Because this is the first day of the year I want to talk to you about a very specific challenge. It’s one that we find in the sermon on the Mount. Matthew 6:25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. The kingdom of Gentiles is living life of worry- worrying about stuff. Clothing. Food. Status. Paychecks. The size of your yard. Comfort. Security. Am I doing better than my neighbor? How can I get more? How can I give my kid an advantage? God is absent in the details of life and the only one who’s going to look out for me, is me. But there’s another kingdom. We read it in verse 33; But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. There is a Kingdom we can seek and live under that is different. There is a King we can trust. This is the challenge that I want to give you for 2023. Seek first… The kingdom of God… And his righteousness… What is your plan to seek first the kingdom of God? What is your plan to get closer to the king? What does it mean to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness? I am an American and I live in America. I live, in a sense, in the Kingdom of America. And because I’ve lived in the culture of America I have most of the traits that identify me as an American. Well, there is another kingdom. It is called the kingdom of God. And Jesus is telling us that we are to seek it - intentionally go and find it. And we are to live as citizens of this kingdom. And we are to be as immersed in the culture of the kingdom of our king as we are in the culture of the country that we are living in. To understand the kingdom let’s go to the Lord’s prayer. We are told of prayer Matthew 6:10 “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on the earth as it’s done in heaven.” We are told that there is a kingdom. And where there is a kingdom there is a king. And where is the kingdom? It’s up there! So, what is up there? God is up there ruling is perfection. What is up there is God’s perfect love, God’s perfect salvation, God’s perfect power, God’s perfect wisdom, and God’s perfect ways. So, the Lord’s prayer tells us that there is a kingdom up there and we are to call for it to come down here. We want up there down here. Seek first to live under the rule and the reign of God. So, here is the challenge for 2023; Give God the first five minutes of your day in order that you can seek first his kingdom. Give your spiritual life the first five priority minutes of your day. I guess the bigger question is this; what is your plan for spiritual formation and to seek the King for 2023? Let me give you one simple Jesus plan: Matthew 5:5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. - Find a place to go. - Shut the door and get private. - In that secret place seek the King who was also your father in heaven. - And the father will reward you.