STOP WORRYING-START SEEKING

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Matthew 6:25-33

NOTE the connection to earthly and heavenly treasures. If you focus your life on heavenly treasures, then the logical result is: DON'T WORRY!

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 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

Jesus first says: Stop Your Worrying about EARTHLY TREASURES! FIRST-Don't worry about your life-your eating and drinking. He points out how God cares for the birds. Worry is natural, but it's also useless. You can't add anything to your height or the years of your life.

SECOND-Don't worry about your clothes. He points to the flowers-the lilies of the field. He says: 28 "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers 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-you of little faith?

The point here is if God takes care of them, He will most surely take care of you. He makes it clear that worry is not only useless; it is faithless. When you worry, you take everything into your own hands, which is not trusting in God.

Jesus goes on to say: 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 addition to stop your worry about EARTHLY TREASURES, Jesus' second assertion is to seek His Kingdom and His Righteousness of HEAVENLY TREASURES!

Since God already knows your needs and is not surprised when something happens (or doesn't happen) to you, seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all of these things (eating, drinking and clothing) will be taken care of by God Himself. This is what is meant by "walking with Jesus." It's the principle of plenty.

The principle of plenty says that with God there is always enough; without Him there is never enough! Trust God, enjoy the plenty; trust anything or anyone other than God, and you will surely have a perpetual state of dissatisfaction and dis-ease. When you come to the end of yourself, then and only then will you come to the understanding that God is ENOUGH!

Look around you and be distressed; look within you and be depressed. LOOK TO JESUS AND BE AT REST.

ONE MORE THING: We've been using a new approach lately when it comes to worrying. I think you can use this very effectively. We continually encourage one another with the words: WAIT TO WORRY! You see, most things you have worried about in your life have never happened, so WAIT TO WORRY.

TWO TREASURES-TWO MASTERS

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Matthew 6:19-24

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;

Remember, you were created to be dependent upon God. This is at the core of what that means. Jesus speaks more about money and how to handle it than most any other subject. That's not because He is taking up an offering or running a pledge drive. He has plenty without yours! It's because money and material things-earthly treasures-are the easiest to become dependent upon and most easily distract us away from God. So, here Jesus contrasts only two options. You can invest your life storing up heavenly treasures or you can invest your life storing up earthly treasures.

NOTE that earthly treasures are full of insecurity and the heavenly treasures will be secure! And NOTE that your heart will always reveal what your true treasure really is. In fact, your treasure leads the way for your heart!

22 "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

The focus of your eye determines the health of your inner-side. If your eye is clear (has a clear focus upon heavenly treasures), then your entire inners will be full of light, wholeness and health. If your eye is bad (unclear-having a focus on earthly treasures), then your inners will be full of darkness, stressfulness and emptiness. I see this indicating that your spiritual focus will directly affect your psychological (and later physical) well-being-all due to your focus!

24 "No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

Now, Jesus gives the ultimatum of it all! You cannot serve two masters! We tend to think that we can get away with it, but we can't. We tend to make Jesus the Lord of the general, but make ourselves the Lord of the specifics. I have a masters degree in doing this. I call it "doing things my way for Jesus." Believers tend to talk about standing on the Rock of Ages, but their actions look like they are clinging to a piece of driftwood!

Jesus introduces a most dynamic Kingdom principle here. It's the PRINCIPLE OF PRIMARY FOCUS-SINGLEMINDEDNESS!

AN UNEXAMINED LIFE IS NOT WORTH LIVING. Walking with Jesus always moves you toward evaluating every dimension of your life. Try on a couple of simple steps in applying this paragraph.

#1-RELEASE YOUR EARTHLY TREASURES. You must remember that you came into this world naked and will go out in the same way. After you die, there will be a large garage sale. You have been entrusted with what you are and what you have to be the manager of it all while you're on planet earth. There will be an accounting at the end.

#2-REFOCUS ON YOUR HEAVENLY TREASURES. What are you doing that will last forever? Think about it!

THE KINGDOM PRINCIPLE OF PRIMARY FOCUS MEANS A SINGLE-MINDEDNESS TOWARD GOD.

