In continuation of part 1 of this article, our responsibilities toward the advancement of God’s Kingdom are itemized below.
- To show constant love and mercy; reach out to the hungry, thirsty, homeless, naked, sick, prisoners, and persecuted (Matthew 25.31-46):
It is amazing that many will be kicked out of the Kingdom because they failed to show love and reach out to a needy world. We (as a church, ministry, and individuals) must use our means, money, and time to invest in the lives of others – the needy and downtrodden. How much of our time, energy, and resources are going to the poor, widows, orphans, persecuted, hungry, and suffering or is it about us, our belly, our church, friends, and family?
Finally, we also have responsibilities in;
- Praying for the Kingdom and ensuring we do the will of God (Matthew 6:10):
What is the content and character of our prayer today? What is at the center of our many prayer activities? Is it first of all about our needs and welfare than the kingdom and the will of God being done on earth? The order of the points in the Lord’s Prayer is significant. It shows the priority of praying. In as much as our daily bread should be prayed for and will be provided, the matter of advancing the Kingdom and doing the will of God is crucial and foremost (Matthew 6:33). We must desist from selfish praying and worldly living (James1:1-4).
- Preaching and proclaiming the Kingdom (Acts.1:3, 8:12; Mark 16:15-16; Acts 20:18-21):
We must rediscover apostolic preaching, we must preach what they preached – Christ, the gospel of His Kingdom (Acts 8:5, 12; 19:8, 1Corinthians 1:18, 23; 15:1-10). They labored to bring men to perfection in Him and live worthy of Him (Colossians1:28-29), so must we. They did not preach the many things we are preaching and teaching today. We must also preach like they did, not ‘with enticing words of man’s wisdom but with demonstration of power, signs and wonders following, and with all wisdom’ (1Corinthians 2:1-6, Acts 4:33-34; Colossians1:28-29). Let us beware of the many sophisticated and unbiblically mysterious, high-sounding gospels that are being preached today. Let us go back to bringing the ‘old gospel’ and Christ-centered messages because everything is in Him and the simple gospel has not lost its power and relevance! Only it is the power of salvation to all men. We must teach the whole counsel of God and preach publicly: house to house, neighbor to neighbor, friend to friend, and colleague to colleague. We must do so with every means possible: on the internet, social media, mass media, drama, movies, etc. Our lives, our conduct, and our words must also bear the message. Every one of us from the least to the greatest, not just a few, should, with urgency, preach (though not all are evangelists, all are called to witness) to every creature in every place with no exception.
When we go about this, we are doing Kingdom business or the Father’s business (Luke 2:19; 19:13). If all your activities or businesses do not spring from the above or are not geared and directed to fulfilling the above, then I wonder if you are actually preparing to take your place in the kingdom of heaven. Many of us have many businesses, activities, roles, responsibilities, and programs but we must ask ourselves, ‘Are they Kingdom Businesses? Are they the responsibilities that the Lord Jesus charged me to do as it is in scriptures or specifically and personally by revelation (Matthew 22:5)?’ We must also ask ourselves, ‘How profitable to the Kingdom of Christ is this venture (church, business, ministry, group, fellowship, etc.) that I am committed to?’ I mean profit in terms of winning souls to the Kingdom, glorifying God, and advancing the Kingdom.
We have different and many ascribed and assumed roles such as members of God’s family, disciples of Christ, husband and father, wife and mother, family member, leader or a follower in your church, career or workplace, or some other ministry or group, a citizen of a country, etc. But whatever role we occupy, let us know that we are all stewards of Christ, who has given us or allowed us to occupy these roles and he requires that we are faithful in all. We must again know how to adapt these roles in such a way that they are services to Christ, done to his glory and the profit of His Kingdom. All assumed roles that cannot fit into these ones, that is, do not glorify Christ or bring profit to his kingdom must be done away with.
We should be able to identify our roles in life and align them with the grand role specified for us by Christ. We must plan and organize our lives and activities in such a way that each role is not only done for Christ, but given adequate and appropriate attention. Each should be pursued systematically and periodically – daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly. Rather than wadding through life in a haphazard, lackadaisical, and careless manner like a scalar quantity without direction, we must, like business men, apply to our lives diligence and wisdom if we must make profit and be found faithful at the end.
…The King’s business requires haste…
…I must be about my father’s business…
…not slothful in Business, but fervent in spirit serving the Lord…
World Changers Magazine 