Well, you know.
Welcome.
Just let me say right up front.
Go, Eagles!
Yeah.
Smile, Colton.
It's not that serious.
As I said, let me say upfront that you may notice,
a couple people in our church starting somewhat this week,
but going on further in all three services
with little lanyards that say prayer on them.
That is an effort
that we're making our church to make sure,
that if there's something in your life that you need prayer for
and would like to pray with someone about, or have someone pray over you.
Those are people who are willing to do that.
We've talked through some protocol stuff and some expectation stuff,
and they said that they would very much be willing to be your prayer partner.
If there's something that happens
during the week, you come to church like, man,
I wish I could pray somebody or during the service
or kind of convicting and so please, just it's on you to look at those people.
Have a little prayer lanyard.
They would be happy,
to pray with you, and carry that in confidence.
And as we go forward,
that others may want to be a part of this prayer ministry in our church.
I'd invite you to talk with me or talk to Heather about putting them,
putting you in touch with me to just talk through our expectations and protocols
about that. But it's an effort to fulfill.
Matthew 2113 Jesus at my house will be a house of prayer.
And I want to make sure that this church understands
the role and the privilege of praying
for and with other people.
Hebrews 313 316 says, let's approach the throne of grace with confidence,
because we know it's there, that we'll find grace
and mercy to help us in our time of need.
And so if you want to approach God's throne
with somebody, find someone with that a little prayer line, you just grab them.
They're waiting for you to to approach them.
And take
advantage of of, together, approaching God's throne.
This this series our in kingdom now stems from Jesus's words
in the book of Matthew
when he was teaching his disciples to pray, your kingdom come,
your will be done right and now on earth as it already is in heaven.
So that's kind of the emphasis
of this whole series that like Kingdom now what's what does God's kingdom look?
If it were among us?
And so we're in the middle of study in Matthew five six and seven.
Those three chapters, as we make our way through the entire book.
But those three chapters are very significant because it's
what we call the sermon on the Mount.
Jesus gave this sermon, and it's not the only time he gave it.
He talks about these things, throughout his three years of public ministry.
But it was really directed.
This message was directed at his disciples.
And in this message that we have recorded as Matthew
five six and seven, what Jesus is saying is this.
He's saying,
if you're going to be my disciple, if you're going to follow me,
if you're going to claim my name, we would say,
if you're going to say you're a Christian,
these are
Jesus's expectations and they're non-negotiable.
It's not like Jesus is saying, let me tell you
what would be nice if you were to work this into your life.
That's not what he's saying.
He's not saying these are some things that will help you in your life.
Be a better person or he's not saying it.
He's saying if you're going to claim that, you follow me.
These are the non-negotiables for my disciples.
And then he lays out, I mean, we've been looking at Matthew
five was rough, man, and Matthew six wasn't any easier.
And today we're going to look at the last part of Matthew six
before we get into Matthew seven.
Jesus is instructed and the commands of Scripture in totality.
But Jesus's instructions, especially in Matthew 567,
are not
designed to be demanding or constricting.
They're designed to be liberating,
and they in them find life and freedom.
And Jesus, as he's talking about all this stuff in Matthew
five and six, just like, listen, the the importance,
there's something more important than what you do.
And it's, it's it's why you do it, the motive behind it.
It's important what you do.
But if the motive behind it isn't right, then it doesn't matter what you do
and what he's eating and he's not being.
He sets out this
this model of life and the model of living as a follower of him.
That is, it feels so idealistic, like who could ever.
But he's not being idealistic.
He's being authoritative.
He said, listen, if you're going to claim my name, there's are my expectations.
I'm not going to negotiate them with you. It is what it is,
and it's going to be so far beyond you.
You're going to need my help to be able to live like
I'm demanding of you.
And I'll give you my spirit that will live within you, that will help you.
But but these are not negotiable.
That's what he's saying.
And so today, as he's he's talked about
these religious practices and why you do them, don't do them to be
religious and to, like, do them because as an act of devotion to God.
And then make sure that you're not
pursuing stuff for the sake of accumulation,
because that's just the way the world lives.
So I just give me more and more, give me more, because it's all about me
and my kingdom and my agenda. And I just want more.
And so
he kind of turns a corner now in the last part of chapter six,
and he deals with this issue of worry.
And so we're going to talk about how Jesus addresses worry,
the context of it, the results of it, and replacing it.
The fact is that, you and I are probably pretty proficient
in the skill of worry.
