FIRST THINGS

J.Renton

Matthew 6: 31-33; Luke 12: 1-3; 1 Timothy 2: 1-6; James 3: 17,18

We are all governed by what we put first. If a man is engrossed in his business when he ought to be with his family he is a business man, he puts business first. If a man puts his family first he is a family man; he might even be with his family when he should be at business. If a man puts sport first he is a man of sport. Many put themselves first; if I put myself first I am a selfish man. We are governed by what we put first; therefore what we put first is of all importance. In the first scripture we have read the Lord says to his disciples "But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness": seek ye first. The Lord had spoken about other things, about food and raiment; these things have their place, but what matters is what comes first. The Lord says "Do not be careful" (v 25), do not put first what shall we eat or what shall we drink or what shall we put on. Maybe men tend to think of what they eat, and women tend to think of what they put on, but these things are not to come first; "seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness". What does that mean? There is an area down here which can be called the kingdom of God; it is in the hearts and souls of believers who confess Jesus as Lord, who have received the Holy Spirit, who have their own links maintained with the Father. The kingdom brings persons into right relationship with the Lord, with the Holy Spirit, with the Father and with one another because believers are meant to be brethren in the kingdom of God. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God"; that is, seek first the promotion of what is for the pleasure of God down here, seek first to extend the prosperity of the interests of the Lord Jesus Christ down here. Then the Lord says "and all these things shall be added unto you". Everything else will fall into its proper place as we seek first the kingdom of God.

When two of John's disciples followed Jesus we read "But Jesus having turned, and seeing them following", John 1: 38. These two disciples might not have known that anybody was seeing what they were doing, but the Lord saw. If anyone here sets himself or herself to seek first the kingdom of God the Lord will take account of you. If you are set in your measure for the prosperity of the interests of the Lord Jesus Christ down here the Lord will have regard to you and the Holy Spirit will help you. "But Jesus having turned, and seeing them following, says to them, What seek ye?" What a question that is! If every one were asked this evening, what are you really seeking? what is your objective in life?, what would be your answer? These disciples said "Teacher, where abidest thou?". They were beginning to be interested in the Lord Jesus and His interests. I trust there is someone here who, if up till now has never thought of the promotion of the Lord's interests, might begin to put it first. The Lord will encourage you, the Spirit will support you in this move which you desire to make because it is as we move in a right direction that we get the Spirit's help. Moses turned aside to see the bush that was burning and was not being consumed, and Jehovah saw that he turned aside to see (see Exod 3: 2,3). I would say this for the encouragement of anyone who desires from this day forward to put the Lord's interests first. All the other things, the necessities of life, have their place, but they will all fall into their right place if we put first things first: "seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness". I trust we will all be set that our first consideration in anything we do or any matter that confronts us is, how would this affect the Lord? Would this be pleasing to the Lord? Would this promote the interests of our absent Lord Jesus Christ who is coming soon and looks for persons down here faithfully to promote His interests in His absence. In this gospel of Matthew you will find five definite identifiable courses of instruction, but we will not be able for any of the other courses unless we begin in the first course - "seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteous ness".

At the end of the 11th chapter of Luke, we read "And as he said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him urgently, to make him speak of many things" (v 53). The scribes and Pharisees made the Lord speak of many things because they had an ulterior motive, they were opposers of the Lord; it says they were watching Him to catch something out of His mouth that they might accuse Him. It is in the context of the scribes and Pharisees making Him speak of many things that in chapter 12 "he began to say to his disciples first". He had many things to say to the scribes and Pharisees in chapter 11, and they caused Him to say many things, but the Lord has something first in mind to say: "he began to say to his disciples first". The note indicates that it was the first thing on His heart to tell them. It would be a great matter, dear brethren, to enquire as to what would be first in the Lord's heart to say to us. We might say many things, many right things and many true things, but O to be a true disciple to desire to have what the Lord has first in His heart to say! The crowd were gathered together and were treading one on another, disregarding one another, imposing themselves on one another; then "he began to say to his disciples first, Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees which is hypocrisy". I understand the word 'hypocrisy' comes from the idea of acting a part. We live in a day when much acting goes on and the best actors are acclaimed, but that is not to mark the disciple; we are not to be acting a part, and yet we are always in danger of professing to be what we are not. What is needed, dear brethren, is reality with every one of us. If we are real we will use diligence to gain the knowledge of God, to hear what the Lord has first in His heart to say to us. We are always in danger of the leaven of the Pharisees. Let us hate this very idea of being unreal or professing to be what we are not and acting a part. The Lord would have us entirely delivered from this hypocritical attitude. Paul said, in writing to the Corinthians, "But by God's grace I am what I am", 1 Cor 15: 10. Let us be, dear brethren, what we are; there is nothing more attractive than for a believer to be what he is by God's grace. Someone said, if I imitate somebody else, who will be me? Let us each have our own spiritual personality. What a personality Paul was! In Acts 20 those he spoke to embraced him.

