Aligning Life's Order: God First, Love Always
Summary
In our journey of faith, understanding the order of our lives is crucial. We often find ourselves living in a world where the body and its desires take precedence, leaving God as an afterthought. However, the right order is God first, body last. This understanding is foundational to living a life aligned with spiritual reality. We are not merely physical beings; our essence is spiritual, and our will, heart, and spirit are interconnected. This spiritual reality shapes our understanding of what it means to be truly well-off or blessed.
Being alive in the Kingdom of God is the ultimate state of well-being. It means living under God's care, where we can act righteously without fear of missing out on worldly desires. Our task is to train our "wanter"—to align our desires with God's will. This process is akin to parenting, where we guide children to understand that not everything they want is beneficial.
Training and reigning in God's Kingdom involve making wise judgments and being responsible stewards of what God has entrusted to us. The parable of the unjust steward in Luke 16 illustrates the importance of being faithful in small things, as it prepares us for greater responsibilities. Jesus teaches us that living in the Kingdom is not about legalistic adherence to rules but about exercising judgment and understanding the heart of His teachings.
The essence of a good life in God's Kingdom is love—agape love that permeates every aspect of our being. This love is the foundation of the greatest commandment: to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Discipleship to Jesus is the path to becoming a truly good person, living a blessed life in the reality of God's Kingdom. It requires us to see Jesus as our teacher, learning from Him to be like Him.
Ultimately, the Kingdom of God is about resurrection beyond death, a truth testified by Jesus' own resurrection. It challenges our human desires and understanding, calling us to a deeper, more profound way of living.
Key Takeaways:
1. Order of Life: Prioritizing God above all else is essential for spiritual alignment. Our lives should reflect the order of God first, body last, to truly understand and live in spiritual reality. [06:40]
2. Spiritual Essence: Recognizing that we are primarily spiritual beings helps us align our will, heart, and spirit with God's purpose, leading to a blessed life in His Kingdom. [07:59]
3. Training and Reigning: Faithfulness in small things prepares us for greater responsibilities in God's Kingdom. This involves making wise judgments and being responsible stewards. [16:25]
4. Agape Love: True goodness is characterized by agape love, which is the foundation of the greatest commandment and the essence of living a blessed life in God's Kingdom. [22:08]
5. Discipleship and Resurrection: Discipleship to Jesus leads to a blessed life, as we learn to live beyond death, embracing the resurrection and the truth of God's Kingdom. [28:36]
Youtube Chapters:
[00:00] - Welcome
[06:12] - The Misuse of Shame
[07:04] - Spiritual Reality
[08:14] - Understanding Will and Spirit
[09:53] - The Reality Question
[11:10] - Who is Well Off?
[12:10] - Training the Wanters
[13:22] - Training and Reigning
[14:14] - The Unjust Steward
[16:07] - Faithfulness in Little Things
[17:00] - Making Judgments
[19:14] - Forgiveness and Responsibility
[21:06] - The Good Life in God's Kingdom
[22:45] - The Greatest Commandment
[24:16] - Discipleship to Jesus
[28:36] - Resurrection and Kingdom Truth
Study Guide
### Bible Study Discussion Guide
#### Bible Reading
1. Luke 16:1-13 - The Parable of the Unjust Steward
2. Matthew 22:37-39 - The Greatest Commandment
3. Romans 8:28 - All Things Work Together for Good
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#### Observation Questions
1. In the parable of the unjust steward (Luke 16:1-13), what actions did the steward take after learning he was going to be dismissed? How did Jesus use this story to teach about faithfulness? [14:14]
2. According to the sermon, what is the correct order of life that aligns with spiritual reality? [06:40]
3. How does the sermon describe the relationship between the will, heart, and spirit? [08:14]
4. What does the sermon suggest is the ultimate state of well-being in the Kingdom of God? [11:26]
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#### Interpretation Questions
1. How does the parable of the unjust steward illustrate the importance of making wise judgments and being responsible stewards in God's Kingdom? [16:07]
2. What does it mean to train our "wanter" according to the sermon, and how is this similar to parenting? [12:10]
3. How does the sermon define agape love, and why is it considered the foundation of a blessed life in God's Kingdom? [22:08]
