Preparing for The Kingdom

Part 2 of 2

Serious Training as in a race

Hebrews 12.1 (NIV) tells us to "Throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and… run with perseverance the race marked out for us." We must throw away the weights that handicap us, those weights that may be harmless, in themselves, but which hold us back. It may be any of the hundred and one little things in our lives that can slow us down. As Augustine said, "beware how you regard as trifling, faults which appear of little consequence. You weigh them and think them nothing; but count them up and you would be frightened by their number." We MUST have a singleness of purpose. We must run—not like someone breaking into a gentle trot because they are a few minutes late for an appointment—but with the resoluteness of a sprinter who is determined that he's going to win the gold medal at the Olympic Games.

Paul put it like this; "Run in such a way as to get (win) the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever." (1 Cor.9.24-25 NIV)

So we should look on ourselves as in training. An athlete in serious training is disciplined in all things—to an almost incredible degree; using the most rigorous self-control in food, sleep, and every indulgence: and he does this so as to be in peak condition. And, says Paul, the reason we should do this is so that we're not disqualified for the prize. The object of the athlete's training is to make himself as fit and as perfect in his performance as possible: and so our aim should be to work to make ourselves as perfect in our obedience to GOD as it is possible for us, as humans, to be. Paul also uses the athletic simile of striving to win the prize in Philippians 3. After warning them to ignore the Jews who were trying to persuade them that they should obey the law and be circumcised, he tells them that he once behaved like a perfect Jew but that he gave up all such ideas, because of his faith in Christ. He says; "I count all things to be loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but refuse, that I may gain Christ, and be found in him, not having a righteousness of mine own, even that which is of the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith" (v.8-9 ASV) "Not that I have already obtained, or am already made perfect: but I press on, if so be that I may lay hold on that for which also I was laid hold on by Christ Jesus. (v.12 ASV)

His old way of life he had found to be useless and he knew that he certainly wasn't perfect as yet but he says in verses 13 and 14; this "one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which GOD has called me heavenward in Christ" (Philippians 3.13 ‑ 14. NIV).

Like Paul, we must put behind us all those mistakes we've made in the past: mistakes for which, if we've genuinely repented, then through our faith in Jesus, God will forgive us. We must forget all the things that are behind—the things in our past life. We mustn't be content with the things we've achieved in the past, or with our present measures of grace. In the everyday routine of life it's so easy to sink into a state of lethargy, but if we're going to win a Heavenly crown we must be continually reaching forward, stretching ourselves out, even more, towards our goal, in our great concern to become more and more Christ-like.

Hebrews 12, seems to take the simile one step further by suggesting that we're taking part in a long distance race and because we have been running for a long time, we're getting tired. We don't want to lose the race, or fall out of it, so he encourages us to overcome our weakness by saying, in verses 12 and 13 (NIV), come on; "Strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. Make level paths for your feet. "

The idea here seems to be that we're so tired that just a little obstacle in our way is enough to discourage us so that we're tempted to take the easy way and go round it instead of overcoming it. Not only should we move away from our path the obstructions that might make us fall from the way, but we should also note the words at the end of verse 13 (KJV); "lest that which is lame be turned out of the way."

We're not just to make things easier for ourselves, but we're to think of our weaker brethren and help them in the race, by encouraging them and by our example to them. Not that we can run it for them, but we can make sure that we don't make the race more difficult for them than it already is. As were told in Proverbs 4.23-27 (MKJV) "Keep your heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. Put away from you a wicked mouth, and devious lips put far from you. Let your eyes look right on, and let your eyelids look straight before you. Ponder the path of your feet, and all your ways will be established. Do not turn to the right hand nor to the left; remove your foot from evil."

In the race for the prize of the High Calling in Christ Jesus we need light, and the way of the righteous is light; Christ is that Way, and He is the Light. We won't be perfect till we are gathered together and taken to heaven, but there we shall shine as the sun. But shining is always costly. Light comes only at the cost of that which produces it. An unlit candle doesn't shine, it must burn before it can give light. So many want to shine without with being burnt: they forget that there can be no crown unless there is first a cross. So if we're to shine we need perseverance: we must always keep our hearts and minds set on the end in view. Remember that it's the last step that wins the race: and if we think of the pilgrim's progress, there was no place where danger lurked more than in the region close by the portals of the Celestial City. It was there that Doubting Castle stood and it was there that the enchanted ground lured the weary traveller to fatal slumber. It's when the prize is almost within our grasp that the adversary is most persistent. It's then that he tries to make us say we'll never be good enough to gain the prize. But remember the words of the apostle in Ephesians 2.6-10 (MKJV) that God; "has raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them."

It's not we who are good enough, we're God's workmanship. He is moulding us and if we say we aren't good enough then we're questioning God's ability to do what He purposed and we're giving Satan a victory. We must place our full confidence in the Father knowing that, as we're told in Ephesians 3.20 (MKJV), He "is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think". Our great aim must be to run and not to faint because as the Lord told Habakkuk to write, "The vision is still for an appointed time, but it speaks to the end, and it does not lie. Though it lingers, wait for it; because it will surely come. It will not tarry" (Hab.2.3 MKJV), which means that victory will come provided that we hold on to the end.

Be Ready.

