Seek God First

That's Carter Conlon from the historic Times Square Church in New York City. We become addicted to add-on praying, and we end up praying. Our whole focus becomes bread, water, clothing, houses. And we start focusing on what God has already promised to give us if we'll focus on the right thing. That's Carter Conlon from Times Square Church in New York City.

We're glad you're with us here on A Call to the Nation. In Matthew, chapter 6, Jesus tells us not to worry about what shall we eat or what shall we drink. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you. In today's message, Carter will teach us why we should not fall into the trap of praying for the add-ons in our lives.

Let's discover more as we join Carter now. In Matthew, chapter 6, beginning at verse 31, Jesus told those that were listening to Him at this time, Therefore do not worry, saying, What shall we eat? What shall we drink?

Or what shall we wear? In other words, do not let the focus of your life be on the things in your cupboard, the things that sustain you physically, places that you live, and the clothes that are on your back. Don't let that be your primary focus. I'm not suggesting we don't think about these things. We do. That's why we work. That's why we have jobs.

That's why we pay rent. For after all these things the Gentiles seek, in other words, He said, all these things that people who do not know God are concerned about, that's what occupies their whole day. What shall I eat? What shall I drink?

What shall I wear? For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. He knows. He's aware. He knows every need that you have. People online tonight, He knows what you need. He knows the groceries that maybe you lack and you need.

He knows all of these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you. Now these are add-ons to another kind of prayer. If you seek first the kingdom of God, seek first that place that God has for you in His house, in His kingdom. Seek first the calling of God that is upon your life. Seek first the ability that God promises to give you and to give me to do the very things that He's called us to do that will glorify His name on the earth. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.

That means to live in a manner that represents Him morally, ethically. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Seek first God, make me an honest person. Make me a truthful person. Make me a morally clean person. Make me a focused person. Make me a loving person. Make me a compassionate person. God, make me a fearless person that I will do what you call me to do and I will do it boldly in your strength and with your power, with your heart and with your mind. Show me what you have for me in your kingdom. I'm not called to be ordinary.

None of us here are. We are extraordinary people in God. The Apostle Peter says we are peculiar people. We are strange to this world as it is and we are called to show forth the praises of Him who has called us out of darkness and into His marvelous light. That's who we are. We are heralds of who He is. We are beacons on a hilltop. We are healing where there's a wounded nation.

We are clear thinking where there's nothing but confusion. We are a voice for the voiceless and those that have no one to call out for them. That's who we are and that's what our seeking is to be but you see what happens is we become addicted to add-on praying and we end up praying. Our whole focus becomes bread, water, clothing, houses and we start focusing on what God has already promised to give us if we'll focus on the right thing. I remember years ago serving the Lord with all my heart and about two weeks before I traveled to Eastern Canada on an evangelistic crusade, the Lord moved on my heart. I didn't have much money in the bank but I had some. It was a fund there and the Lord moved on my heart to give it to a friend so he could buy a car because he had no car and we obeyed.

Pastor Teresa and I never would do this without the consent and I talked to her about it and she said, if the Lord's calling you to do it, do it. So we really gave away all of our savings so somebody could buy themselves a car. Then went to Eastern Canada and while I was there preaching, our house burnt to the ground.

We lost everything. Even the firemen said it was one of the most incredible fires they'd ever seen in their lifetime. It just happened to be that a huge wind came up. The house of course was a farmhouse that we had built and rebuilt and rebuilt and rebuilt for about 12 years and it was logged. The walls were square logs so you can just imagine how that thing burned. It caved into the basement and there was nothing left. We came back to just ashes. We had no money. We had no clothes for our children. Thank God he had taken our children out of the house and they had been spared and to this day my heart is grateful but we had nothing. We ended up living in the house of our friends, another pastoral couple, and one morning I remember going up for a jog because I used to like to run at that time and I went up for a jog and we had nothing but I had everything. I remember saying as I stepped out the door to go for a run, it was a cold November morning, and I said, Lord I don't have clothes for my children. I don't even have a toothbrush to brush my teeth but your word says seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and Lord I have sought you first and I will continue to seek your will for my life and I will continue to ask you to make me the kind of a man that I should be that can bring honor to your name and you said that you would add to my life all these things that I need and folks I just watched the miracles of God unfold before me.

