Soul Revival: A 40 Days' Journey to the Feet of Christ

Monday, October 3, 2011

Day 28 Primacy of God’s Kingdom (Seek the Kingdom First)


Day 28

Primacy of God’s Kingdom
(Seek the Kingdom First)

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
(Matthew 6:33)

Primacy of God’s Kingdom is the 20th pillar

Primacy of God’s Kingdom is the 20th pillar that holds the temple of Truth!

My dear beloved, we are living in one of the most, if not the most, materialistic era of mankind’s history.  The prophecy that the Holy Spirit spoke through our beloved apostle Paul is being fulfilled right in front of our eyes:

“But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:  For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good,  traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!” (2 Timothy 3:1-5)

We are living in such a time, my dear beloved, for the desire to be rich has increased tremendously in the hearts of men.  Men are lovers of money and are prepared to do anything to get hold of it.  This is fueled by the desire to have power, for as we say: “money is power.”   Men desire to have power over others, to control others, and ultimately, they desire to be worshipped.

And Satan has placed this evil cancer in the church of God in order to counterfeit the sound doctrine of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who commands us:

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”   (Matthew 6:33)

But the devil is saying through his preachers that you must seek riches first and heaven will be added to you!

My dear beloved in the LORD, if men preach this doctrine to you, of such men turn away, for they do not serve our Lord Christ Jesus, but their god is their belly.  The doctrine of “let us get rich,” sounds tempting to all of us because of all our diverse needs, until we actually study it, for there is an evil spirit behind this doctrine.  The main purpose of this evil doctrine is to remove Christ Jesus our Lord as the center of our faith and the center of our lives. The more we think about getting rich, the less we think about Christ and heaven.  The more we pursue money, the further we depart from Christ.  And this is exactly what the devil wants--our souls to be lost with him.  And because this doctrine is preached prolifically, Christians are yielding to it and are refusing to hear the truth.  Even those who once loved Christ Jesus our Lord are departing from the faith in which they believed at one time and are yielding to these deceiving evil spirits and doctrines of demons, and this fulfills another prophecy of the last days:
 
“Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons,  speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron.”  (1 Timothy 4:1-2)

But we, my dear beloved, are the children of God.  Let us, therefore, not give heed to this doctrine of demons, but let us turn to Christ Jesus our Lord, who laid down His life for us out of love, so that you and I may have eternal life.  Let us therefore turn to our first love, even our faith in Christ Jesus our Lord, for the salvation of our souls:

“Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.  And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.”  (1 Timothy 6:6-8)

Let us not be greedy, for it is written:

“But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”   (1 Timothy 6:9-10)

                                                                                                   
My dear beloved, it is time for us to awake from sleep:

“Therefore He says:
      ‘Awake, you who sleep,
      Arise from the dead,
      And Christ will give you light.’
  See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.  And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God.”   (Ephesians 5:14-21)

And again:

“And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy.  But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.”   (Romans 13:11-14)

As you can see my dear beloved, it is not time for us to set our hearts on riches which we cannot take to the grave. Rather, it is time to seek God with all our hearts, minds, and souls, surrendering our lives to our Lord Jesus Christ completely, so that we may be found in Him on that great and dreadful Day of the LORD.  For otherwise, who can stand?  My dear beloved, let us seek God and lay hold of eternal life which is so freely given to us.  Let us seek God while He may be found, for it is written:

“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;
      Let him return to the LORD,
      And He will have mercy on him;
      And to our God,
      For He will abundantly pardon.”  (Isaiah 55:6-7)

“For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel:
  “Seek Me and live.”   (Amos 5:4)

“Seek the LORD, all you meek of the earth,
      Who have upheld His justice.
      Seek righteousness, seek humility.
      It may be that you will be hidden
      In the day of the LORD’s anger.”  (Zephaniah 2:3)

My dear beloved, hear the Word of the LORD:

“Sow for yourselves righteousness;
      Reap in mercy;
      Break up your fallow ground,
      For it is time to seek the LORD,
      Till He comes and rains righteousness on you.”  (Hosea 10:12)

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.  Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having  put on the breastplate of righteousness,  and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;  above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.”  (Ephesians 6:10-18)

Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity.  Amen.


Meditation:  Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Prayer points:  LORD, please teach me to put You first in everything I do.   Please show me the way in which I should walk and help me to walk in it, oh my God, that it may be well with my soul.  I pray in Jesus’ name.   Amen!

Commitment:  I commit myself from today onward to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness with all my heart, mind, and soul, until I find You, oh my God.  I shall seek You, oh God my Father, through Christ who strengthens me, until I find You, oh my God.  Amen!

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