In this sermon, the preacher focuses on the importance of prioritizing the kingdom of God above all else. He emphasizes the need to seek the kingdom of God first, before seeking worldly possessions or pleasures. The preacher shares a personal story of a man who realized the significance of prioritizing the kingdom of God and made a change in his life. He also highlights the teachings of Jesus regarding anger and reconciliation, emphasizing the importance of forgiveness and love towards others. Overall, the sermon encourages listeners to prioritize the kingdom of God and live according to its principles.

Chapter six, from Diocese, that'll be short. Do I need to say, this is our brother Mr. Frank Knox? And, beginning to read at fifty-three, we'll sell my books. The fifty facts of the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and these things shall be added unto you. Fact therefore no thought for tomorrow. For tomorrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto day is the evil that is thereof. Chapter five, please. On twenty-two, but I say unto you that whosoever is angry with his brother, think and read that again, but I say unto you that whosoever is angry with a brother, without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whosoever shall speak with his brother's butter or vain folly, shall be in danger of the counsel. But whosoever shall say, Thou who is in danger of feral fire, therefore you shall bring thy gift to the altar. And remember it thy brother that art against thee. Bring therefore thy gift to the holy altar, and go thy way forth. Go thy way forth, and reconcile to the brother, then come and offer it again. First Thessalonians, please, chapter four. First Thessalonians, chapter four, and verse sixteen, again observe our purpose. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, with the tongue of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first, shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and soon shall we ever be with the Lord. Therefore, comfort what another thing you are. And notice, even if you haven't been asleep, that I emphasize the word first in each one of these three verses. I'm going to say a little before them, and if I had a letter to say, I wouldn't have time to say it anyway. First thing I want to say to the young people, God bless you, the devil's after you night and day. Speak first, the kingdom of God. Thank you, don't miss it. Speak first, the kingdom of God. Put that before everything else, no matter what. That thing is a friend, a fortune. No matter what it is, how great it is, how grand it is, reject it. Speak first, the kingdom of God. How many stories we could tell you. I've been seen from experience what people made this dreadful mistake. And the Magistrate, the way that was too lit. It's too lit now, Mr. Knox, I've left it too lit. And so perhaps, your men, find your soul, the devil's after you. May be after you by the way of a sweetheart. May be after you by the way of fortune. May be after you by someone looking like that. That looking, oh, I go to the devil, speak first. The kingdom of God. Who would dare to say that all in the meeting tonight is going to be in heaven? I'm not your judge, and I'm not going to be. But I'm warning you respectfully, not only from the Bible, but the things that I've seen repeatedly in our beloved knowledge of Ireland. When it's too lit to try and listen to what you say, I remember one dear man in particular, and he attended the meetings every night for ten weeks. At a place where most of my brethren behind me know very well, not away. All the family would say, but this dear man, and he attended every night. And we prayed for him, and we all prayed for him. And he listened well, he had a reverence for the gospel. And if you haven't, you ought to be ashamed of yourselves. I want a way to preach in another place. And I got a message, come quickly, James, so and so is dying. Well, I don't know, I heard one. I went right through the country, about 40 miles, and I got to hear a man. When I went to the house to hear, he was a woman lying sick. When I got into the middle of the house, there was a man and a doctor working together. And she said, that's your man in there. And I went in, and I'll never forget it. Let me again put it first. Put your soul first. And let the rest go to the devil. No greater was that. There he is, and he's gone. Poor soul, I'll never forget him. Decent, respectable, Protestant, loved the Bible, and had enough common sense for to believe the Bible, and to believe the gospel, and to believe them saved. Talked to him for a little while. And I said, now, sir, I have to leave you, I've a long way to go to a meeting. What about your soul? And the old, old, withered hand went up. Too late now. What makes you say so? Said he, about 40 years ago, down the road at the crossroads. Two men were preaching the gospel. God was saving people. I was anxious. What about the door? One night after the meeting was over, there was some Christian standing outside. Mind your conversation after the meeting was over. They were jabbering, and talking, and putting anxiety out of people. That