Matthew 6:33 Message : SBC

SEEK FIRST HIS KINGDOM

Matthew 6:19-34 2009 DuPage/NIU Summer Bible Conference
Key Verse: 6:33 Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF 7-17-09

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you
as well.”

In this passage Jesus teaches his disciples, of all ages, a most important Biblical principle which they must practice in order to be his disciples. It is to seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, entrusting their very lives in God who alone can provide for all their needs, both physically and spiritually. Through this passage may we all accept the Biblical principle into our hearts and live victoriously as Jesus’ disciples.

Part l: Seek First His Kingdom And His Righteousness (33)

In this passage, Jesus tells us, in verses 33 to, ““But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.” It sounds great like the lead to an epic novel, but what does Jesus mean? Well, to understand it, let’s break it down into its component parts. When we do, it doesn’t look so ominous?
First, “to seek first” To seek something “first” has to do with priorities. It means to seek, as of “first” importance. We all have priorities in our lives, but not everything can be top priority. Jesus understands all the things that demand our attention, but he wants something to be our top priority. What is it? Verse 33a, ““But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness…”
Next, “Seek first his kingdom.” Jeremiah 23:5 sheds light on this. It reads, “ ‘The days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land.’” This prophecy looks forward to Jesus. Jesus is a king. He is from the house and line of David. Jesus is Lord of heaven and earth, through his death and resurrection. He lives forever, ruling the hearts of his people. That is why the Bible says that the kingdom of God is within you. He also rules among his people for where two or three gather in Jesus’ name, there shall he be. Jesus is surely among us today, because fifty of us have gathered in Jesus’ name. Jesus is a “shepherd” king who rules his subjects with wisdom and justice. And Jesus’ kingdom is forcefully expanding all around the world. Jesus wants us to seek his kingdom as first priority, taking hold of it, by faith. (Mt 11:12)

Next, “Seek first his righteousness.” Think of it this way. The root of the word, “righteousness” is “right”. Being “righteous” before God, means that we have entered into a right relationship with God. Because of our sins we could only be declared guilty, separated from God and kept from entering his kingdom. How can we ever be made “right” before God? Abram was declared “righteous” by God, simply by believing God’s incredible promises. (Gen 15:6) Jesus is our righteousness. Jeremiah 23:6,“In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness.” When we repent of our sins, believing that Jesus shed his precious blood so that we can be forgiven of all our sins, then we are forgiven by God. When we stand before God, he sees Jesus in us. We become part of God’s family and receive eternal life. John 17:3, “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” To seek his righteousness is to seek to know Jesus through sincere Bible study and putting his words into practice.

Part ll: “God Does Not Understand My Situation”

Though Jesus gives us such a wonderful command, it is not easy to obey it. It seems that this world is opposed to seeking God’s kingdom and his righteousness. We are drawn from all quarters to chase after almost anything and everything else. What do people chase after? Look at verse 19, ““Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.” People chase after treasure which they store up for themselves. For most, their treasure is money. But Jesus tells us that any earthly treasure will decompose, decay or be stolen. Those who put their hope in earthly treasures will eventually have their hopes crushed.

People worry a lot instead of seeking Jesus. Look at verses 31 and 32, “So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them”. People worry about having enough food and shelter. Their fears sound legitimate. But the problem is our security fears never go away. The more you have the more you spend. The more you have the more you worry. People who run after these things never have enough room in their hearts to seek first God’s kingdom and righteousness.

Part lll: Jesus Gives Us Clear Direction

Jesus does not leave us directionless. Look at verses 19 & 20, “But store up for yourselves treasure in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.” He tells us to store up treasure in heaven. What are they? Treasure in heaven are eternal things of greatest value. They are things that we can only bring with us to heaven. They are things that we will receive praise from God when we see him face to face. The greatest treasure in heaven is eternal life in the kingdom of God. This is a treasure that we need more than anything. This treasure is easy to acquire because eternal life is a gift from God, freely given to anyone who believes. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” You can have the treasure of eternal life in Jesus today, all you have to do is repent of your sins and believe in Jesus.

