Seek first His kingdom & His righteousness

Matthew 6:33: But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

The word ‘kingdom’ in this verse is ‘basileia’ in Greek. It means ‘rule, reign, realm’. So, to seek God's kingdom is to seek His rule, His reign, or His realm.

In Matthew 6:10, when Jesus taught us to pray, ‘Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven’, this word 'kingdom' is the same word ‘basileia’ as in Matthew 6:33. It's God's heavenly kingdom, a spiritual kingdom, where He rules and reigns! It's definitely not a worldly kingdom. It's definitely not a political kingdom. But it's God's kingdom. It's exceedingly rich in heavenly resources, and Matthew 6:10 says 'let it be done on earth as well'! It's for you to receive!

The word ‘righteousness’ is ‘dikaios’ in Greek. It means ‘justification, just, holy’. Beloved, seek to be righteous in Christ. Your righteousness is not in yourself, i.e self-righteousness, but your righteousness is in Christ. For God made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21). To be ‘righteous’ here means to be ‘in right standing’ with God. It means God has nothing against you anymore. Jesus has made it possible when He died on the cross for your sins, and you are now reconciled to God the Father, justified, accepted, and forgiven. Praise God! Believe and receive.

As you seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, the Bible says 'all these things shall be added to you'. What are ‘all these things’? All that you ever needed in this life! Your finance. Your career. Your business. Your education. Your children's education. Your health. Your house. Your car. Your computer. Your furnitures. Your food. Your clothings. Your holiday. Your every other need, God knows what. Jesus says 'do not worry' about all these, or what you will eat or what you will drink, or what you will wear (Matthew 6:25), because if He feeds the birds of the air (even though they neither sow nor reap, nor gather into barns), are you not of more value than they? (Matthew 6:26) Now I'm not saying you should run away from responsibilities. I'm not saying you should be greedy or covetous. But I'm asking you not to worry.

Beloved, He certainly knows your every need in life. So, whatever lack you may be facing now, keep looking to Him. Don't give up if you haven't seen it coming yet. Don't get distracted by others. Look beyond your situation now, and look to Him. Fix your eyes on what Jesus has done on the cross. He has already taken your poverty, sickness, or any other curse on the cross, once and for all, some 2,000 years ago. You are already blessed when you believe and receive Him. He certainly has a wonderful plan for your life. Start yielding to His plan, not to the pressure. Keep believing. Keep trusting. Keep receiving. You'll be glad you did!

He delivers you because He delights in you!

Psalm 18:19b (NKJV): He delivered me because He delighted in me.

In New International Version (NIV), the word 'deliver' here is written as 'rescue'. God rescues you because He delights in you!

The word ‘delight’ in this verse in Hebrew is ‘chaphets’ (pronounced as ‘khawfates’). It means ‘favors, likes, bends towards, pleased with, or has pleasure in’. God delivers you because He favors you, likes you, bends towards you, is pleased with you, or has pleasure in you! He really is that good to you! He's definitely not out to get you or punish you. In fact, He loves you so much that He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ to die for you on the cross! Jesus has indeed carried all the punishment for your sins. As a believer, you can now therefore stand righteous before God, because you have been reconciled to God, through what Jesus Christ has done on the cross. For God made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21). To become 'the righteousness of God' means to be 'in right standing with God'. It means God is not angry with you anymore! In fact, the Bible says He delights in you! That's how good He is to you, my friend. But you need to 'allow' Him. Nothing will ever happen if you do not 'allow' Him.

At one point, Simon Peter was going through a hard time, and he was also in lack. Even after a whole night of toiling, he still couldn't catch any fish (Luke 5:5), and that means no 'income' for his family that day! However, he did one right thing. He allowed Jesus to come into his boat (Luke 5:3). I mean he could have turned Jesus down when Jesus stepped into his boat (to teach and speak to the multitudes). But he allowed, and that was the beginning of a turning point in his life. From catching nothing, he then caught a great number of fish (Luke 5:6) so much so that his fishing net was about to break! He definitely had more than enough, and he even had to ask his partners from the other boat to come and help!

