I preached the 3rd sermon in my new series on Philippians yesterday, it’s posted on the church site and you can also get it via podcast as well. In the message I talked about how we’ll be able to deal with life’s difficulties far better if we do so from a Kingdom Perspective, as opposed to a personal perspective.

Today I want to expand a little on that!

As I prepared my message I was struck by how Paul reacted to being unjustly jailed. He didn’t whine, complain, question God or call a lawyer! Instead, he said this -

Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel…It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, Philippians 1:12, 15-18 (NIV)

During the message I quoted the words of Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount where he said, But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:33 (NIV)

All this makes me wonder not just about American Christianity, but more urgently for me at least, about myself! How do I stack up to this verse?

Well I’m not wondering whether or not I seek God’s Kingdom first. Nope - there’s no doubt in my mind that I don’t! At least not on any regular, sustained basis.

What I do wonder about me, and by extension most Christians I know, is this: Are we seeking the Kingdom at all?

Do we even know what it is? Do we ever think about it for even a moment? If we don’t then how on earth can we say that we are making the slightest attempt to follow our Lord’s command?

And it is a command. The word “seek” is a present imperative in the Greek, that means it’s a command we are to fulfill, it’s a continuing obligation. Jesus is saying this is something we must do on a continual, regular basis. Seeking God’s Kingdom should be at the very top of my list as I face each new day!

That’s a tall order isn’t it? Here’s a good summary of what the rest of the verse means.

To “seek the kingdom” means both to submit to God’s sovereignty here and now and to work for the future coming of his kingdom. To “seek His righteousness” means to seek to live as God requires, to truly seek these “first” calls for total loyalty and commitment. It means to turn to God first for help, to fill our thoughts with his desires, to take his character for our pattern, and to serve and obey him in everything.—Life Application Bible Commentary

So the Kingdom of God is making Jesus the real ruler of my life. Seeking his righteousness means trying to live out the kind of life that Jesus lived. We are made righteous before God in an instant when we believe and recieve Christ as our Lord (Leader) and Savior (Forgiver).

Past that we must live like that’s true, by putting him first in all things.

To me that’s the key to finding real happiness and authentic joy, as I wrote a little while back.

I might write more on this tomorrow, then again – I might not! You’ll just have to tune in to find out!