WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.280 --> 00:00:13.380 Today I’m going to look at Matthew chapter 6, and what I really want to do today is focus on something that we just sang about. 2 00:00:13.380 --> 00:00:25.620 In the third verse of this hymn that we just sang about, it says, Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise, Thou mine inheritance, now and always: Thou and Thou only, first in my heart. 3 00:00:25.620 --> 00:00:41.780 And that’s what we’re really going to focus on this morning as we read Matthew chapter 6 and then focus on verse 33, to seek first the kingdom of God, to seek first his righteousness. 4 00:00:41.780 --> 00:00:56.520 So what I would like to do is read all of the chapter, read all of chapter 6, so that we can get the context of this verse that we’re going to focus on at the end of the chapter. 5 00:00:56.520 --> 00:01:05.280 So before I read it, let me ask the Lord for his help as we study this passage this morning. 6 00:01:05.280 --> 00:01:14.040 Father, as we do come to you this morning asking for your help, we ask for the illumination of the Holy Spirit. 7 00:01:14.040 --> 00:01:28.600 We ask for wisdom as we look at your word, as we read the words of our Lord Jesus that he preached to the disciples, to those who are listening. 8 00:01:28.600 --> 00:01:33.340 We ask that these same words would preach into our hearts. 9 00:01:33.340 --> 00:01:50.220 We ask for your guidance, that you would help us this morning, would help us today, as we think about these things, as we think about what it means to seek first your kingdom, to seek first your righteousness. 10 00:01:50.220 --> 00:01:52.420 Please help us as we explore this together. 11 00:01:52.420 --> 00:01:57.380 In Jesus’ name, Amen. 12 00:01:57.380 --> 00:01:59.710 So turn to Matthew chapter 6. 13 00:01:59.710 --> 00:02:08.900 I want to read from verse 1 to the end of the chapter. 14 00:02:08.900 --> 00:02:17.940 Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven. 15 00:02:17.940 --> 00:02:26.060 When therefore you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be honored by men. 16 00:02:26.060 --> 00:02:29.740 Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 17 00:02:29.740 --> 00:02:38.880 But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your alms may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will repay you. 18 00:02:38.880 --> 00:02:47.220 And when you pray, you are not to be as the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners in order to be seen by men. 19 00:02:47.220 --> 00:02:51.880 Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 20 00:02:51.880 --> 00:03:03.040 But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will repay you. 21 00:03:03.040 --> 00:03:10.860 And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. 22 00:03:10.860 --> 00:03:17.800 Therefore do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 23 00:03:17.800 --> 00:03:22.940 Pray then in this way: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. 24 00:03:22.940 --> 00:03:24.580 Thy kingdom come. 25 00:03:24.580 --> 00:03:28.040 Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 26 00:03:28.040 --> 00:03:30.080 Give us this day our daily bread. 27 00:03:30.080 --> 00:03:33.560 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 28 00:03:33.560 --> 00:03:37.340 And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. 29 00:03:37.340 --> 00:03:40.700 For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. 30 00:03:40.700 --> 00:03:42.100 Amen. 31 00:03:42.100 --> 00:03:47.280 For if you forgive men for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 32 00:03:47.280 --> 00:03:53.380 But if you do not forgive men, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions. 33 00:03:53.380 --> 00:04:01.700 And whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance in order to be seen fasting by men. 34 00:04:01.700 --> 00:04:06.760 Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 35 00:04:06.760 --> 00:04:18.380 But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face so that you may not be seen fasting by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will repay you. 36 00:04:18.380 --> 00:04:24.720 Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 37 00:04:24.720 --> 00:04:37.160 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. 38 00:04:37.160 --> 00:04:43.960 The lamp of the body is the eye; if therefore your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. 39 00:04:43.960 --> 00:04:47.680 But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. 40 00:04:47.680 --> 00:04:52.620 If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! 41 00:04:52.620 --> 00:05:00.060 No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other. 42 00:05:00.060 --> 00:05:03.580 You cannot serve God and mammon. 43 00:05:03.580 --> 00:05:13.940 For this reason I say to you, do not be anxious for your life, as to what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor for your body, as to what you shall put on. 44 00:05:13.940 --> 00:05:18.860 Is not life more than food, and the body than clothing? 45 00:05:18.860 --> 00:05:27.040 Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. 46 00:05:27.040 --> 00:05:30.500 Are you not worth much more than they? 47 00:05:30.500 --> 00:05:36.640 And which of you by being anxious can add a single cubit to his lifespan? 48 00:05:36.640 --> 00:05:39.860 And why are you anxious about clothing? 49 00:05:39.860 --> 00:05:51.200 Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory did not clothe himself like one of these. 50 00:05:51.200 --> 00:06:05.000 But if God so arrays the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will he not much more do so for you, O men of little faith? 51 00:06:05.000 --> 00:06:07.940 Do not be anxious then, saying, “What shall we eat?” 52 00:06:07.940 --> 00:06:09.540 or “What shall we drink?” 53 00:06:09.540 --> 00:06:12.380 or “With what shall we clothe ourselves?” 54 00:06:12.380 --> 00:06:21.480 For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all of these things. 55 00:06:21.480 --> 00:06:30.700 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 56 00:06:30.700 --> 00:06:35.980 Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. 57 00:06:35.980 --> 00:06:39.980 Each day has enough trouble of its own. 58 00:06:39.980 --> 00:06:44.650 May God bless the reading of his word. 59 00:06:44.650 --> 00:06:52.780 This, what we read just now, is better than any sermon that you will hear on these verses. 