“But seek first the kingdom of God, and the righteousness of him and all these things will be added to you.“1
Our earthly mind tends to put our things first, or it says
God if you do I will do. Or put another way it says put me first, then I will put you
first, or provide for me first and I will put you first. Because we do this we believe a lie when things don't turn out the way we
expect, we say God doesn't really care, or how could He let
this happen? Seeking
God first is a matter of trust and total dependence upon Him, only then
can we truly be put Him first.
The mind set of putting me first will conform behavior to get something in return. I will follow you if you do something for me, if you give me this or that, if you will reward me I will serve you. Of course if your children are being obedient either out of fear of punishment or for reward then you have only conformed the external not necessarily the internal. This is the danger of legalism, which uses the fear of punishment to control and manipulate children into obedience or in the case of the false teacher, to control people for personal gain, both are one and the same thing. Jesus says the opposite, trust Him first, put Him First and all these things will be added.
“now abide faith, hope, and love, these three things; but the greatest of these is love.”3
How do we put Him first? we must abide in Him, in faith, hope, and love. Love is the greatest as it is the foundation of grace, that which Christ came in, the fullness of the Father of Grace and Truth. We are experiencing this fullness in Him, “that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; to the end that you, being rooted and grounded in love,”Eph. 3:17 In my mind faith and love are inseparable, thus we see the commandment from Christ, to believe and to love one another. And we abide in hope, as by the Spirit God pours out into our hearts his great love for us, and it is a Spirit that gives testimony that we are His children, He doesn't leave us orphaned, so we cry Daddy Father! This hope doesn't disappoint and it is greater than anything we think or can comprehend.
“to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge, that you may be filled unto all the fullness of God. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,”Eph. 3:19-20
Do you see the anchoring of our soul? Do you see the foundation on the words of Christ we build upon, our faith is the victory that overcomes, thus we must abide in Him. The seed has been planted, thus faith is to receive that which is a gift, it is to buy something that doesn't cost money, it is to labor for but unlike earthly bread, like food that endures unto Life. It must be sought like treasure found in a field, one must sell all he has and buy this field. It is like bread your neighbor is not so willingly to give up, one must knock for it. And it comes from a loving heavenly father who would give his children bread, not a stone, if they but ask, knock, and seek Him first.
“that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; to the end that you, being rooted and grounded in love,”Eph. 3:17
Putting God first is to trust in Him. It seems so simple but this is like looking back after having the mind renewed to the things of God. The carnal mind of the child of God Paul writes will never subject itself to the laws of God, thus it can't really trust God on a level necessary to bring about necessary change. It is like looking at an alcoholic, knowing it is as simple as just stopping, but to the alcoholic it is an un-surmounted task. But when the child is “filled unto all the fullness of God” trust now becomes a powerful weapon in the Spirit of Life, who is “able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.” When we learn to renew our minds to trust in Him this way, it becomes a lifestyle, thus the storms of life do not cease but we have peace within the storm, because we trust in Him.
"Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,"7
As a little child I developed this deep core belief, because of the bad things that happened to me, I associated these things with the idea that God didn't care about me nor did he love me. I believed a lie, the truth is He does care, but I must seek Him first. It is a principle of the kingdom, I must enter as a little child, which we associate with transparency and humility, but above all it is trust. Abiding in faith, hope, and love, and if I enter this way I will receive His little children, not cause them to stumble.
“Trust in Jehovah with all thy heart, And lean not upon your own understanding: In all your ways acknowledge him, And he will direct your paths.”4
Put God first, and He will “add” our path, or purpose. First is to do His will, but to be obedient I must know His will, His purpose for me, and this discerning is a place the enemy brings much distraction. It is like trying to discern which path to take out of many, so we see what leads to Him directing our path is to put Him first, to trust Him with all our heart. Seeking Him first he adds all these things, thus trusting Him with all my heart, then he will “add” the direction of His path for me. This is not a simple act of obedience, but a matter of trust. As Paul writes the carnal mind child of God must be fed milk until he can eat the meat, thus the fruit of righteousness is trust and rest leading unto sanctification and its end is Life.
So essential is trust and rest for the development of the child, especially for those who have been greatly betrayed by an earthly father, or by authority in a church. Unlike the authority of men that says obey first and you will understand later, or that says obey me and I will prove that I am trustworthy and faithful, God is the opposite, trust me and I will prove I am trustworthy. The sheep knows the Good Shepherd's voice, not because he lords over them with the fear of punishment to produce obedience, no, because he has proven his love for them, or perfected them in love.
“Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?"8
Put Him first, and He will “add” the things we need. To know His will I need total dependence and trust in Him. The workmanship is of most importance, this is the vessel prepared beforehand for good works, as He is the potter molding the clay, I must trust Him. The spiritual blessings are of most importance, not the earthly things, but to be rooted in things that endure unto Life lest we be choked out by the “cares of this world” which is to not trust but worry about the things he promised. If we do not have such a firm foundation we can be carried away by the “deceit of riches” which is to trust in earthly things, Paul writes many have been led away by the “love of money.” Often our heavenly Father keeps the earthly things back to teach us, so we might trust Him, more so, to found us in the spiritual blessings, so we follow Him because we love Him, deeply rooted in faith, hope, and love we will endure.
“now abide faith, hope, love, these three; and the greatest of these is love.”9
First in Him, I have been rooted and founded. When He “adds” my path or purpose, then I will put this first and he will ”add” the things I need to put forth my purpose. So if he calls me to teach, to feed His sheep, then I put this first and the promise is that He will add the things I need. This is a promise of God, that if we trust Him he will provide our needs. If it is a promise and if I am more valuable than the birds then I do not need to sow to reap, and do not have to worry about these things. I focus on the important things, like faith and love, and I learn to put my trust in Him, abiding in faith, hope, and love.
