The Priorities Of Kingdom Living

What if in the middle of the night, your house caught fire and you had to evacuate quickly and could only save one item. What would that one item be?

What is the one thing you cannot live without?

What if you were stranded on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, what is the one thing you would miss the most?

What is more precious to you than life itself?

Everybody has priorities but often those priorities are not obvious and are clouded by nonessentials. Most of our time we spend doing things that are not essential and we go to places that are not necessary. Many seem to be just caught up in the rat race.

This may be the reason this generation has been the most medicated generation ever.

If we could begin to eliminate from our life the nonessentials, we might rediscover the priorities of our life that truly define us. Most people allow the nonessential things in life to define them, which only brings about burnout.

Even in ministry, we get so caught up doing things that are not really necessary and are not “kingdom work.”

When it comes to spiritual things, it does not seem to be any different. Christians are so cluttered with nonessentials that they have really lost the priority of their life. And remember, priority is singular. That means there can only be one priority in your life. What is it? How have you defined it?

As we examine the parables of Jesus in the gospel of Luke, we will begin to see our priorities as Jesus established them.

A parable contains a truth concealed that only the Holy Spirit can reveal. This truth has to do with Kingdom Living. On the surface of a parable there may be some truth applicable to general living, the real purpose of the parable is to reveal truths dealing with Kingdom living.

Maybe I should explain what I mean by Kingdom Living.

Kingdom Living is a life lived under the authority of a king. Accordingly, the king has absolute authority. His commands are not for our consideration but for our obedience. For us that King is Jesus. We are living under His authority and guidelines and we are being brought into harmony with the priorities of his kingdom. Many today do not realize that Christianity is not a democracy. It is a theocracy.

The more I understand Kingdom Living under the authority of Jesus, I begin to realize the power available to me to live a life pleasing unto the king… Jesus.

His priorities have become and are becoming my priorities.

To know more about this Kingdom Living, I need to know more about the King, Jesus. The kingdom is defined by the King.

The practical application of Kingdom Living is seen in the fact that the closer I get to the King, Jesus, the more abhorrent sin and evil becomes. The closer I get to Jesus the more uncomfortable I am with the world. Have we lost the shock factor to our own sin?

If I am comfortable with sin, the world and the evil in the world, there is a definable distance between Jesus and me.

Many call themselves Christians, but are not living under the authority of Christ.

Listen to what Jesus said about this in Matthew 7:21-23.

21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

The parable that Jesus gives here in Luke 6:39-49, has to do with the priorities in Kingdom Living. The basic theme has to do with our relationship with others. What the parable is trying to teach us is that our relationship with others in the world around us clearly reflects our relationship with God.

This truth equips us with the power to affect the world around us in Kingdom Authority.

Kingdom Authority has three aspects.

I. The Basis of Kingdom Authority Is Discipleship (39-42)

The key to discipleship is in verse 40.

“… when he is fully trained will be like his teacher…”

The reality of life is that you are becoming like your teacher. The question is, who is your teacher?

Who are you following?

To answer that you need to look at what direction you are going. Jesus will be leading you away from the world. If you are going in that direction then your teacher is Jesus.