Understanding the Concept of the Kingdom
Matthew 6:33 Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Have you ever been in search of something? Or someone? Then finally you find what you are looking for and become overwhelmed with joy. It could be a career, love, money, happiness, freedom, fulfilment, peace, passion, confidence or stability. Whatever the reason, we are all searching for something to fulfill us.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 says God has placed eternity into man’s heart. In Matthew 13:45, Jesus compares the Kingdom of God to a merchant. What is a merchant? A merchant is a person or company that trades goods to different foreign countries.
This merchant in Matthew 13:45 is looking to trade what he has for a pearl; something even more valuable. However, when he found the Pearl that had great value he sold everything he owned and bought it!
The Kingdom of Heaven is the Pearl. It has great value that no amount of money can buy. So, what kind of goods are you willing to sell to inherit the Kingdom of God? Are you willing to sell Lust, greed, sexual immorality, envy? Are you willing to trade all these for God’s Kingdom? I would hope that your answer is yes.
What does it profit a man to gain the whole world but lose his soul or what can you exchange for your soul? Two people are after our soul; Jesus and Satan. Life or death, which one are you going to choose? The choice is yours to make.
Matthew 6:33 Jesus told us to “seek the Kingdom of God above all else and live righteously and all these things will be added unto us.” Let’s break this scripture down a little bit so you can understand what Jesus is telling us to do here; let’s go back to Matthew 6:19 -21. If you take a closer look Jesus was teaching about money and possessions.
First: Jesus told us not to store up treasures on earth where moths eat them rust destroys them, and thieves break in and steal. To cap things off what did Jesus mean when He said not to store up treasures on earth? Well, what do we normally treasure here on earth? Let’s say money, cars, houses, highly valuable jewelry, clothes, food etc… none of these things last; they can all vanish within the blink of an eye. And none of these things have true values, they may give us temporary pleasures at the moment and then leave us empty on the inside. Cars rust and give away it has no real value, Money is just a tool to buy things; there is no true satisfaction in it. When you die you can’t take it with you. Jewelry; if a thief breaks into your house he’s going for the most expensive and valuable items to take with him only to resell it back at a higher price. And House you will need to reconstruct it at least a few times probably every 5-10 years to make it liveable. We should never put our hope in material things, they are all fleeting.
Secondly, Jesus told us not to worry about whether we have enough food, drink, or clothes to wear. He says that life is more important than food, and our body is more important than clothing. God loves us and cares deeply for us if he provides food for the birds in the sky and clothes the flowers of the field how much more will He not take care of us? When we worry about what we are going to eat and what we are going to drink and wear on our bodies. Our action shows God that we don’t trust him, we lack trust in God and don’t believe that he will take care of our needs. I believe when we fail to trust God we insult his character and his sovereignty. When we worry we don’t have faith Jesus tells us that. He told us to leave all the worrying to the pagans because they run after these things.
Thirdly, Jesus tells us to “Seek first the Kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to us as well.” What does it mean to seek God’s Kingdom? To understand God’s Kingdom you have to first understand that God is a King. And to know what God’s kingdom is all about you need to know the very nature of God; his character. Once you know the character of God you can tell what he stands for and what he doesn’t stand for. Therefore, you will know what his kingdom is all about.
So what does it mean to seek God’s kingdom and his righteousness? It simply means to fulfill the assignment that God has given us to accomplish here on earth. Which is the great commission. Mark 16:15-16 Go to into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
We must preach the gospel to all creature and live right before God — doing right at all times even when no one is watching.
God’s Kingdom is consist of:
Love
Peace
Righteousness
Joy
Justice & mercy
Faithfulness
Holiness
Humility
Compassion
Kindness
Goodness
God wants us to pursue all these characteristics, these are the very nature of God. He created us in his image and likeness; therefore, it only makes sense that he wants all of his children to imitate his characters as well. When we pursue God’s kingdom and put him first place in our lives he will take good care of us. We don’t need worry about the cares of this world. Now that we have the knowledge and understanding what God wants from us let us be a becon in this dark world for Him and continue to seek after his Kingdom.