In Matthew 6:33 we read, “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness…” This section of the Sermon on the Mount is about who or what is going to rule your life. Christ starts this line of reasoning in v.24 (No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (money or material pursuits).” Matthew 6:33 is about who you serve; it is not primarily about worry or anxiety. The word “Kingdom” means “sovereignty, royal power, and dominion.” According to Vine, the Kingdom of God is the “sphere of God’s rule and the sphere in which, at any given time, His rule is acknowledged.” The Kingdom of God means the active rule and authority of God over people and the world. So, when Jesus says seek the Kingdom, He means, (1) Prioritize living under God’s authority; (2) Desire that God’s will govern your life; and (3) Submit to God as King. This is exactly what the model prayer in this same chapter is calling for: (cf. 6:10) “Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven…” I am asking God for His Kingdom to come into my life: “Come and rule over my life as the Sovereign King.” What we are saying is, “Lord, I yield myself to you as the Sovereign King of my life.” The Kingdom is where God’s will is recognized and obeyed. So, when Jesus says that the Kingdom is within you…He is talking about what is central in our lives. AGAIN – it is saying, “Lord come and rule in my heart and over my life as the Sovereign King of my life.” The Kingdom of God is not some spiritual goo or an other-worldly aura or another dimension…the Kingdom of God is (1) loving God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength; (2) loving your neighbor as yourself; and (3) submitting yourself to His authority and rule. A person enters the Kingdom through the New Birth and continues in the Kingdom through obedience. YOU KNOW WHAT’S CRAZY? Trying to do obedience without the Bible! Not only is it crazy – it’s dangerous. AND YET you have a lot of Christians who say Jesus is Lord that don’t read the Bible – that don’t follow the scriptures. They declare His Lordship – but deny correction. They say that they are being obedient but ignore the Holy Spirit when conviction comes and turn a deaf ear to the instruction of the Word of God. And if we are being honest, when you remove Scripture, you remove accountability – and when you remove accountability, you are walking in your own will and just calling it obedience. Yet, in Luke 6:46, didn’t Jesus ask, “Why do you call me Lord, and do not do the things that I say?” It’s simple really: If you love Him, keep His commandments!
