Fall 1995
For You
Charles Haun

The Lord has provided for you. These provisions are endless, beyond our ability to absorb. Some are revealed throughout the Bible. There is a great assortment.

There are provisions for us which were set up from the foundation of the world, when our heavenly Father prepared a kingdom for us.

"Then shall the King say unto them on His right
hand, Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit
the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation
of the world" Matt 25:34.

The kingdom is ours. But like many other things which are ours, we must first qualify in order to possess. Therefore, we should be diligent, lest another take our crown. Our failure to qualify will leave our "place" of possession open to the one who will qualify.

Our repentance is the first step toward the kingdom.

"And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of
heaven is at hand" Matt 3:2.

Then follows the work of God, which is designed to "lower" us to the place where we are qualified to possess the kingdom.

"Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is
the kingdom of heaven" Matt 5:3.

Jesus attempted to accomplish this with the rich young ruler, but he refused to become poor. If we do not become destitute enough to trust and wholly lean upon the Lord, there will be no available place in the kingdom for us to inherit.

We must become utterly dependent upon our Father in order to qualify for the kingdom. Therefore, there is a "making" process which the Father has put in place for the purpose of preparing us for our place in the kingdom.

"Blessed are they which are persecuted for
righteousness' sake: for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven" Matt 5:10.

He will make us to become righteous in order to bring incorruption into the kingdom, Matthew 5:40. Our corruption cannot inherit the incorruptible kingdom.

If God's kingdom is to be our kingdom, we must walk in His will.

"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall
enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth
the will of my Father which is in heaven" Matt 7:21.
It is our Father's good pleasure to give us the kingdom. But we must be made worthy for it.

"Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment
of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom
of God, for which ye also suffer" II Thes 1:5.

Jesus gave His body for us, Luke 22:19. He shed his blood for us, verse 20. Just as the bread was broken at the Lord's Supper, so His body was broken for us, I Cor 11:24. Before the foundation of the world, Jesus was foreordained to live and die for us. I Peter 1:20.

There is a place for us. This is a prepared, or special place, John 14:2-3. He will set us upon our high places, Habakkuk 3:19. Therefore, we are to endure and run the race with patience that we might win the prize.

God cares for us, I Peter 5:7. This frees us from all self-care that we might care for others. Titus experienced this, II Cor 8:16. God works in the lives of believers to prepare them to care for others. We would be surprised at the number of people that God has caring for us.

This care is not always evident, II Cor 7:12. We may be unaware of the extent to which a person spends himself for us, II Cor 12:15. Some may come under a life of severe restrictions for our sake, Eph 3:1.

A suffering saint may wish to go Home, but cannot due to a burden he carries for another, Phil 1:24. Indeed, he is happy to take upon himself these sufferings for our sake, rather than his own, Col 1:24. This one may be so dedicated for our glory that he is willing to suffer many things, Eph 3:13. He will go through inconvenience and conflict in our behalf, Col 2:1.

The Lord may put upon the heart of a caring person a zeal for us, Col 4:13. His faithfulness is maintained for our sake (Col 1:7) whereby prayer is always made for us, Col 1:3.

Thank you, Lord, for providing those who care and are burdened, who pour out Your goodness upon us.