KEY SCRIPTURE: Matthew 6:33 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you”.

Our key scripture reveals that if we seek to please God first in everything, then He will add all the things we have been craving for ourselves

The bible makes it abundantly clear that God’s reason for engaging people in various responsibilities is basically to show kindness to them. Deuteronomy 28:47, 48 says, “Because you serve not the Lord your God with joyfulness and with gladness of heart for the abundance of all things. Therefore, you shall serve your enemies, which the Lord shall send against you. In hunger and in thirst and in want of all things, and he shall put a yoke of iron upon your neck until He has destroyed you”. The scripture says that when a man serves the Lord in joyfulness and gladness, God will also bless him with the abundance of all things. Man’s current state of calamities and deprivation is a result of rebellion against God.

In Luke 5:1-6, the Lord led Peter and his friends to make a catch that they had not encountered before because they had given their boat to him to preach to the multitudes. These fishermen had failed to make any catch in their earlier fishing expeditions.  If men would learn to put God first in all they do, most of their miseries would cease.

The statement by our Lord in Matthew 6:33 runs throughout the whole of scripture. Psalm 1:1-3 describes the man who delights in the law of the Lord and meditates in the Law Day and night, while he does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly, stand in the way of sinners and sit in the seat of the scornful. The scripture adds, This man shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water. He yields his fruit in his season. Its leaves also shall not wither. Whatsoever he does shall prosper. God’s way to bless a man is that he must willingly commit himself to please God.

Psalm 112:1 says “…. Blessed is the man that fears the Lord and delights greatly in his commandments. His seed shall be mighty in the land……Wealth and riches shall be in His house”. One may also ask, why are some people seen to be serving God all the time, yet still poor? God’s word is true. If these people maintain their faithfulness, God would surely honour His word in their lives.

 God is seeking sincere seekers and not religious people who are only seeking to satisfy their ego.

 CONFESSION

Seeking the Lord sincerely is the desire of the soul and brings true blessing and freedom to the individual. My life is spent in seeking the Lord with all my heart.

FURTHER STUDIES.

Job 36:11” If they obey and serve him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures.”

Psalms 112:1,3  “Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments. Wealth and riches shall be in his house: and his righteousness endureth forever.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Matthew 6:33 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you”.

The Lord said we must seek first the kingdom of God. What is the kingdom of God?

The bible and especially the gospels give various presentations of the term kingdom of God. The word kingdom is a joining together of two words, king and dominion. The kingdom is the dominion of the king.

The following are some of the biblical presentations of the Kingdom of God. Heaven is revealed in the scriptures as the kingdom of God. (John 3:3&5). The kingdom of God is also represented as the power of God in operation. (Matthew 12:28). In Matthew 21:43, the kingdom of God is presented as a blessing that could be lost. The Lord described His transfiguration as a manifestation of the kingdom of God. (Luke 9:27) The kingdom of God is in the heart of every believer. (Luke 17:21)

The bodies of believers worldwide are under the dominion of God, so it is described as the kingdom of God.

 In actual fact, everything that has to do with God is ruled by God. Everything God relates to comes under His rule. kingdom. Whatever we do to please Him is done to exalt His kingdom. To seek the kingdom of God is to seek to please Him. The kingdom of God spans heaven and every location where men are subject to His rule over their lives.

He said, “seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness”. The kingdom of the Lord is established and functions in righteousness. Psalm 45:6. “Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever. The sceptre of the kingdom is a right sceptre”. This simply means the sceptre of His kingdom is righteousness. (Hebrews 1:8). The sceptre is the staff of authority of every throne. The authority of God’s throne is righteousness.

Any child of God who acts contrary to the standards of God’s kingdom, that is, righteousness, has lost the authority of the kingdom of God and will not have the backing of the kingdom of God.

 CONFESSION

The kingdom of God is the rule of God, which functions in righteousness. I surrender my life to the dominion of God and do all things in righteousness.

FURTHER STUDIES.

