January 21, 2025 • 27 mins
This episode emphasizes the importance of seeking God first in our lives and how this practice leads to spiritual fulfillment and peace. We discuss practical steps to prioritize God, identify barriers to spiritual growth, and highlight the benefits of making God the focus of our daily routines.
Matthew 6:33 "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
Welcome and thanks for tuning in to Real People,
real Talk Relevant conversationsthat take you from surviving to
thriving.
This is the podcast that goesthere.
My name is Paul Calco and I'myour host.
Now let's talk.
Hello, thriver, and welcome tothe first episode for Real
(00:32):
People, real Talk in 2025.
This is the podcast ministrythat equips you to thrive
spiritually, relationally andmentally.
I want you to thrive in yourwalk with the Lord.
I want you to thrive in yourwalk with the Lord.
I want you to thrive in all ofyour relationships and I want
you to thrive from a mentalhealth perspective as well.
(00:53):
But today's episode was allabout thriving in your walk with
the Lord.
I did some research and,according to the Pew Research
Center, only 68% of ChristiansOnly 68% of Christians say that
they pray daily, 17% say weeklyand 9% say that they pray
seldomly.
And when it comes to readingthe Bible, the stats are even
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worse 48% of Christians say thatthey read the Bible once a week
, 33% say that they read itseldomly and 12% say that they
read it once or twice a month.
With these sad stats in mind, Iwant to revisit a sermon about
seeking the Lord.
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You may have set some goals andyou may have made some
resolutions for the year, andthat's cool and all, but I would
implore you to put seeking Godand making him a priority in
your life at the very top of thelist.
And our text today is found inMatthew, chapter 6, verses 25
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through 34, and I'm going toread that entire passage to you.
And this scripture is the bestpart of the sermon because it's
God's word directly.
And so give you a littlecontext.
This is the best sermon by thebest preacher ever.
Jesus Christ himself ispreaching what theologians call
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and scholars call the sermon onthe mount.
That's found in Matthew chapterfive, six and seven.
So it's going to be a goodsermon, because I borrowed from
the greatest preacher everpreaching the greatest sermon.
Now for the text at hand.
Therefore, I tell you, do not beanxious about your life, what
you would eat, what you woulddrink, nor about your body, what
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you will put on.
It's not life more than foodand a body more than clothing.
Look at the birds of the air.
They neither sow nor reap, norgather into barns, and yet your
heavenly Father feeds them.
Are you not of more value thanthey?
And which of you, by beinganxious, can add a single hour
to a span of life.
And why are you anxious aboutclothing?
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Consider the lilies of thefield, how they grow.
They neither toll nor spin.
Verse 29.
Yet I tell you, even solomon inall of his glory was not
arrayed like one of these.
But if god so clothes the grassof the field, come here now,
which today is alive andtomorrow is thrown into the oven
, will he not not much more?
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Clothe you, oh you of littlefaith.
Therefore, I tell you, do notbe anxious saying what should we
eat, or what should we drink,or what should we wear For the
Gentiles.
Seek out these things, and yourheavenly father knows that you
need them all Now.
Verse 33, the key verse for thissermon.
But seek first the kingdom ofGod and his righteousness, and
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all these things shall be addedunto you.
Therefore, do not be anxiousabout tomorrow, for tomorrow
will be anxious for itselfSufficient, for the day is its
own trouble, and that's the wordof God.
Let us pray.
Dear God, I ask that you wouldspeak to us through your word
today and help us not to just behearers but to be doers of your
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word.
I also ask that you would blessmy dear listener and let them
know and experience you in abrand new way.
In Jesus' name, I pray Amen.
So in today's episode, intoday's sermon, I seek to answer
two questions.
Number one what does it mean toseek God first?
We want to get practical'ssermon.
I seek to answer two questions.
Number one what does it mean toseek God first?
We want to get practical.
And secondly, we want to talkabout what gets in the way of
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seeking after God.
So in this passage of scripture,jesus is addressing the topic
of worry and anxiety.
At this point in the sermon hesays but seek first the kingdom
of God and his righteousness,and all these things shall be
added unto you.
God is calling you to shiftyour focus, to shift your
attention and to shift yourseeking back to him and his
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kingdom.
It's too close to the secondreturn of Jesus to get
distracted by anyone or anything.
I feel like preaching alreadyin this verse.
Jesus is calling us back tohimself.
He's calling us to put firstthings first.
Jesus gives us the cure forworry.
He gives us the cure for stressbecause those that put God
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first have no need to worry.
He's showing us the properorder, because seeking things
first can sometimes leadstraight to worry and anxiety,
as a matter of fact, all thetime when you get things out of
order.
But seeking God first leads topeace, it leads to contentment
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and if we're going to be honesthere and we are if we seek after
the things first, we can missout on God.
But if we seek God first, thethings will come.
That's the proper order ofseeking God first.
And when we fail to do that inour lives, in our time, in our
decision, in our relationships,when we fail to put God first,
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we are simply out of order first.
We are simply out of order.
One of the worst feelings iswalking up to a vending machine
or a drink machine or even arestroom and seeing the infamous
sign that says out of order andthe analogy.
There is this when you are outof order, you can be fully used
by God.
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There are some things that Godwants to do in you.
There are some things that Godwants to do in you.
There are some things that Godwants to do through you.
There are some great thingsthat God wants to do for you,
amen.