60 00:06:52.780 --> 00:06:56.020 This is Jesus’ sermon that you just read. 61 00:06:56.020 --> 00:07:05.640 And so when we go to his word, we go to it asking the Lord for his illumination, for his help. 62 00:07:05.640 --> 00:07:09.740 Because reading it, the power is in the word. 63 00:07:09.740 --> 00:07:15.460 It’s not in what any of us, anybody will say about it. 64 00:07:15.460 --> 00:07:23.300 But as we think about it, I want to explore verse 33 and think about what verse 33 means. 65 00:07:23.300 --> 00:07:26.560 What does it mean to seek first his kingdom? 66 00:07:26.560 --> 00:07:29.860 What does it mean to seek his righteousness? 67 00:07:29.860 --> 00:07:37.880 Well, as we read just now in this chapter, we see some themes and we see some context. 68 00:07:37.880 --> 00:07:43.000 The context of verse 33 is this section on being anxious. 69 00:07:43.000 --> 00:07:45.140 He’s saying, look at the birds of the air. 70 00:07:45.140 --> 00:07:47.060 Why are you anxious about clothing? 71 00:07:47.060 --> 00:07:52.320 Why are you anxious about what you shall eat, what you shall drink? 72 00:07:52.320 --> 00:07:58.500 And then he says, But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness. 73 00:07:58.500 --> 00:08:01.860 The argument here is from the lesser to the greater. 74 00:08:01.860 --> 00:08:13.380 He says, O men of little faith, will he not do much more so for you? 75 00:08:13.380 --> 00:08:22.600 The argument here is if he does for these creatures, for these birds, will he not do even more for you? 76 00:08:22.600 --> 00:08:26.980 The example is, think about if you observed a farmer. 77 00:08:26.980 --> 00:08:44.820 If a farmer lived across from you, and every morning you wake up and you see the farmer carefully caring for his cattle, or he has these newborn calves, and he meticulously fills the bottles, and he bottle-feeds these calves. 78 00:08:44.820 --> 00:08:51.260 And then you heard some slanderous person accuse this farmer for not caring for his children. 79 00:08:51.260 --> 00:08:59.920 Would you believe what that person said, having observed the care that he has for his cows? 80 00:08:59.920 --> 00:09:04.220 If he cares for the cows, how much more would he care for his children? 81 00:09:04.220 --> 00:09:06.240 It’s kind of like that. 82 00:09:06.240 --> 00:09:09.300 It’s an argument from the lesser thing to the greater thing. 83 00:09:09.300 --> 00:09:16.980 If God cares about the birds of the air, how much more is he going to care for us? 84 00:09:16.980 --> 00:09:23.640 And so that’s the context of what this passage, verse 33, is located in. 85 00:09:23.640 --> 00:09:29.020 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 86 00:09:29.020 --> 00:09:34.200 So there are so many ways to talk about this passage. 87 00:09:34.200 --> 00:09:36.980 There are so many things that we could focus on. 88 00:09:36.980 --> 00:09:41.140 But what I wanted to focus on today is really two points. 89 00:09:41.140 --> 00:09:44.840 The first point is going to be, seek first his kingdom. 90 00:09:44.840 --> 00:09:50.260 The second point is going to be, seek first his righteousness. 91 00:09:50.260 --> 00:09:52.380 And those are the two things I want to think about. 92 00:09:52.380 --> 00:09:55.040 What does it mean to seek his kingdom? 93 00:09:55.040 --> 00:09:56.020 What is the kingdom? 94 00:09:56.020 --> 00:09:57.820 What does it mean to seek it? 95 00:09:57.820 --> 00:10:01.760 And then secondly, seek first his righteousness. 96 00:10:01.760 --> 00:10:05.740 And after those two points, we’ll make some application. 97 00:10:05.740 --> 00:10:14.060 So the first thing to think about is to seek first his kingdom. 98 00:10:14.060 --> 00:10:20.720 The book of Matthew begins with the genealogy of Jesus in chapter 1. 99 00:10:20.720 --> 00:10:24.080 In chapter 2, you have the account of the birth of Jesus. 100 00:10:24.080 --> 00:10:36.160 And then in chapter 3, you have the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, and the forerunner of the inauguration of Jesus’ ministry is the greatest of the prophets, John the Baptist. 101 00:10:36.160 --> 00:10:38.660 And in chapter 3, what does it say? 102 00:10:38.660 --> 00:10:51.900 The very first thing in chapter 3, it says, Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 103 00:10:51.900 --> 00:10:57.820 And then in the next chapter, Jesus is immediately taken into the wilderness to be tested. 104 00:10:57.820 --> 00:11:11.000 And then after his testing, in verse 17, it says, From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 105 00:11:11.000 --> 00:11:20.500 And then in chapter 10, in Matthew chapter 10, you have Jesus summoning his 12 disciples. 106 00:11:20.500 --> 00:11:27.620 He gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, to heal all the diseases, and he instructs them to preach. 107 00:11:27.620 --> 00:11:35.260 In verse 7 of chapter 10, he says, Go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 108 00:11:35.260 --> 00:11:40.980 And as you go, preach, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 109 00:11:40.980 --> 00:11:51.600 And in our passage this morning, in chapter 6, we have the instruction of our Lord Jesus to seek first his kingdom. 110 00:11:51.600 --> 00:11:59.540 Now, in all of these passages, mention the kingdom or his kingdom or the kingdom of heaven. 111 00:11:59.540 --> 00:12:01.260 But what is the kingdom? 112 00:12:01.260 --> 00:12:10.800 If we’re supposed to seek the kingdom, we should probably know what it is that we are to be seeking. 113 00:12:10.800 --> 00:12:17.920 If I were to ask you to give me a definition of the kingdom, how would you define it? 114 00:12:17.920 --> 00:12:27.020 I was thinking about that last night, and I asked Jess, what is the definition of the kingdom of heaven? 115 00:12:27.020 --> 00:12:30.720 And immediately you think, oh, the kingdom of heaven, I know what that is. 116 00:12:30.720 --> 00:12:32.540 I know what the kingdom is. 117 00:12:32.540 --> 00:12:39.320 But then when you start to think about it, how many different things the kingdom of heaven is made up of? 118 00:12:39.320 --> 00:12:41.520 Is it talking about an earthly kingdom? 119 00:12:41.520 --> 00:12:43.500 Is it talking about something spiritual? 120 00:12:43.500 --> 00:12:45.360 Is it talking about something in the future? 121 00:12:45.360 --> 00:12:49.800 What exactly is it that we are to be seeking? 122 00:12:49.800 --> 00:12:51.880 So, is this an earthly kingdom? 