Isaiah 9:6-7 ESV

For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; AND THE GOVERNMENT SHALL BE UPON HIS SHOULDER, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. OF THE INCREASE OF HIS GOVERNMENT AND OF PEACE THERE WILL BE NO END, ON THE THRONE OF DAVID AND OVER HIS KINGDOM, TO ESTABLISH IT AND TO UPHOLD IT WITH JUSTICE AND WITH RIGHTEOUSNESS FROM THIS TIME FORTH AND FOREVERMORE. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

1 Timothy 6:15-16 NLT

At just the right time Christ will be revealed from heaven by THE BLESSED AND ONLY ALMIGHTY GOD, THE KING OF ALL KINGS AND LORD OF ALL LORDS. He alone can never die, and He lives in light so brilliant that no human can approach Him. No human eye has ever seen Him, nor ever will. All honor and power to Him forever! Amen.

Hebrews 1:8 ESV

But of the Son He says, “YOUR THRONE, O GOD, IS FOREVER AND EVER, THE SCEPTER OF UPRIGHTNESS IS THE SCEPTER OF YOUR KINGDOM.”

Revelation 19:16 NIV

On His robe and on His thigh He has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

Psalm 53:2 NKJV

GOD LOOKS DOWN FROM HEAVEN UPON THE CHILDREN OF MEN, TO SEE IF THERE ARE ANY WHO UNDERSTAND, WHO SEEK GOD.

Proverbs 8:17 NKJV

I LOVE THOSE WHO LOVE ME, AND THOSE WHO SEEK ME DILIGENTLY WILL FIND ME.

Luke 12:29-34 NKJV

And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. FOR ALL THESE THINGS THE NATIONS OF THE WORLD SEEK AFTER, and your Father knows that you need these things. BUT SEEK THE KINGDOM OF GOD, AND ALL THESE THINGS SHALL BE ADDED TO YOU. Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Isaiah 55:6-7 NKJV

SEEK THE LORD WHILE HE MAY BE FOUND, CALL UPON HIM WHILE HE IS NEAR. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.

1 Chronicles 16:10-11 NKJV

Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the LORD! SEEK THE LORD AND HIS STRENGTH; SEEK HIS FACE EVERMORE!

1 Chronicles 28:9-10 NIV

And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve Him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought. IF YOU SEEK HIM, HE WILL BE FOUND BY YOU; BUT IF YOU FORSAKE HIM, HE WILL REJECT YOU FOREVER. Consider now, for the LORD has chosen you to build a house as the sanctuary. Be strong and do the work.

Psalm 63:1-4 ESV

O God, You are my God; earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh faints for You, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon You in the sanctuary, beholding Your power and glory. Because Your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise You. So I will bless You as long as I live; in Your name I will lift up my hands.

Jeremiah 29:10-14 NKJV

For thus says the LORD: After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. THEN YOU WILL CALL UPON ME AND GO AND PRAY TO ME, AND I WILL LISTEN TO YOU. AND YOU WILL SEEK ME AND FIND ME, WHEN YOU SEARCH FOR ME WITH ALL YOUR HEART. I WILL BE FOUND BY YOU, SAYS THE LORD, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the LORD, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive.

Hosea 10:12 NKJV

Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap in mercy; BREAK UP YOUR FALLOW GROUND FOR IT IS TIME TO SEEK THE LORD, TILL HE COMES AND RAINS RIGHTEOUSNESS ON YOU.

Philippians 2:5-11 ESV

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but EMPTIED HIMSELF, BY TAKING THE FORM OF A SERVANT, BEING BORN IN THE LIKENESS OF MEN. And being found in human form, HE HUMBLED HIMSELF BY BECOMING OBEDIENT TO THE POINT OF DEATH, EVEN DEATH ON A CROSS. Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Exhortation: Seeking the King and His Kingdom — Surrendering To His Reign

God searches the whole earth for those who will seek Him. Psalm 14:2 NIV says, “The LORD looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.” God is still searching today. This is His will that all mankind will know Him and seek Him first, but the world does not seek God, for they do not know Him. The world runs after all the things of this earthly kingdom, but what or who is God’s Church zealously pursuing? We, who are His children through the blood of Jesus, what or who are we seeking first? We are not to live as fools who do not seek God because they say in their hearts, “There is no God” (Psalm 53:1). These people turn away from God and have become corrupt and commit abominable sins. Jesus commands us not to seek what the pagans seek but to seek Him and His kingdom first. Is the Church professing to be children of God and claiming allegiance to Him, and yet seeking what the pagans seek with equal passion and focus?