Am I right?
Yeah.
When Jesus talks about worry, he's going to talk about it
in a certain context, and it's going to he's not going to talk about concern,
is going to talk about excessive worry, because there are different
it's okay to be concerned about stuff,
but it's not okay to to to kind of tip the scales and live in this
in this place of excessive worry about it, where it takes
over your energy and your emotions and your sleep cycle and all that stuff.
That's what he's talking about.
And so I did
a little bit of research and I and you all know this,
but just so we're all on the same page, here's the dangers of excessive worry
and let's see if any of these I want to ask for Show of Hands,
but I think some of these will probably resonate
with some of you professional warriors.
Excessive worry results in fatigue and sleep problems.
That's a horrible combination.
I'm exhausted, but I can't sleep.
I said I wouldn't ask for a show of hands, but I will.
Anybody, right? You're like, I am, I'm dog.
But my mind, I just can't get off of
excessive worry results in headaches,
digestive issues, muscle tension
and increasing risk of heart disease and depression.
It hinders concentration and prevents good decision making.
Excessive worry ruins and weakens the immune system,
resulting in mood swings,
irritability, and a sense of doom.
Right?
All right.
It it's it's not surprising,
but is a little sad that all of us know exactly what this is like.
And the results of living in that state of excessive
worry is one is self-medication.
When I medicate myself with different.
Substances,
different habits that get my mind off worry for a little bit.
Anyway.
The results are isolation,
relationship problems
because your body is in a constant
state of fight or flight.
And it is exhausting.
And most people say, you know, it's just I can't help it.
It's just the way I'm wired, I don't know.
And here's the truth.
Worry isn't a personality trait.
It's a discipleship issue.
It's not a personality trait.
It's not how you're wired.
It's how you've learned to respond.
But at the heart of it, it's a discipleship issue.
And people treat worry as a medical condition
rather than a spiritual condition.
And especially in America, it's
big Pharma has a solution to everything.
And as long as we treat worry as a personality trait
or a medical issue, it will always have authority over us
and we will not live as disciples of Christ.
Every one of God's commands in Scripture and the totality of it, and
especially what Jesus is commanding of us in Matthew five six and seven,
every one of them are for our good.
He's not trying to be harsh for the sake of being harsh.
They're not being too manifestly demanding.
He's not setting the standard
so that so that only the good, you know, only the good, the good capable
everyone is for our good.
Psalm 19 seven and eight says this
the instruction of the Lord is perfect,
renewing one's life.
The testimony of the Lord is trustworthy,
making the inexperienced, wise.
The precepts of the Lord are right,
making the heart glad.
The command of the Lord is radiant, making the eyes light up.
This is the opposite of worry.
It's the opposite of someone who
the way someone looks and lives when they're worried.
And it's centered on the commands, the precepts and instructions of the Lord.
Therefore our good.
Ends.
And so what we have to realize is this.
That if God's Word revives the soul, ignoring it drains the soul.
So when God says, don't worry, when we ignore, that's for our good,
and that revives us to live in a state of non worry.
That's that's awesome, isn't it?
And when we ignore
that command, it drains us and it, you know,
it's exhausting.
And so
in Matthew six
I'm just going to read for you verses 25 through 34.
They're not on the screen.
Have a Bible turn to Matthew six.
Follow along.
Matthew 25 234 Jesus, start to Matthew
Matthew six, verse 25, therefore
I tell you, whenever you find the word, therefore you need to stop
and look back above it and realize what it's
there for.
So because of what Jesus has just said
in Matthew six, because all this stuff
I'm telling you, don't be anxious about your life now watch what he says.
Don't be anxious about what you eat, what you drink about your body,
or what you put on.
Now he's four things there what you eat or drink.
That's your sustenance.
Those are the things that sustain you.
Don't be worried about what sustains you.
And he says, don't be worrying about your body.
How many of us at some point
have ever been worried about our health,
about the next day, about the report?
Right.
Don't be anxious about that and or about your watch or put on clothes
back in these days were a symbol of wealth and accumulation.
So if you could accumulate a lot of clothes
and have a choice to what you wear, it was the accumulation.
And he just got done talking earlier in this chapter.
Don't accumulate for yourself stuff.
And so he's covering all of life.
Those things you think you need for your own sustenance and future, your
own health and body, your your future life and the accumulation of that.
Don't worry about that.
Doesn't that encompass pretty much what we worry about?