But you have to get in order andput first things first.
See, god has a calling on yourlife and a purpose, but you
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won't reach that being out oforder.
You won't reach that potentialwithout seeking him first and
putting him back in his rightfulplace, which is first.
So let's get practical.
Question number one what doesit mean to seek God first?
The word seek breaks down tothis to pursue, to go after, to
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search out.
There's a few questions toreflect on.
Are you actively pursuing Jesusand going forward in your walk
with God, or is your walk withGod in neutral?
Or, even worse, is your walkwith God in reverse?
And actually there is noneutrality in your walk with the
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Lord.
Either you are drifting away oryou are drawing close, and
that's just keeping it real.
In that passage we see the wordfirst.
That means before all things,top priority.
Listen here god cannot and hewill not be second place in your
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life.
God both desires and deservesto be first placed in our lives
and will accept nothing less.
We see in the passage the wordseek, we see the word first and
now we see the wordrighteousness, and that is
defined as holy, upright, livingin accordance to God's
standards.
In other words, obedience andin spite of what you may see and
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hear in the world today, inspite of what culture and
society, or even Hollywood hasto say, holiness is still right.
Without it, no man will see God.
Seek first, I say.
What does that phrase mean?
It means that you turn to Godfirst for help.
You serve, you obey and youacknowledge him in everything.
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Now, seeking God first, itwon't make you immune to the
trials and tribulations of life,but it ensures that your life
is aligned under his kingdom,under his authority, knowing
that God would take care ofeverything else.
Seeking God first means thatyou put him first in every area
and aspect of your life.
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Now, to get even more practical,to rightly divide this thing, I
want to answer the questionwhat does it look like to put
God first in every area andaspect of our lives?
Number one it starts with yourtime.
I would encourage you, whetheryou are a night person or a
morning person, to start yourday off with the Lord, because
you always have time for whatyou do first.
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Before you attempt to doanything, before you scroll,
before you check email.
Why don't you acknowledge Godfirst?
Seek him first in your calendar, seek him first in your
schedules.
When we are truly seeking andpursuing jesus, we'll make time
for prayer, we'll make time forbible study, we'll make time for
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fasting, we'll make time forthe things of god when god is a
priority in our lives, becauseit's never about having time for
the lord, but it's about makingtime for the Lord.
Everybody has 24 hours in theday, no matter where you live or
who you are.
You only got 24 hours in theday.
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Once again, it's not abouthaving time, but it's about
making time, and Jesus, he'sworthy of it.
He deserves that.
Now, be honest here, and I wantyou to use your holy imagination
.
But if the Lord was to somehowsome way allow me to see the
time log of how you spent lastweek would it reveal that Jesus
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is first place in your life, orwould it reveal that Jesus is an
afterthought or just a Sundaymorning thing?
If you can't say amen, you cansay ouch.
Don't be alarmed now.
This message isn't anything tomake you feel bad, but to
lovingly and graciously admonishyou to put first things first
and to make Jesus a top priorityin your life.
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Now I'm getting more specific,more practical.
You put God first in your timeand you may say what do you do
with the time?
Well, you read God's word,something I like to say, and I
hope you get it, and I hope youhear it and not just hear, but
do it, but get into God's worduntil it gets into you with that
time that you're spending withGod.
We need to be reading God'sword, because that's how God
reveals his will, reveals hispurpose, and he reveals his
character.
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I would also encourage you toget on a reading plan.
Therefore, you can read God'sword systematically, and one of
the things that I've been doingis reading the Bible.
In a year, also in the month ofJanuary, I read one proverb a
day.
And so get in the Bible app,choose a reading plan, and so
you can read God's wordsystematically.
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Knowing God's word is essentialto your walk with him.
It's when you're reading andstudying God's word you're
memorizing, you're meditating onit that you get to know God.
You get to know who he is, youget to know his character, you
get to know his will.
Reading the Bible strengthensyour faith because, as we're
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reading God's word, we see whathe has done and we realize that
he is that very same God today,and he is still able to get into
God's word because it'spowerful, it's life changing.
It's a powerful weapon againstthe twos of the enemy.
And the second way that we spendthe time with the Lord and
putting him first is throughprayer.
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Prayer is the most importantconversation of the day, so
don't miss it.
It's your opportunity to justto be in God's presence, to
express your gratitude, toexpress your praise and to
express your worship to him.
It strengthens your connectionand your fellowship with Jesus.
First Thessalonians 5, 17 saysto pray continually.
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And to put that all together,I'm just going to make it plain
here Set a time, set a place andseek God.
Time in the word and time inprayer, no excuses.
Once again, it's not abouthaving time for God, it's about
making time for God, because hemade time for you.
Time with the Lord is neverwasted, but rather it's a wise
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investment of your time.
And they got more good news foryou you can be as close to God
as you want to be.
The Bible says in James 4, 8,draw near to God and he will
draw near to you.
When we fail to put God first inour time, we often end up just
doing a lot of nothing, if we'rehonest.
So put God first in our time,we often end up just doing a lot
of nothing, if we're honest.
So put God first in your time.
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Once again, I titled thismessage First Things First as a
gentle reminder to seek Godfirst and to keep him first
place in your life.
And when you get that orderright, everything else will fall
in place, because it's ourrelationship with Jesus that
impacts everything else.
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It is our relationship withJesus that impacts every other
relationship.
