Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Hi, this is Joel and Victoria. Thanks for listening to our podcast and thanks for supporting the ministry. If you enjoyed today's message, why don't you be a blessing and share it with a friend? We appreciate you and pray for God's very best in your life. God bless you. It's great to be with you today.
I hope you'll stay connected with us during the week through our daily podcast, our YouTube channel, social media, and you can come visit us in person. We'd love to have you be a part of one of our services. I'd like to start with something funny. I heard about this group of school children. They were in the cafeteria line at their Catholic elementary school.
At the start of the line, there was a big bowl of apples. A nun had written a note. It said, take only one. God is watching. At the end of the line, there was a big bowl of chocolate chip cookies. One of the children had written a note. It said, take all you want. God is watching the apples. Say it like you mean it. This is my Bible. I am what it says I am. I have what it says I have.
I can do what it says I can do. Today, I will be taught the word of God. I boldly confess my mind is alert. My heart is receptive. I will never be the same in Jesus name. God bless you. I want to talk to you today about blessings finding you. It's easy to worry about the future. How can I accomplish my dreams? And what if I don't get that good break?
What if my health goes down or I don't meet the right person? Creates all this pressure where we have to make things happen. We live striving and straining, trying to force this door to open and make this person like us, turn this problem around.
When Jesus was talking to people like this in Matthew chapter 6, they were very worried about their food, their clothing, how they were going to make it. He said to them in verse 33, don't worry about those things. Your heavenly Father knows all that you need. He was saying, God has already planned your future. He knows what it's going to take to get you to your destiny.
You're not doing life on your own. It's not just up to you. The Most High God is ordering your steps. And Jesus gave us the key in verse 33. He said, "'Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.'" He was saying, in effect, you don't have to spend your life seeking the blessing, seeking provision, seeking approval, seeking the right people.
That's going to lead to frustration. There's a better way to live. If you'll seek God, then the blessings will seek you. There's a reversal. When you keep God first place, that takes the pressure off. Now it's not up to you to make it all happen. That's God's responsibility. He will add all these things. But if we don't understand this, it brings stress, tension.
Hey man, I got to get this promotion and I got to win over this coworker. I got to fix this problem. And sure, we have to use our gifts, be determined, take steps of faith, but you don't have to live with that pressure. You can stay in peace knowing that because you're honoring God, He's arranging the good breaks. He's lining up the right people. He's scheduling the healing, the turnaround.
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Chapter 2: What is the main message about blessings finding you?
God's dream for your life is much bigger than your own. Where he's taken you, you could never accomplish by yourself. Just your own efforts, your talent, your hard work. That's all good, but God is going to add things that exceed your expectations, that boggle your mind, that thrust you where no one in your family has gone. And it says, seek first the kingdom and His righteousness.
Chapter 3: How can I stop worrying about the future?
That means His way of doing things. God's kingdom, in one sense, is opposite of what we naturally think. He said to bless your enemies. Be good to those that do you wrong. I don't want to bless them. I want to get revenge. Forgive those that hurt you. I don't want to forgive. I want to hold a grudge. No, seek first the kingdom. If you want God to add, you have to do it His way.
It means walking by faith and not by sight. You may have a situation where you don't see how it could work out. The odds are against you. You could be worried, discouraged. Instead, God, I don't see a way, but I know you have a way. You being for me is more than what's trying to stop me. That's seeking the kingdom.
Being faithful at work, doing the right thing when no one is watching, integrity, excellence, that's God's way. Trusting when you don't understand. A good attitude when life's not fair. Biting your tongue when you want to tell someone off. Putting down your carnal desires. That's not just being disciplined. That's seeking the kingdom. That's doing it God's way.
That's what puts you in position for God to add all these things. But sometimes we hear we need to seek God and we think, okay, I got to pray two hours in the morning. I got to read my Bible more. I got to come to church more. And that's all good. That's part of it. But you can honor God in your everyday life.
having a faith-filled attitude, treating people with respect, kind to your family, being excellent at work. That's his righteousness. That's God's way of doing things. When you live like that, you are seeking God. That means blessings are seeking you. We see this in the life of David. He was a teenager out in the shepherd's fields, taking care of his father's sheep.
He was the youngest of eight brothers, and he got stuck with the leftover job out there in the desert, lonely, boring, no future to speak of. And David had big dreams. He could sense the greatness that God put in him. but he was at a disadvantage. Some of his brothers were in the military. They had prestigious positions. Well, David could have slacked off and taken the easy way out.
I don't care about these sheep. Big deal if we lose a few. Nobody's going to know. David was a person of excellence. He did the right thing when no one was watching. He cared for those sheep night and day, made sure they had food and water. He'd fight off wild animals, killed a lion and a bear with his bare hands just to protect the sheep.
All that time that David was going the extra mile, doing the right thing when it was hard, being his best when he wasn't getting any credit.
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Chapter 4: What does it mean to seek first the kingdom of God?