Don't worry about that.
Is not life more than food in the body?
More than clothing? Look at the birds of the air.
They neither sow nor weep, nor get nor gather in barns.
And yet your heavenly father feeds them on.
Aren't you more important than the birds?
He says, look at the
God's got this whole thing covered.
Those birds don't worry about what they're going to eat. Why?
Because God's going.
And why are you anxious about your clothing?
Consider the lilies of the field. How they grow.
They neither toil nor spin.
You know, I tell you, even Solomon, all his glory was not arrayed
like one of these.
He's not necessarily he's he's not at all saying don't wear nice clothes.
That's always saying
what he's saying is, don't get so worried
about the accumulation of riches in this world.
Quit living to gain
more stuff, to put in a storage shed somewhere.
We talked about it last week, yet so much stuff can be a parking
your garage like there's a.
Like don't.
Why are you so worried about that
if God so close?
The grass of the field which is today, is a living of ours thrown in the oven.
Well, you not much more like.
Take care. You you got so little.
Faith is what Jesus is.
Verse three.
When therefore don't be anxious,
saying, what shall we eat?
What shall we drink? What shall we were?
Don't worry issues about all this stuff that we get so anxiety riddled about.
For the Gentiles, those
people who don't know God, they seek after all that stuff.
They get worked up about that
you shouldn't because your heavenly father knows what you need.
That's what he says.
Verse 33, this is the kicker.
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness
and all that other stuff that you need.
God will take care of it.
Verse 34 therefore don't be anxious
about tomorrow, for tomorrow be anxious for itself.
Today has enough trouble of its own, so don't live in tomorrow's trouble.
The word he uses there is actually evil.
Tomorrow is bad enough.
It's evil enough.
Don't live in tomorrow's evil.
Just like right now, God knows now.
He'll know tomorrow too.
But right now.
And so, in this issue of worry, therefore,
because of what he's just said in verses 30, 25 through 34, is in light
of what he's just said, especially in verses 19 through 24 of chapter six.
Now he's turning our attention to anxiety
over our own earthly personal agendas.
You saying you've been so focused
on the accumulation of stuff as if you are your own provider?
Don't live that way, because all that does is make
you live in a constant state of worry.
See, the command in this section to not to worry
is based on the love a father has for his child.
And if any of your parents moms dads,
this should resonate with you.
Now, I don't know what your parent well,
I don't know what your father was like and maybe that was a bad situation.
But if you're a parent, you know what your love is like for your kids.
How would it feel to you as a parent
to have your child
be constantly worried about your provision
for them?
Like like, how would that feel as a mom or as a dad?
To have your little child, your little boy, your little girl?
You live in a constant state of worry and concern
as if you are not capable of taking care of them.
How would that feel?
Feel terrible right?
Someone said that.
Show me how you were and I'll show you what you believe about God.
Worry is when God's children
live like orphans.
And so verses 19 through 24.
Don't focus on the accumulation of stuff.
Don't focus on your agenda.
In this world, God will provide what you need.
Start your treasures in heaven.
You can't pursue material and spiritual stuff at the same time.
One of them is going to be more important
and Jesus follows out.
So just don't be anxious about stuff.
It's not that important
because there's something more important.
He doesn't say this stuff is unimportant.
He said they're they're little important, but there's something more important.
And we'll get to that in just a minute.
But that's what he's saying.
Verse 25 and 26 read again, therefore I tell you,
don't be anxious about your life, what you will eat
and what you will wear a drink, or about your body, what you will put on.
Is not life more than food in the body, more than clothing?
Look at the birds of the air.
They neither show nor read nor gather in the barn.
Your heavenly father knows that feeds them.
Aren't you more important than the birds?
He is?
Is comparing us to birds.
Life is like the birds.
Like they don't get stressed about tomorrow
because they know the performance is going to be there in one way or another.
Now know you're
and you saying let mean go.
Like if God's going to take care of birds, going to take care of you like
it should be a no brainer.
But, but, but here's what I have to say.
He's not saying don't work and don't labor.
And don't be concerned and don't take care of your future.
It's not that's not what he's saying when he says, look at the birds.
They don't toil.
It's not that they don't work.
They just don't worry about their work.
You understand?
I was thinking about this, and I did a little bit of research about birds
and the work life of a bird.
And when Jesus says, don't worry, look at the birds.
He's not saying, don't work.
Look at the birds.
