https://www.bible.com/events/48387029
What does God want from you?
Series review:-Jesus taught us to pray with these three words that are proving profound in these days: “Thy Kingdom Come”-The kingdom is “God’s reign” – His action & His Lordship-In Jesus, the king has entered into our reality to show us what the kingdom is all about.-We believe that one day the king is coming back to make all right in his kingdom again, and we also believe that the kingdom matters today. His kingdom can break into our present day reality.
Mark 12:28-34 NIV28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” 29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” 32 “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. 33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.
What was it that made this teacher not far from the kingdom?-There’s something this teacher knew: the rules of the kingdom.-Every kingdom has rules and expectations, and this kingdom is not different.-We have been given access to the kingdom, by faith. And what we do in response matters.-Jesus declares these two commandments as most important in his kingdom: love God with all and love others.
Micah 6:8 NIV8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.And what does the Lord require of you?To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
We must not view these as separate instructions or disconnected ideas, but rather ideas building on one another:-Act justly-Love mercy-Walk Humbly-With God
We cannot separate the command to love God and love others. They are interconnected. In the same way, we cannot separate the call to act justly from our love of mercy, our posture of humility, and our complete dependance on God.
If we are serious about living according to the rules of the kingdom, there are two important implications:1. God’s kingdom is not a human kingdom.2. God’s kingdom calls us to a radical view of a loving and generous community.
Matthew 20:15-16 NIV15 Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ 16 “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
It’s as if Jesus is saying, “act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly….because I have been so generous to you!”