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Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God

Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God

(Mat 6:24-34 KJV) 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. {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? {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? {27} Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? {28} And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: {29} And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. {30} 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? {31} Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? {32} (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. {33} But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. {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.

From this passage of scripture, we want to study today the instruction of our Lord to seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness. In this chapter, Jesus is explaining that no one can be successful in serving two masters. Only Jesus or Satan can be your master. Not both of them. One or the other rules over you depending on which one you obey. Jesus tells you to seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness above all things including the necessities of life.

The Lord knows that most people spend lots of time toiling for their food, clothing, housing and the basic essentials of this physical life. He draws a comparison with this effort of providing the necessities of life to the necessity of putting forth an even greater effort to obtain the kingdom of God and his righteousness.

How does your effort compare to your Lord's instruction? What is the most important thing in your life this day? Are you doing all you can do to find the kingdom of God and his righteousness? At least you have tuned in to this radio message. That is a start and it is a lot more than many will bother to do today. But, it will take a lot more to press your way into this kingdom that your Lord has provided for you. We hope that you will study with us this morning and we are sure that the Lord will help you to understand how you can find the kingdom of God, and his righteousness.

First let us begin by defining the kingdom of God. Just what does the Bible mean by the kingdom of God?

When we think of a kingdom, we think of a nation ruled by a king. We naturally think of a certain geographical location on the globe such as North America. Is this what the Bible means when referring to the kingdom of God? Let us look into God's Word and see what it has to say about this most important subject. Since we are to seek this kingdom above even the necessities of life, we surely need to understand what it is that we are seeking. Let us turn now to:

(John 18:36-37 KJV) Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. {37} Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.

Notice that Jesus' words are "My kingdom is not of this world". If his kingdom is not of this world, then it must be a spiritual kingdom. Let us continue our study of the scripture.

(John 3:1-8 KJV) There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: {2} The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. {3} Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. {4} Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? {5} Jesus answered, 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. {6} That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. {7} Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. {8} The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

Notice that Jesus told Nicodemus that a man can not even see the kingdom of God until he is born of the spirit. Also he can not enter the kingdom of God except by being born of the Spirit. So since spiritual birth is required to see the kingdom and to enter the kingdom of God, it stands to reason that we are talking about a spiritual kingdom.

(Col 1:12-13 KJV) Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: {13} Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:

Here the Bible tells us that we are translated in the kingdom. Translated meaning transferred and God is the one that does this. Jesus taught us in:

(Luke 17:20-21 KJV) And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: {21} Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

Yes, the kingdom of God is within the believer. It is not a literal kingdom as a nation of the world. It is a spiritual kingdom that is inside of you when you accept Jesus as your king. It is a kingdom of righteousness and peace and joy.

(Rom 14:17 KJV) For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

The kingdom of God is not meat and drink. In other words it is not a literal kingdom. It is not a nation or a country in the physical sense. It is a kingdom of righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. As long as you obey the Holy Spirit of God you will live a righteous life. And as long as you live a righteous life, you will enjoy peace and you will have real joy. No wonder the song writer wrote "Tis a Kingdom of Peace, it is reigning within". The kingdom of God is a kingdom of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. This kingdom is available to you today. You can press your way into it by being obedient to the Holy Spirit.

It is the Holy Spirit that convicts you of sin. It is the Holy Spirit that convinces you to repent of sin. It is the Holy Spirit that teaches you how to break free from the bondage of sin. As you obey the Holy Spirit He teaches you to live holy. That is why He is the Holy Spirit. He is Holy. He leads to holiness. I know that the devil has many agents out in the world telling you that no one can live holy and you have to sin every day. But, I also know that the Holy Spirit and Jesus and God the father will never tell you to sin. Who will you obey? You don't find peace by committing sin. Sin brings grief and heartache. Right doing brings peace. The Holy Spirit inspires and empowers you to live right. You can have this kingdom of peace within you by repenting of sin and accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord. We read in:

(Rom 6:12-18 KJV) Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. {13} Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. {14} For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. {15} What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. {16} Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? {17} But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. {18} Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.

