FIRST THINGS FIRST
Michael Tan
Jesus said: “Seek first the kingdom of God.” That means there must be a kingdom to seek. It must also be something that you can see and experience.
Every kingdom has a king, and every king has a throne. That throne is a seat of authority from which the king rules and reigns. A son may obey a father because he wants to; a servant will obey his master because he needs to; but a subject obeys his king because he has to.
In a kingdom the king is in control, and it is his will that is both supreme and sovereign. The happiest subjects of a kingdom are those who are surrendered to the control of the king.
The big difference with other kinds of kingdoms is that the King of God’s Kingdom is not a tyrant but a benevolent monarch who is absolutely powerful, majestic and without equal.
Heart talk
We have also been taught that our heart is a throne. Either someone or something if not God will be sitting on that throne and rule.
We cannot make Jesus Christ the king of our life until we abdicate the throne of our heart. In other words, we cannot pray “Your kingdom come” until we first say, “Our kingdom go.”
To seek first the kingdom of God means that every moment of our lives we should be seeking first the rule of God.
That starts with us seeking the King. There are three ways:
1. Seek the glory of the King.
Paul says, “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).
2. Seek the guidance of the King.
A loyal subject always wants to do whatever the king would have him to do. There is no higher calling in life than to find out what your King wants done, and then to do it.
3. Seek the government of the King.
A loyal subject desires to be controlled by the king, to be governed by the king, to be ruled by the king. We recoil from such a thought as it sounds like slavery. Yet, Paul often describes himself as a slave of Christ. He knows that greatest liberty in the world is found when you are controlled by the right Master.
We know that too. The call of Matthew 6:33 was indelibly etched into our minds and hearts as young Christians, and then – as now – we responded without hesitation and entered into full-time ministry. To be His servants was and still is our great privilege, and the advancement of God’s Kingdom remains our priority.
Core control
Jesus goes on to say that we are not only to seek the kingdom of God, but we are to “seek His righteousness.” That is, we are not only to be seeking God’s control over us, but also to be seeking God’s character within us – because the kingdom of God is not just to be inwardly experienced, it is to be outwardly expressed.
Indeed, we are never going to make a difference in this world until the world sees a difference in us.
While many of our peers climbed the corporate, political and civil service ladder, we always thought ours was a higher calling. We walked in faith that God would meet our existential needs as we focused on serving him, and He has provided beyond what we could have asked or hoped for. To this day, none of us has lacked any material comfort or security.
Authenticity is one of the core values of Eagles. We believe that being is more important that doing. If God is ruling over us, then His righteousness will be expressed in our character and behavior.
MINISTRY HIGHLIGHTS
Eagles Rendezvous
If we live out the Sermon on the Mount, we will impact the world for Jesus and bring light into darkness. That was Seah Jiak Choo’s encouragement to the 130 participants in her recently-concluded Sermon on the Mount series. Join us for the study on Ecclesiastes by Peter Chao starting July 6. Sign up at www.eagles.org.sg/er..
“ER has become my favorite activity since I attended my first series, ‘OT Made Easy’ back in 2018. In the current studies on ‘The Sermon on the Mount’, Ms Seah has helped me to deeply understand the key messages, down to the details of the origins of the words in different languages, making comparison of different bible versions, why it is written in that way, how to intepret the verse, and how it is applied to today’s context. I have learned a lot and I hope more people will attend ER and be blessed as well.” – Juliet Lee
Eagles Movie Nite
Avengers: Endgame is well on its way to becoming the biggest blockbuster movie of all time, and the Eagles had the privilege of sharing this “masterful epic” with students from two special needs schools in Singapore on April 26.
The Eagles Movie Nite, made possible by generous donors, was doubly special this year as one supporter hosted his 60th birthday celebration in an adjoining theatre, to the delight of family, friends and staff!
UP NEXT
I Love to Tell the Story
Be blessed by classic and modern hymns at Eagles’ Celebration of Hymns on Friday, May 24 at Grace AOG as we give thanks to God for His grace that abounds to us. The Crosswinds will be accompanied by a string ensemble, choir and band. All proceeds benefit the ELC 2019 Scholarship Fund. To purchase donation tickets, contact Rut on +65 6419 5048 or rut@eagles.org.sg.
Visit www.eagles.org.sg/coh for event details.
Eagles Rendezvous
Free admission. Register at www.eagles.org.sg/er.
ELC 2019 Promo
To mark Singapore’s Bicentennial – the 200th anniversary of Sir Stamford Raffles’ arrival in Singapore – we are offering an additional S$200 off the Early Bird price for ELC 2019 when you register with the promo code sg200 at www.elc2019.com. Buy 3 get 1 free! Promo ends May 31, 2019.
