Latest / She Speaks Life - Christian Women, Strengthen Your Faith, Bible Study, Grow Spiritually In Christ / Fuel Your Life! “The Power of First: Aligning with God’s Divine Order”
Transcript
- 0:00Hey friends, welcome back to the She Speaks Live podcast where we
- 0:04learn to be doers of the Word and not just hearers.
- 0:08I'm your host, Jamie Elizabeth, and today we are diving into one
- 0:13of the greatest promises in the Word, a verse Jesus gave that
- 0:18holds the key to living in divine order, divine peace and
- 0:23divine provision. It's Matthew 633 and it says,
- 0:28but seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and
- 0:33all these things shall be added unto you.
- 0:37So friend, if you've ever felt the weight of striving, trying
- 0:41to make things happen in your own strength, worrying about
- 0:45tomorrow or feeling like life is just out of balance, then
- 0:50today's message is for you. We're going to unpack what it
- 0:55means to seek first God's Kingdom, to walk in His way of
- 0:59doing things, and to live free from fear and striving.
- 1:04We are going to look at the original Greek meaning,
- 1:07personalize this truth into our lives, and end with old
- 1:11declarations that align us with His Kingdom.
- 1:15So in Matthew 6, let's go to the Scripture verse of Matthew 633
- 1:22and what surrounds it. So in Matthew 6, Jesus is in the
- 1:26middle of His Sermon on the Mount and He's teaching about
- 1:30living in the Kingdom. Not the Kingdom of this world,
- 1:34but God's Kingdom where worry, striving, and fear don't rule
- 1:40us. Leading up to verse 33, he talks
- 1:44about not being anxious about what you'll eat, drink, or wear
- 1:49because your heavenly Father knows you need these things.
- 1:53Then Jesus gives the key, but seek first the Kingdom of God
- 1:59and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to
- 2:03you. He was saying, don't live like
- 2:07those who don't know me. You don't have to chase after
- 2:11what I've already promised to add.
- 2:14When we seek first God's Kingdom, His way of operating,
- 2:19everything we need in this life will be added to us.
- 2:23The world says work harder, hustle more, then maybe you'll
- 2:27have peace and success. But Jesus flips that upside down
- 2:32and says seek me first and peace, provision and purpose
- 2:39will follow. This isn't about living a barely
- 2:42enough life. This is about living in divine
- 2:46addition, who God himself is our source of all things.
- 2:51So let's go deeper. If you know me by now, I like to
- 2:55take words out of Scripture and use their Greek meaning.
- 3:00So let's take the word seek here in Greek.
- 3:04It's zeteo. It means to actively find out,
- 3:09to look for desire, to possess, to crave, to strive after with
- 3:16all your heart. It's not a passive glance toward
- 3:20God on Sundays. It's a purposeful desire to
- 3:24place my attention on Him. It's the same word when Jesus
- 3:29says the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost in Luke 1910.
- 3:35That's not a casual seeking, that's intentional, A passionate
- 3:41pursuit for us to be with him forever.
- 3:44Now let's go to the next word. I like to pull out for its Greek
- 3:50meaning, and that's first. So in Greek that means proton,
- 3:56which means first in order, rank and priority.
- 4:01So Jesus isn't just saying put God at the top of your To Do
- 4:06List, He's saying let every decision, every thought, every
- 4:13dream flow out of seeking me first and then let's go to
- 4:19righteousness. In Greek it's decay asanae,
- 4:24meaning the state of being as you ought to be improper
- 4:30relationship with God. It means also right standing
- 4:35with God. It's the act of doing what is in
- 4:39agreement with God's ways and standards, meaning desire to do
- 4:45things rightly. We as believers are already
- 4:48righteous in Christ Jesus. Seeking his righteousness is the
- 4:54active, lifelong pursuit of living in obedience to God's
- 4:58will, which is His Word, and we are empowered by the Holy Spirit
- 5:03that dwells in US. And other words.
- 5:07The righteousness we receive from Jesus at salvation is a
- 5:11gift given to us through belief, establishing a standing before
- 5:18God while the seek his righteousness.
- 5:23It's an ongoing pursuit that flows from the standing that has
- 5:28already been established. So if we rephrase it, it would
- 5:34say this crave, pursue and prioritize the reign and
- 5:40brightness of God in your life and everything you're concerned
- 5:44about will come into divine order.
- 5:48OK, So if you know me by now, also, I do love to personalize
- 5:53scripture. And that's one of the fun things
- 5:55we get to do here on this podcast in this specific episode
- 6:00of Fuel Your Life series. So let's make it personal.
- 6:04When we personalize Scripture, sure, we take what God said and
- 6:08we take heed to it personally for right here, right now.
