Orig. November 29, 2010
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Matthew 6:33
Have you ever noticed that the most passionate people for Jesus in the church often are not the pastors but the lay people? It is the laity who day after day, year after year, rubbing shoulders with the real world while pastors hide in our holy cages, reading holy books, talking to holy people, and staring at a holy computer monitor.
The result for most pastors is the holy huddle of church life that produces rhetoric, routine and religion, which Bill Johnson simply defines as “form without power”. Religion is a steering away from Kingdom living towards rules, regulations and ultimately a religious form of Christianity. Religion, simplified, is man seeking to reach (up) to God through good works, human potential and religious philosophy. Christianity; conversely, is God reaching down to men through Jesus Christ (John 14:6-7, 1 Timothy 2:4-5).
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
(Roamns5:8).”
See the difference?
Isn’t it interesting that every argument that Jesus had (off the top of my bald head) was with a religious leader and not a lay person? Why is this? This is true because man has a tendency towards religious behavior and not the “righteous life that God desires (James 1:20).” If left on his own the godly man will slowly unwind in his relationship with Jesus Christ to religion. Who are the most religious people in the church-pastors (me)?
When I used to deep sea fish or bait cast for Large and Smallmouth Bass I had to be very careful to avoid backlash in the reel while casting. Religion is the backlash of Christianity. Religion is man seeking organizational workings within in the Church before seeking Christ.
I am a late adopter when it comes to numbers, statistics and organizational mandates in the church not because I hate the Church (Quite contrary, I love it and have given my life to serve in it) but because I love Jesus’ Kingdom and in the Kingdom of Christ, religion is extinct.
To seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness means He is, and will always be, a priority in a man’s life over his finances, his family, his calling and even his commitment to the Church. Mathew 6:33 must always be on his mind, always in his heart and always in his prayers as he begs Jesus to make him a “Kingdom man” who deeply desires “your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10)”
God’s Kingdom is raw and untamed. It is organic and unpolluted. It is supernatural and not structured unlike man’s religion that is only a veneer, fabricated, and superficial shell built on shifting sand (Mattthew7:24-25). Religion is a south facing tent in the middle of a Pacific Northwest storm-a temporary security built facing the wrong direction, not able to withstand the storm.