Hebrews 1:8 “But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom”

Matthew 12:28 “But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you”.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Matthew 6:33 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

In Matthew 6: 23- 32 our Lord Jesus talked about the reason why every child of God must not worry or be anxious about various things.

The Lord added the statement of our key scripture to instruct all children of God about the proper thing to do.

He said, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you”. This statement is a very important one that every child of God must adhere to. Men are craving so many things. Many Christians are living very worried lives because they are engrossed in going after every other thing except a conscious hunger for God. Proverbs 3:6 reminds us to “acknowledge the Lord in all thy ways, and He shall direct thy paths.”

The scripture says, “Seek ye first”. The word translated first is “proton”. It means first in time, place, order, or importance. To seek after God is the great act that every Christian must pursue. Seeking after God must come first in everything you do. Whenever you are torn between honouring God, doing something to promote the kingdom of God, and doing something personal or for any other interest.

Bishop David Oyedepo says the secret to all that God has led him to achieve was this scripture. He said he came to the understanding that he need not worry himself about all the other things.

The scripture clearly teaches that if he should commit himself to seeking after the kingdom of God, all the other things, including wealth, fame, and honour, would be automatically added unto him. He says he has never worried his head about any carnal, personal ambition of any sort. His experience is a clear manifestation of the validity of that statement.

Many Christians and pastors are living very stressful lives. They run after every financial opportunity that passes by, yet they are always empty and worried. Instead of spending time in the presence of God, they keep going after all sorts of things. Hannah, the mother of Samuel, praised God and said, “He will keep the feet of his saints and the wicked shall be silent in darkness, for by strength shall no man prevail”. Your efforts can’t bring you true blessings.

CONFESSION

Man was created not for himself but for God. I seek first for God and his will to be done in my life, and then all other things fall into their proper place. This is life in reality.

FURTHER STUDIES:

Isaiah 31:1 Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the LORD!”

Deuteronomy 28:1 “And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth”:

KEY SCRIPTURE: John 9:4 “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh when no man can work”

The Lord said there is a time called the night for all persons. The night is God’s scheduled programme for everyone to end their work. It could be an old age session or a time when one has to depart this life. The import of this statement is that we do not have all the moments to ourselves. This must cause us to work with some urgency. Work with every energy in us to complete the task given to us.

Too many Christians have not come to the consciousness that we are here on assignment and that there is a period to complete this task. They go to church as a tradition or because they may be looking for solutions to some problem of some sort. Some understand we have a task to do, yet they are doing it as if they have all the time to themselves. There is no sense of urgency in their work. The Lord knew he had only three years to reach the whole region and also train his disciples to learn so much, so they would be able to take over from Him. No second was to be wasted. Every moment of His time was very precious. He said, “I must work the works of Him that sent me, while it is day, the night comes, when no man can work”.

Dear brother or sister, there is a night when you will have no more time. Some of us are procrastinating their responding to working for the Lord. Others are waiting until they get very old before they respond to God’s call to serve Him. The younger you are to start serving God, the greater you can serve, and the better your rewards will be when you meet the master. There are neighbours whom we have to reach with the gospel, yet we keep postponing. There are others in distant areas, and we do not even think about them at all. Too many Christians are not doing any work of evangelism.

Please do not deceive yourself. One day, we would stand before the judgement seat of Christ. (2nd Corinthians 5:10) All that we might spend our precious moments labouring for will mean nothing before the Lord. It is the souls we bring to the master that matter.

Please take counsel from the Lord. The night is coming when no one can work.

CONFESSION

I do not have all the moments to myself. I commit my life to the cause of Christ, leaving no moment to pass by. I would judiciously use my time to maximise all my results.

FURTHER STUDIES.

1 Corinthians 7:29-30 “But this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none; And they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they possessed not;”

Romans 13:13-14 “Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.”

2 Corinthians 5:10 “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad”.

Prayer Point: O God, my father, help me to see the urgency of your task that I may stay on course.

KEY SCRIPTURE: John 9:4 “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work”.

The final part of our key scripture says “…..for the night comes when no man can work”.

