What Do We Seek?

There's a couple of verses today that I'd like to focus on. Two things, really, that I would like to bring to all of our attention in the message today. And the first one is in John chapter 1 and verse number 38. John chapter 1 and verse 38. The second you might want to write these two scriptures down is in Matthew chapter 6 and verse number 33.

But we're going to turn first to John. John chapter 1 verse 38. I'm going to focus on verse number 38 in John chapter 1, but let's pick up the context a little bit in verse number 29 of John chapter 1. John chapter 1 and verse number 29. You may remember this story. John the Baptist sees Jesus coming towards him. He's got some disciples that are close to his hearing.

And John says something at his disciples here. As he's looking at Jesus coming toward him in verse number 29, he says, Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Now, I've talked about this in the past, but that probably surprised the disciples maybe just a little bit because they knew what a lamb was for. They knew that the lambs were sacrificed, that they were killed, that they died because of people's sins. There were many sacrifices that they knew about and were used to. And now here John the Baptist is saying, you see this man? He is the Lamb of God who's going to take away the sin of the world.

And verse 30, he says, And this is he of whom I said, that after me comes a man who is preferred before me, for he was before me. And so he begins to share the fact that this man that's coming towards him existed before he did. And of course, we know from Scripture that Jesus Christ born in the flesh was six months after John the Baptist was born in the flesh.

And yet he's talking about this man, as it says in verse 30, is preferred before me, for he was before me. Verse number 31, I did not know him, but that he should be revealed to Israel. Therefore I came baptizing with water. And then John bears witness and he says, you know, I saw something.

I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I saw this with my own eyes. And I did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water, so someone talked to John and sent him and said, you need to go out and baptize. He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining on him, this is he who is going to come and baptize with the Holy Spirit. Verse 34, and I have seen and I have testified that this one that I'm referring to, that I'm pointing to, that's coming towards me, is the Son of God.

Verse 35, and again, the next day John stood with two of his disciples. So this is approximately the next day. Two of his disciples are around him, and looking at Jesus as he walked, he said something very similar. Behold the Lamb of God. And these two disciples heard him speak, and then they began to follow Jesus. And this is where we get to verse 38 now, the one I want to focus on. Jesus turned and seeing them following, said to them, What do you seek? What do you seek? So the first of these two verses that we're going to cover today, this first one, John chapter 1 and verse 38, contains the first words spoken by Jesus Christ at the very beginning of his ministry.

It was the question he put to those two disciples who came and turned to follow him. Jesus turned around as they came up to him, and he said, What do you seek? So I thought in the message today, what I'd like to do for a few moments is to call that attention to this verse for all of us. Press that question to all of us, individually, myself included, and to ask ourselves some questions. What do you seek? What are you seeking after? Why are you here? Why are you in this place? Why are you in church services? Why are you in the church of God?

What motives have brought you to this place in your life? Now let's call attention to the second text that I spoke of. The second one is in Matthew chapter 6 and verse number 33. It's a memory scripture that many of you will probably already know or will recognize when we get there. Matthew chapter 6 and verse number 33. This verse, in a sense, Jesus answers the question that he posed in the first verse that we just read. That question being, what do you seek? Jesus addresses that in Matthew chapter 6 and verse 33.

He says, but seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. There's two parts to this. Seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all of these things will be added to you.

Now the word seek, I think we want to focus on that just for a moment so we understand what it means. The word seek means to actively pursue. To actively pursue. It means, in a sense, to go after it. Go after. To go after. And it's also in the present tense, which means, continuously, that it's ongoing. It's every day, every day of our life. So Jesus, in a sense, answers the question, what do you seek? And He shares with us two things in Matthew chapter 6 and verse 33. One of them is to seek first the kingdom of God. And the second one is to seek His, referring to God's righteousness, and not our own. And interestingly, He answers the question with a command. The question being, what do you seek? And the command is, but seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all of these things will be added to you. And you know, it's just as much a command as any of the Ten Commandments or any of the other commandments in Scripture. It's something that God says. It's just like a command, like, don't steal. What do you seek? You know, back in the first century, when these words were spoken by Jesus Christ, there were many kinds of groups of people that were seeking Christ, and for a lot of different reasons, a lot of different motives. They had every kind of motive for seeking Him. Some of them were seeking Him out of curiosity. They just to see what would happen. What miracle would He perform that day? There was another group that were seeking Him because they had friends that were hurt or diseased, and they were hoping that they'd be healed. There was a group that sought Him for the loaves and the fishes, for what they could get, for something that they could eat. And there was still another group that was trying to murder Him and get Him out of the way, that He was a problem for them. They were watching Him, striving to get Him into some type of a conversation that they could entangle Him in His talk, with His words, to have an excuse to be able to bind Him, to put Him in the prison, to be guilty of blasphemy and punished and gotten out of the way. Some first sought Him in order to be identified with Him because they thought He was going to set up a physical kingdom of Israel or Judah at that time, and to reestablish a physical nation of Israel that would free them from the shackles and the chains of the Roman government, and that they would be free again and to have the greatness that they had at the time of David and Solomon. Some sought Him for what they could get. Others sought Him for what He truly was and for the message that He was truly preaching.

So I'd like all of us here to ponder a very short question in our own hearts, in our own minds today. It is, what do we seek?