Beloved, would you allow Jesus to come into your 'boat' now? Is there any area you want Him to deliver you or set you free? Whatever your situation or problem may be, whether it's a bondage of sin, a curse, a failure, a sickness, or a financial lack, Jesus can come into your 'boat' now and turn things around for you. Believe He's here to deliver you, He's good to you, and He delights in you.

Christ in you, the hope of glory!

Colossians 1:27b: Christ in you, the hope of glory.

It's a time of giving thanks as we enter into a celebration of bountiful harvest, where the gospel (good news) of the Lord Jesus Christ shall be preached like never before! We are entering such season now, a harvest season in the time-table of God.

We have been seeing many places hit with natural calamities recently, e.g waves roaring (tsunami), earthquakes in various places, typhoon, and flood. These are signs of the end-time, as prophesied by Jesus Himself (Luke 21:11, Luke 21:25, Matthew 24:6-7). In times of distress like this, though human and natural hopes may fade, but there remains a hope that will never fade, or the Bible says ‘will not disappoint’ (Romans 5:5). It is our hope in God!

Instead of looking at the situation around us with fear and anxiety, let us look at this end-time with ‘hope’. Luke 21:28 says, ‘now when these things (signs of the end-time) begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near’. Psalm 24:9 says, ‘lift up your heads, for the King of glory shall come in’. Who is this King of glory? He is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ, your Redeemer and Savior. So instead of looking around you with fear, look up to Jesus. He is your only hope. John 14:6 says Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father (Originator, YHWH, Elohim, or God Almighty) except through Him (Jesus, or Ye-shua).

Christ in you is the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27). The word ‘hope’ in this verse is ‘elpis’ in Greek which means ‘to look to, and to put confidence in, with anticipation and expectation’. Now, in this context, 'hope' is not an 'empty wish'. Hope (in God) is real, and it does not disappoint (Romans 5:5). Let’s look at Psalm 42:11 now. The psalmist wrote, 'hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God'. In the midst of distress, the psalmist was crying out deep from his heart to God’s heart (Psalm 42:7), and he ended this psalm with hope in God. In Hebrew, this word 'hope' is ‘yachal’. It means ‘to wait patiently, to trust, to stay with’.

Beloved, Christ in you is the hope of being in His presence forever. When you have Him, you are in the safest place ever. There’s no place on earth that’s as safe as being with Him. Some people try to reach God through various ways, e.g religious laws, man's philosophy, man's teachings, etc, in the hope of finding salvation, but in order to receive God’s salvation, you need the Savior! It’s Jesus whom all of us need. In fact, Jesus, or ‘Ye-shua’ in Hebrew means ‘God saves'. He is 'God the Savior'. There's only one way to be saved (John 14:6). We don’t come to the Father through other means. We come to the Father through Jesus, our only Savior and Redeemer! It is only through Him (Jesus, or Ye-shua) that one can be saved (John 14:6).

That’s why, my friend, in this end-time, the gospel (good news) of the Lord Jesus Christ shall be preached in all the world, to all nations, before the end comes (Matthew 24:14). Everyone, every race, every tribe, and every nation need to hear this gospel (good news) of God’s salvation. God’s will is that none should perish, but all to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9), and those who endure to the end shall be saved (Matthew 24:13). Let's not doubt. Let's not waver. Let's keep looking to God, and keep putting your hope in Him till the very end!

People of God, it's time to 'advance as one' with the whole body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12-13) in the world, and let's enter such harvest time together, where the gospel (good news) of our Lord Jesus Christ shall be preached like never before, with such great intensity and vigor. Jesus our Savior and Redeemer is definitely coming back soon! (Matthew 24:30-31)

The procession of the 'ark of the covenant' has started again!

2 Corinthians 2:14: Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.

The word ‘triumph’ (in Greek, ‘thriambeuo’) means ‘to conquer, to be victorious, to rise above, or to shout aloud joyfully in a triumphal procession, with songs of celebration and jubilation.’ Now thanks be to God who always leads us in a triumphal procession in Christ, and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of the glory of the Lord!