There are days and nights in everyone’s life. We are active and work during the day, but at night, everything comes to a standstill. At night we go to rest. The Lord said the night comes when no man can work.

There is a kind of night that comes our way that some of us yield to, yet this is not the night God has instituted. The bible calls it the evil day. Ephesians 6:13 “wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand “. Please, the evil day is not the night the Lord is talking about. The evil day is a satanic aggression that rises against you to stop you from doing what God has asked you to do. The evil day is like the Red Sea that came across the Israelites’ path to the promised land. They had to team up with God to overcome the evil day.

The evil day can be a threat from the devil to your life. It may come as a sickness or something that comes to stop you. Every evil day is meant to be overcome. God expects us to stand in the evil day and overcome. (Ephesians 6:12-14)

Please, children of God, you are a great target of the devil to resist you to terminate God’s agenda for your life. The bible suggests that we daily put on the whole of God’s armour to be able to stand in the evil day.

Please do not confuse the evil day with what the Lord calls the night. The night is a natural occurrence that happens to all men. It could be one’s old age or even a call unto glory in God’s own time. The evil day is very different. In Paul’s ministry, he had a lot of evil days, yet he stood and overcame them all. The following passage reveals a series of events that could be described as days of evil, yet he stood on the word and overcame (2nd Corinthians 11:23-28). You will overcome on the evil day.

CONFESSION

There is a time called the night, and there is the evil day, which is an aggression of the devil. I stand on the word and always overcome the evil day. I commit myself to finishing my task in Jesus’ name.

FURTHER STUDIES.

Matthew 8:24. And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep.

Luke 22:53 “When I was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched forth no hands against me: but this is your hour, and the power of darkness”.

Prayer Point: In the name of Jesus, no power of darkness shall stop me from finishing my assignment, for it is His will that whatever He leads me to start, He also leads me to finish.

KEY SCRIPTURE: John 9:4 “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work”.

The Lord said, “I must work the works of Him that sent me…..” The Lord Jesus knew He had been sent to fulfil an assignment.

The Lord never stopped declaring on several occasions that He had been sent to do the Father’s task. There are about forty references in the bible where Jesus said the Father has sent me.

Let us consider some instances in which the Lord revealed that He had been sent by the Father. John 4:34 “Jesus saith unto them, ‘ My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me and to finish it”. In this instant, He said my satisfaction is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish it. The following are a few of the scriptures that talk about the fact that Jesus was sent by the Father. (John 5:30, 5:36; 6:38, 39,40,44,57….).

The Lord kept making references to the fact that he had been sent. This act always reminded Him of His assignment and, subsequently, His commitment to the assignment.

Many Christians today have lost their sense of awareness that they have been sent. To be sent means a superior has sent you to do an assignment, and that He is counting on you to execute your task to the end. This task, if well executed, would attract rewards. Now listen to what the Lord said about us in John 17:18: “As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world”.

Dear child of God, you are here to execute the Lord’s assignment. He said as thou hast sent me, even so have I sent them. He is saying we must go about preaching, teaching, healing, and blessing humanity like He did.  If He is sending us as the Father sent Him, then we have been given the same provisions that were given to Him. We must respond with that same sense of urgency as He did.

We should also say our meat or satisfaction is to do the will of Him that sent us and to finish it.

 CONFESSION

I have been sent by God to continue doing what Jesus started. My satisfaction is when I willingly do this commission.

FURTHER STUDIES.

John 20:21. Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

John 17:23 “I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me”.

Prayer Point: I pray that by the grace of God, I do my assignment with gladness.

KEY SCRIPTURE: John 9:4” I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work”.

The Lord said, “I must work the works of Him that sent me…” In our previous study, we looked at how diligently he worked. Today, we would consider what the works of God are. What is the work of God?

In the verse in question, the Lord was about to heal a blind man. Healing the sick is one of the works of God. The Lord said on many occasions that every child of God has to heal the sick (Matthew 10:1, Luke 9:2, Luke 10:9, and Mark 16:15-17). Every child of God has received the authority to heal the sick.

