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“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
— Matthew 6:33 (ESV)
This is one of the central statements of Jesus concerning the Christian life. It is not a suggestion. It is not an ideal. It is a divine order. It is a condition with a promise.
We must start where Jesus starts. In this passage, He addresses one of the greatest bondages in the modern world: anxiety about material provision—food, clothing, tomorrow. He does not treat worry as a minor weakness, but as a misplaced focus and, in effect, a failure to trust the Father.
The lyrics you have before you are essentially a sung exposition of Matthew 6:25–34. The Lord deals directly with:
If we understand this passage properly, it will affect how we live each day, how we relate to money, how we respond to pressure, and how we face the future.
Let us look at what the Word of God says in its original setting.
---
The words quoted in the lyrics come from the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7). This is Jesus’ authoritative teaching on the life of the kingdom. He is speaking primarily to His disciples, with the crowds listening in (Matthew 5:1–2).
The context:
These were not people with savings accounts and insurance policies. When Jesus spoke about food and clothing, He was speaking to people for whom these were daily concerns.
### Who is speaking?
Jesus the Messiah, the rightful King. In Matthew’s Gospel, He is presented especially as the One announcing and embodying the kingdom of heaven. When He says, “Seek first the kingdom of God,” He is not talking about a vague religious feeling. He is speaking as King, defining the priorities of His kingdom.
### What is the situation in the text?
In Matthew 6, Jesus is warning His disciples against:
1. Hypocrisy in religious practice (giving, praying, fasting – vv. 1–18).
2. Serving money instead of God (vv. 19–24).
3. Anxiety about material needs (vv. 25–34).
Verse 24 is crucial background:
> “No one can serve two masters… You cannot serve God and mammon.”
> — Matthew 6:24
Then immediately:
> “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life…”
> — Matthew 6:25
The “therefore” connects anxiety about provision with the issue of who is your master. Worry is not just an emotional state; it reveals a spiritual allegiance. To obsess over provision is to live as if mammon, not the Father, is in control.
Jesus then gives three illustrations:
1. The birds of the air – God feeds them.
2. The lilies of the field – God clothes them.
3. The Gentiles – they anxiously seek these things, but you have a Father.
The message of the passage, and of the lyrics, is this:
You have a Father. Therefore you must not live as if you were an orphan.
---
To grasp the depth of this passage, we will focus on two key words:
1. “Worry / anxious”
2. “Seek… first”
### 1. “Do not worry” – Greek: *merimnaō* (μεριμνάω)
Matthew 6:25:
> “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life…”
The verb *merimnaō* comes from a root meaning “to be divided, to be pulled apart.” It describes:
It is not wise planning. It is not responsible forethought. It is a tormenting, preoccupying concern that draws the mind away from confidence in the Father.
So when Jesus says, “Do not worry,” He is not commanding emotional numbness. He is forbidding the dividing of the heart that places trust in circumstances, resources, or human ability rather than in God.
This means anxiety is not neutral. It is a spiritual force that pulls us away from the simplicity of trust.
### 2. “Seek first” – Greek: *zēteō* (ζητέω) and *prōton* (πρῶτον)
Matthew 6:33:
> “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness…”
This is not “seek God also.” It is “seek God first.”
Not “fit God into your priorities,” but “let God’s kingdom determine your priorities.”
Combined, the phrase means:
“Let the kingdom of God and His righteousness be the supreme, governing pursuit of your life, ahead of and above all other concerns.”
This unlocks the central logic of the passage:
The lyrics echo this exact progression: “Seek His kingdom first, and He will provide.”
---
We will now work through the themes in the lyrics and connect them to the wider testimony of Scripture.
### A. “Do not worry about your life” – The Issue of Priority and Lordship
> Therefore I tell you,
> do not worry about your life,
> what you will eat or what you will drink;
> or about your body,
> what you will wear.
> Is not life more than food,
> and the body more than clothing?
Jesus starts by testing our value system.
“Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?”
If my whole emotional world is shaken by food, money, clothing, lifestyle, then I have already answered that question wrongly in practice, whatever I may say with my lips.