123 00:12:51.880 --> 00:12:55.200 Are we to be seeking an earthly kingdom? 124 00:12:55.200 --> 00:13:03.440 In the New Testament, we see some of what the disciples and others who came to hear Jesus preach and what they thought about the nature of the kingdom. 125 00:13:03.440 --> 00:13:26.700 And largely, the thinking was that Jesus was about to inaugurate, to start a physical kingdom, a rule of power that would overthrow the Roman tyrants and then propel the nation of Israel into this glorious state, a new world power that would surpass even the kingdoms of David and Solomon. 126 00:13:26.700 --> 00:13:29.660 It would be greater than all of those things. 127 00:13:29.660 --> 00:13:52.560 After Jesus fed the 5,000, the crowd, perceiving his power, were intending to come and take him by force to make him king, because they thought, if someone can feed us, feed 5,000 people out of nothing, how much more can he overthrow the Romans? 128 00:13:52.560 --> 00:13:55.960 An army moves on its stomach. 129 00:13:55.960 --> 00:13:58.220 So that was their thinking. 130 00:13:58.220 --> 00:14:07.160 And even after the resurrection, right before Jesus ascended into heaven, the disciples were asking him, Lord, is it at this time you are restoring the kingdom to Israel? 131 00:14:07.160 --> 00:14:15.060 So even then, the disciples were even thinking, we’re about to move into a physical kingdom. 132 00:14:15.060 --> 00:14:19.660 Jesus is about to restore the kingdom to Israel. 133 00:14:19.660 --> 00:14:27.920 We’re about to enter into the rule that has been prophesied for centuries before. 134 00:14:27.920 --> 00:14:41.640 But instead of descending into Jerusalem and setting up a physical kingdom, Jesus ascends into heaven, where he reigns as king over a spiritual kingdom. 135 00:14:41.640 --> 00:14:50.140 And there are those who make the same mistake today in their attempt to bring about, through their own efforts, a physical kingdom of God in this world. 136 00:14:50.140 --> 00:14:55.720 They make the same mistake as the crowd and the disciples in looking for a physical Messiah. 137 00:14:55.720 --> 00:15:09.500 Some of them go even so far as to say that Christ can’t even return until we do all of these things, until we make the world a Christian world with a Christian prince ruling. 138 00:15:09.500 --> 00:15:14.500 But this is not how the scriptures describe the kingdom of God. 139 00:15:14.500 --> 00:15:21.700 So how does the scripture describe the kingdom, the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God? 140 00:15:21.700 --> 00:15:30.160 Well, Jesus describes the kingdom using parables. 141 00:15:30.160 --> 00:15:43.700 And one of them is in Matthew chapter 13, says, The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 142 00:15:43.700 --> 00:15:54.480 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it. 143 00:15:54.480 --> 00:15:58.860 And you’ve heard many sermons on this, on these parables. 144 00:15:58.860 --> 00:16:00.880 And what is that treasure? 145 00:16:00.880 --> 00:16:03.120 What is that pearl of great price? 146 00:16:03.120 --> 00:16:10.340 Is it something physical that we can hold on to, or is it something more than that? 147 00:16:10.340 --> 00:16:28.220 In Luke chapter 18, Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times as much at this time and in the age to come, eternal life.” 148 00:16:28.220 --> 00:16:30.320 And so what is the kingdom there? 149 00:16:30.320 --> 00:16:33.960 It’s something that is in the future. 150 00:16:33.960 --> 00:16:40.440 It’s something that these people who are sacrificing now will inherit, something even greater in the future. 151 00:16:40.440 --> 00:16:58.640 Second Peter 1:10 through 11 says, Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about his calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you. 152 00:16:58.640 --> 00:17:07.760 There the kingdom is described as something that is eternal, and the way that you enter into it is spiritual. 153 00:17:07.760 --> 00:17:11.920 It’s not something that’s physical. 154 00:17:11.920 --> 00:17:26.060 Matthew 7:21 says, Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven will enter. 155 00:17:26.060 --> 00:17:37.660 Matthew 18 says, Jesus said, Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. 156 00:17:37.660 --> 00:17:51.780 And then finally, the last one, also in John 18, not Matthew 18, Jesus answered Pilate, saying, My kingdom is not of this world. 157 00:17:51.780 --> 00:18:02.540 If my kingdom were of this world, then my servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, my kingdom is not of this realm. 158 00:18:02.540 --> 00:18:05.540 Therefore Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” 159 00:18:05.540 --> 00:18:08.460 Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. 160 00:18:08.460 --> 00:18:14.520 For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth.” 161 00:18:14.520 --> 00:18:17.900 The truth is that Christ is king. 162 00:18:17.900 --> 00:18:26.600 He is a king and he’s reigning even now, but his kingdom is not an earthly kingdom, at least not yet. 163 00:18:26.600 --> 00:18:33.540 It’s a spiritual kingdom. 164 00:18:33.540 --> 00:18:38.610 So Jesus says, my kingdom is not of this world. 165 00:18:38.610 --> 00:18:43.720 Charles Spurgeon said, God has set up his kingdom in this world. 166 00:18:43.720 --> 00:18:49.800 Inside the kingdoms of men, there is the kingdom of God, wherein he rules. 167 00:18:49.800 --> 00:18:55.460 It is of another kind from all earthly kingdoms, for Christ said, “My kingdom is not of this world.” 168 00:18:55.460 --> 00:19:03.960 It is a purer, higher, truer, more durable kingdom than any Caesar has ever been able to set up. 169 00:19:03.960 --> 00:19:27.220 There are so many kingdoms that rulers, that Caesars, that Pharaohs have attempted to set up, but this kingdom that Christ has created, that Christ is ruling over, is a kingdom that is pure, as Spurgeon says, that’s better, that’s higher than any of these kingdoms. 170 00:19:27.220 --> 00:19:41.040 The kingdom of God is the kingdom of new life, the kingdom of perfect liberty, the kingdom of faith in Christ, the kingdom of union to Christ, the kingdom of the power of the Spirit of God. 171 00:19:41.040 --> 00:19:46.840 And the first question that we need to ask is, have we entered into that kingdom? 172 00:19:46.840 --> 00:19:48.500 Have we entered into it? 173 00:19:48.500 --> 00:19:51.040 Are we citizens of that kingdom? 174 00:19:51.040 --> 00:19:57.260 If we have not entered into that kingdom, let us seek that kingdom immediately. 