happened. And he said, as I stood there, and people come along, he said, come along, James, come along with me. And said, he, I left. And I went home with a neighbor, to an old house. And from that day until now, I never had the thought about God. I'm too late. I'm not as good as James. Don't you think you can play tricks on the living God your way and do some people? Well, you can't do it. He loved the best of it in the end. I want to pray for you to young men, for I used to be one a long time ago. Never heard the gospel till I was 20 years of age. And then I learned from an old man, that was preaching, with tears in his eyes, was the blood we had poured on him, and over his heart. And he looked at me after he'd been drawn free, and I said, young man, your son came already, and if you die on the street, you'll be in hell. That's 50 years ago, and I never forgot it. Brethren, the Lord in Christ, our preacher, is not what it used to be. When I got saved 65 years ago, preaching is not the same. I'm not going to suggest why. I'll leave you to guess that. But I'll preach that without any agitation. Now, preaching is not the same. Now then, you put the kingdom of God first. And it's quite possible, I hope it won't be so, but you'll not belong until you go into God's eternity, and you'll go back to these circumstances. You remember the crowd of faces of sinners saved by the grace of God. You remember that. The preacher heard the living God's voice. The preacher preached to you. And you would answer to be saved. And you thought you would get saved. Ah, but you didn't know that the devil was outside waiting on you. Maybe there's sweetheart. To take liberties that we shouldn't take. I'm warning you, dear young men and young women. No matter what you intend to think about. Are you sick here tonight? Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. And all these things that are necessary shall be added unto you. I've got to get that out of my mind for it to work in me. Well then, the next thing I have in chapter 5. Something against between me and my brother. That's not that I know. If you know, then let me know. And I want to be reconciled to my brother. And with all the piety and the hope. I'm going to offer a sacrifice to the living God. The living God says, Seek first. Put things right for your brother first. And preach, put things right for your sister first. Then, come unto me after. And I'll not take that offering. We know who have to believe all the Bibles. And who try to live it and preach it. That the dangers of taking the liberty. And thinking that people know it all. And I'll tell you what I know about it. That the devil will out you if he can get you. One way or another. But the soul salvation first. I only told you one story. I could tell you many. I haven't time. Well then, you can go into the morning making as quiet as you please. With the big Bible. Hang your head in the air. And somebody would think of you. God only knows what. Ah, but that's a good thing. That's a good thing. And you can't worship Christ without that. I defy you with that. So, do not take it obvious. Oh, good man. Yes, we'll grant you that. Good woman. Yes, we'll grant you that. We met some woman like you out in Toronto. So, it's a good thing. You know what a good is like, brother? Pretty nice one explanation of it. It's like a mouse eating cheese. And it knows that she and she sure knows that she. You can't leave your baby. You know you can't. There's a good there. You can't pray. You know you can't. Assuming there's a good there. And sometimes you can settle it in a minute. I've been in quite a lot of them. By the mercy of God if I don't again. I don't mean to say I got into them. But I went to Heston. Quite a restaurant in Belfast. That's not far away. I've been living in it now for 60 years. A little bit of a chest up for a Sunday school meeting. Something like what school boys would have. There was really nothing in it. One man could walk out. Anybody can do that. You know we have a big lot of common sense. If we keep these things in our minds. That this is a matter of God. And between God and me it will make us careful. What we say. Where we go. What we do. Then all went out. I said where you going there? He said we're going home. So we went up the road. There was a few of them that went the same way as me. And we stopped at a corner for the usual gossip. One man said to me. Frank you're not happy today. I said no brother. I'm not happy. And I'm not going to bed. You've offended your brother. And he has to be up at 2 o'clock in the morning to go to his work. And you go home and sleep. And he'll go home. And he'll lie awake. For he wanted to come and lay free. Three minutes it was in the house. And out the door a man comes down in his pyjamas. And as soon as he opened the door he said Frank I'm glad to see you. Man I was thankful to God that night. And I said brother come in. He wants to see you. To come in. Sat down. Looked at one another for a while. Now he was going to sleep first. See the fools you find. Very good. Brethren. We have breathed the Holy Spirit of God. And it's a little better than hypocrisy. So