Christ's Encouragement During Trials

I want to start today, brethren, with a title so that you'll know right up front where I'm going. Christ's encouragement during trials. And the subtitle would be seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. I think the message will follow in line quite closely with the things that we heard in the first message today as well.

Jesus gave some very encouraging instruction one day as he taught the multitudes of people on the mountain. He said to them, "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." Now, you may remember where that is in the Bible. And if you do, I ask you to please turn to it and open your Bible and look at it and see it there.

and we'll read it together. If you don't know exactly where it is in the Bible, maybe you can remember the book that it's in and turn to that book and get as close as you can to where this would be written on the pages of your Bible. Now, I'm not criticizing anyone if you don't know. I'm encouraging. Maybe you don't know exactly where it is in the Bible, but you do know that it is there, don't you? And that's important.

We know these words. You know that Jesus said this, and that makes a very positive difference in your life and in my life, too, doesn't it? It's in Matthew 6 and verse 33. This was a memory verse when I was in college. remember in my classes in 1969, we had a our first test in our Bible class and and I wasn't yet familiar with how they tested at the college where I attended and there was a list of memory verses and said match these up these verses with this the words that are in them. And I was pretty much lost. I

think I only got about one or two out of 20. Uh, but that clued me and I I needed to start memorizing some of the things in scripture and this was one of them. Matthew 6 verse 33 because it's so significant and it's one of the most important things that Jesus Christ taught and he taught it so well. Matthew 6:33 again, "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

" But there's a reason for this message on the Sabbath today. I'd been planning a completely different message three, four weeks ago. Had my notes underway, and then a couple weeks ago, one of our members died suddenly. unexpectedly and it was very difficult for us all. I simply want to share with you some of the encouraging words that Jesus Christ gave to help us when we are facing hard trials.

In the sermon that Jesus gave that day, he gave some of the most encouraging promises in his ministry. And I want to take a look at those today. I want us to see what he showed us so beautifully in this sermon that he gave. He knew that we would need these words of hope. He knew we would need to believe God's promises and look forward in faith to the kingdom to come.

Like the people who heard these words in Jesus' own voice, we need that same kind of encouragement for many different reasons. Some of us are going through difficult trials right now. I've mentioned one, but there are many, many others among us. Some family members and friends in the congregation have died recently in our family and in other families too.

Some of us are experiencing health trials that have lasted for years. And we know of a friend in Las Vegas who I think is online right now who is going through those kinds of things too. Some of us face difficult financial trials. And some among us are at the early stages of our calling and having to make decisions to walk in a different path in life.

And that can be very difficult too at times. And then there's the other side of the congregation and our lives individually and that is we often have very very positive things some things that are so many so so great blessings in our lives. And during that same time when we are having some of the best times in our life, we also then need to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.

And Jesus Christ was so well aware of the needs of the people that he was speaking. So whatever our situation is, Jesus wants us to be encouraged to keep looking forward. This is seeking the kingdom and his righteousness to keep growing in character. He knows that we will be blessed as we come to understand and believe and follow what he taught that day on the mountain.

And the words that he spoke then are true for all people of all time. How important are the words that Jesus taught that day? As I was preparing the message, I was thinking about this. How can we focus on the importance of what he said and understand it more fully? And I read some of the things that he said about the words that he spoke.

At the end of his earthly ministry, Jesus was praying to his father in heaven about his disciples and he said, "I have given to them the words which you have given me." That's how important the words are. What Jesus Christ himself said to his father in prayer, he prayed that the father would sanctify them by your truth, your word, his truth.

And so we live by that. We believe this is what he's giving us. And I want to focus on how important it was to Jesus Christ for this to be expressed in the scriptures. Earlier he had told his disciples that the word which you hear is not mine but the father's who sent me. And so when we read these words today, let's have that understanding too that there are words of the father who sent Jesus Christ.

And he said, 'The words I speak to you are spirit and they are life. They lift our understanding above the needs of our mortal existence and they point us to the eternal promise that Jesus Christ has given to us, made possible to us, that the father gave to us. So brethren, as we worship together this Sabbath, and indeed that's what we're doing.

We come not just to hear, not just to fellowship, but we come to worship. And I prayed that there would be this atmosphere for you as you hear these words knowing they are the words of God given to Christ, given to us. And though I'll be reading them and you'll hear my voice audibly, let them be the words of Jesus Christ to you. It is God's word that brings encouragement to his children who are going through difficult trials as some of us are right now.

