"First Things First" - H.B. Charles, #SWBTSChapel

grace and peace be multiplied to each of you this morning and the knowledge of Jesus our Lord what a blessing it is to be at Southwestern this morning I am grateful and thankful for the privilege to be with you what president bring way to know in his absence that in covering him and covering you and believing prayer asking God's great blessings on this school grateful for the text driven preaching conference and for dr. Alan's gracious invitation to participate again this year and just to be here with all of you if you would take your copy of God's Word and turn with me to the Gospel of Matthew let me breathe a prayer and then there is just one verse I want to lift that is on my heart to share with you today father in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ we do thank you and praise you for every demonstration of your goodness greatness and graciousness toward us we praise you for the Lord Jesus Christ above all who is our all-sufficient prophet priest and king and in his name we pray now that you would open our eyes that we may behold wondrous things from your word give us understanding and we will observe your word and keep it with our whole heart help me to speak your word faithfully and clearly and ask the seed of the word is planted and watered we know that only you can give the increase so we reserved for you as always the highest praise and full credit for the fruit that shall come from this time in Jesus name Amen Matthew chapter 6 and I would focus your attention on verse 33 but seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you amen I want to label the message simply first things first more than 100 years ago Charles Haddon Spurgeon began a sermon on Matthew 6 verse 33 by simply saying there is just as much need for this utterance today as when it first fell from our saviors lips indeed these words fell from the lips of the Lord Jesus Christ more than 2,000 years ago yet these words are just as relevant as today's breaking news Hebrews chapter 3 verse 13 says that we should exhort one another daily as long as it is called today so that no one may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin the world is so bad sin is so great we are so weak that we need to be exhorted to do right every day there is one exhortation we need every day it is Matthew 6 verse 33 a seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you of course this verse is a part of the Sermon on the Mount of Jesus recorded in Matthew chapters 5 through 7 in this section of the sermon Jesus teaches his followers simply to live without worrying the paragraph begins in verse 25 by saying therefore I tell you do not be anxious about your life what you will eat or what you will drink or about your body what you will put on is not life more than food and the body more than clothing the word they're anxious simply refers to care or concern depending on the context it can refer to legitimate concern or to sinful anxiety interestingly legitimate concerns have a way of becoming sinful anxieties to be anxious is to have a divided mind one thought pulls in one direction another thought pulls in the other direction hope pulls you one way fear pose you another way you wish for the best end and expect the worst at the same time in fact our English word worry is derived from a German word that means to choke or to strangle and in the real sense that's what worry is it is internal strangulation at the ruthless hands of uncertain circumstances but here Jesus says to all who will follow him do not be anxious do not worry in fact the command here is forbidding something that is already taking place literally Jesus says here stop worrying stop worrying in the 1980s the First Lady Nancy Reagan launched a campaign to keep kids off of drugs called just say no it was a noble endeavor it was largely a failure and the reason is obvious it is hard to say no if you don't have something better to say yes to anxiety is is an addiction of the heart that that we just can't break cold turkey and say no to so in Matthew chapter 6 verse 33 Jesus gives us a remedy for worry an antidote for anxiety what to say yes to as we say no to worry but seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you this verse is the key statement in this prohibition against worry this verse in a real sense is the golden verse of the Sermon on the Mount this verse is the open secret to a blessed life death and eternity I can state the point of the verse in three words put God first why should you put God first you should put God first because God put you first first John chapter 4 verse 19 says we love because He first loved us it's why we're still here it's the reason why you were saying it's the reason why we are still alive God put us first in Romans chapter 8 verse 29 Jesus is called the firstborn among many brethren that the only reason you and I are children of God is because God sent His only begotten son first in fact 1st Corinthians chapter 15 verse 20 calls Jesus the firstfruits from among the day that the first fruit was the first and finest of the harvest it was advertisement the first fruits but in a real sense was a way of saying that if you think this is good just wait the best is yet to come God in Christ put us first and I want to challenge you today friends to put God first how do you put God first there are two clauses in this little verse and I think they give us two answers to that question simply to put God first you must a seek God be trust God first the text exhorts us to seek God there are three types of people there are those who do not seek God they don't know what real happiness is there are those who seek God but not first they are the most miserable of people and don't know why when in reality there's a civil war going on in their hearts and they're those who seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and they are the happiest people in the world you want to be truly happy Thomas a Kempis gave the formula he simply wrote seek God not happiness seek God seek God personally I grew up with this verse in the King James Version that says but seek ye first the kingdom of God indeed you cannot seek God for someone else no one else can seek God for you it's an individual and intimate matter you must seek God for yourself Jonathan Edwards wrote a series of resolutions to govern his life the opening ones are most memorable number one I will live for God number two if no one else does I still will this is the first and foremost and fundamental principle for seeking God there must be a personal resolve that is determined to seek God no matter what others say or do in John 6 remember Jesus miraculously fared a crowd and they would force him to be king until he began to preach about the cost of discipleship and they all scattered away and he was left with the twelve he started with and he looked at them and said are you leaving too Peter answered in John 6 verses 68 and 69 Lord where would we go you have the words of eternal life and we have come to know and believe that you are the Holy One of God friends this is why I'm sticking with Jesus not because he always does what I want him to do the way I want him to do it when I want him to do it I'm sticking with Jesus because there's no better alternative if you walk away from Jesus where do you go you must seek God personally secondly seek God continually seek God continually the grammar here is in an emphasis that the nose habitual activity or continual action keep seeking first the kingdom of God the unsaved the unbeliever may seek the benefits of God but they do not seek God Romans chapter 3 verses 10 and 11 says there is none righteous no not one no one understands no one seeks after God the good news is if we are not seeking God God is seeking us this is the mission statement of the Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew a rather Luke chapter 19 verse 10 for the Son of man came to seek and to save the Lost this is why Jesus came from heaven down to seek sinners and not to punish them but to save them in fact if you are here friend you have not trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior Lord I plead with you today surrender turn yourself in throw yourself on the mercy of God trust the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ that is a long mighty to save from the wrath of God that is sure to come we are reminded here the salvation is not just an event it's the beginning of a life long process of continuously perpetually perpetually seeking God and the Benedicta and monasteries of medieval Europe a new convert would be given a habit of simple cloth to note his new spiritual journey but his quote/unquote street clothes the clothes he came there with we're not discarded they were left in the closet so that every morning he woke up he would have to make a decision to continue in his new journey or to go back to his old ways and in a real says every morning God by His mercy wakes us up we must make a fresh determination to seek God and not chase sin seek God personally seek God continually see God ultimately ultimately it would be way cool if this weekend a friend of yours up at your house unannounced knocked on the door when you open it there he is with a with a big warm pan explaining sorry I dropped by unannounced but my wife just finished this cake and it smelled so good as the aroma filled the house I thought about you and I rushed in the car to bring it I asked her to make me another one I I wanted you to have this cake I was thinking about you yeah I brought a fork just in case you wanted to share something but this this is for you it would not be cool if that same friend showed up at your house and you open the door and they got a little saucer with tinfoil on it and saying my wife just cooked this cake and it was smelling so good I ate a piece and kept eating until I ate it all but before I ate the last slice I thought about you brought you this little piece before it's all gone and a greater deeper higher way I contend that God deserves the cake not just the crumbs your to see God ultimately Jesus says seek first the kingdom of God and here first is not first in series or order or process it is first in priority Jesus is not merely saying put put God first in your family second and the education third and no no no he is saying God is to be the most important thing in your life that is not to suggest that you should have no concern for the other areas of your life and the things that matter to you it is the same that your commitment to God sits shape and guide and in every other area of your life you to seek God first in your family seek God first in your education seek God first in your ministry Jesus been a young man to follow him Luke 9 verses 59 and 60 and he says sure sure Lord I'll follow you but first let me go bury my father jesus said let the dead bury their own dead you go proclaimed the kingdom Jesus was not in any way suggesting he should be disrespectful to his parents he he is his issue is the word first that passages to remind us brothers and sisters the Lord will not take next in your life he desire his first place he deserves first place he demands first place in your life beware if you think you're too young to see God or too proud to see God or too busy to see God or too happy or tired to see God too successful to see God too proud to see God it may be too late to see God one day Isaiah 55 verses 6 & 7 says seek the Lord while he may be found call upon him while he is near let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and and let him return to the Lord and He will have compassion on him and to our God and He will abundantly pardon I don't know