Seek God First

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; 

and all these things shall be added unto you.

Matthew 6:33

Jesus had to teach the disciples who followed Him.  The disciples were not just poor people; they had trades and families.  There were expectations that they had to adhere to. Just as Jesus was on assignment, he did everything that God commissioned Him to do.   We do not get to pick and choose what we will and will not do.

Why is it so hard after life has beat us down to 'seek God first'?  Why can’t we get the FIRST?  After everything that we’ve gone through; in those places of hurt, shame, disappointment and failure, we made some decisions.  If we would seek first the kingdom of God - not our dream, our life, our career, college – everything else all comes second.  Including our children and our dreams for them.

Why we can’t seek the Kingdom first?

>      self, ego, not fully submitted

If we were fully submitted,

¨     We love God and we serve God to the fullest but is He first in our life?

>      What happens in ‘christiandum’, not discipleship, is that we start earmarking areas that we have surpassed in and we think that it is okay to get us by.

It is not our job to determine who is fully submitted and who is not.  Jesus is the chief example of the true disciple because He did everything His father instructed Him to do. 

And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.  Matthew 26:39

>      If we don’t get our way, we pout instead of submitting

We can’t say we are not submitted because it is too difficult because Jesus sent His comforter to aid us.

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.  John 14:26

But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.  Acts 1:8   

The point of submission – what part of me is not submitted to God?  Are you submitted to the church but not to God?  Jesus was committed and submitted.  Jesus was not only committed to God, He was submitted to the cause.

We have to figure it out in our prayers, being real before God and recognize where we struggle in our submission.  We have to be able to be honest in our assessment of ourselves.  We have to look at the ‘seek’.  We are not born submitted.  We have to seek God out.  We cannot make the power of God null and void and of no effect.

Many of us use excuses not to seek first.  We skip the seek and the FIRST and go to our excuses, then wonder why we don’t have what we want.  We have inadvertently introduced our self to self-righteousness.  We cannot measure what we have done and expect something from God automatically.

We do not take the time to seek God, to follow God, to be mentored, and without this, we end up with shipwreck.

Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:  Isaiah 55:6

O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; Psalm 63:1

Have you asked God, ‘what am I missing?’ 

The question becomes why aren’t we further, higher, more anointed, more demonstrative of God in our life.  

Before ‘and all these things shall be added unto you’, you must seek first.

Do we show the love of God or do we pass judgment?   Know that when we cast the sinner away, they go to more sin.  You can’t measure someone with sexual problems when you have a bad attitude problem.  Understand the word of God -  that as a disciple, we must show love.  Sin is just sin no matter what it is.  God does not weigh sin the way that man does.   There are not sections of hell dependent upon your sin.  Our inner sins are just as bad as the outward sins.  Judging people is a sin.  We don’t condone the sin; we introduce the sinner to the truth of God’s word with love and compassion. 

We have to seek God daily to remain on the plain path.

Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies.  Psalm 27:11

The call to discipleship is not a church program.  It’s not just a biblical principle, it is not a church rule. it is a biblical mandate.   This message should be heard around the world.

If ye love me, keep my commandments. John 14:15

And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. Luke 9:23

Deny yourself of anything that gets in the way of keeping God first.  What excuse will you give God on judgment day?  This is not church constitution, it is biblical everywhere you go, it does not change.  God wants our fruit to remain and this can’t happen while we are loose, unstable, inconsistent, un-situated, emotional, up and down and in our feelings; that is not following God.  We have to get out of our ‘feelings’ because nothing good dwells there.

For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.  Romans 7:18

We have to recognize who we are following:  the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;  1 Peter 2:9

We are digging around the roots to get the full understanding.  We are trying to organize and structure our life around being a disciple, but discipleship is not an option.

Sadly, we program everything before Jesus and Jesus gets the leftovers.  This should not be.  Is God pleased with our lack of commitment towards Him?

Are you a good disciple; dependable, loyal, faithful, committed and submitted?

You can throw your godly weight around when you do things right.  You have to know who’s you are.  But you also have to know who you are?  When you know who’s you are and who you are, that is a double threat.

And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God.  Romans 9:26

Because we know we are a child of the living God: 

. . . but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.  Daniel 11:32

You should know who you serve and what He is capable and not capable of.  We cannot manipulate God, no short cuts to get a change from God.

So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.  Isaiah 55:11

For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven.   Psalms 119:89

God does not want your left-overs.  He wants the first of everything we have – our time, energy and thoughts. Nothing and no one is to stand between you and the call from God.

We have so called spiritual blocks trying to stand between us and our call to disciple.  We cannot let self-righteousness block others or ourselves.

The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.  Jeremiah 31:3

We can’t act like we are too good to witness to others.  The goodness of God causes us to get out of our ‘feelings’.  Following Christ separates the follower from their previous existence.  In your previous existence times were hard, in your new existence times are hard.  But in the new existence, you have God. 

You have to know:

¨     Who’s you are

¨     Who you are

¨     Who He is

Discipleship does not teach neglecting others.  

And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. 1 Corinthians 6:11  

Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.  1 Corinthians 10:12

Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not.  Psalm 17:5

We don’t have to point out peoples’ sins to them, they most likely already know.  We are to be agents of change.  We are not affirming and accepting sin but we have to be close enough to God to use his wisdom. 

Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. Matthew 10:16 

When you make God a priority He will teach you how to take care of that which has been assigned to your care.  God will begin to put things in your path but will also begin to remove things. 

Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:  Philippians 1:6

Stop looking for people to approve you.  It is God who approves us.  God was working on you before you knew Him.  God started the work.  Season, reason, lifetime – be discerning enough to know the difference.  There will be no excuse before God.

Disciples do not lie.  You cannot be a peacemaker and a liar also.

And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the Lord for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.  Jeremiah 29:7

Excerpts taken from Word Enrichment

- Bishop Joel C. Lofton

(Biblical Studies)

01/27/19
03/17/20