Seek First
Seek First Part 4
August 27, 2023 • Megan McCleland • Matthew 6:33, Colossians 3:1–10, Colossians 4:2, Philippians 4:4–5, Hebrews 10:25
In this last installment on the series of Seek First, Pastor Megan takes us through the importance of seeking first and how our spiritual disciplines should anchor us in God and keep us focused on Him. As believers we must keep seeking the things of God - the heavenly things. We must continue to seek God and become obedient to His precepts. When we follow Him we must rid ourselves of our old habits and self and become continually renewed in true knowledge of God. In Him we are a new creation. Salvation is immediate but there is a process to sanctification. Our sins are covered by the blood of Jesus, however, sanctification is a journey. Stripping off the old is a journey and we have the Holy Spirit to help us. We have to allow the Holy Spirit to work in us and one way to do this is through the spiritual disciplines. Spiritual disciplines are activities we do to practice dependence on Christ and seek His righteousness and not our own. These spiritual disciplines help us focus on Him. The truth is that Spiritual disciplines are hard but it takes dedication and choosing to continue even if we don't feel like it. We have to consistently train ourselves to be godly - it's not passive (it requires us to do the work). However, we must be careful of being legalistic when we start the disciplines. It's not about our ego but it's a lifestyle. It's an inner transformation. To become consistent, we need to start with a goal in mind because that will keep us motivated and focused. As mentioned, we should not be passive and lazy. The Spirit is moving and God is moving with His people and He wants His church ready. We need to train ourselves to continue with the spiritual disciplines even when we don't want to. Here are the Spiritual Disciplines: Worship: Worship shifts the focus from us to God. Even when we feel down and depressed, worship is a way to praise God and acknowledge His wonder even if we are not okay. It keeps God and the center of it all. Studying and meditating on the Word: Studying and meditating the word keeps us anchored in His word; It's also a way to know and hear more from God. Reading the word can also encourage us in difficult situations. The word of God strengthens us, it's our sword. Prayer and thanksgiving: Prayer keeps us in communion with God -it keeps us dependent on Him. God wants us to speak to Him. Fellowship: We were never meant to do life alone, we see this with the Trinity. We also see this with Jesus and His disciples. As believers we need to be in community. In Fellowship we encourage and build each other. We have Jesus in common and that's all we need. Serving: Our flesh likes to be served, however, we are called to serve. In doing so we follow Jesus's example. Serving builds us up - it builds the church and gives Glory to God. Truth is, there are days where we will feel tired and feel discouraged but we keep pushing. We don't give up. The key is to continue to focus on Jesus. So, which spiritual disciplines do you need to work on?
Seek First Part 3
August 20, 2023 • Ps Bruce McCleland • Luke 11:42, Proverbs 24:27, Matthew 6:33, Matthew 7:7–8, 1 Timothy 4:7
In this enriching sermon with Pastor Bruce, we reflect on our source and our output in life as we continue to seek God first. In life, we need to reflect on what we are giving others. We need to remember our source (God) and our source needs to be reflected in our lives. The thing is, for many of us, our Christianity is contaminated and our habits and disciplines reflect a different life - which is not right. Our lives should reflect our source - our lives should point people to our source. Luke 11 verse 42 teaches us that we should not obsess over other things, we should not be like the Pharisees, we should be life giving. The only way we can do this is by focusing on God. We need to have disciplines and habits that reflect our source. So the question is: are our habits life giving? Here is something to also ponder on, why are our disciples important to us? The truth is, they are important because they help us navigate life. Our disciplines help us with the complexities of life. Thus as Christians our disciples should anchor us in God (1 Timothy 4 verse 7). We sometimes find ourselves in wrong environments and making bad decisions but we can only be helped if our disciplines are anchored in God. All our disciplines should shape and anchor us in God. Living a godly life is about trying to be more like Jesus each day, being with Jesus each day and doing what Jesus did each day. The following disciplines help us seek God: - Prayer and Fasting – petitioning, building faith - Reading and meditating on scripture – making revelation a rhythm - Silence and solitude – severing ties from the things that distract us - Worship – declaring the wonder of our God - Thanksgiving - Fellowship - Confession – practicing repentance and not giving the devil a foothold - Serving – practicing humility and generosity Having these disciplines moves us to a place of faith and growth. Sometimes we have a selfish agenda with these disciplines because we want to honor ourselves instead of honoring God. However, a big part of practicing these disciplines is sacrificing our agenda for His. Matthew 6 verse 24 - 34 teaches us that there are two masters (God or money) and that we cannot serve both, but if we position ourselves under God as our master then we don't have to worry about all these other things. If we seek Him and let him become our master then when we encounter difficulties God will give us tools, skills and means to get out or deal with those situations. SEEK HIM!
