Matthew 19: Kingdom Counsel (7)

Pray Psalm 146.1, 2.
Praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD, O my soul!
While I live I will praise the LORD;
I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

Sing Psalm 146.1, 2, 10.
(Hallelujah! What a Savior: Man of Sorrows)
Praise the Lord, my soul, give praise! While I live, His Name I’ll raise!
And exalt Him all my days – God forever reigns in Zion!

Read and meditate on Matthew 19.1-30.

Prepare.
1. Who can expect to be in the Kingdom of God, and what should they expect to be doing?

2. What obstacles can keep people from seeking the Kingdom?

Meditate.
Chapter 19 continues to expand our understanding of the difference the Kingdom of God makes in our lives:

• The Kingdom of God shores up important institutions like marriage, helping us to get back to God’s original idea about this foundational social bond.
• Devotion to the Kingdom demands chastity of us all – not abstinence, but moral purity at every turn.
• It demands as well the kind of humility that comes natural to children
• As for riches, Jesus helps us to understand that the true riches are Kingdom riches – that vision of and those gifts, powers, and blessings that flow from the heavenly Father, so that we can live for His glory in every area of our lives. We should desire to be rich, and long for it earnestly, but not in the riches of this world. If such riches do come our way – to whatever extent they do – focusing on the treasures of heaven will help us to make good use of all our material blessings.
  
  

We are part of a new community, and each of us is set up as a ruler and judge in that community. Our mission is to bring the reality of the Kingdom into all our relationships, roles, and responsibilities, beginning among those who share our common calling to the Kingdom and glory of God.

The more we work at getting a Kingdom mindset about our lives, the more we’ll be able to see the wisdom and grace in the teaching of Jesus and all Scripture. And the more we will realize the promises and power of the Kingdom for restoring the world and making all things new.

Reflect.
1. How would you explain what it means to be developing “a Kingdom mindset”?

2. What would you say to someone who asked you to explain what Jesus meant by “treasure in heaven”?

3. What does being a ruler and judge in the Kingdom of God mean for your daily life in the Lord?

I rather explain regeneration as referring to the first coming of Christ; for then the world began to be renewed, and arose out of the darkness of death into the light of life. And this way of speaking occurs frequently in the Prophets, and is exceedingly adapted to the connection of this passage. John Calvin (1509-1564), Commentary on Matthew 19.28

Give me a Kingdom mindset, Lord, that I might serve You well today as I…

Pray Psalm 146.3-10.
What opportunities for advancing the Kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Spirit are before you today? Commit each one to the Lord, with thanksgiving and praise.

Sing Psalm 146.3-10.
Psalm 146.3-10 (Hallelujah! What a Savior!: Man of Sorrows)
Trust we not in prince or man – no salvation’s in their hand;
Death shall take them, breath and plans – God forever reigns in Zion!

Blessed are they whose hope resides in the Lord, Christ at His side.
By Him heav’n and earth abide – God forever reigns in Zion!

He is faithful evermore; He gives justice to the poor,
feeds the hungry from His store – God forever reigns in Zion!

Jesus sets the pris’ner free, heals blind eyes that they may see,
lifts those burdened painfully – God forever reigns in Zion!

He the righteous loves the best; wand’rers in His grace are blessed;
needy ones in Him find rest – God forever reigns in Zion!

But the wicked who defame His eternal blessèd Name,
Them He brings to ruin and shame – God forever reigns in Zion!

T. M. Moore

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing adapted from The Ailbe Psalter. All quotations from Church Fathers from Ancient Christian Commentary Series, General Editor Thomas C. Oden (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006). All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter (available by clicking here).