Another treasure is a glorious, eternal dwelling place. In John 14:2, Jesus told his disciples, “In my Father’s house are many rooms...I am going there to prepare a place for you.” The word “rooms” means “mansions.” For those who have given their lives to Jesus, God has prepared a mansion of glory in the kingdom of heaven that can never be foreclosed upon. Some of us have envied the homes in the “Lifestyles Of The Rich And Famous” ,but a room in the Father’s house will make even the choicest parcels of real estate seem like shacks.

Another treasure is our spiritual character. A truly rich person is one who has the spiritual character of our Lord Jesus Christ, hewn through many spiritual struggles. Though we may suffer a lot in this world, we are bearing the beautiful image of Christ. There are other treasures too. All those who have been misunderstood, persecuted, and rejected in this world, for Jesus’ name’s sake, will receive the crown of righteousness that never fades away. Also, people who lead other people to Jesus will shine like stars in the universe. Ultimately those who remain faithful to Jesus will receive a warm welcome by Christ himself, who will say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” Christians are truly rich with heavenly treasure.

How can we store up heavenly treasures? In the context of the Sermon on the Mount, we store up treasures in heaven by giving to the needy, like giving food to the hungry, shelter to the homeless, giving clothes to those whose clothes old and few, taking care of the sick, even those sick with sin, visiting people who are lonely, planting God’s hope in the heart of those who are weary of life. It includes prayer and fasting before God. (Matt25:35-40). Can you remember righteous acts that Christians have performed on you? Every righteous act is remembered and blessed by the Lord.

Jesus tells us these things because he cares about the condition of our hearts. Look at verse 21, ““For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” And also verses 21-22,“"The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. 23But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” If our treasures are on earth, then the eyes of our hearts focused on things that are perishing, spoiling and fading away. (1 Peter 1:3-4) The eyes become full of sadness and disappointment. Jesus does not want us living with “bad eyes.” He wants us to have good, bright eyes, eyes that are full of life and vitality and real hopes, eyes that are focused on Jesus and the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus tells us not to worry. Let’s read verse 25. “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?” Worrying seems to come too natural for some. But worrying is totally useless. Worry makes us waste our precious lives doing nothing. Worrying is the mother of all kinds of anxiety and stress related illnesses. Worry comes when we see our need without seeing our God.

To overcome worrying, Jesus teaches us to have faith in God. Look at verse 25 and 26. “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” The fact is that God cares about all of his creation, even us. Our Creator God, continues to care for us as our loving Father. There are all kinds of evidences of God loving provision. Look at how he takes care of the birds, they look very happy and well fed. They fly around freely and sing all day long. We just have to acknowledge the facts and not worry by trusting God.

There are people who don’t worry about food and shelter. Who here is worrying about food and shelter? God has always provided…right? Jesus has a lesson for those concerned about clothes and outer beauty. Look at verse 28b-30a, “…See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, ..” Jesus understands our need for dignity, but he doesn’t want us to worry. Our God does a fantastic job clothing the lilies and the grasses. Mankind can never create such beauty. God will clothe us beautifully with inner beauty, by his grace. True beauty does not come from our clothes but from a quiet and gentle spirit, that is provided by God to those who seek heavenly treasure (1 Peter 3:3-4)

Part lll: “All These Things will Be Give to You as Well.”

Jesus gives each of us a great and wonderful promise in verse 33, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” People think that God will provide our food, clothing, shelter…the bare necessities. But the truth is that God knows and understands our every need and wants to provide all we need for life and ministry and spending eternity with our Lord Jesus. He provides everything we need in abundance. But there is only one prerequisite….we must determine to seek God’s kingdom and his righteousness as top priority in our lives.

I thank God, that he has helped me to live by the Biblical principle these past 23 years. My heart is drawn to the things of this world. On my own I could never seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness as top priority. I first came to know Jesus at the age of 22 while finishing my studies at a Community College. I had lived as a hedonistic student. While studying for my last exam, I was invited to Sunday Service by a Korean Missionary, Ruth Hwang. I thought, “if I get a job I will stay and study the Bible.” I applied for one job and got it. After one month of Bible study I attended the MSU Summer Bible Conference. There that I repented of my doubts and started to believe in Jesus. My first epiphany was that Jesus is real, there is a spiritual world, and that the Bible is the Word of God. Later, I accepted John 4:13-14 as my life key verse, “Jesus answered, ‘Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’” I was a Samaritan man, but Jesus quenched my thirsty heart. He saved me the emptiness of a meaningless, hedonistic life. Jesus helped me to make several quick decisions of faith. I accepted campus mission, moved into the common life with other Christians and began to grow as a student shepherd. Jesus was going to help me to seek his kingdom first in other crucial times. Let’s see.

