Matthew 6:33 NKJV “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you”.
Matt 6:24-32 explains in detail concerning the anchor scripture.
God has interest in every aspect of our life.
It is very interesting that the thing that the scripture used to equate God is mammon.
The fact that the gentiles also seek “all these things” does not neglect the fact that our heavenly father also knows that we need “all these things”
Vs 32
This scripture explains that something is more important than the other. Gentiles seek after “those things” does not mean we should not seek after them. If our heavenly father knows that we need “those things” as mentioned in the scripture then we can seek after them. But what the scripture is saying in Vs 33 is that there is something we should seek first before seeking after all “these things”.
God is not angry that we seek after food, our welfare, the things we need, we need to work, but in all this, we need to seek the kingdom first. The question is not in our seeking, the issue is what are we seeking first?.
We can strike a balance between advancing the kingdom and progressing in life. The fact that the scripture used the word shall be added is tempting, what people thought is that as we seek the kingdom, we don’t need to seek after other things because the scripture used the word “shall be added”.
We think kingdom pursuit automatically connotes that other things will be added.
In Matthew 6 vs 33, Jesus was actually introducing a concept, a way of thinking. The kingdom comes first. That is not negotiable. It is fundamental. This should determine your priorities and how you live your life.
In a scale of things, something should come first. That is what that scripture is actually saying. It’s religion that makes people settle for a part of the scripture.
Jesus is saying there is something called priority. As much as it is important to be hungry for kingdom pursuit you have to be hungry for progress in life. 2 things are highlighted in Matthew 6 vs 33, “first” and “all these things.” Our heavenly Father is interested in all these things and he knows that we need all these things.
It is the way we go about it that matters. It does not negate the fact that our heavenly Father is aware that we need it.
But let’s look at the idea of “kingdom first.” It is a mindset. Once this is well understood, every other thing will find their bearing and there is nothing that stops you from seeking after all other things. Surprisingly, believers are not intentional about all these other things.
On the other hand, some people are not even passionate about the kingdom, they don’t have a kingdom first mindset nor are they intentional about living a life of abundance.
The consequence of seeking after the kingdom of God is beyond this time. We have kingdom responsibility and kingdom roles and earthly responsibilities and earthly roles as well. How to balance both is the greatest responsibility a believer should have.
That’s where we find mature believers, people who have actually understood the word of God. God wants you to be intentional about your life and also have the kingdom of God at heart.
The cross and everything about it should be at the centre of your life. As a child of God you must love earthly things more than God.
Above all, the kingdom of God comes first. Your concern should be that when God looks into your life he will see that you prioritise him over everything. Some people even prioritise money over themselves. God is not angry that you are trying to make your life, but the primary concern of God is that the Gentiles fashioned their life after this path and neglected the place of God.
We are not sufficient on our own. Some trust in horses, chariots, but our trust is in God. We must come to a place where we understand that our life is in God’s hands. He is the one that makes things happen.
The advancement of the kingdom of God must be our priority. The cross should be our focus. One thing as a believer that should be placed at the centre of our heart is the kingdom lifestyle. It is a lifestyle. If we are mindful of money we would not be able to get to our church meetings. It’s a choice to look at the role and responsibility. This is why we can not love God and mammon. This is why we must pick one. We must come to the point of what we can make out of life. We must come to the point that God is the one that makes things happen..Because as a believer, I should be mindful as a believer. The work comes first. The job we do is not giving us the opportunity to work for God, we are not doing right.
Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
In the mind of Christ, He says we should seek first the kingdom of God.
We must seek first the kingdom of God.
It is the kingdom’s first mindset concept and consciousness. If we would have a choice of an opportunity to translate into doing other things aside from the kingdom what would be our choices. If there is a collision between what we are to do and the things pertaining to the kingdom, what would our choice look like?
We should not have the same definition of life just as the gentiles did. We must always seek first the kingdom of God.
If there are conflicts between our careers and the kingdom, where would our consciousness be?
It is the kingdom first. The way we would live our lives should be different from the average person. We would define our priorities with the lens of Christ. The kingdom mindset helps us to know how we would live our lives.
The kingdom mindset can only be known when there is trouble. This will help us to know whether it is entrenched. Life tests. Issues of life will rise. Our comfort and need will play out. When we see people doing things for God it is not that they do not have a need to put money into. Everyone has needs. It is our sense of Kingdom mindset that determines our giving. It is our mindset.
Mark 15:43-46 Now at that feast he released unto them one prisoner, whomsoever they desired.
Joseph of Arimathaea, an honourable counsellor, which also waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus.
And Pilate marvelled if he were already dead: and calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while dead.
And when he knew of the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph.
He waited for the kingdom of God. It is the passion he has. The kingdom of God is not different from the gospel. Paul said that he has preached the kingdom of God.
What made Joseph of Arimathea to seek the body of Jesus is because of the Kingdom in his heart. The Bible says Joseph craved for the body of Jesus Christ.
What we are craving for is different from what another person is craving. We must always know that it is the kingdom of God that comes first.
Joseph of Arimathea, is a passionate and also progressing man. He is high ranked and noble. He was waiting for the kingdom of God. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.
From the story we can say that this disciple was outstanding. The reason why people believe that they are not progressing is because they are working for the Lord.
It is wise to advance the kingdom and progress in life even if you are active in your service at the local church. You do not have genuine excuses to not grow in life. While we are instructed in scriptures to seek first the kingdom of God and all other things shall be added to us, doesn’t mean we fold our hands about relevant life skills that can sustain us and bring us to a place of making societal impacts.
To transact you do not require your knowledge of the scriptures. You need to exchange values. Do not think it is the Gentiles who seek good things then for us it is added.
It is not out of place to groom yourself to be excellent in your sphere of influence. Don’t go to the exam hall thinking you will be reminded of anything when you did not prepare.
It is what you read that will be brought to your remembrance.
You should not say because you are the president of your fellowship then you should not prepare for exams then expect the holy spirit to help you for what you did not prepare for. It is the kingdom first in priority of needs and time. If it is what will bring advancement to the kingdom, then the kingdom comes first.
Do not make it look like God is not interested in you because you chose to be negligent of your economic growth.
The scriptures compared our allegiance to God with mammon to show that these are crucial matters.
You can’t claim that it is God you prioritise over mammon until you are truly faced with the situation.
We will refuse to allow the devil to put us under pressure.
Joseph went out of his way to preserve the body of Christ. The same is expected of us today. The body of Christ needs to be preserved.
Matthew 6:24