Words To Remember - "Factors of the Kingdom"

Continuing in our key verse, during this year and season of Order, Matthew 6:33---"But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."  (NRSV).

We last posted "The Kingdom Factor", in which we looked at how the kingdom of God (rule, reign, and will of God), and particularly what we do or do not do with the kingdom of God, has an influence on the quality and success of our lives.  And as I said before, when I say quality and success, I am not speaking of money, fame, or fortune, but rather the state of our souls.  For Jesus said in Matthew 16:26, "For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?  Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?"  So, the real issue in the success of lives is the success of our souls; and this success is only achieved in the kingdom of God being placed first in our lives.

Now that we have established that the kingdom of God is a factor in the quality and success of our lives, we now look at factors that teach us on how we are to operate in the kingdom so that we can ultimately have this quality life; thus the title "Factors of the Kingdom."

The first factor of the kingdom is the Spirit of God.  We look at Zechariah 4:6, wherein the prophet said, "He said to me, 'This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel:  Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the LORD of hosts.'"  In order for us to strive first for the kingdom of God, and consequently see quality and success in our lives, we are to rely and depend upon the power of the Spirit of God.  No matter what opposition (whether internal or external) we may be facing that would try to keep us from striving first for the kingdom of God, we must remember that God is on our side, and that He, by His Spirit, will level every mountain that will try to keep us from fulfilling His will for our lives.

The second factor of the kingdom is the Word of God.  We look at John 6:63, wherein Jesus said, "It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless.  The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life."  When we are relying and depending upon the Spirit of God, then we will be led to walk and live by the Word of God.  For the Spirit of God will not lead us to do anything that is contrary to the written Word of God.  We as believers must be rooted and grounded in the Word of God so that we, with all our spirituality, will not become goofy in the house of God.  Therefore the Word of God is a key factor in operating properly in the kingdom, and thus seeing true quality and success in our lives.  "Factors of the Kingdom."    

Words To Remember - "The Kingdom Factor" Part II

Resuming our discussion on "The Kingdom Factor", we look again at our key verse of scripture found in Matthew 6:33, wherein Jesus says the following:  "But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."  (NRSV).

By the kingdom of God being a factor, means that it has an influence on the outcome of the quality and success of our lives.  In other words, what we choose to do or choose not to do with the kingdom of God, will determine the outcome of the quality and success of our lives.  Now, understand that when I say, "quality and success...", I am not speaking of money, fame, or fortune, but rather, I am speaking of the success of our souls.  For Jesus says the following in Matthew 16:26, "For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?  Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?"  Thus, true success and quality of life is to be able to say, "It is well with my soul"; and this ability is only found in Jesus and seeking first His kingdom (His rule, reign and will) and His righteousness.  "The Kingdom Factor."    

Words To Remember - "The Order Of Love"

Continuing in the spirit and message of this year and season of Order on this Valentine's Day, we turn to the book of Mark 12:28-34, wherein we see a dialogue taking place between Jesus and an unnamed scribe about the first/greatest commandment.  The text reads as follows:  "One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, 'Which commandment is the first of all?'  Jesus answered, 'The first is, 'Hear, O Israel:  the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.'  The second is this, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'  There is no other commandment greater than these.  Then the scribe said to him, 'You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that 'he is one, and besides him there is no other'; and 'to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength,' and 'to love one's neighbor as oneself,'---this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.'  When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, 'You are not far from the kingdom of God.'  After that no one dared to ask him any question." (NRSV).


We see in the preceding verses that the order of love is God first.  When Jesus was posed with the question of which commandment was first, He quoted the Shema from Deuteronomy 6:4-5 ("Hear, O Israel:  The LORD is our God, the LORD alone.  You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might."- NRSV).  In order for us to love properly, we must love God first.  And we are to love Him with everything in us; in other words, we are to be totally consumed with interest, regard and devotion to Him.

However, notice that Jesus did not stop with just saying that we must love God, but He afterward included loving our neighbor as ourself.  Jesus quoted this from Leviticus 19:18 ("You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD." - NRSV).  Jesus connected the spiritual with the practicle.  Our love for God will be expressed in our love for one another.  As I John 4:20 says, "...for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen."  And I John 5:1 says, "...and everyone who loves the parent loves the child."  We are to love people, just like we already love ourselves.  "The Order of Love."

Happy Valentine's Day!               