What are we seeking? What is it that drives us? Why are we here? What are our motives for being here and to come to this place in our life? Brethren, I've got something to tell you today that may be a bit disturbing. The fact is, we're all, I think, seeking the Kingdom of God. But I've come to find, in fact, that there are two kingdoms and not just one. Two kingdoms that are being prepared and not just one.

Now, that may come as a surprise and may be disturbing to some, but nevertheless, I'm convinced that this is really true, that there are two kingdoms. The first kingdom is the Kingdom of God. I think we look forward to that Kingdom of God coming to this earth and finally bringing about the peace that I think we all so desperately long for deep within our hearts. At the return of Jesus Christ, that process will begin and will begin to eventually leaven the entire earth. We're familiar with the preparations that are being made for that kingdom, and we're all involved in that, I believe, to one degree or another.

But I've learned also that there is a second kingdom, and that second kingdom is also being readied. And it's being worked on with great fervency and great energy. Now, you're going to have to help me a little bit with the name of the second kingdom. And if you're taking notes, you might write down the Kingdom of dot, dot, dot. And then you might want to put your name there or my name there, because it could very much involve them, and it can vary from person to person. It might include your country's name that's there. Some people, not a lot, but some say, you know, it's important for us to get involved with the things that are happening in our country.

You know, we see all the political things that are going on out there, and there's a lot of them, particularly right now. Same-sex marriage. We should do something about this. We should get involved. We should go on marches and all of that. Some people say we should do that. We need to get involved with pulling this nation back and reform the society that's all around us and becoming increasingly so.

Checking in the news and checking in about how our kingdom's armies are doing, or maybe how our politicians are doing, because we tend to have a leaning towards one or another, and we defend our party or our candidate, or whoever leader it is that you feel should be in or needs to be in. But our prayer and our faith is in God, and it's in His will, and what it is that He has, and not our own, His will.

Now, I'm not saying it's wrong to help people. I'm not saying it's wrong to help those that are less fortunate and all that. The Scriptures are very clear about that. But where is our focus and where is our goal? You know, we can watch these things all around it and get close to it sometimes, and if we're not careful, some of that can begin to rub off a little bit on us, because we have, after all, only lived under the culture of our time, all of our lives, and under the present ruler is going to be replaced at the return of Christ.

And so these things can be around us all the time, and we can even begin to start participating, slowly but surely, even mentally or emotionally, and we begin to have this second kingdom, the kingdom of my name, the kingdom of your name, the kingdom of my country. And if we're not careful, the kingdom of me and my society can become important to me to some degree. And this can be a rival to the first kingdom, the kingdom of God.

And the same can be said about our own righteousness can begin to be a rival to the righteousness of God. But this isn't anything that's new. This is something that's been around for a long time. Even at the time that Christ walked, that the kingdom of God and His righteousness can be a rival to our own kingdoms and our own righteousness. They can become two rival kingdoms. So what I'd like to do specifically today is we're going to examine these two kingdoms and these two righteousnesses, if you will, during the same time period that Jesus Christ walked the earth.

And maybe as we begin to examine these two things, two different kingdoms, two different righteousness, we'll begin to maybe see some things about ourselves that we have not seen before. We'll fully understand. We may also find out something about Jesus Christ that we have not fully understood. Let's go back in time for a moment. Let's go back in history, back to the first century, a little over 2,000 years ago.

The Romans had entrenched themselves in the area that we now call Palestine, or as called Palestine at that time. There was great anticipation for a Messiah. I mean, it was surging. The people understood the prophecies in Daniel, the 70 weeks prophecies, and they had pointed it to that exact time that this would be about the time that the Messiah would come on the scene, you know, at that particular time.

And it was surging, it was pulsating, and it had been for hundreds of years, for 700 years really, since this prophecy. They were looking for a Messiah, an expected Messiah, about that time, about the time that Jesus Christ came on the scene. Let's go over to Jeremiah chapter 23 and verse number 5. Jeremiah chapter 23 and verse number 5. The Jewish people had longed to see some of the prophecies here in the Bible. There were several hundred prophecies that spoke about a Messiah that would come and to reestablish a nation of Israel and Judah and free them from their captors.

And let's take a look here at one of the prophecies that was their focus near the time of Jesus's birth. That's in Jeremiah chapter 23 and verse 5. Chapter 23 and verse 5 of Jeremiah. It says, Now notice these words carefully because they're going to come up again during this sermon. I'm going to raise to David a branch of righteousness. A king shall reign and prosper and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In his days Judah will be saved. You can imagine what that would have meant to those people at that time under a Roman occupation where they weren't free to come and go as they pleased or do what they wanted.

It says, In Hebrew, that's the name that he'd be called. The Lord our righteousness. Or it can also be translated, the Lord is our righteousness. In other words, his righteousness is to be our righteousness. And we'll talk about righteousness here a little bit later on in the message. We'll focus first on these two kingdoms. Now the total number of prophecies in the Old Testament about the coming of the Messiah are actually in the hundreds.

But some of them were focused on very closely. And in putting together the timing of these prophecies of Daniel, they were expecting to be seeing the Messiah to be born at a certain time right about the time that Jesus Christ was born. And about 30 years later, Jesus's ministry would begin. And about the time that Jesus was 30, the oppressed Jews were praying with greater fervor than ever. Every time a holy day came around, they thought, maybe this is the time that he's going to show himself.

