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Living the Kingdom Lifestyle IV

Posted on 06 Jun 2021, Pastor: Tolu Makinde

Title: Living the Kingdom Lifestyle – IV

Text: Matt. 6:9-13, 33

[Mat 6:9] After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

[Mat 6:10] Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

[Mat 6:11] Give us this day our daily bread.

[Mat 6:12] And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

[Mat 6:13] And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

[Mat 6:33] But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Introduction

Our Lord’s prayer asked for the kingdom to come. For the will of God to be done here on earth as it is in heaven
In a kingdom, there is a King. The King has a domain in which He rules over.
Living a Kingdom lifestyle means that Jesus is the King and the domain He rules is all the affairs of your life
However, this King is not a dictator. He won’t force you to do anything. You have to willingly surrender all to Him.
Living the Kingdom lifestyle is equivalent to running your race according to the plan of God for your life
This message will touch on major areas we ought to pay attention to as we continue this journey called life and running the Christian race
I pray we learn something from this message and the message be a blessing to us all.

1 Salvation, Sanctification, Baptism of the Holy Spirit (SSB) as the foundations

2 You must grow spiritually

3 You must display the fruit of the Spirit

4 Godliness with Contentment

5 Practice Giving your best

6 Hard work pays off

7 Warfare is a part of our life

8 Your service to God counts

9 Forgive quickly

10 Repentance with Humility

Peter vs Judas
Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss – Matt. 26:47-49
- [Mat 26:47] And while he yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people.
- [Mat 26:48] Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast.
- [Mat 26:49] And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, master; and kissed him.
Peter denied Jesus three times – Matt. 26:69-75
- [Mat 26:69] Now Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee.
- [Mat 26:70] But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest.
- [Mat 26:71] And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth.
- [Mat 26:72] And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man.
- [Mat 26:73] And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech bewrayeth thee.
- [Mat 26:74] Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew.
Peter wept bitterly after denying Jesus – v75
- [Mat 26:75] And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.
- He repented immediately
Judas hung himself after repenting – Matt. 27:3-5
- [Mat 27:3] Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,
- [Mat 27:4] Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that.
- [Mat 27:5] And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.
If we are to fulfill our destiny, we must repent quickly with humility
Peter went on to fulfill his calling
Judas killed his own destiny
It is better not to fall into sin. However, if one falls into sin, repent quickly with humility, knowing that the sin is not the end.

11 Watch out for division – embrace unity

[Mat 12:25] And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:
The enemy uses division to destabilize the body of believers
Jesus said, the gates of hell shall not prevail against the church.
- The church can prevail against itself if we fail to be united.
John 17, Amos 3:3, Ps. 133
- John 17:1-26 – Jesus prayed four times that believers might be one
- [Amo 3:3] Can two walk together, except they be agreed?
- [Psa 133:1] Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
- [Psa 133:2] It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments;
- [Psa 133:3] As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.
We must be united – day of pentecost
- Great things happen when we are united
We can agree to disagree, but that should not cause division
Division makes us weak
Unity makes us strong
- We cannot be united without being vulnerable to each other
- Yes, some will abuse your vulnerability, but that’s the price to pay for what we achieve in unity

12 Watch out for pride

[Pro 16:18] Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.
Lucifer fell because of pride
Nebuchadnezzar, Pharaoh, Samson, etc.
Pride will push a man off a cliff and then back off
Pride is too expensive, you can’t afford it
Even after one has been warned, pride will not allow the person to heed good counsel
Dr. Stuart Scott, who is a pastor and a professor, listed the followings, among others, as the manifestations of pride:

1. Lack of gratitude;
2. seeing oneself as better than others;
3. having an inflated view of ones importance, gifts and abilities;
4. being devastated or angered by criticism;
5. being unteachable, sarcastic, hurtful, or degrading;
6. lacking compassion;
7. lacking admitting wrongs, or responsibility but shifting blames;
8. being disrespectful to others;
9. minimizing own sins and shortcoming while maximizing those of others;
10. using others; and
11. being deceitful by covering up own sins, faults, and mistakes.

13 Share the good news – evangelize

Jesus commanded us to teach all nations
[Mat 28:18] And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
[Mat 28:19] Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
[Mat 28:20] Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Apostle Paul stated – [Rom 1:16] For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
Learn to share the good news – we are in the body of Christ because someone shared the good news with us

14 Learn to hear from God for yourself

God speaks at all times. The question is, are we listening.
He speaks through His Word
He speaks through servants
He speaks through dreams and visions
He speaks through audible voice
He speaks through many avenues.
We must learn to know when God is the one speaking to us and respond accordingly

15 Avoid being a wandering sheep

[Heb 10:24] And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
[Heb 10:25] Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
Encourage a fellow believer in love
We were not created to be loners
A believer that walks alone is a sheep without a shepherd, and will soon become a prey to the adversary – it is a matter of time
- [1Pe 5:8] Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
The adversary walks about seeking “whom”, not seeking a herd.
He always starts with one person – don’t let that person be you.

Conclusion