March 9 2014 Steve Rather Matthew 6 19 34 audio

Steve Rahter 

www.praisetabernacle.com

Praise Tabernacle

People Restored And Inspired Serving Everywhere This is a non-denominational Church, Charismatic in expression. Senior Leader is Pastor Steve Rahter 2235 Ocean Heights Ave. Egg Harbor Township, NJ 0823

Sunday March 9thMatthew 6:19-34I heard a story about a man who was running down the hallway of the hospital in his hospital gown just before his scheduled operation.The receptionist at the desk asked him, "Sir, what's the matter?"He said, "I changed my mind. My nurse just said, 'It's a very simple operation. Stop worrying. I'm sure it will go just fine.""Well sir, she was just trying to comfort you, what's wrong with that?""She wasn't talking to me. She was talking to the doctor!”Worry – it seems there’s always something to be worried about.A ninety-nine year old woman received a visit from a church member at her nursing home."How are you feeling today?" the visitor asked."Oh," the old lady said, "I'm just worried sick!""What are you worried about?" the visitor asked. "You look rather well and healthy today. Are they taking good care of you here?""Oh, yes, they're taking very good care of me.""Are you in any pain?""No, I'm not in any pain at all.""Well then, what are you worried about?"The old lady leaned back in her rocking chair, breathed a heavy sigh, and said. "Every friend I ever had has already died and gone on to heaven and I’m still here. I'm worried that they all think I ended up in hell."What are we supposed to do about worry? Jesus is going to address that very question as we continue our study of The Sermon on the Mount. (Starting in verse 19)19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; 21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.Somebody once referred to those three verses as “The Sermon on the AMOUNT!”We can mistakenly think that life has two categories: spiritual things, and material things.But Jesus is saying that there is no such distinction. As a matter of fact, our attitude toward material things is probably an accurate indicator of the true spiritual condition of our hearts.That’s what Jesus meant when He said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”Someone put it this way, “look at your checkbook and it will tell you where you are spiritually.” The issue isn’t really about the money, it’s about the heart. So many times people misquote 1st Timothy 6:10 and say that “Money is the root of all evil” but the verse actually says that “The LOVE of money is the root of all sorts of evil”. And then it adds this:“And some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”The point is, there’s actually nothing wrong with owning things. The important question is always going to be, do I own my possessions, or do they own me?In fact, just a few verses further, in 1st Timothy 6:17, Paul says, “Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.”So God gives us things to ENJOY, but He doesn’t want us to build our lives around those things. We should build our lives around Him! In Luke 12:15 Jesus gives this warning:“Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consists not in the abundance of the things which he possesses.” That’s why the real issue that Jesus is expressing here in verse 19 is “Do not store up” earthly treasures! That doesn’t mean you can’t have a savings account or leave an inheritance for your children. The issue is “How much is enough?” or will we ever have “ENOUGH”?Proverbs 30:15 says “The leech has two daughters, “Give,” and “Give.”There are three things that will not be satisfied,Four that will not say, “Enough”In the next verses Jesus points out that the real problem is found in how we see things. The problem starts with our eyes.22 “The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!One commentary says “The good eye looks to God as its “master” and fills the person with the “light” of God’s will. The bad eye looks to “treasures on earth” and sees only the “darkness” of greed and self-interest. A person’s whole life will be determined by the kind of “light” their “eye” lets in.”Verse 24 sums up the choice. We can’t have one good eye and one bad eye!24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.At first glance this seems to be a repetitive or redundant sentence. Jesus seems to be saying the same thing twice. But why?I believe it’s because the choice works BOTH ways: If I choose the things that the world offers, money, fame, and power, then I’ll grow cold towards God. But if I “cling” to God, if I “devote” myself to God, then the things of the world will lose their power to entice me.It’s like the old song says, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.”So Jesus should be my all in all, my sole supplier of joy, peace, and contentment.Which brings us back to the topic of worry:25 “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? 27 And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? 28 And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, 29 yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! 31 Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ 32 For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.34 “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.“Each day has enough trouble of its own.” That’s definitely a true statement. And we know it’s true, that’s why we worry! Someone wrote this about worry:“If we woke up tomorrow morning and stopped long enough to think of all the bad things that could happen to us during the day, I wonder how many would get out of bed anyway? If you think about things that way, life becomes almost unbearable.There are a lot of “what ifs”, or variables in our lives that can be sources of concern. Will my car make it to work? Will I get sick? Will I get fired? Will I have an accident? Will I make it home again safely? Will my home be here when I come back? What about my kids, my spouse, my finances, my whatever? Does that give you enough to worry about or should I go on? The list of things that we can worry about is endless – but if you dwell on the “what ifs”, that worry will drive you into a state of panic.”One thing that is hard to understand about God’s commandments is that when He says “Thou shalt not” He isn’t trying to be a cosmic kill-joy.God knows what’s good for us and what’s hurtful to us. When He says “Don’t commit adultery” it’s because He knows how destructive that sin is. When He says “Don’t worry” it’s for the same reason; He knows how destructive and pointless it is to worry!In verse 27 Jesus sums up the futility of worrying:“Who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?”He gives us those two beautiful examples – birds don’t worry, flowers don’t worry – and God takes care of THEM!And then Jesus gives us the antidote, the cure for worry: “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.”That instruction is directly connected to Jesus’ earlier statement that “No one can serve two masters.”If God is our master, we have nothing to worry about. If the world is our master, then we probably SHOULD be worried!When Jesus says to “seek first” God’s kingdom and His righteousness, He isn’t using the word “First” as if to imply that after we seek God we can then go ahead and seek other stuff (second, third, and fourth). He’s challenging us to make God’s kingdom, and our relationship with Him, the highest, all-encompassing priority in our lives! When we do that, we find out that worry is inconsistent with this priority, because worry indicates doubt about the sovereignty or the goodness of God.I can’t live a life that is completely sold-out and surrendered to God AND be worried at the same time. I can’t serve THOSE two masters, God and worry!It’s like the story of the young man who answered a want ad for a business job. He was interviewed by the man who ran the small business that he had started by himself.“I need someone to do my worrying for me,” the man said. “I worry about a lot of things, but I don’t want to have to worry about money. Your job will be to take all the money worries off my back.”“I see,” the young man said. “And how much does the job pay?”The owner said, “I’ll start you at eighty thousand dollars a year.”“Eighty thousand dollars! How can such a small company afford to pay a salary like that?”“That,” the owner said, “is your worry.”When we make Jesus the Lord of our lives, HE takes all of our worries and handles them FOR us!That’s why Peter says in 1 Peter 5:7“Give all your worries to him, because he cares about you.”I will readily admit that I worry. I worry about my family, I worry about my finances, and I worry about many of YOU! But I’m trying to learn to walk in obedience to what God is telling us here. I want to operate in the truth of Isaiah 41:10“So don’t worry, because I am with you. Don’t be afraid, because I am your God. I will make you strong and will help you; I will support you with my right hand that saves you.”