What Do You Value?

1st Corinthians 1:27

But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things--and the things that are not--to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him. 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God--that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.

These verses declare that it is Jesus who brings us wisdom and insight from God.

This wisdom was deliberately found in the opposite of what the world considered wise.

What Jesus taught was Godly understanding to those who would listen.

Godly understanding: NOT HUMAN UNDERSTANDING.

But, God knew that not everyone would listen to the “foolishness” of Jesus.

Listening requires a choice on our part to take in what we hear and make it apply.

God knew that people who chose the world’s way could only hear themselves.

He knew their own voices would drown out anything coming from Jesus.

That’s why He always said, IF YOU HAVE EARS, HEAR!!

So, what was Jesus saying?

We have discovered that He talked about the Kingdom of God more than anything else.

Later, Paul would compare and contrast that Kingdom with the Kingdom of Darkness.

Paul said that he was a slave to Christ.

An imitator of Christ.

Paul taught the wisdom he personally received from Christ to the early church.

If comparing the two Kingdoms is considered wisdom, then we need to do that as well.

And we need to get that Kingdom wisdom into the deepest parts of who we are.

Because true wisdom is the only way we can escape the traps set by the devil himself.

By the way, the Worldly Kingdom is one treacherous minefield after another!

There are two kinds of wisdom: of the world and of the Kingdom of God.

This is part of the incredible system of order that God created for mankind.

God’s system is so perfect, so intricate and so complete that it lacks nothing.

It contains everything we need to have a full and satisfying life.

However, for the Kingdom Of God to be effective, we, as Believers, must share the same values.

By effective I mean that what we do and say not only matches AND works for us, but that it also brings glory to God and His marvelous Kingdom of Light.

When it is MOST effective, it is attractive to everyone who is lost and seeking!

In order for the system to work, we must agree that we value the same things.

In other words, we must share in the same Culture.

Culture is created through shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices.

Adults are the ones who teach children the elements of culture.

Children learn and internalize these cultural elements, and they begin to live them.

We are all products of this very process.

Whatever people think collectively, their beliefs, values, ideals, becomes their culture.

The MAJOR conflict between the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness revolves around who will dictate the culture we live in.

The battle for earth is the battle for culture.

Whoever controls the minds of the MOST people controls the culture.

Proverbs 23:7 (MY translation)

What a man thinks in his heart, that’s who he is.

The heart of a person reveals the mind of a person.

The Kingdom of God, according to Jesus, according to Wisdom, is a kingdom of the heart.

The King of Heaven is battling for the minds of all creatures created by God.

THAT is what we need to be concerned about in the deepest part of who we are.

That is the war you and I battle every single day of our lives.

Luke 16:15

He said to them, "You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God's sight.

At the core of this cultural battle is what we value.

A value is a belief or conviction, it is a standard or ideal that regulates conduct.

Values define our attitudes, behavior, and our worldview.

We can’t value what the world values and have an abundant life in the Kingdom Of God.

Our values must match the Kingdom in which we live.

Our NUMBER ONE PRIORITY:

If we want to live in the culture of the Kingdom Of God, we must KNOW the values of the Kingdom.

And remember, Jesus said I have come that you may have AN ABUNDANT LIFE.

IN THE KINGDOM!

We began this particular series of teachings when we first looked at the Beatitudes.

They clearly define the Values of the Kingdom as Jesus saw them.