SEEK GOD FIRST
Psalm 119:2 Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart.
Jeremiah 29:13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your mind, will, and heart.
Whether we are seeking God first in our lives is determined by our use of the things we treasure (Matt. 6:19–34).
We are accustomed to dividing life into the “spiritual” and the “material”; but Jesus made no such division.
Luke 16:14a The Pharisees, who were lovers of money…
If we have the true righteousness of Christ in our lives, then we will have a proper attitude toward material wealth.
It is not wrong to possess things, but it is wrong for things to possess us.
Covetousness: greediness fueled by arrogance or pride:(Ex. 20:17; Ps. 119:36; Mark 7:22; Luke 12:15ff; Eph. 5:5; Col. 3:5).
Materialism will enslave the heart: Matt. 6:19–21“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
The mind: Matt. 6:22–23 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
And the will: Matt. 6:24 “No one can serve two masters, for 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 God and money.
If the heart loves material things, and puts earthly gain above heavenly investments, then the result can only be a tragic loss.
What does it mean to lay up treasures in heaven? It means to use all that we have for the glory of God.
God’s Word often uses the eye to represent the attitudes of the mind.
Outlook determines outcome.
Materialism can enslave the will (Matt. 6:24).
1 Timothy 6:9 But those who want to be rich fall into temptation, a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge people into ruin and destruction.
Devaluation: Matthew 6:25-30 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?.
Covetousness will not only cheapen our riches, but it will also cheapen us!
Instead of helping us live longer, anxiety only makes life shorter: Matthew 6:27 Can any of you add one moment to his life span by worrying?
Loss of testimony: Matthew 6:31-33 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
If we put God’s will and God’s righteousness first in our lives, He will take care of everything else.
Loss of joy today: Matthew 6:34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Worrying about tomorrow does not help either tomorrow or today.
(1) faith (Matt. 6:30)
(2) Father (Matt. 6:32)
(3) first (Matt. 6:33)
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