According to the prophecies, this is the time. And they were in anticipation and they were in expectation. They expected him to show up and begin to lead them into a golden age. So they prayed that this king that had been prophesied would show up and then free them from the Roman overlords. Notice the expectation. It's here in Scripture in Luke chapter 3 and verse number 13. Luke chapter 3 and verse number 15.

Because the Messiah was due to appear. All they had to do was to find him. He's got to be here somewhere. Everything is pointing to this. And the prophecies pointed to this time right now. Luke chapter 3 and verse number 15. That's what it says here. It says, now as the people were in expectation, I think that describes it precisely. They were in expectation. They were anticipating. And they all reasoned in their hearts about John the Baptist. Whether he was the Christ, whether he was the Messiah or not. So they wanted to find out. Are you the Messiah?

So they had to find out. So there's a discourse. Let's go over to John chapter 1 and verse 19. There's a discourse where some of the religious rulers send some representatives to go to talk to John the Baptist. To see whether or not he is the Christ. John chapter 1 and verse number 19. John chapter 1 and verse number 19. Now this is the testimony of John, referring to John the Baptist, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who are you?

They wanted to know who he was. And the question was implicit. Are you the Messiah? Are you the prophet that we've been thinking about coming? So they wanted to know. Is this the Messiah? Is this the branch of David? Is this the king to come? Is this the son of David? Who are you? He confessed and he did not deny. He knew what they were asking. He said, I am not the Christ. I'm not who you're looking for. I'm not the Messiah, in other words.

And then they asked him, well, what then? Are you Elijah? And he said, no, I'm not. Are you the prophet? Which was another term in which they called the Messiah, in which prophecy looked at the Messiah, or referred to as the Messiah. And he answered, no. Then they said to him, well, who are you that we may give an answer to those who've sent us? What do you say about yourself? That doesn't usually hold up in a court of law, but they're just pulling out all the stops. Okay, you know, tell us what you have to say about yourself.

And he said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness. Make straight the way of the Lord, as the prophet Isaiah said.

Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees, and they asked him, saying, well, then what then? So they're still not giving up on him being the Messiah. Well, then why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ? If you're not the Messiah, nor your Elijah, nor the prophet? And John answered them, and he said this. He said, I baptize with water, but there stands one among you whom you do not know. Remember John earlier said to his disciples in John chapter 1 that, you know, I baptize with water. I was sent to do that. But there's someone that's going to come that's going to baptize with the Holy Spirit, and he is the Son of God. And now he's saying it in different words here to these religious leaders that were sent from the Pharisees. He said, I baptize with water, but there stands one among you whom you do not know.

In other words, he's here. Messiah is here. And he's telling them, I am here to announce this. I'm not the Messiah, but I am here to tell you he's here. He's standing among you. You don't know who he is, but he's here. And so they did not know who he was, probably for various reasons. Why didn't they know?

Several times after Jesus began his ministry, when he performed a miracle, people would say that he's the prophesied Son of David. Remember that prophecy that we read back in Jeremiah 23, verses 5 and 6, where they said, Behold, the days are coming when I will raise up to David a branch of righteousness. Jesus was the prophesied Son of David. He was the branch. The Pharisees also viewed the Messiah in those terms as the Son of David. Let's look at that. Over in Matthew 22 and verse 41. Matthew 22 and verse 41.

Towards the end of his life, his physical life, and towards the end of his physical ministry, Jesus asks the Pharisees a question. Here in Matthew 22 and verse 41.

It says, while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, What do you think about the Messiah, the Christ? Whose Son is he? Well, what was on the Pharisees mind? How did they respond to this question about the Messiah? They said the Son of David. He's a branch of David. He's a Son of David. He's a descendant of David.

So David was the principal chief king in a sense, really, which by almost all kings of Israel were measured. But there was to be another king, a greater king, that they would call the Son of David to come. And they focused on that Messiah as the coming new ruler of Israel. That's what the focus was, or that's what's being spoken of here. Notice verse 43.

And Jesus said to them, Well, how then does David in the Spirit call him Lord? Saying, The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool. If David then calls him Lord, how is he his, referring to David's son? And no one could answer him a word. You know, Jesus was beginning to introduce something here. He's beginning to introduce a mind shift, a whole different mind shift than what the Israelites were expecting regarding the kingdom that was to come. And also regarding the king that was to come, the Messiah. They were expecting a branch of David, a descendant of David, a son of David. But Jesus introduces a totally foreign concept to them that David in Scripture calls his son Lord.

What Jesus was beginning to do was he was beginning to reveal that this king was not going to be an ordinary king. And this kingdom was going to be different than the one that they expected. But they couldn't see it. They couldn't yet understand it. They were expecting a man, a son of David, to lead them into overthrowing the Roman government.

Now crowds, seeing Jesus heal a man, said, could this be the son of David? And when he made his entry into Jerusalem, when they were putting the palm branches down, as he wrote in on the cult, they said, Hosanna, son of David. So they were ready. They were ready for this kingdom of Israel to take off and to begin to overthrow the Roman overlords. They had been working on this, thinking about it, and hoping for it for centuries. Let's go over to John 6 and verse 14. John 6 and verse 14. And we'll see the people there at that time actually wanted to force kingship to Jesus Christ, to force him to be a king. John 6 and verse 14.

Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, and he just had created, had done a miracle of feeding thousands of people with very little food, he said, this truly is the prophet who is to come into the world. So you see earlier they'd asked John the Baptist, you know, are you the one? And now they're beginning to wonder if Jesus Christ is the one. And they're saying this is the prophet who is to come into the world. Not only can he feed a lot of people with very little food, he'd make a great king. What greater king could do these types of things for us? Verse number 15.

Now let's go over to Mark chapter 1. Mark chapter 1 and verse number 14. Mark chapter 1 verse 14 begin to see something here a little different about the concept of the kingdom as contrasted with what the people were thinking in their minds. Mark chapter 1 and verse number 14. So it says, now after John, referring to John the Baptist, was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God.

Not the restored kingdom of Israel or Judah, but the gospel of the coming kingdom of God. And this was the kingdom that we're all to seek first. And saying that the time is fulfilled. And the kingdom of God is at hand or has come near, or as the Greek here for that word can mean to join or to draw or to approach. It's through Jesus Christ and his work and his ministry that people can draw near to the kingdom of God.

That they can approach the kingdom, that they can join the kingdom. That was his purpose. That was his mission, in a sense, as we're going to come to see. And so that's why he said, repent and believe the gospel.

Referring, of course, to believing the gospel of the kingdom of God and its reality of what it is. Now that was his mindset, which was very different, contrasted very differently with the mindset of most of the people of that day. It was 180 degree different because most of them wanted Jesus Christ to restore the physical kingdom of Israel or of Judah. And Jesus was among them. He was right there. He's among us as the entry point in the kingdom of God. He said in John chapter 10 and verse 9 that, I am the door.

If anyone enters by me, he will be saved. That I am the door. That I am the way. That if anyone enters by me, they'll be saved. That was his comment. That's the things that he talked about. He said, I'm here. I've come to show you the way. The kingdom of God is near. It is available through Christ, of course. And he had come to show the way into the kingdom. He had come to share the truth of what the kingdom really was. And its reality and its truth was different from their concept. And there he was, standing in the midst of them, the way it was made known there was opportunity.

But it seemed like very few people were interested in this kingdom. Instead, many people were interested in their own kingdom. You know, you had the leaders and all the things that they were interested in, in their personal kingdoms. You had their country's kingdom, their personal kingdom. You had individuals. Even the disciples had their own thinking about what the kingdom of God was. And that was their personal kingdom that they had of where they fit into the kingdom of Israel that they thought was coming. They were so excited that they were handpicked.

They were students of the Messiah. And they were ready to go forward in their concept of the kingdom. You know, there's this human focus of the kingdom. And we all have it. The kingdom of your name, or my name, or your country, or anything you want attached to it. And it's not necessarily wrong, but God's kingdom has to come first. It's not wrong to have things. It's not wrong to have ambitions. It's not wrong to have family and careers and goals. And we've been placed on this earth, and things come and go, and there's an ebb and flow. But where is our primary emphasis?

The disciples assumed that Jesus Christ would lead an uprising. They expected the Jewish world to overthrow the Romans. And a new political entity was going to emerge. And who better to do it than this miracle working Jesus Christ? So they were pretty excited about that. Some of them even argued among themselves about who would have the primary position in this new government of the kingdom of Israel.

And those were some of the things that they were fighting over at that time. That's what they were arguing over. Those were some of the things that were on their minds. When Jesus was betrayed, they said, Lord, shall we strike with the sword now, remember? Okay. Let's go. Remember? And even Peter got out a little ahead of the rest of them, and he cut off the high preservant's ear. And Jesus Christ had to stop him and intervene and heal the ear and say, no, put your sword back into your sheath. And then followed, I suppose, discouragement and dismay and bewilderment. When Christ died, he was killed.

And then he was buried. And they didn't understand it. It wasn't open to their understanding yet. And after a short time, the disciples finally said, well, I guess I'm going to go back to what I used to do. I'm going to go fishing. And then there was renewed excitement in Acts chapter 1 and verse 6. Let's turn there. Because they were excited Christ is alive again. But even after his resurrection, the disciples still didn't have the correct mindset. You know, we can imagine the renewed excitement when we see that he's back alive again.

He'd been dead, and now he's alive again, and he's got to have more power than ever. He can be killed, and he can come back to life. What better person to lead us now? He'll make a better king than ever. Acts chapter 1, verse 6.

Therefore, when they had come together, they asked him, saying, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? Okay. We can do it. You're very powerful now. Will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? So they still had this mindset. Let's go to Matthew chapter 6 and verse 19. Matthew chapter 6 and verse number 19.

We'll see what Christ has to say here. We're going to lead up to verse number 33, but we want to see some things in context here in Matthew chapter 6 and verse number 19. This is God speaking through his Son, Jesus Christ, to all of us as individuals. He says, don't lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, so must have a tendency to do that. But don't do that where moth and rust can destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroy and where thieves cannot break in and steal.

Because where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. So God, through Christ, begins to tell us the importance of our heart and how we live our lives and begin to understand where the real treasure is. Verse number 24. Let's skip a few verses. Then go to verse number 24. No one can serve two masters.