Hear this when you write withGod, you'll be a better spouse.
When you write with God, you'llbe a better parent, a better
friend, a better coworker, andwhen you're right with God,
you'll be a better person intraffic, amen.
And another way that we put Godfirst and we seek Jesus first
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is by fasting.
Now I've done sermons andepisodes fully dedicated to
prayer, fully dedicated to Biblestudy, fully dedicated to
fasting, and so I won't um harptoo long here, but I will leave
the link to those episodes belowso you can check them out.
But a little bit about fasting.
Fasting is abstaining from foodfor spiritual purposes.
It's a means of seeking god'sface.
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Fasting is so much more than adiet, but it's time of
consecration before the Lord.
Fasting isn't merely suggestedbut is expected, as we see in
Matthew six.
It doesn't say if you fast, butit says when you fast.
Fasting is an act of worshipand an act of obedience.
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It's a continuous prayer beforethe Lord that says more than I
want food, god, I want you.
And biblical fasting createsroom for God.
Here's what I mean.
When you look in the Bible,they didn't have restaurants,
they didn't have fast foodplaces, they didn't have grocery
stores.
So when they ate, they had togrow their food and prepare
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their food, or kill their foodand prepare their food.
So when they fasted, theycreated so much more room and
time in their schedule so theycan seek after the Lord.
So how can I relate that towhere we are right now?
So if you're fasting, insteadof saying, well, I'm just going
to work through my lunch, no,take that lunch break.
But instead of eating, youspend that time in the word and
you spend that time in prayer.
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I'm fasting.
It brings about restoration,because it was eating that got
us in trouble in the first placewhen you look back at Genesis.
So fasting restores.
So once again, I've doneepisodes related to those topics
.
I'm going to leave those linksin the show notes so you can
take a listen.
Not only should we put God firstin our time by reading God's
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word, spending time in prayer,spending time fasting, but we
should put God first in ourdecisions.
The Bible says in Proverbs 3, 5, to trust in the Lord with all
your heart.
Lean not to your ownunderstanding.
In all your ways, acknowledgehim and he will make straight
your paths.
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So when you have decisions tomake, whether it's regarding
relationships or your major or acareer move, or move in a
different state or any decisionacknowledge God first and he
will direct your path.
We also should put God first inour finances.
The Bible talks about tithesand offerings, giving God the
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first and giving God the best.
And the right perspective isthis it's not about giving God
10% of your money, but it'sabout God allowing you to keep
90% of his money.
So honor God in your finances.
I've heard it said like this Ifyou want to see what's really
important in people's lives, youlook at their planners and you
look at their bank accounts.
Honor God and he will honor youfirst things first.
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So put God first in your time,put God first in your decisions,
put God first in your finances,but also put God first in your
relationships.
Put God first in your marriage,put God first in your family.
And here's what that can looklike God first in your marriage,
put God first in your family.
And here's what that can looklike Worshiping together, going
to church together, servingtogether, praying for your
spouse, praying with your spouse, praying for your kids and
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praying with your kids, having afamily devotion time.
I remember when I lived inMississippi, in my parents'
house I remember it used to beone of the nights was Saturday
nights.
We all get in the living room,we open up God's word, we take
turns reading and mom and dadwould just preach to us.
And it still has an impact onme to this day.
So I would encourage you to putGod first in your home, your
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marriage and your family byseeking the Lord together.
Now, there are benefits andblessings to seeking god first,
because this verse 33, where itsays seek first the kingdom of
god and his righteousness andall these things should be added
unto you.
So this verse presents to us aprinciple and a promise.
The principle the command isthis to seek.
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And then the promise godguarantees that he would take
care of everything else.
Now let's look at a few morescriptures that talk about
seeking.
Psalms 34, 10 says the younglion suffer, want and hunger,
but those who seek the Lord lackno good thing.
Lamentations 3, 25.
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The Lord is good to those whowait for him, to the soul who
seeks him.
Hebrews 11, 6.
And without faith, it isimpossible to please God,
because anyone who comes to himmust believe that he exists,
that he rewards those thatearnestly seek after him.
There are benefits to seekingJesus, and I'm not talking about
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money.
I'm not talking about money.
I'm not talking about a car,I'm not talking about a
promotion.
I'm talking about some thingsthat money can't buy.
When you're seeking out the God,god will give you revelation,
god will give you wisdom, godwill give you direction, god
will give you peace and I'mtalking about a peace that
surpasses all understanding thateven when you can't figure it
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out, you still have a calmness,a peace, because you know that
God is already working out onyour behalf as you're seeking
after the Lord, not only will hegive you revelation and wisdom
and direction and peace, but hewill also give you joy, joy
unspepeakable, not just a smileon your face, but a smile in
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your heart, knowing that it iswell and that all is well.
As you're seeking after thelord, god will bestow upon you a
satisfaction, a fulfillment,fruitfulness, contentment.
Man, as you're seeking afterthe Lord, your problems get
smaller.
That's why the Bible says oh,magnify the Lord with me.
Let's put our focus andattention on God, who's a
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problem solver, and not on ourproblems.
As you seek after the Lord,another benefit, another
spiritual benefit, is that youbecome more like him and you
develop christ likeness.
You develop the fruit of thespirit love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, gentlenessand self-control.
When you seek after the lord,the clearer his voice will begin
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to be in your life.
