Clean Transcript

Seeking The Kingdom Of God

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• Let's open our Bibles to the book of Matthew, chapter 6. Matthew chapter 6. That's in the New Testament, Pat. Matthew chapter 6. And we're going to be reading verse 33. We will cover a whole lot of other verses a little bit later, but we're going to start with verse 33. Matthew chapter 6 and verse 33. The title of the message is "Seeking the Kingdom of God." And it may surprise you how the Word of God tells us where to seek the Kingdom of God. So look at Matthew 6 and verse 33: "But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." I suppose that many of you probably can quote this verse, and those of you who may not be able to quote it certainly have heard it quoted by others and especially by pastors. But have you ever really contemplated or meditated upon this verse?

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• So you have to ask several questions. First of all, what is this verse exactly commanding us to do? What is the kingdom of God, and how do we seek it first, and what are the benefits from seeking first the kingdom of God? Now this expression, "the kingdom of God," is found 61 times in the synoptic gospels. That would be Matthew, Mark, and Luke. If you combine the parallel expressions, it occurs 85 times in the synoptic gospels. It should be pointed out when you talk about the kingdom of God, you must consider it from a present reality and also from a future certainty. So let me give you the scriptures first in Matthew chapter 12 and verse 28. Our Lord talks about the kingdom of God being a present reality when He said, "But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you." In other words, the kingdom of God was there. So it is indeed a present reality. But the kingdom of God is also a future certainty, for our Lord said in Mark 14 in verse 25, "Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God." So the kingdom of God then

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• is referred to not only in the present tense, but in the future tense as well. Now we could say it like this: the kingdom of God has come. It is here, and it is coming. It has come and it is here, but it is going to be coming in its full and final manifestation when our Lord returns. Now let me just mention, as I try to explain the phrase "the kingdom of God," that there is indeed a—well, I'm going to call an unlimited view and then there's a limited view or a limited expression and unlimited expression. In one sense of the word, if you talk about the kingdom of God, you're talking about God's sovereign rule over everything and everyone. And if I took you through the Bible, I could show you where the Bible teaches that God rules over the heathen. He rules over the wicked. He rules over the ungodly. So certainly in that sense of the word, that would be an aspect of the kingdom as well. But in the limited expression of the kingdom of God, we're going to say that it refers to those who are indeed redeemed, regenerated, and converted.

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• I will explain it to you. So if we try to ask, "What is the kingdom of God?" we could answer it like this: the kingdom of God is that kingdom over which God rules by His law and by His power. And certainly that would be true over the unlimited expression of this, but it's certainly true in the limited expression as well. It is a kingdom which recognizes Him, which submits to Him, which bows to Him, which honors and worships Him. So it is a kingdom that also has a gospel. Mark chapter 1 verses 14 and 15: now listen, "Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel." But notice Jesus came preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God. So the kingdom of God does indeed have a gospel.

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• So how are we going to define the kingdom of God? And remember, I'm talking about the limited expression of it. And we're going to point out the fact that the kingdom of God is indeed a spiritual kingdom. And that spiritual kingdom manifests itself in the lives of its subjects. For instance, in Romans 14 and verse 17, the Bible says, "For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." So it's not something that's physical in that sense of the word. It is something that is spiritual. And then again, our Lord said in Luke chapter 17 verses 20 and 21, "And when He was demanded of the Pharisees when the kingdom of God should appear, He said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you." So in this sense of the word, He's talking about a spiritual kingdom. But it is a spiritual kingdom that has power and authority. It's a kingdom that has power and authority over everything and everyone. Matthew 12 and verse 28 again, where our Lord said, "But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto

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• you." But notice, "if I cast out devils." And if you read through the New Testament, every time our Lord spoke, He spoke with authority. And with authority, the scripture says, He commanded the unclean spirits and they obeyed Him. So it's a spiritual kingdom, but it is a kingdom of power and authority.

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• Now the Bible also teaches the fact that no one can get into this kingdom except by the supernatural power of God and by the grace of God. Any individual who is in this kingdom is there by the supernatural power of God and the grace of God. You remember in John chapter 3, Nicodemus, a ruler of the Pharisees, had come to Jesus by night, and of course our Lord looked at him in verse 3 and said, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." In other words, until you are born again, you cannot even see the kingdom of God. And then He said in John 3 and verse 5, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." So in order to even see or enter into the kingdom of God, you must be born from above by the supernatural power of God and by the grace of God. So it is impossible then to enter the kingdom of God in any other way.

