Episode Transcript
[00:00:04] Speaker A: Hey everybody, Pastor Chuck Allen here with another weekday podcast and Happy Thursday to you. Today we're talking about how do you
[00:00:11] Speaker B: seek the kingdom first in a worried world.
So welcome back. I'm really glad that you've joined me today, but could I just say to you, we live in a world full of anxiety and stress, fret and worry.
And I want to speak into that, into this low grade anxiety so many of us are carrying right now.
[00:00:37] Speaker A: Jesus knew we would worry. He knew we would wake up thinking
[00:00:41] Speaker B: how are we going to make it?
[00:00:43] Speaker A: What about the kids? What about the diagnosis? What about the future?
And into that swirl of worry he speaks these words in Matthew chapter 6,
[00:00:51] Speaker B: beginning in verse 31.
So don't worry about these things, saying what will we eat? What will we drink?
[00:00:58] Speaker A: What will we wear?
[00:00:59] Speaker B: These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers. But your Heavenly Father already knows. Now think about this. Your heavenly Father already knows all of your needs. Seek the kingdom of God above all else and live righteously and he will give you everything you need.
[00:01:19] Speaker A: Jesus friend, he's not shaming you. He's not throwing shade at you for worrying. He is inviting you to shift the center of gravity of your life.
One he says, if I don't hold everything together, it's going to fall apart.
[00:01:33] Speaker B: Where the kingdom of God says if I will put Jesus in His rightful place. My Father already knows what I need.
Everybody seeks something first. I do, you do. We all do. Some of us seek security, some of us seek success, some of us seek our kids achievements. But only one thing can actually bear the weight of first in your life. And Jesus names it.
[00:01:57] Speaker A: He says seek the kingdom of God above all else. Now to seek the kingdom first means to ask in every decision, what would it look like for Jesus to be the king over this decision right here, right now?
[00:02:14] Speaker B: You order your calendar, your budget and your relationships around his agenda, not yours. You join him in what he is doing, making disciples, doing justice, loving mercy, walking humbly with your God. That's what the scripture says. This is what he requires of us. In Micah 6:8 he says, do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly.
[00:02:41] Speaker A: And this isn't just about today. It's about where the whole story is headed. Because Revelation 11:15 puts it this way. Then the seventh angel do is trumpet and there are loud voices shouting in heaven.
[00:02:54] Speaker B: The world has now become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ.
Friends. Listen, when we are living kingdom world, when we're living this way, we are indeed seeking first the kingdom of God.
But listen, when the kingdom of God, the loving, wise rule of Jesus sits at the center.
[00:03:20] Speaker A: Everything else can finally find its proper orbit.
Your work becomes a place to serve, not a place to prove yourself.
Your relationships become places to give and
[00:03:32] Speaker B: receive grace, not constant auditions.
Your possessions become tools, not trophies.
You still care deeply, but you're no longer crushed when something shifts because the sun is in the middle and he doesn't move.
You see, to seek the kingdom first doesn't mean you ignore your bills or stop caring about your kid's future. It means that in every decision, large or small, you start with a different question. What would it look like for Jesus
[00:04:01] Speaker A: to be the king right here, right now, over this, when you open your calendar, Lord, how do I honor you with my time? When you look at your budget, how do I reflect your priorities with what I have? When you feel that wave of anxiety,
[00:04:14] Speaker B: what does it mean to trust you as king? In this situation, friend, I would just say to you, maybe right where you are today, your prayer sounds something like this, Father, you already know what I need. You see the bills, you see the doctor's report. You see my kids, you see my loneliness.
Today I choose to seek your kingdom first. Jesus, be the king and the center of my life. The sun, everything else orbits around.
[00:04:43] Speaker A: Rearrange what needs to move, calm what needs to be still. Teach me in this one ordinary day to trust that when I put your
[00:04:52] Speaker B: kingdom first, you'll be faithful to take care of me. And as you step into the rest of your day, friend, when worry pops back up, because it will, let that be your cue not to spiral, but to shift your gaze and quietly say, king Jesus, I'm putting you first again, right here and right now. Thanks so much for joining me on today's weekday podcast.
