The Importance of the Kingdom

  A few years ago, when I was a pastor of a church in West Virginia, we did a study called EKG: The Heartbeat of God by Ken Hemphill.  Ken use to be the President of the seminary I went to in Ft.Worth and is also the author of several books.  In this study, Ken points out the importance that Jesus and the Bible emphasize the Kingdom of God.  For example, when Jesus says in Matthew 6:33 "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you."

   The word "seek" is the same word that Jesus would use in Matthew 7:8.   It means a continual and constant seeking.  It has a lot to do with priorities.  In the verses before Jesus said this he was talking about people who were very worried about worldly priorities, what to wear, what they would eat and things like that.  They were, in a sense, worried about their own kingdom, while Jesus was singular focused on God's kingdom.

  This is the same kingdom that Daniel mentioned to King Nebuchadnezzar that became the great mountain and overcame and endured more than all the other kingdoms.  It is a kingdom that has Jesus as its king.  The disciples mistakenly thought that the Messiah would be an earthly king because scripture does mention that type of Messiah.  What they didn't realize is that Jesus had a different kind of kingdom in mind.   Jesus said in John 18:36-37 "My Kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting, that I might not be delivered up to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of ths realm. Pilate then said to Him, "So you are a king?"  Jesus answered, "You say correctly that I am a king.  For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. . . ."

    The challenge becomes then, in the rush of everyday life, to have ourselves focused on the bigger picture while at the same time to realize we have to do our jobs, take care of children, bills, homes and other things.  As christians though, I operate with another agenda.  I need to be thinking about how can I promote and further the kingdom.  Am I allowing God to be king in my own life?  Am I thinking about what he wants or just what I want?  Who rules and reigns in my life?  As it turns out, the idols that the Old Testament people worshipped may have been easier to see, but the idols of money or power or position or a myriad of other things still exist.  The truth is, the devil doesn't care who your idol is, as long as it isn't Jesus.