How do you personally seek God`s Kingdom First?
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The Bible states that the kingdom of God is within you. That is, when one is born again, that person becomes a member of the body of Christ. Without Christ, one remains in the kingdom of this world and lost. Acts 20: 21 tells us how to become part of God's Kingdom and said well in this small verse. "Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ".
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Great Topic. I am posting the whole passage in context so that we can understand the authorial intent.
25Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? 26Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? 27Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? 28And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? 31Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek
for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
34Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
So how do I seek First his Kingdom Today? I am currently in a 4 year Bible college and ministry intern training program with the objective to plant a church where one is needed. I have been blessed to be able to focus my full time attention on this. I accomplished a career skill set that enabled me to earn a lot of money per hour if I were working right now. I have chosen to answer the call of God to devote myself full time to ministry training instead. I am not worried about how much money I could be making if I were working in my career right now. I am seeking First the Kingdom of God. To advance and build the Kingdom of God is my goal today not accumulating wealth. It is not attractive to the worldly but it is more to be desired than gold to me. _ am not thinking about the retirement funds I could be building now that I can never make up for as each year goes by. I have burnt that plow to take up the mantle of the prophet (referring to Elisha not myself being a prophet) Do I need money to survive? Of course. Is God providing for all of my need while I set my heart to seek first His Kingdom? Yes. Just like he said he would in this passage of scripture. I am living it and it is an awesome life. Much more exciting and fulfilling than when I was making money in corporate America.
25Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? 26Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? 27Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? 28And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? 31Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek
for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.34Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
So how do I seek First his Kingdom Today? I am currently in a 4 year Bible college and ministry intern training program with the objective to plant a church where one is needed. I have been blessed to be able to focus my full time attention on this. I accomplished a career skill set that enabled me to earn a lot of money per hour if I were working right now. I have chosen to answer the call of God to devote myself full time to ministry training instead. I am not worried about how much money I could be making if I were working in my career right now. I am seeking First the Kingdom of God. To advance and build the Kingdom of God is my goal today not accumulating wealth. It is not attractive to the worldly but it is more to be desired than gold to me. _ am not thinking about the retirement funds I could be building now that I can never make up for as each year goes by. I have burnt that plow to take up the mantle of the prophet (referring to Elisha not myself being a prophet) Do I need money to survive? Of course. Is God providing for all of my need while I set my heart to seek first His Kingdom? Yes. Just like he said he would in this passage of scripture. I am living it and it is an awesome life. Much more exciting and fulfilling than when I was making money in corporate America.
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When God made man He had two primary tasks for this man. We read from Genesis 1:26-28 that man was to be in the image and likeness of God to display Him and have interaction with Him, and man was to subdue and then rule the earth with its environs of sea and sky. The Kingdom pertains to this second task. To have to "subdue" means that illegal and unlawful activities are in progress, and rule mean to institute a certain regime. A careful study of the whole Bible reveals a battle between man and angels for the rule of the earth.
A Kingdom is a sphere where a certain king is resident and is able to impose his laws. If the king is not resident then he must rule from exile - which is not possible if he has an adversary present. One Adam decided against God as King, and put his trust in an angel, he has been ruled by this angel. But God is not to be thwarted. His councils are immutable and He is omnipotent. Starting with Abraham, God started a process of recovery for man that will end in a Man - Jesus, and His followers, ruling the earth, sea and sky.
Jesus came from God to offer the Kingdom of Heaven to Israel. Note, it is not the Kingdom IN Heaven. There is no problem in heaven. The problem is on earth so when Christ sets up His Father's Kingdom ON EARTH it is called the "Kingdom OF Heaven". That is, the rules that apply in heaven will be enforced on earth.
Now, as stated above, a Kingdom is a sphere where a certain king resides and rules. While our Lord Jesus was on earth, He did not try to rule over men. He ruled over the principalities that empowered men. This is shown by Him casting out demons (Lk.11.20). When Israel refused this Kingdom, our Lord Jesus started building a new people with which to rule the earth - the Church. This takes time, and because it required a man to be born of God, to be an heir, Jesus retired to heaven bodily and sent His Spirit to effect the building of this new Kingdom People. Thus, the Kingdom now is ONLY where God's People by this new birth are present and obedient to the Holy Spirit. That is, the Kingdom is IN you if you are born again and obedient (Lk.17:20-21).