I didn't focus on it. I didn't ask for a dime from anybody but I watched God do what only God can do. I watched him give back everything that was taken away. We bought a new house.

It wasn't as big but it was nice and it was new. We bought new furniture. I even bought a pair of skates that I always wanted and never was able to afford and when we had bought everything new clothes for our children we had everything there was nothing left to buy and when it was all said and done I had exactly the same amount of money that I had given away to put back in the bank. The Lord spoke to my heart and said I wanted to show you that I can take it all away and I can give it all back. What I want you to do is continue to seek me first, to seek my will for your life, my power to perform what I've called you to do, to seek to be a truthful honest virtuous person that can stand and represent me and your generation. That was the cry and he said all these things will be added to you. I've made a point of all my life all my Christian life I have never told anybody any of my needs.

I've made it a point not to do that. You see because sometimes sharing a need with somebody is just unbelief in disguise. It's unbelief wearing a tuxedo. I want you to pray about my need and folks realistically it's just begging in the house of God. It's a lack of faith. I've made a point of not sharing my needs and God has met every one of my needs all these years. All these years has never failed.

All these things shall be added to you but we fall into the trap of praying for the add-ons. Isn't it amazing? Laodicea was a church in Revelation. I'm sure they had no prayer meetings. Now I know why there's no prayer meetings in America. There's very very few prayer meetings in this nation because we prospered. God blessed this country for the reasons of godliness. There wasn't always total godliness obviously in the nation but there was an honoring of his name and he blessed the nation.

He blessed the churches. He blessed the people and when the cupboards were full and when the clothes were new and when everybody had a nice roof over their head and they had stuff in the cupboard then if that's all we're praying for then why pray anymore? Why go to prayer when our needs are met?

You see it's a falling short of what we're called to be as a people. The church of Laodicea they were a church. They're addressed as a church and they said well we're rich and increased in goods and of need of nothing so why would they pray? Why would they be seeking god?

The scripture describes their condition as lukewarm. Jesus looked at this church and said you're wretched, you're poor, you're blind, you're naked. You've lost something. You've lost what your purpose is supposed to be in the earth. Why have called you? Why have saved you?