The Lord was a man of prayer. Prayer is one of the works of God. Praying is like sending up incense unto the Lord (Rev 8:3). God loves to see His children pray. Prayer is fellowshipping with the Lord. He appreciates it when we come to him in prayer, Jesus prayed when He was been baptised (Luke 3:21), He prayed at Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36), He rose up very early to pray (Mark 1:35) He prayed all night (Luke 6:12). Prayer is work, and it is hard work. The apostle said in Acts 6:4 that they would give themselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word. The Lord said men ought to pray and not to faint  (Luke 18:1)

The Lord also went around preaching and teaching God’s word and the goodness. Until the truth is preached, men would continue to grope in darkness. The Lord spent most of His time preaching and teaching the Word. Luke writes in Acts 1:1, “The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and to teach”. (We have spoken a lot about His preaching expeditions in our previous study) The Lord taught one time and kept teaching till three days, when he felt the people could faint if he allowed them to go home  (Mark 8:2). Dear child of God, the Lord calls on you to preach the word in season and out of season (2nd Timothy 4:2). He says we must go into the world and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19, 20).

The works of God also include everything that the Holy Spirit would lead you to do. (Rom 8:14)

Please take the task he gives you gladly; let His work your pleasure be; answer quickly when he calleth; here am I, send me, and send me.

CONFESSION

God’s work is giving yourself to please Him in all situations. I give my life over to Jesus to live for Him all the days of my life.

FURTHER STUDIES.

2 Timothy 4:2 “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.”

Luke 10:9 ” And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.”

Prayer Point: In the name of Jesus, I have received grace to occupy till He comes.

KEY SCRIPTURE: John 9:4 “ I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work”.

The Lord saw a man born blind. His disciples asked who sinned that he was born that way. This statement reveals that it was the mindset of the Jewish community in Jesus’ day to think and believe that one’s predicament is a result of some sin committed. The Lord Jesus answered them that it was not the sin of anyone but that the works of God should be made manifest in Him. The Lord then went on to make the statement we are considering.

He said, “I must work the works of Him that sent me, while it is day: the night comes when no one can work”. The emphasis is, I must work the works of Him that sent me”. This statement gives no room for options. I must; this is obligatory. The Lord talked about *working. He said my father is working, and so I must also work. (John 5:17).

 The Lord Jesus was a very busy worker for God. At the age of twelve, He had started doing His father’s business. (Luke 2:49). From the day He ended His fasting, He immediately started working for His father. The Bible says in Luke 4:14 that “Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee….” After his forty-day fast, he did not hide to eat and sleep so he could regain His depleted strength. He would rather carry on the work of the Father.

THE FOLLOWING ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THE LORD WAS OCCUPIED WITH.

 He was in the synagogues (Luke 4:15), He granted audience to various enquirers (John 3:1-16), He visited people in their homes (Luke 19:5), He went from town to town, preaching the good news (Luke 9:6), He preached on the mountain (Matthew 5:1-3). He preached at the lakeside. (Luke 5:1-5). He travelled on the sea often (Mark 4:35, 36). The Lord Jesus was no lazy man. He was very busy with God’s work.

Dear brother or sister, how busy are you for God? We do not have all the days to ourselves, and neither will we live forever. The Lord said,” And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds and said unto them Occupy till I come”.( Luke 19:13). This means keep working till I come. God calls his servants labourers. (Matthew 9:38).

No matter your office, whether a Pope, Bishop, Pastor, Elder, Prophet, or whatever, you are a labourer, and you must prove yourself as such.

 CONFESSION

My father is working, and I must also work. I give myself to working diligently for the master, for there is a crown for me.

FURTHER STUDIES.

Luke 2:49 “And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? Wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?”

John 5:17 “But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work”.

Prayer Point: O God, my Father, help me to complete fully whatever you called me to do.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Matthew 5:28” But I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart”.