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• For instance, the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 15 in verse 50, "Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption." So we, by nature, are corruptible. We're flesh and blood. And anything with corruption and flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Now, when we're talking about the spiritual aspect of the kingdom of God, you have to understand that therefore the wicked and the unrepentant are cut out of the kingdom of God. And this business about, "Well, we're all brothers regardless of what we believe," is certainly not true. Not true by any stretch of the imagination. If you'd look in your Bibles to the book of Galatians chapter 5—Galatians chapter 5, hold Matthew 6, we're coming back there—but let's begin reading with verse 19. Galatians chapter 5 and verse 19, listen carefully: "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these;" and by the way, note that all these are works of the flesh. They're not works of the devil.

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• They're works of the flesh. Which are these? Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like.

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• Now watch: "of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God." Well, that means the wicked and the unrepentant are cut out of the kingdom of God. If you look in Ephesians 5 and verse 5, just a few pages forward, Ephesians 5 and verse 5, here it is stated again very clearly. Ephesians 5 verse 5: "For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God." So he has absolutely no inheritance there. So the kingdom of God in this sense of the word of Matthew chapter 6 and verse 33 is speaking—the kingdom of God is that kingdom where the sovereign God of heaven and earth is recognized and honored and obeyed and worshiped by those whom He has redeemed, regenerated, and converted. Now, let me tell you something else. In this sense of the word, the kingdom of God could also be referred to as the kingdom of the saints, because it is the saints who inhabit this kingdom. If you would hold Matthew 6 but go back in your Bibles to the book of Daniel chapter 7, we'll begin there

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• with verse 18, and I will show it to you three times in Daniel chapter 7. Daniel chapter 7 and verse 18, listen to what the Bible says. Daniel chapter 7—after the book of Ezekiel, yeah, thank you, it is in the Old Testament—Daniel chapter 7, look at verse 18: "But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever." Note: the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom and possess it. It's the kingdom of the saints. Skip down, if you would please, and look at verse 22: "Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom." Now verse 27: "And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him." So obviously, the kingdom of God is certainly where God rules, but He rules over His people.

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• And in this sense, they are in the kingdom. So it is the kingdom of the saints as well. There is a passage in the book of Obadiah chapter 1 and verse 17 where the Bible says that Jacob, talking about God's people, shall possess their possessions. And so, likewise in the New Testament, since we are talking about the kingdom of God and it being the kingdom of the saints, we are in essence to possess our possessions. We are to have everything that God has granted to us and given to us. I want you to think about this because this poses a question in light of Matthew 6 in verse 33. And I want you to go back to Matthew 6 in verse 33. I have told you that the kingdom of God has come. The kingdom of God is here, and the kingdom of God is coming. I've also told you that the saints are in the kingdom. We are the citizens of this heavenly kingdom, that is for sure. So here's a question: if we are already in the kingdom, how do we seek it first? Why would we seek something that we already possess, something that we already have? Well, I want you to look at verse 33.

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• Matthew 6 verse 33: "But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness."

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• Now the word "seek" is a present active imperative. When you hear the word "imperative," you must understand that it is a command. It's not good advice. It's not counsel. It's not a suggestion. It is a command. So if I looked at David and said, "David, put on your glasses," I'm commanding him to do something. Now, you may disobey me, but I'll be commanding him. I'm not suggesting that he do that. I'm telling him that he must do that. Now, God is telling us here is something that we must do. It is a command. It is a present active imperative. Now, listen to this. Since it is a present active, that means it is something that God is commanding us to do consistently and constantly.

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• In other words, we should be doing it all the time. We're to be seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.

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• Now, go back to verse 33 again and look at this. By the way, we should always be actively seeking the kingdom of God according to this verse, and I will go farther: we should always be seeking the kingdom of God first. Okay. Now He says, "Seek ye the kingdom of God first." The word "first" here is from the Greek word "protos," which literally means first in time or place, and first in any succession of things or persons, first in rank, first in influence, first in honor, that which is first, foremost, and chief. So He's telling us that we are to chiefly seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness. We're to do it first. We're to do it foremost.