When you seek after the lord,the lord will give you the
victory.
When you victory, when you seekGod, when you put him first,
when you put him in his properplace.
Thus you're making room for himto do exceedingly and
abundantly.
Above all, that you actuallythink, because, at the end of
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the day, you can't go wrong whenyou're seeking after God.
Now for question number two whatgets in the way of putting God
first?
I'm going to be honest hereLaziness, procrastination.
I remember one time when I wasin college, I was I'm going to
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be honest with you I was in aspiritual rut.
I remember waking up late formy eight o'clock class and I was
like you know what?
I'm going to spend time withthe Lord at the end of the day
when I go to bed.
And I went throughout the day,went to my classes, did some
studying, some video games andall the things that college
shooters do hanging out withfriends, eating, et cetera.
And I was so tired that when Iput my head on the pillow I was
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like you know what?
I'm going to spend time withthe Lord in the morning.
And so that cycle went on for acouple of days and I was
convicted about the Holy Spirit,because I know that the right
thing to do for my relationshipwith the Lord is to put him
first and to spend time with him.
And I just had to set myself toseek the Lord.
Sometimes you've got to make adecision.
No matter what's going on in mylife, no matter what's going on
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in my schedule, I am going toseek the Lord and I am going to
put him first.
The Bible says in Daniel 9 3.
And I set my face unto the Lordto seek by prayer and
supplication, with fasting andsackcloth and ashes.
Sometimes you just got to setyourself to seek the Lord.
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Sometimes you just got to setyourself to seek the lord.
Other things that gets in theway of us putting god first
spiritual apathy, spiritualdryness.
Maybe you're in a spiritual rut.
Maybe you have this spiritualattitude that just says I just
don't care and that's adangerous place to be, where
you're lukewarm and you justdon't care about your walk with
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the lord.
That's a dangerous place to be,where you're lukewarm and you
just don't care about your walkwith the Lord.
That's a dangerous place to beand the cure for that is
extended time with God, time inthe word, time in prayer and
even fasting.
Other things that can get inthe way.
Maybe need to do less Netflix,less YouTube, less TikTok or
less you know, insert yourfavorite app so you can make
room for Jesus in your life Now,no, of course, christmas is
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already over, but I am remindedof when Mary and Joseph was
looking for a room for Jesus andthe innkeeper said there was no
room.
And this begs the question, asI bring it up to now is there
room for Jesus in your life ordo we crowd him out with
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distractions and the things ofthe world?
I just want to both challengeyou and encourage you to make
God and his kingdom the toppriority in your life, putting
first things first.
How would your life transform,how would your life improve if
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you really put God first thisyear.
Until we put God first, wewould never be satisfied.
You can shop all you want, youcan take a vacation after
vacation, you can get apromotion, you can get more
money, you can do this, you cando that, but you will still be
emptying and finding yourselfneeding more and more stuff.
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Listen, my friend, you wouldnever know the full reward of
obedience until you put Godfirst.
So let this be the year, letthis be the month, let this be
the time in your life that yougive God your best and you put
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him first.
I promise you you won't regretthat.
The top priority in your life itshouldn't be accolades,
achievements or money, butrather your personal, intimate
relationship with the lord andsavior, jesus christ, because
everything flows from that onerelationship, that one person.
So make the decision now to putgod first in every area of your
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life and to keep him there.
There is so much that god wantsto do for you, in you and
through you, but you have to getin order by putting him first.
Make jesus a priority in yourlife, because jesus made you a
priority in his life over 2 000years ago.
Come on now.
It's good to seek jesus, but weshould take a minute and thank
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jesus for seeking after us.
He left heaven and came toearth to seek and save the lost.
He loved you so much that hecounted you worthy enough to die
for.
And we should love him and weshould count him worthy enough
to live for, worthy enough toput first.
And the way that we do that,the way that we come to him, is
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by repenting.
We turn away from our sins, werepent and we turn to Jesus,
place our faith and trust in himfor salvation alone.
And so I walk with him andfollow him and making the right
decisions and walking inobedience to his word.
Amen.
Make the choice to follow andserve Jesus.
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Choosing jesus christ is thebest choice you can ever make.
I want to encourage you, if youhaven't already made the
decision, to make the decisionto follow him.
Studies show that we make about35 000 choices in a day what to
eat, what to wear.
You gotta press snooze, brushmy teeth, use this deodorant or
use that.
So many decisions, and if youwant to live, to be in your
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upper 70s, you do the math.
That comes out to approximately1 billion decisions.
I said all that to say this outof all those decisions, the most
important one ever that impactsnow and later, that impacts
your life on earth and your lifebeyond earth, it's a decision
to make jesus christ your lordand savior.
So, of course, this sermon wasabout seeking god first and
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putting him first.
But maybe you need to back upand make the first decision of
making him lord and savior ofyour life and choosing to follow
him.
And so I want to conclude justhow I began, with the best part
of the sermon, and that's God'sword, the key verse Matthew 6,
verse 33.
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But seek first the kingdom ofGod and his righteousness, and
all these things will be addedunto you.
Amen and amen.
Welcome and thanks for tuning in to Real People,
real Talk Relevant conversationsthat take you from surviving to
thriving.
This is the podcast that goesthere.
My name is Paul Calco and I'myour host.
Now let's talk.
Hello, thriver, and welcome tothe first episode for Real
(00:32):
People, real Talk in 2025.
