Welcome and Introduction: The Joy of Gathering
Good morning, church! What a blessing it is for us to gather together in the presence of the Lord today. While praying individually, in small groups, or as families throughout the week is wonderful, coming together as a congregation on a Sunday morning is a true celebration. We gather to encourage one another, sing praise, and gaze at God through His Word and Spirit so that we may truly know Him.
Today, our focus centers on a foundational promise spoken by Jesus in Matthew 6:33:
"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." (NASB 1995)
What Are We Truly Seeking?
When reading this verse, the depth of our walk with God is often revealed by which part of the command we fixate on.
Seeking "Stuff": Beginners often focus on the end—"all these things will be added to you"—viewing God primarily as a provider of material needs. While God is indeed Jehovah Jireh, seeking Him merely for blessings or material gain is the wrong motive.
Seeking His Kingdom: As we mature, we begin seeking His rule over our lives. A helpful picture of this is driving a car: many people want to hold the steering wheel to choose their own direction, but they pray for God to hit the accelerator pedal so they can move faster. But Jesus reminds us that if He isn't holding the steering wheel, He isn't truly the Lord of our lives.
Defining God’s Righteousness
Beyond His kingdom, Jesus explicitly commands us to seek His righteousness. Righteousness is the divine quality by which God is perfectly right, good, moral, and just in everything He does.
Scripture speaks of imputed righteousness—the right standing credited to us by grace through faith, just as Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. But in our daily walk, seeking His kingdom and righteousness means asking for His direct rule so that His perfect nature naturally springs forth and emanates through the body of Christ.
When we lack a direct revelation of God's righteousness, we default to human standards derived from our upbringing, societal rules, human role models, or natural conscience. However, human morality merely attempts to suppress bad behavior using fear of punishment or hope of reward. External rule-following cannot change the fallen human heart.
This is why God promised a New Covenant where He writes His law directly upon our hearts. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus revealed this deeper standard: while external law forbids murder, harbouring anger or bitterness in your heart makes you guilty before God. External behavior can be modified by pressure, but our inner motives require radical renewal.
Three Pitfalls of Misunderstanding God's Righteousness
If we fail to understand and seek God’s righteousness, we fall into three subtle traps:
1. Falling into a Religion of Works
Human religion operates on a balance scale—trying to perform enough good deeds to outweigh bad ones. But Christianity is not about self-effort; it is about receiving Christ's finished work. As Paul writes in Romans 10:2–4:
"For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge. For not knowing about God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes." (NASB 1995)
When we pray or serve out of fear of punishment rather than love, we are attempting to establish our own righteousness instead of resting in His grace.
2. Settling for Human Standards
We often lower our standard by striving to emulate human leaders, preachers, or historical figures. While we can follow godly examples as they follow Christ, there is only one true Light and perfect standard given to us: Jesus of Nazareth. As Jesus declared in Matthew 5:6:
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied." (NASB 1995)
3. Judging Others Severe and Unmercifully
When we lack a revelation of God's supreme righteousness, we become self-righteous and judge others harshly. God's righteousness is infinitely high. Compared to His standard, none of us have room to look down on our neighbor. A true revelation of His righteousness breaks our self-justification and fills us with humility and mercy.
How We Receive and Grow in His Righteousness
How do we walk in this divine reality daily?
Revealed in Jesus: Christ demonstrated God's perfect righteousness through His life, words, sacrificial death, and resurrection.
Reminded by the Holy Spirit: As Jesus promised in John 16:8, 10, the Holy Spirit convicts us of righteousness and continually brings Christ's truth to our hearts.
Received by Faith: As Apostle Paul proclaims in Romans 1:16–17:
"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes... For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, 'BUT THE RIGHTEOUS MAN SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.'" (NASB 1995)
Righteousness is not generated by our religious performance or ministry—it is a work of internal transformation received by faith in Jesus Christ.
Closing Prayer
Father in Heaven, reveal Your righteousness in our lives today. Deliver us from legalism, self-righteousness, and human standards. Stir our hearts to hunger and thirst not after the standard of a preacher or a good person, but after the righteousness of Jesus Christ, who has become for us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Fill our hearts with Your grace and truth today. In Jesus' precious name we pray, Amen.