Sermon Synopsis 1/4/26

Delivered by Bishop Walker III

Scripture: Matthew 6:33 (NKJV)

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

Opening Prayer & Framing

Lord, we lift up Your name. Speak to us today. Strengthen our faith. Change our lives by what we are about to receive. In Jesus name amen!

I.            Introduction

As we step into a brand-new year, God is not calling us to shallow resolutions or temporary motivation. God is calling us into divine alignment. This is not about making promises we’ll forget by February. This is about reordering our priorities so our lives line up with heaven.

Tell somebody near you: Alignment.

This is the season where God is saying:

• Stop giving Me what’s left.
• Start giving Me what’s first.

Too often we begin the year chasing blessings—more money, more peace, more opportunity. But this year God says, “Don’t chase blessings. Chase Me.” Because when you seek God fully, you don’t have to search for what God has already assigned to your life.

Some of us have been exhausted, but not because we were empty. We were exhausted because our lives were out of order. Anything out of order cannot operate in overflow.

Alignment is not about addition. Alignment is about arrangement.

When your life lines up with God’s will, blessings begin to flow in ways your natural ability could never manufacture. This year, don’t just pray for more—pray for position.

There is a difference between being busy and being blessed.

II.            The Context of Jesus’ Teaching

Jesus speaks these words—“Seek first the Kingdom”—in the middle of what we know as the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew chapters 5, 6, and 7). In this sermon, Jesus lays out the values of the Kingdom: what life looks like under God’s rule.

The people listening were not wealthy or comfortable.

• They were anxious about food.
• Anxious about clothing.
• Anxious about survival.

These were Galilean peasants living under Roman occupation:

• Heavy taxation.
• Unstable work.
• Loss of land.
• Living day-to-day, bread-to-bread.

When Jesus talks about food, clothing, and tomorrow, this isn’t abstract theology. These are real fears. Jesus is not minimizing their needs—He is addressing their anxiety at the root.

Jesus teaches them:

• Provision is not the problem.
• Alignment is the key.

The blessing of the Lord has never been about accumulation. It has always been about alignment.

III.            Illustration: The Loose Wheel

There’s a story of a father traveling with his children on the interstate. They got a flat tire. He was in a hurry—trying to get where he was going—so he changed the tire quickly but didn’t fully tighten the bolts.

As they drove, the car began to wobble and pull. By the grace of God, they made it home safely. Later, a mechanic looked at the wheel and said, “You drove your family like this?”

He told him:

• You put your entire family at risk.
• You made it—not because everything was right—but because of grace.

When we look back at last year, many of us have to testify:

• “But for the grace of God…”

We made progress on loose wheels.
We survived while wobbling.
We arrived, but we were out of alignment.

And God is saying this year:

• This is your tighten-up year.
• This is your slow-down and get-focused year.

Why? Because you are carrying precious cargo. People are depending on you to be aligned—not just to arrive, but to arrive whole.

IV.            “Seek First”: Establishing Divine Order

Jesus says: “Seek first the Kingdom of God…”

He is establishing divine order.

• God’s reign over our routine.
• God’s righteousness over our reasoning.

What we chase reveals what we trust. If we seek the Source, the supply will always follow.

Jesus doesn’t say:

• Notice the Kingdom.
• Think about the Kingdom.
• Visit the Kingdom.

He says:

• Seek the Kingdom.

V.            What Does It Mean to Seek?

The word seek is active. It means:

• To pursue.
• To crave.
• To strive for with intentional focus.

This is not passive faith. This is purposeful pursuit.

Jesus is not saying, “Think about God sometimes.”
He’s saying, “Let God determine the direction of everything.”

VI.            Understanding the Kingdom

To the people listening, the word kingdom meant authority—Caesar’s throne, Roman power. But Jesus introduces a different Kingdom.

• The Kingdom is not a place you go. It’s a reign you live under.

Write this down:

The Kingdom of God is God’s way of doing things, done for God’s glory, through God’s people.

When God opens doors in your life:

• It’s not about you.
• It’s about advancing His Kingdom.

Jesus is not asking us to add God to our lives. He is commanding us to reorder our lives around God.

VII.            His Righteousness

Then Jesus says: “…and His righteousness.”

This does not mean moral perfection. It means right relationship.

Write this down:

His righteousness is God making us right with Him so He can work rightly through us.

God qualifies who He calls. Nobody God ever used was perfect. Everyone God used had issues.

God doesn’t choose perfect people, because there are none to choose from.

VIII.            First Pursuit, Not Final Resort

The blessing of divine alignment begins when God becomes:

• Our first pursuit,
• Not our final resort.

Too many people treat God like an emergency contact—only calling when things fall apart.

But when God is first:

• You live with direction, not desperation.
• You make eternal decisions instead of emotional ones.

Distraction is the enemy’s favorite weapon. If he can’t destroy you, he’ll delay you.

IX.            Impulse vs. Intention

Impulse shopping:

• Feels good.
• Isn’t purposeful.

Many people live the same way:

• Chasing what feels urgent.
• Ignoring what aligns.

Spirit-led living teaches us:

• Pray before you plan.
• Prioritize before you perform.

X.            Holy Intention

Write this phrase down:

• Holy Intention

Purpose gives direction to pursuit.
When you know your life has divine meaning:

• You stop competing.
• You start completing.

God doesn’t bless mess. Pursuit without purpose causes exhaustion. Purpose produces expansion.

You’re never exhausted doing what God aligned you to do.

XI.            Purpose Before Provision

Jesus does not say:

• Seek things.

He says:

• Seek the Kingdom.

Purpose attracts what confusion repels. Provision follows alignment—not desperation.

God funds purpose, not foolishness.

XII.            Order Determines Outcome

Whatever you put first will either:

• Lift you,
• Or exhaust you.

If people are first → approval addiction.
If possessions are first → anxiety.
If God is first → abundance.

This year, don’t just ask God to bless you.
Ask God to align you.

Because when you’re aligned:

• Peace follows.
• Favor finds you.
• Blessings chase you.

XIII.            Chess Illustration

In chess:

• Every piece has power.
• The game is decided by the king.

You can lose pieces and still win—but if the king is out of position, the game is over.

Life works the same way.
When the King is first:

• Resources find purpose.
• Relationships find order.
• Life wins.

XIV.            Closing Declaration

This year:

• I’m done chasing.
• I’m choosing alignment.

When I seek God first:

• Everything else finds its place.

The blessing of divine alignment is this:
God adds after He aligns.