When the required number, and the required maturity is reached, God will put an end to the "time of the Gentiles". The Gentiles ruled from Adam to Joshua, and again from the Babylonian captivity till the Beast comes. The Beast of Revelation 13 and 17 will be the last Gentile king. Then, the Beast and his military power will be defeated, Satan, the motivating and energizing force will be bound and imprisoned, and the Gentile SUBDUED and RULED by Christ, and those of His disciples who are found worthy will rule with Him (Lk.19:17-19). This Kingdom will have no end. The first 1,000 years of it will be on the earth as we know it now, with summer and winter, sea and harvest time, and the remainder of it will be on a RENEWED earth (lit. Gk.) for ever.
A Kingdom is a sphere where a certain king is resident and is able to impose his laws. If the king is not resident then he must rule from exile - which is not possible if he has an adversary present. One Adam decided against God as King, and put his trust in an angel, he has been ruled by this angel. But God is not to be thwarted. His councils are immutable and He is omnipotent. Starting with Abraham, God started a process of recovery for man that will end in a Man - Jesus, and His followers, ruling the earth, sea and sky.
Jesus came from God to offer the Kingdom of Heaven to Israel. Note, it is not the Kingdom IN Heaven. There is no problem in heaven. The problem is on earth so when Christ sets up His Father's Kingdom ON EARTH it is called the "Kingdom OF Heaven". That is, the rules that apply in heaven will be enforced on earth.
Now, as stated above, a Kingdom is a sphere where a certain king resides and rules. While our Lord Jesus was on earth, He did not try to rule over men. He ruled over the principalities that empowered men. This is shown by Him casting out demons (Lk.11.20). When Israel refused this Kingdom, our Lord Jesus started building a new people with which to rule the earth - the Church. This takes time, and because it required a man to be born of God, to be an heir, Jesus retired to heaven bodily and sent His Spirit to effect the building of this new Kingdom People. Thus, the Kingdom now is ONLY where God's People by this new birth are present and obedient to the Holy Spirit. That is, the Kingdom is IN you if you are born again and obedient (Lk.17:20-21).
When the required number, and the required maturity is reached, God will put an end to the "time of the Gentiles". The Gentiles ruled from Adam to Joshua, and again from the Babylonian captivity till the Beast comes. The Beast of Revelation 13 and 17 will be the last Gentile king. Then, the Beast and his military power will be defeated, Satan, the motivating and energizing force will be bound and imprisoned, and the Gentile SUBDUED and RULED by Christ, and those of His disciples who are found worthy will rule with Him (Lk.19:17-19). This Kingdom will have no end. The first 1,000 years of it will be on the earth as we know it now, with summer and winter, sea and harvest time, and the remainder of it will be on a RENEWED earth (lit. Gk.) for ever.
Seek first (of primary consideration) that which is enduring (even while we are) among that which is temporal (of secondary consideration). For example, comparing sentiment b/w a dandelion from a 2 year old and 2 dozen long stem roses from, lets say Casanova, which is more priceless and which is little more than ordinary everyday? There are those that would have trouble choosing but, in the same way, in seeking first the kingdom of God, we not only trust that He loves us sincerely (as the 2 year old) but will also reveal His love toward us in even the smallest (but no less precise) ways.
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As an ambassador of the King my ministry is to call men to be reconciled to God by repentance toward God and Faith in Jesus Christ. If they do then I have been used by God to help another get translated out of the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of His dear Son.
As I make this my priority in life I am seeking first His Kingdom. If I spent my time in this endeavor instead of something else I am seeking first His Kingdom. If I refuse to waste time in innocent amusements or in questionable ammusments and use that time to pray, study the word, and equip myself for ministry I am seeking first the Kingdom of God. When I refuse a high paying job that will occupy most of my waking hours and instead seek to plant churches for little or nothing I am seeking first The Kingdom of God.
Seeking First the Kingdom of God will require trust in God and a new way of thinking. You will have to stop thinking that you are missing something or that you need to help God with the finances.