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• It is to be our priority. It must be the goal of our life. Seek ye first the kingdom of God. Now let me ask this question again: since we're already in the kingdom of God, how do we seek it, and what does it mean to seek it first? Well, look at verse 33. He said, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness." Now the phrase "and His righteousness" explains literally what it means to seek the kingdom of God first. If we reverse part of this phrase, the phrase will explain itself. We could read it like this: "But seek ye first the God of the kingdom and His righteousness." So if you're seeking first the kingdom of God, in reality what you're doing is seeking first the God of the kingdom. In other words, you're seeking Him and His righteousness. So Matthew 6 and verse 33 then is commanding us to seek Him first, foremost, and chief in our lives. We're to place Him before everything else, ahead of everything else. He is to be our priority. He's to be our focus. He's to be our driving influence. We're desiring His will, His way, His word, and we're bringing our lives into conformity to Him. And in doing so, we are seeking His righteousness. Now when we seek His righteousness, we're doing that which is acceptable

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• in His sight. Now stop and think about that. If we're doing that which is acceptable in His sight, that just means we're bringing our lives into conformity to His word and to His will. Now, listen carefully. The purity of life that God demands of us, the virtue that God demands of us, the holiness that God demands of us can all be summed up in seeking His righteousness. Do you realize that righteousness and justice are synonymous terms? In fact, they're from the same Hebrew word in the Bible. Have you ever stopped to think about this? If something is just, it is right. If something is right, then it's just. So if we're seeking His righteousness, we're seeking that which is just and holy and right in His sight.

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• And He's telling us to seek Him first. If you would hold Matthew 6 but look in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 10, if you would turn over just a few pages. Matthew chapter 10, and I want you to look, if you would please, beginning there with verse 37. Matthew chapter 10 and verse 37. Notice if you would as we read that passage. Matthew 10 verse 37: "He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me." Now notice if you would, He said, "And he that loveth father and mother more than me is not worthy of me." Let me just stop and ask you, does not God command us to honor our father and our mother and to love them?

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• Does not God command us to love our children? Well, of course He does. But He said we cannot love them more than Him. Do you realize if I said I love my wife more than heaven itself or the Lord Himself, that's idolatry? I'm to love my wife, but not more than the Lord. I'm to love my father, my mother, but not more than the Lord. I'm to love my children, but not more than the Lord. Now let me just—I'm going to explain this a little bit later, but let me just show you. If we say that we love our children, but we love the Lord more, wonder how that would manifest itself. If we really loved our children and if we love the Lord first and foremost and had Him chief, would we not bring our children up in the nurture and the admonition of the Lord?

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• Would we not teach them? Would we not discipline them? Would we not raise them the way He commands us? So that would mean this then: if we let our children go wild and do whatever they want to please and never ever try to teach the Word of God, what do we do? We're loving our children more than we love the Lord. So He's telling us in Matthew chapter 10 that basically this is the same truth that He is communicating in Matthew 6 in verse 33 when He tells us, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness." In other words, we have to put Him absolutely first. Now I want you to note, if you would please, that our Lord is demanding and commanding that He be first in our lives. So it is easy to say that we are seeking the kingdom of the Lord. It's easy to say that we're seeking the God of the kingdom. It's easy to say that we're placing the Lord first and foremost in our lives.

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• It's easy to say, but to say and to do are two totally different things. Obedience is far more than talk. Now I want you to go back to Matthew chapter 6 because I want to show you exactly how practical this really is. This is so absolutely amazing to me. If you look again at Matthew 6 and verse 33, the Bible says, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." In the context of Matthew 6 and verse 33, you can discover what it means to seek the God of the kingdom and the kingdom of God first. You can discover that from verses 19 through 34.

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• So I want to take these just one at a time and try to analyze them for you. So notice if you would, Matthew chapter 6 beginning with verse 19, our Lord says, "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal."

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• "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." So God now has commanded us to lay not up for ourselves treasures upon the earth, but lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven.

