AAEVS - Prioritizing our Lives and Desires around the Kingdom

"Our vision is for our church to reflect the centrality of the kingdom in every area of life. We desire that our decisions and activities revolve around the fact that we are part of the kingdom God has established. We want to recognize that this kingdom is God’s instrument for His reclamation of the world. Therefore, we desire to be a church with a vision for Christ’s growing kingdom. We rejoice in the events that brought about the kingdom of God incarnation of Jesus Christ, His life, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension to rule and reign at the right hand of the Father) and seek to be an active part of its growth, primarily through preaching the gospel." ~ The Kingdom of God Paragraph 2

"Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;" 2 Corinthians 10:5

Here we come to the first of the series on "Analyzing and Applying the Elders' Vision Statement". Here I'll attempt to encourage you to take the challenge and privilege that our Elders have set before us. It is a challenge because we have to make changes, changes that push us out of our comfort zones, and constantly put to death our sinful natures that oppose the working of the Spirit. It is a privilege because we have the promises of God to assure us of the blessings we receive when we put these things into practice.

The Kingdom of God, as Bro. Mike has stated here, is central to the Gospel message. Of course, events such as His death and resurrection are essential too (1 Cor 15). But these events were essential in the fact that they destroyed the works of the Devil and saved His people (1 John 3:5, 8). Satan's dominion has been taken from him and has been handed over to the Lord Jesus Christ. Now all authority and power belongs to Him and all who have been redeemed by His blood are called upon to submit themselves under His Lordship over everything, which means they have no right to live or have anything for themselves but for Christ. His Kingdom is in process of destroying the old world with all its lusts and bringing glory to God (1 John 2:16-17; 1 Cor 15:24-28). Therefore, we ought to prioritize our lives and desires where God's glory comes first in all things.

But why prioritize around the Kingdom and not something else? Here are some, probably most common, orientations which we may base our goals and dreams on and why they are insufficient in the eternal sense:

School-oriented: Education can be useful for progress and getting work, but it must not be the highest priority. After the Resurrection, you will not be commended for knowing what is the date that King Louis VII died, what is sine, cosine, and tangent of 456, and how to fix a jet engine. You will be commended for faithful service to God.

Work-oriented: Work is ordained of God in creation. Those who are able ought to work to earn a living and give to others. But work in of itself will not matter in years to come. Your business will eventually crash under competition. After you die, the money and possessions you accumulated will be given to someone else. Work must be done for the glory of God.

Marriage/Family-oriented: Marriage is honorable, it shows the relationship between Christ and the Church. Families are important, they are the building block of society and they can pass down the knowledge of the Lord to the next generation. But marriage will only go on as long as you and your spouse are alive, after that there is no getting it back. Families that are not built on Christ will be crumbled, it is not likely that children will keep all of what their parents hold to. Therefore, to expect fulfilment from marriage is futile because only God can give true fulfilment; And to expect a 1950's "Leave It To Beaver" family without spiritual nourishment is folly, only the Spirit can sustain a family.

Church-oriented: Churches are vital in the Messianic Age, they are the means which God expands His Kingdom. But doing things just for the church's sake will be meaningless. Sad to say it but Grace Covenant Church, along with the rest of the churches we know, will not last forever. Either the church becomes so large it splits into two or more congregations or the church at some point becomes negligent and slowly fades aways until the church closes down (Hopefully the former). We cannot afford to be complacent with just attending church and staying where we are. We need to take the initiative and work in the Kingdom.

And if you want to consider internal orientations, such as fame, pleasure, and riches. Bro. Matt has given an exposition of Ecclesiastes here that touches on these things.

Ultimately, we ought to be Christ-oriented. We must strive to be more like Him in thought and deed. But a big part of that is the Kingdom. We are in the reign of Christ. We ought to base our lives and desires around His Kingdom, because of what God has said about its future. In eternity, the saints will speak of the glory of His Kingdom (Psalm 145:11). Within thousands of years, the knowledge of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea (Hab 2:14). After the Resurrection, the wedding between the Lamb and His bride will be consummated (Rev 19:7-9). And the Church will be one at last (Ephesians 1:10).  It is not a waste to do what God has commanded, it is a waste if we do not.

I believe I'll stop here. Hopefully I given you a good exposition of this paragraph. Let us strive to seek first the Kingdom and His righteousness.

Questions:

1. Why Kingdom-oriented?

2. Why does it matter?

3. How do we prioritize?

4. What do we prioritize?