09/25/22: SEEK FIRST HIS KINGDOM: WEEK 15
September 25, 2022

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

SETTLED THROUGH KINGDOM SUFFERING

6  Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 
7  casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
8  Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 
9  Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. 
10  But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. 
11  To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. —1 Peter 5:6 - 11

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. —Hebrews 11:1

31  And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. 
32  But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me,strengthen your brethren.” —Luke 22:31 - 32

But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. —1 Peter 5:10

PERFECT:
To fit, make sound, complete
To mend (what has been broken or ripped), to repair
To make complete.

ESTABLISH:
To make stable, place firmly, set fast, fix
To make firm
To render constant, confirm one’s mind.

STRENGTHEN:
To make strong,
strengthen of one’s soul.

SETTLE:
To lay the foundation, to give new vision/perspective, to make stable, to establish.

1. The after of Kingdom suffering brings in a new season. “Out with the old, in with the new.”

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. —2 Corinthians 5:17

25  See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, 
26  whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.” 
27  Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.
28  Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. 
29  For our God is a consuming fire. —Hebrews 12:25 - 29

2. The after of Kingdom suffering pours a new foundation.

Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; Whoever believes will not act hastily. —Isaiah 28:16

He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. —Luke 6:48

So then faith comes by hearing,
and hearing by the Word of God. —Romans 10:17

3. The after of Kingdom suffering brings new vision and perspective.

1  I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry.
2  He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps.
3  He has put a new song in my mouth— Praise to our God; many will see it and fear, and will trust in the Lord. —Psalms 40:1 - 3

He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. —Luke 6:48

They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my support. —Psalms 18:18

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. —Matthew 13:44

4. The after of Kingdom suffering solidifies His promise in you.

3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 
4  to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 
5  who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
6  In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 
7  that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,
8  whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 
9  receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls. —1 Peter 1:3 - 9