Week 8 - Set Free
Text: Matthew 6:19-34
MT 6:19 "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 moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
MT 6:22 "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
MT 6:24 "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
MT 6:25 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
MT 6:28 "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, `What shall we eat?' or `What shall we drink?' or `What shall we wear?' 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
In the first week, we stumbled across that fact that to be blessed really meant to live free from worry. Throughout the Sermon, Jesus taught how to accomplish that reality. Free from the worry of religious expectation, free from the worry of others opinions, fear from the fear of an angry and vengeful God.
But there's a lot in this world to be worried about as well. Freedom in prayer is great, but somebody's got to pay the bills. God's grace is an overwhelming reality, but grace doesn't pay college tuition.
Christ himself brings us back to reality in this passage. While we spend the last several passages in religious and spiritual bliss, pondering the great measure of our Father's love, Jesus' feet are planted firmly on the ground, feeding us and making sure we have something to wear.
Religious life is never separated from daily living. There is no difference between my spiritual life and my real life. The mistake I make is when I think that the things I do at work or at home won't influence or affect my connection to God. Life is meant to be lived with Jesus every day, in every moment, not just at church or in a Life Team. If I draw too hard a line between the sacred and the secular, then I create a walled community, that Christ needs permission to access. Jesus sets us free from every prison, even the ones we want to live in.
Things to think about:
MT 6:19 "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 moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
MT 6:22 "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
MT 6:24 "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
MT 6:25 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
MT 6:28 "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, `What shall we eat?' or `What shall we drink?' or `What shall we wear?' 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
In the first week, we stumbled across that fact that to be blessed really meant to live free from worry. Throughout the Sermon, Jesus taught how to accomplish that reality. Free from the worry of religious expectation, free from the worry of others opinions, fear from the fear of an angry and vengeful God.
But there's a lot in this world to be worried about as well. Freedom in prayer is great, but somebody's got to pay the bills. God's grace is an overwhelming reality, but grace doesn't pay college tuition.
Christ himself brings us back to reality in this passage. While we spend the last several passages in religious and spiritual bliss, pondering the great measure of our Father's love, Jesus' feet are planted firmly on the ground, feeding us and making sure we have something to wear.
Religious life is never separated from daily living. There is no difference between my spiritual life and my real life. The mistake I make is when I think that the things I do at work or at home won't influence or affect my connection to God. Life is meant to be lived with Jesus every day, in every moment, not just at church or in a Life Team. If I draw too hard a line between the sacred and the secular, then I create a walled community, that Christ needs permission to access. Jesus sets us free from every prison, even the ones we want to live in.
Things to think about:
- If Jesus lived my life, what would that look like?
- How can I trust God for everything, not just the "big" stuff?
- What are some of the things I do to "separate" my real life and my spiritual life?
- Who is someone that lives a completed connected life?
posted by Brian Jenkins at 9:32 AM
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