As I make this my priority in life I am seeking first His Kingdom. If I spent my time in this endeavor instead of something else I am seeking first His Kingdom. If I refuse to waste time in innocent amusements or in questionable ammusments and use that time to pray, study the word, and equip myself for ministry I am seeking first the Kingdom of God. When I refuse a high paying job that will occupy most of my waking hours and instead seek to plant churches for little or nothing I am seeking first The Kingdom of God.
Seeking First the Kingdom of God will require trust in God and a new way of thinking. You will have to stop thinking that you are missing something or that you need to help God with the finances.
Having defined the Kingdom in posting # 4, I would like now to answer your question.
The rebirth needed to become an heir of the Kingdom of Heaven is to be had by FAITH in Jesus and His completed work (Jn.1:12-13). But the Kingdom is a matter of God's rules being OBEYED. So the requirements for being an heir to this coming Kingdom on earth is absolute obedience to God's speaking. God cannot have men ruling His kingdom who cheat, lie and steal like the Gentile rulers. Man is utterly fallen, so for him to come to a point where he is absolute in obedience to God needs THREE THINGS.
God made man to rule. He does not want angels ruling His earth (Gen.1:26-28; Ps.8:4-8; Heb.2:5-8). So God allows Jesus to ADD the full spectrum of a perfect human life to Himself, and then INFUSES the believer with His LIFE. So the counter Law to Romans 7:23-24 is the LIFE of Jesus as it is part of the Holy Spirit. The solution to the Law of sin and death is the Law of the Spirit of LIFE IN CHRIST JESUS (Rom.8:2). If man tries to be obedient, he will fail every time. If man applies the LIFE of Christ dwelling in his human spirit, he will be victorious. The New Testament has TWO main themes. (i) The substitutionary work of Christ to put sins away, and (ii) the training of a man to turn to his human spirit where Christ resides. There is no other way ordained by God, and there is no other way that works. Let us take one example. Let scripture speak for itself. 2nd Peter 1:2-11;
2 "Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:
11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ."
The rebirth needed to become an heir of the Kingdom of Heaven is to be had by FAITH in Jesus and His completed work (Jn.1:12-13). But the Kingdom is a matter of God's rules being OBEYED. So the requirements for being an heir to this coming Kingdom on earth is absolute obedience to God's speaking. God cannot have men ruling His kingdom who cheat, lie and steal like the Gentile rulers. Man is utterly fallen, so for him to come to a point where he is absolute in obedience to God needs THREE THINGS.
- The first thing is to enter a process whereby the old nature is driven out and replaced by a new and Christ-like nature (2nd Cor.3:18).
- The second things is the violent setting aside of all personal aspirations. That is, one must deny the soul and put the lusts of the body to death on a personal cross (Matt.16:24-28)
- The third thing is when the old nature is sluggish God will help the man by making his path bitter. Or, simply said, God will discipline us.
God made man to rule. He does not want angels ruling His earth (Gen.1:26-28; Ps.8:4-8; Heb.2:5-8). So God allows Jesus to ADD the full spectrum of a perfect human life to Himself, and then INFUSES the believer with His LIFE. So the counter Law to Romans 7:23-24 is the LIFE of Jesus as it is part of the Holy Spirit. The solution to the Law of sin and death is the Law of the Spirit of LIFE IN CHRIST JESUS (Rom.8:2). If man tries to be obedient, he will fail every time. If man applies the LIFE of Christ dwelling in his human spirit, he will be victorious. The New Testament has TWO main themes. (i) The substitutionary work of Christ to put sins away, and (ii) the training of a man to turn to his human spirit where Christ resides. There is no other way ordained by God, and there is no other way that works. Let us take one example. Let scripture speak for itself. 2nd Peter 1:2-11;
2 "Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:
11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ."