He's saying, just don't be over consumed with worry about you
providing for yourself as if you're the only provider for yourself.
Birds. Did you know this?
Birds work 12 hours a day, every day,
their entire life.
They were 12 hours a day getting food,
feeding kids, building the nest over and over
12 hours a day, every single day.
Some birds eat 4 to 7 times their body weight because they expend
so much energy working.
So Jesus is not saying, don't work and don't be concerned and don't plan
and don't work your tail off.
He's saying, just don't stress over it all and get so worried and consumed as if
you are your only provider.
You understand.
There's a difference
between a godly sense of responsibility
and an ungodly level of worry.
The Bible talks on and on
and on about the necessity to work and to plan.
The Bible says the plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance.
So plan, work.
Just don't worry about it.
No. Well, the conditions of your flocks.
You got to know what's in your bank.
You got to know what's going on with the business.
You got to know what your assets and liabilities are.
Just don't stress about it.
Don't worry about it. All.
Without counsel, plans fail.
So get a lot of wisdom from everybody about what you do and how you think about
the birds of the air.
They don't stress about it, but they work a ton, right?
They don't sit in their nest with their mouth open, waiting for God
to drop a worm.
And there's a lot of work that goes involved with being a bird,
but they're not worried about it.
Work.
Be diligent. Do your due diligence.
Don't sit back and think God's
going to give you a free pass just because you're trusting him.
He's not going to do the work that he's asked you to do.
Just don't worry about it.
What the Bible saying.
Prepare your work outside.
Get everything ready for yourself in the field, and after that,
build your house.
This is such an interesting verse because this verse says,
take care of business and take care of finances before
you get yourself wrapped up in the comfort of your own home.
The Bible has a lot to say
about working hard and working your tail off.
Just don't worry about it all.
And and you know the the great passage.
Take this on honest.
When we were with you, we told you this is the come in.
If you're not willing to work, you don't get to eat.
That doesn't go over very well in this country anymore.
Like,
but what he said is that there's no free.
There's no free handouts.
If if you're not, if you're not like, disabled or a widow,
they can't provide for themselves in that context.
You don't you don't get something for nothing.
And so Jesus is not about anti work.
Matter of fact he's very pro work.
Just not worried about work.
You following.
It's biblical to plan.
It's biblical to work.
Just don't allow yourself to live in a state of anxiety over it
all, because that's where most people live.
He's condemning anxiety.
He's not condemning effort.
Plan diligently.
Work your tail off
and then sleep peacefully.
And don't worry, that's what he's saying when he talks about us
being compared to birds.
Well, why verse 27,
and which of you, by being anxious, can add a single hour to his span of life?
I want to ask for a show of hands,
but how many of us have worried about our health at some point
I said I would ask for a show of hands, but you just said,
okay, that's fine.
And we do.
And Jesus is saying, look, would you quit? Like
eat, drink your body?
You could like your sustenance, your very health
and the accumulations of don't worry about any of that.
What?
Because worry accomplishes nothing, he said.
How many of us who have worried about some issue of our health
have added health to us by worrying about it?
Anybody?
Know it doesn't say, don't be concerned about your health.
You better be concerned about yourself.
You better take care of what you got to take care of.
But don't be worried.
A study and I don't know who did this study.
I don't know who these people are, but they did.
Whoever they are did a study and decided for us
that 91% of what we worry about never happens.
Would you agree with that?
Mostly 91%.
I don't know how they even discovered that, but that's what they discover
to me.
That would say, well, that that's an indication that I should worry
about a lot of things because 91% whatever about not going to happen.
So it makes sense. I should worry right?
Are you following? That was a joke.
Sometime I'll just tell you, sometimes I feel like I'm at the UN
talk of the UN with nobody, with their earpieces in.
Whoever
they were also discovered that of the 9% of stuff that does happen
that we hear about, the reality of it
is less severe than the fear of it.
So the fact is that
there may be greater sins than worry,
but none of them are more self-defeating and useless.
Worries never added a day to anybody's life, but it's stolen.
Plenty of them.
When I was growing up.
And this was back
when I was early elementary.
And for some reason, I was riddled
and paralyzed with worry.
I was a little boy in elementary school
dealing with chronic migraines
because of worry.
What do I have to be worried about?
My parents love me. They took care of me.
But there was this overwhelming sense of dread
as a little boy that I lived with that I could not shape.
My parents took me to a, a Christian therapist
and counselor.
