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Seek First Part 1
Seek First
Matthew 6:25-34 (NIV) – [25] “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life... [33] But SEEK FIRST his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. [34] Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
1. Believers are to be seekers.
Seek (zeteo) means to strive after, to desire, to look for, to strive to find, to try to gain, to aim for; to inquire, to ask; to investigate, to study, to consider; to seek in order to find out by thinking, meditating, and reasoning.
Acts 17:27 (NIV) [27] God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.
2. We are to seek with the proper priority.
Isaiah 55:6 (NIV) – [6] Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near.
“The text says you are to seek God’s kingdom first, that is, ‘above all else.’ In other words, God’s kingdom should be ‘your primary concern’ or ‘the thing you should be concerned with before anything else.’” (UBS NT Handbook)
3. What we seek determines how much we worry.
Worry (merimnao) means anxious care, troubled; to think earnestly upon, to be cumbered with many cares; to have an anxious concern based on apprehension about possible danger or misfortune; to have a distracting care, perpetually uneasy.
“Someone has said that the average person is crucifying himself between two thieves: the regrets of yesterday and the worries about tomorrow.” (Weirsbe Commentary)
Mark 4:18-19 (NIV) – [18] “Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; [19] but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.”
4. We must seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.
“In summary it may be recalled that ‘the kingdom of God’ refers primarily to God’s kingly rule, while ‘righteousness’ is the doing of what God requires and of what pleases him.” (UBS NT Handbook)
Luke 17:20-21 (NIV) – [20] Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, [21] nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.”
5. If we don’t seek our wants, God will meet our needs.
“The Lord, therefore, makes a covenant with His followers. He says, in effect, ‘If you will put God's interests first in your life, I will guarantee your future needs. If you seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, then I will see that you never lack the necessities of life.’” (Believer’s Bible Commentary)
Matthew 6:24 (NIV) – [24] “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”
“This is God’s ‘social security’ program. The believer’s responsibility is to live for the Lord, trusting God for the future with unshakable confidence that He will provide. One’s job is simply a means of providing for current needs; everything above this is invested in the work of the Lord. We are called to live one day at a time: tomorrow can worry about its own things.” (Believer’s Bible Commentary)
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By Bakersfield First Assembly
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Seek First
Matthew 6:25-34 (NIV) – [25] “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life... [33] But SEEK FIRST his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. [34] Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
1. Believers are to be seekers.
Seek (zeteo) means to strive after, to desire, to look for, to strive to find, to try to gain, to aim for; to inquire, to ask; to investigate, to study, to consider; to seek in order to find out by thinking, meditating, and reasoning.
Acts 17:27 (NIV) [27] God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.
2. We are to seek with the proper priority.
Isaiah 55:6 (NIV) – [6] Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near.
“The text says you are to seek God’s kingdom first, that is, ‘above all else.’ In other words, God’s kingdom should be ‘your primary concern’ or ‘the thing you should be concerned with before anything else.’” (UBS NT Handbook)
3. What we seek determines how much we worry.
Worry (merimnao) means anxious care, troubled; to think earnestly upon, to be cumbered with many cares; to have an anxious concern based on apprehension about possible danger or misfortune; to have a distracting care, perpetually uneasy.
“Someone has said that the average person is crucifying himself between two thieves: the regrets of yesterday and the worries about tomorrow.” (Weirsbe Commentary)
Mark 4:18-19 (NIV) – [18] “Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; [19] but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.”
4. We must seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.
“In summary it may be recalled that ‘the kingdom of God’ refers primarily to God’s kingly rule, while ‘righteousness’ is the doing of what God requires and of what pleases him.” (UBS NT Handbook)
Luke 17:20-21 (NIV) – [20] Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, [21] nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.”
5. If we don’t seek our wants, God will meet our needs.
“The Lord, therefore, makes a covenant with His followers. He says, in effect, ‘If you will put God's interests first in your life, I will guarantee your future needs. If you seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, then I will see that you never lack the necessities of life.’” (Believer’s Bible Commentary)
Matthew 6:24 (NIV) – [24] “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”
“This is God’s ‘social security’ program. The believer’s responsibility is to live for the Lord, trusting God for the future with unshakable confidence that He will provide. One’s job is simply a means of providing for current needs; everything above this is invested in the work of the Lord. We are called to live one day at a time: tomorrow can worry about its own things.” (Believer’s Bible Commentary)