This is the podcast ministrythat equips you to thrive
spiritually, relationally andmentally.
I want you to thrive in yourwalk with the Lord.
I want you to thrive in yourwalk with the Lord.
I want you to thrive in all ofyour relationships and I want
you to thrive from a mentalhealth perspective as well.
(00:53):
But today's episode was allabout thriving in your walk with
the Lord.
I did some research and,according to the Pew Research
Center, only 68% of ChristiansOnly 68% of Christians say that
they pray daily, 17% say weeklyand 9% say that they pray
seldomly.
And when it comes to readingthe Bible, the stats are even
(01:14):
worse 48% of Christians say thatthey read the Bible once a week
, 33% say that they read itseldomly and 12% say that they
read it once or twice a month.
With these sad stats in mind, Iwant to revisit a sermon about
seeking the Lord.
(01:35):
You may have set some goals andyou may have made some
resolutions for the year, andthat's cool and all, but I would
implore you to put seeking Godand making him a priority in
your life at the very top of thelist.
And our text today is found inMatthew, chapter 6, verses 25
(01:57):
through 34, and I'm going toread that entire passage to you.
And this scripture is the bestpart of the sermon because it's
God's word directly.
And so give you a littlecontext.
This is the best sermon by thebest preacher ever.
Jesus Christ himself ispreaching what theologians call
(02:20):
and scholars call the sermon onthe mount.
That's found in Matthew chapterfive, six and seven.
So it's going to be a goodsermon, because I borrowed from
the greatest preacher everpreaching the greatest sermon.
Now for the text at hand.
Therefore, I tell you, do not beanxious about your life, what
you would eat, what you woulddrink, nor about your body, what
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you will put on.
It's not life more than foodand a body more than clothing.
Look at the birds of the air.
They neither sow nor reap, norgather into barns, and yet your
heavenly Father feeds them.
Are you not of more value thanthey?
And which of you, by beinganxious, can add a single hour
to a span of life.
And why are you anxious aboutclothing?
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Consider the lilies of thefield, how they grow.
They neither toll nor spin.
Verse 29.
Yet I tell you, even solomon inall of his glory was not
arrayed like one of these.
But if god so clothes the grassof the field, come here now,
which today is alive andtomorrow is thrown into the oven
, will he not not much more?
(03:23):
Clothe you, oh you of littlefaith.
Therefore, I tell you, do notbe anxious saying what should we
eat, or what should we drink,or what should we wear For the
Gentiles.
Seek out these things, and yourheavenly father knows that you
need them all Now.
Verse 33, the key verse for thissermon.
But seek first the kingdom ofGod and his righteousness, and
(03:48):
all these things shall be addedunto you.
Therefore, do not be anxiousabout tomorrow, for tomorrow
will be anxious for itselfSufficient, for the day is its
own trouble, and that's the wordof God.
Let us pray.
Dear God, I ask that you wouldspeak to us through your word
today and help us not to just behearers but to be doers of your
(04:10):
word.
I also ask that you would blessmy dear listener and let them
know and experience you in abrand new way.
In Jesus' name, I pray Amen.
So in today's episode, intoday's sermon, I seek to answer
two questions.
Number one what does it mean toseek God first?
We want to get practical'ssermon.
I seek to answer two questions.
Number one what does it mean toseek God first?
We want to get practical.
And secondly, we want to talkabout what gets in the way of
(04:31):
seeking after God.
So in this passage of scripture,jesus is addressing the topic
of worry and anxiety.
At this point in the sermon hesays but seek first the kingdom
of God and his righteousness,and all these things shall be
added unto you.
God is calling you to shiftyour focus, to shift your
attention and to shift yourseeking back to him and his
(04:54):
kingdom.
It's too close to the secondreturn of Jesus to get
distracted by anyone or anything.
I feel like preaching alreadyin this verse.
Jesus is calling us back tohimself.
He's calling us to put firstthings first.
Jesus gives us the cure forworry.
He gives us the cure for stressbecause those that put God
(05:16):
first have no need to worry.
He's showing us the properorder, because seeking things
first can sometimes leadstraight to worry and anxiety,
as a matter of fact, all thetime when you get things out of
order.
But seeking God first leads topeace, it leads to contentment
(05:37):
and if we're going to be honesthere and we are if we seek after
the things first, we can missout on God.
But if we seek God first, thethings will come.
That's the proper order ofseeking God first.
And when we fail to do that inour lives, in our time, in our
decision, in our relationships,when we fail to put God first,
(06:00):
we are simply out of order first.
We are simply out of order.
One of the worst feelings iswalking up to a vending machine
or a drink machine or even arestroom and seeing the infamous
sign that says out of order andthe analogy.
There is this when you are outof order, you can be fully used
by God.
(06:21):
There are some things that Godwants to do in you.
There are some things that Godwants to do in you.
There are some things that Godwants to do through you.
There are some great thingsthat God wants to do for you,
amen.
But you have to get in order andput first things first.
See, god has a calling on yourlife and a purpose, but you
(06:42):
won't reach that being out oforder.
You won't reach that potentialwithout seeking him first and
putting him back in his rightfulplace, which is first.
So let's get practical.
Question number one what doesit mean to seek God first?
The word seek breaks down tothis to pursue, to go after, to
(07:03):
search out.
There's a few questions toreflect on.