175 00:19:57.260 --> 00:20:08.240 Before we seek anything else, let us first seek the kingdom of God, that we may become citizens of it, that we may become loyal subjects of our great King. 176 00:20:08.240 --> 00:20:10.800 How do you enter into the kingdom of God? 177 00:20:10.800 --> 00:20:15.620 The passages that we read a few minutes ago speak to it. 178 00:20:15.620 --> 00:20:22.680 But another one is this: Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved. 179 00:20:22.680 --> 00:20:26.760 How do you become a citizen of the kingdom of God? 180 00:20:26.760 --> 00:20:30.260 Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved. 181 00:20:30.260 --> 00:20:35.140 If you have not yet trusted Christ for your salvation, do not delay. 182 00:20:35.140 --> 00:20:43.360 Scripture says, Today, if you hear his voice, today, seek him while he may be found. 183 00:20:43.360 --> 00:20:52.300 So this kingdom is an eternal kingdom, and its citizens partake of eternal life. 184 00:20:52.300 --> 00:21:02.940 And eternal life is more important than anything else that this world has to offer. 185 00:21:02.940 --> 00:21:13.540 If this is something that’s more important than anything else, should not this be the first thing that we seek? 186 00:21:13.540 --> 00:21:21.440 As an illustration, imagine a man who wakes up in the middle of the night and realizes that his house is on fire. 187 00:21:21.440 --> 00:21:35.280 He wakes up, he sees smoke pouring under maybe the floorboards, or at least under his door, and he opens up the door, and he sees that a fire is just starting to engulf everything. 188 00:21:35.280 --> 00:21:45.700 And he has just a few minutes to grab something, to grab anything he can, and to run out of his house as fast as he can. 189 00:21:45.700 --> 00:21:47.360 Now, what would you grab? 190 00:21:47.360 --> 00:21:55.440 If you were in your house and you had one minute to grab something, what would you grab? 191 00:21:55.440 --> 00:21:59.160 You would go after your most precious things. 192 00:21:59.160 --> 00:22:10.940 You would go after something that is precious to you, something that, before you seek anything else in that house, you would seek after the thing that is most precious to you. 193 00:22:10.940 --> 00:22:21.600 And so when we think about this aspect of the kingdom, eternal life, salvation in Christ is the most precious gift. 194 00:22:21.600 --> 00:22:23.480 It is the most precious thing. 195 00:22:23.480 --> 00:22:28.240 And so before we seek anything else, we must seek that. 196 00:22:28.240 --> 00:22:35.660 Seek to become a citizen of the kingdom of God. 197 00:22:35.660 --> 00:22:44.140 When the Lord Jesus here says to seek his kingdom, he’s talking about all aspects of the kingdom of God. 198 00:22:44.140 --> 00:22:58.620 And for the believer, for those who have already been redeemed, what it means to seek the kingdom means to not be earthly-minded, to be heavenly-minded, to set your minds on things above, not on things of the earth. 199 00:22:58.620 --> 00:23:21.200 To seek his kingdom is to seek to enjoy the privilege of communion with Christ, to spend time praying to him, to ask him to give you the peace that surpasses all understanding, to seek him in prayer, to seek him in the word of God, and there you will find all the spiritual wealth that never fades or tarnishes or rusts. 200 00:23:21.200 --> 00:23:23.780 And that’s part of the context of this chapter. 201 00:23:23.780 --> 00:23:31.940 Not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. 202 00:23:31.940 --> 00:23:39.180 Seeking those treasures is seeking the kingdom of God. 203 00:23:39.180 --> 00:23:51.940 Also, for the redeemed, for believers, what it means to seek his kingdom, it also means to seek to see his kingdom expand. 204 00:23:51.940 --> 00:24:02.680 The prayer that the Lord commands us to pray, or teaches us to pray, says, Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 205 00:24:02.680 --> 00:24:04.380 And what is the will of God? 206 00:24:04.380 --> 00:24:18.060 1 Peter 3 says that The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some count slowness, but is patient for you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. 207 00:24:18.060 --> 00:24:19.680 And so what is the will of God? 208 00:24:19.680 --> 00:24:24.160 For all peoples to come to repentance. 209 00:24:24.160 --> 00:24:31.580 And how will these people hear about the kingdom of God if we do not tell them, if we do not invite them? 210 00:24:31.580 --> 00:24:34.120 How will they hear without a preacher? 211 00:24:34.120 --> 00:24:46.020 So if you are a citizen of the kingdom of God, you should seek to go about the business of seeking the borders of the kingdom of God expand into the hearts of those who need to hear. 212 00:24:46.020 --> 00:24:58.920 Like John the Baptist preached, like how Jesus preached, how the disciples preached, we are also to preach, Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand. 213 00:24:58.920 --> 00:25:00.820 So that’s the first part. 214 00:25:00.820 --> 00:25:04.840 The first part of this is to seek his kingdom. 215 00:25:04.840 --> 00:25:10.160 The second part is to seek his righteousness. 216 00:25:10.160 --> 00:25:12.380 Seek first his righteousness. 217 00:25:12.380 --> 00:25:16.240 To seek first his kingdom and then to seek first his righteousness. 218 00:25:16.240 --> 00:25:23.360 We are to seek the kingdom of God, but the second directive here is to seek his righteousness. 219 00:25:23.360 --> 00:25:35.540 The very first verse that we read in chapter 6 this morning says, Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven. 220 00:25:35.540 --> 00:25:42.420 And then here we are, contrasted with that, we are to seek his righteousness. 221 00:25:42.420 --> 00:25:49.020 You see the difference between practicing your righteousness and seeking his righteousness. 222 00:25:49.020 --> 00:25:59.260 And so, just like in the first point, the first part of seeking his righteousness relates to salvation. 223 00:25:59.260 --> 00:26:10.240 As we come to Christ, we rely completely on the work of Jesus to save us, and not our own works, not our own efforts. 224 00:26:10.240 --> 00:26:12.680 Our own works will never save us. 225 00:26:12.680 --> 00:26:25.740 Last week I talked to my brother Justin, and he was telling me about a man that he talked to last week. 226 00:26:25.740 --> 00:26:28.980 This man was a builder. 