Lord, it requires us giving God access to everything we have and are and want. It requires surrender. It takes us intentionally choosing Him over anything and everything and everyone else.
If we're soaking in His Word and following hard after Him, things will start to be exposed that aren't right. Then we have a choice. Do we allow Him access to those strongholds, idols, precious and sacred things in our lives, or do we do what the Israelites did? They wanted Him but they also wanted the gods of those among them. We think that's Old Testament stuff, but it isn't. Our gods might not be carved out of wood, but we can worship an image of what we want life to look like, we worship what we fear losing (money, fame, education, status, acceptance, fulfilment, stuff, etc), we can worship our theology or church doctrine or family heritage. Sometimes, we can worship who we think God is or want Him to be.
He says He stands at the door and knocks. That passage is often used as an evangelistic tool, but it was written to His own people, people already 'saved', asking for full access, rather than a half-hearted life, a half-hearted obedience, a lukewarm love for Him.
As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. Rev 3:19,20
It seems bizarre that we have to give the God of the universe permission or access, but we actually do.
A passage that the Lord has brought me back to time and time again is Psalm 24, all of it. It's a psalm asking for access into all of me. It speaks of idolatry, of half-heartedness, of making false promises to the Lord. It speaks of access to His holy place that requires us surrendering all of who we are, giving Him full access.
We want access to the riches of the Kingdom, but do we give full access to the King of the kingdom?
In ancient Biblical times, cities were fortified, and kings could not just walk in. They could barge their way in if they wanted to take over, but generally they sent a deputation and asked for access to visit.
The King of Glory also asks for access. He doesn't barge in. He is the ultimate Sovereign but He respects our choice to shut Him out.
https://grace-today.com/bible-promises-on-city/
One day, every knee will bow and every tongue confess, there will be no more choice.
But blessed are those who choose Him now, who give Him full access now.
Come, now is the time to worship
Come, now is the time to give your heart
Come, just as you are to worship
Come, just as you are before your God
Come
One day every tongue will confess You are God
One day every knee will bow
Still the greatest treasure remains for those
Who gladly choose You now
Willingly we choose to surrender our lives
Willingly our knees will bow
With all our heart, soul, mind and strength
We gladly choose You now
Powerful words here - yes, we need to surrender and give God full access to us in order to enjoy full access to all that he has for us. Something to ponder. Visiting from FMF#17
ReplyDeleteNo, I ain't afeared of God,
ReplyDeleteso maybe we'll be fighting,
long's that He do nuthin' odd,
like hittin' me with lightnin'.
Good fair match is all I ask,
no sissy gloves for us.
Maybe He'll take me to task,
or maybe I will run the fuss.
We'll do it right beneath the tree,
the backyard's big ole oak,
and we'll count it victory
when someone's nose gets broke,
and then the thunder comes, I think;
white lightnin', 'cause we'll need a drink.
A lot of food for thought in this post.
ReplyDelete"We want access to the riches of the Kingdom, but do we give full access to the King of the kingdom?" made me ponder.
Thanks for sharing.