Matthew 11:12 "From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing and forceful men lay hold of it."
The holidays are over and a new year has begun. Today, I am thinking back on last month's Christmas shopping with my grandkids. It didn't seem to matter if it was a doll, car, Christmas ornament or stuffed animal; the question was always the same. "What does it do?" Everything either moves, talks or makes sounds. If it doesn't, it just doesn't measure up. This young generation will see and experiennce things my generation couldn't even have imagined.
With this in mind, my question is, "are we preparing them spiritually for the future of the church?" What is the church doing? Is it moving and speaking by the power of the Spirit? We need to be training our children how to recognize the voice of God. They should be able to watch us as we respond and obey. I want my children, grandchildren and the generations to follow, to be full of faith and have the power of God working in their lives even more than it has in mine. We should be training our children in how to "forcefully advance the Kingdom of God." There is no room for apathetic, dull, lukewarm Christians of any age. We must train up an army who will follow the warrior, King Jesus, into spiritual battle. Just as these young ones know how to follow a prompt on an ipad or other electronic device, they must be trained in following the prompts of the Holy Spirit.
As we move into 2012, let's make it a priority to prepare the way of the Lord, by preparing our children for His coming. He has come down to help His people and He continues to come down for those who have eyes to see. Our kids need to be able to see past the temporary and into the invisible realm in order to make a real difference in their own lives and the lives of others. The power of God is here to bring change and real fruit into the church. I want to see those who follow me running into the promised land following modern day leaders like Moses, Joshua and David. They will be the ones to take the land and bring forth the Kingdom in fullness. If we want a spotless bride, then we must raise up a people of faith, commitment and perseverance who are willing to sacrifice and live like those we so admire in the Bible, people who are willing to advance the Kingdom at any cost. Let's choose today to leave a legacy of faith and commitment, believing that the generations to follow will see the fruition of the Kingdom in it's fullness.
Pastor Diana