And and I struggled with it
for a long time as a little boy.
And I remember having conversation.
My mom, my mom told me, she said, Carl, you're worried about so much,
and none of it ever happens.
I remember telling her, that's why it's important for me to worry.
And God's done
a lot of work in my life regarding that,
and I thank him for it, because worry will rob our life
from our life.
And some of you, I might also want to say some of you are living on borrowed time
because you've sold so
much of your life to worry.
Verses 31 and 32.
Therefore again,
what is it?
Therefore, God's going to take care of you. Don't worry.
Therefore, don't be anxious. Seen.
What shall we? What shall we drink? What shall we wear?
For the Gentiles seek after all these things.
Your father knows that you need them all.
What Jesus is doing, he's inviting us into freedom
out of worry.
See, here's what this is.
Here's what happens
when stuff becomes central.
Jesus becomes supplemental.
And when I say when
when stuff becomes central, either the accumulation of stuff
or the stuff of my own agenda or the stuff of my own very life,
when I become central, Jesus becomes supplemental.
And this is where so many of us are.
It might be okay to start here as an introduction to Jesus in the kingdom,
but we can't remain here because when I remain central,
my life, my health, my agenda,
my goals, my what I see for my future,
when that remains central, then Jesus is simply supplemental.
And I just want to supplement my stuff with Jesus to make my stuff better.
You understand?
And so many of us have lived in this place
where my future, my present, my life is central.
And God, I want to add you to it to make it better.
And it doesn't work. It doesn't work.
It was never designed to work.
The kingdom is too big for that to work.
And so what Jesus does is he contrasts
those who are his disciples with those who are not his disciples.
And he says that
those who aren't his chase after all this stuff,
those who aren't his, keep their stuff centralized
and they pursue God as a supplement
to their stuff.
And they become the provider for their stuff.
And when you are the provider for your future, you live in a constant
state of fight or flight and worry because you're not enough.
And he says you're you're going to live life.
One of these two
as a disciple or as a non disciple.
And so what we have to ask ourselves is this
does my worry, my stress and the accumulation of stuff
look more like a disciple of Jesus or a non disciple?
That's the question Jesus is asking us here.
Does my life and how I've worked, I've worked
my whole to accumulate all this stuff and my worry level and my stress level.
Does that look like someone who is a disciple, an apprentice of Jesus?
Or does it looks like someone who's not?
And so he
he wraps this in these, these two verses I want to do with one.
And then the other, verse 33 and 34.
And this is what he does.
He, he, he gives us the culmination.
That is the solution.
This is what he says in verse 33.
Y'all ready to memorize if you haven't yet?
Matthew 630 seek first the kingdom of God
and his righteousness, and all these things
will be added to you.
This is
this is both the culmination and the solution
and what he's saying here. This
seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.
This must be the rule when ordering
all other priorities in life.
It's wrong to think
that the Kingdom of God is the first in a list of priorities.
When Jesus says the first, that word first
means of paramount importance, surpassing all other priorities.
There's not even a close second.
It's not the first.
Among many priorities, it's the only priority.
The kingdom of God,
the Kingdom of God must become the filter through
which all other priorities are understood and prioritized.
Jesus is saying
the number one priority for his disciples
of their life,
of their finances,
of their agendas, of their design
must be the Kingdom of God and the righteousness of God in the world.
In everything Jesus disciples do, it's kingdom first.
That's what he's saying.
This is here's what is.
The Kingdom of God
is of highest priority because.
God's kingdom doesn't
fit in leftover spaces.
Now let this sink in.
The kingdom of God is too big to fit in leftover spaces.
That's why when my stuff
and my agenda and my life is central, and I try to take Jesus
and make Jesus supplemental, he's too big
to be a supplement
and it doesn't fit.
The Kingdom of God is too big to be a supplement to my kingdom.
And when
I try to supplement my kingdom with the Kingdom of God
to make my kingdom better, my future better, it doesn't fit.
So what I'm left with is me.
And because I'm just left with me,
I worry
because I know I don't possess within me
the ability to completely control my future.
The Kingdom of God is too big
to be supplemental to fit into our left.
But this is where most people are,
and that's why most of the church lives
in a constant state of worry.
Seek.
But a lot of us are fans of Jesus, but we're not fanatical about him.
What do I get? I mean, I live there sometimes too.
Like I'm a big fan of Jesus.
I mean, you know what I'm saying?
What would you do?
And I agree, are you not a fan of Jesus?
