What does the Bible say about seeking the kingdom of God?

The Bible instructs believers to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, assuring that all other needs will be met. In Matthew 6:33, Jesus tells His followers to prioritize seeking the kingdom of God above all else. This kingdom refers to the rule of Christ in our lives. By seeking His preeminence, believers align their lives with God's will, ensuring that everything else will fall into its proper place. The essence of this instruction is to trust God for our future and rely on His sovereignty, regardless of life's uncertainties.

Why is seeking God's righteousness important for Christians?

Seeking God's righteousness is essential as it provides believers with peace and alignment with God's will. Christ's righteousness is crucial for believers because it is through Him that we attain holiness, which we cannot achieve through our own efforts. As stated in Matthew 6:33, we are called to seek God’s righteousness alongside His kingdom. This divine righteousness is a gift obtained through faith in Christ’s sacrificial death, providing believers assurance of their standing before God. When Christians prioritize seeking God’s righteousness, it cultivates a deeper relationship with Him, promoting spiritual growth and fulfillment in life.

How can I know that God has a plan for my future?

God’s promises assure us that if we seek Him first, He will guide and provide for our futures. Believers can trust that God has a plan for their lives based on His promise in Matthew 6:33. When we prioritize seeking His kingdom and righteousness, we are assured that God will care for our needs and guide our paths. This does not mean that challenges will be absent, but it emphasizes that God remains sovereign and present in our lives, assuring us of His support in every circumstance. By placing Christ at the center of our decision-making, we can have confidence in the unfolding of His divine plan.

Why is it necessary to put Christ first in our lives?

Putting Christ first is essential as it aligns our lives with His will and brings His blessings. Placing Christ first in our lives transforms our perspective and priorities. Matthew 6:33 instructs believers to seek God's kingdom first, ensuring that our lives are governed by His rule and righteousness. When we acknowledge Christ’s authority and prioritize Him, we receive His blessings and guidance, helping us navigate life’s uncertainties. This principle reinforces our dependence on Christ as our King, enabling us to experience His goodness and mercy in every aspect of our lives.

Seek First The Kingdom Of God - Peter L. Meney

Well, I just wanted to say a few things to some of the younger children. We've got some very young ones at the back, and we've got some older ones, but I just wanted to draw a little verse to your attention, which I think is very important, because I think that when you're young, sometimes the world can feel very uncertain, a little bit scary, and exciting. And sometimes it feels as if we've got an awful lot to learn and not an awful lot of time to learn it.

Do you ever wonder what's it going to be like in the future for me? What's it going to be like for my life when I get a little bit older, say as old as my parents or even older? what will happen in the future. Because we're not always sure where our security is going to come from. Hopefully we all feel a degree of security with our parents in our home and in the life that we have. And we get to do some things that we enjoy, like sports, or hobbies, or learning, or church and the friendships that we have. When we're young, it's good to have someone to look after us.

And I'm sure that you feel as if your parents don't get things right all the time, but they're trying their best. and someday it'll be your turn and you'll have to make decisions and you'll have to try your best as well. Your parents, like you, are still learning as well. But living at home and relying on mums and dads won't last forever.

I remember speaking to a little boy, I think he was about 10, and He had, in a sense, just realized, he'd got old enough to realize that he was getting older. And I thought I was being nice to him when I said, my, look how big you're getting. And his face dropped. And he looked at me and he said, I don't want to grow up. I don't want to get older. And I think that he was realising that he had many questions and uncertainties about what lay ahead. Much as it seems a nice idea to remain forever young, that's just not how life works.

We all have to make decisions. We all have roads to take. We all have work to do. We have relationships to form, careers to follow, and that can all be very exciting, but it can also be a little bit scary, a little bit intimidating. We might wonder, how do we even begin to manage all that?

Well, the Bible has something to say about it. In Matthew chapter six and verse 33, the Lord tells his disciples and he's telling us as well. And I think it's of the utmost importance. He says, get your priorities right. When you're young, some of you are a little bit older, but you can start now. Get your priorities right.

Seek first. the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you. He is telling us to put the Lord first, to put him first in our lives, to put him first in our thinking, to put him first so that the big things of life as well as the little things of life will find their proper place in our experience. He says, seek first the kingdom of God. Well, what is the kingdom of God?

