The Priority Of The Kingdom
The Priority Of The Kingdom
Bro Rick Kirk | 27 September 2026 | Luke 14:33
"So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple." — Luke 14:33
A Framework for Life — The Eisenhower Matrix
Before we open the Scriptures, consider a simple framework used all over the business world. It is called the Eisenhower Matrix, and it sorts every task in life by two questions:
Is it urgent?
Is it important?
Those two questions give four possible combinations:
Urgent AND Important → Do it first
Not Urgent but Important → Schedule it
Urgent but Not Important → Delegate it
Not Urgent AND Not Important → Delete it
Where in that matrix would you place your soul?
That is the question this lesson lays before every one of us. Because the way we actually answer it shows what we really believe about Christ, about His church, and about eternity.
Discipleship Has a Cost
Consider something as simple as buying a house. What does it require? Sufficient funds — to pay the downpayment, to keep up the monthly instalment, to maintain the property, and still to feed yourself and your family. Nothing about it is free. Every part of it comes at a cost, and every cost must be counted before you begin.
Following Christ is the same. There is a cost to discipleship. And Jesus laid it down in one of His most direct sentences:
"So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple." (Luke 14:33)
Forsake all. These are two words that must not be softened. Before we set our hand to the plow of following Christ, we need to consider very carefully what following Him will demand of us.
The Cost — What Must Be Forsaken
Three areas of life stand out where the cost of discipleship shows itself most sharply.
1. Family
Jesus was not asking anyone to abandon family — the same God who gave the Ten Commandments also said:
"Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you." (Exodus 20:12; see also Deuteronomy 5:16, Ephesians 6:2)
But when family expectations pull us away from Christ, family cannot come first. Christ must.
2. Wealth
Paul was direct with Timothy:
"For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out." (1 Timothy 6:7)
Wealth is not the enemy — but the love of it is (v. 10). Those who are rich are commanded "to do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life." (1 Timothy 6:18–19). Rich for a purpose — never for self alone.
3. Your Own Life
Some disciples pay the ultimate price. Paul stood ready:
"I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus." (Acts 21:13)
Stephen paid that price, becoming the church's first martyr as stones fell around him and he cried out for God to forgive his killers (Acts 7). And Jesus made the principle unmistakable:
"He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it." (Matthew 10:39)
The one who clings to physical life at the cost of his soul loses everything. The one who surrenders his life for Christ finds what really matters.
Priority in Following Jesus
The Gospels gives us a moment when a would-be follower asked for a delay:
"Lord, let me first go and bury my father." But Jesus said to him, "Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead." (Matthew 8:21–22; see the full three-fold account in Luke 9:57–62)
Jesus was not being harsh. He was not literally saying corpses could bury corpses. The meaning is spiritual — let those who are spiritually dead handle the physical burial. But you — follow Me.
Family traditions can quietly become the priority that displaces our spiritual life. Cultural expectations. What our relatives think. What our ancestors did. None of these things can take priority over following Christ.
The Great Value of the Kingdom
Jesus painted this truth with two of His most beautiful parables:
"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it." (Matthew 13:44–46)
Recognition of value is what makes the difference.
Both men in these parables did the same thing — they sold everything they had. Why? Because they saw the value clearly. They knew what they had found was worth more than what they were giving up. Their sacrifice was not a loss — it was a joyful exchange.
Now bring this to your own life:
Is the church important to you? If you truly see the value in the church, you will do everything you can to support it.
Are the brethren important to you? If you value your brothers and sisters, you will find time — you will make time — for fellowship with them.
The thing is — you need to figure this out. You need to know where your priorities actually sit. Because your calendar, your wallet, and your energy will follow whatever your heart truly values.
The Rich Young Ruler
"Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?" (Mark 10:17)
Jesus told him to sell what he had, give to the poor, and follow. And then comes the tragic line:
"But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions." (Mark 10:22)
Notice — the young man was not condemned for being rich. He was condemned because his priorities were in the wrong place. He would not surrender the thing that stood between him and Christ. And Jesus said:
"It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." (Mark 10:25)
The question is not how much you have. The question is what has hold of you.
Priority for the Word
In Acts 6, the church faced a real problem. The Greek-speaking widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food. Serving them was important — very important. But the apostles said this:
"It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables… we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word." (Acts 6:2, 4)
They did not abandon the serving. They appointed seven qualified men to do it. Both mattered. Serving tables mattered. But teaching and preaching the word of God mattered more — and that had to be preserved.
This is the same principle Jesus taught the Pharisees about tithing:
"…you have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone." (Matthew 23:23)
Both are important. But one is more. You don't leave one for the other — you do both, in their right order.
Why does the word take such precedence? Because:
"… faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17)
And because the Hebrews writer warned that God's people cannot afford to remain on milk when they ought to be moving on to solid food (Hebrews 5:12, 14). The word of God is not optional. It is the very bread by which faith is fed.
Priority for Things Above
Paul told the Colossians:
"Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth." (Colossians 3:2)
The things above are the spiritual things — the things that will still matter when everything earthly has passed away. And Paul then gave the practical shape of that priority:
"Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering… But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection… Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom… And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." (Colossians 3:12–17)
A priority for things above changes the way you speak, the way you serve, the way you love, and the way you live.
Spiritual vs Carnal Mindedness
Paul draws the sharpest possible contrast in Romans 8:
"For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God." (Romans 8:6–8)
These are not two equally valid options. One leads to life and peace. The other leads to death. There is no middle ground.
Commitment to Grow and Serve
What is your contribution to the church? Four practical priorities every faithful Christian can carry:
Help at least one soul find salvation.
Grow through steadfast study of God's Word.
Honour every assembly with your presence.
Show Christ's love through service.
These are not extraordinary calls reserved for a few. They are the ordinary shape of a life that has put Christ first.
The Urgency of the Kingdom
Return to that man in Luke 9 who effectively said "wait — let me first…" to the invitation to follow Jesus. What did Jesus say to him? Not, "Take your time." The whole New Testament rings with urgency:
"Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." (2 Corinthians 6:2)
"And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord." (Acts 22:16)
"…what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away." (James 4:14)
"All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away, but the word of the LORD endures forever." (1 Peter 1:24–25)
No delay. No procrastination. No deferment. Because Jesus asked the sharpest priority question in all of Scripture:
"For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Matthew 16:26)
Change the pronoun. What profit is it if you gain the whole world, and lose your soul?
"Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts." (Hebrews 3:15)
Back to the Matrix — Where Does Your Soul Sit?
Return to the four boxes we started with.
Urgent + Important → Do it first
Not Urgent but Important → Schedule it
Urgent but Not Important → Delegate it
Not Urgent + Not Important → Delete it
Your soul is not something to schedule later. It is not something to delegate to someone else. It is not something to delete from the list of things that matter. Salvation is both urgent and important. And that places it in only one box — do it first.
What must I do to be saved? The steps have always been clear:
Hear the gospel
Believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God
Repent of your sins
Confess faith in Him
Be baptized into His death, burial, and resurrection
Live faithfully all the days of your life
Take This Home
Following Jesus will cost you. It may cost you family expectations, wealth, comfort, even your very life. But look again at the treasure hidden in the field. Look at the pearl of great price. The man in each parable did not consider what he gave up a loss — he considered it joy.
Because when you truly see what you are gaining in Christ, everything else you had to release is worth releasing.
So examine your priorities today. Not tomorrow. Not next week. Not "let me first go and…" It has to be today.
