​“Seek First The Kingdom Of God And His Righteousness”

Matthew 6:25-34
“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26“Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap, nor gather into barns; yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 “which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? 28 So, why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; 29 “and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 “Now if God clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat? Or What shall we drink? Or What shall we wear? 32 “For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your Heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
 
God did not design you and I to be anxious, to worry, or to be nervous. After all, for the past two Sundays, if it is still not clear to you. Jesus wants us to have faith in Him, and all His promises. In all these things, the issue for the believers in Jesus Christ, comes down to trust!
 
Do you believe, that you are in charge of your life? Or do you acknowledge that God directs each day, and provides for our needs? Your answer has everything to do with how much worry you can do, and how much trust you put in our Lord Jesus.
 
Have you ever watched a mouse running inside a wheel? The faster the mouse runs, the faster the wheel moves…but the mouse doesn’t make the slightest progress. The mouse does not even have the sense to get off the wheel.
 
That is what worrying does to you. You run faster and faster, trying harder and harder to meet the demands, trying to fix the problems, prevent any disaster, and still you do not have control over your circumstance. So, when something does not go quite right, your frustration level continues to mount. Get off the wheel…get off the cycle of worry, and start trusting in Jesus to lead your life. “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
 
Psalm 68:19
Blessed be the Lord, Who daily loads us with benefits, the God of our salvation!
     
(NIV) “Praise the Lord, to God our Savior, Who daily bears our burdens.”
Obviously, getting to know God in a personal way should be our greatest priority in life. If we plan on spending eternity with Him, then it would seem like a good idea to get to know Him now. Understanding how quickly life goes by and how long eternity is, should teach us to have the right priorities. We are in a sense, “Here today, and Gone tomorrow”.
 
James 4:14
Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away.
 
So… what are your priorities in life? Is seeking Gods kingdom and righteousness a one time thing, what I mean is, as soon as I have been born again, I have no need to seek Him anymore?
What about on a daily basis? Do we still seek God daily? Or only when we need Him?
 
The main point of this message is found on verse 33. “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all this things will be added to you”.
 
Seek first reveals Jesus concern for the priorities of our life. He commands that our first priority is His kingdom, and His righteousness. It is fairly easy to be a good christian when we are in church. It is a bit difficult when we are out in the real world. (work, family, friends)
 
God wants us to be, what He called us to be. (Christians) It may not be easy, but He does provide for us the help that we need, if only we will be obedient to His commands, and abide by His will! We may be battling our sinful nature on a daily basis, but it should no longer have the control that it wants. That is why it is very important to seek Him daily.
 
Let us walk through this teachings of Jesus, and see where we can have our eyes fixed on Him, and live a life that reflects His righteousness.
 
From our text, it defines three issues in life. Shelter, Clothing, and Food. These things are very important, simply because we will need them on a daily basis. Therefore, we are prone to focus on them, as our main priority. Those who personally know God and understand His loving kindness and faithfulness should not live their lives with the same anxiety, as those who do not know God.
 
Generally, we live our lives our way. We give ourselves first priority. As a result, we go after the material things. We give a small attention to the spiritual things in life, and that is our relationship with Him. We forget to seek Him daily, we expect that somehow the spiritual things will take care of themselves. Listen…from our text, it is clear that God will provide for our daily needs. What we lack is to seek His kingdom, and His righteousness. By lacking in this area in our life, we live like we are still lost. There is no such thing as a christian, and still lost!!!
 
To Seek first His kingdom means... His rule, His reign in our lives. His will, His authority. Seeking Gods kingdom is loosing ourselves in obedience to His lordship to the extent that we can. What I mean is, there will always be that flesh and spirit battle that goes on within. But which one should win?
 
Next, is that we are to seek His righteousness. How do we do that, when we have not seen Jesus face to face.  How can we imitate Him, and live our lives pleasing to Him? Righteousness is in accord with His character…hence, Christ-likeness. Instead of longing after the things of this world, which eventually will be destroyed in the end, we are to hunger and thirst for the things that are eternal.
 
Colossians 3:2-3
2 Set your minds on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
 
It is to have Jesus’ truth, love, and righteousness manifested in our lives. To have peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
 
Romans 14:17
“For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit”.
 
If you are holding on to the things of this world as your priority, let me remind you…in fact let Peter remind you of this truth…
 
2 Peter 3:11-12
Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be, in holy conduct and godliness,12 looking for the hastening of the coming of the day of God.
 
