Chase What Matters: Living for God’s Kingdom

Everyone spends life chasing something. How can you tell whether you are pursuing what matters most? In this opening message of the “Chase What Matters” series, Pastor Chris Teien turns to Matthew 6:33 and asks what it means to seek God’s kingdom first. He considers how our priorities, resources, and worries affect the way we follow Jesus.

God’s kingdom is His rule and work, and Jesus calls His followers to put it first. That changes how we view eternity, how we use what we have, and how we respond when we are anxious about our needs. Because we belong to Christ, we can seek His purposes and trust our Father’s care.

“Chase What Matters” Message Series 1 of 4

IN THIS MESSAGE

#1 SEEK GOD’S KINGDOM ABOVE ALL ELSE

Jesus calls His followers to seek God’s kingdom and righteousness first. Pastor Chris explains what God’s kingdom means and asks how our skills, opportunities, time, and resources could help others know Christ. Seeking the kingdom begins with giving God’s purposes priority in the life we already have. (Matthew 6:33; Psalm 103:19; Romans 14:17)

#2 SET YOUR MIND ON ETERNAL THINGS

Paul tells believers who have been raised with Christ to set their hearts and minds on things above. Remembering our life in Christ gives us a wider view of what matters and a concern for others who need to know Him. Faithful service may have results we cannot see right away. (Colossians 3:1-2; 1 John 5:11)

#3 TRUST GOD TO PROVIDE FOR YOUR NEEDS

Jesus speaks about food, clothing, and worry before telling His followers to seek the kingdom first. Our heavenly Father knows what we need. Trusting Him does not mean we will avoid hardship, but it helps us keep anxiety from directing every choice. (Matthew 6:31-33; Luke 12:31-32)

#4 LIVE AS A CITIZEN OF HEAVEN

Believers belong to Christ and await His return. Pastor Chris closes by urging Christians to work together, remain focused, and keep serving when difficulties come. Our citizenship in heaven should shape how we live and serve here. (Philippians 3:20; Ephesians 6:10-18)

Ask God to show you one way to seek His kingdom with what you already have. It may begin with encouraging someone, sharing your faith, serving in your church, or trusting Him with a need that has been consuming your attention. Put Christ first in that choice and take the next faithful step.

SCRIPTURE

Primary passage: Matthew 6:31-33
Supporting passages: Psalm 103:19; Luke 12:31-32; Romans 14:17; Ephesians 6:10-18; Philippians 3:20; Colossians 3:1-2; 1 John 5:11

Source of 15000 churches closing:  https://churchanswers.com/blog/five-reasons-why-2025-will-be-a-pivotal-year-for-many-churches/

Transcript available at:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2285086/episodes/16385847

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I hope this message helps you understand and apply God’s Word. Find sermon transcripts at Well.faith, learn more at ChrisTeien.com, or come visit us at Rockwell Church in Virginia, Minnesota. If this message encouraged you, I’d love to hear from you at wellfaith24@gmail.com.

Transcript

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All right, stepping up into kingdom living. So if you have your Bibles and you open your phone Bible, your paper Bibles, the Bible in front of you, and you open to Luke chapter 9. In Luke chapter 9, you'll see that Jesus is training the disciples in action. He sends out the 12, tells them to go out and to share the gospel. And then he feeds 5,000. And when you feed 5,000 men plus women and children, so when you feed, excuse me, 10, 15,000 people, everybody wants to be on your team. Everybody wants to follow you. They're like, hey, this is awesome. Give us some of that Jesus because, you know, if he can make free lunch, what else can he do for us? That's just great. I want to follow after Jesus. And then, so as you read, continue to read in Luke 9, you see that Peter declares that Jesus is the Messiah. And then in verse 21, Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone because Jesus didn't want to have his time at the cross step up the persecution any faster. So Jesus was kind of working behind the scenes, training up the disciples, reaching people for Christ, showing you that he was truly who he said he was through miracles and all sorts of things. And so you have people that see successful Jesus, free lunch Jesus, and everybody's like, yeah, I want to do that. That's awesome. I'm so excited about this new opportunity that I have to be blessed by Jesus. And some people actually come to church and they want to experience God's blessing. So they give, but they're giving as an investment. They heard somewhere in the prosperity gospel that was falsely preached to them that if they give that God's gonna multiply that, he's gonna bless them, and their life's gonna be comfortable, and they're gonna have all that they need and want. Oh, won't that be great? And so here in this passage, Jesus is like, whoa, wait. So just so you know what's gonna happen here, it's not going to be as easy as you think. Verse 21, Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone that he was the Messiah. And he said, the Son of Man, verse 22, the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the law. And he must be killed, and on the third day be raised to life. And then he said to them all, whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. Whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world and yet lose or forfeit their very self? Whoever is, verse 26, whoever is ashamed of me in my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. And so in this passage here, it went from, oh, I just want to follow Jesus because that's easy street to wait. You want us to do what? What does that even mean? So that's what I wanted to talk about today is, what does that even mean? What does it mean to be that committed to Christ? And so I will first review a little bit of last week. So we're in a series on Chase What Matters Most and Matthew 633 says to seek first God's kingdom and his righteousness, and then he'll provide everything that we need. So seeking God's kingdom first, tried to put that in perspective last week, and I'll continue to do it this week. But it is, God's kingdom is his rule and reign, both spiritual, present in the believers hearts, and physical, a future millennial reign and eternal kingdom. So it's what God is doing. It is how God is working out his plan. And we are part of his kingdom when we come into faith through Jesus Christ. We're adopted into God's family and we have a part in kingdom ministry. And that is an exciting thing as we seek eternal things, as we use our spiritual gifts to make a difference. And I mentioned last week that many of you use your spiritual gifts in different ways. The worship team as they practice, as they prepare, as they pick music, as they look at what the message is going to be on and how the songs could match and all the things that they do, all the work that they do, that's using their gifts. You can use your gifts through teaching. Maybe you are teaching, you're sharing your faith, you're doing, you're encouraging, you're doing so many things as you build the kingdom. And last week I gave the comparison of how the kingdom of God is like. A football team advancing God's kingdom and all of that. And so this week I wanted to share the other one on how God's kingdom compares to a restaurant. Because I just want you to have this general idea of what God's kingdom is like. Because it's really vague and we don't really know and people struggle with it. So you could listen to last week's, it's on video or on audio. But if God's kingdom were compared to a restaurant, the owner and visionary in a restaurant, the owner creates the vision, establishes the purpose and oversees all operations. Picks what's on the menu, chooses their theme and their hours and all. In God's kingdom, God is the ultimate owner and visionary. His plan is for all people to know him, experience his love and be part of his family. So the menu, a restaurant's menu provides food for nourishment and enjoyment. In God's kingdom, the Bible is the menu. Offering spiritual nourishment, wisdom and direction for life. It provides everything we need to grow in righteousness and fulfill his purposes. The chef in the restaurant, the chef prepares meals with care, ensuring the food meets the highest standards. In God's kingdom, the pastor, no not the pastor. I was gonna like say the pastor, let you hang on that and see if your face would turn red. But there's not enough time. So all right, in God's kingdom, Jesus is the bread of life, providing the spiritual sustenance we need. He satisfies our hunger and thirst for righteousness. The staff at the restaurant is super important. A restaurant thrives when every staff member, server, cooks, cleaners and managers work together. Each has a specific role. In God's kingdom, believers are the staff. Everyone has unique gifts and roles to play. Works, working together as the body of Christ to advance the kingdom. The guests, a restaurant welcomes guests, inviting them to experience what it has to offer. In God's kingdom, the invitation is open to all. We are called to go into the world, inviting others to experience the love, grace and salvation found in Christ. The ambiance, a restaurant's atmosphere sets the tone, making guests feel welcome and comfortable. In God's kingdom, the Holy Spirit creates an atmosphere of love, peace and joy. The fruit of the Spirit should be evident in our lives, making the kingdom attractive to others. The bill, in a restaurant, the guests pay for their meal and are expected to leave a tip. In God's kingdom, the bill has already been paid by Jesus Christ. His sacrifice on the cross paid the price for our sin, offering salvation as a free gift to all who believe. The mission, a restaurant often seeks to grow its customer base by providing excellent food and service, building a reputation that draws more people in. In God's kingdom, our mission is to make disciples, spreading the good news and inviting others to join in the eternal feast. So if the kingdom of God is like a restaurant, what role are you playing? What do you do in this church? How do you do things in this church? So I asked somebody in this church who has experience with interior decorating, I said, not that we're ever going to change anything, but if we did, what are some ideas that you have to make this church look more user-friendly, to make it look more modern, to make it so that, you know, when people come in the door, things flow better. What could we change? What could we do better? Let me know. You too, let me know what are things that we could do to do better. I go to other churches and I see what they do, but I also see they have a much bigger budget and they're building set up differently and things like that, so maybe it doesn't always translate. But number one, we're to step up by denying ourselves daily. To step up by denying ourselves daily. It's easy to follow Jesus when it's a popular thing. So I hope that the door doesn't close on our freedom to worship the Lord. In the past, you know, I remember in the 80s and 90s or whatever, you didn't suffer a whole lot of persecution for being a Christ follower. Most people had some form of church, acknowledged church, thought church was good. Now today, less and less people are participating in church, being part of church. People who claim Jesus aren't coming to church. Churches have a lot fewer people on Sundays than they did in the past. And so often, when we deny ourselves, that means that we need to put Christ first in our lives. So again, in that verse, he said, whoever wants to be my disciple needs to deny themselves. So the Greek word, it means to disown or renounce. So I don't know what this does to the self-esteem movement. You know, I think it's good that we have some love for ourselves because we're supposed to love our neighbor as ourselves. And if we don't love ourselves, then how can we love our neighbors? And God has blessed us with this life, and our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. So there should be love and care for ourselves. But sometimes people get overboard, a little crazy on self-esteem, putting themselves first, putting their feelings first, putting their wants and needs first. And that can be a problem. In Galatians 2.20, Paul says, my old self has been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. So I think what it really comes down to is identification with Jesus. We need to deny ourself in the things that we want. So many times we want to gratify ourselves. We have great ambitions. Many people want to be seen as successful. Many people want to enjoy luxuries and have a beautiful home and have a great car that people look at and think, you must be really successful, or you must be really cool because look at you drive. It always amazes me how, I think it's young guys especially, but sometimes when you drive past really run-down trailer parks and mobile home parks and run-down trailers, out in the front are some really nice cars. And so these young guys drive around in their sweet rides, and then they go home to like four guys in a little old mobile home trailer that's really run-down. Because that's their priority. Their priority is to be seen in their ride because they want to be seen as somebody successful, as significant. So those things aren't bad. I mean, if you have a nice home, if you've been successful in your career, and all of those things, it's not bad. What is bad is if that's the driving force in your life and you're not willing to follow Jesus because you've got needs, because you want to do things, because you want to control your life instead of God controlling your life. And when you put God aside and you want to do your own thing, you may not end up where you really want to be. You may miss out on what God really had for you. You might miss out on the great ministry that you could have had if you would have put God first. When we deny ourselves, we have to deny worldly values. The world around us tells us what we should believe and how we should think about things like success, and beauty, and popularity, and sexuality, and morality. And so these things are temporary. God has made it clear on how we should live, on what biblical marriage is, on what our stand should be on divorce. God hates divorce, though He does love people who have endured divorce. And if you've been divorced, you're definitely welcome here to worship with us. But as a whole, that should not be the practice. That should not be the easy out. That should not be the goal. I think I mentioned before that I was trying to help a couple that were having marriage problems. And so I think my wife and I were meeting with them together. And so this wife, this woman, she didn't want to work on the marriage. She said that this is a starter marriage. And I'm like, what? Like a starter home? Like you bought a little house and you're going to fix it up and sell it and get a different one? She's like, yeah. Yeah, my mother did it and my sister did it. And so that's what I'm going to do too. I'm going to learn how to be married. I'm going to learn how to be a good wife and how that works. And I'm going to find the perfect guy. And we're going to be married and be happy together. And it is not this guy. So this is just a starter marriage. I'm like, that doesn't make any sense. And that's not even good for your kids. And I don't know where she got that idea, if it's a cultural idea or if the family's just crazy. But Romans 12 too says, don't conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed. So we need to deny pride. We are so hurt sometimes when people say things against us. Or we are so afraid to share our faith because we're afraid of what people will say about us. And we can't handle if they're going to call us a religious fanatic or naive or all of these things. We need people to like us. And that kind of pride isn't denying ourselves. And we need to deny our sinful desires. Sometimes people just want to go with whatever opportunity they have because it seems fun. It seems like it's exciting. It seems like what was the old commercial? What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. No, it doesn't. It does not stay in Vegas. It will travel. It will follow you all the way back to Minnesota and destroy your marriage when people find out. Saying no to lust, greed, anger, dishonesty, and replacing them with Christlike behavior is so much better. And not to deny dependence on God. So do not deny independence from God. So if I were to go through this life and do my own thing, I wouldn't be a pastor. I wouldn't be serving you. I wouldn't have the experiences that I've had. On the other hand, if I were to pursue myself and I would have chosen a different career that was being offered to me, I would probably have a lot more money, probably have a much bigger retirement account, and things in my life might be a lot more comfortable. But when it was all said and done, and this life was over, and I went before Jesus, and he analyzed my life, I don't think he'd be saying, well, well done, good and faithful servant. He might say, well, you are mine. I died on the cross and you are part of the family, but you really missed out on all that I had for you because you couldn't get beyond yourself. Number two, kind of is the same thing, but stepping up by carrying your cross boldly. Stepping up by carrying your cross boldly. That identification with Christ. Jesus says, and take up their cross daily and follow me. So the cross was a symbol of suffering and obedience. In Matthew 10.38, Jesus says, if you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine. So, when we take up our cross, that again is dying to self. It's a daily commitment to follow Christ. It's being willing to suffer for Christ and the things of Christ. It's identifying with Christ's mission and trusting God's plan over your own. Taking up your cross is, and I hear this sometimes, oh, it's just the cross I have to bear, is not your health issue. It's not your child with disability or your rebellious children. It's not the problem with your family name and heritage if you've got that problem. It's not poverty due to others' poor choices. It's not student debt because you went to a Christian college. So it's not caring for your aged parents or anything else. That is not the cross you have to bear. That might be a difficulty that you have as you are enduring through life, but this is about identifying with Christ. So it is not punishing yourself for your sins, thinking if you punish yourself enough that then God will finally forgive you and then you can feel better if you just keep punishing yourself. It's not a literal cross. You don't have to carry a cross around, nor wear a big cross on your neck. I mean, you can wear a cross around your neck if you want, but it's not, you know, I have to carry my cross and here it is. I've got a gold one right here. It's not legalism or earning salvation, and it's not a one-time event. The cross is embracing a life of sacrificial discipleship, aligning with Jesus in self-denial, obedience and devotion. It involves daily choosing God's kingdom over personal gain, even at great cost. It's not about carrying the burdens of life. Where is God calling you to surrender more, to take up their cross daily and follow me? So we identify with Christ. We know that serving Christ could be difficult. It could be hard. There could be a lot of sacrifice there, but our priority is to follow Jesus, to put him first, to identify with him. Number three, we step up by trading loss for eternal gain. Trading loss for eternal gain. Whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. People want to hang on to the things of this life. People want to do all that they can to hold on to their possessions, to think that they can build security through their financial nest egg, through all of these things, and so finances is like a roller coaster, and you never know which way things are going to go. I watched this one investment account that totally tanked. During the September 11th thing, they were actually in the building, and that stock went like way down, and then it went way up, and then it went way down again, and coming into this year, it was like who knows what it would do. I wish I had money invested in it because it went up 25% this year. I'm looking back at it. I'm like, man, if I had money to put into that, that'd be pretty sweet. That'd be really great, but come next week, it could all go tanking again, or those four people in California who, as the fires continue to burn, have no house, have no place to go. It's going to be really hard to rebuild all of that. Some people, you see them on the news, they've invested everything, all of their memories, all of their possessions, everything was in that house, and it's all burned, and it's all gone, and so people hang on to things that are temporal, and they miss out, but whoever loses their life for Jesus will save it, and that is a good thing. It's to strive to pursue the things that Jesus has for us more than anything else. So I've had a personal website, christian.com, for a long time, and one of the most popular articles on there is the poem about Jesus and the bicycle, and you can look on there and find it, but it's basically, you know, when I was writing on my own, I missed out on the great adventures, and when Jesus was in control, it was a great adventure, and as we'd gathered gifts, he'd say, give them away, give them away, lighten your load, and so it was a good thing, but to lose, the key word lose, the Greek word is to forfeit or destroy. So in Mark 10, 17, as Jesus was starting out his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him and knelt down and said, good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus says, why do you call me good? Only God is truly good, but to answer your question, you know the commandments, you must not murder, you must not commit adultery, you must not steal, you must not testify falsely, you must not cheat anyone, and honor your father and mother. Teacher, the man replied, I've obeyed all of these commandments since I was young, and looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him, he says, there's still one thing you haven't done, he told him, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, then you will have treasure in heaven, then come follow me. At this, the man's face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions, and I don't think the point is his possessions, Jesus knew that it was his possessions that was going to keep him from following Jesus fully. Some people can have a lot of possessions, and it doesn't affect their love for Jesus, but this guy put his possessions in the front of all of that. So what good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their soul? So we look to the opportunities that we have, we look to the way that we live our lives, and we fear that people will reject us, we fear that people will mock us, we fear that people will set us aside. In our jobs, we might not get the career advancement. I'm still reminded of the fire chief captain, or the fire captain who wrote a book on marriage, and said homosexuality wasn't godly and lost his job for it. So he needs to trust Jesus for another job instead of changing his method and message, because of what people think. Matthew 5.11, God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you, and say all sorts of evil things against you, because you are my followers. Be happy about it. Be very glad for a great award awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way. So I have a video clip, and then I'll come back up for a couple more minutes, and then the worship team will come up. But let's watch this. It's like two minutes long. All hope is lost. And it is no longer true that I will live in peace and harmony with my God. It is almost beyond imagining. The perfect days of walking with him in paradise are over. And now I am destined for days of separation and longing for my true home. My sin is beyond God's grace to forgive. I have come to realize that it is foolish to believe that God could accept me after all that I had done. How can it be to think that all my prayers went unheard? How foolish it was to believe that he loves me. There is nothing left to do but declare that I am lost without hope and future. And I can no longer believe that I will be restored. When sin came into the world, it brought death. But Jesus Christ, the son of God, died in our place, and it brought life. He rose again, and everything turned upside down. I will be restored, and I can no longer believe that I am lost without hope and future. There is nothing left to do but declare that he loves me. How foolish it was to believe that all my prayers went unheard. How can it be to think that God could accept me after all that I had done? I have come to realize that it is foolish to believe that my sin is beyond God's grace to forgive. Days of separation and longing for my true home are over, and now I am destined for perfect days of walking with him in paradise. It is almost beyond imagining, but I will live in peace and harmony with my God. And it is no longer true that all hope is lost. So number four was step up by putting Christ first in everything. And Paul says, whatever were gains to me, I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. And so the last point was step up by pressing on towards God's purpose. And it says, not that I have already obtained all this or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Jesus, Christ Jesus took hold of me. So, and this is a series of four messages and I'm just going to pick up there and share some of that next week. But next week, the key point and resource is how do you actually disciple someone? What is a disciple? How can I multiply my faith and leave a legacy? So I'm going to pray and then the worship team can come on up here. Lord Jesus, thank you that we have your word and we have your spirit to guide and direct us. Lord, help us to be bold, courageous, obedient Christ followers who identify with you, who know that our first priority is to help, like it says in Jude, to snatch people from the flames, to help them to find you, to help save them from eternal destruction. Our first priority is to tell people about our relationship with you. To not only be Christ followers, but to be Christ ambassadors and ministers of reconciliation. There's anybody here that doesn't know you personally as their Lord and Savior. I pray that they would grab somebody and talk to us and ask us questions and we would like to lead them into a right relationship with Jesus Christ and give them one of the How to Find God New Testaments that are on the table as you head out the door. But Lord, we pray that you would do a great work in this church. We pray that you would help us to chase what matters and that we would accomplish your purposes and your way for your glory and our good in Jesus name.