It cannot be done. Two objectives that are primary in your life, two initiatives that are big that will take your time and your mortality. Your mentality. You can't do both. It can't be primary. Because God explains through Christ, for either he's going to hate the one and love the other, or else he'll be loyal to the one and he'll despise the other. That is ultimately where it leads. You can't serve God and mammon. So what's the meaning of the word mammon?

Mammon is a Chaldean word. It means confidence. It means confidence. It's referring to confidence. The word mammon also has to do with riches or wealth. You can't serve God and have confidence in your wealth or your riches. Now what of our own kingdoms? Again, don't get me wrong. It's not wrong to take care of your own and put the plan for the future. It's not wrong to do any of that. But if our primary focus is on our kingdom, our career, laying up stuff, having confidence in retirement plans and 401Ks and 403Bs and focusing or making ourselves confident and all the things that we can acquire or gather together, well, you can't serve God and have confidence in wealth or riches.

Verse number 25, therefore I say to you, so this is God saying, okay, therefore is a transitional because of what's going on before. Don't be anxious for your life. Don't be anxious for your life. That's not the life that you're going to be able to hang on to. Don't be anxious for your life, what you will eat, what you will drink, or about your body, what you will put on. You know, remember what Jesus said to his disciples when he sent them out two by two?

He said, don't be anxious for those things. Don't worry about those things. That's not what's important. I can take care of those things for you easily. He says, isn't life, and I think he's talking about extended eternal life, our soul, who we are, where we're headed, the life that God created, the abundant life he talks about. He said, isn't that life more than food? Isn't it more than raiment, the things that we put on?

It's about more than those things. Verse 30, therefore if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much rather clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore, don't be anxious, saying, what shall we eat? What shall we drink? How shall we be clothed? He says, for the nations, the other kingdoms, if it's a nation, it's a kingdom.

He said, for those other kingdoms, that's the things that they worry about. You've got the kingdom of God, you've got your own kingdom, you've got any other kingdom. He's saying all the other kingdoms are focused on these things. For the kingdoms seek after these things. But for your heavenly Father knows what you need, He knows you need all these things, but you seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.

Now to show you that all those things aren't bad, He goes on to say, and all these other things will be added to you. So you'll have those other things. Seek first the kingdom of God, or to put aside our own kingdom, your kingdom, my kingdom, are not primary. Your job, your school, your children's activities, your sports, your entertainment, my entertainment, all these things aren't wrong, but do they take us away from God?

Because if they do, then they are wrong. Then they've gone too far. Is family important? Absolutely. Your relationship with your wife, your spouse, your husband, it needs your attention and time. But continue to ask, is God first? Is service to Him first? Do our actions show that His kingdom is first? Jesus said, seek first the kingdom of God, so we're to put aside a secondary, our own kingdom. It's not that we can't have it. I'm not saying we should be unbalanced, but I'm saying you can't serve two kingdoms.

Actually, those aren't my words. Those are His. The words of God. He's saying the same thing. I'm just reading His words. The question for us is, which kingdom are we more interested in? When we rise each day, which becomes primary? Which do we serve? And I'll tell you too often, in my own life, it's my own kingdom. So I've got to ask that question to myself. And every day I need to get up and put in my mind God's kingdom and make that first in primary and my own kingdom secondary.

Let's keep your finger here for a moment, but let's go over to Luke 13. We'll come back here. Let's go to Luke 13. Verse 25. As I mentioned earlier, the Messiah's anticipation or the disciples' anticipation for the Messiah was not in harmony with Jesus' true mission of His true purpose on earth. And so we need to specifically ask ourselves the question, could your desire, could my desire for Christ, could my desire for Him in my life or your life, can it be misplaced?

Could our purposes not be in harmony with His? Could we be working against His purpose, as the disciples were working against His purpose? Notice what he says here in Luke chapter 13 and verse number 25. He says, when once the master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, Lord, open to us!

And he will answer and say to you, I don't know you. I don't know where you are from. Who are you associated with? In other words. And then you begin to say, well, we ate and drank in your presence. You know, we were there to Passover service, and you taught in our streets, in a sense, maybe here in the congregation. But he will say to you, I don't know you. What kingdom are you associated with?

Where is it that you're from? Depart from me all you workers of iniquity. And there's going to be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all of the prophets in the kingdom of God and yourselves thrust out. These were people that were calling him Lord. No, they emphasizing Lord, Lord, and could you or I be calling him Lord, Lord, and trying to bring him in, but not be known by him and be it actually cross purposes with what his purpose is? I think God is trying to tell us it's possible.

And that's why he said we need to seek his kingdom first. And everything else will be taken care of. You know, could we be a cross purposes to what Jesus Christ is trying to do in our life? What was his focus? What should our focus be? Let's go back to Matthew 6 and verse 33. And let's look at another part of this verse, a very important part.

Matthew 6 and verse 33. We've covered the first half of the verse. And now we're going to focus on the second part, another part of this verse, which is also very important. Matthew 6 and verse 33. A command to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. To seek first his righteousness. Just as it's possible to have our own kingdom, the kingdom of me, rather than the kingdom of my name, your name, my personal aspirations, my goals, your goals, the things that you and I want in this life.