go home tonight and try to pray. And go to bed to sleep. And you know you've offended your brother. And hurt his conscience and he can't sleep. How is it with you? How is it with you? A bridge I tell you is a thing that will shut the life out of you. And you can't pray. And you can't read. And you don't know where to read. And you turn your Bible over you get nothing. It's a good affair. It's a good affair. And nobody can shift that good only yourself. God take the sleep from you tonight. If you have a good against a brother or a sister. And get rid of it before you go to bed. And then go to bed and sleep. And I said God bless you. Well that's too fast. You know we're all familiar. I'm too familiar with that. The Lord shall descend from heaven and shout. Come and fast. Dead in Christ shall rise fast. Now that's when the Lord comes. The dead in Christ will rise fast. Our brother Beaky he's sitting beside me here. And was speaking to an old woman in Omagh. She was dying. And God was sympathizing with her you know. And the old woman got tired and she. I've seen fast. For the dead in Christ shall rise fast. We're all going to see him. For the dead one will rise. We'll see him fast. And we're told. I haven't counted. And I'm not dogmatizing it. That there's a reference to the coming of the Lord Jesus. 300 times in the Bible there may be. There may not but 3 times there do be. Just as well as 300. In the Bible I believe it. If you don't you shouldn't be in God's assembly. The dead in Christ shall rise fast. That's happened to me. That's happened before we get down off the platform. Well you're preaching it all. What about the goods I know of not. As you know of any that you think I have. Please let me know before you go. And I promise you to put it right before I sleep. First of all it throbs me of the joy of God's salvation. No doubt about that. Except you're desperately hard hearted. That goods we call it. Let the devil put right. No matter whether it's little or whether it's big. It's a good. It cuts the spirituality out of you. I'll repeat again. You get down to say you can't pray. You can't pray. I've seen me getting up on my knees many and many and many a time. And leaving praying alone for a while. Couldn't get up. Couldn't why. Couldn't tell why. Never found out why I couldn't get up. But there's little use on your knees or on your face. Talking to the Lord if you're not getting a bit of help. You're not getting anywhere. Then. The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout. The dead in Christ shall rise. I read these three scriptures in a morning meeting not long ago in Belfast. And I've been speaking of them ever since. Only about two weeks. I've been speaking about them ever since. And the more I thought about them. The more it struck me. And I'm thankful to God when I hear God's voice from the Bible. You and me. My hypocrisy, perhaps. Oh, what a priest to never practice. Well, that's hypocrisy. And then you hurry to get to the Lord and get the things put right. And get his smile. And tell him it's all in your heart. So again. I've prayed again. Elijah prayed again. Prayed for Israel. Joshua prayed on his faith. David went in and sat before the Lord. Elijah prayed again. And Stephen, a most godly man. Not servant of the devil. And there's lots of them living yet in Belfast. Stone of the death. A stone of breaking to heaven. He went to heaven on his knees. I finished. Get these three first. Put them in the back of your head. Take first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. And don't be wailing on your deathbed. I'm taking the heart of your mother. I'm too late now. Hold me. I'm speaking. One old man said to me. And he did speak. Born to speak. So man, young woman. Take first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. And all these things as they added on to you. Same. Leave there your gifts. Leave there your offerings. Go and reconcile to your brother. Or sister. Same. Come. I'm out of here. I'm glad I got that off my mind. I hope God will bless it to you all. Amen. Brethren and sisters. Thank God. Shall we pray? Oh God our Father. You turn from heaven upon us in the grace of thy heart. How much we need thee. Only thyself know. We bless thy holy name again. As we have done thousands of times before. For the grace that cast us out of hell. In our own saved days. We thank thee for revealing Christ to us. As our savior. And we thank thee for the definite. Permanent. Radical change. That made in our lives. We are thankful to hear. All these reports. From our dear brethren. For whom we have prayed. Regularly. While they were preaching. Though they may not have known us. Let the good hand of God be upon us. Oh why are we not more thankful than what we are. That we're outside of hell. And on the road to heaven. Make us all better Christians. Than ever we have been before. Better preachers. Better laborers. Better prayers. Better fathers and mothers. Better neighbors in the streets where we live. Unbattled member of God's assembly. We were in the grace of thy heart. There's just enough time left. For the spoiler conference. We ask it in Jesus Christ's name.