Words To Remember - "The Kingdom Factor"

Continuing in the spirit of the last five titles shared, and in the overall word for this year and season, "Order In The House", we now look more closely at the kingdom of God, and how it acts as a factor in the quality of our lives.  In this, we look again at Matthew 6:33, wherein the Lord Jesus says, "But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." (NRSV).

In speaking of "The Kingdom Factor", it behooves us to first define the word "factor."  Whereas "factor" can be defined several ways, however, for our subject matter, we will utilize the definition that says the following: "Something that contributes to or has an influence on the outcome of something."  Therefore, in light of the aforesaid definition of "factor", and uniting it with the term "the kingdom" (of God), we see that what we do or do not do with the kingdom of God contributes to and has an influence on the outcome of the quality of our lives.

So, if we strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, then the outcome is, "and all these things will be given to you as well."  However, if we choose not to strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, then the outcome may not necessarily mean that we will not obtain "things" (for remember that Jesus says in Matthew 6:32, "For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things..."), it's just that with the obtaining of those "things", we may end up losing our soul.  For Jesus says in Matthew 16:26, "For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, but loses his own soul?  Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" (KJV).

So, let us allow the "The Kingdom Factor" to be a benefit in our lives, and not an adverse one.  For it is what we do or do not do with the kingdom of God that will have an influence on the outcome of the quality of our lives.    

Words To Remember - "Order In The House" Part V

Continuing in our series, "Order In The House", we look again at Matthew 6:33 which says, "But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." (NRSV).  This verse is the heart of order, for it speaks of placing God as first in our lives.

In our journey through Matthew 6:33, we looked at the words "strive", "first", and "kingdom of God (and his righteousness)."  About "strive (seek)", we said that (according to the BDAG Greek Lexicon) this is to "devote serious effort to realize one's desire or objective."  About "first", we said that in our "first" is also our "last", or in other words, in our "first" is our all or everything.  And about "kingdom of God (and his righteousness)", we said that it speaks of the rule, reign, and will of the king.  So, in putting these things together, we can say that, "In striving (seeking) first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, we are totally consumed with wanting to see God's will done in our lives."  There remains no more room for the self-agenda, but it is all about the God-agenda.  


Now, this is not to say that we are perfect in all of this, but as the Apostle Paul says in Philippians 3:12, "Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own."  And in vs. 14 of the same chapter he says, "I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus." (NRSV).  So we see that in the "press", is the total consumption with wanting to see God's will done in our lives.  


Striving first (seeking) for the kingdom of God (and his righteousness), puts us in a place called "blessing"; for Jesus said as a result of doing this, "all these things will be given to you as well."  "Order In The House."  

Words To Remember - "Order In The House" Part IV

We are still traveling in our current series, "Order In The House."  And one of our main texts has been Matthew 6:33 wherein Jesus said, "But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." (NRSV).

In striving first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, means that we will be totally consumed with wanting to see God's will done in our lives.  Of course this takes walking by faith, because our natural mind would tell us that we need to be totally consumed and concerned about seeing our own needs met, and this at any cost.  But God says that as we put Him and His kingdom first, "...all these things will be given to you as well."  "Order In The House."

Words To Remember - "Order In The House" Part III

We are continuing in this series, "Order In The House", which has as one of its main texts, Matthew 6:33, which says, "But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." (NRSV).

One of the things we pointed out in our last discussion of Matthew 6:33, was its usage of the word "first."  And with that, we saw that in our "first" is also our "last"; in other words, in striving for the kingdom of God "first", there remains no more room for the "I", but rather the "I" is consumed by the devoted pursuit of the King and His kingdom.  But as we said before, we can do this with the utmost trust and confidence because God knows what need and He will add all these things to us as well.

Now in addition to the above, it bears mentioning Romans 14:17, wherein the Apostle Paul says, "For the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." (NRSV).  Herein, we see Paul defining both what the kingdom of God is not and what the kingdom of God is.  In defining what kingdom of God is not he says, "food and drink"; these things speak about our personal agendas, desires, ambitions, etc...  However, in defining what the kingdom of God is he says, "righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit"; these things speak about God's agenda and desire.  Therefore, in Paul's definition of the kingdom of God, we see further that the "I" has no room, and that it is not about us, but rather it is about God and what He wants.  But again, as was said before, we can relinquish our will and desire to Him with the utmost trust and confidence, knowing that He knows what we need and when we need it, and that as we put Him and His kingdom "first", all these things will be given to us as well.  "Order In The House."