It's also possible to have our own righteousness. To have my own righteousness as opposed to his righteousness. Let's notice that in Romans chapter 10 and verse number 3. Romans chapter 10 and verse number 3. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness. God has righteousness. There is a righteousness of God which we're supposed to seek. But it says, for they being ignorant of God's righteousness and seeking to establish their own righteousness.

There is a righteousness of God which we're supposed to seek. But it says, for they being ignorant of God's righteousness and seeking to establish their own righteousness. The Greek there, it's a very good translation. One's own righteousness. One's own private righteousness. Their own separate righteousness from God's righteousness. If God tells us to seek his righteousness, the righteousness that comes from him. The righteousness that he teaches. Psalm chapter 119 verse 172. I'll refer to it here.

You can turn there if you'd like. Psalm chapter 119 verse 172. David said, My tongue shall speak of your word. Because all of your commandments are righteousness. Brethren, God teaches us what righteousness is. He obeys his own commandments. It's the way that he lives. Jesus Christ came to show us the way he lived away of righteousness.

And we're supposed to imitate him and to obey not only the literal word of God, but also the written word of God. When it comes to beginning to seek God's righteousness. Looking at our own lives through the lens of seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness is what God is trying to help us to do. Is to see things differently.

Looking at life through the lens of seeking his kingdom first and seeking first his righteousness. And to live our lives accordingly. In everything that we do. In everything that we say. With God, with Jesus Christ, with our mates, with our children, our grandchildren, with our families, our church family, with our neighbors. And seeking God's righteousness means that we obey all the commands we don't pick and choose. Which commands we're going to obey and which commands that we don't. We don't do that.

We can't love God with all of our heart, with all of our soul, with all of our strength, with all of our mind and then speak evil of our neighbor or dishonor our spouse. We can't do that. And if we think that that's okay, then we're establishing our own righteousness.

2 Timothy chapter 3 verse number 16. 2 Timothy chapter 3 and verse number 16. God is trying to create a righteous group of people to be a part of his family. And I know humanly we can say, well some commandments are more important than others, or I'll do some, but I won't do others.

We can't do that. We can't pick and choose. Otherwise we're establishing our own righteousness. 2 Timothy chapter 3 and verse number 16. It says, all scripture is given by the inspiration of God. We've covered that a lot of times to say that how important all the Old Testament is, the New Testament is, that all makes up part of the doctrines of God's people.

All scripture is given by the inspiration of God. God breathed, in other words, and it's profitable for many things. And the one I'm going to focus on is towards the end of the sentence, but it's profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction to get us back on the straight and narrow. But notice, for instruction in righteousness. God's Word, all of it. Instruction in righteousness.

So we live our lives through the lens of seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.

You know, as we approach the coming spring holy days or the weekly Sabbath, but really it's every day. Every day, every thought, every decision is where God's ultimately trying to take us. It's a pretty big project He's taken on with you and me, isn't it? But that's where He's trying to take us. And if we understand where He's trying to take us, then we begin to respond to Him accordingly.

We don't pick and choose which commandments we obey, because then again, it's our own separate righteousness, our own private righteousness, not His.

We had a regional conference here. It was back in August.

We had several ministers from different states that came from Minnesota and Iowa and Wisconsin and Kansas and Illinois, Nebraska and South Dakota, a few other states. And Mr. Vic Cubic was there and also Mr. Roy Holiday. And we had several different seminars that we covered. They included the importance of sound doctrine, you know, of the truth and making sure it gets handed to the next generation. That's the responsibility of the church. We had other seminars on various things, Christ-like service, being clothed with humility, mediation and peacemaking, creating a godly environment. We had seminars on alcoholism and importantography, which becoming greater problems among some of the members of the congregation.

But at the very end of this regional conference, we had some question and answer, and we had some things that came up in our discussions.

And these are some of the things from some of the pastors of things that they've noticed in their areas.

I thought I'd share some of them here. That some of the areas have had some difficulty with a spirit of independence.

You know, they come and go as they please, or, you know, they're with one group, one may be one Sabbath, and another group another, and they've noticed a spirit of independence.

Others have noticed a lack of commitment. Some have noticed a lack of modesty.

Some have noticed that there are floaters. You never know when they're going to be at Sabbath services and when they're not.

Some have noticed a problem with Sabbath attendance. Some have noticed a lack of sacredness for the Sabbath.

Others were talking about a lack of holiness. The Scriptures say that God says, I am holy, you be holy too. There's a lack of holiness.

So these were some of the things that were discussed. And afterwards, Mr. Roy Holiday at that time, serving as head of Ministerial and Member Services, sent an email out to some of the men that were there.

And kind of a summary of certain things. And this is his word, so I'm going to read these here.

He said, one of the topics of the discussion that emerged from discussing current trends was the issue of holiness.

Most of the cultural standards in the Western world do not reflect godly holiness.

The word holy comes from the Greek word hagios, which means to be set apart, to be sanctified, to be consecrated.

It implies sharing in God's purity and abstaining from becoming defiled by the world.

Metaphorically, it means morally pure, upright, blameless in heart and life.

Many say or think that Christians claim to live a holy life, but they don't see any difference in Christians and non-Christians.

Mohandas Gandhi once said, quote, I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ. Unquote.

Notice some observations from a past Barna study.

By a three to one margin, adults note that they are personally more likely to develop their own set of religious beliefs than to accept a comprehensive set of beliefs taught by a particular church.