There's an urgency needed in making our preparations if we're to gain the prize of the high Calling in Christ Jesus because Matthew records that Jesus Himself said; "Therefore watch; for you do not know what hour your Lord comes (Matt.24.42 MKJV)

In the past, many have said that Jesus might have come even before now. Their emphasis on the warning given in Matt.24.44 that you must, "be ready, for in that hour you think not, the Son of Man comes," were very honestly given because, according to their reading of the scriptures, they were quite certain that He COULD come at any minute, although they would also, had they been asked, have said that He didn't HAVE to come quite so quickly. It's true that there are scriptures that tell us that there are a number of events that have to occur before He comes to the earth with His Saints. However there are no scriptures that say exactly when He is going to come for His Church: we only know that when He does come the world will be absorbed in its usual occupations, and that it will be at a time when we think it can't happen. So because no intelligent believer can be expected to be constantly on the alert so as to be ready for our Lord's imminent return when that event cannot be anything but a long way off, it must be obvious that since Jesus repeatedly said that we must be ready because; "you do not know what hour your Lord comes," then His coming for the Church has to be an unexpected occurrence. In fact this instruction to be ready is so important that Jesus told no fewer than six parables warning us of its urgency.

However there's another reason why we should always be ready. Think for a moment about our Lord's story of the prosperous farmer, told in Luke 12.16-20. This man, either by his own efforts or through the providence of God, had amassed a very considerable fortune from his farming and now he planned to sit back with his feet up and spend the rest of his life in luxury. He had no thought for anything but his own peace and comfort. What he didn't allow for was the uncertainty of life, because that night he died. That is why we should always be ready.

The message, in this parable, is a powerful warning to examine our behaviour so that whether the footsteps coming to our door are those of Our Lord or those of the Angel of death, when the knock comes we're ready for the door to be opened. We must be prepared, as the brothers of many years ago said, to meet Him NOW. Those old brothers weren't mistaken when they taught that we must always be ready. The ones who are mistaken are those who think that our Lord's coming for His Church is so far away that they let it have no effect on their lives. They forget that no one really knows if we'll see another day before our time is up.

Talking about Jesus coming again for His Bride, John tells us in Chapter 14, that Jesus said; "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. There are many rooms in my Father's house. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going away to prepare a place for you? And if I am going away to prepare a place for you, I will come again and will welcome you into my presence, so that you may be where I am". (vs.1-3 ISV) There are three words here of which we should take special note. The words your, heart and troubled. Our Lord is telling us that however much others may be overwhelmed with the sorrows of this present time, we need not be concerned. His followers, more than any others, should keep their minds peaceful, when everyone else is uneasy. Then we're reminded that our minds should always be full of trust in God and His provision for us and that He gives perfect peace to those who keep their purpose firm and put their trust in Him. Lastly, the word troubled tells us that whatever happens to us, there is no need for us to be cast down and agitated because we have a Saviour—our Lord Jesus—who loves us and who gave His life for us.

He is preparing a place

We have a truly precious promise, from the very lips of our Lord Himself. Not only is He going to come again, but all those who have become adopted children of God and joint heirs with Christ, He will take back with Him to His Father's house where He is preparing a place for them. Our Lord is, once more, using the picture of the eastern custom of marriage that He gave in the parable of the wise and foolish virgins, who were waiting for the bridegroom to come to collect his bride and then take her back to his father's house. He says that in His Father's house there are many rooms. There are many to be taken there: and rooms represent lasting dwelling places. This promise of our Lord can be one of our greatest comforts, because we know that He will finish that which He starts. But there is something else in His promise. It also means that if He has prepared a place for us, He will also prepare us so that we're fit for the great privilege of being in that place.

Speaking about this promise of our Lord's, John tells us; "Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be. But we know that when He shall be revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope on him purifies himself, even as that One is pure." (1 John 3.2-3 MKJV)

But as we try to obey our LORD'S commands and seek to do His will, so as to be ready and to be fit to be a part of His Bride, we get setbacks. The writer to the Hebrews tells us that we shouldn't worry about these, since they are a part of the Lord's discipline. We are disciples of our Lord, and discipline and discipleship are two sides of the same forward movement of the mind. The disciple is not a mere follower as so many imagine. Thousands followed, and still follow Christ, without being disciples. The disciple puts himself under the discipline of the Master in order that he might learn from him. Jesus taught His followers to be humble and contrite of heart: trusting God for everything, whether it be for our daily bodily needs or the virtues that are to be developed in our character.

Our Heavenly Father doesn't cause our troubles but He does allow them to happen, according to HIS will and knowledge of what is needed for the further development of our Spiritual lives. These disciplines may come in the shape of illness, the loss of a loved one, or of our job, or any of the thousand and one disappointments and griefs which come into our lives. And although we almost certainly don't like them, they are a very necessary part of our character building and are an evidence that our Heavenly Father loves us and that, through our faith in Jesus, He has accepted us as a son because; "The Lord corrects the people he loves and disciplines those he calls his own." (Hebrews 12.6 CEV).

The sons of God must walk by the faith for which we are to earnestly contend and live by the hope and the earnest desire, for the revelation of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Then the fact that we are the sons of God will become obvious by our likeness to our Head. We shall be transformed into the same image as Jesus. We shall be like Him, and just as all sons have a substantial resemblance to their father, and Christ, whom we shall be like, is "the express image of our heavenly Father's person" it means that in resembling Christ, we shall also resemble the Father.

Paul says "We all, with our face having been unveiled, having beheld the glory of the Lord as in a mirror, are being changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Lord's Spirit." (2 Cor.3.18 MKJV) Which means that this transforming process is already taking place in us because the veil of ignorance has been taken away by our belief in Jesus.

This tells us that the work of building our character is going on all the time. From a thousand sources come the influences that make it grow: The lessons we get from others, the influences that friends exert on us, the truths we discover in our reading, the impressions which life leaves on us, and most of all, the inspiration we receive from the Holy Spirit. The work never stops from the time we first believe until the time we fall asleep. So; "Consider it pure joy my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask GOD, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. (James 1.2-5 NIV) Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that GOD has promised to those who love Him." (James 1.12 NIV)

JH