This is part two of an ongoing series associated with Matthew 6:33. Jesus said seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. His righteousness represents God’s way of doing things. In my last article I outlined three ways of doing things the way God wants His believers to do them. This article contains three other important issues illustrating how God wants us to handle them.
Have you ever been to a place, house or church where you were not received, especially when your intent was to minister and do God’s will. Where you were not listened to or respected or welcomed. Well God addresses this in Mark 6:11. When Jesus sent out the first disciples to minister, He told them if any If house or village will not receive them, they were to shake of the dust under their feet for a testimony against them. Jesus was in fact, giving them permission to declare God’s judgment or discipline by doing such an act. We too, as believers have been given that same permission. But the key is that your intent has to be doing what the Lord has told you to do or say. Because by doing so, you are representing God and when you are not received, it is the same as if the place as rejected God. This applies to any house, any village, and any church. Do not get upset when you are not received. In the long run, God will deal with the rejection.
Everyone is familiar with what is commonly called the “Golden Rule.” The “Golden Rule” can be found at Matthew 7:12. It says, “…all things whatsoever, ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them…” Another way this is stated is, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” The key to following the “Golden Rule” is empathy. To apply this rule to your everyday life we must be able to put ourselves in the shoes of another. In other words, we must be able to ascertain, what we would want done to us if we were in the same situation of another. The biggest problem is that too many individuals, even believers, are too high-minded to imagine that they could be in the same situation as another. We must remember that at any given moment our situation or circumstances could change in an instant.
This last instruction from the Lord is one I have been guilty of many times and I believe so have many others. Luke 21: 34 says, “And take heed to yourselves, least at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness and [the} cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.” Jesus is instructing us to be so very careful that we do not get weighed down with our own affairs that we be caught by surprise with his coming. He used the examples of indulging too much in or own personal appetites, (surfeiting), which could be a variety of things, He used the example of drunkenness, which means being overtaken and guided by our fleshly desires. And lastly, He used the example of being caught up too much in the care of this life, which can include, but not limited to or jobs, careers, social life and etc. We are urged to consistently watch and pray so we can be counted worthy to stand in His presence when He comes. Make no mistake about it, Jesus could come at any time for his people, so be ready at all times.
These are another three examples of how we should be doing things God’s ways as we wait for His coming.