March 27, 2019
Luke 13:18-21 New Living Translation
Today is the nineteenth day of our 40-Day Lenten Series, “Praying for a Kingdom Heart.” Lent should be a time of prayerful reflection, repentance, and restoration as we draw closer to the heart of God. When you pray for a Kingdom heart, you are praying for growth. Let’s reflect on Jesus’ message about the Kingdom. Jesus walked around the region of Galilee preaching and inviting people to listen to him and follow him into Kingdom living. I am sure as he moved from town to town preaching about the Kingdom of God, some people were thinking, “Jesus, don’t look now, but it doesn’t appear you have much of a Kingdom. You only have a few undisciplined men following you!” There was no way to view the Kingdom to which Jesus referred. One day the Pharisees asked Jesus when the Kingdom of God would come and he answered, “The Kingdom of God does not come in such a way as to be seen. 21 No one will say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’; because the Kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:20-21). Do you realize when you pray for a Kingdom heart, you are praying for the lordship of King Jesus to be revealed in the very substance of your life?
Jesus is the Author of small beginnings and he works in hearts that are willing to grow; it requires the faith of a mustard seed. We may not like small beginnings, but God loves them because there is plenty of room to grow and expand. We must never forget God is Sovereign and his ways are not our ways. Therefore, he declared the Kingdom would begin with a small group of “spiritually poor” people living under the lordship of their King (Mat 5:3). From that small beginning, the Kingdom that grows through divine life would one day be a place of shelter for all the other kingdoms of the earth (Dan 4:10-12). The Apostle John wrote about a vision he had of this growth, “The kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ and He will reign forever and ever” (Rev 11:15). So, my spiritual family, keep praying for a Kingdom heart.
During Lent, we will be using the acronym P.R.A.Y. as we pray for a Kingdom Heart. P=praise, R=repent, A=ask, and Y=yield. May God bless you as you spend time in God’s Word and in prayer today.
Luke 13:18-21 Parable of the Mustard Seed
18 Then Jesus said, “What is the Kingdom of God like? How can I illustrate it? 19 It is like a tiny mustard seed that a man planted in a garden; it grows and becomes a tree, and the birds make nests in its branches.”
Parable of the Yeast
20 He also asked, “What else is the Kingdom of God like? 21 It is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.”
Prayer: Lord, I praise you for growing my spiritual life in the fertile soil of your Kingdom. I repent for sometimes minimizing the value of the small beginnings you have brought my way. I ask for you to grow my heart for your Kingdom. I will yield to your decisions. In Jesus’ name. Amen.