 To stop any wrong actions, you must first stop all those wrong thoughts and imagination. Dr Billy Graham of blessed memory, speaking on this verse, said, “After the first look, do not take the second look”. He added “mind the second”. He meant that after the first look, you have the opportunity to make up your mind either to look again or not to look. To look the second time with lust means you have willingly chosen to do so, and therefore, you are fully liable.

Now listen to how the upright and righteous man Job put it, “I made a covenant with mine eyes, why then should I think upon a maiden? Job 31:1. He covenanted with his eyes that he would not think on a woman. You can do the same. The eyes, ears, touch, taste, and smell are all gates into your heart, but the mind is the ultimate part or door that allows whatever it is to get to the heart. Always remember that “a decided mind cannot be tempted “. As Job said, put the mind in the right path,” and your actions shall also be right.

The apostle Paul says in Romans 12:2, “And be not conformed to this world but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind …” The mind is always the control center of all actions, so renew it. Change your mental programming by feeding on the word of God. The psalmist asked in PS 119:9, How can a young man keep his way pure? And he answered, by taking heed according to thy word. In verse 11, he said, “thy word have I hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” Do not fight your wrong actions. Just give extra attention to the word. Read it over and over again, meditate on it, and say it to yourself. As you do this, you are setting your mind on the right path to determine how to act in line with your thinking. The Lord Jesus said all that I have said earlier in Matthew 12:33: “Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit”. Feed yourself with good things (the word), and you will be good.

CONFESSION

My mind is the door to my heart. I feed my mind continually with the word, and therefore, my actions are always in agreement with the word.

THOUGHT: YOU CAN NOT ACT ABOVE HOW YOU THINK

FURTHER STUDIES.

Joshua 1:8  “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success”.

Psalms 119:130. The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.

Prayer Point: Open my eyes of understanding to your word in Jesus’ name.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Matthew 5:28 “But I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart”.

The Lord Jesus made statements that transcend all generations.

The Lord made a very important truth that can help anyone who wishes to lead an impeccable moral life to do so. The Lord said in our opening scripture that if a man looks on a woman to lust after her, then he has already committed adultery with her in his heart. This is a very serious statement. Let us bear in mind that God looks at the heart while men look at the outside. 1st Samuel 16: 7b “…..for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart”. There are some men, and even some Christian men, who believe that it is alright for a man to go out with other women outside their marital home. This opening scripture says, if you just look lustfully at a woman (who is not your wife), then you have committed adultery with her.

It is true that as a man thinks, so is he. Proverbs 23:7. Your thoughts are very important. The Lord says if a man should look on a woman to lust after her, then he has already committed adultery with her. (This also goes for a woman, too.) Before any act is done or committed in the flesh, it has already happened in the heart. Before God, you are as guilty in the heart as you are when committed in the flesh. Many so-called well-cultured individuals have committed adultery in their hearts before God by the things they think about.

I wish to bring to the awareness of all readers of this material that thoughts are not only ideas or images from a person’s thinking, but also they proceed from either God, through the agency of the Spirit or from the devil. (2nd Corinthians 10:4) When a child of God allows his thoughts to dwell on things contrary to the word of God, he is fellowshipping with devils. The Lord said these thoughts defile the man. Mark 7:23 “All these evil things come from within and defile the man”: Your thoughts either sanctify you or defile you. They will project you into whatever heights you can imagine or dwarf you to any minimal level that you allow.

 The choice is yours. You pay no pesewa to allow whatever thought that comes to you, but you are either the loser or the benefactor, depending on how you think. Choose always to think in agreement with God’s word.

 CONFESSION

I am what I think about. I choose my thoughts in line with God’s word. The Word gives no access to wrong thinking instigated by the flesh.

THOUGHT: IF YOU ALLOW YOUR THOUGHT TO DWELL ON THINGS CONTRARY TO GOD’S WORD, THEN YOU ARE FELLOWSHIPPING WITH DEVILS.

FURTHER STUDIES.

Proverbs 23:7 “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee”.

Romans 8:6-7 “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be”.

Prayer Point: In the name of Jesus, I take authority over my thoughts to think only in line with the word of God.