what abundant pardon is but I like the sound of it seek God personally seek God continually seek God ultimately seek God sincerely at this point it's public domain that I was called to pass to my first church at the age of 17 what but Connie is in some public domain is that there was a small group that tried to put me out by the time I was 21 years old these these leaders were trying to put me out and I wouldn't worry about it I just wasn't nothing to worry about I knew they would succeed I was just waiting for the other shoe to drop and I remember one morning I got a phone call from a pastor in the city he still pastors in the city and he just called to check on me he said he didn't want to be only an evitable list of people who were in my face when things were going good but disappeared now that things were going bad and using Matthew 6:33 he encouraged me to hang in there everything was going to be all right and I told him yeah but I haven't been perfect in this situation I believe I'm right but I'm not perfect I'm a young pastor I've made some mistakes I haven't handled everything the way I should and maybe this is just me getting what I deserve he said HIV I think you misunderstood Matthew 6 verse 33 it doesn't say you have to be a perfect citizen it says she got to be seeking the kingdom he was right this verse is not a call to sinless perfection it is a call to sincere devotion and sincere devotion simply means that you seek God or in his terms not yours what of God's terms Jesus says but seek first the kingdom of God the kingdom of God it's not geographic territory its sovereign Authority Matthew 16 Jesus teaches us to pray your kingdom come your will be done on earth as it is in heaven to be a citizen of God's kingdom is to be submissive to God's will and then seek His righteousness righteousness conformity to the revealed will of God to be righteous is to be right with God Matthew 5 verse 6 Jesus says blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be fully satisfied this point I believe is true it's not books to change our lives as often sentences in this book he's God and we're not rape Richard simply says what you seek you find I constantly wrestle with that sentence what you seek you find it do you know what that means it means right now brother right now sister you are as close to God as you want to be if the promises of God stand true that if you hunger and thirst for righteousness you will be satisfied it means if you are not closer to God means you don't really want to be your prayer life is as strong as you want it to be your walk with God is as strong as you want it to be because if you are seeking his righteousness hungering and thirsting for it he will satisfy it every time fact Jeremiah 29 verse 13 the Lord says you will seek me and you will find me when you seek me with your whole heart see guard personally seek God continually see God ultimately seek God sincerely and seek God practically practically I love the little prayer song Lord I want to be a Christian in my heart but the truth is if I really want to be a Christian it won't just be in my heart it'll be obvious in the way I live in fact there are three independent external objective indicators of my devotion to God my time my money and my relationships seek God first in your time beginning every day in prayer and reading and meditating on his word to begin every week by being marked prescient in corporate worship on the Lord's Day the old man blind barely could hear never miss church and when somebody asked him why do you come every Sunday he simply answered I just want everybody to know what side I'm on Alleluia put God first in your time put God first in your money proverbs 3:9 and 10 says honor the Lord with your possessions with the first fruits of all of your increase and your barns will be filled to overflowing and your vats will brim over with wine and then see God first in your relationships first Corinthians 15:33 makes it clear bad company corrupts good character I'll give you a simple way to spot a person who is seeking God the one who is seeking God usually hangs out with others who are seeking God seek Him first in your relationship for as Jesus says a new commandment I give you that you love one another as I have loved you so you also should love one another and by this we'll all men know that you are my disciples if you love one another how do you put God first the first answer in this verse is this seek God the second answer in the verse is this trust God the verse begins with a divine command but seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness it is with a divine promise and all these things will be added to you Warren words be is right God's people live on promises not explanations we don't live on explanations we live on promises and somebody here knows you can live on a promise for a long time if you trust the one who made the promise this is God's guarantee if you put God first he'll take care of everything else that's God's affirmative action program that's God's bailout program that's God's faith-based initiative that's God's social security system that's God's stimulus package just put me first and I'll take care of everything else it's a matter of faith and it's a matter of focus so let me ask you those two questions first where is your faith look at verse 31 jesus again says therefore do not be anxious saying what shall we eat or what shall we drink or what shall we wear he gives two reasons why in verse 32 for the Gentiles seek after all these things the nations the heeda's the pagans through the world the unbelievers seek after these things sinful anxiety is functional atheism people that don't have a God on their side have to worry about what tomorrow is going to bring the bottom of verse 32 says your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things every need and your