4. In what ways does the sermon suggest that discipleship to Jesus leads to a blessed life, particularly in the context of resurrection and Kingdom truth? [28:36]
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#### Application Questions
1. Reflect on your current priorities. How can you rearrange them to ensure that God is first and the body is last, as suggested in the sermon? [06:40]
2. Consider a recent decision you made. How did you exercise judgment and responsibility in that situation, and how might you improve in future decisions? [16:07]
3. Identify a desire or "want" in your life that may not align with God's will. What steps can you take to train your "wanter" to align more closely with God's desires? [12:10]
4. Think of a relationship in your life where you can practice agape love. What specific actions can you take to demonstrate this love in the coming week? [22:08]
5. How can you actively engage in discipleship to Jesus in your daily life? What practices or habits can you adopt to learn from Him and become more like Him? [24:16]
6. Reflect on a time when you felt "alive in the Kingdom of God." What circumstances or actions contributed to that feeling, and how can you cultivate it more regularly? [11:26]
7. How does the concept of resurrection beyond death challenge your current understanding of life and faith? What changes might you consider in light of this truth? [28:36]
Devotional
Day 1: Prioritizing God in Our Lives
In our journey of faith, it is essential to prioritize God above all else. Often, we find ourselves caught up in the desires of the body, placing them before our spiritual needs. However, true spiritual alignment comes from understanding the order of life: God first, body last. This order is foundational to living a life that reflects spiritual reality. By recognizing that our essence is spiritual, we can align our will, heart, and spirit with God's purpose, leading to a blessed life in His Kingdom. This alignment allows us to live under God's care, acting righteously without fear of missing out on worldly desires. [06:40]
"But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." (Matthew 6:33, ESV)
Reflection: What is one practical step you can take today to prioritize God in your daily routine, ensuring that your spiritual needs come before your physical desires?
Day 2: Embracing Our Spiritual Essence
Recognizing that we are primarily spiritual beings is crucial for aligning our will, heart, and spirit with God's purpose. Our spiritual essence shapes our understanding of what it means to be truly well-off or blessed. Being alive in the Kingdom of God is the ultimate state of well-being, where we can live under God's care and act righteously. This understanding challenges us to train our desires, aligning them with God's will, much like guiding children to understand that not everything they want is beneficial. By embracing our spiritual essence, we can live a life that reflects the reality of God's Kingdom. [07:59]
"For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit." (Romans 8:5, ESV)
Reflection: How can you begin to align your daily desires with God's will, recognizing your spiritual essence and its impact on your life choices?
Day 3: Faithfulness in Small Things
Training and reigning in God's Kingdom involve making wise judgments and being responsible stewards of what God has entrusted to us. The parable of the unjust steward in Luke 16 illustrates the importance of being faithful in small things, as it prepares us for greater responsibilities. Jesus teaches us that living in the Kingdom is not about legalistic adherence to rules but about exercising judgment and understanding the heart of His teachings. By being faithful in the little things, we prepare ourselves for the greater tasks God has in store for us, demonstrating our readiness to serve Him fully. [16:25]
"One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much." (Luke 16:10, ESV)
Reflection: Identify a small responsibility in your life where you can demonstrate greater faithfulness and stewardship today. How can this prepare you for larger responsibilities in God's Kingdom?
Day 4: Living a Life of Agape Love
The essence of a good life in God's Kingdom is love—agape love that permeates every aspect of our being. This love is the foundation of the greatest commandment: to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. True goodness is characterized by this selfless, unconditional love, which is the essence of living a blessed life in God's Kingdom. Discipleship to Jesus involves learning from Him to embody this love, allowing it to guide our actions and interactions with others. [22:08]
"Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins." (1 Peter 4:8, ESV)
Reflection: Think of a relationship in your life where you can practice agape love more intentionally. What specific actions can you take to demonstrate this love today?
