Kingdom Men United

Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.  For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.  Hebrews 2:17-18

“Mission accomplished.  Well done, good and faithful servant.  Welcome home.  Come on in.  I’m proud of you, son.”  We all long for words like that—words of affirmation for a job well done.

Jesus certainly deserved to hear those words from His Father.  After all, Jesus willingly left His rightful place in heaven, came to earth in the form of man, carried the weight of the sin of all mankind to the cross, gave up His life for our salvation, rose from the dead, and now sits at the right hand of God making intercession for you and me (Ephesians 1:15-22).  Now that’s a great picture of a job well done!

Jesus is truly our role model and hero.  However, the Bible is filled with other heroes as well (Hebrews 11).  The difference?  Jesus was without fault or blemish (1 Peter 1:17-20), and the others had plenty of issues.  Just like you and me.

They were flesh and blood men who encountered God in a personal way and responded the best they could.  Oh, they made plenty of mistakes.  They had plenty of tests and trials.   And often, they missed the mark.

But they turned out to be Bible heroes anyway!  How?  They never let their own mistakes or the inevitable struggles in this world steal their faith—their complete confidence that God’s Word to them would not fail.  They persevered, endured, and waited patiently and steadfastly for what God had promised (Hebrews 6:12).  And they won!

No matter what you have done or what you are facing right now, you have the same opportunities in life:  The opportunity to meditate, receive, and believe what God says in spite of your circumstances or failures.  The opportunity to get God’s Word so deeply planted in your heart that it becomes the reality of your life.  The opportunity to boldly proclaim what He says about you and every trial you face.  The opportunity to live by faith, no matter what you “see” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).

Living in this world is not easy.  We are surrounded by evil every day, and it is getting worse.  But praise God, we are not of this world (John 17:16).  We are citizens of the Kingdom of God.
As you meditate, speak, and do according to God’s Word, you will deal wisely and you will have good success.  God has declared your victory, and you can count on it!

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.  Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.  Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.  But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.  To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.  1 Peter 5:6-11

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.  But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.  For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.  James 1:5-8

Have you ever seen one of those guys on television do the “trick” with dominoes?  You know, he sets up hundreds of dominoes in a way that when one falls, they all follow suit.  Depending on how many dominoes are in place, the whole process can take a while, and once they start falling, it’s fun to watch.  Nothing is going to stop those dominoes from falling…unless there is a gap or space in the line that has been set up.

In the same way your life was “set up” for you by your heritage, circumstances, and the good or bad decisions you have made so far.  It may seem that you’re just watching the dominoes fall, and there’s just not much you can do about it.

That’s not the way God intended of course.  From the very beginning, God put everything in place for mankind to be successful in life.  But you know the story—Adam and Eve gave the adversary illegitimate authority in their lives and he rearranged the “dominoes” (Genesis 3:1-6).

The life you are living doesn’t have to go the way the enemy intends!  But it’s up to you to allow God to control your destiny.  That process begins with you making a space for Him in every decision you make.

As you persevere through the various issues of life you are facing, go ahead and ask God for wisdom.  Hold Him in the highest esteem, or as the Bible says:  Get a good healthy fear of God (Proverbs 1:7).  That is the first step toward wisdom for your life.

Get God’s Word so firmly entrenched in your heart that no man, no circumstance, no attack of the adversary can knock you off course (Ephesians 6:12).   You don’t have to “get by” on your own.  God is near you (Hebrews 10:19-23).  He will get your life on course once and for all and keep it there—if you will ask in faith.  You just have to make a space for Him.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and depart from evil.  It will be health to your flesh, and strength to your bones.  Proverbs 3:5-8

Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward.  For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise: “ For yet a little while, and He who is coming will come and will not tarry.  Now the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.”  Hebrews 10:35-38

Perseverance is not an activity for the faint of heart!  Now, if perseverance to you means just “wishing and hoping—waiting to see whatever is going to happen,” you don’t have a real grasp on Bible perseverance.

Bible perseverance includes words like endurance, patience, and steadfastness.  You know…standing right where you are, not giving up an inch in the battle (Ephesians 6:13).  And as a Christian, you are surely in a battle (Matthew 11:12).

Your job is to tenaciously withstand the pressure of a trial until God removes it at His appointed time.  Tenacity is a key element of Bible perseverance.  You must have your hope so grounded in the love that Christ has poured into your heart (Romans 5:1-5) that nothing can stop you from believing and receiving all God has declared is yours.

God has a good track record when it comes to blessing His people (Deuteronomy 28).  For one thing, God saved you from yourself—from a life of sin and selfishness (Romans 3:2).  You may not “see” all His promises yet, but they are on the way (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).  He is faithful to fulfill His promises (2 Thessalonians 3:3) even though we often have to wait patiently for them.

So what do you do in the meantime?  Spend time with God.  Put on His armor (Ephesians 6:10-11).  Get His truth, His peace, His salvation, His righteousness, and His faith firmly entrenched in your heart.  Then pick up God’s Word and stand firm.  Perseverance will do its perfect work in you (James 1).   That’s a promise you can count on.

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.  Isaiah 40:28-31

Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content:  I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.  I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.  Philippians 4:11-13

How on earth could Paul say such a thing?  Had he forgotten about the times he was beaten and stoned?  Was he delusional?  Surely he hadn’t forgotten all the suffering and all the tests and trials so quickly.

Well, of course he hadn’t forgotten.  When we go through tests and trials in life, none of us forgets either.  But Paul had God’s Word and some very real experience with God’s provision in his life.  And he wasn’t about to let any struggle get the best of him.

