Intro story: On the way to
morning prayers some co-workers were blaming the oil companies and the
government for the high gas prices and all that that does to our economy. There
were some other men that don’t attend the prayer meeting all adding to the
complaint. It was a heart felt gripe session. These were men who love America,
they are Army vets, or in the Reserves. One was a Cuban who has a hair raising
story about his escape from Castro.
I
was able to explain that the root cause was not what they were thinking, but
the root cause is greed. This is the root cause of the failure of every
political and economic ideology throughout history. The light bulbs all turned
on when I said that the only hope for America is Jesus. They jumped on that
bandwagon and I was able to tell the one guy, “Now you’re preaching the right
sermon.” These men were distracted by political rhetoric; they were missing
opportunities to share the Gospel when in conversations like this.
Matt
6:19 "Do not lay up for yourselves
treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and
steal;
20 "but lay up for yourselves
treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do
not break in and steal.
21 "For where your treasure is, there
your heart will be also.
25 "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?
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. (NKJ)
There
are 3 things we need to grasp, or be reminded of, about Matt. 6:33
- What does it mean to seek the Kingdom of God 1st, or what is the Kingdom of God?
- How do we seek it?
- What distracts us from maintaining seeking the Kingdom of God as the #1 priority in life?
1. What does it mean to seek the Kingdom of
God 1st, or what is the Kingdom of God?
When I
meditate o the Word I always ask the Lord, what does this mean? How is this
applied to life today, hear in the USA. What is the down to earth application
of Matt. 6:33 where the rubber meets the road?
To
understand the application of these verses we must 1st remember the
most basic Biblical definition of the Kingdom of God,
·
Rom
14:17 For the kingdom of God is not
meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. (KJV)
So
then, what is it that we are supposed to seek 1st & foremost?
·
righteousness,
and peace, and joy.
·
Not
as vague concepts but as attributes of God made real in our lives and
situations.
The
phrase, “Kingdom of God” is used about 73 times in the New Testament. This is
indicative of how important understanding this concept is. May our hearts
receive revelation as we look at some of the verses that talk about the Kingdom
of God.
1
aspect of this Kingdom is supernatural power. When Jesus was accused of casting
out demons by Beelzebub He simply responded with a loaded verse:
Matt 12:28 "But if I cast out demons by the
Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.”
Later
Paul wrote:
1 Cor. 4:20 For the kingdom of God is not in word but
in power.
And
here is the direct connection of the Kingdom of God, supernatural power and
believers functioning in it:
Luke 9:1 Then He called His twelve disciples
together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure
diseases.
2 He sent them to preach the kingdom of
God and to heal the sick.
See also Matt.
10:5-8.
This
sending was not just for the 12 apostles,
John 14:12 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes
in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will
do, because I go to My Father.
13 "And whatever you ask in My name,
that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14 "If you ask anything in My name, I
will do it.
The
Great Commission (Prime Directive for us Trekies) emphasizes this too:
Mark 16:15-15 And He said to them, "Go into
all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
16 "He who believes and is baptized
will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.
17 "And these signs will follow those
who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new
tongues;
18 "they will take up serpents; and if
they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands
on the sick, and they will recover."
For homework, read Acts 2. What a way to live
& reach the world, God help us to get there !!!
Here is
another wonderful image of the Kingdom. Little children are not only invited in
but they are used as the example of how to enter in.
Mark 10:13 Then they brought young children to Him, that
He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them.
14 But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly
displeased and said to them, "Let the little children come to Me, and do
not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.
15 "Assuredly, I say to you, whoever
does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter
it."
16 And He took them up
in His arms, put His hands on them, and blessed them.
2.
How do we seek it?
Rom 14:17 For
the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy
in the Holy Ghost. (KJV)
This
verse, as we discussed earlier, define the Kingdom of God as righteousness, and
peace, and joy. And where are these attributes of God found according to this
verse? in the Holy Ghost.
Gal 5:16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you
shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
And
here’s the litmus test to see if we are laying up treasure in Heaven:
Gal 5:22- But the fruit of the Spirit is love,
joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control. Against such
there is no law.
