Seek Ye First The Kingdom of God and

His Righteousness.
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Errol Smythe.
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Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness

In Matthew 6 verse 33 The Lord Jesus Christ said : “.....But seek ye first the kingdom of
God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.....”.

What is our primary purpose in life ? We are told to seek first the Kingdom of God and
His righteousness .

Abel by faith offered a more excellent sacrifice to God than Cain.( Hebrews 11 verse 4 ).
Abel desired to worship God in spirit and in truth. Abel worshipped God in the beauty of
holiness. Cain on the other hand thought he was doing God a favour. God did not want a
favour from Cain.

In Genesis 4 verses 1 to 8 we read : “...... And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived,
and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.

  2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a
tiller of the ground.

  3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an
offering unto the LORD.

  4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the
LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:

  5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his
countenance fell.

  6 And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?

  7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the
door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

  8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field,
that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.

  9 And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I
my brother's keeper?

  10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from
the ground.

  11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy
brother's blood from thy hand;

  12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a
fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.......”.

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Abel sought the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and served God out of
obedience. Abel by revelation placed himself in the Domain of Almighty God and
offered a more excellent sacrifice than Cain. Abel desired to please God. Abel desired
that His life would be a living sacrifice of Praise unto God.

Abel and Cain were both religious. Religion does not save you because religion by itself
cannot change you. It has been said “ ....Religion is man made Christianity is heaven
sent...”.

“.... By faith Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice than Cain , by which he obtained
witness that he was righteous....” ( Hebrews 11 verse 4 ).

After Noah’s flood instead of seeking first the Kingdom of God the people of that day were
deceived by enticing spirits and sought comfort in one another . Enticing spirits made
them form a community of brotherhood foreshadowing the uniting of nations without the
nations placing themselves under the Dominion of Almighty God Creator of Heaven and
Earth.

The people of that day after the flood formed a community of brotherhood and placed
themselves under the dominion of man made rules of conduct and rejected the Dominion
of Almighty God. Why ? They were under deception. They were under enticing spirits. They
rebelled against the Word of God. They rebelled against the Dominion of God. They
rebelled against God’s Kingdom. It has been said that “ The Kingdom is the Domain where
the King Rules” .

The Lord Jesus Christ is King of Kings and Lords of Lords. He is Alpha and Omega , the
Beginning and the End.

“...Seek ye first the Kingdom of God ....”.( Matthew 6 verse 33 ).When people fail to put
God’s Kingdom first they get unbalanced. They get their priorities wrong because they
ambitions in life are all mixed up.

It is impossible to live for God when your ambitions are placed first and foremost before
the Kingdom of God.

The Religious person may go to worship God somewhere in a temple of worship or go to

some other place of worship but if the heart of such a religious person is not in tune with
God’s programme for that day then that person in that religion is not worshipping God in
spirit and in truth . Man made religions is vain worship. To worship God in Spirit and in
truth in the beauty of holiness , the heart of man has to be fine tuned to hear the still small
Voice of God and be blessed worshipping the LORD in the beauty of holiness.

Without a revelation one cannot understand the Word of God. Without a revelation
religious leaders misinterpret the Word of God . In John Chapter 8 what good was it for
an individual or many individuals to fast and pray and wear religious clothes and then
stone an adulterous woman and let the man caught in adultery with her go free. They

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were religious people. But their man made interpretations of the Word of God made the
Word of God of non effect.

What kind of blind religious justice is that ? How can a woman commit adultery with
herself ? It takes two to commit adultery. If the man has been shown mercy then mercy
must be shown to the woman otherwise there is no justice in stoning a woman condemned
to die by stoning. We are all sinners saved by Grace. Justice demands mercy and mercy is
not blind to truth.

Blind Religion blinded the Pharisees to God’s Kingdom. Their rules and traditions and
dogmas and creed blinded their hearts to the Mercy of God.

Enticing spirits anointing false prophets and false christs and false religious leaders
deceive the mixed multitude to think that their modern day Towers of Babel are temples
ofd worship. God don’t respect them. God never respected Cain’s worship. Cain failed to do
the right thing and place himself under God’s domain. Cain refused the revelation of the
Word of God revealed in his day. Cain stubbornly wanted to worship God according to his
on man made conception of God. God wanted none of that rubbish. God told Cain “........Why
art thou wroth ? And is thy countenance fallen ?

7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted ? And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the
door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.....”.

Religious people today think they are doing God a service when they kill people in the
Name of Religion. God has nothing to do with their blind man made religions that blinds
itself to justice, mercy and truth. God has no pleasure in the death of any life whether it be
homicide or suicide. The Bible says “.....Thou shalt not kill....”. ( Exodus 20 verse 13 ). Why
then so much abortion ? why then so much killing in the name of religion ? Why then so
much war ?