227 00:26:28.980 --> 00:26:31.880 He builds hotels and things like that. 228 00:26:31.880 --> 00:26:34.960 I guess he’s kind of like a contractor, but he owns the buildings. 229 00:26:34.960 --> 00:26:42.600 And he was in front of one of the buildings that is being constructed, and Justin struck a conversation with him. 230 00:26:42.600 --> 00:26:46.600 And he was trying to evangelize him. 231 00:26:46.600 --> 00:26:50.780 He was asking him if he considered himself to be a good person. 232 00:26:50.780 --> 00:26:52.940 And, of course, he did. 233 00:26:52.940 --> 00:26:54.800 He thought he was a good person. 234 00:26:54.800 --> 00:26:57.420 And he was telling him about the gospel. 235 00:26:57.420 --> 00:27:03.600 He took him through the Ten Commandments and, of course, guilty on every point. 236 00:27:03.600 --> 00:27:14.660 And he asked him, “If you were to stand before God, having just confessed that you’ve broken each one of these Ten Commandments, how would you fare?” 237 00:27:14.660 --> 00:27:19.400 And the man kept saying things like, “Oh, well, that’s just a matter of opinion. 238 00:27:19.400 --> 00:27:22.260 I have my opinion about the Bible and you have yours. 239 00:27:22.260 --> 00:27:29.040 So it’ll all work out in the end.” 240 00:27:29.040 --> 00:27:32.660 Justin mentioned, “Well, think about this. 241 00:27:32.660 --> 00:27:39.060 When you’re building a building, you don’t need a foundation and you don’t need support beams. 242 00:27:39.060 --> 00:27:41.000 It’s just a matter of opinion. 243 00:27:41.000 --> 00:27:44.300 I can have my opinion on how to build a building and you can have yours.” 244 00:27:44.300 --> 00:27:45.980 And the man was like, “No, no, no. 245 00:27:45.980 --> 00:27:49.860 You have to have a foundation and you have to have support beams.” 246 00:27:49.860 --> 00:28:02.100 And Justin brought the illustration back to the gospel, and then the man was, “Well, that’s not really a very good illustration to talk about spiritual things.” 247 00:28:02.100 --> 00:28:13.680 Justin said, “Well, actually, that’s the illustration that Jesus used when he said the wise man builds his house on the rock and the foolish man builds his house on the sand. 248 00:28:13.680 --> 00:28:14.960 It’s one-to-one.” 249 00:28:14.960 --> 00:28:28.040 But the man kept talking about how you do all of these good things, and God’s going to accept you, and it’s going to outweigh the bad. 250 00:28:28.040 --> 00:28:35.180 But if you see what the man’s doing there, he is trying to rely on his good works. 251 00:28:35.180 --> 00:28:41.500 He’s trying to say that my good works are going to outweigh all of these bad things. 252 00:28:41.500 --> 00:28:43.140 He’s seeking his own righteousness. 253 00:28:43.140 --> 00:28:47.380 He’s relying and dependent on his own righteousness. 254 00:28:47.380 --> 00:28:54.560 The end of that conversation, Justin started talking about the work of Christ. 255 00:28:54.560 --> 00:29:04.940 The man had asked the question, “You say that you’re a Christian, but say you commit a sin and then you immediately die, and you don’t have a chance to repent of it. 256 00:29:04.940 --> 00:29:06.880 Do you go to hell? 257 00:29:06.880 --> 00:29:08.120 What happens there? 258 00:29:08.120 --> 00:29:11.200 You’ve lived as a Christian all your life, you commit a sin and immediately die. 259 00:29:11.200 --> 00:29:12.220 What happens?” 260 00:29:12.220 --> 00:29:19.500 And Justin talked about grace, how Jesus paid for every sin. 261 00:29:19.500 --> 00:29:20.780 You trust in him. 262 00:29:20.780 --> 00:29:22.440 All of your sins are paid for. 263 00:29:22.440 --> 00:29:31.920 Not only are your sins paid for, but the active work of Christ, the passive work of Christ, is applied to you. 264 00:29:31.920 --> 00:29:34.120 His righteousness is given to you. 265 00:29:34.120 --> 00:29:37.860 And the man was silent that whole time that Justin was talking about that. 266 00:29:37.860 --> 00:29:47.000 And at the end of that, he starts pacing up and down, and he goes, “I’ve never heard that before.” 267 00:29:47.000 --> 00:29:57.140 And it was amazing to him, because in his mind, his way of thinking, I have to do all of these things in order to be accepted by God. 268 00:29:57.140 --> 00:30:02.200 But the gospel says that you don’t rely on your own righteousness. 269 00:30:02.200 --> 00:30:04.420 You don’t rely on your own efforts. 270 00:30:04.420 --> 00:30:06.780 Your own works will never save you. 271 00:30:06.780 --> 00:30:14.300 Jesus says, Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 272 00:30:14.300 --> 00:30:18.040 And so what do you rely on? 273 00:30:18.040 --> 00:30:21.300 You rely on his righteousness. 274 00:30:21.300 --> 00:30:23.620 You rely on the righteousness of God. 275 00:30:23.620 --> 00:30:36.100 So the first part of what it means to seek his righteousness is not to rely on your own works and efforts to save, but cast yourself at the feet of Jesus and total dependence on his work and his righteousness. 276 00:30:36.100 --> 00:30:50.500 So Jesus not only pays the debt of our sin on the cross, but his good works, Jesus never sinned, all of the good works that he has done is imputed to us. 277 00:30:50.500 --> 00:30:59.320 It’s exactly the same way of how sin is imputed to us through our foreparents, Adam and Eve. 278 00:30:59.320 --> 00:31:07.140 Romans 5 says, Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned. 279 00:31:07.140 --> 00:31:15.860 But just a few verses later, Paul explains how in that same way, the second Adam imputes his righteousness to us. 280 00:31:15.860 --> 00:31:18.100 We don’t rely on our own righteousness. 281 00:31:18.100 --> 00:31:22.160 We rely on the righteousness of Christ. 282 00:31:22.160 --> 00:31:28.480 So first, we are to be completely dependent on the righteousness of Christ for our salvation and nothing else. 283 00:31:28.480 --> 00:31:33.120 It’s in Christ alone where our hope is found. 284 00:31:33.120 --> 00:31:41.620 And secondly, the second part of this is we are to be completely dependent on the righteousness of God for our provision. 285 00:31:41.620 --> 00:31:49.380 And so if you remember the context that we talked about, it’s a context of anxious thinking. 286 00:31:49.380 --> 00:31:52.880 Not just anxious thinking, but anxious action. 287 00:31:52.880 --> 00:31:57.880 Think of all the times that we have been anxious. 288 00:31:57.880 --> 00:32:11.140 Whenever we are anxious, or whenever we see people who are characterized by anxiety, it’s not just that they think anxious thoughts, but they do everything that they possibly can. 289 00:32:11.140 --> 00:32:13.940 Anxiety and stress affects the body as well. 290 00:32:13.940 --> 00:32:15.740 You’re doing all of these things. 