Right from the beginning, I experienced God’s divine discipline. My parents were not Christians. They could not understand my changed life in Jesus. They were scared. They began to oppose my life of faith. This went on for five years. There was a lot of tears. I was tempted to ignore God’s call and avoid a lot trouble. But at this crucial moment God helped me. I accepted John 6:68-70, “Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” Every episode of opposion drew me closer to the word of God to find the truth.

God helped me to seek his kingdom in regards to my future marriage. When I studied about Isaac and Rebekah, in my 1:1 Bible study, my heart was so moved. The Bible says that when she was led to Isaac, “She took her veil and covered herself. Then the servant told Isaac all he had done. Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he married Rebekah. So she became his wife, and he loved her…” I began to cry because of the beauty of their marriage. I thoughtI could never have such pure love. I could seek God’s kingdom by waiting on God’s time and in God’s way for a future marriage partner. And I waited for six years before led me to my God-given soul mate, Julie.

In 1991, I had another opportunity to seek God’s kingdom first. The missionaries had left to plant new churches in Toronto and Montreal. I was left in Winnipeg, with 8 Bible students. I was spiritually young, weak and poor. It was not easy to carry on the work of God. God saw my situation and he inspired Shp Teddy to invite me to Triton UBF. I could have ignored his invitation and stayed in Winnipeg, safe and secure. But when I prayed, I accepted Genesis 12: 1-2, “The Lord said to Abram, ‘Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.’ I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you. I will make your name great and, and you will be a blessing.” With this word of God in my heart, I could have strength to make the 1,000 mile journey to Chicago and start seeking God’s kingdom at Triton UBF.

My career path was another hour of decision. I had no clear career goals. I was a pasta quality control person, a security guard, a muffin baker, a 7-11 clerk. I never thought about studying nursing. But when Pastor Teddy invited me to Triton UBF to study nursing I had a decision to make. I prayed about it and God helped me to realize that he could really use my job as a nurse in my shepherd life. The choice became clear. After five years of study, in 1996, I graduated with my Bachelors degree in nursing.

Another moment of decision came in 1992. Servants of God had been praying for my marriage. There was woman of faith who also praying for Russia (like I was) and was teaching the Bible in L.A. Her name was Julie Nugent. I highly respected her faith. The prospect of being engagement with Julie came up. What was I going to do? Was I going to depend on my own limited charm, or depend on God, seeking God’s kingdom in regards to my future family? God reminded me of the beautiful family of Isaac and Rebekah. Based on this I took Julie to be my wife. This year we are celebrating 17 years of marriage.

In 1998, the call to pioneer NIU UBF came. Our family was ready to go. But would we go? I was comfortable where I was. God gave us Isaiah 32:2, which reads, "Each man will be like a shelter from the wind and a refuge from the storm, like streams of water in the desert and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land." We prayed that gospel, and our house church, could be a refuge to thousands of thirsty NIU students. Based on these words, we pioneered NIU.

Pioneering affected our kids. Jenn was 6. Augustine was 3 1/2 and Sarah was 2 1/2. In this world people say, “Don’t push them too much”, “They will decide later in life to believe in Jesus and serve Jesus.” But as a new house church, we had only a few co-workers. We had no family to baby sit. The kids needed to co-operate. Was I going to shelter them from the difficulties of mission life or give them discipleship training from a young age? I remembered the words from Proverbs 22:6, “Train a child in the way he should go, and when his is old he will not turn from it.” Choosing to disciple our kids, was one way to seek first God’s kingdom. The kids were our singers, our musicians, our prayer servants, our testimony sharers, our Bible students. It was hard, but to us it is all worth it to see them grow strong in Christ and to co-work together in the work of God. And the kids feel the same way. They have been our faithful coworkers over the years and a source of joy and inspiration.