His words are the ones that I want every one of us to know matter what we're going through in our lives. And I hope this message will be encouraging and that it will strengthen the faith of someone who hears. If it's just one who is strengthened, it will be an answer to prayer. But I hope it is more. I know that I've been strengthened as I prepared this sermon. Nancy knows.

I sit I go through five different versions of it and write my notes and I've learned so much and I just really appreciate it that now that I'm retired and now that I'm not employed and I have the time to do more in-depth study and and I my my notes would spread out over my desk and I'd have six eight books open and I'd be reading and learning really appreciate this and but then I have to focus it down to you and today today to this time period.

Let me set the stage for the rest of this message. In the sermon that Jesus gave that day, he was speaking to the multitude of people who had come to hear and to learn. They were there for a reason and he was well aware of their needs and and how to address it for them. And most of the people there were poor.

I mean in poverty if you think about it that time period when the people around the the country of Israel as we know it today the the lands where Jesus and the disciples served and ministered. They were under Roman occupation and they had high taxation and they had lost the ability to transfer wealth from generation to generation as they had been in other times of their history.

Most of the people were poor. Most of them had difficult trials to contend with in their life. Notice how Jesus led up to this important lesson. We read that one verse and we go, "Yes, that's what we should do." But notice how Jesus Christ encouraged the people who were there that day. And he can encourage us.

And and this section of his sermon, which began in chapter 5 and extends now into chapter six, where we are, and on past that into chapter 7. When we read what he's saying, we see how he's encouraging the people and he's noticing what their needs are in Matthew 6 and verse 25. He says, "Therefore, I say to you, do not worry about your life.

" He was speaking to people who he knew had needs and there were worries about what they might do. Something on such a basic level. look what you will eat or what you will drink. He's talking to them about the physical things that they needed to eat to drink nor about your body what you will put on. It's not life more than food and the body more than clothing.

See, he was getting their attention here. He's saying, "I know what your needs are, but he tells her, I tell you, do not worry." This is encouragement here for them to understand. You could read some of the passages, the verses that continue. He knew how to connect with the multitude who were there that day.

And I'm sure they were listening intently. I'm sure those mothers and fathers who had children at home to feed, who had the need for clothing for their family, they're listening to what he's saying. Don't worry about that. He says, verse 28, he says, "So why do you worry about clothing?" There's more in here.

You can take the time to read it. He's telling them about the birds. He's telling them about the flowers. Those of you who know me well over the years, you know that I often look at those things myself. Verse 28 says, "Why do you worry about clothing?" We might say, "Why do we worry about the things in our lives today, whatever they are?" He says,"Cons consider the liies of the field, the things God has made.

Look at what he's done." And yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not a raid like one of the flowers of the field. There are so many blessing. I'm just going to scan through some of this because I want to cover some of the most important areas, but I want to set the stage of what he was doing and telling them things that really connected with them. in verse 31.

Therefore, do not worry. Do you ever have something you go to a friend and they say, "Don't worry, it'll be all right." What Christ was saying was so much more sure and positive than that. So much more encouraging. He's saying, "Therefore, do not worry." Saying, "What shall we eat or what shall we drink? What shall we wear? Verse 32.

But after these things the Gentiles seek, for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. God is aware of our needs. We heard in the first message about ranchers who are aware of the needs of their herds. We are the flock of Jesus Christ. He's aware of our needs. And the father is aware. The father knows you need all these things.

Does God know what you need? Of course. Of course. And so when I read it and I read that word, so why do you worry? Why do I worry? And I do. Nancy knows that I do. I know that she does. And we all do. And Christ is addressing this for us. And that's what he said. But seek first. But we have those needs.

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added to you. Do you read that with a positive tone? Read that with the assurance that God is aware of our needs and all these things shall be added to us. He says, "Seek first." He's not saying abandon the need for seeking food. He does not telling us to quit worrying.

He says quit worrying. But he says about clothing. We still need that clothing. You know, people you could you just stop and think of the the times when there was a need for food in the scriptures. a wonderful example of Ruth and Naomi and they needed food and instead of worrying about it, Ruth went out and gleaned in the fields and brought food home to her mother-in-law and God provided.

So, she was seeking God and seeking the relationship with God that her mother-in-law had. Remember what she said? Your God will be my God. And where you go, I will go and she was focused on the right things, but she needed food, too. And she worked for it. And it says, "But seek first the kingdom of God.

" And we still seek those things that we need in a physical way as well. But let's see the background that led up to this point in that sermon. There's much more here in the sermon. These words in this part of the sermon on the mount, these were the practical parts of the lesson that Jesus was teaching as he built on the foundation of what he had taught at the beginning of the sermon that day.