291 00:32:15.740 --> 00:32:16.640 Nothing is working. 292 00:32:16.640 --> 00:32:19.980 Inflation keeps going higher and higher and our clothes are wearing out. 293 00:32:19.980 --> 00:32:22.760 What are we going to do? 294 00:32:22.760 --> 00:32:24.460 It’s thoughts like that. 295 00:32:24.460 --> 00:32:27.060 We have medical bills due in three weeks. 296 00:32:27.060 --> 00:32:31.320 What are we going to do about this? 297 00:32:31.320 --> 00:32:43.280 Sometimes these thoughts, these actions are not expressed to anyone in particular, but we think about these things at nighttime when we’re supposed to be sleeping. 298 00:32:43.280 --> 00:32:47.980 I’m sure none of us have ever done that. 299 00:32:47.980 --> 00:32:50.900 It’s not just speech or thoughts. 300 00:32:50.900 --> 00:32:53.920 So it’s actions as well. 301 00:32:53.920 --> 00:32:58.820 But what Jesus does here is he makes a contrast to that. 302 00:32:58.820 --> 00:33:08.820 He makes a contrast to someone who spends their time and effort and energy being anxious about the things that they have no control over, really. 303 00:33:08.820 --> 00:33:13.740 He says, But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness. 304 00:33:13.740 --> 00:33:20.360 In some ways, to a worldly person, this is not good advice. 305 00:33:20.360 --> 00:33:34.020 If you have bills due and you need money to pay them, why would you spend energy praying when you could be spending that energy working to pay the bills that are due? 306 00:33:34.020 --> 00:33:43.100 Why would you spend time reading the Bible when you could be trying to figure out what to do for these expenses? 307 00:33:43.100 --> 00:33:49.620 Maybe you don’t know what you’re eating that week. 308 00:33:49.620 --> 00:33:53.880 But think about, it’s not just this passage. 309 00:33:53.880 --> 00:33:58.480 Think about in Luke chapter 10, Mary and Martha. 310 00:33:58.480 --> 00:34:02.380 Mary is sitting at the feet of Jesus, listening to his teaching. 311 00:34:02.380 --> 00:34:06.340 What is Martha doing? 312 00:34:06.340 --> 00:34:08.540 She’s trying to prepare everything. 313 00:34:08.540 --> 00:34:11.040 She’s anxiously getting everything prepared. 314 00:34:11.040 --> 00:34:12.640 She’s getting the table ready. 315 00:34:12.640 --> 00:34:13.480 She’s making the food. 316 00:34:13.480 --> 00:34:15.360 She’s doing all of these things. 317 00:34:15.360 --> 00:34:23.860 And amid all of her anxiety and worries, she suddenly explodes and says, what does she say? 318 00:34:23.860 --> 00:34:26.560 She says, “I’m doing all of these things. 319 00:34:26.560 --> 00:34:27.820 Mary’s not doing anything. 320 00:34:27.820 --> 00:34:31.080 Tell her to help me get things prepared.” 321 00:34:31.080 --> 00:34:33.340 But what does Jesus say? 322 00:34:33.340 --> 00:34:44.220 Jesus tells her, Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary. 323 00:34:44.220 --> 00:34:48.060 And what is that one thing that is necessary? 324 00:34:48.060 --> 00:34:51.760 Jesus says that Mary chose the better thing. 325 00:34:51.760 --> 00:35:00.320 The one thing that is necessary is to first seek his kingdom, his righteousness. 326 00:35:00.320 --> 00:35:02.000 You run to Jesus. 327 00:35:02.000 --> 00:35:03.180 You sit at his feet. 328 00:35:03.180 --> 00:35:07.840 That’s the first thing that is necessary, the only thing that is necessary. 329 00:35:07.840 --> 00:35:11.060 There was a preacher in the late 19th and 20th century. 330 00:35:11.060 --> 00:35:18.020 His name is A.C. Dixon, and this is one of his more famous quotes. 331 00:35:18.020 --> 00:35:20.800 You may have heard it before. 332 00:35:20.800 --> 00:35:27.600 He’s quoted to say, When we depend on organizations, we get what organizations can do. 333 00:35:27.600 --> 00:35:32.280 When we depend on education, we get what education can do. 334 00:35:32.280 --> 00:35:35.120 When we depend on man, we get what man can do. 335 00:35:35.120 --> 00:35:40.700 But when we depend on prayer, we get what God can do. 336 00:35:40.700 --> 00:35:45.700 And of course, we just read how Jesus instructed us to pray. 337 00:35:45.700 --> 00:35:51.560 He says, Pray then in this way: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. 338 00:35:51.560 --> 00:35:53.280 Thy kingdom come. 339 00:35:53.280 --> 00:35:57.000 Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 340 00:35:57.000 --> 00:35:59.400 Give us this day our daily bread. 341 00:35:59.400 --> 00:36:05.600 And notice the order of petitions. 342 00:36:05.600 --> 00:36:11.680 You first pray for the kingdom of heaven to come, for God’s will to be done. 343 00:36:11.680 --> 00:36:19.160 And then you ask for daily provision. 344 00:36:19.160 --> 00:36:26.960 Christ directs us first to pray for the kingdom of God, and then to pray for other things. 345 00:36:26.960 --> 00:36:35.080 So when we’re thinking about prayer, when we’re thinking about dependence on God, that’s what prayer is. 346 00:36:35.080 --> 00:36:40.800 Prayer is depending solely on God, coming to him in dependence. 347 00:36:40.800 --> 00:36:54.040 And so when we’re thinking about anxiety, when we’re thinking about the stresses of life, how much stress and anxiety do we needlessly carry on our shoulders when God already knows the things that we need? 348 00:36:54.040 --> 00:36:56.160 And that’s what he says. 349 00:36:56.160 --> 00:37:05.900 These things are the things that Gentiles eagerly seek, but your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 350 00:37:05.900 --> 00:37:10.080 The hymn says, Oh, what peace we often forfeit. 351 00:37:10.080 --> 00:37:11.500 Now think about that. 352 00:37:11.500 --> 00:37:24.500 There’s a peace that sometimes we forfeit because we’re so anxious, we have so much anxiety, so much stress, that we’re not taking the time to give it to the Lord. 353 00:37:24.500 --> 00:37:34.080 Oh, what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry Everything to God in prayer. 354 00:37:34.080 --> 00:37:42.540 So these first two things: to seek first his kingdom, to seek first his righteousness. 355 00:37:42.540 --> 00:37:55.260 I want to do a little bit of application in the last five minutes that we have, and I want to focus on the word first in order to make application. 356 00:37:55.260 --> 00:38:04.380 It’s not just that Jesus tells us to seek his kingdom or to seek his righteousness, but to seek first his kingdom and his righteousness. 