Compare Luke 12:15:
> “Life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
The Bible consistently teaches:
To worry about food and clothing as if they were ultimate is to reduce life to survival rather than surrender to God.
There is a spiritual warfare dimension here:
Satan constantly tries to compress the believer’s world down to immediate needs and visible lack—to keep them from kingdom purpose.
### B. The Birds and the Lilies – The Father’s Care
> Look at the birds of the air:
> they neither sow nor reap
> nor gather into barns,
> and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
> Are you not of more value than they?
> Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow:
> they neither toil nor spin,
> yet I tell you,
> even Solomon in all his glory
> was not clothed like one of these.
Jesus points to creation as a living sermon. Nature is not just beautiful; it is didactic. It teaches.
Two examples:
1. Birds – They do not participate in the full cycle of agricultural economics (sowing, reaping, storing). Yet God feeds them.
2. Lilies – They do not toil or spin fabric, yet their “clothing” surpasses the splendor of Solomon.
The contrast is stark:
This directly confronts a core lie behind anxiety:
“I am not really seen. My needs are not really known. I am not truly valued.”
Scripture counters this:
The lyrics rightly interpret:
“Are you not of more value than they?”
“Your Father knows what you need.”
This is not sentimental reassurance; it is a theological statement about the Fatherhood of God.
### C. “Do not be anxious” – The Father vs. the Spirit of the Age
> Do not be anxious—
> your Father knows what you need.
This reflects Matthew 6:31–32:
> “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.”
Two categories of people are contrasted:
The spirit of the age is one of restless acquisition. The modern world is built on advertising that stirs anxiety and discontent. The pressure to secure oneself—in savings, possessions, image—is relentless.
But Scripture shows a different posture:
Note the pattern:
Anxiety must be cast, not coddled. Worry is to be replaced by prayer and trust, not merely suppressed.
When the lyrics say, “Do not be anxious—your Father knows what you need,” they are echoing this covenant identity:
You are no longer a spiritual orphan. You have a Father who knows and cares.
### D. “Seek first the kingdom” – The Divine Order
> Seek first the kingdom of God
> and His righteousness,
> and all these things will be added to you.
> Seek His kingdom first,
> and He will provide.
Here we reach the heart of the passage. Jesus gives a divine order with a conditional promise:
1. Condition: Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.
2. Promise: All these things (food, drink, clothing) will be added.
#### What is the “kingdom of God”?
In Greek: *basileia tou theou* – the rule, reign, or government of God.
The kingdom is wherever God’s will is done, His authority is acknowledged, His King (Jesus) is obeyed.
Romans 14:17 gives the nature of this kingdom:
> “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”
The kingdom is not about the things; it is about righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. When we pursue the kingdom:
#### What is “His righteousness”?
This is not primarily our moral effort, but:
To seek His righteousness means:
When this is pressed into daily life, it will affect:
God promises:
“If you put My rule and My righteousness in first place, I will take responsibility for the rest.”
This does not mean a life without trouble. Jesus immediately adds:
> “Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:34)
Trouble is normal; anxiety is not.
We will face daily challenges, but we are not to live in tomorrow’s fear.
### E. “Do not worry about tomorrow” – Time, Trust, and Spiritual Warfare
> Do not worry about tomorrow,
> for tomorrow will worry about itself.
> Each day has enough trouble of its own.
The enemy loves to pull our mind either:
God’s grace operates in the present.
Hebrews 4:7:
> “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.”
Lamentations 3:22–23:
> “His mercies… are new every morning.”
When we drag tomorrow into today through anxiety, we effectively attempt to live on grace that has not yet been given. Each day has a measured grace for its own trouble. To live in future worry is to step outside the sphere of today’s grace.
Spiritually speaking, this is a battlefield of the mind.
2 Corinthians 10:5 speaks of:
> “bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”
Worry about tomorrow is a thought that must be brought into captivity, subjected to Christ’s command: “Do not worry. Seek first.”
---
We now move to practice. This teaching must not remain theory. The Christian life is not defined by what we admire in Scripture, but by what we obey.
Here are four concrete steps.