Are you actively pursuing Jesusand going forward in your walk
with God, or is your walk withGod in neutral?
Or, even worse, is your walkwith God in reverse?
And actually there is noneutrality in your walk with the
(07:25):
Lord.
Either you are drifting away oryou are drawing close, and
that's just keeping it real.
In that passage we see the wordfirst.
That means before all things,top priority.
Listen here god cannot and hewill not be second place in your
(07:47):
life.
God both desires and deservesto be first placed in our lives
and will accept nothing less.
We see in the passage the wordseek, we see the word first and
now we see the wordrighteousness, and that is
defined as holy, upright, livingin accordance to God's
standards.
In other words, obedience andin spite of what you may see and
(08:11):
hear in the world today, inspite of what culture and
society, or even Hollywood hasto say, holiness is still right.
Without it, no man will see God.
Seek first, I say.
What does that phrase mean?
It means that you turn to Godfirst for help.
You serve, you obey and youacknowledge him in everything.
(08:36):
Now, seeking God first, itwon't make you immune to the
trials and tribulations of life,but it ensures that your life
is aligned under his kingdom,under his authority, knowing
that God would take care ofeverything else.
Seeking God first means thatyou put him first in every area
and aspect of your life.
(08:58):
Now, to get even more practical,to rightly divide this thing, I
want to answer the questionwhat does it look like to put
God first in every area andaspect of our lives?
Number one it starts with yourtime.
I would encourage you, whetheryou are a night person or a
morning person, to start yourday off with the Lord, because
you always have time for whatyou do first.
(09:20):
Before you attempt to doanything, before you scroll,
before you check email.
Why don't you acknowledge Godfirst?
Seek him first in your calendar, seek him first in your
schedules.
When we are truly seeking andpursuing jesus, we'll make time
for prayer, we'll make time forbible study, we'll make time for
(09:40):
fasting, we'll make time forthe things of god when god is a
priority in our lives, becauseit's never about having time for
the lord, but it's about makingtime for the Lord.
Everybody has 24 hours in theday, no matter where you live or
who you are.
You only got 24 hours in theday.
(10:01):
Once again, it's not abouthaving time, but it's about
making time, and Jesus, he'sworthy of it.
He deserves that.
Now, be honest here, and I wantyou to use your holy imagination
.
But if the Lord was to somehowsome way allow me to see the
time log of how you spent lastweek would it reveal that Jesus
(10:23):
is first place in your life, orwould it reveal that Jesus is an
afterthought or just a Sundaymorning thing?
If you can't say amen, you cansay ouch.
Don't be alarmed now.
This message isn't anything tomake you feel bad, but to
lovingly and graciously admonishyou to put first things first
and to make Jesus a top priorityin your life.
(10:46):
Now I'm getting more specific,more practical.
You put God first in your timeand you may say what do you do
with the time?
Well, you read God's word,something I like to say, and I
hope you get it, and I hope youhear it and not just hear, but
do it, but get into God's worduntil it gets into you with that
time that you're spending withGod.
We need to be reading God'sword, because that's how God
reveals his will, reveals hispurpose, and he reveals his
character.
(11:06):
I would also encourage you toget on a reading plan.
Therefore, you can read God'sword systematically, and one of
the things that I've been doingis reading the Bible.
In a year, also in the month ofJanuary, I read one proverb a
day.
And so get in the Bible app,choose a reading plan, and so
you can read God's wordsystematically.
(11:26):
Knowing God's word is essentialto your walk with him.
It's when you're reading andstudying God's word you're
memorizing, you're meditating onit that you get to know God.
You get to know who he is, youget to know his character, you
get to know his will.
Reading the Bible strengthensyour faith because, as we're
(11:48):
reading God's word, we see whathe has done and we realize that
he is that very same God today,and he is still able to get into
God's word because it'spowerful, it's life changing.
It's a powerful weapon againstthe twos of the enemy.
And the second way that we spendthe time with the Lord and
putting him first is throughprayer.
(12:08):
Prayer is the most importantconversation of the day, so
don't miss it.
It's your opportunity to justto be in God's presence, to
express your gratitude, toexpress your praise and to
express your worship to him.
It strengthens your connectionand your fellowship with Jesus.
First Thessalonians 5, 17 saysto pray continually.
(12:31):
And to put that all together,I'm just going to make it plain
here Set a time, set a place andseek God.
Time in the word and time inprayer, no excuses.
Once again, it's not abouthaving time for God, it's about
making time for God, because hemade time for you.
Time with the Lord is neverwasted, but rather it's a wise
(12:55):
investment of your time.
And they got more good news foryou you can be as close to God
as you want to be.
The Bible says in James 4, 8,draw near to God and he will
draw near to you.
When we fail to put God first inour time, we often end up just
doing a lot of nothing, if we'rehonest.
So put God first in our time,we often end up just doing a lot
of nothing, if we're honest.
So put God first in your time.
(13:17):
Once again, I titled thismessage First Things First as a
gentle reminder to seek Godfirst and to keep him first
place in your life.
And when you get that orderright, everything else will fall
in place, because it's ourrelationship with Jesus that
impacts everything else.
(13:39):
It is our relationship withJesus that impacts every other
relationship.
Hear this when you write withGod, you'll be a better spouse.
When you write with God, you'llbe a better parent, a better
friend, a better coworker, andwhen you're right with God,
you'll be a better person intraffic, amen.
