Seek The Kingdom First

Matthew 6:25-34
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We spend a lot of time worrying about things.  You’ve got people that are worrying about food, they’re worried about shelter; you got people that are worrying about jobs, about their relationships, and many other things.  All these things are important, but we shouldn’t let those things keep us or pull us away from looking to God.  We need to be looking to the Kingdom – we need to seek the kingdom first.

One thing we know is that if there is a Kingdom, there has to be a King.  The bible teaches us that Jesus is the King of Kings.  He is the King of Israel, the King of Righteousness, the King of Peace, the King of Saints, and on and on.  He truly is the King of Kings!

Jesus is our soon coming King; right now he is not reigning on this earth, but one day he will reign as supreme King over everything and everybody.

As I stated before, there are many people worried about many things.  Even some saints have been shaken because of this economy, because of job loss or because they don’t see how they are going to make the next mortgage payment.  Right now they don’t see how they can afford to buy the things that their kids need for school.  But as Jesus says in verse 32, He knows you need these things.  He knows what your need is; He knows what your life is like, and He tells us in verse 33, “But seek ye first the kingdom of heaven…”

That’s what we have to do.  Food, clothing, shelter -  all these things will be added.  If we do what? If we “seek first the kingdom”.  A lot of times we want to leave the kingdom in the background; we want to leave the Lord behind.  But we must put Him first.  We must look to God first. We must be concerned about the things of God first.  There is no need to worry. God will give us everything we need.

Jesus is teaching the disciples, and He is teaching us about the kingdom.  He is preparing us for the kingdom to come.  In this passage and many others He refers to the kingdom.  Even in teaching us to pray Jesus said “Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy Kingdom come..” Jesus talks about the kingdom so much because He is trying to prepare us for the Kingdom to come.

As saints of God that is what we are preparing for when we go to church.  We hear the Word, we read the Word, we hear the preacher, and we hear the teaching.   This is preparing us for the kingdom to come.  

When Jesus talks about a kingdom He’s not talking about a physical or material kingdom.  Jesus is talking on a spiritual level.  In His kingdom, the spiritual things come first.  So we seek to build God’s kingdom through worship and praise.  And in the process we see that God provides us with whatever we need.  We have no need to worry.

We are kingdom people and we must be about building the kingdom and advancing the kingdom – that’s what it’s all about.  When I stand here and share with you brothers on Wednesdays that’s what it’s all about – to encourage you in the faith.

We thank God for the kingdom. We thank God for you all – I truly thank God for you.

Prayer:
Father, I thank you in the name of Jesus that we can come before you. We acknowledge you, O God, and we know that your kingdom shall come.  We pray that you will continue to prepare us for the kingdom to come.  Help us to continue to encourage other brothers and sisters in the faith, God, as we all continue to look to you.  O God, I bless you and we praise you this morning.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.
~J. T.