Day 5: Embracing Discipleship and Resurrection
Discipleship to Jesus leads to a blessed life, as we learn to live beyond death, embracing the resurrection and the truth of God's Kingdom. This journey challenges our human desires and understanding, calling us to a deeper, more profound way of living. By seeing Jesus as our teacher, we learn to be like Him, embodying His teachings and living in the reality of His Kingdom. The resurrection is a testament to the life beyond death that awaits us, encouraging us to live with hope and purpose in the present. [28:36]
"For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his." (Romans 6:5, ESV)
Reflection: In what ways can you deepen your discipleship to Jesus today, embracing the hope and truth of the resurrection in your daily life?
Quotes
"Now the reality question is obviously tied to who is well off who's happy, who's blessed, and we have to get that right because otherwise, we will not be able to direct our will in terms of what is good. And I said that's really fundamental and God, he created, he said that's good, that's good." [00:09:45]
"Now the answer that is given to us of Jesus is anyone is well off who is alive in the kingdom of God. You're alive in the kingdom of God, you're well off, you're blessed, it's good. That's where safety resides. You're alive in the kingdom of God to put it in crude terms, God has got your back." [00:11:22]
"Training and reigning is what our life is about. That interacts with the reality issue because as we train we are learning to come to grips with reality, and sometimes the teaching is a little bit bothersome to people. We have this wonderful story in Luke 19 about the so-called unjust steward." [00:13:25]
"See that's training and reigning, this being faithful in little things. How can you do that? By understanding God is here, God is here. That means among other things that you are freed up to make decisions because learning to live in the kingdom of God is a matter of now." [00:16:36]
"See one of the ways that people have messed up Jesus's teachings is to turn him into a legalist, and that means that you just sort of take what he said and do that. Okay, he said, turn the other cheek. How do you apply that? Well, in order to understand that you're going to have to figure out what the life of the child of the kingdom is." [00:17:18]
"See the vision of what is good life in the kingdom of God, the care of God, that's a good line. That's why Paul says everything works together for good. He doesn't say everything is good, that's quite a different story, and that's not true. Everything is not good or not everything is good." [00:20:57]
"A really good person is someone who is permeated with agape, permeated with agape love soaked in it, and so that's where the great commandment comes from. And so you must you have to understand that when Jesus answers this lawyer about what is the great commandment, he's telling them the best way to live, how to be a good person." [00:22:04]
"Love God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, with all your strength, and your neighbor as yourself. Put love in all of those dimensions now. What was love? Love is acting for the good of what is love. So, and we have to come back and spend lengthy time on this to love God with all your heart." [00:22:45]
"Discipleship to Jesus is how you become a truly good person and have a blessed life in the reality of God and his kingdom. Now that this is a process okay, it has to start with turning one's life over to Christ, to God in Christ, accepting from his hand not only forgiveness and the meeting of needs but instruction and teaching." [00:24:22]
"If you have a disciple, you've got to have a teacher. You can't have students without a teacher. Now this is one of the great missing links in our understanding of Jesus. We don't think of him as teacher, and this is a desperate failure because if we don't think of him as teacher we're going to think of someone else's teacher." [00:25:05]
"What does it mean to have him as our teacher? Well, we're with him learning to be like him, that's what a student does. A little child who is in third grade and learning arithmetic from their teacher is with their teacher learning to be like their teacher in that respect. They are coming to know what the teacher knows." [00:26:07]
"God's way is through death, not around it, because only beyond death lies resurrection. If you're going to have a resurrection, you better have a death. See, and that is one reason why Jesus very carefully planned how he was going to die. He was going to die in the public arena where the best people on earth the Romans and the Jews killed the best man on earth." [00:28:36]
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