Daily Devotional
Word of the Day
Seeking First Things First
Pastor Scott
Sunday, February 22, 2004
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"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."
(Matthew 6:33)
If you're praying about whether you should get this house or that house, then get the best, biggest, plushest house you can get--as long as you can pay your tithes. The fact that you can move up means you have abundance, so always be ready to distribute and ready to communicate. If you buy this house and the kids can only eat twice a week, then you've gone against the basic laws of preferring others, providing for your family, and loving your wife. It's not hard to make these decisions when you make them all within the parameters of what's really important. Can you do this and everything else that's important stay intact? Are you increasing in your righteousness? Are you increasing in your giving? Are you increasing in your serving? If you can continue to grow and still do "this," then do it. Don't even pray about it; just do it. What are you going to pray about? You've already prayed about the important stuff; so do it. It's not going to hurt you because you're not ignorant of Satan's devices. You don't love these things. They have no power over you because you're seeking first the kingdom of God. These other things are just being added.
We spend all of our time trying to hear the Holy Spirit's voice about temporal things when He doesn't talk about temporal things. The temporal necessities and the prosperity all come from seeking first the kingdom of God.
We walk in this life like others walk, but we don't live for ourselves. We don't speak of ourselves but we speak of He who sent us. We don't walk of ourselves; we're empowered by the Spirit, for it's "not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord" (Zech. 4:6). I'm a child; I don't know how to go in or come out. Without Him I can do nothing (John 15:5). The ideal Christian is a selfless, dependent, innocent child that says, "Abba. I love You, Father. I want to please You. I want to serve in Your kingdom. What a privilege, Father, to be called the sons of God. Just tell me what You want me to do." Father says, "Preach the gospel. Live free from sin."
The Spirit bears witness with your spirit that you are the sons of God (Rom. 8:16). If you're led of the Spirit, you're a son of God! What more do you want out of life than to be called a son of God, an heir and joint heir with Christ Jesus? What more do you want out of life than to hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant"? What more do you want out of this life than to say, "I always do my Father's will"? What more do you want out of life than to be able to say, "I'm an ambassador of Christ"? What more do you want out of life than to say, "I love God and keep His commandments, and they're not grievous to me"? What do you want out of life? There are only two kingdoms. Choose this day who you're going to serve.