It opened with a series of principles, spiritual principles to teach about blessings and promises. And this is where I found such encouragement and I want you to see this too. and hope that it brings that kind of encouragement to you. I I so very much appreciated the opening prayer. We heard in that prayer we said amen to it that God would open that understanding to our hearts and minds too. That's my prayer for you.

I hope that you see that these principles that Jesus Christ opened with to help us to gain a better and more complete understanding of what Christ wants us to seek first and of how and why we should if we consider these earlier parts. We'll come back to this verse 33 later on. But let's take a brief look.

And I mean brief because we could spend a whole sermon on each of these points. Take a brief look at how he led up to this instruction to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. We seeking two things here and of God's promises to help us. Notice as we go through these verses in chapter 5, this recurring theme and Christ was building on this with different words as he went.

the theme of the kingdom of God, the theme of the promises yet to come, of his righteousness, of his character, and of things that will be added to you, the full assurance that we can have the help that he provides to us. Look in Matthew 5 and verse three. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Notice the three kind of phrases in here that we can look at.

The poor in spirit. For theirs is Christ is assured of he he's telling them this is absolutely for sure. For theirs is the promise that he gives the kingdom of heaven. And we see this in the opening words of this very very important sermon. Luke mentioned and it was in a different context not on the same day as this but there were times when Christ would repeat these themes throughout his ministry.

And Luke said in chapter 6 and verse 20 in a more literal way of expressing this Jesus said this blessed are you poor for yours is the kingdom of God. You know Matthew said in this case the poor in spirit. Luke is narrowed it down to poverty to those who are poor in a financial way or other ways. Blessed are you poor for yours is the kingdom of God. Both are true.

Both are important. And Christ said both of them at different times. There's a blessing for those who are poor. Not just in a physical sense, but poor in spirit. It was an identifying mark of Christ's ministry that he preached to poor people. Think of this. I'll just quote what it says in Luke 4 and verse 18 if you want to write it down and you can read it.

The spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. And Christ was doing that. And I'm emphasizing this because there was a need among the people and he recognized that. And he's telling them not to worry. God knew what their needs were. And then Matthew 11 verse 3-5 John the Baptist had sent his disciples two of them to say are you the coming one or do we look for another and what was the answer that Jesus Christ gave.

He said go and tell John the things which you hear and see. The blind receive their sight and the lame walk. The lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear. the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. Some of us and I know some of your stories a little have experienced great poverty and we understand these things.

We understand sometimes what Jesus was saying even about food and clothing. What will we eat tonight for dinner? There are seven children at home and a mother and no food to share. Some of us have been there. There's a team of us working to help members in another country. And one of us, one of the team members was going to uh try to take a trip over to visit them halfway around the world.

And it didn't work out that he could go. But we were online with some of those people one time and he asked them, "What could I bring for you?" And the first thing they said was food. Bring us food. So there is a need among God's people for something so basic. But we can be sure that he is there for us. Jesus preached to the poor.

And he preached that we should be poor in spirit. He knew how to connect with those who came to hear him and he encouraged them. I want us to be encouraged. He elevated the intent for the message by mentioning the poor in spirit. Those are the ones who know they need God's help. Those are the ones who know that they are sinners and they need the mercy, the forgiveness that comes from God.

Those are the ones who receive and believe God's word with a capital W, the word, and seek to believe and live by his words. Isaiah said, "But on this one will you look on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit and who trembles at my word." So what Jesus was opening the sermon with was very profound.

It is very helpful, very encouraging. And notice what he says. For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. That's what we're seeking, isn't it? He says that is ours. That is ours. The trials we go through when we are led by God's spirit help us to have a poor and contrite spirit. And so the trials have that kind of benefit in our lives. And I encourage us all because when we do have these trials, when someone among us dies and it affects us all, we can be encouraged.

James says in chapter 2 and verse 5, James 2 and verse 5, listen my beloved brethren. Has not cho God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and hes of the kingdom which he promised to those who love him. This is profound. And Christ said these things, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God, and God has chosen us for this purpose.

" I'm just using this and I'll show you a couple more examples here encouraging you to go through these biatitudes as they're called and think about them and apply them in your life and say, "How does my experience fit with what Jesus Christ was teaching here?" We see his own example, the example of Christ. Please turn to 2 Corinthians 8 and verse 9.

If you have your Bibles there, 2 Corinthians 8 and verse 9, it says, "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor." And so we have a poor Messiah preaching to the people who came that day, the multitudes on that mountain. He understood them because he was he put himself in that position.