- 6:12So let's go to, so let's go to Matthew 633 and let's declare
- 6:17this and say I choose today to seek first your Kingdom Lord,
- 6:24your ways, your will, your presence above everything else.
- 6:29As I put you first, I trust that you are aligning every detail of
- 6:35my life. My needs are known by you.
- 6:38My future is secure in you. I seek you first and I know the
- 6:44blessings will follow. Now I want you to ask yourself
- 6:48here, just a ponder reflection here on where you're at today.
- 6:54So what area of your life have you been seeking first before
- 7:00God? Is it provision?
- 7:03Is it a relationship? Is it success?
- 7:06Is it validation? Because, friend, whatever we
- 7:11seek first becomes what we trust most.
- 7:15I know, Ouch. If we seek peace in people will
- 7:20depend on people for peace. If we seek security and money,
- 7:25our peace will waver with our bank account.
- 7:28But when we seek God first, His Kingdom becomes our foundation
- 7:33and everything else falls into place under His order because we
- 7:38are putting Him, His Word, and everything, who He is, and
- 7:44putting that first as our strong foundation.
- 7:48So when we seek God first, we align ourselves with the power
- 7:53of the Holy Spirit. The Kingdom of God isn't just a
- 7:57place, it's a power that operates through righteousness,
- 8:01through peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
- 8:05When we seek first His Kingdom, we're not just inviting His
- 8:09presence, we're activating His power in our daily lives.
- 8:14That means when you get up in the morning and say, Holy
- 8:17Spirit, lead me today, you're stepping into divine
- 8:21partnership. When you tithe, first pray,
- 8:25first listen before acting. You're declaring God.
- 8:30I trust your Kingdom order over my own understanding and the
- 8:34promises. All these things will be added.
- 8:38That means the provision you need is added, the wisdom for
- 8:43the next step added, the peace for that situation.
- 8:48It's there, it's added. You don't have to chase what God
- 8:52already intends or has for you already.
- 8:56There are benefits to seeking God.
- 8:59The benefits are when you seek Him, you find Him, he will speak
- 9:05to you. Jesus said my sheep will know my
- 9:09voice in John 1027. And we know that the more we
- 9:14spend time with the Lord, the more we become familiar with
- 9:18hearing Him. It's the heart ears that are
- 9:21trained knowing His voice. My son, when he was young, he'd
- 9:27like to take off just randomly. He was just one of those kids.
- 9:30Like he was there one second and then he's gone.
- 9:35And he was the kid that he would just get lost in stores.
- 9:39And this one time it was Disneyland.
- 9:41And if any moms know just that feeling, it's absolutely the
- 9:47worst frantic feeling you could ever experience.
- 9:51But this one day I wanted to particularly talk about is that
- 9:56my husband and I, we are with him at Costco.
- 10:01And once again, he drifts off and goes down another aisle or
- 10:06two. And we were shouting his name
- 10:09and he wasn't coming. And then my husband, he did his
- 10:13usual whistle. And this whistle that my husband
- 10:17does, it's this whistle that all three of the kids are familiar
- 10:21with. Why?
- 10:22Because their dad would do it when he wanted their attention
- 10:27and that could be a lot. So my husband decides to do his
- 10:33whistle and lo and behold, my son comes running towards us.
- 10:39And I was so relieved and so thankful that this whistle works
- 10:46no matter where we are at. And when I got home from this
- 10:50grocery trip, I remember sitting on the couch and just going, oh,
- 10:55well, you know, thank goodness that didn't turn into something
- 10:58worse. And, and then instantly I've, I,
- 11:02I just sensed the Holy Spirit telling me, he said, I speak to
- 11:07you in this familiar voice, that the more you know me, the more
- 11:12you're going to be familiar with when I speak to you.
- 11:17And just like the whistle that my husband does with the kids,
- 11:21the more he did it, the more the kids were aware that that's my
- 11:25dad. And that's how it is for us.
- 11:28The more we listen to him, we take time in our day, we take
- 11:33time and in our prayer time, not just to talk but to hear and
- 11:38listen for God, the more we are going to be familiar with his
- 11:44voice. And another benefit that seeking
- 11:48God gives us is peace. And Isaiah says those minds that
- 11:53are fixed on you will you will give them perfect peace.
- 11:57This is a peace that God gives to us, that is, that is in us,
- 12:04that we get to dwell up when our eyes and our mind are fixed on
- 12:11God and His Word. Another benefit is true
- 12:16fulfillment. Matthew 5-6 says Blessed are
- 12:20those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be
- 12:24filled. You know nothing else satisfies
- 12:27like God when you get inside His Word, the plan for you that He
- 12:32has become so much more fulfilling than anything else.
