His Kingdom, His Righteousness, First!

[0:00] Amen. If you have your Bibles, turn with us to Matthew chapter 6, verse 33. But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.

[0:17] And I want to preach for a little bit from this title, His kingdom, His righteousness first. Let's pray over this word. Lord Jesus, God, I pray, Lord, that you touch every single one of us.

[0:29] With your word today. God, that your word would have free course to our ears, and to our minds, and to our hearts, and to our souls.

[0:40] Lord, that it would reach us, God, where we are today. And that we would be receptive of it, God, and that we would hear it, and we would apply it. In Jesus' name I pray. In Jesus' name I pray.

[0:51] I pray everyone in this building today would have a personal revelation of your word today, Jesus. God, that you help us get it today. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Amen.

[1:03] You may be seated. Last week, the Lord gave me and I preached a message titled, King Jesus. And we read that Pilate, the Roman governor, that Jesus was wrongly and maliciously delivered to for judgment, was questioning Jesus about his kingship.

[1:27] And Jesus answered Pilate and said, My kingdom is not of this world. And so this kind of continues today. And I guess we're not ready to quite move on from this, but we're expanding a little bit.

[1:45] And from that, when Jesus said that his kingdom is not of this world, we can gather that Jesus is drawing a distinct line, a clear line, that there is a difference between the kingdom of God and the kingdoms of men.

[2:01] And there's just a difference. And at that moment, standing in front of the Roman governor was the power and authority appointed there by Caesar.

[2:13] Jesus was literally looking at the most powerful rulers in the world. The Roman Empire was there controlling Jerusalem. And it was the most powerful kingdom in the world at that time.

[2:24] And you can imagine Jesus standing there before Pilate in his judgment hall where people are judged and usually convicted and given punishments that are carried out.

[2:38] And there's probably military around. And I could just imagine Jesus there humbly looking at all this power and authority of earthly power and authority around him.

[2:53] And Jesus says, My kingdom, you have your kingdom, right? But my kingdom is not of this world. You have your powers. You have your militaries. You have your palaces. And you have your judgment seat.

[3:05] And you have your judgment courts. And you have all these things. And this is your kingdom that you have built up. But my kingdom is not of this world. Amen. Your kingdom is of man.

[3:17] And your kingdom is earthly. And your kingdom is worldly. But my kingdom is not of this world. There's a difference in a kingdom that's ruled by men and a kingdom that's ruled by God.

[3:28] Amen. There's a difference. And Jesus said, My kingdom is not of this world. Pilate at that time was representing the kingdom of the world.

[3:38] Jesus was representing the kingdom of God. And so there is a kingdom of man and there is a kingdom of God. And what we read in Matthew chapter 6 verse 33, it says, But seek ye first the kingdom of God.

[3:52] Amen. First means first. It doesn't mean second. It doesn't mean third. It doesn't mean fourth. It doesn't mean every once in a while. It doesn't mean when life's going bad. It doesn't mean when I'm going through something that I'm going to seek after the kingdom of God.

[4:05] No. It says, But seek ye first the kingdom of God. Amen. Amen. We have to seek the kingdom of God first. First means first. Not only are we to seek his kingdom first, but we are to seek his righteousness first.

[4:19] It says, Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. Amen. Amen. Just like there's a clear difference between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of men, there's a clear difference between the righteousness of men and the righteousness of God.

[4:32] There's a clear difference. And we're not to seek after our righteousness or the righteousness of men, but we are to seek after his righteousness. And you cannot get comfortable with whatever level of righteousness that you seem to be okay with having.

[4:49] When people come to God, they see a lot of significant changes in their lives right away. And then after the first six months or so, things start to get to the point where if you're going to see more changes and more things are going to happen in your life in the kingdom of God, you have to start digging it out.

[5:07] And you can look back at pictures of people that live for God for many years and they don't look anything like they used to look. They don't talk anything like they used to talk. They don't act anything like they used to act.

[5:19] They don't go where they used to go. They don't. You see the changes that happen. And we get to a place where we start feeling a lot better about ourselves and we think that we've obtained some sort of level, perfect level of righteousness.

