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| Do Right By God, He is worthy... |
Seeking First the Kingdom of God
"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Matthew 6:33
You have heard this before, but hear it again please....
What does it mean to "seek?"
There are 2 main words translated as "seek" in the New Testament. The more common of the 2 is zeteo which means to seek, to worship, to plot (in a bad sense), to be about, to desire, to endeavor, to enquire for, or to require. The second of the 2 is epizeteo which is a combination of zeteo and a preposition meaning basically at or upon Zeteo is used in this scripture. These definitions imply the following:
1. The verb seeking is more than an action. It's an active and continuous state of mind. It's not a passive acceptance of the Kingdom of God, but it's a constant pursuit. The original Bible meaning of the word is like a quest, something you're after all the time. Even when you're doing other things, whatever you're seeking is on your mind, in your thoughts, etc. In a negative sense, it's almost like a person with an addiction is always after what they're addicted to, looking for ways to get more. In the same way, seeking involves consistent and growing effort, energy, thought, etc. Always keep HIM on your mind!!
2. The words worship and desire in the definition imply a heartfelt depth. The Kingdom of God and His righteousness are our strong desire. We want it and thirst for it. We hunger for it inside and become weak without it. It is the goal and prize of highest value in our lives.
3. The word enquire implies that a conversation is involved. Seeking means digging for answers until we find them.
What is the Kingdom of God and His righteousness?
The word "kingdom" is the word basileia which means royalty or rule. It means the dominion of God or seeking to walk in the way God wants.
When we seek first the Kingdom of God, that means we are making sure everything in our lives is coming forth from Him and leading back to Him.
"Righteousness" is the word dikaiosune which comes from other similar words all basically meaning right, innocent, or holy. One of the root words, dike, means justice or judgment. This suggests a plumb line, a plumb line is a building tool that helps us line things up straight.
We seek God's righteousness and not our own because God's righteousness is the plumb line that tells us when we're straight or when we're going crooked.
If we begin to go sideways, but we are seeking, desiring, and requiring God's righteousness, then we will be corrected and made straight. Otherwise, the thing built out of line will fall.
Not only will it be out of line and fall, but there is the danger that it may bring damage to, warp, or pull down other things that were right at one time.
Thing-Seeking
Luke 12:13-34
Verse 22, "Do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat, nor about your body, what you shall put on . . . " Again in verses 29-31: "Do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be of anxious mind. For all the nations of the world seek these things; and your Father knows you need them all. Instead seek the kingdom and these things shall be yours as well."
Jesus has HIS Church replace thing-seeking with kingdom-seeking, and to do it without anxiety for not having things. He calls us to be different from the rest of the world: "All the nations of the world seek these things."We are to focus on the spiritual payoff, the righteousness payoff and not the things payoff.
WHY? Your Father knows that you need them all."
You are more valuable than the birds in the air and the lilies in the field, God takes care of them and you are more important and more valuable!!
Church it's very important that we re-focus and become God Seekers. AMEN!
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