Seeking a Closer Walk with God
One of the saddest and most disappointing experiences in marriage restoration ministry is the inability to help some who are standing for their marriages understand the vital necessity of seeking a closer walk with God and a very personal and intimate relationship with Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. That’s why it’s so very important to understand that a close walk with God is not possible without an intimate and personal relationship with Jesus, which we know because John 14:5-7 says Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
Yet many people turn to God in their time of need and despair; seeking comfort and answers when their marriages fall apart, with the hope and expectation that God will restore their marriages without a real desire to know and experience a personal relationship with Jesus. And as much as some won’t like hearing it, that may well prove to be a major hindrance to marriage restoration, especially for those who have seen the truth and then made a choice to turn from it. While God always reserves and maintains the right to shower His mercy and grace on anyone He chooses, the ONLY way we can rest in the confidence and assurance that He will restore our marriages is to seek a closer walk with God through His Son, Jesus Christ.
While we often hear “Seek first the kingdom of God…”, it’s rarely quoted in context, which does the awesome power of that simple verse a great disservice, because Matthew 6:32-34 actually says For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. And in it’s full context, as found in Matthew 6:25-34, It’s pretty clear that Jesus was making the point that God has the power to meet all of our needs, and that He will do that because we’re so precious to Him. Therefore our time is much better spent seeking “the kingdom of God” than worrying about anything. But since we mistakenly tend to think of “the kingdom of God” as just a reference to heaven, the only way to fully understand what Jesus meant by referring to the kingdom of God is to look at some of the other references He made to it, such as in the following verses:
Matthew 12:28
But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
Since that’s a definite reference to the power of the Spirit of God as it was manifested through Jesus, it was obviously not a reference to a place or to our eternal destination.
Matthew 19:24
Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
I always struggled with understanding the meaning of that verse, and even the explanation that the “eye of the needle” refers to the smaller gates into the cities, didn’t resolve it to my satisfaction. Most people believe that means there probably won’t be many rich people in heaven, but one reason I struggled with that interpretation is that so many of the Old Testament saints were VERY rich! But then I found Romans 14:17-18, which provides a totally different perspective about what Jesus meant when He told us to seek first the kingdom of God, because it says For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men. And then Luke 17:20-21 says Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.” So when we put these passages together, Mark 10:22-24 makes a lot more sense too, because it says i>At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! And Matthew 13:22 explains that, because it says The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.
That makes so much sense, because we all know only too well that the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth, or financial worries, often steal our peace and joy, and even our righteousness in terms of our behavior. So entering the kingdom of God is a lot more about living our lives with peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, and the ability to be content in ALL circumstances, just as Paul indicated in Philippians 4:11, which says I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. And the more we know about Paul’s life, the more incredible that statement is, especially when we consider that it was written while in prison, where he was kept in chains in a very small cell with deplorable conditions, including being filled with raw sewage. But when we truly seek first the kingdom of God and His plan and purpose for our lives, it changes us in ways far beyond comprehension or explanation. And since understanding what Jesus said about the kingdom of God helps clarify and explain the meaning of so many other Bible verses and passages, they have a much more significant impact on our lives. With that in mind, reading the following verses should provide new insight and understanding of why we need to seek first the kingdom of God:
Mark 9:1
And he said to them, “I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power.”
Mark 12:34
When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.
Luke 7:28
I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”
Luke 9:62
Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
Luke 18:16-17
But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
John 3:3
In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”
2 Thessalonians 1:5
All this is evidence that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering.
Acts 28:31
Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.
But one of the most important verses given a much greater clarity and understanding when we recognize our need to seek first the kingdom of God through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ is John 10:10 (NJKV), which says The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. Since we know that Satan is the Anti-Christ, meaning that he ALWAYS opposes the kingdom of God and does his wicked best to frustrate the plans and purposes of Christ, this verse reveals exactly how he does that. So when we face any situation or temptation that threatens to steal, kill or destroy the righteousness, peace, and joy we have in Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can be sure that it’s a work of the devil seeking to thwart and frustrate God’s will, plan, an purpose for our lives. And following the instructions in 2 Corinthians 10:5 is the ONLY way to make sure that Satan does NOT get his way, because it says We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. And that’s the key to having the abundant life our Lord and Savior came to give us and to experience the peace and Joy Satan is so determined to steal.
John 3:5 says Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. And then 1 Corinthians 4:20 says For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. Yet we all know it’s a whole lot easier to talk the talk than it is to walk the walk. And the ONLY way it’s possible to live and walk in the power of the Holy Spirit, producing the fruit of the Spirit described in Galatians 5:22-23, which include love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, is to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. And when we do, it’s very attractive to our spouses and others who are drawn to Jesus Christ because they can see the power and the love and goodness of God at work in us, which is what Jesus taught in Luke 13:18-21, where He said Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air perched in its branches.” Again he asked, “What shall I compare the kingdom of God to? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough.” And since the ultimate purpose of God is the praise, honor and glory of His beloved Son, Jesus Christ, we know that’s the purpose for all of His commandments and instructions, of which Jesus said in Mark 12:29-30 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ And we can be absolutely certain that when we do that, we are delighting in the Lord and He WILL be ever so faithful to give us the desires of our hearts, just as He promised in Psalm 37:4, which says Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. So make seeking a closer walk with God through His beloved Son, Jesus Christ, the top priority of your life, and you WILL be blessed and encouraged, because He WILL be faithful to give you everything else, including the restoration of your marriage and family!