[5:32] But it's not about what we think is the level of righteousness that we need to be at. It says, seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. Amen. So in his kingdom, it is his kingdom and it's his righteousness that we are to seek after first.

[5:47] And our level of righteousness may be different than what he, his level of righteousness, what he has in mind for us. Amen. So we can't just stop at some place in our life and serving God where we just feel better and we got, we feel like we got to obtain this certain level of righteousness.

[6:04] But it's a continuing thing that we are to do and to grasp after. But we have to decide, we have to decide and we have to decide every day by the way that we go about our days and in our lives.

[6:18] It is his kingdom and his righteousness we are to seek after first. But we have to decide that. How are we living our lives? Not all of you may know me. Not all of you may know me enough.

[6:34] But those that live with me would know that if I'm kingdom of God minded or not. If I'm kingdom of God and God's righteousness first in my life.

[6:47] And you may think I'm kingdom minded. And I may think you're kingdom minded. But all we would really have to do is live together for a few days or a week. And we would know and we would could decide who's kingdom minded.

[7:03] Because it doesn't matter what we say. Doesn't matter what we say. Our lives will prove whether or not we are kingdom of God minded or kingdom of man minded.

[7:14] We all right now are either standing with Pilate in the kingdom of men. Or we're standing with Jesus in the kingdom of God. And we can know this by how we live our lives day in and day out.

[7:29] But Jesus is telling us today that his kingdom is not of this world. And that we should seek first his kingdom and his righteousness. That's the message today.

[7:40] Amen. So what is a kingdom? A kingdom is the domain of a king. A king's domain. A kingdom. It is the realm in which the king has power and authority.

[7:56] It is the place where others would submit to that king's rule. The kingdom of God is where mankind submits to his rule and his reign. If you are submitted to the rule of God, then you are in the kingdom of God.

[8:10] If you have not submitted to his way to enter into the kingdom through being born again of the water and the spirit. Or you have done that, but now you do not submit to his rule and his authority in your daily life.

[8:24] Then you are not in his kingdom. You are under the rule and authority of a kingdom of men. But if you have been born again of the water and the spirit.

[8:35] And you do live your life daily under his rule and authority. Then you can say you are in the kingdom of God. And so we are all submitted to a kingdom.

[8:45] The question is just which kingdom are you under submission to? Which kingdom's rule and authority do you live by? The only way we can be in submission and placed under the rule and authority of the kingdom of God.

[9:02] Is that if we have to be born again of the water and the spirit. And we have to be baptized into his kingdom. By being baptized in full submersion in the name of Jesus. Which is the only way to be baptized. It's the only way to be baptized in the New Testament.

[9:14] And we have to be baptized in the spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. And then we are born again into the kingdom of God. And then we have to have a continual submission to the word of God.

[9:25] And to engage God through his word and through prayer daily in our lives. Amen. The word of God is so very powerful.

[9:36] If you go through a day without somehow connecting with God in your spirit. Through prayer and getting into the word of God. God in some way shape or form.

[9:48] Then you have completely wasted your day. You just completely wasted it. You say well Shane you don't know all the things that I got done today. And all the things that I accomplished today.

[9:59] And I would say it doesn't matter what you got done today. And what you think you've accomplished. If you didn't pray and get into the word of God today. You wasted your day.

[10:10] It's a wasted day. Well I made a lot of money Shane. Shane I made a million dollars today. I made a million dollars. But if you didn't get into the word of God.

[10:21] Because you know what? That million dollars isn't going to buy you one inch of the streets of gold. And the eternal kingdom of God. Amen. When we make it on the other side. The million dollars. Whatever you think that you've accomplished in your day.

[10:34] If you didn't connect to God spiritually. Through prayer and his word that day. Then it was a wasted day. I don't care if you made a million dollars. It was wasted. Every single day that you do not pray and look into the word of God.

[10:46] It's a wasted day. And there's a serious difference between the temporary things of the kingdom of men. And the eternal things of the kingdom of God. And you have to be convinced of the fact that we have to be into prayer.

[11:01] And to the word of God. Or there will never be any consistent life change for us. You have to be connected to King Jesus. If you're in his kingdom and you cannot be connected to the king.