Let not sin reign in your mortal body. Or, in other words, don't allow sin to rule you. Do not yield your members to sin. Sin has no dominion over the real Christian. Our Lord has paid the price for our redemption and has made a way for us to live righteous lives. Yes, we used to be servants of sin and the devil had us under his power, but, thanks be to God we have found a new king in a new kingdom of righteousness and peace and joy in the holy Ghost. We are no longer the servants of sin. We have become servants of righteousness. Praise God! You too can become a servant of righteousness. Repent of your sin and take Jesus Christ as your King. Press your way into the kingdom of God where you can enjoy righteousness and peace and joy. Let not sin reign over you. It is your choice. You are the one that chooses who and what will rule over you. Jesus would like to be your King. What is your answer to Him?

Let us turn to:

(1 Pet 2:9-11 KJV) But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: {10} Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. {11} Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;

You can see how when you take Jesus as your Lord that you are called out of darkness, out of sin. You become a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a special people even though in time past you were held in the bondage of sin. God's mercy is available to all who will call upon Him. He offers mercy to forgive you of your past sins. He offers His Holy Spirit to empower you to abstain from fleshly lusts that would drag you back into sin. He offers righteousness. Righteousness brings peace. Peace brings joy. Joy that is unspeakable because it is deep within your being. We turn now to:

(Rev 1:5-6 KJV) And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, {6} And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

In this passage we can see that our Lord not only washed us from our sins, but, He also made us kings and priests unto God. In other words the plan of salvation provides you the opportunity to be cleansed of sin and to rule your body. You do not have to be under the bondage of sin any longer. You can be king of your life. You can rule over yourself. You can be in charge. You can make your decision to serve the Lord. You can enjoy the kingdom of God today. The Bible tells us in:

(Rev 5:9-10 KJV) And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; {10} And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

Here we are reminded of the fact that our Lord is the one that saved us. He was our sacrifice for sin that we could be forgiven. We have come from all nations and families and languages. There is no one that is excluded. Everyone that wants to has opportunity to be forgiven of his sin and receive the kingdom into his life. Out of all kindred and tongue and people and nations we have come to become the people of God. Our Lord has forgiven us and made us kings and priests and we are reigning in this life over all sin. This is the great kingdom of God that the prophet Daniel told us about:

(Dan 2:44 KJV) And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.

(Dan 7:17-18 KJV) These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. {18} But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.

Daniel told us that the time would come that God would set up a kingdom which would never be destroyed. The kingdom of God will stand for ever and ever. Daniel also explains that the saints of God would posses the kingdom. John the Baptist and Jesus told us:

(Mat 3:1-2 KJV) In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, {2} And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

(Mat 4:17 KJV) From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Both John and our Lord began their ministries with the message that the kingdom of God was at hand and the way to get into it was to repent. By the expression, at hand, we understand that it was available to them then. This kingdom of God was not something that would be far out in the future, but it was available to those that would repent when John and Jesus began their ministries. Jesus told us in:

(Luke 16:16 KJV) The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.

(Mat 12:28 KJV) But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.

So we see by the Bible that the kingdom of God has been available to us ever since John began to preach and men began to repent of their sin. Jesus taught us since John the kingdom of God has been preached and every man that wants to can press his way into it. Jesus further taught us:

(Luke 12:32 KJV) Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

Yes, our God is pleased to give us the kingdom. In fact the angels in heaven rejoice over every sinner that repents and comes into the kingdom of God. This great kingdom can be yours today. Our Lord is preaching it to you and you can receive it if you will.

(Heb 12:28 KJV) Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:

Yes, we have received the kingdom of God. That is we that have repented of sin, have received it. And we are now serving God with reverence and godly fear. God is our heavenly father and we honor Him as such. He loves us and we love Him because He first loved us. He provided us this great Kingdom of righteousness, and peace and joy.

(1 Th 2:11-12 KJV) As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children, {12} That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.

Our God is calling you today unto His kingdom. The kingdom of God is a spiritual kingdom. It is an experience of complete salvation that enables you to live a righteous life in this present world. Everyone is invited. The kingdom is being preached and every one that wants can press into it today. The kingdom of God is not a kingdom of this world. It is a spiritual kingdom of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. If you will obey the Holy Spirit of God today, you too can receive this great deliverance form sin. You can receive the peace that passes understanding. You can enjoy the presence of God in your life. What is your answer to Him?