Now in 1 Timothy we have Paul writing to an individual, having in mind the truth of the house of God. God's house is where God is known and where He is represented. Paul is concerned that Timothy should take on this feature of representing God and that he should take on a charge to promote the representation of God in the lives of believers with whom he came in contact. So he says "I exhort therefore, first of all"; there were many other things he would exhort him about but this was the first thing he had in mind. He says in effect, if you are going to represent God down here you will have to have an outlook like God has. "I exhort therefore, first of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions, thanksgivings be made for all men". We need, dear brethren, universal outlook. Paul exhorts here that our outlook should be as wide as God's outlook is, because he goes on to say "for this is good and acceptable before our Saviour God, who desires that all men should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth". We tend to be narrow; we are never, dear brethren, to be narrow-minded and we are never to be narrow in our hearts. Our feet are to be in the narrow path as Mr Darby wrote often in his letters, but our outlook is to be as wide as God's outlook is in the glad tidings which Paul speaks of here. Not only does God desire that all men should be saved but Paul goes on to speak of God's provision for all men: "the man Christ Jesus who gave himself a ransom for all". Supplications, prayers, intercessions, thanksgivings, are priestly activities, but they have in view all men, not only all who live in Britain. We often hear prayers for the government of this country, but we are to think of all men and other governments too. How extensive is God's outlook and God's desires! How great is the provision that God has made for all men! Let us be no longer narrow in our outlook or in our hearts, although keeping our feet on the narrow path. We need wisdom to keep our feet on the narrow path, in the path of God's will, God's will for every believer, and yet have in mind all men. Then it says "for kings and all that are in dignity, that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all piety and gravity; for this is good and acceptable before our Saviour God". God is represented in persons who have an outlook like His own. Paul wrote to the Colossians that his object was to present every man perfect in Christ (see chap 1: 28). It has been said that he would look upon every man as a potential for Christ. When he was in Corinth he was told to stay there for the Lord had much people in that city. They had not yet come to light, but when Paul was in Corinth he would look upon every man he came in contact with as a potential for Christ, a potential for the will of God.

James speaks in his epistle about wisdom. There is a great need of wisdom in this day in which we live. It may be that there is more wisdom needed in the day in which we are than was needed in the early days of Pentecost or in the days of the pristine securing of the gentiles by Paul. Both Paul and James condemn all human wisdom and merely human intellect. James presents the wisdom which is from above and which he says "first is pure". I believe, dear brethren, if there is one thing needed it is purity, purity of motive and purity of desire; we so tend to be influenced by prejudice or preference that we depart from purity. If we are going to derive the wisdom which comes from above there must be this feature of purity. The word of God searches our motives; it will penetrate and divide and discern thoughts and intents of the heart (see Heb 4: 12). We need the word to penetrate so that if our motives are impure the impurities are exposed and judged and we are found with purity of motive. It is not an easy matter to act always on pure motive, we so tend to be wrongly influenced, things influence us, persons influence us, preferences influence us, prejudices influence us; even Peter had deep prejudice. Apostle as he was, commissioned, given the keys of the kingdom - for he was the one whom the Lord meant to use to open the door of the glad tidings to the nations - he had to have a vision three times, the great vessel like a sheet coming down, to overcome the innate prejudice that he had. In the epistle to the Galatians, in the second chapter, when Peter came to Antioch, he was not quite clear of that prejudice. How deeply it was in Peter and how deeply it is with us! These kind of things corrupt purity of motive, "But the wisdom from above first is pure". If we can arrive at purity of motive we can go on to the other features - "peaceful, gentle, yielding"; the Authorised Version reads "easy to be entreated". O what wisdom that is! If you are on the wrong course would you like to be easy to be entreated? O that this feature were found in every locality on the face of the earth! Alas I am afraid it is not evident in every locality. There must be some fault as to the "pure". If we can be pure we will be easy to be entreated. The brethren will not entreat in vain; there will be an answer to a right entreaty, yielding and unquestioning, that is uncontentious. These are very practical matters dear brethren. What I want to call attention to is "first is pure"; then these other beautiful features, which were no doubt seen perfectly in the Lord Jesus will be manifested with each one of us.

So may the Lord help us to know what it is to put first things first, because what comes first in our lives will govern us. May the Lord come first, may His interests come first. It may be we could put the Lord first in a certain way but not get what is first in His mind. There are many real believers who are devoted to the Lord but whether all their activities come from what is first in His mind is a question. We need to have the Lord before us as an objective, but we also need to get the Lord's mind as to how we are to apply ourselves. May we be helped to put first things first for His name's sake.

LOCHGELLY

10 September 1977