Why have left you here? I liken it to a race car driver. I was thinking about it this morning who's driving in the grand prix let's say and as he's driving he's thanking god. God you know there's such good tires on this car but you know I've gone around the track so many times the tires are starting to get a little worn and I'm afraid if the track gets slick I might slide or something may happen or if it starts to rain I might not have the traction I need to go around the curve so he starts focusing on his tires and starts praying about his tires. You see it's the wrong focus because that's not what it's all about it's about the race folks and he's behind that wheel for a specific not a divine but a specific purpose and suddenly pulls into the pit stop and out comes the crew with the add-ons right they're add-ons to the race and immediately zip zip zip zip that the old tires are taken off the new ones are put on and he gets out of his car and he walks around says oh lord thank you these are awesome tires and he feels the treads and everybody's looking at their watch and he he fails to understand that the longer he focuses on the add-ons the more behind he's getting in the race and so suddenly when he pulls back on the track he's 18 laps behind where he's supposed to have been because his focus was wrong he was beat you know folks do you do you understand why you're in your seat he fails to realize that he's in that driver's seat for a reason he's in a race that he's supposed to win and there's there's a measure of glory that's only human at the end of course a trophy there's there's something at the end and but he's failed to realize why he's behind the wheel of that car now that's only a an example but do you realize why you're sitting in this seat in the house of god what this is all about do you realize that you and i are here to seek first the kingdom of god and his righteousness that the cry of our heart has got to be and there will never be a spiritual awakening without it lord what is the purpose of my life what have you called me to do what have i been singularly anointed to do what's in your heart towards me how do i fit in the kingdom of god how is my life to bring you glory what is it that you would have me to do and on the way to perform that lord clean up my life take away everything from my life that dishonors you that would bring your name into reproach if i was put out publicly tomorrow and this thing is still in my life it would bring your name to reproach so god get these things out of my life that don't belong there seek first the kingdom of god and his righteousness all these other things that occupy so much of our thinking and our time all these other things that are such a primary concern as it dawned on you that you have a purpose in the kingdom of god it's not just about paying your rent and putting food in your cupboard i know that's important to you it's also important to god jesus said your heavenly father already knows what you need if you seek first the kingdom of god and his righteousness all these things shall be added to you that's why king david could say i've been young and i'm old i've never seen the righteous forsaken or his seed begging brad praise be to god i can say that too from my heart i have known many godly people i've never seen one of them forsaken ever at any time or his seed begging bread it not only affects you when you seek first the kingdom of god it affects your children it affects your grandchildren it affects your nephews it affects your nieces it affects your brothers it affects your sisters there is a blessing of god that is commanded and it begins to flow through your life when you seek first the kingdom of god and his righteousness that's still the cry of my heart i've walked this a long time but i'm starting to realize something if god's going to send an awakening to a nation to a city to even a church there has to be a people in that place who are seeking first the kingdom of god and his righteousness you have no idea the ministries that would be born you are listening to me online you're not destined just to be an ex-drug addict you are an evangelist you are a pastor you are a missionary we are part of a supernatural kingdom we are part of a kingdom that is supposed to bring glory to god in an undisputable way with the presence the power of god on us giving us the ability to do things we could never do in our own strength that's who we are i guess my point is what are we going to pray for what are we going to focus on if it's all about us we'll never know an awakening the lord god will never bring people into his house to hear about that there's a point where this these things are important when we're in infancy in the house of god but then all of a sudden we begin to realize we're called to something much greater than this much higher i have a stirring inside of me that is deepening and i know it's the holy spirit inside of my life that there's so much more that he has for all of us i don't want to get to the throne of god one day and have jesus christ look at me and then suddenly because it's a moment of truth and it won't be to condemn me i'm already saved but a moment of truth where he says this is what your life could have been this was my plan for you to find out that i had so focused on the wrong things so let my thoughts be occupied with those things that the gentiles the the godless seek after and i missed the point of my life i miss the power of god to perform it if you can lay hold of this if you can hear this it opens your heart to something of god that can't be humanly produced only he can do it suddenly when you begin to pray this way what i used to call preposterous thoughts start coming into your mind as a young christian i began to pray and i wanted my whole heart to whole heart to be given to god and and suddenly this these pictures of standing in places before lots of people began and it was something that it wasn't i wasn't enamored to it i was terrified by it but yet it began god began to speak it into my heart if you can hear it let's quit praying about the add-ons i'm not saying that we shouldn't utter a prayer sometime and say god please would you help me pay the rent or would you give me food for my children i recognize that but don't let it become your whole focus because he's already promised i want you to read these verses and meditate on them when you get home matthew chapter 6 verses 31 to 33 is either true or it's not and we have to deal with it he either will add to us everything we need or he won't i have proven in my life that it's true