He put himself as one of them. He became one of us. He experienced the things that we go through that he that though he was rich yet for your sakes he became poor that you through his poverty might become rich and he showed us the way and he understands us and can help us. We have a high priest who can sympathize with our weaknesses and can encourage us and we can come to the throne of grace and ask for the things we need.

Remember what he said, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. And that's what he's told us to seek first. In Matthew 5 and verse four, I wanted to make sure we spend some time with this verse too. Matthew 5 and verse4, blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. And yes, among us, recently among us, there are those who mourn.

And if we go back a year or two or longer, all of us in some way, blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. There's no doubt about it. Christ knows that God will comfort us. He's there for us. We seek his kingdom and his righteousness. And this is the fruit of that in our lives. We do mourn. Sometimes we just have to.

Sometimes it's just so hard. But let me spend just a little bit of time with this in 2 Corinthians 1. 2 Corinthians 1:3 and 5. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation. Have you ever felt that? Have you ever felt when it's so hard but you know that God is comforting you? And sometimes it comes directly from his word. Sometimes our spirit in us.

Sometimes as we pray. Sometimes as we go on a walk and we see the birds and the flowers we know we don't have to worry. Sometimes it comes from a friend or family member who comes to us as we read that you may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

four times in the last three months. It's been my duty, but more than that, my honor to conduct a memorial service for members who have died. It's not easy, but it's so worth it to be able to comfort people who've lost a wife or mother or a friend. It's there and it's part of what God says, what Jesus Christ was telling us, what he was encouraging us.

Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted. God is there for us. He always is. He always will be. We can help each other too when we receive that help. We know how it feels and we know how to do it. And Christ was there giving this kind of encouragement to his the people who were there. in 1 Thessalonians 4, putting it in the context of seeking the kingdom, the fact that we do mourn, blessed are those who mourn, it doesn't say don't mourn.

It says when we mourn, we are blessed. And this explains it pretty well. And I've used this passage several times in the last few months. 1 Thessalonians 4 verse 13- 18. And I say this in encouragement, brethren, not to be sad. Look at the encouragement that's here in these verses and put that as the foundation for our morning and it lifts us so that our morning has purpose in 1 Thessalonians 4:13.

But I do not want you to be ignorant or unaware, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep. In a few weeks, we'll be gathering again for another memorial. And God wants us to understand what this is about and to be encouraged and comforted. Thus, we sorrow as others who have no hope. You know, long ago in another state, I was visiting with a relative and she had a friend.

That friend had lost her husband some years before and he happened to have died on a Tuesday. And every Tuesday for years, the widow would just break down and be almost unfunctional and unable to do anything. every Tuesday for years because she had no hope. She didn't know what God has given to us to understand and believe.

Says in verse 14, "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and we certainly do, even so, God will bring with him those who sleep in Jesus." We have that hope. We have that comforting. And when we mourn, we will be comforted with that. What a great blessing that is, brethren. It doesn't make our loss less important.

It makes it more relevant to the promise of God. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

seek first the kingdom. And he's telling us how it's going to come. He's telling us what's going to happen and how wonderful that will be. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with him in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.

Those words are so comforting, so encouraging. And he says in verse 18, therefore comfort one another with these words. We all can do that and we all should and we all need to have that from one another and thank you for it when you do it when you help others. We shall be comforted in the kingdom which we seek. You lifting this statement as high as we can in the scriptures.

You see in Revelation 21 and verse 4, speaking of God who comforts us in all our tribulations, look what God has promised he will do when the kingdom comes. In Revelation 21 and verse 4, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying, and there shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.

Brethren, read that with hope. Read that with joy. Read that with understanding that God will comfort us. The kingdom will come. The kingdom will be ours. It will be there with God and with Jesus Christ. We can look back in Matthew 5, some of these others. Blessed are the meek in verse 5. For they shall, there's no doubt the meek shall inherit the earth.

We seek the kingdom. He's speaking here of character traits of God that then become ours through the receiving and the exercising of God's Holy Spirit in our life. We're seeking his righteousness. We're seeking to be meek as Jesus Christ is meek. We heard in the first message about taking the yoke upon him.

For Jesus Christ says, "I am gentle and lowly in heart." We want to be like him. We want to have this kind of attitude. We're Christians is mostly about being meek toward God, about how we accept his dealings with us. His dealings with us are good. We don't dispute his dealings or we don't resist them.