That's a kind of religious term that could mean many things, really. And actually, it does. It means lots of different things the way that it is used by the Lord and in the New Testament. And it's good to know what something looks like if you're to find it, right? If you have to seek it, it's good to know what it looks like.

Well, the kingdom of God is, maybe I can summarize it like this. It's the rule of Jesus Christ in our lives. Okay, that's a little bit more complicated than just the kingdom of God, but it's the rule of the Lord Jesus Christ in a person's life. And actually, the gospels speak a lot about that. They speak about Christ's kingdom, and they give Christ's kingdom, Christ's rule in our lives, lots of different titles, but they generally all mean the same thing.

They're just looking at them from a different angle. Sometimes it's called the kingdom of God, seek ye first the kingdom of God, like in Matthew chapter six here. Sometimes it's called the kingdom of Christ. It's the same thing. Sometimes it's called the kingdom of Christ and of God, which helps us understand that it's the same thing. Sometimes it's called the kingdom of David. It's a little bit more obscure, but it's Christ's rule in our lives. Sometimes it's just the kingdom. Sometimes it's the kingdom of heaven.

And they're all names that are related to the rule of Christ in our life. Christ's kingly rule and the blessings that he gives to his people who are the subjects of his kingdom. So that to seek the kingdom of God is to seek to give Christ preeminence, the first place in our lives, to follow him and to obey him. Now, of course, the Lord Jesus Christ is the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

We don't make him king by putting our faith in him or trusting him, as if his kingship depends on what we do. He is the king. but we learn to love him as the king. We learn to rely on him as the king. We depend upon his rule, his kingship in our lives, his goodness and mercy.

David knew about that, although he was a king, and he wrote about the goodness and mercy of the Lord in his life every day. And we are to seek God's righteousness as well. Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. Christ's righteousness or God's righteousness is his perfect holiness.

And we're not able to get that by ourselves. We're not able to get that by the things that we do. No matter how good we try to be, no matter how Christian we try to be, no matter how much we try to follow the rules and regulations that are set before us as children and as we grow up through teenage life, no matter how much we try to Get that righteousness by our own works. We will fail. Some of you as younger people are starting to discover that. You're not the people you would like to be. Your mums and dads already know that.

But here's the thing, there is a way of getting that righteousness from God. We can become holy and righteous. We can become perfect in God's sight, even if not in our own. And that is by trusting in the death and sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross and asking him to forgive our sins and to give us his holiness. If we have Christ as the Lord in our lives, if we have his righteousness to give us peace with God, everything, listen, everything else in life will fall into place.

It won't be easy. There will still be difficulties. There will be highs and there will be lows. but everything else will fall into place when we seek first the kingdom of God in his righteousness. So what of the future? What does it hold? What does it contain? I don't know for you.

Do you like football? Be a great footballer. but seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. Do you like music? Be a great musician, but seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. Do you aspire to be a scientist or a linguist or a computer whiz kid? Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. Are you an outdoor person? or are you a quiet, indoor kind of person? Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, whatever you are like, whatever you aspire to, wherever you hope to go, by all means, take that and run with it. Follow your dreams, but first, seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these other things will fall into place.

Some of you are hoping to go to university. Some of you are hoping to have a career in the future. I don't know where this world is going. I feel more nervous now as I grow older about what is going to happen to the new generation than I've ever felt perhaps in my whole life. And I guess that those of us who are parents and grandparents do wonder about what the days hold.

But we can all lay hold on this. In seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, we place Christ first and foremost in our thoughts, and thereby He has promised that He will never leave us nor forsake us, and He will be with us every day of our life, no matter what happens. Thank you for listening to that.

Seek First The Kingdom Of God

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about seeking the kingdom of God?

Why is seeking God's righteousness important for Christians?

How can I know that God has a plan for my future?

Why is it necessary to put Christ first in our lives?

Sermon Transcript

About Peter L. Meney

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Seek First The Kingdom Of God

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about seeking the kingdom of God?

Why is seeking God's righteousness important for Christians?

How can I know that God has a plan for my future?

Why is it necessary to put Christ first in our lives?

Sermon Transcript

About Peter L. Meney

Comments

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