it's true my father told me when i went into full-time ministry he said you're a fool you're a fool he said you're throwing away your life you're throwing away your career for what and he says when you don't have money to buy milk for your children don't come running to me i remember the pain of those words i said dad all i can tell you is that god has called me and i believe that god will be faithful to me years later years later he had seen the provision of god in my life he had seen god bless me he had watched my children all go through college he had all the things that he said were never going to happen happened he watched the bills all being paid and i sat down with him and i i remember he he sat him on he sat him on a bench he was visiting me i said now now you and i have to talk again i said you've watched my life and you've seen that god has been faithful if you seek first the kingdom of god and his righteousness he said all these things will be added to you and you have witnessed that they have been added to pastor tresa and i both of us we've never needed for or wanted for anything god has always always provided for us always always shortly after that i was able to lead him to christ he saw the blessing of god you see folks he saw it skepticism went out the window and he saw it he saw what the lord had done and that's my prayer for you for me you see for this generation to be awakened they need to see the church again in order for them to see the church they need to see christ in us there is no other way we're not going to come up with some new gimmick god knows we've done that for 20 years the stupidity the church of jesus christ has done in his name is mind-boggling thinking that these things are going to save the nation when it's all here it's all clear if you begin to pray god will begin to show you what you're actually called to be and do and don't say no don't say no he's god said to moses who made your mouth don't tell me you can't speak don't tell me who created the universe with the word of his mouth there's something i can't do in your life or through your life don't tell me i can't raise you up don't tell me i can't speak through you or flow through you or do miracles through you don't tell me i can't provide for you don't tell me i will fail you or forsake you because i won't and there comes a point where we reckon with it and we deal with it and say lord i believe god i believe i believe with all my heart that if i seek you first and your righteousness you won't fail me and you will add everything to my life that i need that i need not that i greed that i need there's a big difference he'll add it to you praise be to god it's so hard to believe that it's so quiet when you start talking about faith beyond bread clothes it's so hard but it's so real and every once in a while through history somebody lays hold of it i love that i love the fact that isaiah the prophet says it's the lame who take the pray it's the people who got the miracles in jesus day wasn't it the people who just crawled through the crowd people with their religious garments scritched their beards and say how could a prophet come from jerusalem while the lepers climbing through and the people are blind and say have mercy on me they're getting the miracles the religious crowd are just left with their beards and they're all their scriptures and the people that nobody cared about are getting the miracles and they're testifying of who god is and what he has done seek first the kingdom of god seek first the kingdom of god and a few of these things will be added to you oh it doesn't say that what does it say all these things shall be added to you seek first the kingdom of god so let your prayer be lord what would you have me to do that's where it started with saul of tarsus when the lord touched him and he became paul the apostle the first prayer out of that man's mouth lord what would you have me to do praise me to god and god kept him his whole life god kept him he sought first the kingdom of god in the storm in acts chapter 27 he sought first the kingdom of god and god added to him 276 souls on that ship he broke bread what do you think he got the bread from in the midst of the storm it was added to him because he was seeking first the kingdom of god and his righteousness where do you think he got the piece of wood that he had to hang on to to swim to shore it was added to him god gave him these things because he sought first the kingdom of god and his righteousness and all these things were added to him and may we lay hold of that truth again in our generation may we cherish it may we love it may we long for it with all of our heart may it not be just a fanciful thought that we push to the sidelines and then go back to praying about our add-ons may it be the focus of our lives because the future of thousands of people now depends on it on what you and i choose to do and we are right on the edge of an awakening now god has spared us an unspeakable agenda of darkness in the nation for only a short season we have only a window to pray this way but if we will pray if we will call out to god if we will say lord use my life the potential in this room is mind-boggling of what god could do the people that he could raise up in every strata of society i'm not talking about just preachers in a pulpit every strata of society whether it's in the media whether it's in business whether it's in the school system wherever there's no limit to what god could do through your life and you and i won't just be reading about what god did through some other people at some other time no it will be written about us as well i'm not satisfied just to read about what god did in history i believe jesus christ is the same yesterday today and forever i believe that with all my heart and so i'm going to seek him with all my heart and his righteousness and all these things should be added i'm not worried about the things anymore praise be to god have courage to believe him you have courage have courage to believe that you might be a missionary have courage to believe that god can actually flow healing and deliverance through your hands this moment in history depends on what you and i choose to do now because there is no plan b it's all in the hands of the church now by god's grace we will be what god calls us to be thank you for joining us this week for a call to the nation with carter conlon from times square church in new york city for more information log on to tsc.nyc that's tsc.nyc you can count on a powerful message each week on a call to the nation with carter conlon