Are we the Jacob generation who seek God and His face? Psalm 24:6 NKJV declares, “This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him, who seek Your face.” IS THE END TIME CHURCH THE JACOB GENERATION WHO SEEKS GOD AND HIS FACE FIRST? Are we awakened and arising to lay hold of God, wrestling relentlessly with Him and crying out with Jacob’s desperate passion, “WE WILL NOT LET YOU GO, UNTIL YOU BLESS US”? Are we prevailing with man and more importantly with God in our pursuit of King Jesus? Until we prevail in pursuing and laying hold of God, we can do nothing where God’s kingdom, will, and work are concerned. Whatever we do in our own strength and wisdom will come to nothing. SEEKING CHRIST FIRST IS THE PURPOSE OF OUR EXISTENCE AND SALVATION.

The Primacy of God in the Life of Jesus Christ, His Only Begotten Son

Jesus, as the Son of Man, lived a life of perpetually seeking His Father first. He was fully occupied in this all-consuming zeal—knowing His Father, loving His Father, doing His Father’s will, and finishing His Father’s work. The Bible says in Philippians 2:6-8 ESV,

Though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

As Jesus was to His Father, we are to Him, striving to have His same mind, zeal, and drive. We too must live with this one passion to singleheartedly seek Jesus and His kingdom first—to know, love, and please Him. For this reason, Jesus lived in relentless and passionate prayer to always be in His Father’s love and presence and to always serve His Father in absolute obedience. In John 4:34 NKJV, He said to His disciples when they brought Him food, “MY FOOD IS TO DO THE WILL OF HIM WHO SENT ME, AND TO FINISH HIS WORK.”

Jesus, in His humanity, although without sin, was subjected to the fullness of limitations of being in the flesh. As a man, He was not omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. He had no power to do anything except that for which God enabled Him. He needed His Father and the Holy Spirit, without who He had no power to preach, teach, heal, and overcome all temptations. He loved, served, and obeyed His Father by being conceived, filled, led, and empowered by the Holy Spirit. He was tempted at all points but did not sin, for He sought His Father first.

In seeking His Father first, Jesus lived in perpetual submission to His Father’s reign and surrendered to His Father’s will. Therefore, They lived in an unending oneness, intimacy, and love. They mutually and perpetually indwelled each other—Jesus abided in His Father, as the Father abided in Him. They lived in an uninterrupted relationship, unity, and passion. Just as Jesus lived to seek His Father and His kingdom first, He saved and commanded us to do the same as the Father’s sons and daughters, that we too will live in Him as He lived in His Father. Jesus testified of His devoted relationship with His Father and His zeal for His Father’s kingdom.

• John 10:30 ESV – “I and the Father are One.”
• John 14:11 ESV – “Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me.”
• John 17:21 BSB – “May they also be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.”
• John 5:19 NKJV – “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself but what He sees the Father do; for whatever the Father does, the Son also does in like manner.”
• John 17:5 NKJV – “And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory that I had with You before the world was.”

Christ’s Call for His Church to Seek Him First, Surrendering to His Reign

The one thing about which we must succeed in life is making Jesus our one passion and cause for living. Jesus Christ must be all we pursue, want, and live for—to know, love, obey, and serve Him. Jesus and Jesus alone in all things and everything! Outside of this, we have no purpose for living. Jesus says in Matthew 6:31-33 NIV,

So do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. BUT SEEK FIRST HIS KINGDOM AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, and all these things will be given to you as well.

When we seek first the kingdom of God, we must recognize who the King is. Jesus Christ is not merely a wise teacher or good example—He is the sovereign King of all creation. Today, focus on what it means to live under His royal authority. In our independent culture, we often resist the idea of complete surrender, preferring to maintain control over our lives. We prefer to be lords of our own lives, self-serving, self-seeking, and self-directed. However true freedom comes when we yield to Christ’s kingship, acknowledging His perfect right to rule over every aspect of our lives.

We are citizens of Christ’s kingdom temporarily living in an earthly body, and called to seek Him, His kingdom, and His righteousness. We are not citizens of this world, we have a heavenly abode. We should not pursue the things of this world just as those who do not know Him. We must set our hearts to live fully knowing that there is no other God, King, or Lord Almighty but Jesus Christ alone. THEREFORE, SEEKING HIM AND HIS KINGDOM IS OUR PRIORITY.

Acts 17:28 NKJV says, “In Him we live and move and have our being.” SEEKING HIM FIRST MUST BE THE ONE PASSION THAT CONSUMES US. There is no other option because whether we live or die, it is for Christ, and we are Christ’s. This was how Paul lived, as he said the following:

• 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 NIV – “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And HE DIED FOR ALL, THAT THOSE WHO LIVE SHOULD NO LONGER LIVE FOR THEMSELVES BUT FOR HIM WHO DIED FOR THEM AND WAS RAISED AGAIN.”
• Romans 14:7-9 ESV – “For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. FOR IF WE LIVE, WE LIVE TO THE LORD, AND IF WE DIE, WE DIE TO THE LORD. SO THEN, WHETHER WE LIVE OR WHETHER WE DIE, WE ARE THE LORD’S. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.”
• Philippians 1:19-21 NKJV – “For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. FOR TO ME, TO LIVE IS CHRIST, AND TO DIE IS GAIN.”

