Seeking God’s Kingdom Will Console Us

One thing is for sure, especially as you get older, life is no picnic. There will be many tests and trials along the way.

The world now is going through a prolonged trial. People are using face masks like never before. They're being quarantined.

And then we have economic and political turmoil. Definitely, the year 2020 has been a tough year around the world.

We ask, is it what the Bible calls the beginning of sorrows, when Christ mentioned the beginning of birth pangs, pain being suffered around the world.

We can't be sure, but we can all agree that it certainly has been a very puzzling and traumatic year. Nobody expected this.

What can we do to strengthen our faith and be at peace in the midst of so much anguish?

I was meditating on that the other day, and I discovered something new in God's Word, a new insight that I would like to share.

It is part of what Matthew 6, verse 33 says, one of the most important scriptures in the whole Bible.

It says, but seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

The easy reading version has it.

What you should want most is God's kingdom and doing what He wants you to do.

Then He will give you all these other things you need. He will add the physical blessings, in other words.

Notice in Matthew 6, verse 33, there are three parts mentioned.

The first one, it says, seek first the kingdom of God.

The word there in the Greek for seek is the Greek zetaiō, z-e-t-e-o.

It means to earnestly strive.

It's the same word found in Hebrews 11.6, where it talks about faith, and that God is a rewarder of those who earnestly or diligently seek Him.

That term means actively seeking. It's not something passive. It's not something, well, I'll think about God one of these days. No, it's actually a daily pursuit of wanting to get closer to God.

One of the Bible commentaries, Berkeley's daily Bible study, has an interesting part.

He was a scholar, a historian. He looked in the background of the words, what it meant in the days of Jesus Christ.

And he says this about Matthew 6.33. He says, Here faith is absolutely certain, also touching Hebrews 11.1, that what the person believes is true and that what it expects will happen. That's what the Bible definition of faith. It means that it's absolute certainty, that what the person believes is true and what it expects will happen.

He says, It is not a hope which looks forward with wistful longing. I hope so.

It is the hope which looks forward with utter conviction.

In the early days of the persecution of the church, they brought in a humble Christian before the Roman judges.

The Christian said that nothing they could do could shake him to change because he believed that if he was true to God, God would be true to him. The Roman judge asked him, Do you really think that the likes of you will go to God and His glory?

That humble Christian said, I do not think. I know.

See, it wasn't just some weak belief. It was something that that person was assured was the truth.

He had courage as it was brought out in the first message.

From this first statement in Matthew 6, 33 about seeking first the kingdom of God, the second thing is to seek His righteousness.

There are a couple of things we should focus on here.

It's to seek God's righteousness, not ours. Some people make that mistake.

It's not saying seek your righteousness, seek God's righteousness.

We shouldn't compare our righteous deeds with others, but with the righteousness of God and Christ.

It doesn't say seek to equal God's righteousness. That would be impossible.

But to diligently strive to improve upon what we are doing.

It's like climbing a mountain, the mountain of God.

We will never get to the top. We will never achieve perfect righteousness, righteousness of Jesus Christ and of God the Father.

But we need to be climbing and not be at the bottom looking up and expecting Christ to do it all for us.

Or to do our works to be seen of men, but rather to please God.

That's seeking His righteousness, obedience, humble obedience.

Realizing what we do is not going to earn us salvation, but it's going to please God. Just like a father or mother, they're happy when their son or their daughter are doing things better.

They are trying to please their parents. They're respectful. They're obedient.

They're not there just fighting the parents and insulting them. And so that child is not going to earn the father's love in that sense, but the father is going to be pleased.

And as a reward, he's going to back them more. He's going to help them more out.

Notice two scriptures in 1 John chapter 3.

And I've been struck lately as I study commentaries and dictionaries about the Greek or Hebrew words.

One of the things that they never explain well is what is true repentance from false repentance.

Because they invariably end up saying, oh, you can't really do any effort. You can't really do anything.

Christ is going to do it for you. Even when they were talking about confessing your sins, they say, you should acknowledge your sins. You should go to God and say, yes, I have sinned. But they say, but don't feel sorry about it. Don't repent.

