We’ll be looking at a great focus verse here at the outset of 2025. New Year, new goals. Perhaps a new you. Let’s place our focus in the right place.
READ: Matthew 6:33
Vv33 – But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
CHALLENGE: Focus on Finding God
- SEEK FIRST HIS KINGDOM AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS
We are commanded to “seek”. It means to search for and investigate. It also means to “strive”. God should be our direction, this is what we are after! I would imagine that everyone chases after something and when you focus hard enough on some singular passion, other things become less important. It’s what we think about and it can even consume us. Money would be a great example of what we chase until it’s our everything.
What is the most important thing? God says to SEEK the right things. Certainly a relationship with Him would top the list of worthwhile pursuits.
I picked up some really cool antique andirons for the fireplace. They were in the shape of an owl and have glass eyes. I wasn’t super keen on the ones we had been using so I looked for something else and in my searching I found this style. Once I knew they existed, the hunt was on. I looked on ebay but the prices were high. I then searched facebook marketplace and found a set of them for a reasonable price in Maryland. That person kindly shipped them to us. I didn’t find them by mistake, I found them because I looked. God says to search for His kingdom and His righteousness.
Will we find God by mistake or because we’re looking? He says seek and you’ll find and especially when you do so with all of your heart.
- Seek His Kingdom
We are told to seek the kingdom of God specifically. We’ve looked at the “kingdom” recently and it refers to God’s rule in this world. This kingdom is not located in a specific spot because it is without borders and moves where you move, where God works. It’s more inside of us than on the outside and it’s visible to others as we live it out. It’s us allowing God to have the say in our lives.
The kingdom of God is inseparable from God Himself. To search for the kingdom is to look for God. We seek God’s influence in the world. God’s moving. If God is up to something, we will see it in the details at some point. In the happenings that are beyond coincidence. In answers to prayer. In the wisdom granted. In the strength beyond reason. And since God is loving, faithful, strong, righteous, won’t we then see God in the love that we experience? The help? The strength? The victories over temptation? When God stuff is happening in our lives, then God is there.
People in our world are seeking God. I’ve been reading that Bible sales have increased and that’s phenomenally interesting. I would pay attention to people reaching out. I’ve heard of many reading their Bibles through this year.
Dallas Jenkins the producer of The Chosen experienced God moving. He had a major failure and he was thinking it through. He meditated on the feeding of thousands with five loaves and two fish. He was writing a 15 page evaluation about all of it when man messaged him out of the blue and told him it was not his responsibility to feed the people, just provide the loaves and fish. He asked him why he wrote it. The man replied that God told him to send that message, so he did. It was far beyond coincidence and a sign that God was indeed there. For someone on another continent to write that to you when you were focused specifically on that parable. It was a God thing!! He started The Chosen series which has touched countless thousands of lives all over the world.
And this is the question, right? Is God here with us? Is He really present? Dallas Jenkins learned that it’s not his job to do the miracle, it’s just his job to give up the five loaves and two fish. We make ourselves available and God can use us in the kingdom.
Let’s be looking for God in this world. Focus. May it catch our interest and be continually in our mind. You can watch Christian movies and read and observe and learn what God is truly up too.
- Seek His Righteousness
We are also commanded to seek His righteousness. Righteousness is living by a standard set by God and we live in accordance with that. And we know what that is because Adam and Eve knew good and evil and the difference between the two. We’re not so innocent that we don’t know right from wrong. My grandson has to learn some more too – he just acts impulsively.
He’s innocent but there comes a day when you know right from wrong. We kid ourselves if we act like we don’t know.
A great standard is the 10 Commandments. The Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7 is excellent too. Job 29-31 spells out what righteous behavior looks like. God lays out the standard and we live according to that.
I will measure things because I can’t be guessing. That’s why I use a tape measure or yard stick or ruler. I’m not guessing about what is right either.
James compared the Word of God to a mirror and He said that we look into it and when we’re messed up, we don’t ignore that, we fix it. Are we fixing the things in our lives that we should be? You’ll be happier going God’s way.
One hymn, What a Friend We Have in Jesus sings, “Oh what needless pain we bear”. We suffer pain needlessly when we don’t listen. If you want peace, do right. Seek the right thing.
From time to time, I’ll encounter a rebellious attitude in Christianity as they believe the ticket to cool Christianity is to look more like the world than Jesus. In their rebellion they think they stand out as a Christian by looking like the world. Newsflash – you don’t stand out by following everyone else. You truly follow Jesus and , people will be following you.
Want to stand out as a Christian? Stop worrying about how you look. Just love others, serve, help those in need and you’ll do much more.
- Seek It First
What does the word “first”. First means before anything else. Doesn’t that mean first in order? First as far as how you chronologically do things? First as in importance? God wants to be the priority for your life – the most important relationship! It’s not much different than saying to love the Lord your God with all of your heart and soul and mind and strength.