24 And those who are Christ's have
crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also
walk in the Spirit.
How do
we heed Matt. 6:33? We walk in the Spirit.
What is
the evidence of walking the in the Spirit? – The fruits listed in Gal. 5:22,23.
What
must we do to walk this way? – Crucify the flesh.
How
desperately we must seek this Kingdom is seen here:
Mark 9:47 "And if your eye causes you to sin,
pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye,
rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire--
Heb
12:1 Therefore we also, since we
are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every
weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with
endurance the race that is set before us,
2 looking unto Jesus, the author and
finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the
cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of
God.
3 For consider Him who endured such
hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged
in your souls.
4. You
have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin.
3.
What distracts us from
maintaining seeking the Kingdom of God as the #1 priority in life?
Look
back at Matt. 6 starting w. verse 19. In the prelude to the climatic verse of
the chapter, Jesus mentions several things that distract us from doing what he
is about to tell us to do. May the Lord touch our hearts and lead us to
discover those areas of our lives that distract us from maintaining Kingdom
priorities in our lives. I pray that before we leave today we will have a
driving hunger to live in the Kingdom and to experience the presence of the
King continually.
Lets
think about distractions from seeking 1st the Kingdom of God. Mat. 6
lists a few, but by no means all.
Matt
6:19 "Do not lay up for yourselves
treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and
steal;
What
causes people to do what Jesus says not to in this verse?
·
I
think Greed is the number 1 thing. Greed, the
lust for things and money.
1 Tim 6:9 But those who desire to be rich fall
into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which
drown men in destruction and perdition.
10 For the love of money is a root of all
kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness,
and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
Mark 10:23 Then Jesus looked around and said to His
disciples, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom
of God!"
TV Game
shows are so motivated by greed, “Reality” shows are so unreal as to be
ridiculous yet so many people watch this junk. Some may involve a little
cranial exercise (are you smarter than a 5th grader?) but all the
drama they build only feeds greed.
The
Word is so wonderful, when we are instructed not to do something, the Lord
usually follows it with what we should do instead – the pathway to victory.
1 Cor 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except such
as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted
beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of
escape, that you may be able to bear it.
Let’s
pursue what Jesus says to:
1 Tim 6:11 But you, O man of God, flee these things
and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.
·
A
kin to greed is Misdirected affections:
I Jn 2:15 Do not love the world or the things in
the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16 For all that is in the world-- the lust
of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life-- is not of the
Father but is of the world.
Here’s
how to overcome this issue:
1 Jn. 2:17 And the world is passing away, and the
lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
Col 3:1 If then you
were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is,
sitting at the right hand of God.
2 Set your mind on things above, not on
things on the earth.
3 For you died, and your life is hidden
with Christ in God.
We can
have control over what we let our brain dwell on. It requires practice but it
is very doable. The scripture tells us to surround ourselves with the Word,
Deut 6:6 "And these words which I command
you today shall be in your heart.
7 "You shall teach them diligently
to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you
walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.
8 "You shall bind them as a sign on
your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.
9 "You shall write them on the
doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Wouldn’t
it be wonderful if the application of Word of God was our most frequent topic
of conversation? It was for me in those months after I 1st got
saved, at least with the Christians the Lord put me close with quickly.
Let’s
go back to Matt. 6.
25 "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?
31 "Therefore do not worry, saying,
'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'
The
phrase, “do not worry” is used 3 times in this chapter alone, then once in
Mark & twice in Luke. 6 repetitions, I think that means its pretty important.
Its been said that the only one with the right to worry is a Jewish mother –
and they are sooo good at that.
The way
out of worry is
Matt. 6:32 "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.
Many
dear saints settle for so much less than God has for them because they never
understand that the Kingdom of God is not a natural kingdom. It’s not like a
country that has specific borders and a mortal person ruling by whim. As born
again believers we become citizens of our Father’s Kingdom which transcends all
earthly boundaries.
SEE ALSO lIFE LESSONS FROM REVELATION -
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