[11:15] If you're not connected to him in prayer in the world. In the word. And you have to be able to repent of your sins. Get baptized in Jesus name.

[11:25] Receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. And be born in the kingdom of God. But then if you do not get connected to King Jesus through prayer and his word. You really cannot be helped. You can only get so far.

[11:36] In that. That. When you get born again. You're just born. You're just. You're just a baby. You're just. You know. That's just your way into the kingdom of God. You still have to grow up. You still have to.

[11:47] To learn and grow. And continue forth. You can't just stop there. That's not the culmination. Of what God wants for you. Is just to be born into the kingdom. But you have to live in the kingdom.

[11:58] You have to live in the kingdom. Amen. No pastor is going to be able to help you. No elder is going to be able to help you. No. Nobody's going to be able to give you.

[12:09] Godly advice or counseling. To help you. If you don't have your own connection. And relationship with King Jesus. Through prayer. And reading. And applying his word. While in his kingdom.

[12:21] So it's one thing to be. To get into the kingdom. It's a whole nother thing. To live in the kingdom. And if you just want to feel better. For a few hours a week. Then come to church.

[12:32] Every Sunday at 4 p.m. And then go home. And don't pray. Or read God's word. The rest of the week. All week long. But if you want real life change. Then tomorrow. And then on Tuesday.

[12:44] And Wednesday. And Thursday. And Friday. And Saturday. You need to find. Your prayer life. And make time. To get into the word of God. And to apply it. To your daily life. To be in the kingdom of God.

[12:56] And be kingdom minded. And to be seeking his kingdom. And his righteousness first. Not only do you need. To get here on time. And attend every Sunday. But you have to seek.

[13:06] The kingdom of God. And his righteousness daily. Through placing yourself. Under his rule. And authority daily. And you are only going to accomplish that. Through a relationship with him.

[13:17] Through prayer. And his word. And if you aren't doing that. God can't help you. I can't help you. Nobody can help you. The only hope you have. Is for you to change your mind.

[13:28] Somehow. And pick up this book. And start putting your nose in this book. Or putting some preaching on. When you're on your drive. Or anything. And everything you can do. Connect with God.

[13:39] How many hours. Should go by. In your day. Before you've thought about. Something about the kingdom of God. Amen. The most deceived people. In the world.

[13:49] Are people that attend church. Every Sunday. And have no daily devotion. They're the most deceived people. In the world. James 1 and 22 says. But ye. But be ye doers of the word.

[14:00] And not hearers only. Deceiving your own selves. There's nobody in the world. That listens to the word of God. More than people that attend church. Every Sunday. They hear plenty of word. They hear. I added up one time.

[14:11] How many messages are preached in a year. How many hours of. Of God's word goes forth. And how many lessons are taught. And it's. There's. There's thousands of hours. Of. Of.

[14:22] Of. Hearing the word of God. And. In a Christian's life. Span. Thousands of hours of it. But. The most deceived people.

[14:33] Are the ones that come. Sunday in. And Sunday out. And they hear all this preaching. And all this teaching. But they don't do anything. They're hearers only. And not doers. And they deceive themselves.

[14:46] If you just come to hear the word. Every Sunday. And you don't have the word daily. Then you're. Deceiving yourself. Deception sets in. When you only hear the word. And you don't do. The word. We can't make it.

[14:57] If we aren't. Digging into the word of God. And applying it. To our lives daily. The word of God. Speaks to us. And it directs us. According to how. God wants us to be. In his kingdom.

[15:09] In John chapter 1. Verse 1. It says in the beginning. Was the word. And the word. Was with God. And the word. Was God. And John 1. 14 says. And the word. Was made flesh.

[15:20] And dwelt among us. And so. King Jesus. Is the word of God. Quite literally. Quite literally. King Jesus. Is the word of God. And so.

[15:34] When you are a hearer. Of the word. And not a doer. Of the word. You have. Chosen. To not let. King Jesus. Be your king. If you hear.

[15:44] King Jesus. The word. But you don't do. What the word. King Jesus says. Then you are. Disobedient. To King Jesus. You're not submitting. To King Jesus.

