Seek Ye First The Kingdom of God Sermon Outline (Part 1)

1. Seeking is personal. Parable of lost coin. Luke 15:8-9 “Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost.”

2. Prepare to seek. Ezra 7:10 “For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.”

3. Right attitude toward seeking. Deuteronomy 4:29 “But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.”

4. Results of seeking Matthew 7:7-11 “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?”

1. In context, people who would worry first about their own personal needs before considering God. Read Matthew 6:25-31–these are people just like you and me.

2. Jesus means, YOU! Uncle Sam posters–I want YOU. Jesus wants YOU to seek first.

3. This is because we have a personal relationship with God. “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.” 2 Corinthians 5:10

4. God wants to personally possess you. 1 Peter 2:9 “But ye are an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that ye may show forth the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:”

5. He wants you personally to partake of the divine nature. 2 Peter 1:3-4 “According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”

6. He wants you personally to be a partaker of his holiness. Hebrews 12:10 “For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.”

7. So God says, “You seek me first.”

8. But we must personally and individually make that decision.

1. First means first.

1) Above jobs. Luke 18:22 “Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.” Mark says he loved him.

2) Above friends. Matthew 19:29 “And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.”

3) Above family. Luke 14:26 “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.”

2. God has always demanded that he come first.

1) Exodus 13:2 “Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine.”

2) Exodus 23:19; 34:26 “The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring unto the house of the LORD thy God.”

3) Proverbs 3:9 “Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:”

3. We must put first things first.

1) How do I put first things first?

2) Rocks in jar illustration.

3) How did Jesus do it? Constantly be saying, “Not my will, but thine be done.”

4. It means we must not compromise first things.

1) This is the most difficult part.

2) Satan wants to distract us.

3) Adam and Even compromised. – Beautiful, Good for Food, Good to make one Wise.

4) King Saul compromised – People

5) Judas compromised. – Money

6) We cannot compromise. 1 John 2:15-17 “Love not the world…”

7) Friend of the world is enemy of God. James 4:4 “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.”

8) Will we hold to God’s will FIRST, always?