What are Religious leaders doing ? Are they leading their followers astray ? why so many
false prophets and false teachers professing that they know God but denying the
Dominion of God in their lives and in the lives of their followers ?

These wolves in sheep clothing scatter the flock of God. They fleece the flock of God instead
of feeding the sheep of God. Who sent them ? God never sent them.

If God sent them they would seek first the Kingdom of God. They would obey the word of
God. They would teach their followers about salvation and righteousness and judgement.
They would encourage their followers to seek justice and mercy and truth. They would not
condemn the innocent with the guilty. They wouldnot destroy the righteous with the
wicked. They would not shed innocent blood.

Cain shed innocent blood. Cain killed his brother Abel. The blood of Abel cried out to God
for vengeance. The Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ “....speaks better things than the blood of
Abel...”.( Hebrews2 verse 24 ).

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Abel’s blood cried for judgement. The Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ cries out for
mercy . On the Cross of Calvary the Lord Jesus Christ cried out : “.....Father, forgive
them ; for they know not what they do...” . ( Luke 24 verse 34 ).

The Bible says that God “ .... will have mercy, and not sacrifice....” . ( Matthew 12 verse
7 ). The Lord Jesus Christ is our propitiation. He is our Mercy seat. The Lord Jesus Christ
died so that we might live. He became sin so that we might be made the righteousness of
God. He became poor so that we may be made rich. He arose from the death and
defeated death , hell and the grave so that we may too may have the hope of the
resurrection.

We don’t have to be afraid of death. Death has been defeated. The graves couldnot hold
Him. Hell had no claim on the LORD JESUS CHRIST. The Innocent One, the LAMB SLAIN
BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD had been slain on earth by satan and his
agents of death and the COURT OF HEAVEN demanded justice, mercy and truth and
Death had to give Him back. Death had no claim on Him. He was born without sin and
had the sins of the world placed on Him and cried out : “.....Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?
that is to say, My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken me?....”. ( Matthew 27 verse 46 ).

He took our place so that we should not suffer the total and final separation from the
Holy God. The Courts of Heaven judged him righteous. Death judged Him Righteous and
had no legal claim over Him. Hell judged Him Righteous and without sin and had no
legal claim on Him. Satan had slain an innocent life and satan had no legal claim over
the Holy One of Israel. The grave could not hold Him . The Lord Jesus Christ arose
victorious over death , hell and the grave . The Lord Jesus Christ is not dead. He is
alive. Other religions can point to a grave and a tombstone where their founder was
buried. Christianity points to an empty tomb with no tombstone because the founder
of Christianity, the Lord Jesus Christ is not dead , He is alive.

The Lord Jesus Christ said in Revelation Chapter 1 verse 18 : “.........I am he that liveth, and
was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of
death......”.

“....The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is
longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to
repentance.....”. ( 2 Peter 3 verse 9 ).

In John Chapter 8 verse 7 , the Lord Jesus Christ said “....He that is without sin among
you,let him cast a stone at her....”.

In the days of Noah, before the flood , people were more concerned with the affairs of
life that day. They were just concerned about their temporary life on earth instead of
being concerned with where they would spend Eternity.”....And GOD saw that the
wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of
his heart was only evil continually....”. ( Genesis 6 verse 5 ).

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Matthew 16 verse 26 : “...For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and
lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? ....”.

The people of that day after Noah’s flood refused to be in God’s Domain. What did they do
? They built a Tower of Babel. What did God do.

“...5. The Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.

6. And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language : and this
they begin to do : and nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to
do.

7. Go to , let us go down , and there confound their language , that they may not
understand one another’s speech.

8. So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth : and they
left off to build the city.

9. Therefore is the name of it called Babel ; because the LORD did there confound the
language of all the earth : and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the
face of all the earth......”. ( Genesis 11 verse 5 to 9 ).

Abraham , that great Patriarch of Faith looked for a city whose builder and maker is
God. Abraham in his pilgrim journey placed God’s Kingdom at the centre of his life .
The Apostle Paul says in the Book of Hebrews Chapter 11 “.....By faith Abraham when he
was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed;
and he went out, not knowing whither he went.

  9By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in

tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:

  10For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.....”.
( Hebrews 11 verses 8 to 10 ).

Abraham walked by faith and not by sight. Lot walked by sight and not by faith.
Abraham had set his affection “......on things above and not things of this earth....”
( Colossians 3 verse 2 ).

In Genesis Chapter 13 verses 1 to 18 : “.....1 And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his
wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south.

  2 And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.

  3 And he went on his journeys from the south even to Bethel, unto the place where his tent
had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai;

  4 Unto the place of the altar, which he had make there at the first: and there Abram
called on the name of the LORD.

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  5 And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents.