WHETHER WE LIVE OR DIE, WE ARE CHRIST’S. THEREFORE, SEEK HIM FIRST AND SURRRENDER TO HIS REIGN. Consider the areas where we may still be sitting on the throne of our lives—decisions, relationships, finances, ambitions, or time. The King does not force His rule upon us; He invites us to voluntarily submit to His loving authority. When we enthrone Christ as King, we experience the protection, provision, and purpose that come with citizenship in His kingdom. His commands are not burdensome but life-giving, His authority not oppressive but liberating.

Consecrate Our Whole Heart to Seek Jesus First and Surrender to His Reign

THE CONDITION OF THE HEART WILL DETERMINE THE WAY WE SEEK AND SURRENDER TO HIM. We must pray for our hearts to be awakened so that we arise to wholly consecrate ourselves to seek God with all of our heart, soul, and strength. Who is Jesus Christ to us? It is not what we say about Him that reveals the truth concerning our hearts towards Him; it is how we live. God says in Amos 5:4, “SEEK ME AND LIVE.”

King Solomon spoke about the necessity of guarding our hearts with all diligence by keeping God’s word in our hearts. Proverbs 4:20-23 NKJV:

My son, give attention to My words; incline your ear to My sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart; For they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh. KEEP YOUR HEART WITH ALL DILIGENCE, FOR OUT OF IT SPRING THE ISSUES OF LIFE.

If the condition of our hearts determines how we seek God, then we must guard our hearts at all costs. According to Solomon, all issues of life flow from the heart, and the most important issue of life is seeking Jesus first and surrendering to His Lordship. If King Solomon, in all his God-given wisdom, spoke of the necessity to guard our hearts with all diligence in his time, how much more attention do we need to give to guarding our hearts in today’s context? Darkness has increased and covered the earth; wickedness seems to multiply, and this is a more dangerous world in which we live. Although technology has made significant progress, stress is heightened, pressure is intensified, and life is more complex and demanding in many areas. So what does it take for us to daily seek God earnestly and unwaveringly? What must we do so that our hearts are not distracted from pursuing and submitting to God first? Galatians 2:20 NIV teaches us how to live and seek God first:

I have been CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST and I NO LONGER LIVE, BUT CHRIST LIVES IN ME. THE LIFE I NOW LIVE IN THE BODY, I LIVE BY FAITH IN THE SON OF GOD, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

We must wage a warfare to live as one already crucified with Christ. We must reckon ourselves dead to self, that we no longer live but Christ lives in us. Just as Jesus emptied Himself, we must empty ourselves so Christ lives in us fully. With man it is impossible, but with God all things are possible. Jesus succeeded and never failed because in unceasing prayer, He sought His Father to know, love, and obey. He lived in His Father’s presence and the Holy Spirit’s power. Our heart can either be lit up with an ever-burning flame for Jesus Christ, our King, or be a smoking and dying flax—compromised, contaminated and growing cold.

Seek to Live a God-Driven Life, Not Just a Good Christian Life

CHRIST’S PASSION FOR US COST HIM EVERYTHING. HAS OUR PASSION FOR CHRIST COST US ANYTHING? WE MUST WANT HIM FAR MORE THAN LIFE ITSELF. How have we yearned for Him? Paul understood and counted all things as dung to pursue and gain Christ. King Jesus’ passion for us caused Him to empty Himself for us, taking on the form of a servant, subjecting Himself to be our sin-bearer, embracing the punishment for our sins, and taking on all the agony of yielding to the Father’s will to die in our place to redeem us with His own blood. HAVE WE EMPTIED OURSELVES TO SEEK, LOVE, AND SURRENDER ALL TO HIM TO PLEASE HIM AS HE EMPTIED HIMSELF TO REDEEM US?

Passion is an all-consuming zeal that chooses to devote everything, sacrifice all things, and even lay down one’s life to obtain the one thing we seek. Do not be satisfied with just a good Christian life, but be willing to exchange it for a God-driven life. In Psalm 27, David said that the main thing he sought after was to dwell in the Lord’s presence. He was single-hearted towards God. His heart was not compromised or divided by other yearnings. No other passion but Yahweh alone filled him up—his mind, soul, emotions and spirit. It was Yahweh and Yahweh alone who had captivated David’s whole being. He yearned, longed, thirsted for God as a deer pants for the water.