[15:54] So then you are not. Under King Jesus. Rule. And his reign. So then. You are not. In King Jesus. Domain. So you are not. In the kingdom of God. Quite simple.

[16:05] If you break it down. If you hear. If you are a hearer. Only. And do not. And not a doer. Of the word. And you don't apply yourself. To the word. Then you're not.

[16:15] You're not rejecting me. I know. I get up here. And preach. And slobber. All over this microphone. And get those white things. That get in the corner. Of your mouth.

[16:27] When you got caught in the mouth. I know. I'm the one. Delivering the word. But. When you're. When you're just a hearer. Only. And not a doer. It's.

[16:38] It's not that you're rejecting. Me. You're rejecting God. And. You're rejecting his kingdom. And his righteousness. And you're. Putting a different kingdom.

[16:49] And righteousness. First. So God has tried. And tried. To lead us. And. To his kingdom. And his righteousness. God has been so patient.

[16:59] With us. And when I say us. I mean. Just mankind. In general. There was a point. In early human history. That the people. On the earth. Were so far. From the kingdom of God.

[17:10] And his righteousness. And every nation. Was worshiping idols. And were evil. And God finally. Was able. To get a man. To respond. To his calling. And Abraham. Left out of his father's house.

[17:20] And away from. His nation. And he followed. After the leading of God. And God told him. To leave his country. And to leave his family. And go. To a land. That God would show him. And that God would make.

[17:33] Out of Abraham. A great nation of people. And so Abraham. Obeyed. By faith. And did as the Lord commanded. And Hebrews 11. 8 says. By faith. Abraham. When he was called.

[17:43] To go out. Into a place. Which he should. After receive. For an inheritance. Obeyed. And he went out. Not knowing. Oh. Not knowing. Whether he went.

[17:54] He didn't know where he was going. God was calling him out. He just knew. He had to leave. And go. And so this call out of the world. Of idol worshiping. And false gods. And evil practices. And to separate from it all.

[18:06] Still is the call for those. That will seek his kingdom. The kingdom of God. And his righteousness. First. Today. And so it begins. And God. Keeps his promise.

[18:16] And Abraham. Has Isaac. And Isaac. Jacob. And God changes. Jacob's name to Israel. And Israel has 12 sons. And 12 sons. Each become a tribe. Of the nation of Israel. And the thing. That distinguished the Israelites.

[18:29] Is they worshipped. Only one God. And they were. The one true. God's chosen people. They didn't worship. False gods. They didn't believe. In multiple gods. And they believed. In one God.

[18:40] The one true God. And from that time. That God had his own nation. Of people. He was their king. And they would. Hear the voice. And the instruction of God. Through the prophets. And other leaders.

[18:51] That God would anoint. Of his choosing. Abraham. Isaac. Jacob. And then led out of Egypt. By Moses. And then led out of the wilderness. By Joshua. And it goes on.

[19:02] For hundreds of years. That God. Working through his mouthpiece. Would be their king. And he would lead them. And direct them. The Lord himself. Was their king. Ruling and leading them.

[19:13] Through the men. He chose. To speak through. Hundreds of years. Of God. Being their king. And using someone. To speak to them. But then we see.

[19:24] In Samuel chapter 8. The people of Israel. Decide to go. A different direction. What happened was. Samuel was. The prophet of God. Leading the Israelites.

[19:35] At the time. Samuel began. To become old. And he appointed his sons. To be judges. Of Israel. And his sons. Weren't doing. A good job. And so. All the elders of Israel.

[19:47] Gathered themselves. Together. And they went. To Samuel. And they demanded. Of Samuel. To make someone. A king. To rule them. And they said.

[19:57] Make us a king. We want a man. King. Like all the other nations. Have. And so you have to remember. The nation of Israel. Was God's called out.

[20:08] Separated. Chosen. People. And all the other nations. Were. The heathen. That worshiped. Multiple false gods. And rejected. The one true God. They were the. They were the enemies of God.

[20:19] They were the enemies of the children of Israel. And here. The elders of Israel. Are essentially now saying. We don't want to be led by God anymore. But we want. To be led by a man.

