• Assurance of Victory

Memory Verse

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well

  • Matthew 6:33
  • Seek first His Kingdom and His Righteousness

+++ We

first asked asked ourselves, how do we seek what is instructed by Christ in the memory verse? We looked at three verses:

  • Psalm 37:2-5—

Trust in the Lord , be glad with the Lord, and commit your life to the Lord.

Psalm 100:2—

Serve the Lord with gladness; practicing your faith should not feel like a chore.

1 Samuel 12:24—

Serve the Lord with all your heart and "fear" him, meaning revere/respect God's greatness and His blessings towards us.

So our first step in seeking the Lord's Kingdom and Righteousness is to serve, trust, and live in the Lord in happiness, awe, and faith!

How do we gladly serve the Lord as we read in Psalm 100:2

  • Matthew 25:31-45
  • >>>

Christ instructs us that we can serve Him by serving others

One way we serve others is literally the ways we read in these verses. We help the sick, needy, hungry, thirsty, and poor with their

  • physical needs
  • A second way is to meet the

spiritual needs

of people; those who are hungry/thirsty for the Word of God, sick and in need of the Qurbana (Eucharist) and the church's sacraments and orders, poor and needy for God's grace, and to praise His name, and to be in His care.

What does God desire us to serve more of?

  • 1 Samuel 15:22

>>>

God desires us to listen and be obedient to His word more so than he desires burnt offerings and sacrifices

. These offerings and sacrifices,

we discussed from the Old Testament, have been superseded by the Holy Qurbana (Eucharist), which we know Christ instructs us to take, so how can we apply this now?

—Instead of thinking we can please God with church donations and financial help, or by showing off our faith, or by offering worship and praise to God, WHILE living in sin and WITHOUT listening to His word when it comes to being loving, merciful, humble, etc., God wants us to do the latter, that is, living sinless lives according to His teachings as best as we can.

—We looked at Christ as an example of this, who the Father was well-pleased with, as we read in

Matthew 3:16.

Why was God the Father well pleased with the Son? Christ, who throughout the Gospel declares how He came to fulfill the will of the Father, was the ultimate example of obedience, even to death, as we read in

Philippians 2:8.

Where are the Kingdom of God and Righteousness found?

  • Jesus Christ
  • The Holy Scriptures
  • The Holy Church

Withing Us—

We have the Holy Spirit, and we have received & accepted Christ as our God & savior, meaning we have His ultimate love.

  • "A
  • ll these things will be given to you as well

What "things"?

  • Matthew 6

>>>

We read in the verses, before verse 33. that the "things" Christ was referring to were physical things that we have a need for, like food and clothing.

How much can God do for us, and how has He promised to treat His people?

Ephesians 3:20-12

Something we have said before; God can do more us than we can imagine! Think about the thief on the Cross, or Mary the sinner, or the apostle Paul, who was called Saul and a murderer of Christians before God changed his life!

Isaiah 40:10-11

God treats his people with strength and power, but with the care and love of a shepherd for his flock.

How should we go about our lives from day-to-day then?

  • -Philippians 4:4-7 >>>
  • Do not be anxious/worrisome! Instead always be in
  • prayer and supplication

alongside being thankful.

Philippians 4:7 >>>

The result of this is that you will have God's unsurmountable peace to surpass everything in your life.

Philippians 4:11-12 >>>

St. Paul himself, who dealt with life both when it was easy, comfortable, and safe, and also dangerous, hard, and full of suffering, learned to be content in all circumstances.

  • Philippians 4:13 >>>

St. Paul did this because of Christ's strength.

-Matthew 8:8 >>>

Always remember that God is omniscient; He knows what we need all the time, and we don't need to tell Him.

This Week's Study

—Listen to Rabi's podcast, where he discusses what we read in Matthew 25 and talks about how we can serve Christ by serving others.