There must be a desperate prayer for a heart after God’s own heart. Pray that we yearn for God as singleheartedly as God yearns singleheartedly for us to long for Him. Until we know the yearning of God for us, we have yet to be awakened to a thirst for Him—to seek Him with the most profound desperation that only an awakened spirit knows. It is a desperate longing beyond words of the soul craving unceasingly to be in Christ’s presence to see Him face to face. The Song of Songs speaks of the Shulamite woman’s soul being awakened and stirred up with a thirst for her love, so much so that she went out in the night seeking him. She would not be stopped even by the watchmen who beat her up until she found him and brought him back to her dwelling place.

BE WILLING TO EXCHANGE A GOOD CHRISTIAN LIFE FOR A GOD-DRIVEN LIFE. A life driven by passion for God is radical, as there is no sacrifice we will not make and no length we will not go to lay hold of Him. Abraham offered up his son, Jacob wrestled through the night, Job insisted on trusting God even if God should slay him, and Paul lost all things to gain Christ. All of them lived for one purpose—to pursue God and His kingdom. Their passion for God consumed them. They did not understand mediocrity or lukewarmness in their pursuit.

TRUE PASSION FOR GOD IS INHERENTLY ALL-CONSUMING. If it is not all-consuming, it is not a passion but a wishful thought. Yearning produces passion. True passion always acts and will not be stopped. Anything less is not passion. PASSION SPEAKS A DIFFERENT LANGUAGE; LIVES A DIFFERENT LIFESTYLE; MAKES A DIFFERENT CHOICE; ACTS A DIFFERENT WAY AND WALKS A DIFFERENT PATH TO BE TOTALLY CONSUMED WITH GOD.

• Esther sent word to Mordecai saying, “I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!” –Esther 4:16 NKJV.
• Job stood in faith whilst undergoing unthinkable afflictions, saying, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him” –Job 13:15 NKJV.
• Daniel’s three friends, when facing the fiery furnace, spoke, “O Nebuchadnezzar…our God is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and…from your hand…but if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods” –Daniel 3:16-18 NKJV.
• Moses interceded for Israel, “Oh, these people have committed a great sin, and have made for themselves a god of gold! Yet now, if You will forgive their sin—but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written” –Exodus 32:31-32 NKJV.
• Jesus, in sweat and blood, prayed with great agony, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” –Luke 22:42 NKJV.

The Church must awaken and arise to seek the King passionately so that we speak, live, choose, and act differently as those consumed in the zeal of seeking God and His kingdom.

Living in the Primacy of Passion of Seeking Jesus

Understanding that we have been crucified with Christ, we no longer live to ourselves, but unto Christ. This means we are dead to all that is us, but Christ is living in us in His fullness. Because we are dead through being crucified with Christ; His ways are our ways, His thoughts are our thoughts, His will is our will, His work is our work, and His priority is our priority. The only way to live is by faith—faith that fully trusts and obeys Christ. If we are crucified, we are dead to self-life, self-agenda, self-choice, and self-will. Jesus has our complete surrender and trust. We live in Him and for Him by faith. We do this by these things:

• FIXING OUR EYES ON JESUS, HE IS OUR ONE FOCUS. What or who do we see or focus on every day? Picture Jesus before our eyes every day. Tune our ears to hear Him every day. Cry out to see His face every day. Do not turn our eyes away from Jesus by turning to the left or right and being distracted. Train ourselves to focus on Him by praying unceasingly. Intentionally seek His presence.
• SETTING OUR HEARTS ON JESUS, HE IS OUR ONE LOVE. Daily purpose in our hearts to set out to love Him first in all things. Practice loving and worshiping Him, dwelling in His presence every moment of the day.
• FASTENING OUR MINDS ON JESUS; HE IS OUR ONE GOAL. Intentionally make up our mind to think of Him every moment. Let Jesus always be present in our minds in every moment—in ease or discomfort, victory or failure, quietness or busyness, peace or crisis, rest or warfare—Jesus must be foremost in our hearts and minds. There is not one moment in which anything should crowd Him out of our minds. Our first thought must be Jesus, our second thought is Jesus, our third thought is Jesus, and so is every thought and every day of our lives. It must be Jesus.

Have our hearts been made dull because of all the things we have casually and carelessly let creep in? What will God see in our heart if He searches us today? The condition of our hearts is not according to our evaluation but by God’s testimony. To live to seek God first demands all our effort to watch and walk in all His ways, honoring Him. There is no place for complacency, compromise, and carelessness. HAVE WE EMPTIED OURSELVES TO SEEK AND LOVE HIM, SURRENDERING ALL TO HIM TO PLEASE HIM? There is no other way to live except in the passion of seeking the King and His kingdom first.