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• Now, God is certainly not telling us here in this particular instance that we're not to have money, but He's telling us what the real treasure is supposed to be. You know, of course, you could be a multi-billionaire in electronic digits and it all disappear in an electronic moment. Or you could have billions of dollars of paper and it turned out to be absolutely worthless. I read years and years ago, probably closer to 50 years ago when I first started preaching, about a man who lived in an old house and there was a small but fairly large crack in the wooden wall that he had there, and every time he passed that crack he put a twenty dollar bill in it, because it was his savings. And when he got through, you know, and retired and all this, he's going to dig all that money out. He put $20 bills through that crack month after month, year after year. Finally, after a number of years, he decided he needed to get the money. He took a crowbar, started prying the boards loose.

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• And when he got down to where the money was, the rats had chewed it all up, made nests out of it. So he lost everything. That's an excellent illustration of what our Lord is saying right here about laying up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust and thieves get in and break through and steal. I mean, you can have a lot of things, but if they're stolen from you, they're just gone. You can have equipment. And I've got news for you, a $100,000 piece of equipment will rust up just like a $20 piece of equipment. So, I'm already saying, look, lay not up for yourself treasures on earth. That's not your primary focus. Your primary focus is to lay up for yourself treasures in heaven.

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• Well, how do you do that? And the answer is found in verse 33. Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.

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• Now there's nothing wrong with having money if the Lord gives you money, as long as you use it for His honor and His glory. The old Puritans used to have a saying that when a Christian gets rich, God either gains a fortune or loses a man. And that's true. But our primary focus is not to be on laying up treasures here. What is going to happen? I don't care if you're a multi-billionaire, one of these days, guess what? You're going to die, and you're not going to take any of it with you. It's going to all be gone.

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• Now, the interesting thing is this, and I want you to turn in your Bibles, Luke 12, hold Matthew 6. I want you to see what our Lord said concerning an individual who had a great deal of wealth in this life, but did not prepare for the life to come. Luke chapter 12, beginning there in verse 15. Our Lord called this rich farmer a fool. Look at it in Luke chapter 12. Notice verse 15.

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• "And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth." And that's true. "And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: and he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God." So what is our Lord saying? You're an absolute fool if you just prepare for this life, but not for the next life.

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• It's worthless. And so our Lord is telling us in Matthew chapter 6, if we want to lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven, then we have to seek His kingdom first. If God gives us earthly treasures while we're seeking His kingdom first, that's wonderful. But our primary focus is not to be on the earthly treasure, but on the heavenly treasure.

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• Now, so let me say this again. Talk is cheap. This is where the rubber hits the road. How we react, how we act, how we respond to those tasks and those tests and those temptations that face us every day—it's what we really truly are. So our Lord is saying, look, if you want to lay up treasures for yourself in heaven, fine. Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Now look, if you would please, verse 22 and

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• let's read through verse 24. Notice: "The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." So here's my question: How can you serve God with a single eye or with a single heart? You know, the Bible says in the book of James chapter 1 that a double-minded man is unstable in all of his ways, or double-hearted man is the same thing. And Jeremiah 17 tells us that the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can know it? But God is telling us here that we must serve Him with a single eye, and that our whole body shall be full of light if we do. And if we don't, then our eye is going to be evil and our body's going to be full of darkness. And then He said, you just cannot serve two masters.

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• You cannot serve God and mammon. You're either gonna hate the one and love the other, or you're gonna hold to the one and despise the other. It's just that simple. It's kind of like the story I heard a long time ago about the little boy who's walking to Sunday school, and his mother had given him two quarters: one to give to Sunday school, and one to buy him an ice cream with on the way back home from church. And as he was juggling those quarters in his hand, he was walking across the bridge, and he dropped one, and it hit the bridge, and then rolled over right into the river. And the little boy said, "Well, Lord, there goes your quarter." You know, that's the way most of us are. We're going to either hold on to one or let the other go. Well, how do we make sure that we're serving the Lord with a single heart or a single eye? Well, the answer is very simple. Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.

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• How are you going to do that? You've got to do that every day, sometimes every hour, sometimes every minute. It's something that you should be doing consistently and constantly. Remember, it's a present active imperative. You never ever are to get tired of seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.

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• Now, let's go further, because here it is. Let's begin reading verse 25. He said, "Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them."

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• "Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: and yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?"

