.jpeg)
Life Around "The Fire"
Life Around "The Fire"
The Priorities of God's Kingdom: Seeking First What Matters Most
The Kingdom of God stands as a reality more profound than religious practice—it's an entirely new realm with its own culture, values, and priorities. This exploration of kingdom living cuts straight to the heart of spiritual maturity: what does it mean to "grow up before we grow old"?
Creation itself is groaning for the maturing of God's people. When we express our maturity in Christ, we don't just show the world who Jesus was historically, but who He is now—seated at the Father's right hand with eyes of flaming fire, preparing to unite heaven and earth. This maturity requires understanding that Jesus didn't come to establish a new religion or polish up our old nature. That old self was nailed to the cross. Instead, He made us entirely new creations and citizens of an eternal kingdom.
The difference between religion and kingdom is critical. Many places bearing Christian names function more like spiritual cemeteries than living sanctuaries. True kingdom living begins with prioritizing God's kingdom above everything else, seeking His righteousness (being absolutely good, absolutely true, and filled with love), and focusing on spiritual matters instead of problems. Kingdom priorities also include rejecting scarcity mindsets to embrace abundant living, fostering unity within authentic community, and becoming kingdom makers who embody these values in daily life.
This spiritual transformation happens progressively as we follow the Holy Spirit's guidance. Though the church appears divided today, God's presence will ultimately bring supernatural unity beyond human efforts. As we align ourselves with kingdom priorities, we fulfill our calling as "peacemakers"—atmosphere changers who advance God's kingdom not through religious activity but through genuine relationship with the King Himself. What would your life look like if you truly sought His kingdom first?
Loving Yeshua/Jesus, Loving people... Come as you are and you will be loved!
Feel free to check out our website by typing in lifearoundthefire.com or Life Around The Fire ... We think you'll find some beneficial stuff to look at and apply to your life.
Shalom to you and your home.
It was a while back that we did a whole series on growing up before we grow old, and it was on the whole concept of us really becoming mature growing up individually, in our identity in Christ, not just our polished up way of doing things, but really the vision that God has in store for us concerning who we look like as a mature person in Christ and also collectively, what we look like as a group of people.
Speaker 1:Collectively, what we look like as a group of people, and we're looking at it, I should say, and when we're looking at it in a real clear, sober-minded and mature fashion. Growing up before we grow old. Because the Apostle Paul, in writing to a group of people in Rome, actually said that creation itself is groaning for the body of Christ, or, as he called it, the sons of God, to be mature. That creation is groaning for that. Because when the body of Christ, or as the body of Christ, expresses its maturity in Christ, we actually show the world what Jesus not only looked like historically, but what he looks like right now. We have a picture of Jesus healing people in Galilee and all throughout Israel, and it's a powerful picture and that's part of the view that God wants us to convey concerning Jesus, but also, he is right now seated next to the Father, the right hand of the Father, high above all other rule and authority. He is seated and his eyes are flaming with fire. He has a look about him that is much different than when he walked on planet Earth, and he is returning to fulfill his word concerning heaven and earth being joined together as one and that we would be one, even as he and the Father are one.
Speaker 1:This whole notion of us growing up before we grow old, and part of the process of that, is us learning what his kingdom is all about, because we have been born again not to experience a new religion. We don't need a new way of doing things with an old person, our old self. We don't need to try to polish that up. That thing needs to die and that's why Jesus died. He took that thing, that sinful nature, and nailed it to the cross. He became sin so we could receive newness of life, freedom from the judgment that was placed upon sin, which was death. And, by the way, another word for death is separation. When you think of death, you think of separation. When one dies, their soul or their spirit is separated from their body. When we sin, we experience a separation in relationship, whether it's with another person or with God, but sin brings about death. Now, when we're born again, sin is an event. It's no longer our nature, but previously it was our nature, and religion is just trying to polish up that old nature, which is impossible. We can never polish it up enough to make things right.