And another way that we put Godfirst and we seek Jesus first
(14:02):
is by fasting.
Now I've done sermons andepisodes fully dedicated to
prayer, fully dedicated to Biblestudy, fully dedicated to
fasting, and so I won't um harptoo long here, but I will leave
the link to those episodes belowso you can check them out.
But a little bit about fasting.
Fasting is abstaining from foodfor spiritual purposes.
It's a means of seeking god'sface.
(14:25):
Fasting is so much more than adiet, but it's time of
consecration before the Lord.
Fasting isn't merely suggestedbut is expected, as we see in
Matthew six.
It doesn't say if you fast, butit says when you fast.
Fasting is an act of worshipand an act of obedience.
(14:46):
It's a continuous prayer beforethe Lord that says more than I
want food, god, I want you.
And biblical fasting createsroom for God.
Here's what I mean.
When you look in the Bible,they didn't have restaurants,
they didn't have fast foodplaces, they didn't have grocery
stores.
So when they ate, they had togrow their food and prepare
(15:08):
their food, or kill their foodand prepare their food.
So when they fasted, theycreated so much more room and
time in their schedule so theycan seek after the Lord.
So how can I relate that towhere we are right now?
So if you're fasting, insteadof saying, well, I'm just going
to work through my lunch, no,take that lunch break.
But instead of eating, youspend that time in the word and
you spend that time in prayer.
(15:29):
I'm fasting.
It brings about restoration,because it was eating that got
us in trouble in the first placewhen you look back at Genesis.
So fasting restores.
So once again, I've doneepisodes related to those topics
.
I'm going to leave those linksin the show notes so you can
take a listen.
Not only should we put God firstin our time by reading God's
(15:51):
word, spending time in prayer,spending time fasting, but we
should put God first in ourdecisions.
The Bible says in Proverbs 3, 5, to trust in the Lord with all
your heart.
Lean not to your ownunderstanding.
In all your ways, acknowledgehim and he will make straight
your paths.
(16:11):
So when you have decisions tomake, whether it's regarding
relationships or your major or acareer move, or move in a
different state or any decisionacknowledge God first and he
will direct your path.
We also should put God first inour finances.
The Bible talks about tithesand offerings, giving God the
(16:33):
first and giving God the best.
And the right perspective isthis it's not about giving God
10% of your money, but it'sabout God allowing you to keep
90% of his money.
So honor God in your finances.
I've heard it said like this Ifyou want to see what's really
important in people's lives, youlook at their planners and you
look at their bank accounts.
Honor God and he will honor youfirst things first.
(17:02):
So put God first in your time,put God first in your decisions,
put God first in your finances,but also put God first in your
relationships.
Put God first in your marriage,put God first in your family.
And here's what that can looklike God first in your marriage,
put God first in your family.
And here's what that can looklike Worshiping together, going
to church together, servingtogether, praying for your
spouse, praying with your spouse, praying for your kids and
(17:24):
praying with your kids, having afamily devotion time.
I remember when I lived inMississippi, in my parents'
house I remember it used to beone of the nights was Saturday
nights.
We all get in the living room,we open up God's word, we take
turns reading and mom and dadwould just preach to us.
And it still has an impact onme to this day.
So I would encourage you to putGod first in your home, your
(17:44):
marriage and your family byseeking the Lord together.
Now, there are benefits andblessings to seeking god first,
because this verse 33, where itsays seek first the kingdom of
god and his righteousness andall these things should be added
unto you.
So this verse presents to us aprinciple and a promise.
The principle the command isthis to seek.
(18:08):
And then the promise godguarantees that he would take
care of everything else.
Now let's look at a few morescriptures that talk about
seeking.
Psalms 34, 10 says the younglion suffer, want and hunger,
but those who seek the Lord lackno good thing.
Lamentations 3, 25.
(18:28):
The Lord is good to those whowait for him, to the soul who
seeks him.
Hebrews 11, 6.
And without faith, it isimpossible to please God,
because anyone who comes to himmust believe that he exists,
that he rewards those thatearnestly seek after him.
There are benefits to seekingJesus, and I'm not talking about
(18:53):
money.
I'm not talking about money.
I'm not talking about a car,I'm not talking about a
promotion.
I'm talking about some thingsthat money can't buy.
When you're seeking out the God,god will give you revelation,
god will give you wisdom, godwill give you direction, god
will give you peace and I'mtalking about a peace that
surpasses all understanding thateven when you can't figure it
(19:17):
out, you still have a calmness,a peace, because you know that
God is already working out onyour behalf as you're seeking
after the Lord, not only will hegive you revelation and wisdom
and direction and peace, but hewill also give you joy, joy
unspepeakable, not just a smileon your face, but a smile in
(19:37):
your heart, knowing that it iswell and that all is well.
As you're seeking after thelord, god will bestow upon you a
satisfaction, a fulfillment,fruitfulness, contentment.
Man, as you're seeking afterthe Lord, your problems get
smaller.
That's why the Bible says oh,magnify the Lord with me.
Let's put our focus andattention on God, who's a
(20:00):
problem solver, and not on ourproblems.
As you seek after the Lord,another benefit, another
spiritual benefit, is that youbecome more like him and you
develop christ likeness.
You develop the fruit of thespirit love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, gentlenessand self-control.
