Chasing God Pt 2 (Read The Fine Print)

Chris Moore

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Tonight’s message is called Chasing God Pt 2 - First Things First

Matthew 6:33 (NLT) “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”

Matthew 6:33 (NIV) But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Matthew 6:33 (TPT) “So above all, constantly chase after the realm of God’s kingdom and the righteousness that proceeds from him. Then all these less important things will be given to you abundantly.

2 weeks ago we focused on what it means to seek God first and what that looks like.

1. God wants you and I to Chase Him, Seek Him, Ask Him, Get Away With Him

2. What Distracts Me From Chasing God?

3. What Inspires You to Chase God?

4. What Chasing God Looks Like?

If anyone would like a link to tonight’s message or Pt 1, there is a sign-up sheet on your table. Give me your information and I will send you a link to both messages. I also left extra copies of notes from Pt 1 you can take with you tonight as well.

This week, we will look at the second part of this scripture which says to Seek First His Kingdom AND His Righteousness. We will dive into what does Seeking His Righteousness mean for you and I.

Many times we are happy to seek God for the good things He does for us and the good feelings He gives us and the promise of forgiveness for our sins.

But that is only half of this scripture.

We are called to Seek Him First AND His Righteous.

It’s not one or the other its Both AND.

When we Seek Him First, we can’t help but to start to become like Him.

How many believe, God’s way is better than our way?

How many would like a God sized promotion versus a promotion we could get based on our skills or abilities?

How many would like God’s unconditional love versus people’s imperfect love?

Matthew 11:28–30 (NLT) “Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.””

Notice the action words, when we come to Jesus, when we seek Him First, He says “I will give you rest”, “Let me teach you”.

God wants to teach us His Way to Love, to Forgive, to Live.

Isaiah 55:6–9 (NLT) “Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near. Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong. Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously. “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”

God is wanting to set us apart from the of the world.

He’s calling us to live different.

John 3:30 (NLT) “He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.”

So let’s look at what God’s Word says about Seeking His Righteousness.

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2. Righteousness Starts In Your Mind

Romans 12:1–2 (NLT) “And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think (NIV - by the renewing of your mind). Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

1 Peter 1:13-20 (NLT) vs 16 “For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.””

1 Peter 1:13–20 “So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. (vs 16) For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.” And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time here as “temporary residents.” For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but now in these last days he has been revealed for your sake.”

2 Corinthians 10:5b (NIV) “…we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

2 Corinthians 10:5 (TPT) We can demolish every deceptive fantasy that opposes God and break through every arrogant attitude that is raised up in defiance of the true knowledge of God. We capture, like prisoners of war, every thought and insist that it bow in obedience to the Anointed One.

Watch how this works… If I can take captive my thought, then I can take captive my actions, which will protect me from temptation, and from sinning and from failure.

James 1:12–15 (NLT) “God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.”

James 1:12-15 (NLT)

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3. Guard Your Heart

Proverbs 4:23 (NLT) “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.”

Luke 6:45 (NLT) “A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.” (For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.)

Eph 6:10-18 “Put on the full armor of God… belt of truth… breastplate of righteousness…”

The “breastplate of righteousness” covers and guards our heart.

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4. Grace Upon Grace Upon Grace

This may seem like a lot or overwhelming but we do all of this not from our own strength and ability alone, but by the power of the Holy Spirit and God’s Word within us.

Zechariah 4:6 (NIV) Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty.

James 1:5 (NLT) “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.”

What does righteousness look in our lives?

Galatians 5:22–25 “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.”

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