Only Those Who Seek First The Kingdom Of God Will Not Have Their Character Marred And Their Consciences Wounded But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (Matt 6:33) I Will Seek The Lord - https://youtube/watch?v=YkpLoK5CYp8 Do you realize how much we are affected by the standards of the world? In school we are taught to be at the top of the class based on how they rank us by our grades. At work we are made to feel that climbing up the corporate ladder should be our most important goal. And when we think about it seriously, some of these same philosophies of the world can been seen in the way we behave in church. There are some of us who are made to believe that the most important office in the church is that of the Elder.. and so we are encouraged to make every effort to climb up the corporate church ladder. And when we think that the world’s standards have stopped there, think for a moment about the ideologies that drive of concept of marriage, relationships and our personality. If we continue to eat out of the flesh pots of Egypt, we will continue to make the standards of the world more important than the standards of God. We will spend more time studying the vain philosophies of this world. If we continue to seek after the commandments of men our character will continue to be marred by the self-centered influence of Satan. Not only will our character be affected but we will continue to gratify selfish ambitions resulting in our consciences becoming wounded. If we continue to develop strong friendships will people who have not surrendered themselves totally to the control of the Holy Spirit, then Satan will use these people to pull us away from following the standard that God has laid out in His words for us. Those who are being influenced by the standards of God will seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. They will not become concerned about being GREAT and climbing up any ladder. They will recognize that there is nothing good in them and will seek to become of servant of all. There are so many people who see “servanthood” as something negative. But as far as God is concerned only those who are willing to serve will receive eternal life. This morning the Lord is reminding us to take our eyes off the standard of the world. These standards are no good. For those at school, pay less attention to getting the highest grade in a subject but more attention to being a positive witness for the Lord. We really need to turn our eyes upon Jesus and look full in His wonderful face. This is the only way that the standards of the world will grow strangely dim.. because the light of His glory and grace will outshine the brightness of the self-centredness that comes from the world’s standards. I pray that we will continue to allow the Holy Spirit to help us to continue to seek the Lord with all our heart. Our eternal destiny in Heaven depends on adhering to the standard of God. Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. James 3:13 How many sins this consistent conduct would prevent! How many souls it would turn from crooked paths into paths of righteousness. By a well-ordered life and godly conversation Gods people are to demonstrate the power of the great truths which He has given them. . . . A contrast is drawn between those who think themselves to be wise and those whom God has gifted with wisdom because they will not use their powers to hurt or destroy. A man may speak fair words, but unless his life reveals good works, his wisdom is human. Genuine wisdom is full of gentleness, mercy, and love. The worldly policy which men call wisdom is by God called foolishness. Many in the church have become spiritual bankrupts because they have been satisfied with this wisdom. They have lost the opportunity to obtain knowledge and to use knowledge aright, because they have not realized that the efficiency of Christ is essential to make a successful merchant for God, one who can trade wisely on his entrusted goods. They have failed to supply themselves with heavenly merchandise, and the value of their stock in trade has continually decreased. It is not enough to have knowledge. We must have the ability to use knowledge aright. God calls upon us to show a good conversation, free from all roughness and vanity. Speak no words of vanity, no words of harsh command; for they will gender strife. Speak instead words that will give light, knowledge, information, words that will restore and build up. A man shows that he has true wisdom by using the talent of speech to produce music in the souls of those who are trying to do their appointed work and who are in need of encouragement. (My Life Today, pg. 111 – Ellen G. White)
Posted on: Fri, 21 Nov 2014 11:24:10 +0000
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