SEEK FIRST HIS KINGDOM , Sarah Barry
SEEK FIRST HIS KINGDOM
Passage: Matthew 6:25~34  
Key verse: 33
Do Not Worry(A)
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry(B) about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.(C) Are you not much more valuable than they?(D) 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[a]?(E)
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor(F) was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?(G) 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.(H) 33 But seek first his kingdom(I) and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.(J) 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Footnotes
- Matthew 6:27 Or single cubit to your height
Cross references
- Matthew 6:25 : 6:25-33pp — Lk 12:22-31
- Matthew 6:25 : ver 27, 28, 31, 34; Lk 10:41; 12:11, 22
- Matthew 6:26 : Job 38:41; Ps 104:21; 136:25; 145:15; 147:9
- Matthew 6:26 : Mt 10:29-31
- Matthew 6:27 : Ps 39:5
- Matthew 6:29 : 1Ki 10:4-7
- Matthew 6:30 : Mt 8:26; 14:31; 16:8; Lk 12:28
- Matthew 6:32 : ver 8
- Matthew 6:33 : S Mt 3:2
- Matthew 6:33 : Ps 37:4; Mt 19:29
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source:  BibleGateway
1. Do not worry about your life (25-32)
Our most basic instinct is for survival. We want to live. We must have food, clothes and shelter if we are to live and not die. But the life God gave us has meaning and purpose beyond just being physically sustained. Godless people run after money, food and clothes. But Jesus tells his disciples not to be anxious about these things. Why? First, worrying doesn't solve any problems. No one can add a single hour to his life by worrying. Second, our Father God who created us knows what we need (6:8). He cares for those who put their trust in him. Faith in God and anxiety about life cannot co-exist in the same heart.
2. Seek first God's kingdom (33-34)
God created mankind for mission, not for food and clothes. The self-seeking life can only be miserable. When we seek first God's kingdom and his righteousness, then he supplies our real needs and gives us eternal life. We do not need to worry about tomorrow; we must do our best to serve God today.
Prayer: Lord, help me to seek first your kingdom and your righteousness.
One Word: Seek God's kingdom first