What’s hindering you from seeking?” Minister Tijani Christian Crusade Night #4
Focus Text: Joshua 1:1-11
The theme text speaks to seeking the kingdom of God.
Now the fact that God has to beseech his people to focus and seek the kingdom of God means that there is another kingdom at work in the world and that kingdom is just as attractive, some may argue even more attractive to some. The kingdom of darkness has so much allure to so many people. It drives us to turn away our focus. What is hindering you from seeking the kingdom of God?
The focus text begins telling Joshua the servant of the Lord that “Moses is dead”.
Now we know that Moses is dead from the preceding chapter, so one must wonder why does God tell Joshua something he already would know? He does this because Joshua is still in mourning, maybe even in denial.
Many of us when we lose a loved one or something else that we held dear have a hard time letting go and accepting that that thing is gone. We all know that death is an appointment and we all have to face it at some point yet still we are so unprepared when it comes.
How many of us are still mourning over things that God has taken away from us? How many of us are still stuck in the past, focused on what we lost? We need to refocus and seek the kingdom of God.
Aren’t we all Joshua’s tonight, still stuck in mourning and unable to focus on what is important. God will not bless us out of our loss but out of his abundance, He will only do this if we focus on Him and his kingdom.
Stop mourning over lost dreams, lost goals, lost relationships- which were doing more harm than good, God takes things out of our life to make room to bless us with better! We need to clean out the closet of our hearts to make room for God. Many of us our hearts are so cluttered with un forgiveness, malice, covetousness, jealousy so much so that God cannot even find a seat amongst the clutter.
Stop mourning at the graveside of that old relationship or job, when we do this we become distracted and cannot distinguish between the gifts of the kingdom of God and those of the kingdom of darkness.
The moment we come to realise that what is in the past is gone, seeking the kingdom of God will be easier and we would have had renewed focus. The kingdom of God is not material things and we must remember that. We must focus on the principle that God is the ruler of all and owner of all and is able to provide for us because EVERYTHING IS HIS!
The kingdom of God is not about having our own way but submitting to the lordship of almighty God and trusting him that he will and can provide for us. Seeking after God’s kingdom is not a negotiation where we say “ God if you do this for me I will do this for you”, neither is it a one time deal, it is a process that requires diligence and focus.
Until we accept that the ‘Moses’ in our life is dead and gone we can never become the ‘Joshua’ God has purposed us to be. We may have the name but not the purpose. Stop pining over the fact that your father was never there for you, or that your mother didn’t love you enough or that you had so many benefits at that old job; refocus your attention on GOD and his purpose for you.
For many of us our ‘Moses’ is more like a ‘Goliath’ stuck on our backs, pulling us down, draining our energy and shifting our focus. Until we get rid of our ‘Moses’ we will never be able to focus on the kingdom of God.
Which kingdom are you seeking?
Which kingdom do you want to be a part of?
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