When you seek after the lord,the clearer his voice will begin
(20:23):
to be in your life.
When you seek after the lord,the lord will give you the
victory.
When you victory, when you seekGod, when you put him first,
when you put him in his properplace.
Thus you're making room for himto do exceedingly and
abundantly.
Above all, that you actuallythink, because, at the end of
(20:45):
the day, you can't go wrong whenyou're seeking after God.
Now for question number two whatgets in the way of putting God
first?
I'm going to be honest hereLaziness, procrastination.
I remember one time when I wasin college, I was I'm going to
(21:05):
be honest with you I was in aspiritual rut.
I remember waking up late formy eight o'clock class and I was
like you know what?
I'm going to spend time withthe Lord at the end of the day
when I go to bed.
And I went throughout the day,went to my classes, did some
studying, some video games andall the things that college
shooters do hanging out withfriends, eating, et cetera.
And I was so tired that when Iput my head on the pillow I was
(21:25):
like you know what?
I'm going to spend time withthe Lord in the morning.
And so that cycle went on for acouple of days and I was
convicted about the Holy Spirit,because I know that the right
thing to do for my relationshipwith the Lord is to put him
first and to spend time with him.
And I just had to set myself toseek the Lord.
Sometimes you've got to make adecision.
No matter what's going on in mylife, no matter what's going on
(21:49):
in my schedule, I am going toseek the Lord and I am going to
put him first.
The Bible says in Daniel 9 3.
And I set my face unto the Lordto seek by prayer and
supplication, with fasting andsackcloth and ashes.
Sometimes you just got to setyourself to seek the Lord.
(22:10):
Sometimes you just got to setyourself to seek the lord.
Other things that gets in theway of us putting god first
spiritual apathy, spiritualdryness.
Maybe you're in a spiritual rut.
Maybe you have this spiritualattitude that just says I just
don't care and that's adangerous place to be, where
you're lukewarm and you justdon't care about your walk with
(22:31):
the lord.
That's a dangerous place to be,where you're lukewarm and you
just don't care about your walkwith the Lord.
That's a dangerous place to beand the cure for that is
extended time with God, time inthe word, time in prayer and
even fasting.
Other things that can get inthe way.
Maybe need to do less Netflix,less YouTube, less TikTok or
less you know, insert yourfavorite app so you can make
room for Jesus in your life Now,no, of course, christmas is
(22:54):
already over, but I am remindedof when Mary and Joseph was
looking for a room for Jesus andthe innkeeper said there was no
room.
And this begs the question, asI bring it up to now is there
room for Jesus in your life ordo we crowd him out with
(23:15):
distractions and the things ofthe world?
I just want to both challengeyou and encourage you to make
God and his kingdom the toppriority in your life, putting
first things first.
How would your life transform,how would your life improve if
(23:38):
you really put God first thisyear.
Until we put God first, wewould never be satisfied.
You can shop all you want, youcan take a vacation after
vacation, you can get apromotion, you can get more
money, you can do this, you cando that, but you will still be
emptying and finding yourselfneeding more and more stuff.
(24:00):
Listen, my friend, you wouldnever know the full reward of
obedience until you put Godfirst.
So let this be the year, letthis be the month, let this be
the time in your life that yougive God your best and you put
(24:20):
him first.
I promise you you won't regretthat.
The top priority in your life itshouldn't be accolades,
achievements or money, butrather your personal, intimate
relationship with the lord andsavior, jesus christ, because
everything flows from that onerelationship, that one person.
So make the decision now to putgod first in every area of your
(24:44):
life and to keep him there.
There is so much that god wantsto do for you, in you and
through you, but you have to getin order by putting him first.
Make jesus a priority in yourlife, because jesus made you a
priority in his life over 2 000years ago.
Come on now.
It's good to seek jesus, but weshould take a minute and thank
(25:07):
jesus for seeking after us.
He left heaven and came toearth to seek and save the lost.
He loved you so much that hecounted you worthy enough to die
for.
And we should love him and weshould count him worthy enough
to live for, worthy enough toput first.
And the way that we do that,the way that we come to him, is
(25:29):
by repenting.
We turn away from our sins, werepent and we turn to Jesus,
place our faith and trust in himfor salvation alone.
And so I walk with him andfollow him and making the right
decisions and walking inobedience to his word.
Amen.
Make the choice to follow andserve Jesus.
(25:52):
Choosing jesus christ is thebest choice you can ever make.
I want to encourage you, if youhaven't already made the
decision, to make the decisionto follow him.
Studies show that we make about35 000 choices in a day what to
eat, what to wear.
You gotta press snooze, brushmy teeth, use this deodorant or
use that.
So many decisions, and if youwant to live, to be in your
(26:16):
upper 70s, you do the math.
That comes out to approximately1 billion decisions.
I said all that to say this outof all those decisions, the most
important one ever that impactsnow and later, that impacts
your life on earth and your lifebeyond earth, it's a decision
to make jesus christ your lordand savior.
So, of course, this sermon wasabout seeking god first and
(26:39):
putting him first.
But maybe you need to back upand make the first decision of
making him lord and savior ofyour life and choosing to follow
him.
And so I want to conclude justhow I began, with the best part
of the sermon, and that's God'sword, the key verse Matthew 6,
verse 33.
(27:00):
But seek first the kingdom ofGod and his righteousness, and
all these things will be addedunto you.
Amen and amen.
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