Heaven Is Not Our Priority
(Part 1)
THE HIGHEST HEAVENS BELONG TO THE LORD, BUT THE EARTH HE HAS GIVEN TO MAN (PSALM 115:16).
TODAY’S DEVOTION
When talking about the Kingdom principle of engagement it is important first that we understand what our assignment is not. Because there is so much confusion on this issue, we need to be absolutely clear about what we are not supposed to do.…
Just as Heaven is not our priority, the world is not our enemy. Although as Kingdom citizens we are not of the world, we are in the world, and it is God’s will that we engage the world’s culture with the principles, claims, and authority of the Kingdom of Heaven.
(God’s Big Idea, Chapter Nine)
CONSIDERATIONS
1. “God did not assign us to go to Heaven.” Describe your thoughts about this statement.
2. “God did not assign us to prepare others to ‘go to Heaven.’” Describe your thoughts about this statement.
3. “God did not assign us to establish a religion.” Describe your thoughts about this statement.
4. “God did not assign us to promote a religion or a denomination.” Describe your thoughts about this statement.
5. “God did not assign us to separate or isolate ourselves from the world.” Describe your thoughts about this statement.
MEDITATION
We cannot engage the popular culture by escaping from it, nor can we influence it by isolating ourselves from it. Jesus certainly didn’t. One of the biggest criticisms the religious leaders leveled against Jesus was the fact that He spent so much time with “sinners,” the dirty, disreputable, and cast off dregs of society. When challenged on this, He responded, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Matt. 9:12-13). That is our assignment too.
(God’s Big Idea, Chapter Nine)
Heaven is not our priority—spreading the Kingdom of God on Earth is!