How Bad Do You Want It?

12/31/02 Watchnight Service

How Bad Do You Want It?

2 Kings 13:14-19

14Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died. And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over his face, and said, O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. 15And Elisha said unto him, Take bow and arrows. And he took unto him bow and arrows. 16And he said to the king of Israel, Put thine hand upon the bow. And he put his hand upon it: and Elisha put his hands upon the king’s hands. 17And he said, Open the window eastward. And he opened it. Then Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot. And he said, The arrow of the LORD’S deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria: for thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou have consumed them. 18And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them. And he said unto the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote thrice, and stayed. 19And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it: whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice.

Singapore, without a doubt, is one of the most beautiful cities of the world. The climate of this delightful city ranges from about 75 to 85 degrees year around. Architecturally speaking one cannot ask for more. Singapore is a very modern city. It is said that the people of this city are friendly and very accommodating.

If you were to visit the city of Singapore and take a tour of the city, as you neared the downtown area you would notice large illuminated signs that said: Restricted Zone. It is here that the business district of the city is located, inside the restricted zone. This is a place where important decisions are made and millions of dollars change hands every few minutes. Zoning for a restricted area was granted by the cities’ civil engineers to avoid congested traffic in this extremely vital section of Singapore. A daily pass is required in order to have access to the restricted zone. However, anyone is permitted to enter in if they are willing to pay the price for the pass. It becomes a question of how bad they want to enter the restricted zone.

I’m preaching tonight on the subject: How bad do you want it?

Spiritually speaking there is a restricted zone as well. But regardless of skin color, nationality, or status in society, all human beings are candidates for entering into the kingdom of God. Any doctrine that would suggest otherwise is not Biblically sound. The opportunity to become a son of God is available to all. The requisite does not involve money or earning theological degrees from acclaimed seminaries. Submitting blood samples, enduring physical examinations, and visiting a consulate to acquire a visa is not necessary. The only stipulation for entrance into the kingdom of God is you must be born again. The arms of the Lord are open to accept all who obey the gospel message.

Now, once we enter into the kingdom of God we have to decide how close we want to get to the King. Will we be content to live as subjects in a vast domain, never having viewed the inside of the throne room? Or, will we seek every opportunity to establish an intimate relationship with the Lord?

The kingdom of the Lord is different from any other. People whose pasts are blemished with infractions, regardless of how disreputable, are not prohibited from touching him, but are given total and complete access to God. In the Kingdom of God failure is not final, but failure can be used as a stepping-stone to get to God.

David committed adultery with Bathsheba. When they learned she was pregnant with his child he conspired to have her husband killed. But David did not go out and hire a team of attorneys to represent him before the courts of the land. David did not seek to defend himself. David did not compare his transgression with others in the land. Instead he paid his dues to God and after repenting and suffering the consequences for the sin he committed he still merited a status given to no other. He was called in scripture, “A man after God’s own heart.”

He said, “Create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit in me oh God. Against thee and thee only have I sinned. Cast me not away from thy presence.” David repented.

How can this be that an adulterer who committed murder would not be restricted from the kingdom? That is the unparalleled beauty of true contrition and true repentance. When we mess up, we can get up, if we refuse to give up. Our pasts cannot stop us; excuses will not exonerate us, nor can Satan keep us from finding our place in the kingdom. The ball lies in our court whether we will pursue our post in the kingdom or be pacified with the present. How bad do you want to live for God? How bad do you want to find your place in the kingdom? God did not give up on David because David would not let go of God. Herein is the secret of David’s restoration after his repentance: