How Do I Seek The Kingdom Of God? Today we are traveling to Flatiron’s Community Church in Lafayette, Colorado. This church is widely known throughout the state of Colorado, and even neighboring states like Nebraska–as some make quite a drive every week to attend one of their four services every weekend.
This is actually my second visit to Flatiron. The greeters are always real. They give me a welcoming good morning as I enter to enjoy some of their complimentary bagels and coffee in the fellowship area. The sanctuary is actually two story’s tall, as several hundreds of people attend their services. I am sitting in row three today (sat in row five the previous week!). This is the first ever church I’ve been to that hands out earplugs at the door for people who wish to sit up front and not damage their hearing. Awesome.
Their main stage is huge. They always put some form of music video or the plain text words on the main mega-screen behind the band, and they use the two side screens to get close-ups on the band–accompanied by the words. Great stuff.
The Sermon
The passage today is near and dear to me. It touched me especially today because it expanded upon a verse that my 94 year old grandfather lives by. It helped me to connet with him and to gain an even greater understand as to why this verse helped to get him through the war (WWII) and to build up all the businesses he did in his life.
The reading comes from Matthew 6:19-24.
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
First let’s break down Matthew 19-21.
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth.”
What do we think this means? To me, this means all things are not equally important. Some things are more important than others. It means do not become bogged down by the “truths” and “realities” that this place where you are currently is where you’re meant to be. By this I mean be more forward thinking. Always be working toward something, and do it all while keeping The Lord as number one in your heart. Someday you’ll be gone and all those “treasures” you have here on earth, you’ll realize, were not the most important things in your life. The souls you touch and the lives you better are. Bringing happiness to the world is where you ought to lay up your treasures on earth–as is it in heaven.
“Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
What does this mean? It means you have limited time, abilities, activities you can do while on earth. You don’t have enough time to do any of them unless you’re smart and prioritize. Be true to yourself. Ask yourself, where is my heart on this–on what I’m doing? Is my heart in it? If my focus is on one thing then that is where my heart will be. If I’m only focusing on what is bad and not good, that is where my heart will be? Do I want that? No, I need to reshift my focus onto the things I do want in my life. The things that bring me joy, bring me happiness. Where is my heart? Where can I focus my efforts to not only be true to myself–but also to better serve God? These are all questions, no matter how tough they may be, that we can raise from this scripture.
Find the thing you enjoy, and that you’re really good at, and do more of that! You can manifest anything you want! As you’re prioritizing your life, take a step back and realize what it is that is urgent and what it is that can be put off. What is or is not getting you closer to your goal? You have a limited window of opportunity. You will miss the most important thing if you’re not prioritizing. You should be pointing your limited treasure (limited to our time on earth) at the thing that owns your heart. (example: money -> wife, love -> family, time -> God) Make sure the most important things on your heart are always forward thinking.
Breaking Down Matthew 6:22-24
“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
“If you’re eye is healthy,” meaning if your eye is single, or the opposite of double vision, your whole body will be full of Light. If one eye is saying go this way, and one says go that way, you will end up tripping all over the place. Allow your eyes to be single, to be focusing on one thing you can manifest. If you are attempting to do too many things at once without the help of others, “being one,” you will not get to where you want to be in your unification with God. The ones who are able to unify under God and create moving parts to create something great are the ones who are building your corporations. They are the ones who are uniting your villages, your cities, states, and countries. They allow God’s moving peices to help achieve a Greater Good. Money doesn’t matter–it doesn’t even exist. God never created currency–people did. We needed something to assign, because thats how we are.
If you don’t look at money as it is, and instead look at what it could be, you open up the possibility for more of it to come into your life. When you are focused on God and serving him, money and prosperity comes as a by-product. To shift your focus off money brings even more–which in turn enables you to fill others while becomming even more full. To sum things up,
No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. (Matthew 6:24 ESV)
You can only serve one.
Are you serving God or are you serving survival? Serve both and don’t run into conflict.
Therefore do not be anxious, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6:31-33 ESV)
If you’re focusing on the wrong things you may end up with nothing. So make a decision, what runs my life?
Jim’s 3 Priorities For Seeking The Kingdom Of God
3 Priorities (from Pastor Jim Burgen)
1. First seek God.
Pastor Burgen gave a great example by telling us something he does when performing wedding ceremonies. He tells the husband not to put his wife first, but to put God first because that will help him to be a better husband. Strive for intimacy with Jesus so you may have intimacy with your wife.
2. Second, love your family. (or if you’re single, love everyone)
After first seeking God, he will give you the answers for compassion, patience, and undying faith for your wife and your family. If you are single, loving everyone will bring you everything you want, just be sure you’re not forgetting step 1 so that God is bringing you the right things. Always be distinct about what you ask God for. If you’re putting him first he will bring you exactly what it is you are asking for, always.
3. Third, perform the gift of service.
When you serve Jesus he makes two very clear promises. The first is all your sins, past, present and future, have already been forgiven. Listen. All your sins have been forgiven.
The second is that Jesus comes within us and brings a spiritual gift. He lives inside of us and he brings us fruit. What does it mean he gives us fruit? Just like a healthy apple tree produces apples, when Jesus is living inside of you, “love,” the fruit of life will be produced inside of each and every one of us. Jesus loves you. He died for you. When you feel his love and you extend that love onto others, the fruit of life will give its everlasting gratitude to you.
If there are indicators of love, patience and compassion within you, we have proof of Jesus inside of you. When Jesus moves inside of you he gives you the ability to help others. When you hold him in the center of your heart you bring people to closer to him. You are acting as a simple messenger by allowing him to live inside of you. Being that messenger allows you to be so full you can constantly fill others with the spirit of Jesus inside of you. The more you give the more he generates and returns to you. Partner with people. Re-prioritize to create a place where people are able to bump into Jesus.
Allow Jesus to bump into people. You won’t save them, the church will save them.
Jesus first, family second, third, partner with people. Create unity and work to create something greater than yourselves. He wants us all to be “one.” If you aren’t one, if you’re being pulled in all sorts of directions, you aren’t aligned. Jesus will align you. Gifted service is what Jesus did for us.
Pastor Burgen wraps up today’s message by telling us to invest in things. If you aren’t investing in anything you aren’t enabling yourself to create change. Just because you might fail, which often times you absolutely will, or go in a different direction–that is no excuse not to invest in where ever you are right now. If you don’t establish roots you can’t ever get your foot in the door. Take the first step to establish your roots today.
Now Its Your Turn
The message in today’s scripture was a powerful one.
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6:33 ESV)
How can you better seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness? What extra can you do today, or even this week to allow Jesus to move inside you?
It is amazing how God provides everything including the very air we breathe! He is amazing :)
So true Rachel. I’m glad you got something from the article, thanks for commenting :-)