God has helped me to seek, Jesus, my righteousness. Over the years God has raised up Bible teachers for me, pastors who love me and teach me many spiritual things. Weekly testimony writing has been times where I can sit and reflect on my relationship with Jesus. Pioneering a new chapter has helped me to dig deep into the word of God each and every week. My wife pushes me read the Bible every day, even tossing the “One Year Bible” on my chest, just before I dose off to sleep. For six years now God has helped me to receive Bible study and discipleship training through our leaders at the main center. When I want to give up seeking God’s righteousness as top priority, God has and will continue.

Nowadays God is calling my house church to another moment of decision. We have been at NIU for 11 years now. Pioneering seems to slow going. Why not just join up with the local mega church filled with young families and vibrant youth groups? Why not be a small group leader? It is because God has called my family to build up the campus ministry through 1:1 Bible study and house church ministry in UBF. This is my personal calling. God reminds me that if I continue to live as a shepherd and Bible teacher that he will bless our lives and ministry abundantly. And so, now, Julie and I want to seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness by re-dedicating our house church lives as 1:1 shepherds for NIU students. Please pray for us.

Since God has been helping me seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, God has been blessing me more than most people I grew up with. I know because I see high school friends on Facebook. He has given me heavenly peace and heavenly sunshine knowing that my sins are completely forgiven. He has quenched my thirsty heart with his living water for the last 23 years. He has given me good eyes, enlivened by spiritual treasure and a living hope in the kingdom of God. He has led me to my wife Julie who is very beautiful and spiritual and a great co-worker. God has given us 5 children, who want to please God and who believe in Jesus. He has trained me to study the Bible under mature servants of God. I could preach at conferences like this. I have my health. God has helped me to be a nurse, a job that is flexible and recession proof and five minutes from home. He has helped me to pioneer a church and become a pastor for a collegiate ministry. He gave us a Bible house and great home in a nice community. He has shown me the world, including Korea, Russia, Germany, Holland, India and Kenya. He has given me vision for the pioneering of the western suburbs all the way to Rockford. I know that my spiritual influence will carry on after my death. One day I will see my Lord and Savior, face to face in the Kingdom of heaven. I am so richly blessed! It is all because Jesus helped me, at crucial moments in my life to decide to seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness.

Now is the time for each of us to decide. We have explored every avenue this world has to offer and it not delivered the meaning and fulfillment that we thought. We have sought to build up our own kingdom only to see the walls of our kingdom, crumbling down around us. We have been so busy trying to survive, that we have failed to discover God’s righteousness, Jesus Christ. For so many life is taking three steps forward and two steps back, or for some it is two steps forward and three steps back. They have no love of God, no forgiveness of God, and no hope in the kingdom of God. All they are left with are feelings of guilt, condemnation and regret, saying, “It might have been”. Their legacy will end with themselves, when they will have to stand before God. Is that they life we want? Jesus implores is to consider his direction and his promise. He says in Matthew 6:33, “But seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.” Let’s decide today. Let’s face our “moments of decision” that God brings. Be ready to carry through with your decision, by faith. It will not be easy. You will have to humble yourself to live according to God’s word and follow Jesus. There will be sacrifices for without a spirit of sacrifice no one can seek God’s kingdom as of top priority. (Lk 9:23) Indeed, there are times when you feel like you cannot carry on, but those are the times that Jesus wants us to cry out for strength to help you on your journey. He will surely bless you when you are faithful and do not give up. And maybe some of you have given up. Maybe you started to seek God’s kingdom, but somewhere along the way you have stopped making it your number one priority. There is hope, grace and strength in Jesus. Explain to him your situation. Tell him, you want to start again. His grace will help you to start to seek his kingdom and his righteousness right from where you are. He will bless your life with more than just food, clothes and a bed to sleep on. God will give you eternal hope, a meaningful mission, and lots of spiritual treasure. But there is a prerequisite. And you know what it is. Let’s say it all together. It is verse 33. “But seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.” May God bless you to make that all important decision today.