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• "(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things." Now I want you to look back at verse 25. Think about this. Our Lord says, "Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought." How do we interpret that? "Take no thought for your life." Hmm. With all the trouble that we have in this land, with all the illegal aliens and the rape and murder and pillage and plunder, "Take no thought"? Well, what is our Lord saying to us? By the way, "take no thought" is also a present active imperative, which once again, it means it is a command. And since it is a present active, it's something that you're to be doing constantly and consistently. So He says, "Take no thought." Now the word "thought" here is a word which refers to being anxious or being troubled with cares or seeking to promote oneself or to be overly anxious concerning food and clothing. We would probably use the word "worry." Where our Lord says "take no thought," we would say "do not worry about life, about

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• food, etc." But let me ask you a question: not only is the average American, how about the average Christian? Are we not basically worried about tomorrow? We're worried about money. We're worried about health. We're worried about family and friends and neighbors. We're worried about promotions. We're worried about jobs. We're worried about everything.

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• Now, our Lord is not saying, "Do not think on these things." But what He is saying is that we are not to be overly anxious and overly concerned about these things, because obviously it is sinful to do so. Now let me show you. Let's go over to verse 25: "Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?" Well, what is He telling us? He's telling us that anxiousness or worry is ungratefulness. Now stop and think. If you're worried about what you're going to eat tomorrow or wear tomorrow or have tomorrow, you're not thankful for what you have today. You're not grateful.

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• And that's where most of us are. That's where most Christians are. We're totally and completely ungrateful. So He tells us then that it's impossible to be overly anxious and to please and honor God. Okay. So watch. He says, worry is pure, pure ungratefulness.

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• Now look in verse 26. It's not only ungratefulness, it's unreasonable. He says in verse 26, "Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?" So it's unreasonable in this sense: you look at the little birds. Do you realize the richest man in the country, the richest man in the entire world, would be broken in 24 hours if he just had to feed all the birds for a week? And God feeds them every day. And you know, we have bird feeders and God uses people too. You know, we have bird feeders and it's amazing. You put that bird feeder up, if you put a gallon of feed out there, they're going to eat a gallon of feed. You put five gallons, they're going to eat five gallons. It's just that simple. They're going to eat whatever you put out there. And you can say, "Oh, look at there. I've got these two little birds coming."

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• You put the feed out there, and those two little birds will soon multiply into 50. And what does our Lord say? Our Lord says, they don't sow. They don't reap. I've never seen a sparrow driving a tractor. You know, I've never seen a crow out there spreading seed. I've seen crows taking seed up. In fact, we had a friend that a number of years ago planted about an acre or two of watermelons.

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• He's going to make a lot of money, you see. He's going to plant these watermelons. But the seed that he planted was uncoated, unprotected. And the crows came along and ate up every one of those seeds. He only got two or three vines out of a whole acre or two acres of watermelons, because the crows ate up the seed. So, the point I'm trying to make is, these birds, they don't sow nor reap.

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• And what did our Lord say? "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing?" Fear not, He said, you're worth more than many sparrows. So here's where it's unreasonable. If God takes care of birds and brute beasts, is He not gonna take care of His own children? Obviously He is. So He says worry is ungrateful. Worry is unreasonable. Look in verses 27 and 28. In fact, we could go through verse 30 because here it is unavailing. He says, "Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: and yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these."

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• "Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?" Now, it's unavailing. "Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?" How can you say, "Well, I'm not as tall as I'd like to be, so I'm going to concentrate, and I'm going to add a half inch to my stature"? Concentrate all you want, it's not gonna happen. I know some of us have said, "Well, we're overweight. We're gonna lose five pounds. We're gonna concentrate." You can concentrate all you want until you diet or do something else. You're not gonna lose any weight. You see what I'm saying?

  #46 | 40:42 to 41:25 | cleaned

• You can't change anything. And notice what He said. He said, "And consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: and yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." Alice and I, of course, come through Jasper. I don't know if you've ever been that way, but as you get outside of Jasper coming to Interstate 75, on both sides of the road there are black-eyed Susans not only beside the road, but in the fields. And I mean, just acre after acre of nothing but these black-eyed Susans. And they're beautiful. And He said, "Look, look at this. These things just come up, and today they're here, tomorrow they're gone." And then He said, "Even Solomon was not arrayed like one of these." And then He said, "Shall He not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?" So it doesn't do any

  #47 | 41:25 to 42:27 | cleaned

• good to worry. You know, we can say, "Well, what's gonna happen in this country?" Well, we know what's gonna happen in this country, but I'm not gonna worry about it. I'm gonna do what God commands me to do and keep living for Him and honoring Him. Yeah, you see. He said, "Take no thought over these things. Take no thought over life and food and raiment and all these kind of things. No, take no thought." Now skip down to verse 34 very quickly. By the way, let me before I go to verse 34—

  #48 | 42:27 to 42:59 | cleaned

• Let me answer this question. How is it then from verse 25 through verse 32? In fact, let's—I left out verse 31. Let's go to verse 31. "Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things."

