How Do I Seek First the Kingdom? | Engaging in the Warfare

by Bob Hamp

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
2 Corinthians 10:3–6

The dark figure swung his sword. The young man blocked the blow and attacked. Their feet carried them back and forth on the difficult terrain as each sought to gain an advantage. The young man called on all of his skills. The dark figure called on something different. 

“Feel the anger flow through you,” he breathed. “Give in to the dark side.”

As the man in black taunted him, Luke finally gave in to a surge of rage. Backing Darth Vader down, he dealt him a death blow, seemingly winning the fight.

It is important to live as kingdom citizens with a daily awareness of the battle we live in.  However, if we misunderstand the nature of spiritual warfare compared to earthly warfare, we may falsely believe we are winning when in fact we are giving ground away. We naturally define victory based on observable outcomes. Jesus reminded us that it is of no value to win the world but to lose our soul.

We battle daily for the nature of God to be manifested on the earth. This must begin in us. From a position of anger, judgment, control or any other fleshly position, we cannot bring God’s nature into a situation. The fight is first and always for the condition of our hearts. 

Every day, your adversary tries to get you to agree with him about yourself, your situations and the people who cross your path. To the degree you agree with Satan’s view of people and God, you have given away ground. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, meekness, mercy, self-control … these are the remnants of a spiritual victory.

1.  Have you ever won an argument with someone but felt like you lost?  Why did it feel that way?

2.  What are ways are you tempted to agree with Satan’s view of people or even God?

3.  Does your work or current circumstances make it harder or easier to win the battle for your heart?  Why?

How Do I Seek First the Kingdom? | Prioritizing His Word

by Alan Smith

But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
John 6:68

At age 12, on a daylong horseback ride with a friend, I found myself dehydrated and three hours away from any drinkable water. Those three hours were some of the longest of my life. With each step, all I could think about was water. Nothing else mattered. I learned something very important that day: There’s nothing like the perception of an acute need to focus priorities. When we become aware of that which we desperately need, all other objects of our desire take a back seat.

In this passage from John 6, many of Jesus’ followers had departed. Things had become difficult; following Jesus had become too costly. They felt their desire for comfort, convenience, social acceptance and tradition more urgently than their need for the life that comes only from His word. Jesus asked His disciples if they were going to leave too and Peter replied as quoted above. In contrast to the multitude, somehow Peter and the rest of Jesus’ closest group of followers had become aware of their desperate need for life. All other considerations faded as they committed to the pursuit of this one thing—the words of eternal life.

I have experienced seasons when God’s Word has taken a backseat to competing priorities in my life. I’m sure you can relate. But I have discovered that God’s grace tends to work through the circumstances of my life to bring me back to the place where I am aware of my desperate need for His Word. Part of what it means to seek first the kingdom of God is to prioritize His Word in our lives—not because we feel like we have to fulfill a religious obligation, but because we have discovered our desperate need for His words of life.

1. What are some of the seemingly urgent things that tend to crowd out your time in God’s Word?

2. How does reading the Bible to fulfill a religious obligation contrast with reading the Bible to receive words of life?

3. If you sense that God’s grace is working through your current life circumstances to remind you of your need for His Word, what steps can you take today to respond?