Are you a follower of Jesus? Do you know what Jesus meant when He said, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness?”

Jesus’ teaching during His earthly ministry was focused on the kingdom of God and the preaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom. We can see in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus laid out some of the key principles of the Kingdom of heaven. When Nicodemus, a faithful Pharisee encountered Jesus, he was told to be born again or he could not see the kingdom of God. In speaking with His disciples, Jesus told them they had to receive the Kingdom like a child. And after His resurrection, the scriptures tell us that Jesus taught about the kingdom of God for 40 days.

Jesus was laser focused about ushering in, modeling and teaching the kingdom of God.

So, why are we as followers of Jesus and the Church so distracted and confused about the Kingdom of God?

There are in my view today 4 primary distractions and attacks against the Kingdom of God that believers and the Church need to be aware of so they can stay focused on the Kingdom of God.

1.) Christian Rationalism: This is nothing new. This distraction and attack has its roots back in the age of enlightenment and age of reason where mankind started believing they could think their way through life and exalted the human mind above the wisdom of God. This idea has filtered into the Church in many different forms, but basically it is any exalting of man’s wisdom and ideas over the power of the Spirit. In our time this shows up in the Church embracing business models and leadership methods over the supernatural power and gifts of the Spirit. Also, this shows up in an over emphasis on apologetics. It is believing the lie that we can lead people to Jesus by reasoning with them alone without a demonstration of the Spirit’s power on their soul.

2.) Christian Sensationalism: This often has been a reaction to Christian Rationalism and focuses on experience, but often instead of a healthy pursuit and display of the spiritual gifts and the power of God, it moves into disorder and a forced stirring up of manifestations rather than waiting on genuine manifestations of the Spirit. This also is behind much of the seeker sensitive movement that uses entertainment to attract people and keep people. It is an over emphasis on technology and entertainment methods rather than a genuine, authentic, theologically sound pursuit of the Kingdom of God.

3.) Christian Progressivism: This distraction is a full attack on the Church and the Kingdom of God in that it denounces the authority of the scriptures and is more concerned with pleasing the culture than staying true to the scriptures and to pleasing God and upholding His holiness. Christian Progressivism in some of its forms is minimizing the biblical foundations of our nation and actively trying to make us more of a secular nation.

4.) Christian Nationalism: This is a relatively new term, but the idea is not new. Christian Nationalism believes that America is God’s preferred nation, not that it is just blessed by God. They believe that America was established as a “Christian Nation” and that the relationship of the Church and the State need to be protected. It seeks to blend American and Christian values and identities. This raises a huge theological question, “Is there any support in the Bible or in Jesus’ teaching for a Christian Nation, rather than the Church focusing on the Kingdom of God?” What would be the difference between a Christian Nation and a theocracy? This is probably the most difficult of the 4 to deal with because for many their politics are deeply woven into their Christian faith. Yes, we are to be active citizens and involved in all areas of politics, but the Church as a family is to stay focused on the Kingdom of God and equipping the saints to be salt and light in each of their unique areas of influence.

So, what is the way forward? These are confusing times, so it is critical that believers and the Church shore up who they are and what Jesus has primarily called us to. I believe one of the great outcomes of this season we have been in is that it is allowing believers and the Church to rethink their views on the Kingdom of God and re-establish that as priority. The priority of every Christian is faithfulness to Jesus, His Word and His Church. And for the Church, Jesus was clear that it should be equipping the saints to do what Jesus did; usher in, model and teach the kingdom of God and the Gospel of the Kingdom. This is a time for us all to deeply evaluate our faith and make sure we are viewing everything through a Gospel biblical lens rather than a Christian Rationalist, Sensationalist, Progressive or Nationalist lens.