Speaker 1:And so Jesus did not come to establish a new religion. He came for us to become a new creation. And in being a new creation, we are now new citizens, citizens of a kingdom that is the eternal kingdom. But we're new to it and it's important for us to learn the ways of God, because learning the ways of God, we learn the ways of God. Because learning the ways of God, we learn the ways of the kingdom. Because the kingdom of God, the culture of God's kingdom, comes from his heart. And just like we were born into a culture, whether it is in Africa, asia, europe, australia, america, all throughout the nations, a person born naturally is born into a culture. And the kingdom of God is a kingdom, a true, real kingdom. Just like Africa is a real, true nation, it's a real, true continent. So the kingdom of God is a real, true kingdom and within it it has real culture, it has values, it has practices and it has priorities, just like each culture has. And so for us to learn to function in the kingdom now, to learn the ways of God now, is really important for us, because we are born into a kingdom when we're born again, not into a religion, not into a church group, we're born into a kingdom. Now the church functions within the kingdom, but it's not the same. The two are not the same, and also not everything called the church that has the name Jesus above the door is a functioning body. It's alive. Unfortunately, there are a lot of places that are dead. They're more like cemeteries than they are sanctuaries, temples of the Holy Spirit, gatherings where people are alive. Oftentimes it's just religion with the name Christianity involved. Jesus did not come to establish Christianity. He came to declare the kingdom and the fact that his kingdom would advance and that the gates of hell would not be able to stop the church from advancing the kingdom of God, because it's a spiritual thing that is empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Speaker 1:And so we've been looking at the values, practices and priorities in the past few episodes and today we're going to be wrapping up the priorities. We've looked at the values and we've looked at the practices and if you want to look at them and you've not listened to any of the podcasts previously, you can just go back and review that with the previous podcast and you'll be up to speed. For the sake of time, we're not going to be doing that today, meaning we're not going to have any review. We'll be looking at the kingdom priorities today. What are the priorities? And a priority is something that you can't shift out of the way. If you can move it, it's not a priority, right?
Speaker 1:If it's a priority, it takes precedent over anything else, and Jesus, in his declaration concerning the kingdom, declared very clearly that we need to change our mind and to change our ways in order to function in the kingdom, because it's not something we can do. Naturally, it takes a supernatural new birth as well as the recipient of a new mind. We need to have our minds renewed and we renew it in the scriptures by entering in and literally having the word of God revealed in the scriptures. In fact, the psalmist says teach me your ways, o Lord. I love that. I mean. We can ask God for a lot of things, but those are things. Yes, I like to have things that God provides, but I want to know his ways. I just don't want things from his hand. I want to know his ways, right, I just don't want to see his hand. I want to see his face. I want to know him. I want to know his ways. I want him to be able to impress things upon my heart without having to say a word. Well, I just know his heart, like Jesus knew the heart of the Father. That's my heart, that's what's in me, that's what he planted within me. And now Holy Spirit is faithfully doing that, not just in me, he's doing it in your life.
Speaker 1:If you're born again and for those who are, praise God For those who aren't. And you're listening. You're listening because you're being drawn into a place of relationship with God in which you will become born again. And you become born again by following the leading of the Holy Spirit. He will lead you into all truth and he will show you the way we can help. But we can't change anybody. Nobody can change a person and make them born again. But Holy Spirit can reveal Jesus to you and you can become born again. It's a unique thing. It's happened to those who are.
Speaker 1:And if you don't know whether or not you are or not, that means you're not. But you can know Because God wants you to know. He wants you to know him and to have a relationship with him. Not to walk around wondering whether or not you do or don't. Same thing with being filled with the Spirit. If you've never been filled with the Spirit and the power of God, it comes along with that. If you question that, then you haven't, but you can. The good news is you can be filled. In fact, we are commanded to be filled, which means God provides a way for it to take place. How? Once again, that's not my call. I can be there as a person to help facilitate things that God shows me, but I'm not the one who can do it. Only God can do certain things because they are supernatural, hallelujah.
Speaker 1:So we're looking at the priorities of God's kingdom and the priorities that we're looking at today. The first one is prioritizing God's kingdom. Right To have his kingdom be top priority in our life. In Matthew 6, verse 33, matthew, of course, jesus is saying but seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Jesus mandated his disciples and his followers that were listening to seek first the kingdom of God. And that mandate is true for all of us today, that we would prioritize God's kingdom in such a way that it would be the first thing that we look to understand, because it's different in some ways than the culture that we live in, and we need to be obedient first and loyal first to the kingdom of God and where it is in conjunction with our culture, we're in good shape. But if it clashes, we are first committed to the kingdom of God. I'm first committed to the kingdom of God and his righteousness, which, secondly the second point in kingdom priorities is seeking God's righteousness, seeking God's righteousness.
Speaker 1:Now, that word righteousness, it sounds familiar as soon as we hear it. But then, when asked what is righteousness, you kind of say I do anyway, like well, it's righteousness, and we have had a hard time explaining what righteousness is until recently and part of what righteousness is. Some of you will be able to receive more information because Holy Spirit will reveal more to you and praise God. I love that when that happens. But here's a runway for you to get started on concerning righteousness.