How terrible of you.
Like we're fan, right?
But what Jesus is saying is, I don't I don't want you to be a fan, boy.
I want you to be fanatical.
That's what discipleship is.
And in context, Jesus is saying your own physical comfort
and your own very life is not a worthy object
of the pursuit of your life, because it's all going to pass away.
Even your very life
is passing.
Only the kingdom of God is eternal.
And so what he says here in verses 33 and four, seek first
the kingdom of God and His righteousness, all this
so that God will take care of all the other stuff.
If your pursuit is the primary, the kingdom of God
and the righteousness of God in the world, he's going to take care of everything
you need to pursue and propel the kingdom of God.
That's what he's saying.
Not not fulfilling.
Pursue every one of your agenda items and everything you want for you,
but everything you need
for the proliferation of the Kingdom of God and His will in this world.
He will provide all of that stuff.
Therefore, don't be anxious about tomorrow,
because tomorrow be anxious for it.
Self sufficient for the day is its own trouble, he said.
Tomorrow's bad enough.
Don't live in the evil of tomorrow.
Today,
right now the kingdom of God.
Jesus isn't saying,
just don't worry, he's not that simplistic.
He doesn't have that type of Pollyanna view about life.
He's not saying, just don't worry,
he commands us to replace.
We're through with a greater passion, which is the kingdom.
Let me just ask you, is
how many of us in this place have ever gotten that place in life?
So, you know, I'm just not going to worry.
I'm not going to worry anybody.
I'm not gonna worry. I'm not going to worry.
A few of us verse.
You are liars.
We've all been there like New Year's resolution time right
at last until like a few weeks into January or February.
News rolls through. I'm just. I'm not going to worry so much this year.
I'm just going to worry so much.
Does it ever work?
Like when you tear?
So I'm not going to worry. I'm not.
I'm sorry that my whole life, I'm just.
I'm just gonna choose not to worry. It doesn't work.
Because here's, here's, here's
you can't defeat a bad habit.
You have to dethrone it.
And so very bad habit.
Worry. You can't just stop worrying. You have to.
You can't just defeat where you have to dethrone worry.
And the only way to dethrone a bad habit is to replace it with a greater passion.
That's why Jesus, don't worry, but seek first the kingdom of God.
The kingdom of God has to be a greater passion than your habit of worry.
And when the Kingdom of God becomes a greater passion than your habit of worry,
you'll quit worrying because now you have a greater passion
to understand.
This teaching of Jesus.
This is command,
and he commands us to find
and do the will of God and to promote his kingdom
above all other things.
And when that is the foundation and driving force of my life,
there's no worry.
See, oftentimes
we love comfortable balance more than radical obedience.
And what Jesus is calling us here is to a radical obedience
to the fulfillment, proliferation of his kingdom and his will.
And when that is the driving force in life, what have I had to worry about?
Things might not go like I planned and like I want.
I understand that,
but as long as they go according
to the proliferation of the Kingdom of God,
that's enough.
And I'm willing to sacrifice
my agenda and my goal and even my life.
If God says this is what serves my kingdom
best.
It gets us back to the prayer
when Jesus taught his disciples to pray,
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
I praise you because you are the God who is with me.
You're the God who sees. You are my provider.
You're my sustenance.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
God, even,
Even if my agenda does.
Even if my goals don't.
Or even if
the reality of my life is very different than what I would have chosen for me.
Your kingdom,
your kingdom.
If this is the way I serve your will best, so be it. God,
these are my desires. This is what I want.
This is what I'm asking.
But all of that I sacrificed for your kingdom.
When that is the found, where's the worry?
Do you understand?
Reminds me so much.
I was thinking about this this week and it reminds me so much of Genesis 13.
Genesis 13. Abraham and Lot.
They both kind of like God does.
Like blessed them with a whole bunch of stuff.
And they came to this place
and, and Abraham Abraham's like, look, we can't live in the same area anymore.
Like the land does not support us.
Gospel so gracious to us and so Bountiful.
We got to split up.
And Abraham told lot, a lot.
I'm going to give you first right of refusal.
You choose anywhere in this whole country,
like wherever you want to live, you just choose and I'll go.
I'll take the leftovers.
Abraham wasn't worried about his sustenance,
wasn't worried about his provision, was worried about his future.
Wasn't worried about his family. Is like, whatever. God will take care of me.
Well, I'll just take the leftovers.