Because that means Christ is not going to do it for you then. No, Christ is going to do it for you.

And that, again, is a diabolical teaching. It's a wrong thing. Bible talks about confessing and repenting of going to God and saying, I'm sorry, I'm heartbroken. I really don't want to do this. Help me out. I want to avoid this. And not just say, well, I recognize it. Okay, I confess. That's what I've done. And that's enough.

Now Christ paid for my sins, so I'm back to square one. And like I said, that's one of the most damaging teachings that traditional Christianity does. Notice, it says, I'm going to read this again, where it says we need to keep climbing that mountain of understanding of God, of practicing God's ways, and not expect God to do it all for us or to do the works to be seen by men. Notice in 1 John chapter 3 verse 22. I've never heard any Protestant or evangelical or a Catholic teacher mention this scripture. 1 John chapter 3 verse 23. It says, and whatever we ask, we receive from Him. What would be what they would answer? Well, if we ask and we just depend on God and depend on Christ and just on His mercy and grace, then we will receive what we ask. Is that what it says here? No, it doesn't. And whatever we ask, we receive from Him because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. So, it's not just a matter of what Christ does for us. It's what we are doing to please our Father.

Yes, obeying God's commandments has not gone out of style. It is not something to be denied. Notice in 1 John chapter 5 verse 2 because John was combating this idea that Christ does it all for you, this false grace. In 1 John chapter 5 verse 2 it says, Again, they would say, Love Jesus. Trust Jesus. He will do it for you. Don't make a big effort because that's almost frustrating what Jesus already did for you. That's not what it says. It says, For this is the love of God that we keep His commandments, and His commandments are not burdensome. They're not outdated. They're not something to be eliminated or trashed or denigrated.

So we seek God's righteousness. Not ours. Seeking His righteousness means to apply what God tells us we should do.

We have a part that's active. We need to be following.

And then the third part of Matthew 6, 33, it says, In all other physical needs He will, in addition, provide. So He says, You take care of the spiritual. You take care of focusing your life the right way. And all of these other things I will help, I will bless, I will provide for you.

Now I had previously mentioned that seeking God's kingdom, actually you can focus on 12 different aspects of what it means to seek God's kingdom. And that's something that when it says, When we focus on that in our prayers, you can actually put 12 different reasons. First, Thy kingdom come because it is the primary goal seeking that kingdom. Thy kingdom come. It's our primary goal. Because if we miss being part of God's kingdom, the rest of what a person achieved in this life is not going to compensate for it. It's not going to substitute for it.

We would become a spiritual failure if we don't achieve entering to God's kingdom when Christ comes back. Number two, it is our hope that coming kingdom that's going to straighten out all of the world's illnesses and all of the evil that nothing's going to remain when Christ comes back. We look forward to a kingdom of righteousness and of peace and love and joy, not of all of these horrific weapons that are being invented. Artificial intelligence, robots equipped with artificial intelligence, with laser guns that just slice through whatever is in front of them. That's the next technology, is laser warfare. They're not going to use bullets anymore. They're going to use, like we used to see in some of these sci-fi or Star Wars or whatever. They are inventing that. The Navy has made breakthroughs. They're going to mount in these huge aircraft carriers and battleships laser mounted. They just come and they will slice an airplane in two in midair. They won't even bother to shoot bullets at it. That's coming. And so we look forward to a world where we're not going to be fearful of all of these terrible bombs and warfare.

That's the second. That's our hope. It's our goal. It's our hope. Then it is what gives us faith. Not in this world that everything is going to be straightened out by human beings. It is a faith that we know. Christ is coming to straighten things out. And it gives us faith. We want to be on Christ's side. We want to be in His kingdom.

We want to be serving, as it was mentioned in the first message as well, serving under Christ. All of the millions of people that will learn to come up to the feast every year, as it says there in Zechariah 14, everybody will come and celebrate the feast.

Not Christmas, not Easter with eggs and bunnies and all of this. No, it will be God's feasts that will be celebrated.

Then we also remember that it gives meaning to our life, knowing that God is going to solve the world's problems. You don't have to worry about living in a world that is looking worse with more violence.

