Matthew 6: The Sermon on the Mount: Seek the Kingdom (6)

Pray Psalm 72.1-8.
Give the king Your judgments, O God,
And Your righteousness to the king’s Son.
He will judge Your people with righteousness,
And Your poor with justice.
The mountains will bring peace to the people,
And the little hills, by righteousness.
He will bring justice to the poor of the people;
He will save the children of the needy,
And will break in pieces the oppressor.
They shall fear You
As long as the sun and moon endure,
Throughout all generations.
He shall come down like rain upon the grass before mowing,
Like showers that water the earth.
In His days the righteous shall flourish,
And abundance of peace,
Until the moon is no more.
He shall have dominion also from sea to sea,
And from the River to the ends of the earth.

Sing Psalm 72.1-8.
(Martyrdom: Alas, and Did My Savior Bleed)
O give the King Your judgment, Lord, and righteousness Your Son;
and let Him judge by Your good Word the need of every one.

Let now the mountains ring with peace, the hills in righteousness.
Let justice rise, oppression cease, and all the needy bless.

Let nations fear You while the sun and moon endure on high;
refresh, renew us, every one, like sweet rain falling from the sky.

Let righteousness abundant be where Jesus’ reign endures;
Let peace increase from sea to sea ‘til moonlight shall be no more.

Read Matthew 6.16-34; meditate on verses 33, 34.

Prepare.
1. How are we to seek the Kingdom and righteousness of God?

2. How does seeking the Kingdom relate to worry?

Meditate.
We recall that Jesus came to announce that the Kingdom of God was at hand (Matt. 4.17). It was very near. He was its Proclamation and Prototype, its Teacher and Template. What does the Kingdom teach and require? Listen to Jesus. What is it like to enter and dwell in God’s Kingdom? Look at Jesus. Jesus set up the world for the coming of His Kingdom, and here we find Him insisting on it as the defining priority of our lives.

Seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. Seek these first, always, and in everything. Seeking the Kingdom is not something we do only when we’re involved in “church activities”. We are called to the Kingdom and glory of God (1 Thess. 2.12) as the framework, focus, and future of our lives in Christ. To seek the Kingdom is to devote ourselves, in everything we do, to increasing righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit on earth as in heaven (Rom. 14.17, 18; Matt. 6.10). We won’t have anything to worry about if we devote ourselves, day by day, to seeking God’s Kingdom.

The Kingdom which Jesus brought near actually burst into time on the first Christian Pentecost, when the Spirit of God came to bring and empower it. It has been increasing like a growing stone since then, and nothing can prevent its ultimate victory when Jesus returns (Dan. 2.44, 45).

If we will give ourselves, every day, to seeking the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, we will find the way and power to persevere through any trials or hardships, any setbacks or disappoints, and all opposition or adversity to realize more of the Presence, promise, and power of Him Who promised to be with us always, even to the end of the age (Matt. 28.20).

Reflect.
1. What is involved in seeking the Kingdom of God and His righteousness?

2. Why must we see this as the all-defining motif and priority of our lives? Is there anything in our lives which is outside the interests of God’s Kingdom?

3. Why is seeking the Kingdom an effective antidote to worry and anxiousness?

When he said that the one is to be sought first, Jesus clearly intimates that the other is to be sought later—not that it is to be sought at a later time but that it is to be sought as a thing of secondary importance. He showed that the one is to be sought as our good, that the other is to be sought as something needful for us, but that the needful is to be sought for the sake of the good. Augustine (354-430), Sermon on the Mount 2.16.53

Forgive my sins, O Lord, and grant me mercy and grace to help as I…

Pray Psalm 72.12-20.
Praise God for His King and His Kingdom, and commit yourself before Him to seek His Kingdom and righteousness in everything you do today.

Sing Psalm 72.12-20.
Psalm 72.12-20 (Martyrdom: Alas, and Did My Savior Bleed)
The Lord the needy rescues when he cries to Him for grace;
all they who suffer violence find mercy before His face.

Let Christ be praised and all the gold of Sheba be His right;
let blessings to His Name be told, and prayers made both day and night.

And let the earth abound with grain, let fields His fame proclaim;
and may our King forever reign and nations bless His great Name.

Now bless the God of Israel Who wondrous works performs.
And bless His Name, His glory tell both now and forevermore!

T. M. Moore

Seeking the Kingdom
What does it mean to seek the Kingdom? What should we expect as we do? Just what is the Kingdom of God? These and many more such questions are answered in our book, The Kingdom Turn. Order your copy by clicking here.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing adapted from The Ailbe Psalter. All quotations from Church Fathers from Ancient Christian Commentary Series, General Editor Thomas C. Oden (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006). All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter (available by clicking here).