[20:30] King. Like all the other nations are led. All the other nations have a king. Why don't we have a king? And they. They want a king. A man. King. To lead them. And the Bible says that.

[20:40] This displeased Samuel. And so he went to the Lord. And prayer over it. And what was God's response? In 1 Samuel chapter 8 verse 7 through 9 it says. And the Lord said unto Samuel.

[20:52] Hearken unto the voice of the people. And all that they say unto thee. For they have not rejected thee. But they have rejected me. That I should not reign over them.

[21:03] According to all the works which they have done since the day I brought them out of Egypt. Even unto this day wherewith they have forsaken me and served other gods. So do they also unto thee.

[21:14] Now therefore hearken unto their voice. How be it yet protest solemnly unto them. And show them the manner of the king that shall reign over them.

[21:24] So what God's saying is. You know that ever since I delivered them out of the bondage of Egypt. And have freed them from those burdens. They haven't really listened to me.

[21:35] And they have not let me really lead them. So go ahead and listen to them. And give them what they want. But warn them about the type of king that they're going to be ruled by.

[21:46] If they choose a human king instead of me. And so Samuel tells them. Any man king that you have is going to take your sons. Away from your house.

[21:58] And appoint them unto himself. For his use. They're going to run before chariots. And serve and work for him. He's going to take your daughters away from.

[22:11] He's going to take your daughters away. And for his use. And for his. And service to him. And they're going to be bakers. And cooks. And confectionists. Confectionaries.

[22:22] And that man king is going to take from your land. He's not just going to take your kids away from you. He's going to take your land away from you as well. He's going to take a portion of your crops.

[22:34] And he's going to take part of everything that you have. And he's going to take part of your sheep and your flocks. And he's going to. Not only that. Is he going to take what you have now.

[22:45] But he's going to take away your future. He's going to. He's going to take a portion of your seeds. The seeds from your crop. That you would save for the next year's crop. He's going to take those.

[22:56] And so what's happening is. Not only is he going to take away your children. And not only is he going to take away your substance. But he's also going to take away your future. And you're never going to have great abundance.

[23:08] If you have this king. A man king. And so Samuel revealed to them the facts. About what it. Would move. What. What would happen.

[23:19] And if they moved out from God's reign. And placed themselves under. A man king to rule them. And so you would. You would imagine that.

[23:30] They would say. Oh no. No. No. No. No. No. No. Sorry. We made a mistake. We misspoke. We got a little ahead of ourselves there. Samuel. Please go back to the Lord. And say. No.

[23:40] No. No. No. No. That's not what they said. What did they say? They said. Nevertheless. The people refused to obey. The voice of Samuel. And they said. Nay. But we will have a king over us. That we also may be like.

[23:52] All the nations. And that our king may judge us. And go out before us. And fight our battles. And Samuel heard all the words of the people. And he rehearsed them unto the ears of the Lord.

[24:04] And the Lord said to Samuel. Hearken unto their voice. And make them a king. And that's when they went out and found King Saul. And he was the first king of Israel.

[24:17] And so we have to understand today that. These people were saying. We don't want. We don't want to be a called out nation. We don't really want to be a separated nation.

[24:30] Devoted unto God. We don't want to be ruled by God. We want to be ruled by man. And what was. Look what their attitude. And what they said.

[24:41] We will have. We will have a king over us. That we also may be like all the other nations. And that our king may judge us. And go out before us.

[24:52] And fight our battles. And so what they did was. They traded the rule and reign of God. So they could all be like the enemy nations.

[25:03] The enemies of God. They traded God's judgments for the judgments of men. And they traded God going out before them. To fight their battles. For a man to go out and fight their battles.

[25:16] And if you could all stand with me. We understand that. That's a bad idea. I think we would all agree that that's a bad idea.

[25:30] But. When we. When we come into the kingdom of God. And we're called to be separate. To separate ourselves from the.

[25:40] From the world. Not. Not. Not through. A separation of. Of not working with. People. And not communicating. With people anymore. But separation.

[25:52] In the things that God's desires are for us. Versus the things that we used to desire. Before. There's a separation between. Holiness. And. Sin. And.