It's It's a condition of mind and heart that believes God and Christ and willingly lives by God's words of truth and life following the example of Christ. You know, it says in many places that Christ will inherit the earth. the meek, the Christ, the Messiah, the one who rode in on a donkey and the fo of a donkey, the one who's lowly in heart will inherit the earth.

And we who have God's spirit will be co-airs with Christ. Romans 8 speaks of this in verse 6, 16, and 17. Romans 8 says, "The spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God." How encouraging is that just to hear, just to think about what's it mean to be a child of God? Verse 17, and of children, then he hes of God and joint hes with Christ.

When we seek the kingdom, we're seeking what Christ was seeking. We're seeking what he will bring to be with him and he with us if indeed we suffer with him that we may also be glorified together. What does it mean to be glorified? So many verses we could add to this. Daniel spoke of the the saints as shining as the stars of heaven in brightness.

to be glorified with eternal life and with with spiritual bodies, with many things that we could understand. But brethren, we see through Christ's message here back in Matthew 5 verse 8, verse 6, excuse me. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. We look for his righteousness.

We we seek that. What is I'm I'm going through this just a little bit in order to show us how we seek for the kingdom. What does it mean to do that? We we take on these character traits of Jesus Christ and of God. Verse 7, Matthew 5:7, blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

It's a promise, the promise of God's mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. There's no doubt in Christ's message, they shall see God. Do you look forward to that time when you will actually see him? It will happen. That's what this life is about. This is what Jesus Christ is teaching us about seeking the kingdom. It's real.

And he describes it and he gives these principles and shows the character that is needed. Verse 10, it says, "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake." And sometimes that happens. And what does it say about that? For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. So we see many of the principles and as I said each one of these could be an entire sermon message on its own and be worthy of it.

But let's move back to Matthew 6 now and verse 32 and notice something that Jesus encourages us by showing us that even when we have great needs, even when we face difficult trials, we can believe that God is there to help us. In Matthew 6 verse 32, for after all these things the Gentiles seek those things he's been talking about the physical things we all need, food, clothing, those kind of things where after all these things the Gentiles seek for your heavenly father knows that you need all these things.

He knows this and he knows what we need more than this, more than the physical things. In verse 33, but seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. In all our seeking for those things of life sustaining things that we need, seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. This is showing us Christ is telling the people who heard him.

You imagine this multitude of people on that mountain when he was giving this message and he's telling them and they're probably wondering, "What are we going to have for dinner tonight? He's telling them, "All these things shall be added to you." We can trust our father in heaven. The things he says will happen. Those who seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness will inherit the kingdom of heaven.

We shall be comforted. We shall inherit the earth. We shall be filled. We shall obtain mercy. We shall see God. We shall be called sons of God. For theirs is the kingdom of God. Brethren, I hope that you see in these words some of the most encouraging things that Jesus Christ taught when he was here among us.

And he left word with the apostles and before that with the prophets. And I just want to read a couple more passages to put it in context and to anchor it for us in our life now. and what we can do. And it's what Jesus said in person that day is so important. And the apostles built on that and they added understanding and depth to it that applies in our life too.

And I just want to read some of what Paul wrote in Colossians chapter 3 and verse 1-4. If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above. Where Christ is, we keep our our our eyes looking up. Seek those things which are above where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. And so we can come before that throne of grace.

We can pray and ask our father for the things we need. And Christ is there by his side interceding for us, asking for us, helping us, encouraging us, strengthening us. Paul continued in Colossians 3, set your mind on things above, not on things of the earth. It's so much more than food, so much more than clothing is what Christ was teaching those.

Set our minds on things above and not on things of the earth. It says for you died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you will also appear with him in glory. When the kingdom comes, when Christ brings that kingdom, when the skies open and he descends and the angels gather the the saints from all the graves and those who are living at the time, we will also appear with him in glory.

We can count on this, brethren. And one more passage in 2 Thessalonians 1 verse 3-5. And I want to leave it with this because this is what Paul wrote of those he served in the city of Thessalonica. And this applies to you here in Tacoma, Olympia, wherever you are listening. 2 Thessalonians 1:3-5. We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as is as it is is fitting because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other, so that we ourselves boast of you among

the churches of God, for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure, which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgement. ment of God that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God for which you also suffer. Brethren, this these are words sobering in some ways but enlightening and lifting our spirits in others, encouraging and comforting us.

And I pray for us all. And I pray for the more recently widowed among us, for the friends and family who have lost members. For whatever you are going through and whatever trials you are enduring, I pray that God will show you that yours is the kingdom of heaven.