357 00:38:04.380 --> 00:38:09.020 And so the first point of application, I want to point out three things in terms of application. 358 00:38:09.020 --> 00:38:17.620 The first point of application is seeking the kingdom and the righteousness of God is to be our chief priority. 359 00:38:17.620 --> 00:38:25.620 Before we do anything else, we are to seek the kingdom and the righteousness of God. 360 00:38:25.620 --> 00:38:33.850 So the psalmist says, As the deer pants for the water brook, so my soul pants for you, O God. 361 00:38:33.850 --> 00:38:38.760 Our physical bodies die without water, and our spiritual souls die without God. 362 00:38:38.760 --> 00:38:45.550 So our soul’s first tendency should be to long after heaven more than it longs after the earth. 363 00:38:45.550 --> 00:38:49.320 Our hunger and thirst should be firstly for God’s righteousness. 364 00:38:49.320 --> 00:38:56.640 We should not covet the treasures of this world, but we should covet the heavenly riches we have in Christ. 365 00:38:56.640 --> 00:39:11.860 Our souls should not run after crowns of praise from others, but instead run with heavenly ambition and holy zeal for the crown of life and the smile of our Lord. 366 00:39:11.860 --> 00:39:22.980 When I was in Japan a few weeks ago, we did a long day of video and things. 367 00:39:22.980 --> 00:39:28.960 We went to different places around Tokyo, and we left early in the morning. 368 00:39:28.960 --> 00:39:36.120 And so we saw all the businessmen packing into the metros. 369 00:39:36.120 --> 00:39:38.240 And we were crammed in there. 370 00:39:38.240 --> 00:39:39.820 You couldn’t move an inch. 371 00:39:39.820 --> 00:39:47.340 And it was really interesting seeing all these businessmen in their suits and everything, their white shirts and their black coats. 372 00:39:47.340 --> 00:39:48.700 Everyone was on their phones. 373 00:39:48.700 --> 00:39:52.500 Everyone was plugged into some kind of earpiece. 374 00:39:52.500 --> 00:39:56.080 And I was interested, what are these businessmen looking at on their phones? 375 00:39:56.080 --> 00:40:00.940 And so, I mean, everyone’s standing around, so it’s not hard to glance over and see. 376 00:40:00.940 --> 00:40:03.140 I’m thinking they’re checking their stocks. 377 00:40:03.140 --> 00:40:05.040 They’re checking their emails. 378 00:40:05.040 --> 00:40:08.940 They’re getting ready for their business for their day. 379 00:40:08.940 --> 00:40:26.320 But it was really interesting, because every person that I looked at, every person that I noticed, they’re playing some children’s games on their phone, or they’re looking at some flashy video that was like a cartoon that was for a child. 380 00:40:26.320 --> 00:40:27.240 It’s really interesting. 381 00:40:27.240 --> 00:40:29.820 Like, why would they do that? 382 00:40:29.820 --> 00:40:32.480 There’s a lot of reasons why they would do that. 383 00:40:32.480 --> 00:40:34.800 It has to do with their culture, but that’s not the point. 384 00:40:34.800 --> 00:40:54.160 The point is, it was really interesting to me, here are adults, businessmen, the top echelon of the city, playing children’s games and watching children’s cartoons on their phones. 385 00:40:54.160 --> 00:41:12.100 So when we think, I don’t know if this is the best illustration, but when we think of the kingdom of God, it’s this wonderful, glorious, weighty thing that we have. 386 00:41:12.100 --> 00:41:27.900 And sometimes we can be so preoccupied with other things, it would be like an adult spending all of his time playing a game that was meant to entertain children. 387 00:41:27.900 --> 00:41:35.000 Like, doesn’t he have something better to occupy his mind, or to focus on, or strive for? 388 00:41:35.000 --> 00:41:50.120 So, in comparison to all of the trifles of the world, in comparison to the treasures that moth and rust destroy, our hope should be founded on something greater, something more sure. 389 00:41:50.120 --> 00:41:58.200 Our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and his righteousness, his righteousness that we are to seek first. 390 00:41:58.200 --> 00:42:02.000 We have a better kingdom, something better to look forward to. 391 00:42:02.000 --> 00:42:07.720 We have a hope of a future kingdom that we will partake in. 392 00:42:07.720 --> 00:42:15.220 The second application point centers around the fact that we were created by God for a high purpose. 393 00:42:15.220 --> 00:42:22.040 We were not created by God ultimately for the sole purpose of eating and drinking and being concerned about ourselves. 394 00:42:22.040 --> 00:42:24.040 That’s not why we were created. 395 00:42:24.040 --> 00:42:28.160 We weren’t created just to simply exist and then die. 396 00:42:28.160 --> 00:42:31.480 We were made for something higher. 397 00:42:31.480 --> 00:42:34.780 We were made for him. 398 00:42:34.780 --> 00:42:36.820 We were made to glorify him. 399 00:42:36.820 --> 00:42:39.920 We were made to enjoy him forever. 400 00:42:39.920 --> 00:42:48.880 And so before we go about our daily work, our daily tasks, the application is to let us first seek him. 401 00:42:48.880 --> 00:42:53.660 Before we do anything else, seek him in prayer, seek him in his word. 402 00:42:53.660 --> 00:42:58.060 Our days should begin with thoughts about God and his kingdom. 403 00:42:58.060 --> 00:43:09.920 Jonathan Edwards said, It is exceedingly suitable that our minds should begin to act about God as soon as day enlightens the world. 404 00:43:09.920 --> 00:43:11.400 And I think that’s true. 405 00:43:11.400 --> 00:43:19.440 As soon as physical light rises, spiritual light should also be dawning in our hearts. 406 00:43:19.440 --> 00:43:27.340 So seek him first, before anything else, before going about our daily work and our daily business. 407 00:43:27.340 --> 00:43:31.660 And then all of our business is the Lord’s business. 408 00:43:31.660 --> 00:43:33.880 He’s saying, seek first. 409 00:43:33.880 --> 00:43:41.840 He’s not saying that we shouldn’t work for these things, we shouldn’t do any work for the food that we need or the clothing that we need. 410 00:43:41.840 --> 00:43:42.940 That’s not what he’s saying. 411 00:43:42.940 --> 00:43:49.100 And he’s also not saying that you’re going to have a life that doesn’t have trouble. 412 00:43:49.100 --> 00:43:53.720 Because in verse 34, he says, Each day has enough trouble on its own. 413 00:43:53.720 --> 00:43:59.560 Even after you seek the Lord, there will be persecutions, there will be all sorts of things. 