[26:03] The kingdom. Of men. And the kingdom of God. There's. There's a clear difference. There's things that. We used to. Work for. And strive for. That are. Not. Of eternal. Because.

[26:15] God's kingdom is eternal. It's not going anywhere. Forever. God's kingdom is forever. It's never going to fail. And the kingdoms of men. They come. And they go.

[26:26] They fall. Every kingdom falls. Every kingdom fails. At some point. And if we. Choose. If we've chosen. Somehow. To. Decide that.

[26:38] We don't want to be a separated people. Into God anymore. And. You know what. I don't. I don't. I don't really like being judged. I don't really like being judged.

[26:48] By this word. You know. I don't think I should have to do that. I don't think I. And. You know what. I can handle my own stuff. I can handle my own business. I don't need God.

[26:59] Fighting my battles for me. I can figure it out. What we're doing. Is doing the same thing. That. That they did. In. Samuel chapter 8. And they're saying that. You know what.

[27:10] My kingdom. Is better. We want. We want to make our own kingdom. We don't want a kingdom. We don't want to be under the rule. And reign of God. Of King Jesus. And so.

[27:22] The thing we need to understand. If we make that decision. Is. Our kingdom is going to fall. If. If we're going to build our own kingdom. Our kingdom is going to fall. But if we would. Submit to the.

[27:33] Kingdom of God. If we would submit. To the word of God. If we would submit to. The things that God teaches us. In his word. And let me say this. If we've. If we've made commitments.

[27:43] To those things. And. And. And we were. At a place where. We were doing really well. And. And connected to God. And we find ourselves today. Kind of like I felt.

[27:55] In the beginning of service. That we're. We're. We're kind of too far away from God. Right now. It's not too late.

[28:06] We can. We can repent. That. Those things. We can. We can. It's literally just a decision to make. And say. You know what. I remember how it was. I remember how it was.

[28:18] When I first started serving God. And. All the victories that. That I had. When I was more committed. And. And. Life's happened. You know. Over the course of this.

[28:29] Recent times. And. Maybe the last year or two. And. We're just. We're just distant. We're just more distant. We were closer before. There's a clear difference. To where we were before.

[28:41] Now. I'm not saying that we're gone. I'm not saying that we're lost. I'm not saying that we're. We're disconnected completely. But there's such a big gap. Now. We're wondering. How did we get here? And.

[28:52] And all that is. Is. If you can recognize that. And see that. And. And then just make a decision. No. No. No. No. I'm going to start pulling. On that tether. And I'm going to get closer back to God.

[29:03] And what you're doing. Is you're repenting. Because you were going this way. And now you're deciding to go back towards God. Now. That's exactly what repentance is. Is just turning around. Going in a different direction. And so.

[29:13] I believe that. That's what the call is today. For us to repent. Is that God. I was closer to you once before. I was more obedient to your word once before. And some.

[29:25] Somehow I've gotten a drift. But God. I'm coming back to you. Because I don't want. I don't want my own kingdom. I don't want to take myself.

[29:36] Out from the covering of God. His. His rule. And his reign. It comes from an eternal kingdom. That's an everlasting kingdom. That's never going to be destroyed. And that's the.

[29:48] That's the kingdom. I want to be in. That's. That's the rule and reign. That I want over me. I don't want. To rule and reign over my own life. I've tried that. I've messed my. I've messed my life up too many times.

[29:58] And. And. When I get. Off track. I need God to. Bring me back. Amen. And that's what God's trying to do. For us today. He's just trying to bring us back. I see you're getting a little too close.

[30:11] To the edge. I see you're starting to slip out. Out of my. My domain. Out of. From my kingdom. And I'm just. I'd want you to come back. Into my kingdom. And that's the call today.

[30:23] To. The. His kingdom. And his righteousness first. His kingdom. And his. Righteousness first.

[30:33] Amen. Amen. So I'm going to. Thank you Taylor for. For playing. I'm going to put this on. And I'm just asking for us. To just find a place to pray. Thank you for responding.

[30:44] And coming. To the front. Let's really apply this word. To our lives. Let's search out God. Let's not get in a hurry. God's reaching for us today.