life is a part of the the compassionate of missions of God in fact Matthew 6 verse 8 says that the father in heaven knows what you need even before you ask in fact ask isn't important here in a real sense to trust God is to pray instead of worrying if you if you if you are really seeking God prayer will be your first response not your last resort Philippians chapter 4 verses 6 and 7 says be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with Thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God and the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your heart and mind through Christ Jesus a young missionary had a long assignment in the distant land a friend somewhat wealthy accompanied him to the ship and as they departed the wealthy friend handed the missionary a sealed envelope he said what is this he said just don't worry about it for now in if you get on your journey and have a need that arises that that cannot be met open up the envelope then twelve years later the missionary returns from his assignment and again his wealthy friend was there to greet him at the ship and after they embraced the miss he reached into his satchel and pulled out the envelope and handed it to his friend wait for it still unsealed testify I never had a need that the Lord didn't meet hallelujah where is your faith one more question where is your focus my first formal preaching professor James borer made a statement in passing during the talk that I have never forgotten he simply said that you never find happiness by looking for it you stumble over it on the pathway to duty in a real sense this is what Jesus is saying here seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added literally placed alongside of you you'll never get your needs met by focusing on your needs but if you seek God first by the time you look up he will provide what you need Solomon was given a blank cheque by God asked me for whatever you want Solomon did not ask for Fame wealth power he asked for wisdom and understanding heart to do God's will as he led God's people God gave them all of the stuff he didn't even ask for indeed if you put God first he'll take care of everything else no this is not a promise of prosperity it is a promise that God will meet your needs God will meet your needs I was I was shocked reading some commentators almost apologizing for this verse suggesting that it is a reference to mutual generosity God will meet your needs by somebody stepping in and providing for you among the fellowship of believers sure God blesses us to make us a blessing but this is not a promise of mere mutual generosity it's a promise of divine generosity God will meet you need if you seek God you can trust God if you seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness then all these other things will be added to you but if I could say it the way I like to say it if you take care of God's business God will take care of your business still McMartin with an itinerant evangelist he his wife Sevilla would travel preach she would play and sing often before he preached and they spent an extended period at a small Bible College to help them formulate a hymnal to use in their chapel services during their time there Stillman had a preaching engagement some far distance away but when he woke up that morning his wife was sick and he determined not to go she insisted that he go and they debated back and forth and and their young son overheard the parents debate and stuck his nose in grown folks business and said daddy if it is God's will for you to preach today don't you think he'll take care of mama while you are away chastised by his son's question he did go preach and while he was away God did take care of mama her strength was restored she cleaned up the house she prepared a dinner for his return and over the course of these hours words started to formulate in her mind on the basis of her son's question what Stillman finally arrived home she was eager to show him the words she had written and he was so moved by them that he immediately set them to music and more than a hundred years later the church still sings be not dismayed whatever betide God will take care of you beneath his wings of love abide God will take care of you through days of toil when heart does fail God will take care of you when when dangers fierce your path to sail God will take care of you this is my verse whatever may be your test God will take care of you lean weary one upon his breast for God will take care of you I need to quit I hear David saying let me get the last word David says I was young but now I'm old no these years I've seen a lot but there's something I've never seen I have never seen the righteous forsaken by the Lord and I've never seen his seed begging bread if you seek God above everything you can trust God in everything father thank you for your word thank you for its truth its wisdom its authority thank you for the holy command of the Lord Jesus that would bid us to live out the life of the teachings of our faith with sincere devotion unconditional surrender and steadfast determination to please you help us not to worry about the consequences help us not to be anxious about our needs help us not to be fearful about tomorrow I pray that for the leaders of this school I pray that for some young student I pray that for some minister in the difficult season help us to trust you with all of our heart and not lean on our own understanding and to acknowledge you in all of our ways that you may direct our path in Jesus name Amen you

Channel: Southwestern Seminary

Views: 8,801

Rating: 4.8490567 out of 5

Keywords: New Testament, Matthew, Matthew 6:33, Seminary, Southwestern Seminary, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Christian, Discipleship, Bible, Preaching

Id: 7d97Vhl1FLE

Length: 38min 43sec (2323 seconds)

Published: Tue Mar 03 2020