The gospel of the Kingdom of God was the only message that King Jesus preached. At every opportunity, He reiterated its exclusive nature. The Lord Jesus never taught or preached any other gospel message but the Kingdom of His Father’s government. His message was exclusive. Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.”
And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
Then He said to another, “Follow Me.”
But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”
Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the Kingdom of God.”
And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.”
But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the Kingdom of God.” Luke 9:57-62
How often do you make a commitment to the Lord God or anyone else without first considering the cost to you in the long run—time, energy, money, priorities, commitments or inconveniences?
Why do we make commitments without first counting the cost of that commitment? We have not settled in our minds what is our main focus and number one priority! That opens us up to attempting to be “loyal” to many different things, pulling us in many directions. Have you heard the phrase “Jack of all trades, master of none”?
When you have divided loyalties, you fail to focus on your number one priority. When you have a number one priority, you know where to start first. You also know when to say no and what to put aside. Our King Jesus told us what our first priority was to be: But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Matthew 6:33 Then He said to His disciples, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.
Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds? And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith?
“And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things. But seek the Kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you. Luke 12:22-31
If we want the Lord God’s best, we must learn to be obedient and focused on His commands. When we are laser-focused on His Word there isn’t any room for anything else. There are many who listen to the Word and read and study His constitution but fail to put it into practice in their lives. They have the knowledge but still have divided loyalties and weak commitments. Read what King Jesus said to a woman who called out to Him, giving a compliment: And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!”
But He said, “More than that, blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it!” Luke 11:27-28
Focus Point: Do you recall what the Lord Jesus stated to the crowd as He taught them? “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” Matthew 6:24 The Lord Jesus gave us only one responsibility to adhere to: Seek His Kingdom first. That is the priority to this very day.
There are many individuals who follow the Lord Jesus, and some who are seeking the Kingdom of God, for what they hope to receive. If so, what they hope to receive is their first priority and where their loyalty lies. This is the exact opposite of the correct motivation, according to the Lord Jesus. The Kingdom of the Lord God isn’t a “bless me club”. We get it backwards! We don’t follow the Lord God to get Him to pay our bills. We follow Him because He is our Lord, King and Creator!
Focus Point: The Kingdom priority is also our first priority in regard to our biological family and our relationships. Then Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see Him, but they couldn’t get to Him because of the crowd. Someone told Jesus, “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, and they want to see You.”
Jesus replied, “My mother and My brothers are all those who hear God’s Word and obey it.” Luke 9:19-21 NLT
Then He said to another, “Follow Me.”
But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”
Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the Kingdom of God.” Luke 9:59-60 The Lord Jesus called a man who appeared to be willing to follow Him, but the man wanted to wait until after he buried His father. Keep in mind that the man felt bound by his social, legal and moral obligations to care for his parents. According to Jewish culture, to dishonor one’s parents was a gross sin. Honoring one’s parents is so important that the Lord God established it as the fifth commandment. Only the commandment to honor the Lord God is more important.
Focus Point: Notice again how the Lord Jesus responded to the man’s request in verse 60: Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the Kingdom of God.”
The Lord Jesus was simply stating that no priority takes precedence over the priority of the Lord God’s Kingdom government. The Kingdom is more important than family, friends, career or personal ambitions. In essence nothing is more important then the Kingdom of God!
Remember, your faith in the Lord God’s Word is your greatest asset in the Kingdom.
W.R. Luchie
www.kingdomcitizens.org
All scriptures are New King James translation except where noted.
These articles may only be reproduced, in print or on the internet, if the author's name and website address are sited at the end of the article as originally placed. Thank you.
And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
Then He said to another, “Follow Me.”
But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”
Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the Kingdom of God.”
And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.”
But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the Kingdom of God.” Luke 9:57-62
How often do you make a commitment to the Lord God or anyone else without first considering the cost to you in the long run—time, energy, money, priorities, commitments or inconveniences?
Why do we make commitments without first counting the cost of that commitment? We have not settled in our minds what is our main focus and number one priority! That opens us up to attempting to be “loyal” to many different things, pulling us in many directions. Have you heard the phrase “Jack of all trades, master of none”?
When you have divided loyalties, you fail to focus on your number one priority. When you have a number one priority, you know where to start first. You also know when to say no and what to put aside. Our King Jesus told us what our first priority was to be: But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Matthew 6:33 Then He said to His disciples, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.
Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds? And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith?
“And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things. But seek the Kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you. Luke 12:22-31
If we want the Lord God’s best, we must learn to be obedient and focused on His commands. When we are laser-focused on His Word there isn’t any room for anything else. There are many who listen to the Word and read and study His constitution but fail to put it into practice in their lives. They have the knowledge but still have divided loyalties and weak commitments. Read what King Jesus said to a woman who called out to Him, giving a compliment: And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!”
But He said, “More than that, blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it!” Luke 11:27-28
Focus Point: Do you recall what the Lord Jesus stated to the crowd as He taught them? “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” Matthew 6:24 The Lord Jesus gave us only one responsibility to adhere to: Seek His Kingdom first. That is the priority to this very day.
There are many individuals who follow the Lord Jesus, and some who are seeking the Kingdom of God, for what they hope to receive. If so, what they hope to receive is their first priority and where their loyalty lies. This is the exact opposite of the correct motivation, according to the Lord Jesus. The Kingdom of the Lord God isn’t a “bless me club”. We get it backwards! We don’t follow the Lord God to get Him to pay our bills. We follow Him because He is our Lord, King and Creator!
Focus Point: The Kingdom priority is also our first priority in regard to our biological family and our relationships. Then Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see Him, but they couldn’t get to Him because of the crowd. Someone told Jesus, “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, and they want to see You.”
Jesus replied, “My mother and My brothers are all those who hear God’s Word and obey it.” Luke 9:19-21 NLT
Then He said to another, “Follow Me.”
But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”
Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the Kingdom of God.” Luke 9:59-60 The Lord Jesus called a man who appeared to be willing to follow Him, but the man wanted to wait until after he buried His father. Keep in mind that the man felt bound by his social, legal and moral obligations to care for his parents. According to Jewish culture, to dishonor one’s parents was a gross sin. Honoring one’s parents is so important that the Lord God established it as the fifth commandment. Only the commandment to honor the Lord God is more important.
Focus Point: Notice again how the Lord Jesus responded to the man’s request in verse 60: Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the Kingdom of God.”
The Lord Jesus was simply stating that no priority takes precedence over the priority of the Lord God’s Kingdom government. The Kingdom is more important than family, friends, career or personal ambitions. In essence nothing is more important then the Kingdom of God!
Remember, your faith in the Lord God’s Word is your greatest asset in the Kingdom.
W.R. Luchie
www.kingdomcitizens.org
All scriptures are New King James translation except where noted.
These articles may only be reproduced, in print or on the internet, if the author's name and website address are sited at the end of the article as originally placed. Thank you.