Seek First Part 2
August 13, 2023 • Ps Anthony Liebenberg • Matthew 6, Psalm 34, John 4:42
As we continue with the series of seeking first, listen to this enriching sermon as Pastor Anthony continues on the importance of seeking God first. To seek means, to pursue, to confirm, to explore, to search. Seeking means we are here to find out for ourselves, (first hand). For instance, we see this with the village people after hearing about Jesus from the woman at the well in John 4:42. Just like the village people, we are here Seeking to FIND, KNOW, UNDERSTAND, BECOME, CONFIRM & ESTABLISH. That’s why we talk about: Spiritual Disciplines: Fasting & prayer, bible reading & study, worship & praise, meditating on scripture and thanksgiving Why do we seek Him? Seeking Him is about seeking His will, plans & purposes. When you find Him, what then? Matthew 7:7-8 - We seek His Kingdom for participation, mobilization & for change. (To become like Him) - We seek His interests. - Whatever you seek, that you will find. Jesus came to SEEK & SAVE that which is lost. - Jesus expects His seeking to produce an outcome. It's important that when we search for something (like peace) then we look for the source. For us, Jesus is that source. Oftentimes we face challenges in searching. The challenges are: GOD’S FIRST VS YOUR FIRST Sometimes, when we read the bible we get challenged in our thinking by what it says. So many times what God says, seems to fly in the face of what we say & do (Matthew 19:30, Matthew 20:16, Philippians 2:3). Jesus knew that in life people were chasing & being chased. (That’s why this series; “seek FIRST the kingdom of God” is important). Let's look at GOD’S FIRST It's important that God is first in all that we do. God says in Proverbs 24:27 TPT “Go ahead, build your career and give yourself to your work. But if you put me first, you’ll see your family built up!” MY CANNOT IS GOD’S CAN. We see this in the book of 1 Kings 17: 8-16 with Prophet Elijah and the widow. Just because we are limited and we can’t, doesn't mean that it's the same for God. Another way that we can put God first in our lives is by starting with Jesus in everything we do. JESUS HAS TO BE YOUR FIRST PORT OF CALL This is seen in the book of Mark 1: 30 TPT (when) “Simon’s mother-in-law was bedridden, sick with a high fever, so the FIRST thing they did was to tell Jesus about her.” It's important that in all we do and go through, we first tell Jesus - we first talk to Him because what we value, admire, esteem & trust will be our first port of call so let that be Jesus. Maybe you say: I DON’T GET ALONG WITH PEOPLE BUT AT LEAST I HAVE JESUS. That’s not the way to go. We have to get along with people, even if they wrong us. Matthew 5:21-26 teaches us that we need to forgive and come to terms with those that have hurt or accused us. As a people of God, we ought to get along with others. We need to always be aware of God’s first. Our first and GOD’S FIRST is miles apart when we say: JESUS I WILL LET YOU KNOW WHEN Matthew 8: 18-22 & Luke 9: 61 teach us of those who looked at their first instead of God’s first. As humans we can go through instances where we know we need to let go and let Jesus lead our lives, but we want that at our own time and on our own terms. GOD’S READY MIGHT NOT BE YOUR READY In the book of Luke 14:12-24, we see the Parable of the Great Banquet. Like those other guests in the parable, we can make excuses but ultimately God has the final say. In conclusion, time is of the essence. So like Jesus said in Luke 11: 42 (TPT): “Re-adjust your values and place FIRST things FIRST.” The first thing in our lives should be Him, so, seek Him.
Seek First
August 6, 2023 • Ps Bruce McCleland • Matthew 6:33, Matthew 6:24–34, Romans 9:30–33
In this thought provoking sermon, Pastor Bruce takes us on a journey of reflection. What have we placed our eyes on? What have we been focusing on and what has it produced in our lives? Matthew 6:33 As we start a new series called Seek First, we need to ensure that we spend a bit more time with Him and less time being distracted and worried. We spend most of our time worried about what we lack and what we would want to change but in those moments of worry, we should seek and praise Him. Praise removes us from a place of worry and anxiety. When we praise we focus on God and not our situation. As human beings, we spend a lot of our time praising everyone and everything else around us but we don't spend enough time praising God. We don't praise Him enough because we don't know Him enough. We don't spend enough time with Him. We are an ever changing society. We change our jobs, friends, countries and destinations. We spend so much time looking for fulfillment but God says to seek Him first and He will give us all these things. We chase things in the world because we want meaning in our lives but only God can give us meaning, only He can fulfill our desires. If we seek Him in our busy and in our mundane then things will have meaning. Seeking God has the following benefits: - Seeking God gives life (Psalm 69:32). - Seeking God gives strength (2 Chronicles 16:9) - God delivers those who seek Him (Psalm 34:4-5) - God gives wisdom and discernment to those who seek Him - Seeking God gives hope. - Those who seek God lack no good thing. (Psalm 107:9). Seeking God requires us to be active. It requires something of God but it also requires something of you (Romans 10:9-10). We must remember that seeking Him isn't just about doing one thing - it's not just reading the word only but it requires more from us. As Christ followers we are representatives of His kingdom and therefore, we are not only limited to worship and being in His presence on Sunday at church. We need to be in His presence and seek Him everyday and anywhere. Here are ways to seek God in our daily lives. - Fasting and Prayer - Bible reading and study - Worship and praise - Meditating on scripture - Thanksgiving - Serve in His kingdom There is so much goodness in the kingdom of God and we can only see and access this goodness only when we seek Him. So start seeking Him today.