But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. MAT 6:33-34.

The word first in our text comes from the Greek word proton which means "first in order or importance, first or chiefest of all, holding the highest place in all our affections."

The Lord is saying the first place in the priority of our affections must be the will of God. When He is speaking of His kingdom, He is talking about our coming under His reign, setting our priorities straight so the authority of His Word occupies the first place in our lives. He is putting us on probation.

The word first is setting the place of where our treasure is, where our priorities are, and what holds first place in our lives. Jesus said in MAT 6:21, "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

Is our heart centered upon our bank deposit book which speaks of temporal savings, or is it centered upon the Great Book which speaks of eternal savings? The Lord is looking at our heart. PRO 23:26 says, "My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways."

The Lord wants a heart religion. He wants to see that from our heart we are able to have the authority of His Word in first place regardless of the sacrifice, even to putting our "Isaac" on the altar.