October 4, 2018 KINGDOM LIVING part 2
Philippians 2:3-4 “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely lookout for your own personal interest, but also for the interest of others.”
God has a kingdom, and Jesus came to demonstrate and teach what it is like living in God’s kingdom. As you look at the kingdom of God, you soon realize that there is a vast difference in the kingdom of God and the kingdom of this world; the two verses above are certainly good examples of the differences that exist in the two kingdoms. First, we see that selfishness is not a part of His kingdom. For certain, most, if not all, of the troubles and conflicts of this world are rooted in selfishness; in fact, man is born with an innate desire to satisfy self-if you have ever spent time with a young child, you get my point! The good news is that when we come to know Jesus as our Savior, we are made new, and part of that being made new is that we get a new nature that is not rooted in selfishness. Conceit is another characteristic found in this world’s kingdom. Conceit is having pride in who we think we are and what we have done in our own strength, to the point that we think we are better than others; conceit is being totally focused on self with little or no regard for others. In God’s kingdom, selfishness and conceit are replaced with humility of mind and an a view of others being more important than ourselves, and a desire to not only take care of our own personal interest, but also to look out for the interest of others. What a difference! Having humility does not infer weakness or timidity, but rather, it means that we realize that apart from God we are nothing, leaving no room for conceit. When we realize that we have been made a part of God’s family, and when we see that other believers are our brothers and sisters, and because God has poured out His love into our hearts, we naturally want to bless, honor, and be alert to the need of others. Being a part of God’s family and a citizen of His kingdom is the highest privilege one can experience on earth. We cannot live the life of the kingdom of God in our own strength, but the Holy Spirit living in us equips and enables us to live the super-natural life of the kingdom of God, a life totally different from life in the kingdom of this world. When we are joined to Him, He changes us from within, He makes us new, He transforms us, and He receives us into His kingdom. He has made us overcomers, and now we are no longer subjects of the kingdom of this world; we have been set free from who we were and from the power of sin and darkness. We serve a new King!
Colossians 1:13-14 “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
Romans 12:10 “Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.”
Blessings,
Buddy
Philippians 2:3-4 “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely lookout for your own personal interest, but also for the interest of others.”
God has a kingdom, and Jesus came to demonstrate and teach what it is like living in God’s kingdom. As you look at the kingdom of God, you soon realize that there is a vast difference in the kingdom of God and the kingdom of this world; the two verses above are certainly good examples of the differences that exist in the two kingdoms. First, we see that selfishness is not a part of His kingdom. For certain, most, if not all, of the troubles and conflicts of this world are rooted in selfishness; in fact, man is born with an innate desire to satisfy self-if you have ever spent time with a young child, you get my point! The good news is that when we come to know Jesus as our Savior, we are made new, and part of that being made new is that we get a new nature that is not rooted in selfishness. Conceit is another characteristic found in this world’s kingdom. Conceit is having pride in who we think we are and what we have done in our own strength, to the point that we think we are better than others; conceit is being totally focused on self with little or no regard for others. In God’s kingdom, selfishness and conceit are replaced with humility of mind and an a view of others being more important than ourselves, and a desire to not only take care of our own personal interest, but also to look out for the interest of others. What a difference! Having humility does not infer weakness or timidity, but rather, it means that we realize that apart from God we are nothing, leaving no room for conceit. When we realize that we have been made a part of God’s family, and when we see that other believers are our brothers and sisters, and because God has poured out His love into our hearts, we naturally want to bless, honor, and be alert to the need of others. Being a part of God’s family and a citizen of His kingdom is the highest privilege one can experience on earth. We cannot live the life of the kingdom of God in our own strength, but the Holy Spirit living in us equips and enables us to live the super-natural life of the kingdom of God, a life totally different from life in the kingdom of this world. When we are joined to Him, He changes us from within, He makes us new, He transforms us, and He receives us into His kingdom. He has made us overcomers, and now we are no longer subjects of the kingdom of this world; we have been set free from who we were and from the power of sin and darkness. We serve a new King!
Colossians 1:13-14 “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
Romans 12:10 “Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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