Mr. Holiday asked the question, could that describe us?

The Barna study continued with this observation, quote, Americans are increasingly comfortable by picking and choosing what they need to be helpful and accurate theological views, and they have become comfortable with discarding the rest of the teachings in the Bible.

Growing numbers of people now serve as their own theologian in residence.

One consequence is that Americans are embracing an unpredictable and a contradictory body of beliefs. Unquote. This is from the Barna study.

Mr. Holiday writes, as the elect of God, we are not free to pick and choose which sections of the Bible we will believe.

We're not free to pick and choose which sections of the Bible we will believe in, I would add, or live by.

In Luke 4, verse 4, Christ said, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.

Do we trust the Scriptures as the divine revelation of God to mankind? Now, again, I'm still reading from Mr. Holiday.

Do we pick and choose which values to embrace, or do we look to God as the ultimate authority?

Jeremiah explained in chapter 10, verse 23, that the way of man is not in himself. That's a pretty familiar Scripture to a lot of us.

It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.

The Bible is a revelation from God of spiritual knowledge and understanding that mankind would not be able to discover on his own.

God makes known how to direct our steps. Holiness should direct all of our thinking and actions.

What kind of music do we listen to? What type of movies do we watch?

Many of us will tend a peace site that will be close to the beach. What type of swim attire will we wear?

Will it reflect the culture of the day, or will it reflect God's values in action?

What kind of example do we set for our children and our youth in church? Is there any difference in our conduct and the society around us?

Can people truly see Christ in us?

He goes on to say, many of the problems we see in society would disappear if holiness were the standard.

When holiness is applied to our marriages, we wouldn't be watching pornography. We would be pure. We would be chaste in our approach to our mate.

Holiness should influence all of our conduct. It would influence the perspective that men have of women and women have of men.

God expresses the fact that we are to be holy as He is holy. This is not a platitude. It is a standard that we strive to emulate every day.

So that's from Mr. Roy Holiday.

Let's go over to Luke 6 and verse 46. Remember the prophecy back in Jeremiah 23 that we read talking about God's righteousness? I mentioned earlier that we come back to it.

That His name will be the Lord our righteousness or the Lord is our righteousness. Meaning, His righteousness will be our righteousness.

The righteousness that comes from Him. That He teaches. That He emulates. That He is the example of.

And He teaches us also, of course, that all of His commandments are righteousness. Yet, Jesus said this in Luke 6 and verse 46.

Luke 6 verse 46.

But why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not do the things which I say?

Rather than do His righteousness, we do our own. Rather than seeking His righteousness, we seek our own. All too often.

Let's go over to Zephaniah chapter 2. This may be a surprising scripture, but I think it fits in really well with this topic today.

Zephaniah chapter 2.

Right after Habakkuk and before Hagia, if that helps. Zephaniah chapter 2.

Towards the end of the Old Testament.

Short book, only three chapters long. We're going to start in chapter number 2.

In verse number 1.

Zephaniah chapter 2. Verse number 1.

Gather yourselves together. Yes, gather together, O undesirable nation.

He's saying, you know what? You haven't been doing things right, but I want to get everyone together. I want you to hear what I'm about to tell you. Gather yourselves together. Yes, gather together, O undesirable nation. Before the decree is issued.

Before something happens, I want you to all come together. I want you to get this message.

Or before the day passes like chaff. Before the Lord's fierce anger comes upon you.

Before the day of the Lord's anger comes upon you. Gather together and listen to what I'm going to say.

Verse number 3. I think he speaks to you and I today as well.

Seek the Lord.

Seek him. Remember, actively pursue all the time. It's an ongoing present tense. You know? That type of thing.

Seek the Lord, all unique of the earth, who have upheld his justice. Notice and seek righteousness.

Seek God, seek righteousness, and notice, seek humility.

Those are three things that he's telling them at that time.

That it may be that you will be hidden in the day of the Lord's anger.

Brethren, this is a prophecy for a time ahead of us. I think we're talking about the day of the Lord here. That has not yet happened.

So he's speaking to the people that are going to be, you know, before that day comes.

And I would suggest he's speaking to you and I.

Seek God, seek his righteousness, not our own, and seek humility.

In John 1, let's go back to John 1.

Pick it up here in verse 11.

John 1, verse 11.

It says, he came to his own, and his own did not receive him. Isn't that interesting?

He came as Messiah, and they didn't receive him.

Some focused on their own kingdom.

Kingdom of Israel, the kingdom of Judah, the kingdom of themselves.

We had the Pharisees and the Sadducees. They all had their politics. They all had their agendas.

They all had their own kingdoms, their own righteousness.

Verse 12, but as many as received him, so there were some that did.

To them he gave the right to become the children of God.

That was the tract that he was on.

To those who believe in his name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but the will of God.

Let's notice John a few chapters over to John 18.

John 18, verse 36.

You know, when Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor questioned Christ before his crucifixion, Jesus made this statement here in verse 36.

John 18 and 36.

He said, My kingdom, My kingdom, you guys are all about your kingdom.

My kingdom is not of this world. It's not of this age. It's not of this cosmos.

If my kingdom were of this world, then my servants would fight. Then they would get involved in certain things, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews.

But now, my kingdom is not from here.