JESUS' TEACHING ON FASTING

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Matthew 6:16-18

There are three practices Jesus calls righteousnesses. So far He has taught on the first two-giving and praying. Now, we come to the third practice of Kingdom righteousness-fasting.

16"When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 17But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

The 3rd illustration of the abuse of practicing righteous acts that were meant to be before God only, yet were being practiced in order to be noticed by others, is fasting. He is saying that "when you fast", don't mope around with a long face, looking disheveled in order to show off the fact that you are fasting before the Lord.

FASTING is not simply nor necessarily to abstain from food, but from anything that hinders your communion with God. Fasting is the ultimate in practicing the principle of private focus. It's a discipline of removing all things that take your attention away form the Lord. We tend to spend most of our time talking to God in prayer and not listening. Fasting is a great way to force your self to be quiet enough and focused enough to really listen to what the Lord wants to communicate to you at the deepest levels.

PRACTICE THE PRINCIPLE OF PRIVATE FOCUS: #1-RESIST THE TEMPTATION TO GO PUBLIC! It's just not that important.

#2-REMEMBER THE TORTOISE AND THE HARE! Faithfulness means successfulness-living life long-term.

#3-RECRUIT GOD AS YOUR TEAM-MEMBER! It is said that if you want to win the high jump, you want to find one person who can jump 7 feet not 7 people who can just 1 foot. When you practice private focus, these three righteous acts (giving-praying-fasting) must be done in secret. Then God will reward you.

#4-RESERVE TIME ALONE-JUST YOU AND GOD! Take the time to focus on God and your heart before Him. Read and pray. Contemplate. Take the time for reflection and fasting. We are urged, "Be still and know that I am God."

Think of it this way: We spend so much time talking to God, busily showing up for a variety of meetings, attending as many Bible studies as humanly possible and seeking answers and wisdom from God. However, we don't wait around long enough in silence to listen to His answers and His wisdom. The practice of fasting can provide this kind of private focus with the Lord. God wants to enlighten, empower, encompass, & encounter you. He will do these things as you meet Him through fasting.

Throughout Jesus' teaching He is encouraging you and me to get our support from God and relate to Him in a quiet, personal way. You see, in most cases believers operate in such a way that they have NO INVISIBLE MEANS OF SUPPORT.

Try taking the time to fast. Start with a half day and use the time to focus totally on your relationship with Jesus. See what happens when you practice the principle of private focus.

If you want to practice the Kingdom lifestyle, then you must practice the presence of God. And when you practice the presence of God, you'll know where He is at all times. And when you know where God is, then you'll know where you stand.

JESUS' NOTE ON FORGIVENESS

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Matthew 6:14-15

Here Jesus gives an aside. It's about forgiveness. Forgiveness is one of the primary earmarks of living in the Kingdom of God.

14For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

I don't think there is a more penetrating statement in all of scripture! If you don't forgive others, God will not forgive you. Your relationship with God is integrally part of your relationship with others and vice versa.

We are all desperate for it, but we are also confused with what true forgiveness really is. First, it's important to understand what forgiving is not: · Forgiving doesn't mean you must go back or reunite. · Forgiving doesn't mean we tolerate the wrong he did. · Forgiving doesn't mean we want to forget what happened. · Forgiving doesn't mean we excuse the person who did it. · Forgiving doesn't mean we take the edge off the evil done. · Forgiving doesn't mean we surrender our right to justice. · Forgiving doesn't mean invite someone to hurt us again.

Forgiveness involves three primary stages. First, HURT! There is no need for forgiveness without the pain of hurting. Don't try to minimize this stage. It's important to really feel this pain.

Second, HATE! It's like clockwork. You will have some degree of anger over the hurt. There's nothing wrong with this response. It's natural! The problem is not the anger, but not dealing with the anger. If you allow your anger to fester, this natural anger turns into a toxic resentment in your gut.

Third, HEALING! This third stage is the way it's supposed to go-toward some level of healing. This brings us to what forgiveness actually is. It's the final form of love. It's being willing to pay for the offense yourself and not get even with the one who hurt you. When you forgive, you take the pain yourself! Forgiveness is the final form of love.

