Instead of setting our affections on earthly things, we are to set our affection above. This daily devotional looks at how we are to seek God first.
Nuggets
- Instead of pursuing sin, we are to seek God before anything else.
- We need to seek the kingdom of which God is the Ruler.
- We are to seek God’s righteousness because then we are truly seeking God.
- When we seek God, we will find Him.
To read devotions in the Redo for Godliness series, click the appropriate button below.
Devotions in the On Things Above series
We have been looking at Beveridge’s sermon entitled Setting the Affections on Things Above. We’ve been focusing on things below.
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“You Have Better Things to Mind” was actually the last point on the last devotion — the consequences of putting our affections on earthly things. At a minimum, I saw it more of a transition to how we set our affections on things above.
So, I saved it for now.
But then I looked at the next section, and it has a point that doesn’t seem like it fits the next group but does here. So, we are going to look at it now.
Let's Put It into Context #1
Here is a running list of what we’ve discussed previously.
Let's Put It into Context #2
When we look up the definition of affection in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, it says, “the state of being affected.” Affect means “to act on and cause a change in (someone or something).”
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Seek Ye First
“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you” (Mt. 6: 33 CSB)
Instead of pursuing sin, we are to seek God before anything else.
Tillotson described what seeking God means. He likened it to a continuous journey. I thought it was interesting that he said it is filled with habit that is second nature to us — we don’t have to think about what we are doing. It is characterized by care, diligence, zeal, earnestness, patience, and perseverance.
We are to make God our priority. Jay said that is putting Him first in time and attention.
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But what does the verse say? We are to attempt to find freedom from sin by following God’s moral laws.
Attempt. That means we aren’t there yet.
What is imperative is that we have to be moving in the right direction. We are to be moving away from sin and toward God’s moral laws. Good described that as the management of the body being transferred to the soul.
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Unfortunately, worldview people don’t want to follow God’s laws and commandments. They feel that God’s regulations take the enjoyment out of life.
Cadman addressed that. He wrote, “Religious ordinances not merely for enjoyment, but to strengthen for the toil of life. But men postpone their salvation. This is against God’s ordinance, ‘Seek first.’”
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Life isn’t just about enjoyment. Life is too hard for that. We need strength.
“The LORD is my strength and my defense ; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him” (Ex. 15: 2 NIV).
God gives us strength.
The Kingdom of God
We need to seek the kingdom of which God is the Ruler.
The kingdom of God is a spiritual kingdom that describes His sovereign reign. So, how to do seek the kingdom first?
Vaughan said that seeking first the kingdom of God was “to have the whole of one’s heart in subjugation to God.”
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Villiers included that it has to be a personal interest. We can’t be seeking God because of what He can provide us.
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We have to seek God because He is Sovereign God and loves us.
And His Righteousness
We are to seek God’s righteousness because then we are truly seeking God.
God’s righteousness is the result of His being pure. God’s purity stems from the fact that He cannot sin.
How about us? Righteous means we are free from sin because we are following God’s moral laws.
Villiers wrote, “The righteousness named is the Christian character in all the details of practical religion. To seek them, is to desire these above all other things.” Vaughan explained it as, “There is a righteousness composed of all the perfections of the life of Christ.”
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We have to watch, though. We can’t delude ourselves into thinking we can do okay on a couple of the laws and commandments but fall way short on the rest — and it will be okay.
Pastor Tim preached on this today. He said, “If we don’t meet every one of [God’s laws and commandments], we fail all of them.”
I am not sure I didn’t get this word for word, so click on the link and listen. This is about minute 56 (the whole sermon is great). But in a nutshell, Pastor Tim said …..
- We have allowed the idea that we can be marginally faithful — at least to everyone around us.
- We can do everything right: be a church attender, get baptized, and even pray a prayer.
- Even if everyone stands up at our funeral and says what a good person we are, we aren’t.
- There are no good men and women — we are all sinners.
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We have to seek God completely. It should be our strongest desire to be more like Him.
What Happens When We Seek Things Above?
“As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness” (Ps. 17: 15 ESV)
When we seek God, we will find Him.
It is a little confusing sometimes to read that we will see God’s face when He is a Spirit. He doesn’t have a face.
We will “see” something, though. Howe reminded us that Moses saw God’s glory. He also said that “the act of the mind is called seeing.”
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Macdonald felt that God’s character is considered His face. We are to see that because we are to imitate His character.
We only see God’s face through righteousness. (That is why we are to seek first His kingdom and righteousness.)
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Jay took it another way. He said seeing God’s face meant the beholder has His favor. The way we gain His favor is to increase in righteousness.
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We get this righteousness through Jesus. Howels said that “It involves everything in it necessary to deliver and to save man forever and ever.”
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The Homilist said that we gain not satisfaction through earthly things. Only by discovering God and seeking things above — by actively navigating the Sanctification Road so that our character is changed to be like His — do we gain satisfaction.
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We just have to remember that we aren’t searching for satisfaction for this life. Oh, God will give us some.
In reality, we are looking for heavenly satisfaction. Mathews wrote, “The work of this life is only preparatory, and therefore incomplete. Imperfection is the just characterisation (sic) of this world.”
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We are seeking God on His throne. That means we are seeking Heaven.
Making the Connections
I didn’t really want to get into the last part of the verse. I wanted to keep the focus on setting our affections on things above.
But I liked what Melvill had to say. He wrote, “Things are only of value as God blesses them; God’s gifts are better than His permissions. The promises of prosperity in the New Testament are small.”
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We should seek what God values. He values our salvation and obedience.
How Do We Apply This?
- Seek ye first has to be a seeking at the heart level.
- The spiritual triumphs over the earthly as the anxiety over the earthly gets demoted.
- Vaughan wrote, “… there is a kingdom around you, which is God’s Church, which is your foremost duty to extend.” That means we out church as a priority.
- We have to utilize the resources God has given us to obtain grace.
- The Holy Spirit has to be allowed to work in us to increase our righteousness.
- We have to do all the steps in seeking God.
Searching for and Seeking God
Hearing His Word (Rom. 10: 17).
Reading His Word (Rev. 1: 3).
Praying to Him (Heb. 4: 16).
Studying His Word (Ac. 17: 11).
Meditating on His Word (Ps. 1: 1-2).
Memorizing His Word (Ps. 119: 11).
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God wants us to seek a relationship with Him. That relationship, though it starts here, will last throughout eternity.
Father God. We do seek You. We seek You to change us to be more like You. Help us to navigate the Sanctification Road so that we may live eternally with You. Amen.
What do you think?
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