  6 And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their
substance was great, so that they could not dwell together.

  7 And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's
cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.

  8 And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and
between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren.

  9 Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take
the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to
the left.

  10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered
every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the
LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.

  11 Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated
themselves the one from the other.

  12 Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and
pitched his tent toward Sodom.

  13 But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.

  14 And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now
thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and
eastward, and westward:

  15 For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.

  16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust
of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.

  17 Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it
unto thee.

  18 Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in
Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD......”.

Abraham knew he was a pilgrim stranger on this earth.

Life on earth is very short. Will you be a credit or a liability to the people that know
you ? Do they mention your name with gladness and joy or does your name bring
sorrow and bitterness when they make mention of your name ?

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When people look at your life do they Matthew 5 verse 16 says : “.....  Let your light so
shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in
heaven.....”.

Adam and Eve made fig leaves to cover their physical nature. God rejected their fig
leave religion and clothed them with animal skins dripping with blood to remind them
that sin is exceedingly sinful and that one day the LORD HIMSELF would prepare
Himself a Body and tabernacle in that Body and lay that Body on the altar of the cross
as a sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. ( See some of the Scriptures about
Redemption of mankind by the Kinsmen Redeemer : Genesis 3 verse 15 ; Genesis 22 ;
Isaiah 7 verse 14 ; Isaiah 9 verse 16 ; Isaiah 26 ; Isaiah 26 verse 19 ; Genesis 1 verse 1 ;
Ruth Chapters 1 to 4 ; John 1 verse 1 ; John 1 verse 14 ; John 3 verse 16 ; Matthew 28
verse 1 to 8 ; Mark 16 verse 1 to 8 ; Luke 24 verse 1 to 12 ; John 10 verse 1 to 10 ; Acts 1
verse 1 to 11 ; Acts 9 verse 1 to 6 ; Revelation 1 verse 5 to 6 ).`

The Apostle Paul said : “....henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we
have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.

  17Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away;
behold, all things are become new.....”. ( 2 Corinthians 5 verse 16 to 18 ).

The Apostle Paul had a supernatural experience with God that changed him. His life was
transformed in a moment of time. In that moment of time sinful religious Saul of Tarsus
in Divine presence experience a foretaste of Heaven on earth was converted by the
supernatural new birth .

Saul of Tarsus by faith entered into that Divine Dimension called Heaven where he
supernaturally met God and experienced Heaven on earth. He experienced the peace of
God that passeth all understanding. He knew by faith that the Lord Jesus Christ had died
for his sins and the sins of all mankind and that same Jesus that died on the cross arose
from the dead victorious over death , hell and the grave just like He said He would .
That God the Creator of Heaven and Earth that was veiled in the Pillar of Fire by night
and the Pillar of Cloud by day when He led the children of Israel , that same Jesus veiled
Himself in The Tabernacle of Flesh in the Second Man Adam the Lord Jesus Christ. “
...Jehovah of the Old Testament is the Lord Jesus Christ of the New Testament...”.

“...Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and to day , and for ever....”. ( Hebrews 13 verse 8 ).

The True Believer centres their life around the Word of God. They know that all Praise
belongs to God. He alone is the Creator of all Heaven and earth. He alone is the Creator
of all mankind. He alone is the God of all Creation. He alone is worthy of Praise.

To love God is to obey God. To obey God is to love God. God is worthy to be praised. He
created mankind to live a life worthy of the Gospel. The Lord Jesus Christ came into
the world to save sinners.

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The Apostle Paul says in Romans 3 verse 23 : “...All have sinned , and come short of the
glory of God. .....” . Romans 6 verse 23 says : “....23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift
of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord....”.

In Matthew Chapter 6, the Lord Jesus Christ said :

“.........  1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye
have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.

  2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the
hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily
I say unto you, They have their reward.

  3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:

  4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall
reward thee openly.

  5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray
standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men.
Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

  6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door,
pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward
thee openly.

  7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they
shall be heard for their much speaking.

  8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need
of, before ye ask him.

  9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy
name.

  10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

  11 Give us this day our daily bread.

  12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

  13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and
the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

  14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:

  15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your
trespasses.

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  16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they
disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They
have their reward.

  17But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;

  18That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy
Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.

  19Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and
where thieves break through and steal:

  20But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt,
and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

  21For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

  22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be
full of light.

  23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light
that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

  24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or
else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

  25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye
shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and
the body than raiment?

  26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into
barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

  27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

  28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow;
they toil not, neither do they spin:

  29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of
these.

  30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast
into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

 31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or,
Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

  32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that
ye have need of all these things.

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  33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be
added unto you.....”.

  34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the
things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof....”.

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