Well, I suppose that took the win out of the sails of Pilate at that time because he thought Jesus was a direct confrontation with Caesar at that time. So that probably made him relax a little bit. You know, if there was no rival kingdom, then Rome didn't have an issue with him.

John 18, verse 37. You say rightly that I am a king for this cause I was born and for this cause I've come into the world, that I should bear witness of the truth.

So he was on a different vein, a different track.

So again, my kingdom is not of this world. It's not from here. So those are the things, I suppose, that we should be thinking about too. My kingdom isn't now. It's not from here. I was seeking a kingdom to come, the kingdom of God.

And therefore, we begin to shift our own thinking away from our own personal kingdoms.

And so Jesus Christ was trying to do that with them.

And I would suggest he's trying to do that with us today as well.

That we tend, if we're not careful, to slide into our own kingdoms being the primary focus and our own righteousness being the primary focus.

Let's go to Hebrews chapter 11, verse number 13. Hebrews chapter 11, verse 13, faith chapter.

There are those that have gone before us, that have been mentors, not only our Savior Jesus Christ, but others that were Christians that have gone before us.

Let's notice some of the things that they endured and were waiting for.

It says, these all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, they were assured of them, they embraced them, and they confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

So it wasn't time for this kingdom. Their kingdom was not from here. They were looking to a different time, a different coming kingdom.

For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. They were not at home. They were strangers, they were pilgrims, they were seeking a homeland.

And truly, if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had an opportunity to return.

But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country.

And so they had the same thought, my kingdom is not of this world. That's the way they lived their life. That was their focus. That's the way they felt.

And so God, therefore, is not ashamed to be called their God, and He has prepared a city for them.

And so it's good for you and I to think about that as well. What kingdom are we looking to?

Let's go to Matthew 6, in verse 9. Matthew 6, in verse 9. Let's take a look at the focus that Christ wants you and me to have as we live each day.

This is the example prayer that Christ gave to us. It's an outline. It's not to be done verbatim or roach, but it's an example of thoughts to have in our prayers.

Let's pick it up in verse number 9 of Matthew 6. It says, in this manner, therefore, pray. So it's an example, our Father in heaven.

So we're not looking at our human fathers. We're not looking at human lineages or Abraham or a physical kingdom.

We're looking to our Father and to His kingdom. Holy is your name. So God's name is holy. Yours and mine is not. Our kingdoms aren't holy.

Holy is your name. And if we hallow the name of God, then one day He'll give us His name, a new name. So we're focusing on that. Your kingdom come, verse 10. Your kingdom come.

That's where Jesus Christ told us to focus. That's what He talked about earlier when He said, seek first the kingdom. And so when we pray, we pray that that kingdom, God's kingdom come. Your kingdom come.

So my kingdom is secondary, the kingdom of me. Thy kingdom come has been prayed for 2,000 years, and the kingdom of God still is not yet here, and yet we've been praying for God's kingdom to come. Your kingdom, that's the entry point of Christ. Your kingdom. The kingdom that has laws, the kingdom that has a way of living, that has a king, that has objectives, that has righteousness. It needs to become a part of who we are and of what we're looking to. And so we want to be in that kingdom. None of us want to miss out on that. I want to be there. I want to be in the family of God. I know you do too. And we need that kingdom here for the benefit of the entire world. They're suffering. They don't have much vision. They don't have much hope. We have that hope of that coming kingdom. They don't have that. That helps us to get through the difficulties and trials. Some of these people have little hope at all. And yet the gospel message is really a gospel message of hope, isn't it? It really is.

Let's go over to Acts chapter 3. Acts chapter 3 and verse number 18.

Acts chapter 3 and verse 18. I'm going to wrap it up here.

The disciples finally began to understand that their kingdom was different. Their concept of righteousness was different. And Peter finally got up and loudly and proclaimed very profoundly to everyone that would hear, and maybe thousands of people, not only that Jesus was the Messiah, but let's look on Acts chapter 3 verse number 18.

But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all of His prophets, remember all those prophecies in over 50 were completed and fulfilled by Christ's first coming. There are others that are still yet to be fulfilled because hundreds of them were stated. But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets that the Christ would suffer.

That was missed by a lot of people on His first coming. And it was missed by a lot of people on what the kingdom was going to be. That Christ would suffer. They didn't see that. They thought He was going to restore a physical kingdom. That Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled, repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that the times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus Christ who has preached to you before, whom the heaven must receive until the times of the restoration of all things. So that spiritual kingdom is coming. It's going to be a restoration of all things. Now Christ, that King of that kingdom, is not here right now. He's gone up into heaven for a time.

And the heavens receive Him until that time.

But He's saying, you know, you missed it. You were looking forward to it for centuries, and you missed the true Messiah. And now He's in heaven. He's gone for now. But heaven must receive until the time of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all of His holy prophets since the world began. This is a message that's been there since the world began, and yet we can miss it.

Could you, could I, be missing Him also in our lives today?

Could we not be seeking first the kingdom of God? Could we not be seeking first His righteousness? Could we be seeking a different righteousness than His, different than the one He's taught?

Just like those back then, were trying to launch a different kingdom and a different righteousness, and they missed Him. They missed His purpose.

What do you seek? Let's refocus on Jesus Christ's purpose for His coming and the message that He brought from the Father, His purpose for calling you and for calling Me. That is to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. And then, everything else will be added to us.