There are five steps in forgiving another person: FIRST-Remind yourself that this person is only human!

SECOND-Relinquish your right to get even! The truth of the matter is that it is impossible to get (exactly) even. You will either not get back at them enough or you will overdo it. There is just no way to get even!

THIRD-Be ready to hurt in order to heal! You must take the pain all by yourself! This is the real secret to the dynamic of forgiving someone. You must pay for and not demand that they do!

FOURTH-Wish them well! This could be the best real evidence that forgiveness has taken place. Try praying for them-for their success!

FIFTH-You may have to repeat the process! Jesus was asked how many times a person ought to forgive another. His answer was 70 X 7 or 490! By the way, this doesn't mean that at 491, you can go get even with them!

This is all well and good, but what is the primary motivation to forgive anyone-especially your enemy? The answer is FREEDOM! As long as you refuse to forgive, you are in bondage to this person who hurt you! In bondage! You are his/her slave for as long as you don't forgive!

Years after her concentration camp experiences in Nazi Germany, Corrie ten Boom met face to face one of the most cruel and heartless German guards that she had ever contacted. He had humiliated and degraded her and her sister. He had jeered and visually raped them as they stood in the delousing shower. Now he stood before her with his hand outstretched and said, "Will you forgive me?" She writes: "I stood there with coldness clutching at my heart, but I know that the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart. I prayed, Jesus, help me! Woodenly, mechanically I thrust my hand into the one stretched out to me and I experienced an incredible thing. The current started in my shoulder, raced down into my arms and sprang into our clutched hands. Then this warm reconciliation seemed to flood my whole being, bringing tears to my eyes. 'I forgive you, brother,' I cried with my whole heart. For a long moment we grasped each other's hands, the former guard and the former prisoner. I have never known the love of God so intensely as I did in that moment!" You see, to forgive is to set a prisoner free and then discover that the prisoner was you!

JESUS' TEACHING ON PRAYER

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Matthew 6:5-8

5 "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

The 1st righteous act is GIVING. The 2nd righteous act is PRAYING. Praying, just as giving, is a righteous act meant to be between you and God. The Pharisees loved to make a show out of it. NOTE what they did.

FIRST-They love to stand and pray in the synagogues. This is interesting. Isn't it OK to stand and pray in the synagogue (church)? Not when it is a SHOW for someone else. Several years ago, I had to ask one of our pastors not to pray inside the church facility, because it became such a spectacle. Can you imagine asking a pastor to please refrain from praying in church? I even have difficulty with public prayers. It's so easy to drift off into preaching to the people and not really talking to the God of gods.

SECOND-They love to stand and pray on the street corners so that they may be seen. To me, this is even more offensive. And note that those who pray in this way have already received their reward in full and it's not from God. Some believe that if you pray out in the streets or other public arenas that it becomes a wonderful testimony to the non-believers. Jesus is against this kind of prayer that is prayed as a public testimony. Prayer is a righteous act before God. It's the principle of private focus.

THIRD-They love to pray using meaningless repetition and many words, believing that they will be heard better by God. Literally, Jesus says don't get into repeating meaningless phrases. Don't say "bata bata bata bata" over and over thinking this will be pleasing to God.

Do you know anyone who prays in one or more of these three forbidden ways? Believe me, Jesus is not impressed.

Jesus teaches, when you pray. Go into your inner room. Find a spot where you heard from God before, privately and away from all people and distractions, and close the door, talking only to your Father who is in secret.

Instead of using many meaningless words, try spending half of your time set aside for listening. Why? Because your Father knows what you need before you even ask.

The righteous act of praying is to be. · Only to your Father. · Without showing off in front of others. · In a private place. · Listening as well as talking to your Father.

At your next time of prayer try speaking only half the time and listening the other half. I'm learning (slowly, but surely) that Jesus wants me to shut up and resign from working for Him in an advisory capacity and listen to what He has for me. This will prove to be revolutionary. Since we belong to the Kingdom of God, our lives are to be revolutionary. Remember, the revolution is still on!