- REBIRTH is in verse 3
- REBIRTH imparts the "divine nature" into us (v.4)
- WE MUST "ADD" virtues (vs.5-7)
- Our "CALLING" is one thing, but it does not guarantee our "ELECTION" (v.10)
- Our "ELECTION" is to ENTER the Kingdom
- A Christian who does not ADD will not ENTER the Kingdom
- "Many are CALLED, but few are CHOSEN"
Taking time and energy to focus on Him and His word. Thinking of Him all throughout the day, praying and praising His Holy Name. Singing and listening to worship songs. Serving Him and others, all with His Glory in mind. Loving Him and others with a sincere and merciful heart I think it is an intentional thing on our parts, but don't get me wrong every ounce of fellowship with Him is His doing, His inspiring, His leading, His wooing. Everything including loving Him and others. to companionship found in Him, is His. If it were not His spirit within calling, if it was not for His Love in the first place, I could do nothing.
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This is the kind of thread I love to see, expressing how we each have our own ways to seek him could really help others.
Something I have noticed is God loves to use our natural talents, for instance I am a writer and a lover of music so I write psalms, for others they can sing and they can use that others still are very knowledge hungry and studious and do it that way.
But if I had to be honest I think how I do it the most is just spending as much time with him as I can always looking for new ways to find him speak to him hear from him and grow closer to him.
I love movies and because he knows this and because he knows I am always searching for him he speaks to me through movies and even t.v. shpows that seemingly have nothing to do with him. He even used my favorite anime shows to do this.
I listen to Christian music constantly being a lover of music and when I feel the itch to write he uses that as well. Being on cc is also how do it
Something I have noticed is God loves to use our natural talents, for instance I am a writer and a lover of music so I write psalms, for others they can sing and they can use that others still are very knowledge hungry and studious and do it that way.
But if I had to be honest I think how I do it the most is just spending as much time with him as I can always looking for new ways to find him speak to him hear from him and grow closer to him.
I love movies and because he knows this and because he knows I am always searching for him he speaks to me through movies and even t.v. shpows that seemingly have nothing to do with him. He even used my favorite anime shows to do this.
I listen to Christian music constantly being a lover of music and when I feel the itch to write he uses that as well. Being on cc is also how do it
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I am living in an assisted living facility and can watch many other lives closely, especially our caregivers. They can be sharply divided into those who know the power and dominion of the Lord and those who live exclusively in the fleshly world.
It makes it very clear that by living through Christ even the secular world is handled more successfully.
It makes it very clear that by living through Christ even the secular world is handled more successfully.
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Peace be with you my precious sister in CHRIST.
We seek the Kingdom of GOD as follows:
Be passionate about the Kingdom of GOD and its expansion in the earth.
Commit yourself to the preaching and the spread of the Gospel.
Look at JESUS CHRIST our Glorious LORD who is our perfect example. HE said, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose (Luke 4:43).” In the same way, we must preach and spread the Gospel of the Kingdom of GOD, for we were sent for this purpose.
JESUS said to you and I, ""Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation (Mark 16: 15)". That's how we seek the Kingdom of GOD.
Have a lovely day always.
GOD Bless you.
JESUS is LORD.
We seek the Kingdom of GOD as follows:
Be passionate about the Kingdom of GOD and its expansion in the earth.
Commit yourself to the preaching and the spread of the Gospel.
Look at JESUS CHRIST our Glorious LORD who is our perfect example. HE said, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose (Luke 4:43).” In the same way, we must preach and spread the Gospel of the Kingdom of GOD, for we were sent for this purpose.
JESUS said to you and I, ""Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation (Mark 16: 15)". That's how we seek the Kingdom of GOD.
Have a lovely day always.
GOD Bless you.
JESUS is LORD.
I see a big difference between secular kingdoms and God's kingdom. God's kingdom rules the secular kingdom, and to satisfy the flesh only is to die.
I see our government leaders as instruments of the Lord. I see my family as a unit the Lord oversees. I see my waking life as a service to the Lord, and my sleeping as being a vessel that the Lord can instruct.
I see our government leaders as instruments of the Lord. I see my family as a unit the Lord oversees. I see my waking life as a service to the Lord, and my sleeping as being a vessel that the Lord can instruct.
It means be a spiritual man/woman and see everything with spiritual eyes. I cannot make the sentence shorter and more direct than that
But you need to be aware that the people of the occult are spiritual. They believe in the spiritual power of Satan. It is easy to misread the new covenant as being against material and literal obedience because God now communicates to us by our spirits, God communicates physical directions, too, through our spirit. The Gnostics denied this and the Lord rebuked them.
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