  #49 | 42:59 to 43:26 | cleaned

• So worry and anxiety is uncivilized. So actually when He says, "For after all these things do the Gentiles seek," in other words, here pagans are seeking these things. He said, why shouldn't you be seeking? You're not a pagan. For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. So what is the answer then to all of this anxious thought that we're giving concerning life and health and food and raiment? The answer is found in verse 33: "But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness." Now wait a minute. Go but to verse 34: "Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."

  #50 | 43:27 to 44:13 | cleaned

• Now God said don't be worried about tomorrow. Tomorrow is not even here. What you should be concerned about is doing right today. You may not be here tomorrow or tomorrow may not come, but you have to do right today. It's just that simple. So here's the question. How then do we live our life without anxiousness and without ungodly worry and turmoil and trouble? And the answer is by seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. How do we take no thought for tomorrow and how do we be unconcerned? By seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness today.

  #51 | 44:14 to 44:56 | cleaned

• Now let me hasten to tell you this: in Matthew chapter 6, Jesus Christ is not telling you how to become a Christian. He's telling you how to live as a Christian. And here's our problem. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Luke chapter 10. Let me show you something. Luke chapter 10. Look at it if you would please, and let's begin reading there verse 38. Luke 10 verse 38: "Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered about with much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone?"

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• "Bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: but one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her."

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• Now, I want you to stop and think about what He's saying. Martha was in there cooking dinner. Does dinner not need to be cooked? Well, of course. Does food not need to be eaten? Well, of course. There's a time to cook and there's a time to eat. And Martha was concerned. "I've got this company here and I've got to have it on the table by a certain time."

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• Our Lord said, "No, that's not true. You don't have to have it on the table by a certain time. And I'm not going to make Mary get up and go help you. There's only one thing needful, and she's chosen that good part." What was our Lord doing? He was teaching. What was Mary doing? She was sitting at His feet, listening and learning, and loving Him, and serving Him, and worshiping Him. He said, "That's the most important. We can eat later. We can eat anytime."

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• I got news for you. Not one of us is going to starve if we eat five after twelve, or one o'clock, or two o'clock. And what our Lord is saying is this: we get too cumbered and too anxious over things that really don't amount to a hill of beans. That which really amounts, that which really counts, is seeking first the God of the kingdom and His righteousness. Now He said, "Wait a minute, Brother Weaver. Let me ask you this: if I spend my time seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, I've got a question. How am I gonna live? How am I gonna pay my bills?" Well, you have to understand that He's not telling us to quit our jobs. He's not telling us not to work. What He is telling us: we're still to seek Him first. Whatever we do, we're to do for His honor and His glory and for the good of His people. It's just that simple. You know, there used to be a time in this country where things were made right and made to last.

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• Do you know, I'm still driving an old, probably '64, '65 Ford 5000 tractor that my father gave me years ago. Still runs. Still runs wonderfully well. You look at the modern-day tractors, you look at the el cheapos. Look at the cars. Years ago—it was over 40 years ago because our youngest daughter was a baby—we had an old Oldsmobile. And Alice was driving down the road with the kids in the car, and I did have a bunch of books in the trunk, but a guy ran right up behind her and hit her. And he was driving 30, 40 miles an hour. It never even made a dent in the bumper of that Oldsmobile. Messed up the front of his vehicle, but didn't dent ours. You run 30, 40 miles an hour into a car today, it's going to be torn to pieces. Hit three deer there were that ran out in front of me, and each time it took 2,500 bucks to fix the car, and the car was still drivable. It would still run. So all I'm trying to say is this: when we work, whatever we do, we're to do it for God's honor and

  #57 | 48:38 to 50:02 | cleaned

• God's glory, to the best of our ability. If it means losing our job because we're doing that which pleases God, then we lose our job. It's just that simple. We're to seek Him first. Now here's the question: What are the benefits for seeking the God of the kingdom and His righteousness first? Here it is in Matthew 6 in verse 33: "And all these things shall be added unto you." What things? All the things we were discussing from 19 through 34: life, health, food, raiment, whatever you need. What did He say? "Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things." It's kind of like 1 Samuel 2 and verse 30 says, where God said, "Them that honour me I will honour, saith the Lord."

