On Earth as it is in Heaven!

  As believers, I know that we question the situations and culture that we find ourselves in during these times.  We wonder what has happened to our world and why are things happening as they are.  I also hear fellow brothers and sisters in Christ complaining that something should be done, but they themselves do not want to get involved. Lastly, why aren't the miracles and power of God not being manifest during our lifetime?  The answer my friends is that we have forgotten to Whom we belong and that the battle is always fought on our knees!  To many, this could be a passive way of stating that this is all that we can do, but I would like to say that we need a change of thinking and praying in order to start seeing the results that we so desperately desire!  I want us to really take a deep look at the Lord's Prayer:

"In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.   Give us this day our daily bread.  And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.  And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen." Matt 6:9-13 NKJV

   Our Lord taught men and women to pray this prayer as He was teaching them during the sermon on the mount.  I would like us to notice the statement, "Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."  What exactly was Jesus stating here?  Let me ask another question, are there any diseases in Heaven?  Are there any broken relationships in heaven?  Are there threats of war and violence in heaven?  I could go on and on, but by now we should be getting the picture.  There are none of these things in heaven and according to what Jesus told us to pray, there should not be any of these things here.

  But we are in a fallen world, ravaged with sin and evil you say.  And I say, you are correct!  But, as the Word of God states, He is the First and the Last.  He is above all things.  He is the Alpha and the Omega and He is the creator of all!  God spoke this world into existence, and this world was turned upside down when sin entered in.  God provided a way thru the Lord Jesus Christ for us to be redeemed, but God never intended for us to stop there.  Evil exists in our world because God has a plan!  The Bible says that "none should perish, but that all should come to repentance." 2 Peter 3:9 NKJV.  and again, "who desires all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth." 1 Tim 2:4 NKJV. 

   So where am I going with this?  Our God wants to work in and thru us to reach others so that they may know Him.  God desires that His kingdom be here, now, in us!  In order for that to happen, we must, "be transformed by the renewing of our minds." Rom 12:2  We need to recognize the power of the Holy Spirit in each of us and transform they way the we think and the way that we pray so that our minds and our desires are that of Christ.  We need to understand that God desires that His will be "done on earth as it is in heaven."  

 Too many of us believers think that the empowering and equipping of the Holy Spirit is a one-time deal and that the gift of tongues is the end result and then we move on.  According to what is taught in the Scriptures this is not so.  We are to desire all spiritual gifts and we are to be the vessels that the Lord can work his miracles through.  Jesus Himself said, " he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do." John 14:12.  Jesus did nothing on His own, but only what the Father told Him to do.  Jesus was demonstrating the Father's will on earth as it is in heaven. Jesus healed the sick, raised the dead, gave sight, etc., etc..  These are the desires of the Father!  He said so!  We are told that we would be doing even greater than the Lord, and He raised the dead!  How is this possible for us?  We need to change our thinking and our praying.  We need to start recognizing that the Lord desires things to be on earth as it is in heaven!  Even in the world that we find ourselves in today!  What stops us from doing these works; from seeing His will on earth?  We do.  We allow ourselves to be conformed to the world and go along with the world instead of separating ourselves from the world and aligning ourselves with Christ, no matter the cost.  We allow fear and unbelief to seep into our lives and push down the voice of the Lord.  We ignore the will of God and instead trust and allow our own will, or that of someone else, to take precedence over the Almighty!

  We desire that the sick be made well, that the poor be made rich and that the weak be made strong.  Friends, I am here to tell you that no program made by man, no laws passed by man, no moral authority is going to take the place of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords and the Word of God!  We have doctors, and, I would like you to know that I believe in physicians.  I believe that they are a good thing and have a purpose, the Lord said so.  But the bible tells us that if we are sick, we should seek out the elders of the church and they are to pray and lay hands on us.  But what usually ends up happening first is that we seek out the physicians and medical care and then let the church know last, and normally when the medical help tells us the worst. This is not supposed to be the order of things!! Now this is just one example of the kind of mindset that we have in the world today and it is the reason that many things in our society are taking place.  I know that some of you will simply say that the things that are happening were foretold by the Lord, and, yes, I agree.  However, we are not to simply sit by and passively allow these things to happen!  We are to occupy the world and allow the Holy Spirit in us to equip us to carry out God's will, here and now!  He told us to pray, "Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven!"   And how then is that will carried out?  Jesus is the model and He only did what the Father told Him to do and the Holy Spirit empowered Him to do.  Jesus prayed and Jesus renewed His mind to that of the Father!

 Now to understanding the contradiction that will come.  Jesus said that we would face persecution and afflictions in our world.  That because the world hated Him it will also hate us.  And, again, I agree.  But there can be no contradiction!  This is where the renewing of our minds comes into play.  When the cancer comes, when the death comes, when the financial ruin comes, where will we find our minds? There is nothing wrong with sorrow, or sadness or grief or even anger.  But it is not for the believer to be allowed to be conquered by these things.  These are the times that we are to be on our knees even more than ever praying for "thy will to be done on earth as in heaven."  We are to understand that afflictions will come. It is what we do, how we react, how we think that may influence the outcome of whatever affliction or persecution we find ourselves in.  Now I am not saying that "we" have the power to change all situations, please do not hear me wrong.  What I am saying is that we need to seek the will of the Father in these situations through prayer and, yes, fasting.  You may say, "I did all of these things and my ____  still died."  Yes, that is correct.  But what was the will of the Father in that death?  Was anyone's life changed due to the circumstances of that death?  Is the person that died still suffering?  These are questions that can only be answered by the Father.  And, there will be more questions that can only be answered by the Lord.  And He will answer!  These are only some examples of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God that we are to seek.  This is the reason that we are to be Kingdom minded and Kingdom centered, so that when the afflictions and persecutions come, we will know what we are to do because, they will come!  We will need to believe and to do what Jesus said in Matt 6:31-33 "Therefore do not worry, saying,'What shall we eat?' or "What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' for after all these things the Gentiles seek.  For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." We are not to worry.  We are not to allow fear or unbelief to have authority over us. We are to seek the Kingdom of God and pray so that our minds would renewed through the power and authority of the Lord Jesus Christ.

   Friends, we are the hands and feet of Jesus.  We need to re-learn and understand Who it is that we carry inside of us and with us and Who carries us and desires to be in relationship with us!. We must be Kingdom minded and Kingdom oriented.  We need to start praying that the Holy Spirit would continually fill us that we may overflow upon others.  We need to pray that the Lord would reveal to us the mysteries of His kingdom.  We need to pray that our minds would be that of Christ.  We need to pray for the equipping of spiritual gifts so that we are capable of doing the works that the Lord would have us to do.  We need to constantly pray for the renewing of our minds and we need to start believing and realizing on earth as it is in heaven in our lives and in our world, here and now! And then we need to go and be the hands and feet of Christ as we are supposed to be and then and only then will we see the changes in our lives, our world, and in others.

May The Lord Richly Bless You!

HTrent