Here’s a truth. Any important relationship needs some level of priority in order to remain practically relevant. In other words, you have to make time for each other. Love is difficult to demonstrate apart from time. If you say your wife is your priority then she should feel like she is based in how you spend time. She should feel like she’s the most important.
God is a priority and this does not eliminate time for anything else. I understand we have to work and we even have hobbies. I have to work around the property and we plant a garden and take care of blueberry bushes and paint things when they need painted. That will always be part of life. But you can still keep your mind on spiritual things throughout your day. You can still make time for God. You still make time to serve.
Romans 8:5 – Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.
Bradly was working on memorizing that verse and it’s a great one. Even when we’re doing mundane things we can keep our minds on God and spiritual things and contemplate what God is doing in this world. I was listening to some good podcasts while working in my basement last week.
Think of all the lesser things that people look for. They look for happiness in drugs or drinking but they never find it. They may look in popularity or power or position but you won’t find it there either. And the more you seek the lesser things, the more you lose that tug of war with the world. It doesn’t say, seek first yourself and these things will be added unto you. It says, “Seek first his kingdom”.
When you have a real tug of war, the thing that you want on your side is “weight”. You want some of the big people with you. We’re in a constant tug of war. Paul says that the spirit wrestles against the flesh and there’s a battle.
Let’s imagine that losing means you’re getting pulled into a big muddy, messy, slimy, slippery pit! You’ll have mud all over you. Muck in your ears and up your nose and between every toe! You’ll be saturated in that mess. This is what the devil wants – he wants to pull you into the sinful slime pit!
So lets say that we focus on money, well then money is on your team. How much true weight is there when compared to God? Put applause on your team. How weighty is that? You getting recognized? How important is that? You may think, “I need to have success and prove myself”. There are those out there who feel they need to prove they’re successful, cool, desirable, etc. Go for it but that is seek yourself first. That’s lightweight. Maybe you seek pleasure … that’s light too. You’re at a good spot when you’ve got nothing to prove. You’re just happy to serve and allow God to move.
It’s no wonder people get yanked all over the place. We’re not focused on the weighty things of life. Weighty things would be seeking the wisdom of God. It’s reading the Bible and praying, those practices give you weight. It’s service as well. If we substitute those things with the lighter things of the world, we’re going to get pulled into a mess!
1 Timothy 4:8 – Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. 8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.
Physical training has some value. There’s nothing wrong with it. But train yourself to be godly because that impacts this life and the next.
I’ve talked to people who have gotten out of the habit of coming to church and that’s hard. They want to go but they are out of that pattern and have to re-establish it. If that’s you, get back to church.
- GOD GIVES TO THOSE WHO PUT HIM FIRST
All of these other things will be added unto you as well.
Now when you do these things – all these other things will be added unto you. This was the food and clothing and all the things that “Gentiles” or unbelieving world chases. Jesus assures us that we have nothing to worry about. God takes care of the birds of the air. God clothes the lilies. This does not have to be your all consuming worry.
Sometimes we may have the attitude that we’ll make God last so we have a better shot at what truly interests us. We think that we’ll have everything by crowding God out. No, that’s not the order. Place God first and then these other things will be added unto you as well.
How could this apply to your life? Instead of just beating your head against the wall trying to make things happen, count on God! What if we made the time and instead of saying, “I’m too busy to pray”, we say, “I’m too busy not to pray”. It will go smoother with prayer.
And instead of cutting Sunday out of the schedule, we say, I’ll make time to hear from God and still get everything done. When we renovated our house, I told the contractor, there will not be a hammer swinging here on Sunday. God wants us to take a day of rest and that’s the day. No working. Guess what? We get it done. Chik Fil A closes every Sunday and they are a wealthy franchise.
The same principle applies in giving. Give to God and you’ll have everything that you need.
Malachi 3:10-11 – Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. 11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the Lord Almighty.
Invest into his kingdom. How many times are we out chasing the lesser things when all we truly need is God? Please don’t put off seeking God until you’re older.
God adds to us when we put Him first. Years ago, when we were on the poorer side, I was always fascinated by how God provided for us. We came to serve and didn’t live for money. I’ll argue that this was because we valued service first and God helped us. God has provided over and over again.
Mary and Martha and that story is a good reminder of these things. Martha, you’re concerned about many things. Mary was focused on Jesus when Jesus was there. There would be other times to catch up.
Luke 10:40-42 – But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” 41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one.[f] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
What will our focus be? I truly don’t believe that it’s either or. I can have time for church and family and exercise. I just can’t leave God out of the equation. He needs to be the priority in this life.
What is our first priority in 2025? Will we put our focus in the right place?