It wasn’t about what Paul needed to forget.  It was about what Paul remembered!  The goodness of God, the provision of God, and Paul’s daily relationship with God were all Paul could see (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).  And all he wanted to talk about.

So let me ask you (and while I’m at it, I’ll ask myself), “Can you remember a difficult time that God got you through?”  Maybe it was a broken relationship.  Or a severe financial need.  Or even a frightening health issue.   For me, a failed twenty-five year marriage and $1,200,000 in debt immediately come to mind.

Now, think about the tough situations you are in right now.  Based on your experience so far, can you even imagine God coming through for you?  Can you see in His Word any promise that applies to your situation?  You can, if you’ll take the time to meditate on God’s Word.

And once you get God’s promise for what you are facing, go ahead and proclaim it over your situation.  It’s OK to talk like the solution is a done deal.  God isn’t going to change His mind.

You can feel free to say whatever God has said about His provision for your need as you exercise patience, perseverance, and endurance.  Words of faith will get into your heart and you’ll never be the same.  He’s listening and so are you!

And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.  2 Corinthians 9:8

I rise before the dawning of the morning, and cry for help; I hope in Your word.  My eyes are awake through the night watches, that I may meditate on Your word.   Hear my voice according to Your lovingkindness; O LORD, revive me according to Your justice.  Psalm 119:147-149

We all need someone to help us get through the tough times.  It doesn’t matter whether the battle is with illness, abuse, loss, or the possibility of something bad happening in our lives.  We all need some place to go for help and someone who cares.

King David certainly had his share of problems.  The battle throughout his adult life was fierce.  He had a long and painful journey from shepherd boy to King of Israel.  When Samuel anointed him as a teenage boy, I’m sure he had no idea what was in store for his life (1 Samuel 16:11-13).

David is a great example of a man who persevered.  You probably know some of his story.  He became a national hero, then a runaway fugitive.  David was befriended by King Saul’s son in spite of Saul’s rampage to kill ol’ David.  He ran from cave to cave for years, but finally survived Saul’s assault.

Then, as King of Israel, he committed adultery and had a good man killed to cover up his own sin (2 Samuel 11:2-17)!  Yet, through it all, David remained a man after God’s own heart.

So, how did he do it?  What was the secret?  How could David exhibit such perseverance (endurance and patience) through trial after trial?  Even trials of his own making.

The answer is simple and yet so profound.  No matter what He was facing, sooner or later, David always turned to the sufficiency and unchanging nature of God’s Word.  He was willing to set aside whatever trial he faced—even his own disgusting sins—and get face to face with his God.  And so can you.

It’s not always easy.  I know.  I struggle too.  But there is absolutely no doubt that your hope is in the name, the Word, and the sufficiency of your God just like King David.  God wants you to run to Him in your trials.  And He wants you to prefer Him over all else in the good times.  He is ready and waiting no matter what condition you may be in.

Meditate on who He is and what He has done.  Meditate on God’s great and precious promises—all He has promised to do.  You can persevere through every trial knowing that renewed hope is on the way.

And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope.  Now hope does not disappoint…  Romans 5:3-5

Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall into various temptations.  Be assured and understand that the trial and proving of your faith bring out endurance and steadfastness and patience.  But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing.  James 1:2-4 AMP

Perfect.  Complete.  Lacking nothing.  That’s what I want to be.  Don’t you?   The problem is…getting there isn’t always easy.  It takes a heavy dose of God’s Word (2 Timothy 3:16-17), and a proper response to life’s tests and trials to get there.

It’s a bit like going to the beach for vacation.  Being there, enjoying the sun and the waves, just hanging out, and breathing in that ocean breeze sounds pretty “perfect and complete” doesn’t it?  Of course, before you get there, you have to endure the planning, packing, traffic and parking fees.  You have to patiently explain to the kids (or yourself!) that you’re “almost there” about a dozen times.

Once you get parked, you have to lug the “beach stuff” across the hot sand for what feels like at least a mile.  And then, finally, you can sit in your beach chair and declare what a great joy it is to be there.  You are finally having a great time.  What a perfect vacation!  Your endurance, steadfastness, patience and perseverance have paid off.

You may be there for a day, a week, or a month, but sooner or later, it’s time to go back home.  It’s time to get back to work.  Ah, but the memory…the sand, the breeze, the ocean air…it was worth it all.

I don’t know what tests and trials you are enduring right now.   I know I have my share to deal with, and trust me, I don’t like any of them.  It seems to me that every day as a believer should be a “day at the beach,” but it’s not.  We live in a fallen world with real consequences of sin.  And it is a physical world where things (including our bodies) break down over time and need repair.

No matter what you are facing, remember:  This is the only time you’ll ever have to live by faith.  When you see Him face to face, the opportunity to live by faith is gone (Romans 8:24).

Secure the hope that God has placed in you (Romans 5:1-5).  Spend some time in God’s presence (however you get there is up to you) and set your mind and your heart to live by faith.  Set your mind on the good memories of times when God has come through for you (Philippians 4:8).

And as you face the inevitable tests and trials of this life, remember that joy is not a suggestion—it is a command.  Remind yourself of a time where God has come through in your life.  Meditate on His promise of deliverance for those who love Him (Romans 8:28). .  Declare your joy—by faith and in faith.

God will get you through the trial (1 Corinthians 10:13).  Joy is not a feeling.  It is a condition based on your relationship with Jesus Christ.  So whatever you are facing count it pure joy, my friend.  Persevere.  Endure.  Press through in faith.  You’re just somewhere along the way to another “day at the beach.”  And the end result is well worth the effort!