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KINGDOM FIRST

Christian Life, ,

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

FIRST THINGS FIRST

Christian Life, ,

FIRST THINGS FIRST

“So do not worry saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:31-33.

We have already looked at what Jesus said about worry. There is one more thing we need to consider apart from the fact that worry cancels out our trust in God as our Father and makes Him out to be a liar.

When we worry about the everyday things of life, we make things, like food and clothing and all the stuff that the pagans worry about and work hard for, more important than God and His kingdom. That makes us just like the heathen – the people who do not love and trust the living God. God want us to be different because we live in a different kingdom. We are not ruled by “things” but by God’s love and His care for everyone in the world, not only those who love Him.

What did Jesus mean when He said, “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness”? We may often say this verse but do we know what it means? In the Bible, “righteousness” means “doing the right thing.” God is righteous. That means that He always does the right thing. He loves every person in the world no matter who or where they are. Is that doing the right thing? Yes, it is.

We live in a world that is full of sin. People make wrong choices and do bad things. Other people suffer because of what bad people do. God gave us the freedom to make choices and when we choose to do wrong, He does not step in and stop us because He respects our freedom and does not treat us like puppets. But God always does the right thing when we trust Him. He is able to work for our good even when we make wrong choices or when other people harm us. God does the right thing by bringing good out of evil in spite of our suffering.

God promised to help us and to provide for us if we trust Him and obey what He commands. God had provided enough of everything for everyone in the world. When greedy people hoard what God has provided, other people suffer and become poor. God wants us to have the same loving heart for everyone as He has by sharing what we have so that we can keep His provisions going around. That’s how God rules the world, by taking care of people and giving them what they need, but He does it through us.

When we share what we have, we are also doing the right thing. In that way, God is able to meet everyone’s needs as long as we keep what He has given us circulating. The pagans don’t understand that. They think that they will only have enough if they stash it away like a squirrel stashes nuts for winter. In God’s kingdom, the way to meet our own needs is to help others in need.

The people in the world don’t understand this because it is part of God’s supernatural kingdom. We need to show them how it works by being obedient to God and trusting Him to take care of us as we take care of others. When we do that, people will see what a great and loving God we serve.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.