But seek first the kingdom
of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you (Matthew 6:33 NKJV).
If I am really honest I have to
admit that sometimes I want what I don’t really need, and what I need I do not
want. Such is the state of human
nature. We can identify with the Apostle
Paul when he said, “O wretched man that I
am!” (Romans 7:24 NKJV) This tendency can lead away us from seeking His
kingdom first, even when the things we pursue are legitimate or good in nature.
Most of us are needy people. We want
to have our needs met and there is nothing innately wrong with this. But it does not start with us but Him
(Christ). In congregations today many
are clamoring for the pastor to meet their needs. Alistair Begg, the Pastor of Parkside Church
in Cleveland, Ohio has said that, “preachers are besieged today to begin their
sermons with man and his need rather than God and His glory.” It is not so much that one is good and the
other bad. It is the order of importance
we place on these that can lead us astray.
Begg further commented “preaching today has become more concerned with
wholeness not holiness.” Pastor and
author John MacArthur writes;
“the goal of the Christian life is not
to see our needs met or to be
satisfied, but to see God
satisfied. The Christian Church has traditionally
dwelt on the mortification of the desires
of the flesh and on crucifying
the needs of the self in the pursuit
of Christ-likeness. Today we have
bought into this need or
self-centered theology which has lead us to a
man-centered salvation and sanctification rather
than a Christ-centered one .”
The critical point is where we start
in our discussion in relation to God’s glory and man’s wholeness. If we start with the needs of man we allow
our circumstances or the culture to determine our theology and our corresponding
preaching rather than the Bible. Those
of us who preach, teach, or write are not called first and foremost to meet
people’s wishes but to give, as much as possible, a clear exposition of the
full counsel of God, the Bible. And the
key element that enables us to focus on God and not man is our motivation for
doing what we do. Remember Jesus was
never motivated totally by need but by the will of the Father. Jesus only did what He saw the father doing
(John 5:19). When the crowds were
waiting for a great revival meeting Jesus was off to a new location. When the multitudes were clamoring for his
presence he slipped off to a quiet place to commune with His Father. Was he insensitive to the requests of His
seekers? No! He understood that only if
he kept his focus on what he saw His Father doing, would He ultimately meet the
cries of His followers. But not in the manner or timeframe anticipated by the
people and not by placating needs that were really only wants in disguise.
How could Jesus pull this off? He could do it because He was not dependent on
the applause of people. Many years ago James
S. Stewart, the Scottish Presbyterian minister said, “The disease of
contemporary preaching is its search for popularity.” Jesus taught His disciples to seek to serve
instead of being served and look past their own desires to see a needy
world. Yes, God does want to meet our legitimate
needs but in His time and way. A.W. Tozer
put it in perspective when he said, “Faith looks out instead of in---and the
whole of life falls into line.” If we
seek God first and His Kingdom needs, He will meet all our earthly needs but
not vice versa.