He wasn't just being a good son, a good employee. He was honoring God. That was a time of testing, a time of proving. People may not be watching, but God is watching. Maybe nobody is telling you thank you. You're not getting the credit you deserve, but you keep doing the right thing. You keep showing up on time, doing more than you have to. People may not see it, but God sees it.
He's the one that matters. He's keeping the records. You're not just being faithful, you're seeking God. You're doing things His way. That's what puts you in position for Him to add all these things. Promotion doesn't come from people, it comes from the Lord. David kept a good attitude in a difficult situation. He didn't complain, get bitter.
Out in the fields is where he wrote some of the Psalms. When he got up in the morning, he could have thought, oh man, another day with these stinking sheep. I'm so tired of feeding them, cleaning up their ways. Why don't my brothers have to help me? He had plenty of reasons to complain and live sour. But David made the decision he was going to do things God's way.
Maybe that's where he wrote Psalm 118. This is the day the Lord has made. I'm going to rejoice and be glad in it. Perhaps he wrote Psalm 5 out there. Early in the morning, you will hear my song of praise. Maybe it was Psalm 63. Oh God, you are my God and earnestly I seek after you. He had this attitude of praise, thanksgiving right out in the desert.
when it was lonely, unfair, when he didn't see a way out, but he's still full of praise. He's still caring for the sheep with excellence. He's still being faithful and consistent. Well, David thought that the shepherd's fields were his destiny. In the natural, there wasn't any way out. But when you seek God, blessings start seeking you. God will add things that you couldn't add.
He'll speak to people to be good to you that you've never met. God told the prophet Samuel, travel to the city of Bethlehem, to the house of a man named Jesse, for I've chosen one of his sons to be the next king of Israel. Here David is out in the fields, just minding his own business, another ordinary day, being faithful, serving with excellence, doing more than what was required.
But as he was seeking God, what he couldn't see was Samuel was seeking him. Something was headed his way that would change the course of his life. Many of you are like David. You go the extra mile. You take care of your family with kindness and compassion. Even when you're tired, you still shine. At work, you give it your best. You serve at church, in your community, always being a blessing.
It may seem like you're stuck, reached limits, no way to go higher, but God has some blessings seeking you right now. Things you can't see, you couldn't plan. There was no sign of it, but your Samuel is about to show up. Healing is pursuing you. The right person, the door opening, the breakthrough in your business. You couldn't find it, it's gonna find you. Something better than you ever dreamed.
God sees you doing the right thing when it's hard. He sees your consistency day after day, being good to people, sacrificing your time and energy. He sees you being excellent, staying holy and pure, refusing to compromise. God has a Samuel coming, a surprise, something unexpected. Suddenly the right person is knocking on your door. That's not a lucky break. That's the blessing seeking you.
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Chapter 5: How does David's story illustrate seeking God's way?
You'll barely get minimum wage out of that. Or we're letting our circumstances be the boss, frustrated by what's not changing, upset with the neighbor, trying to set them straight. That doesn't pay well. Maybe we're letting our feelings dictate our mood, people's approval, what they said. Well, Joel, they left me out. They said I'm too small. I got to prove them wrong.
No, you need to change payrolls. You need to turn in your resignation. No more letting stress, fear, people's opinion, jealousy be your boss. Get on God's payroll. Start doing things His way, seeking first His kingdom.
Amen.
Have you seen at the first of the year, there's this list of the best companies to work for. Some have great benefits, beautiful facilities, retirement packages, extended vacation. That's all nice, but nobody can pay you like God can pay you. The best payroll you could ever be on is the Most High God. Not just material things, but how about paying you with peace, health, a sound mind?
How about supernatural provision, protection, and favor? I have to remind myself of this because it's easy to get on someone else's payroll, striving, trying to make this happen. Wonder what it's going to be like in 10 years. How's this going to work out? What if that doesn't change? You can't control all that. Your future is in God's hands. You don't have to figure it all out.
It's not up to you to get to your destiny, to open the right doors, to find the right people, to come up with a plan, the strategy. Your job is to keep God first place. Use your gifts and talents to honor him. Then he promises he will add everything you need. You don't have to add it. He's responsible to open the doors and bring the right people, protect you.
When you're on his payroll, you'll be well compensated. He'll take you further than you can imagine. But I wonder today if you need to change payrolls. Are you self-employed, trying to do it all on your own? That's going to wear you out. Are you trying to keep score, outperform, prove who you are? You're going to go in debt. Dave Ramsey were here, he'd tell you, pay it off, get out of debt.
That's draining the life out of you. Trying to keep up with people's expectations, running a race you're not supposed to be in. David would have never made it to the throne if he'd been on the wrong payroll. Out in the field, if he is bitter, competing with his brothers, trying to prove to his father who he was, he'd been stuck. His attitude was, I'm going to do it God's way.
I'm going to seek first his kingdom. He started the morning thanking God. He excelled where he was, faithful in small things, good attitude day after day, excellent when no one was watching. The right time, payday came. God took him from the background to the foreground, from being discounted to being in charge. Make sure you stay on the right payroll. Do it God's way.
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