414 00:43:59.560 --> 00:44:02.700 That’s not what he’s saying. 415 00:44:02.700 --> 00:44:04.420 But we are to work. 416 00:44:04.420 --> 00:44:08.860 We are to do the things that God has called us to do. 417 00:44:08.860 --> 00:44:15.860 But we are to do those things in seeking God and seeking his kingdom. 418 00:44:15.860 --> 00:44:21.860 God often provides for us through means, and gives us strength and the ability to work for what we need. 419 00:44:21.860 --> 00:44:29.280 Deuteronomy 8:17 says, You may say in your heart, “My power and the strength of my hand has made me this wealth.” 420 00:44:29.280 --> 00:44:37.660 But you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who is giving you power to make wealth. 421 00:44:37.660 --> 00:44:41.020 So all of your business is the Lord’s business. 422 00:44:41.020 --> 00:44:49.260 Your vocation is worship, if you recognize that it is he who enables you and allows you to do all of these things. 423 00:44:49.260 --> 00:44:51.160 Do all of these things for the glory of God. 424 00:44:51.160 --> 00:44:55.260 Whether you’re eating or drinking, you do all to the glory of God. 425 00:44:55.260 --> 00:45:07.100 And then lastly, the last point of application is this: we must examine ourselves to see if we really are seeking first the kingdom of God. 426 00:45:07.100 --> 00:45:16.320 And so there’s a simple test that we can ask ourselves, and has right to do with the context of this passage. 427 00:45:16.320 --> 00:45:21.800 Are we being anxious for all of these things? 428 00:45:21.800 --> 00:45:34.380 Are we being constantly worried about things that ultimately are provided by the Lord, whether he allows you to work, whether he provides for you in other means? 429 00:45:34.380 --> 00:45:37.200 It’s the Lord who provides all of these things for you. 430 00:45:37.200 --> 00:45:44.020 And so it’s like the Israelites in the wilderness, where God is supplying the manna from heaven. 431 00:45:44.020 --> 00:45:54.520 If God is supplying that, would you be anxious about whether or not the manna is going to come, if it comes from the Lord? 432 00:45:54.520 --> 00:46:05.260 How many times have we been constantly worried about these things, that we’ve hurried through times of Bible study or prayer because we needed to get something done? 433 00:46:05.260 --> 00:46:09.480 We have all of these things to do in the day. 434 00:46:09.480 --> 00:46:17.960 Sometimes we’ll think, well, we have so much to do, we need to cut our time short, or maybe we need to just skip today and pick it up tomorrow. 435 00:46:17.960 --> 00:46:21.800 But is that what the instruction is here? 436 00:46:21.800 --> 00:46:26.220 The instruction is to seek first his kingdom and his righteousness. 437 00:46:26.220 --> 00:46:29.860 The Lord Jesus gives us this instruction because he knows us. 438 00:46:29.860 --> 00:46:31.000 He knows our hearts. 439 00:46:31.000 --> 00:46:32.400 He knows our tendencies. 440 00:46:32.400 --> 00:46:35.040 He knows how we think and how we feel. 441 00:46:35.040 --> 00:46:39.820 And that’s why he gives us this, because this is an instruction to all of us. 442 00:46:39.820 --> 00:46:41.640 All of us have done these things. 443 00:46:41.640 --> 00:46:49.580 All of us have been anxious, overly anxious, when we really have no need to be. 444 00:46:49.580 --> 00:46:57.340 He knows that oftentimes, like the disciples who he’s talking to, we have little faith. 445 00:46:57.340 --> 00:47:01.560 But he is standing ready to receive us. 446 00:47:01.560 --> 00:47:06.480 So the charge for us this morning, it’s simple. 447 00:47:06.480 --> 00:47:10.920 We didn’t even need really to give a sermon about this passage. 448 00:47:10.920 --> 00:47:25.120 This passage is enough for us to, if we read it and believe it and just do it, to seek first his kingdom and his righteousness before we seek to do anything else. 449 00:47:25.120 --> 00:47:48.540 And so for us who are anxious and worried, the hymn says, (He quotes the hymn “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus.”) 450 00:47:48.540 --> 00:47:51.140 That’s exactly what we need to do. 451 00:47:51.140 --> 00:47:52.580 Let’s pray. 452 00:47:52.580 --> 00:48:01.460 Let’s ask God to make this a reality in our life. 453 00:48:01.460 --> 00:48:15.460 Father, we do come to you this morning asking for your help, again, as we think about this passage, as we think about what it means to seek first your kingdom and to seek first your righteousness. 454 00:48:15.460 --> 00:48:30.340 We confess all the times that we have been anxious, all the times that we have been stressed over things that you have promised to provide for us. 455 00:48:30.340 --> 00:48:56.380 We ask, as you instructed us, we ask that your kingdom would come, that your will would be done, that your will would be done firstly in our hearts, that our hearts would change, that we would not be a people of little faith, but that we would be trusting in you, that we would be trusting in you for our provision. 456 00:48:56.380 --> 00:49:03.140 For if you care for the birds of the air, how much more would you care for your children? 457 00:49:03.140 --> 00:49:12.260 So we ask that you would change our hearts, that you would make us a people of faith, that we would be trusting in you for all of these things. 458 00:49:12.260 --> 00:49:16.500 We do ask for our daily provision. 459 00:49:16.500 --> 00:49:28.660 We do ask, after we have asked for your kingdom to come, we ask that you would give us this day our daily bread, that you would provide for the needs of this body. 460 00:49:28.660 --> 00:49:34.440 There are many needs that the people of this church need. 461 00:49:34.440 --> 00:49:36.340 People need to be healed. 462 00:49:36.340 --> 00:49:40.960 People need to be provided for in material ways. 463 00:49:40.960 --> 00:49:44.820 We ask for your provision for them. 464 00:49:44.820 --> 00:50:11.360 We ask, most of all, that if there is anyone here who has not sought you for their salvation, if they are trusting in their own righteousness somehow, that they would realize that this morning, that there’s nothing that they can do, no action that they can do in order to make themselves acceptable to you. 465 00:50:11.360 --> 00:50:18.790 It’s only the righteousness of Christ, only the obedience of Christ that saves us. 466 00:50:18.790 --> 00:50:29.600 Let us be utterly dependent on you as we seek first your kingdom. 467 00:50:29.600 --> 00:50:32.060 We ask this in Jesus’ name. 468 00:50:32.060 --> 00:50:34.060 Amen.