  #58 | 50:02 to 51:04 | cleaned

• "And they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed." So if we honor God, God is going to honor us. Now let me give you a good illustration of what I'm preaching. You can find this illustration in the life of Solomon. You remember God came to Solomon and told him, "Ask what you will, and I will give it to you." Listen, I'm gonna read the scripture: "In that night did God appear unto Solomon, and said unto him, Ask what I shall give thee? And Solomon said unto God, Thou hast shewed great mercy unto David my father, and hast made me to reign in his stead. Now, O Lord God, let thy promise unto David my father be established: for thou hast made me king over a people like the dust of the earth in multitude. Give me now wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people: for who can judge this thy people, that is so great? And God said to Solomon, Because this was in thine heart, and thou hast not asked riches, wealth, or honour, nor the life of thine enemies, neither

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• yet hast thou asked long life; but hast asked wisdom and knowledge for thyself, that thou mayest judge my people, over whom I have made thee king: wisdom and knowledge is granted unto thee; and I will give thee riches, and wealth, and honour, such as none of the kings have had that have been before thee, neither shall there any after thee have the like." What did he say? "Ask what you will." "Well, Lord, what I want is Your wisdom and Your knowledge to serve You and to serve Your people." "Wonderful," said God, "I'm going to give you that. Now I'm going to give you riches. I'm going to give you a long life. I'll give you your enemies. I'll give you everything."

  #60 | 52:11 to 52:54 | cleaned

• Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. Listen to what John Calvin wrote. He said, "He who assigns the first rank to the kingdom of God will not carry beyond moderation his anxiety about food. Nothing is better adapted to restrain the wantonness of the flesh from breaking out in the course of the present life than meditation on the life of the heavens. The word 'righteousness' may be either understood as applying to God or to the kingdom, for we know that the kingdom of God consists in righteousness (Romans 14:17), that is, in the newness of spiritual life. All other things shall be added. This means that those things which relate to this present life are but favorable appendages, and ought to be reckoned greatly inferior to the kingdom of God." Isn't that amazing? So really and truly, even our physical life and our health and our food, our raiment, our money, are just favorable appendages. They are things that God has given us to assist us in our serving Him and worshiping Him.

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• Now, let me make just a couple of applications. The first one is this. One author stated this very succinctly. He said it like this: "Ask great things, little things shall be added unto you. Ask heavenly things, and earthly things shall be added unto you." And certainly that's what Solomon did. Certainly our Lord knows our needs. And as we honor Him, He will honor us. Now 1 Timothy chapter 6 in verse 6 is very applicable to this message, where the Bible says, "But godliness with contentment is great gain." Can we be content with what God has given us? If we can be godly and contented, He says that is great gain. 1 Timothy 4 and verse 8 says, "For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come." So we're seeking first the God of the kingdom and His righteousness. It is profitable in this life and that life which is to come.

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• It does not profit us to gain the whole world and lose our own souls. It does not profit us to live for this life and neglect the life that is to come. It does not profit us to live for ourselves and lose our lives. And seeking our Lord and His kingdom and His righteousness first, we not only save our lives, but we also lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven.

  #63 | 55:29 to 55:59 | cleaned

• Here's the crux of this. When our Lord said, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness," here's what He's saying: In every situation, in every circumstance, no matter how disturbing or encouraging that circumstance or situation is, we should always think about the Lord first. What He would have us to do. How He would have us to resolve the problem or rejoice or glorify Him or serve Him. In other words, we should always seek His righteousness in all things on a daily basis, and we should do it first, because the only kingdom that is going to last is the kingdom of our Lord. And the Bible even says, "The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever." So seek ye first His kingdom. We're in the kingdom, but we must seek it first and foremost. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to you this day.

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• We thank you for your word, for your grace, for your mercy, goodness and kindness. Help us, dear Lord, to live for thee and to honor thee and to glorify thee. And we pray, Father, that your will would be done in our lives. May we seek thee and seek thy righteousness. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T22:17:47Z