Two hundred years ago, a person could walk down the streets. A woman could walk down the streets at night. And there wasn't this type of crime wave and all of these fears that go on as it is today.

So it gives meaning to our life. It gives us satisfaction.

Yes, a lot of people are getting away with cheating, lying, murder. A lot of people never get caught.

You look at the statistics, more people get away with murder than what are eventually caught. But you know, there's going to be a time of reckoning. We know when Christ comes, everything is going to be understood. All those murders and all the stealing and all the awful things that have been done in secret.

It gives us motivation. Motivation to get up in the morning because we know there's a better world coming.

We don't have to be despondent and despair over things. It gives us perseverance to go forward, not give up, not give in.

It's worth it to sacrifice whatever it is and whatever it takes to be part of that kingdom.

It gives us... it's going to be a kingdom of love instead of hate. It's going to be a kingdom of joy instead of sadness. It's going to be a kingdom of peace instead of war. It's going to be a kingdom of abundance instead of scarcity like it is today.

It's going to be a kingdom of righteousness where God's right way is going to prevail.

And now I've got one more, which is the one I want to share with you. What I discovered.

What God's kingdom, seeking God's kingdom, also brings. And what is that magic word?

It brings consolation. It consoles us.

Consolation actually comes from a Greek word as well.

There are two Greek words mentioned. The first one is paraclesis.

Paraclesis, which is the noun. That means to come alongside, comfort, and help.

So when you console somebody, you come, you hug, you have compassion, you know what the person's feeling, you want to give them comfort.

The second word is paraclesis, which is the verb. That's when you comfort somebody.

It's the action of coming alongside, helping, suffering him, giving him solace and help.

Right now, there are many things in the world that are going wrong, and also maybe in our own lives.

Some are going through hard times. Things are not working out as they wished.

And we all go through certain losses. Something that we love, something that we cherished.

And we went through a loss. Maybe it's a loved one, and you feel inconsolable.

Some, loss of health. Don't have the health they had before. Some, income. Loss of income. Or a position. A person held a position that they really loved, and all of a sudden somebody else is there.

And that is a loss. Also, friendships.

Also, opportunities. Some opportunities that were there and they were lost.

We can't recover. Those doors got closed.

Also, an estrangement of children suffering loss.

Maybe a spouse that also becomes estranged apart, don't have the person.

And we have to live with those losses now.

But we know, in God's kingdom, we are going to be consoled.

We will see our loved ones beaming with joy.

Now we can be partially consoled because we know what is coming in the future.

We have that vision of the coming kingdom.

What about the poor people?

Many in this life didn't have real opportunities to prosper. They just barely eat out a living.

Cottie and I, when we go to Latin America, a lot of people are still living in very elementary conditions.

Maybe three families living in this hut, trying to make a living.

They couldn't even dream of having a car.

What about them? Let's notice a scripture in Luke 16, verse 25.

Luke 16, verse 25.

Jesus Christ gave a story of a person that had it all in this life. He was rich. He was so rich, he could have banquets every day. Just like you'd have a wedding feast and you'd have all of this banquet. He had his table filled with food and all the best.

What happened to that person? Then you had one that was so poor, he didn't even have a house.

He lived in the street. He was trying to just eat from the garbage around the corner. And this person saw, boy, this rich man, look at all the food they're throwing away.

I'm not going to even beg for food. Just give me some of that garbage. What you're throwing away. In Luke 16, it says in verse 19, There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple. That was the most expensive clothing in those days. The purple dye was so valuable because it came from this little snail. That was in the oceans. They had to take out this little creature that was purple. And they had to squeeze that little creature, kill it, and squeeze out the purple pigment. And with that, they made the emperors togas, which were these big robes. And so this man actually was dressed like one of these emperors. The most expensive clothing. In fine linen, he had the best undergarments and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores. As you know, people that live in the streets don't get cared for. All kinds of sores start happening. Who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs, which fell from the rich man's table. Just whatever, they were going to end up throwing in the garbage. Moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores, because they were all fresh sores. So it was that the beggar died and was carried off by angels to Abraham's bosom.