We had a taste of this lesson on our Bible study, when the Lord returns. Jesus will return, are you ready? What Jesus is clearly teaching us in this text, is to establish our priorities in life. Let your first priority be, to follow Christ. Jesus is saying to focus your attention and hopes on the Him. If you are going to be consumed by anything, be consumed by His kingdom, His righteousness, and see how your life will turn out.
 
Our caring and protective Father, will always add to what we need in our life. The passage calls us to seek first His kingdom, and leave the secondary to His provincial care. If you are looking for work, seek first His kingdom, and He will provide you with work. If you already have job, and your making ends meet, seek first His kingdom, and see that He provides you with a promotion. If God’s priorities, becomes our priorities, He will take care of our needs. This daily supply is a promise!
Notice that it is a conditional promise.  First we seek His kingdom, and everything else will fall into place. Rather than being like pagans who are concerned about physical needs, rather than seeking and worrying about food, shelter, and clothing like unbelievers do, “Jesus says…focus your attention and hopes on the things of the Lord and He will take care of your needs. The Lords disciples…God’s children, should be concerned about the things of God, Hid kingdom, and His righteousness. Then all these needs will be supplied in Gods timing. This is the life of daily seeking God, and trusting Him in faith!
 
If the first priority in your life is not God’s kingdom and righteousness, then it may explain some unproductive living and giving. What I mean is, if your seeking His kingdom and righteousness, but  living in a life of sin, stop wondering why your prayers are not being answered. Why you cannot seek His face…
 
Psalm 66:18 ( NIV )
If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.
Psalm 66:18 (NKJV)
If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear.
 
Willingly living a life of sin, is not seeking His kingdom and righteousness. That is the total opposite. Get your walk right with God. Seek His kingdom, seek His righteousness, and see God do a miracle in your life. Seek His kingdom and His righteousness, and have Him give you a new life. Don’t expect a righteous God to spiritually or eternally bless you, if you are not going to put Him first.
 
A daily decision in life must be made. What am I putting first? Or…Who am I putting first? Seeking God is a daily spiritual decision. Putting God’s kingdom and righteousness first, will give you..bless you with the daily provisions that you will need, and more. God loves to be a blessing to His children…
 
Matthew 7:11
If you then, who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
 
We must give God sovereignty over our lives. This is where the issue lies. Will we walk or live by faith in Christ, or will we walk by the sight and wisdom of a natural man?
 
IN CONCLUSION:
 
Two rules should govern the life  of a christian. Seek first His Kingdom, and His righteousness daily. So that we can enjoy His precious promises of daily provisions, and much more, His eternal blessings.
Allow…better yet trust our Heavenly Father to keep His promises concerning the rest of your life. Your life and mine will better in His, than our own.
 
Short Story:
 
When Dr. W.A Criswell, Pastor of the largest Southern Baptist Church in the world at one time, was preaching in the North Shore Baptist Church in Chicago, he was entertained at the home of deacon, James L. Kraft, who was the superintendent of their Sunday school , and founder of Kraft Foods..
 
Kraft said, that as a young man, he had a desire to be the most famous manufacturer and salesman in the world. He planned on becoming rich and famous by making and selling cheese, and began as a young fellow with a little buggy pulled by a pony named Paddy.
 
After making  his cheese, the youth would load his wagon, and he and Paddy would drive down the streets of Chicago to sell the cheese. As the months passed, young Kraft began to despair because he was not making any money, in spite of his long hours and hard work.
 
One day he pulled his pony to a stop and began to talk to him. He said “Paddy, there is something wrong. We are not doing it right. I am afraid we have things turned around. Our priorities are not where they ought to be. Maybe we ought to serve God and place Him first in our lives.”
 
Kraft then drove home and made a covenant that for the rest of his life, he would first serve God and then would work as God directed.
 
Many years after this, Dr. Criswell heard James Kraft say, “I would rather be a layman in the North Shore Baptist Church, than to head the greatest corporation in America. My Job is serving Jesus.”
 
We can see Kraft products at every grocery store there is. James Kraft put God as his first priority  in his life, and God has blessed him.
 
How about you? What will be the first priority of your day your life? “Seek First His Kingdom, And His Righteousness”, and see how your life will turn out. Gods promises are yours, but you have to seek Him first daily, for the rest of your life. From here to eternity.