- 12:37When you seek God, you receive also direction and joy because
- 12:42you draw near to Him. In Psalm 1611 it says you reveal
- 12:47the path of life to Me, and your presence is abundant.
- 12:50Joy at your right hand are eternal pleasures.
- 12:55And then look with me, Mark 1230.
- 12:58Jesus says, And you shall love the Lord your God with all your
- 13:02heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.
- 13:07You can't give God a shared first position.
- 13:12Anything else that occupies first place will fail you.
- 13:17Nothing else in this world can successfully occupy that
- 13:21position, only God. So what does loving God first
- 13:26look like with all your heart? This is the unshared seat of
- 13:31your affection. He alone occupies the throne of
- 13:35your heart, and then with all your soul.
- 13:38Your will, emotions, and affections are aligned with His
- 13:43Word. You refuse to let worry, fear,
- 13:46or offense take space in your thinking, and then with all your
- 13:51mind, your thoughts are renewed to think as He thinks.
- 13:55You take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ with
- 14:00all your strength. You demonstrate your love
- 14:03through obedience. You use your gifts to serve His
- 14:07purpose. When all four parts of your
- 14:10being are loving Him first, you're walking in the Kingdom.
- 14:15Order and everything else begins to flow from that place.
- 14:20OK, so let's do some declarations together.
- 14:22Ready. Repeat after me.
- 14:25I seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.
- 14:30God's order flows into my life as I put Him first.
- 14:36I am not anxious about tomorrow. My Father knows my needs.
- 14:41Everything I need is being added in God's timing, God's way.
- 14:47I live from Kingdom supply, not worldly striving.
- 14:52My peace, my provision, and my purpose flow from seeking Him.
- 14:57First, just a brief testimony. I remember a time when God was
- 15:02calling me to take a big step of faith, when He moved me from
- 15:05California to Austin. And at first I tried to figure
- 15:09it all out. You know, the mind gets in the
- 15:11way a little bit, logic and reasoning, and it's like the
- 15:15finances and the why and logistics, everything's just
- 15:19kind of getting in the way of trying to obey what God had for
- 15:23us. When the more I tried to add
- 15:26things to my own life, the more chaotic it got.
- 15:30And then God whispered to my spirit.
- 15:32He said, Jamie, seek me first. So I stopped the striving.
- 15:37I dove into my word more than ever before.
- 15:41I prayed, I worshiped, I simply asked, Lord, what's your Kingdom
- 15:45purpose in this move? And the moment I shifted my
- 15:49focus back to seeking Him, not the outcome, peace came.
- 15:54And just like Jesus promised, everything started being added.
- 15:59Housing, friendships, ministry, connections, all fell into
- 16:03divine alignment. Because when we seek first the
- 16:07Kingdom, we stop chasing what God already has prepared.
- 16:12So before we close, I would love to pray over you.
- 16:15Father, I thank you for the one listening.
- 16:18You see every detail of their life as they choose to seek you
- 16:22first about of every worry, every plan, every dream.
- 16:26I ask that your Kingdom power will overflow in them.
- 16:32Let righteousness, peace and joy reign in their hearts.
- 16:36Remind them that they pursue you.
- 16:39Everything else will come into divine order.
- 16:42We declare today you are first and everything we need is always
- 16:47found in you and Jesus name. Amen.
- 16:50So if today's message encourage you, share it with a friend who
- 16:54needs that reminder. God doesn't want you to chase
- 16:57what He's already promised to add already to you.
- 17:01And remember, when you seek first His Kingdom, you'll never
- 17:04come up empty handed. Never.
- 17:07Until next time, keep seeking, keep trusting, and keep speaking
- 17:11life. Hey there, thank you for
- 17:15listening to this to the end. Stay tuned for more teachings as
- 17:19we go through the contentment series straight from my journal,
- 17:24Serenity. Calm your soul and strengthen
- 17:26your spirit. And if you'd like to own your
- 17:29own copy, go to jamieelizabeth.com or you can
- 17:34hit the link below in the show notes.
- 17:36And since this is a new release, I'd love to bless you with a
- 17:41checkout discount of 15% off plus free shipping.
- 17:45Use code VIP15 in the promo code section as you check out.
- 17:53And also, I do have a fun quiz going on.
- 17:57It's on my website where you can find out what kind of journal
- 18:01writer you are. So go ahead, Explorer on my
- 18:05website. Again, that's Jamie
- 18:07elizabeth.com, JAYME elizabeth.com and don't forget
- 18:13this episode is live on in video on YouTube and Spotify.
- 18:19So hit the subscribe button and never miss newly released She
- 18:24Speaks Life episodes. OK, have a blessed day.
- 18:27We'll chat soon.