This means that this beggar died, was resurrected. He doesn't tell us he was ever converted in this life. But when he was resurrected in the second resurrection, he accepted God's way. He accepted Christ's sacrifice. And so he ended up being part of the kingdom of God. The inheritor with Abraham of those spiritual blessings.

The rich man also died and was buried. And then in the resurrection that corresponds to the rich man, which we don't know if he was part of the second resurrection, and just told God, no, I'm not going to accept it. I enjoyed my life. I enjoyed my vices and habits. And I'm not going to do that. Could have been the second or more probably the third resurrection, which is the ones of the incorrigibly wicked, that in this life virtually disqualify themselves from ever being called, because they're so hardened with sin that there's nothing that the conscience can change.

Whatever it is, he ended up being judged and he's in front of the lake of fire. And of course, the heat of that lake of fire is hurting him, because it's like being next to this huge oven. He's not burning himself, but the heat. If you've ever been next to an oven, you know how it just wilts a person. And they are thirsty. And he says, And being in torments because of that heat that he saw in Hades, which is the lake of fire, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

So he saw where the righteous were. And it's funny, no commentator that I've ever read, in any of the Catholic, Protestant, Evangelicals, nobody really can explain. How is it that you have the righteous looking at the unrighteous, and they're able to converse with each other? Because they always think, oh, heaven's up here, hell is way out there and separated.

They never can explain this. We can. Let's put one finger here in Luke 17, and let's go to Revelation 20. Revelation 20. This is where you see this judgment of the lake of fire. And it tells us here in verse 11, this is after the first resurrection. After Christ comes, those in the first resurrection, it mentions in verse 6, Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection.

These are the ones that were seeking God's kingdom, and they made it. They're there with Christ for a thousand years. It says, Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ. How long will they reign? And they shall reign with him a thousand years. So we know exactly how long that's going to last. And then going on, skipping to verse 11, because the other one has to do with Satan's fate.

I'm not interested in going into there. In verse 11, it says, Then I saw a great white throne, and him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away, and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, from a tiny baby to Methuselah, the oldest, almost a thousand years, Methuselah, was able to live standing before God. All the kings, all those famous personages, they are going to be judged now, given an opportunity, because they sinned in their ignorance.

It says, And the books were opened. This is what is mentioned in Daniel 7.10, the books which refers to the Bible. They will have the Bible opened to them, just like when we were called, God opened our understanding to the Bible. They will have it too. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. This is the book, when a person is converted, baptized, receives God's Spirit, his name is inscribed in heaven.

And the dead were judged according to their works by the things which were written in the books. So all of these people have a chance, just like we did. We're having a chance now. The books are open to us. We know the truth. We know what God's Spirit is doing. Our names are written in the Book of Heaven of life, but they can be erased. The Bible says your name can be erased if you turn your back on God, quit following God's way. It can be eventually erased.

And then it says, verse 13, The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and death and Hades, there's the word, which is the tomb here, delivered up the dead who were in them, and they were judged each one according to his work.

So this is the judgment. Then death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. So going back to Luke chapter 16, we see that this rich man, his name was not in the Book of Life. And so he was cast into the lake of fire at that time.

So what we are doing is we were transported to the moment when they are judged and they're about to be thrown in the lake of fire. Jesus Christ called that. There will be a lot of weeping and gnashing of teeth at that time. In Luke 16, it says here in verse 24, well, that's verse 23.

I didn't read it all. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. Then he cried out and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me. And sent Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame.

He feels the heat. Of course, if he was burning up when a person is full of fire, he's not interested in having a little bit of his tongue moistened. Right? He says, give me a bucket of water. Throw it on top of me. No, he just said, this is my tongue is so dry because of the fear and the heat that I see that is in front of me.

But Abraham said, Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things and likewise Lazarus evil things. And you did not have a decent life. You didn't have many opportunities. But now he is comforted. Para calleo. The verb, he is comforted. And you are tormented. Yes, you see how the tables turned? They turned completely. So God is a God that's going to console those that follow him.

