SEEK FIRST HIS KINGDOM
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. —Matthew 6:33
9 In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.
10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. —Matthew 6:9 - 10
THE HOPE OF HIS KINGDOM
21 This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope.
22 Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.
23 They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.
24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I hope in Him!”
25 The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.
26 It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. —Lamentations 3:21 - 2617 You have moved my soul far from peace; I have forgotten prosperity.
18 And I said, “My strength and my hope have perished from the Lord.”
19 Remember my affliction and roaming, the wormwood and the gall.
20 My soul still remembers and sinks within me. —Lamentations 3:17 - 20
1. Kingdom hope comes from remembering God’s character.
This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope. —Lamentations 3:21
I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvelous works. —Psalms 9:1
5 I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, and on Your wondrous works.
6 Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts, and I will declare Your greatness.
7 They shall utter the memory of Your great goodness, and shall sing of Your righteousness. —Psalms 145:5 - 7Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days. —Daniel 6:10
2. Kingdom hope comes when we meditate on God’s character.
Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. —Lamentations 3:22
And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, —Exodus 34:6
4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
5 For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations. —Psalms 100:4 - 54 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. —Ephesians 2:4 - 7But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered,
like sheep having no shepherd. —Matthew 9:36
3. Kingdom hope is found in a new day every day.
They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. —Lamentations 3:23
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away;
behold, all things have become new. —2 Corinthians 5:171 Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.
2 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the Lord will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you. —Isaiah 60:1 - 2Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments. —Deuteronomy 7:9
If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself. —2 Timothy 2:13
6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. —Romans 5:6 - 8
4. Kingdom hope is found only in The King.
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“Therefore I hope in Him!” —Lamentations 3:248 I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.
9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; my flesh also will rest in hope.
10 For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
11 You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. —Psalms 16:8 - 11
5. Kingdom hope is realized in salvation.
The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. —Lamentations 3:25
But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. —Isaiah 40:31