Week 2 - Foundation of the Kingdom
This week in summary| Day 1 : The King, His Constitution | Matt 1-2 |
| Day 2 : Jesus the Servant King | Matt 3-4 |
| Day 3 : God with us | Matt 5 |
| Day 4 : God loves the World | Matt 6 |
| Day 5 : My Personality | Matt 7 |
| Day 1 : The King, His Constitution | Matt 1-2 |
| Day 2 : Jesus the Servant King | Matt 3-4 |
| Day 3 : God with us | Matt 5 |
| Day 4 : God loves the World | Matt 6 |
| Day 5 : My Personality | Matt 7 |
Matthew wants you to know that Jesus is King. Not just any King, He's the Christ or Heaven sent King. Jesus is the King that all other kings will bow down to. Obviously this is a huge claim so Matthew begins by proving that Jesus is the Heaven-Sent King.
By Birthright: Jesus is the descendant of Kings. God brings Jesus into this world through a miraculous virgin birth. Jesus is sent from heaven.
By Prophecy: The prophets predicted the coming of a Heaven-Sent King known as the Christ who is Jesus. Matthew says over and over "this was to fulfill the words of the prophets." The prophets witnessed God work in the history of Matthew's people. These prophets lived between 400-1,000 years before Matthew's time yet all of the predictions were proven true.
By Foreign Recognition: Magi, advisors to eastern royalty, came from distant countries to recognize Jesus as King.
By Comparison: Jesus is different than earthly Kings. For example Herod was the king of the country where Jesus was born. He acquired power using strong and ruthless techniques typical of powerful people. His path is marked by destroying others. While Herod brings death, Jesus brings life. He is the kind of King that gives power to His people. Jesus is the King sent from Heaven.
Jesus is bringing the Kingdom of Heaven to earth. What is this kingdom like? What does the King expect from his citizens?
Jesus begins telling us that his values are different than the world. The world says love your friends; hate your enemies. Jesus says love your enemies. He demands forgiveness, honesty, humility, generosity, modesty and faithfulness. That's the kind of Kingdom Jesus offers.
King Jesus introduces a deeper ethic based on attitude not actions. To Him hatred and murder are the same thing and equally unacceptable. Judgment is based on what's inside the heart of a person. Jesus knows that fixation on evil thoughts leads to evil deeds. Jesus' requirements are impossibly high but every time we fail He demands that we forgive ourselves and those around us. We must also accept forgiveness when it is given.
Jesus introduces a new system of internal governance. With God's help from within, I take control of myself instead of an external government controlling me from the outside.
The people were surprised because Jesus didn't speak like a teacher. He spoke like He has authority. He speaks like a King.
Jesus had every right to the most extreme imaginations of what it means to be king of the universe yet He chose to empty Himself of all of it. He became obedient to God-even to the point of being put to death wrongfully and in a most painful and humiliating way. That is why when He reigns as King of kings He really has every right to do so since He has been where we are. And as we learn to take the humble attitude of a servant, we find a power unknown to those who simply demand to be waited on hand and foot.
Like the King of kings, we discover that it's in losing our lives that we truly find them.
Have you met God? Let's take a moment to get to know each other. Start by introducing yourself to God. What are some of the ways you'd describe yourself to God? Go ahead and say it out loud:
Yeah, right now.
Here is a list of some of the ways God describes Himself.
light, a loving father, a mother bird protecting her young, a lion, a fire, a king, a quiet whisper, a lamb, healer, my shepherd, my source of strength, provider, bringer of hope and peace, my comforter, a stronghold, a shield, a rock, a refuge,
I AM
the living one who sees me
the God who makes things right
The Ancient of Days, Faithful, True, Trustworthy, Knowing, Most high, Eternal, Invisible, Mighty, Holy, Unique, Noble, of Immense worth, Powerful, Patient, Understanding, Awesome, Gracious, Generous, Compassionate, Merciful, Jealous, Passionate, Love
God is calling you to follow Him into a new way of life. What you do think about that?
God loves all the people of this world and that makes all the difference.
In the past I would look for great accomplishments of fame or beauty. I would look for people who think like me or have toys that I like.
But now there is no accomplishment greater than being loved by God. And everyone I see is loved by God. Now I have to look at them differently.
By His love, people are significant. How could a gold medal compare to the Love of God? By His love, all people are significant. I see my boss whom God loves, my friend whom God loves, the cashier whom God loves. Every person I see is loved by God, even the one in the mirror. I am loved by God, I am significant.
Love is a word that gets thrown around quite a bit. It has several definitions in English, and which one we mean depends on context. We don't, for example, love our spouses the way we love pizza. This makes room, of course, for those who wish to play word games with the word love to guilt others into one thing or another (i.e., "If you truly loved me, you'd...").
When we say that God loves the whole world we don't mean the kind of love where He approves of everything the world does. Rather, we mean that seemingly psychologically dysfunctional love that a mother and father would have for their child even if she's a convicted offender. The parents of such a person might agree that what she did was deplorable. They wouldn't blame the justice system for sending their daughter to prison for a long time. But they would still continue to love her. That's because God's love isn't an object-oriented love that depends on the one being loved, but the one doing the loving. Of course, some might reject that love. Continued on unto death, what more can our Maker do? If we reject Him unto death, then what hope can we have?
Did you know God had a purpose in mind when He designed you? Do you want to discover your purpose in life?
This section is the first in a series of assessments designed to better understand who you are. Later in this study you will use this information to develop your life purpose statement based on the way God has made you. Your purpose is different than anyone else.
Let's begin with your personality. Take this personality profile assessment online at www.16personalities.com
Read the description of your personality type in the links. Find your personality type on the chart below and click to read the description
After reading the description of your personality type, does it seem accurate? Is it surprising? How could this information help you to make wise choices in life?