Think for a moment about those strange words of Jesus: Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.

So many of us see the words and are conscience-stricken. But for the wrong reasons.

We say, "Oh, if I could only bring myself to pray a lot and read the Bible and go to church every day, then God would like me and I would be His, and He would send His blessing to me."

We are not even certain we understand what we mean when we say, "blessing."

Jesus was much more concrete than that. He was saying, "The kingdom of God rules in the affairs of men. It has principles for living, and they will bring success." Indeed, they will bring forth the kinds of things the world needs so desperately - the food, the shelter, the clothing, the fuel, the happiness, the health, the peace.

"But you shouldn't spend all your time and concentration seeking those things," He said in effect. "Seek the kingdom, understand the way it works, and then, as day follows night and as spring follows winter, the evidence of earthly success will follow you."

We will see that these blessings can be experienced in large measure right now. And we are speaking of reaching into the kingdom and letting its principles govern us right now.

God's purpose is that His people know Him and learn how His secret skingdom functions. For the most part we have fallen short. But the word persists, and we can readily expect the willing fulfillment of some of the millennium blessings now, if we follow His instructions.

Excerpt from The Secret Kingdom: Pat Robertson