Continuing on, when we read the Bible, did you know that the Bible itself is called a book of consolation? And it is a book that comes beside us to help us, to console us. That's what we have to seek, comfort in God's Word. Notice in Romans chapter 15 and verse 4 and 5, it says, For whatever things were written before, were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures, that word comfort, again, para calleo, coming alongside to help and console, we might have hope.

Now may the God of patience and comfort, he is a, they're patience and para calleces, grant you to be like-minded toward one another, to have patience, to comfort each other according to Christ Jesus. So the Bible can be called a book of comfort, of consoling one when they're sad, when they're needing support and help.

Notice in 2 Thessalonians chapter 1. 2 Thessalonians chapter 1. Verse 3. It says, We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it 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. Notice what the name of the church is in the Bible. Church of God. That's why we are called here.

The Church of God. United is the corporate name, just to distinguish it from other legalities, but our name is Church of God. For your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure, which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer. Since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, and to give you who are troubled, rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels. So it tells us here, when is that going to happen?

When are you going to have rest from your own human nature, from this evil society, and from Satan who still hounds us? We're going to have rest from those three adversaries. Our human nature, the world around us, and Satan. And give you rest. And then it goes on to say, In flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction. Doesn't say they're going to be everlasting in some hell burning forever.

No. It just means they're going to have the second death. That's going to be total destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power. When he comes in that day to be glorified in his saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed. Another scripture here in this book mentions in verse 16 of chapter 2. It says, Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, in our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation, and good hope by grace, comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work.

So, yes, when we look forward to that God's kingdom, it consoles us. We know we're not going to get what we want now. Maybe we'll never reconcile with others. Maybe our lives are not going to be what we wanted it to be. Maybe having some important job or something else, some of those things. But you know what? In God's kingdom, you are going to have a very important job, much greater than anybody in this life.

If we have that faith, that that's going to be in the future. Notice in Romans chapter 8 verse 17. Paul writes about this, Romans 8 verse 17 and 18.

It says, And if children, if we are already God's children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified together. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. So, okay, we didn't get the fair shake. We didn't get everything we wanted in life. Well, that's okay. That's nothing in comparison to what you're going to get in the future. It will be a hundred times the blessings. That will be the consolation that God gives us. Yes, we went through things in this life. We were cheated out of things. We were dealt treacherously, whatever it is. But guess what? That's all going to be straightened out when God's kingdom comes. Notice in Romans 8, 28, which we know well. It says, And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. It doesn't say all things are good. No, it says all things work together. They eventually help us to become stronger in the faith. If we got everything we wanted to, then our faith wouldn't be that strong. We have to be tested to see if, despite the difficulties, despite not getting what we wanted, that we're still faithful. We're still looking forward to that time, that consolation that we have.

We can be concerned about the growing sins in the world, the worldliness.

But this belief about what is coming consoles us. We know this too will pass.

God wins in the end. Things that are now crooked will be straightened out. All will be righted.

Maybe you didn't receive a just payment or were cheated out. Later in God's kingdom, you are going to receive a hundred times more blessings. Notice in Mark chapter 4 verse 22, Mark 4 verse 22, Christ said, For there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret, but that it should come to life. So all the evil works, all those murders that never were solved, all these victims of crime, people will be consoled. The criminals, they didn't get caught in this life. They're going to be caught by Christ. They will have to come up before the judgment seat. Can you imagine? You're going to be there like the spectators, and you're going to see Hitler's and Nero's and all of these that think they got away with it. You know, Hitler never was judged. He shot himself, so that was the easy way out for him. But when he's resurrected, all of his victims, there were like five million or six million Jews. You know what? Those are all going to be in front. Let's see how brave he is when Christ is there, and they're going to bring out all of the evils, not only of him, but just all the evil that men have done. Notice when this will take place. 1 Corinthians 4, verse 5.

It says, Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and reveal the counsels of the hearts, in other words, the motives behind them. Then each one's praise will come from God.

So, brethren, we have this number 13 reason to seek and to pray, thy kingdom come. And that is because of the consolation that we know. Right now, we can be consoled with God's promises, that this all will happen, but then one day it's going to be a reality.