Speaker 1:Righteousness is to be absolutely good, to be absolutely true and to be filled with love. Those three things to be absolutely good, to be absolutely true and to be filled with love make up a big part of what righteousness is, according to God. The Apostle Paul, again in Romans, chapter 12, verse 3, says Do not offer the parts of your body to sin as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought back to death, to life. I should say, back from death to life and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. So we give ourselves over to righteousness, we don't just think about it. We give ourselves over to that which is good, that which is true and that which fills us with the love of God. Fills us with the love of God.
Speaker 1:In writing a letter to Titus, one of his disciples, the Apostle Paul said For by the grace of God that brings salvation and the pure to all men. It teaches us to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope, the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, jesus Christ. So we have been given the ability to become righteous, not by doing righteous, but by becoming righteous, by following the promptings of the Holy Spirit. It's a real good point of information, because sometimes we try real hard and we just don't feel like we're trying hard enough. That's because we're doing too much. We're doing too much and allowing God to do things to us and, through us, teaching us to follow him and to learn his ways. And, once again, it's good news. This is a process. This is not a one and done thing Like oh man, I missed it, so I guess I'm out of it. No, you didn't miss it. You're not a one and done thing Like oh man, I missed it, so I guess I'm out of it. No, you didn't miss it, you're not out of it. We're all growing and we're all at different stages, at different points in our life and at different points in time. So be encouraged, in fact, that you are hungry to know and grow, versus just being content to really stay in the same place that you were before.
Speaker 1:Another priority in the kingdom of God is focusing on spiritual matters. In writing to the church in Philippi, the Apostle Paul said Finally, brothers, whatever is true, noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy. Think about these things right, because we can get caught up in thinking about so much negative stuff. I can get caught up easily in thinking about things that are problems because they are all around us. There's no shortage of things that are difficult, problematic. It doesn't really require any wisdom to point out a problem Now. It requires some wisdom to point out a solution, how to get beyond that problem. But to point out a problem, man, we could do that all day and still be just as frustrated and stuck as we were before.
Speaker 1:But if we focus differently interesting, our lives take on a different direction. We find our feet going in different places. We find ourselves saying different things. We find ourselves meeting different people Doing different things. Because our ourselves meeting different people doing different things, because our focus has shifted from those things that are just natural. Even good things that are just natural. They're fading away. If we focus on things that are eternal, we become more acquainted with the eternal.
Speaker 1:Point. Number four in kingdom priorities living abundantly. Living abundantly is actually a priority. Freedom from the fear of scarcity, competition and having a poverty mentality is something that is absolutely not allowed. It is not something that is part of the kingdom of God, the fear of scarcity. Now, there's no judgment being placed upon a person's life if you have that, other than the fact that you're living in it. That's judgment alone.
Speaker 1:Always afraid of not having enough. There are people that are millionaires who are afraid of not having enough. They live a life in fear. They live a life of fear. Fear is their life, the fear of not having enough, the fear of having a poverty mentality, the fear or having a poverty mentality. Some people are poor because they can't see things any differently than through the lens of being poor. Poverty is a curse. It's not a blessing, it's a curse. And there are ways out of it, and that is by knowing that we have been given abundant life. Not a little skinny little bit of life, not a little sliver, but we've been given abundant life.
Speaker 1:Ephesians, chapter 3, verses 20 through 21,. Paul said to the group of people in Ephesus he goes now to him, who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to the power that is at work within us. To him be glory in all the church and in Christ Jesus, throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. He's able to do immeasurably more, far beyond what we can even ask or imagine, according to the power that is at work within you. There's power that's at work within you to see these things take place. It behooves us to tap into that power.
Speaker 1:We don't have to have a poverty mentality or fear of not having enough, that scarcity thing. Or being in competition with someone who does have something. Covetousness, being envious of other people oh man, I wish I had that or how did they get that? I'm the one. I'm as good, even better than them. Having competition, envy, pride, jealousy, bitterness, all that stuff, that's part of scarcity, that's part of having a poverty mentality. It's the fear of not having enough. Someone else has more. God's not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. Point number five in kingdom priorities is living in community. Priorities is living in community. Kingdom living involves fostering love and unity within the community of believers.