FIRST THINGS FIRST
Michael tan
Jesus said: “Seek first the kingdom of God.” That means there must be a kingdom to seek. It must also be something that you can see and experience.
Every kingdom has a king, and every king has a throne. That throne is a seat of authority from which the king rules and reigns. A son may obey a father because he wants to; a servant will obey his master because he needs to; but a subject obeys his king because he has to.
In a kingdom the king is in control, and it is his will that is both supreme and sovereign. The happiest subjects of a kingdom are those who are surrendered to the control of the king.
The big difference with other kinds of kingdoms is that the King of God’s Kingdom is not a tyrant but a benevolent monarch who is absolutely powerful, majestic and without equal.
Heart talk
We have also been taught that our heart is a throne. Either someone or something if not God will be sitting on that throne and rule.
We cannot make Jesus Christ the king of our life until we abdicate the throne of our heart. In other words, we cannot pray “Your kingdom come” until we first say, “Our kingdom go.”
To seek first the kingdom of God means that every moment of our lives we should be seeking first the rule of God.
That starts with us seeking the King. There are three ways:
1. Seek the glory of the King.
Paul says, “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).
2. Seek the guidance of the King.
A loyal subject always wants to do whatever the king would have him to do. There is no higher calling in life than to find out what your King wants done, and then to do it.
3. Seek the government of the King.
A loyal subject desires to be controlled by the king, to be governed by the king, to be ruled by the king. We recoil from such a thought as it sounds like slavery. Yet, Paul often describes himself as a slave of Christ. He knows that greatest liberty in the world is found when you are controlled by the right Master.
We know that too. The call of Matthew 6:33 was indelibly etched into our minds and hearts as young Christians, and then – as now – we responded without hesitation and entered into full-time ministry. To be His servants was and still is our great privilege, and the advancement of God’s Kingdom remains our priority.
Core control
Jesus goes on to say that we are not only to seek the kingdom of God, but we are to “seek His righteousness.” That is, we are not only to be seeking God’s control over us, but also to be seeking God’s character within us – because the kingdom of God is not just to be inwardly experienced, it is to be outwardly expressed.
Indeed, we are never going to make a difference in this world until the world sees a difference in us.
While many of our peers climbed the corporate, political and civil service ladder, we always thought ours was a higher calling. We walked in faith that God would meet our existential needs as we focused on serving him, and He has provided beyond what we could have asked or hoped for. To this day, none of us has lacked any material comfort or security.
Authenticity is one of the core values of Eagles. We believe that being is more important that doing. If God is ruling over us, then His righteousness will be expressed in our character and behavior.
MINISTRY HIGHLIGHTS
Eagles Rendezvous
If we live out the Sermon on the Mount, we will impact the world for Jesus and bring light into darkness. That was Seah Jiak Choo’s encouragement to the 130 participants in her recently-concluded Sermon on the Mount series. Join us for the study on Ecclesiastes by Peter Chao starting July 6. Sign up at www.eagles.org.sg/er..
“ER has become my favorite activity since I attended my first series, ‘OT Made Easy’ back in 2018. In the current studies on ‘The Sermon on the Mount’, Ms Seah has helped me to deeply understand the key messages, down to the details of the origins of the words in different languages, making comparison of different bible versions, why it is written in that way, how to intepret the verse, and how it is applied to today’s context. I have learned a lot and I hope more people will attend ER and be blessed as well.” – Juliet Lee
Eagles Movie Nite
Avengers: Endgame is well on its way to becoming the biggest blockbuster movie of all time, and the Eagles had the privilege of sharing this “masterful epic” with students from two special needs schools in Singapore on April 26.
The Eagles Movie Nite, made possible by generous donors, was doubly special this year as one supporter hosted his 60th birthday celebration in an adjoining theatre, to the delight of family, friends and staff!
NEXT UP
I Love to Tell the Story
Be blessed by classic and modern hymns at Eagles’ Celebration of Hymns on Friday, May 24 at Grace AOG as we give thanks to God for His grace that abounds to us. The Crosswinds will be accompanied by a string ensemble, choir and band. All proceeds benefit the ELC 2019 Scholarship Fund. To purchase donation tickets, contact Rut on +65 6419 5048 or rut@eagles.org.sg.
Visit www.eagles.org.sg/coh for event details.
Eagles Rendezvous
Free admission. Register at www.eagles.org.sg/er.
ELC 2019 Promo
To mark Singapore’s Bicentennial – the 200th anniversary of Sir Stamford Raffles’ arrival in Singapore – we are offering an additional S$200 off the Early Bird price for ELC 2019 when you register with the promo code sg200 at www.elc2019.com. Buy 3 get 1 free! Promo ends May 31, 2019.