Come Alive
The mind set of putting me first will conform behavior to get something in return. I will follow you if you do something for me, if you give me this or that, if you will reward me I will serve you. Of course if your children are being obedient either out of fear of punishment or for reward then you have only conformed the external not necessarily the internal. This is the danger of legalism, which uses the fear of punishment to control and manipulate children into obedience or in the case of the false teacher, to control people for personal gain, both are one and the same thing. Jesus says the opposite, trust Him first, put Him First and all these things will be added.
“now abide faith, hope, and love, these three things; but the greatest of these is love.”3
How do we put Him first? we must abide in Him, in faith, hope, and love. Love is the greatest as it is the foundation of grace, that which Christ came in, the fullness of the Father of Grace and Truth. We are experiencing this fullness in Him, “that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; to the end that you, being rooted and grounded in love,”Eph. 3:17 In my mind faith and love are inseparable, thus we see the commandment from Christ, to believe and to love one another. And we abide in hope, as by the Spirit God pours out into our hearts his great love for us, and it is a Spirit that gives testimony that we are His children, He doesn't leave us orphaned, so we cry Daddy Father! This hope doesn't disappoint and it is greater than anything we think or can comprehend.
“to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge, that you may be filled unto all the fullness of God. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,”Eph. 3:19-20
Do you see the anchoring of our soul? Do you see the foundation on the words of Christ we build upon, our faith is the victory that overcomes, thus we must abide in Him. The seed has been planted, thus faith is to receive that which is a gift, it is to buy something that doesn't cost money, it is to labor for but unlike earthly bread, like food that endures unto Life. It must be sought like treasure found in a field, one must sell all he has and buy this field. It is like bread your neighbor is not so willingly to give up, one must knock for it. And it comes from a loving heavenly father who would give his children bread, not a stone, if they but ask, knock, and seek Him first.
“that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; to the end that you, being rooted and grounded in love,”Eph. 3:17
Putting God first is to trust in Him. It seems so simple but this is like looking back after having the mind renewed to the things of God. The carnal mind of the child of God Paul writes will never subject itself to the laws of God, thus it can't really trust God on a level necessary to bring about necessary change. It is like looking at an alcoholic, knowing it is as simple as just stopping, but to the alcoholic it is an un-surmounted task. But when the child is “filled unto all the fullness of God” trust now becomes a powerful weapon in the Spirit of Life, who is “able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.” When we learn to renew our minds to trust in Him this way, it becomes a lifestyle, thus the storms of life do not cease but we have peace within the storm, because we trust in Him.
"Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,"7
As a little child I developed this deep core belief, because of the bad things that happened to me, I associated these things with the idea that God didn't care about me nor did he love me. I believed a lie, the truth is He does care, but I must seek Him first. It is a principle of the kingdom, I must enter as a little child, which we associate with transparency and humility, but above all it is trust. Abiding in faith, hope, and love, and if I enter this way I will receive His little children, not cause them to stumble.
“Trust in Jehovah with all thy heart, And lean not upon your own understanding: In all your ways acknowledge him, And he will direct your paths.”4
Put God first, and He will “add” our path, or purpose. First is to do His will, but to be obedient I must know His will, His purpose for me, and this discerning is a place the enemy brings much distraction. It is like trying to discern which path to take out of many, so we see what leads to Him directing our path is to put Him first, to trust Him with all our heart. Seeking Him first he adds all these things, thus trusting Him with all my heart, then he will “add” the direction of His path for me. This is not a simple act of obedience, but a matter of trust. As Paul writes the carnal mind child of God must be fed milk until he can eat the meat, thus the fruit of righteousness is trust and rest leading unto sanctification and its end is Life.
So essential is trust and rest for the development of the child, especially for those who have been greatly betrayed by an earthly father, or by authority in a church. Unlike the authority of men that says obey first and you will understand later, or that says obey me and I will prove that I am trustworthy and faithful, God is the opposite, trust me and I will prove I am trustworthy. The sheep knows the Good Shepherd's voice, not because he lords over them with the fear of punishment to produce obedience, no, because he has proven his love for them, or perfected them in love.
“Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?"8
Put Him first, and He will “add” the things we need. To know His will I need total dependence and trust in Him. The workmanship is of most importance, this is the vessel prepared beforehand for good works, as He is the potter molding the clay, I must trust Him. The spiritual blessings are of most importance, not the earthly things, but to be rooted in things that endure unto Life lest we be choked out by the “cares of this world” which is to not trust but worry about the things he promised. If we do not have such a firm foundation we can be carried away by the “deceit of riches” which is to trust in earthly things, Paul writes many have been led away by the “love of money.” Often our heavenly Father keeps the earthly things back to teach us, so we might trust Him, more so, to found us in the spiritual blessings, so we follow Him because we love Him, deeply rooted in faith, hope, and love we will endure.
“now abide faith, hope, love, these three; and the greatest of these is love.”9
First in Him, I have been rooted and founded. When He “adds” my path or purpose, then I will put this first and he will ”add” the things I need to put forth my purpose. So if he calls me to teach, to feed His sheep, then I put this first and the promise is that He will add the things I need. This is a promise of God, that if we trust Him he will provide our needs. If it is a promise and if I am more valuable than the birds then I do not need to sow to reap, and do not have to worry about these things. I focus on the important things, like faith and love, and I learn to put my trust in Him, abiding in faith, hope, and love.
Come Alive