Speaker 1:Hebrews chapter 10, verses 24 and 25, says and let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. I like that. Let's consider how we can spur one another on toward love and good deeds. I like that. Let's consider how we can spur one another on Into what? Toward love and good deeds. How do you do that? Well, let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another, and all the more as you see the day approaching and the day approaching is Jesus approaching? Jesus coming again should motivate us to want to spur one another on toward love and good deeds so that we can become mature, we can grow up before we grow old. It's going to happen. I just want to be part of it.
Speaker 1:John, chapter 17, verses 20 through 23,. Jesus was praying and John records him saying my prayer is not for them alone, meaning the disciples that were there. I pray also for those who believe in me through their message that all of them may be one Father. Just as you and I are in me and I'm in you, may also they be in us. So the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you have given me, that they may be one as we are one, I in them and you in me. May they be brought together, complete in unity, to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them, even as you've loved me, powerful. If there's any prayer that's going to be answered and there are many, many of yours have been and are being answered right now Mine too, but let's just say they weren't. If any prayer was going to be answered, that's when it's going to be answered. Jesus prayed it. Because Jesus prayed it, I know that prayer is going to get answered. And that is that we would be one. We would experience true community, healthy community, healthy relationships together and I underscore healthy and together.
Speaker 1:Psalm 133, verse 1, the psalmist said how good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity. And when you look at the world around us, and you look even at the church around us, it's so divided. Even the body of Christ is divided. Schisms, disagreements, dissensions, all the stuff that divides, divides, creates division, and we see it. So it's going to take something supernatural for that to change, and I believe with all my heart. The supernatural thing is the presence of God. None other than the very presence of God is going to create the unity that is necessary. I'm not talking just a little taste of the Lord's presence. I'm talking about an all-consuming, international move of God displaying his glory in such a powerful way that we are on our faces before him in an extended way and it brings about repentance and a type of unity that we've not yet experienced. But it's going to take place and it's going to be his presence that's going to bring it about. It's not going to be our conventions, not going to be our efforts, even though they have been good and some of them have been even great. I look forward to more but it's really going to be the presence of the Lord that's going to do it.
Speaker 1:Last priority we're going to list and there are more, but these are the ones that we're going to list the last one we're going to list is being a kingdom maker. Living a life that embodies kingdom priorities and actively participates in its expansion is what I'm talking about. Living a life that embodies that, not a casual Sunday morning appearance or a bi-monthly appearance or just an infrequent get-together and show up and consider that part of your involvement. It's more like part of a checklist. Anything. Being a kingdom maker involves the embodiment of that in one's life.
Speaker 1:Colossians, chapter 3, verses 22 to 24, says Slaves and he's talking about slaves, but it's pertinent to all of us, even to those who are slaves. He says Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything and do it not only when the eye is on you, which really that's what integrity is. Being an eye servant is not one of integrity, because you're doing it so that other people notice, and you do it when the cameras are rolling, when the lights are on. He said when you do it, don't do it only when their eyes are on you, but do it with sincerity of heart, because when you do it when their eyes are on you, it's only to win their favor, but when you do it with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord, whatever you do, whatever you work at with all your heart as working for the Lord, not only for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward, that's it. You'll receive a reward. You'll receive a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. That's the key right there. It's not people you're serving, it's Jesus that you're serving.
Speaker 1:Being a kingdom maker involves serving Jesus, not people. If you've been serving people in the church, you're burned out and you're tired. There's a reason behind it, because people do people things and people always disappoint us, but Jesus will not. Anyone who does wrong will be paid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism in God. Matthew 5.8 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God. The atmosphere changers. The kingdom makers, the peacemakers, those who make shalom, will be known as the sons of God. Being a shalom maker, a kingdom maker, is our call. It's part of our priority package.
Speaker 1:Hallelujah, let's pray, father. I thank you once again, god, really I do. How you're going about things is amazing. What you're doing, why you're doing it, the things that you impart in the process. Lord, I ask that you take these words, holy Spirit, and that you would impart truths into people's lives and that you'd bring about a motivation that would cause hearts and lives to align with you, and that our actions would follow and that we would be kingdom makers, just like Jesus is and was a kingdom maker. So we follow in your footsteps, jesus, and we look for your empowerment. I thank you for it, and we stand here in your name and we say amen. So be it. Amen. Stand here in your name, we say amen, so be it, amen, amen. All right, folks, we love you, and if you have any thoughts, questions, concerns, please feel free to drop us a line at lifearoundthefire at gmailcom or type in lifearoundthefire and look us up on the web. We would love to hear from you In the meantime. God bless you. Adios amigos.