KINGDOM FIRST
“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33, NIV).
I have read several books by Dr Myles Munroe – a man who has extensively studied and written on the kingdom of God. Why the kingdom?
A fifteen-day fast resulted in a two-word instruction to him from the Holy Spirit, Kingdom first. Dr Munroe embarked on a 30-year quest to understand, seek, and live in the kingdom of God and teach it to the church.
If God’s instruction to him was Kingdom First, it should be no different for us because the command comes from the lips of Jesus Himself.
Jesus said we are to make the kingdom of God our priority and, in saying so, He turned the value system of the world on its head. What is the priority of the world? Things! Although we may think that money and things are the true measure of our lives, what is more significant is the way we use our time. Time is the currency of life and how we spend it reveals our priorities. Tragically, the priorities of the people in the church are often no different from the priorities of the people in world. Why?
We do not understand how the kingdom of God works.
We don’t take Jesus’ instruction to make the kingdom a priority seriously;
We find it difficult to
trust Him to keep His promise that He will provide all the resources we need to
fulfil His command.
Priorities are determined by our purpose. When we have no purpose or don=t know our purpose, we squander our currency of time with no return. Says Dr Munroe, ANothing is more tragic than a life without purpose.@ (Applying the Kingdom, page 31).
According to Dr Munroe, this is what will happen if we choose to reject God’s purpose for His people and focus on the wrong things in life i.e. making a living instead of living a life.
Without the right priorities we waste time and energy on the wrong things, we do the unnecessary, we are preoccupied and major on the unimportant, we invest our time and money in what is valueless, we use our resources ineffectively, we abuse our gifts and talents, and we will ultimately be a failure in life because we did not do what we were called to do.
What is Jesus’ solution to this misunderstanding?
Firstly, our priority must be the same as God’s priority, which is:
To loose the chains of injustice; to set the oppressed free; to share your food with the hungry; to provide the poor wanderer with shelter; when you see the naked, to clothe him; and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood. (Isaiah 58:6, 7)
Secondly, His promise will come into effect:
“The Lord will guide you always; He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame.” (Isaiah 58:11a, NIV).
God’s requirement in the New Covenant is simple.
Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. 24 The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us. 1 John 3:21-24