This triumphal procession is likened to the procession celebrating the triumphant Roman generals in Apostle Paul’s days, where they would parade the spoils of the war that was won, to loud cheers and shouts of triumph from the citizens in the streets.

The procession of the ‘ark of the covenant’ has started again in our time and generation, just as in the ancient days to Jerusalem. The ‘ark of the covenant’ is a 'picture' of the glory of the Lord, and Jesus Christ Himself is the King of glory (Psalm 24:7-10). The glory of the Lord is pouring out on the church and on our land like never been seen before, with great and notable miracles, signs and wonders confirming the preaching of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have entered this time in world history, the end-time, as been written in Malachi 4:1-6. This is the time to position and prepare ourselves for the coming glory, and for the outpouring of His Spirit and His power.

Just as in the days of King David when the ‘ark of the covenant’ was brought to Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 15:1-29) in a triumphal procession, our Lord Jesus Christ's triumphal entry to Jerusalem (Matthew 21:1-11) accompanied by shouts of "Hosanna" (meaning "Lord, help, save us!") was also a 'type' of the entrance of the glory of the Lord in this end-time.

God is the one who always leads us in triumph in Christ. We triumph not by our own strength, intelligence, or self-effort, but we triumph in Christ. Christ has already done it for us, by His finished works on the cross. On the third day after He died for us, He rose again. He has won the victory for us! Life has therefore conquered death. The enemy has been defeated. Our God is a triumphant God! This is our time to shout to God with the voice of triumph (Psalm 47:1), and this is our time to 'arise and shine', for our 'light' has already come (Isaiah 60:1).

As God leads us in triumph in Christ, let the fragrance of the knowledge of the glory of the Lord diffuse (spread) everywhere through us, in every place, wherever we go and whoever we meet, all over the world. For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea (Habakkuk 2:14). We are seeing this prophecy coming to pass in our time and generation. Hallelujah!

The river of revelation

Proverbs 29:18 (King James Version) : Where there is no vision, the people perish.

In New King James Version (NKJV), the word ‘vision’ in this verse is ‘revelation’. So, where there is no revelation, the people perish. The word ‘revelation’ here is ‘khawzaw’ in Hebrew. It means ‘to perceive, to have a vision, to see, to have prophetic revelation’. Friends, if you have been running dry of revelation, guidance, or direction in life recently, or if you have been wearied by the earthly things, Jesus is inviting you now to come, and drink from Him (John 7:37). His Spirit always leads and guides you into all truth (John 16:13), in every way!

When you have God's revelation in your life, you’ll know 'what to do and what not to do'. You’ll make timely and accurate decisions, and not only that, you’ll also know His timing and season in your life. You’ll not move ahead of time, move behind time, or miss the time, but you’ll always be in time.

In Isaiah 28, you’ll see the results of drinking from two contrasting sources, one is the small letter ‘s’, spirit (alcohol), and the other is the capital letter ‘S’, Spirit of God. A person who drinks from the spirit (alcohol) ‘errs in vision, and stumbles in judgment’ (Isaiah 28:7). To ‘err in vision, and stumble in judgment’ means to lose the ability to discern, and to see clearly. The contrast can be found in Isaiah 28:10-12, when one drinks from the Spirit of God, praying in the spirit (with stammering lips and another tongue), and there's 'rest and refreshing'.

As you keep drinking and receiving from Him, He will speak to you (Isaiah 28:11) line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little, there a little (Isaiah 28:10). Be open to receive. It may come in still small voice, by conscience, in an audible voice, in dreams, in visions, in thoughts, or as you read the Word of God.

Beloved, my prayer for you today is you’ll ‘plow’ when it's time to 'plow', and ‘sow’ when it's time to 'sow'. You'll not miss your time. You'll not miss your season. You’ll not keep ‘plowing’ when ‘sowing’ time has come (Isaiah 28:24-25). Keep drinking. Keep soaking. Keep receiving. God is good. He'll never leave you dry. His river is flowing now, and He'll be sure to counsel and guide you whenever you needed it. Isaiah 28:29 says 'He is wonderful in counsel and excellent in guidance'. Receive, in Jesus' name. Amen!