Matthew 6: The Sermon on the Mount: Seek the Kingdom (7)

Pray Psalm 15.1, 2.
Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle?
Who may dwell in Your holy hill?
He who walks uprightly,
And works righteousness,
And speaks the truth in his heart…

Sing Psalm 15.1, 2.
(Arlington: This Is the Day the Lord Has Made)
Lord, who may dwell within Your tent, or on Your holy hill?
All those who keep Your covenant and walk within Your will.

All they who with integrity work peace and righteousness,
forever in God’s house shall be forgiven, kept, and blessed.

Read and meditate on Matthew 6.16-34.

Prepare.
1. We must discipline ourselves for righteousness. How is that seen in these verses?

2. How does Jesus show us in this passage that true righteousness begins within?

Meditate.
We do not become righteous citizens of the Kingdom of God by the mere passage of time. If the seed of the Kingdom has taken root in our heart, it will bear the fruit of the Kingdom, which is righteousness. But this doesn’t just happen.

Our tendency in life is, like flowing water, to follow paths of least resistance. But that will not bring forth the righteousness latent in the Kingdom seed which Christ has sown into the soil of our soul. Disciplines like prayer, fasting, and submitting to God’s Word are essential. Those disciplines will come more easily to us if we treasure Christ and His Kingdom more than the things that typically occupy our minds. We lay up treasures in heaven by focusing on Jesus and, within the framework of His Kingdom and righteousness, taking up the disciplines essential for the Lord to bring forth the fruit of righteousness in us.

Let our eyes focus on Christ and on the life to which He calls us, and let us not allow them to become clouded by lesser things. Thus what we focus on will be what bears fruit in our soul.

So we should stop worrying and fretting about material things, and seek the Kingdom and righteousness of Christ first, always, and in everything we do. We need material things – food, clothing, work, and so forth – but we don’t need to worry about them, because our Father in heaven knows we need such things. Spiritually then, if we discipline ourselves, and invest all our time and energy in seeking the Kingdom, Jesus will clothe us increasingly with His righteousness, and our Father will supply everything we need to keep on the Kingdom path.

Reflect.
1. Why is it necessary to take up certain disciplines in order to increase in righteousness?

2. Where do you need to improve in your use of the disciplines that lead to righteousness?

3. What does it mean for you to seek the Kingdom of God first, always, and in everything?

With a single heart, therefore, and exclusively for the sake of the kingdom of heaven, we ought to do good to all. And in this well-doing we ought not to think about temporal rewards, either exclusively or conjointly with the kingdom of God. Augustine (354-430), Sermon on the Mount 2.17.56

Help me, Lord, to be more disciplined in seeking Your Kingdom, so that…

Pray Psalm 15.1-5.
For the day ahead, what can you do to bring more of the disciplines of the Kingdom to bear on your activities? Bring this to the Lord in prayer, and follow as He leads.

Sing Psalm 15.1-5.
Psalm 15.1-5 (Arlington: This Is the Day the Lord Has Made)
Lord, who may dwell within Your tent, or on Your holy hill?
All those who keep Your covenant and walk within Your will.

All they who with integrity work peace and righteousness,
Forever in God’s house shall be forgiven, kept, and blessed.

Let truth from every heart proceed, and slander disappear:
Thus shall we know God’s grace indeed and feel His presence near.

No evil to your neighbor speak, nor turn against your friend:
Thus shall you know the end you seek – God’s presence without end.

Let every sinner be despised; but those who fear the Lord
Shall honor have before our eyes, according to God’s Word.

All they who keep their word in faith, though suffering may ensue,
Shall know the favor of God’s grace, His presence ever true.

No greed and no injustice shall they do who seek the Lord;
But on His mercy ever call and stand upon His Word.

T. M. Moore

A disciplined life
If you’d like to learn more about the disciplines that go with life in the Kingdom, write to me, and I’ll send you are 7-part ReVision study, “The Disciplined Life” (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

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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).