And the Bible says in Genesis 13
that lot looked over in the the area where Sodom and Gomorrah wasn't.
It was beautiful.
And it was it was successful and it was lush and green,
and they had all the bells and whistles
and I'm just like, oh, that's where you want to be.
That's the answer to everything.
That's just awesome and losses.
I'm going to go there a lot.
And Abraham was like, that's fine, I'll go over there.
It's kind of dirty and nasty and nothing there. But
but I trust God.
And the Bible says that God came to
Abraham and said, Abraham, I got you.
I'm a great nation out of you.
I'm going to take care of you because you've chosen me and my kingdom
over all the other stuff of the agenda of this world, agenda of your life.
The Bible says lot chose all the stuff that one would chase in this world.
And the the book of Jude in the New Testament says of lot
in the Old Testament, he was a man with whose spirit was vexed,
was miserable.
And it says of Abraham
that he never lived in a home.
He never built a home,
said he lived in tents
because he knew that his life was made for a better land.
And he chose altars over assets.
And at the end of the day,
that's what Jesus is asking.
Will you choose an altar over an asset?
And will you put your life on that altar?
To understand.
And when that is the foundation of life,
there is no worry.
Your kingdom,
your will and I will sacrifice.
This was Jesus in the garden.
Father, I don't want to do this.
I want a different way.
Have you ever been there?
I want a different way for my family.
I want a different way from my life. I want a different way for my health.
I want a different way for my kids.
I want a different way.
We've all been where Jesus was.
Where we haven't been is where Jesus went.
But not my will.
Your kingdom first.
And I will willingly walk the road.
So don't worry.
Replace your worth or greater passion.
The Kingdom of God.
Won't you pray with me?
Oh, father.
Thank you.
That you love us
and that your care for us is based in your love.
That you've loved us with an everlasting love.
That we will never walk ourselves out of your love.
And know we can always trust your love.
Thank you.
I know for me
there are plenty of times and I have not lived in that reality.
Instead, I've been worried
and fearful.
God, you know that of me all too well.
And I'm sorry.
And father, I can preach this all day long.
It's hard for me to live sometimes.
And so,
father, before you, before this church, I say, your kingdom come.
Your will be done.
In my life.
God, I've got things that I've been asking and pleading.
Begging for years.
And a lot of them are still answered prayer.
But before your angels in heaven, your kingdom come,
your will be done.
And, father, I feel like there's probably
a lot of people in this church that could pray the same thing.
And so here their hearts.
And friends,
I want to invite you into discipleship,
into what Jesus has asked and commanded.
Don't worry,
Kingdom first.
And would you just take this moment in your own life to say, God, I'm sorry
I've lived as this worry is
who you created me to be, and it's not.
It's just become so
comfortable and normal for me and I confess it to you.
And today, I'm choosing your kingdom and your will.
Even over my agenda, over my dreams, over my hopes,
even over my own life and my own health.
Do with me what you will
for the expansion of your kingdom,
for your will to be done.
I choose you and your will and your way,
and give me a peace that passes understanding.
As I trust you.
Father, I thank you on behalf of us, on behalf of this church.
I thank you for your love.
I pray that you help us live
in a way that reflects.
The fact that we trust you and your love.
In your name I pray. Amen.
Good job.
My encouragement for you is to go back home this week
and read Matthew chapter six.
In totality and the re chapter seven.
The sermon on the Mount ain't easy, right?
I said last week, it's real easy if you don't pay attention to the words,
the patterns of the words.
It ain't easy, but it's doable
because of the Holy Spirit that God has enabled us to live within us.
If we choose a relationship with him.
Read Matthew seven.
It's not going to get easier. It's going to get more difficult.
But Jesus changed it now.
Now here's how we relate to each other
as I relate to God has already.
To me, that's what we've gone through so far.
Now here's how we relate to each other.
So read Matthew seven and get ready for it.
But I want to reiterate this, my friends,
that there are some people in this church have those little prayer lanyards.
Some of you need to spend some time in prayer over this very issue.
And you've prayed by yourself long enough,
and you invite someone in your life to pray alongside you,
so I'll leave that to you.
You see some of these people in this church with us, a little prayer,
then just grab them.
They love to pray with you.
Sometimes you need to go to God together with other people.
Sometimes we ourselves are in prayer closets, sometimes with other people.
I'll leave that with you.
I love you, I'm proud of you.
We're going to make it y'all right.
Let's sing just.