### 1. Renounce anxiety as disobedience and misplaced trust
First, we must call worry what Jesus calls it: forbidden.
Not a personality trait, not a minor weakness—a form of unbelief.
You might say before God:
“Lord, I confess that I have allowed *merimnaō*—dividing, distracting worry—to rule my mind. I have trusted in resources, people, and plans more than in You. I renounce anxiety as sin and as unbelief.”
This is part of repentance—changing our mind and position.
### 2. Establish God’s kingdom as first priority in specific areas
Second, we must deliberately put the kingdom first. Not in theory, but in defined areas:
Make this practical. For example:
### 3. Replace anxious thoughts with scriptural proclamations
Third, we must displace anxiety with the Word of God spoken and believed.
When Jesus fought Satan in the wilderness, He did not remain silent. He said, “It is written…” (Matthew 4:4, 7, 10).
When anxious thoughts arise, answer them with Scripture:
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” (Psalm 23:1)
“As your days, so shall your strength be.” (Deuteronomy 33:25)
“You are of more value than many sparrows.” (Matthew 10:31)
Do not merely read these verses. Proclaim them aloud. Align your mouth with God’s Word, not with fear’s narrative.
### 4. Cast tomorrow on God, and obey Him today
Fourth, we must cultivate a daily rhythm:
Pray something like:
“Father, I give You tomorrow—its needs, its uncertainties, its possibilities. I choose to trust Your provision. Show me what You require of me today. I will obey You today and leave tomorrow in Your hands.”
As you do this, you will find that much of anxiety’s power is broken. It thrives on undefined future fears. When you hand those into God’s hands and fix your attention on today’s obedience, the enemy is deprived of one of his chief weapons.
---
We will end by putting this teaching into our mouth. Truth becomes powerful when we believe it in the heart and confess it with the mouth (Romans 10:9–10).
### Proclamation
Say this aloud, thoughtfully, in faith:
“I proclaim that Jesus is my King.
I cannot serve both God and mammon.
By the authority of God’s Word in Matthew 6,
I renounce anxious, divided thoughts about my life,
about what I will eat, what I will drink, and what I will wear.
My life is more than food,
and my body is more than clothing.
I am of more value than the birds of the air
and the lilies of the field.
My heavenly Father feeds them and clothes them,
and I declare that He will also provide for me.
I am not a spiritual orphan;
I have a Father in heaven who knows what I need
before I ask Him.
Therefore I choose not to worry about tomorrow.
Each day has enough trouble of its own,
and God’s grace is sufficient for each day.
By an act of my will,
I set the kingdom of God and His righteousness
in first place in my life—
in my time, in my finances,
in my relationships, in my decisions,
and in my future.
According to the promise of Jesus,
as I seek first His kingdom and His righteousness,
all these things—food, clothing, and every necessary provision—
are being added to me.
I cast all my anxieties on the Lord,
because He cares for me.
I receive His peace,
which guards my heart and mind in Christ Jesus.
Amen.”
### Prayer
“Father, in the name of Jesus,
I bring before You every form of anxiety that has ruled in my heart—
fear of lack, fear of the future, fear of being forgotten or abandoned.
I acknowledge that these fears have not come from You,
for You have not given me a spirit of fear,
but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
By the blood of Jesus, I ask You to forgive me
for every way I have doubted Your Fatherhood,
for every time I have put material concerns
above Your kingdom and Your righteousness.
Holy Spirit, write the words of Jesus in Matthew 6
deeply into my heart.
Teach me to live one day at a time,
trusting in my Father’s care.
Enable me to seek first the kingdom of God
in every part of my life.
Where worry has taken root in my mind,
uproot it now.
Where the spirit of mammon has influenced my decisions,
break its power over me.
Lord Jesus, take Your rightful place as King and Lord
over my time, my money, my future, and my daily concerns.
I choose to believe that I am of great value to You.
I choose to trust that You will provide
all that is needed for Your will to be done in my life.
Let Your righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit
govern my heart and my home.
I thank You that as I seek first Your kingdom,
all these things will be added to me.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.”
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