SERMON ON THE MOUNT
Matthew 6:24-34
UPTIGHT OR UP CLOSE?
#19 - SERMON ON THE MOUNT
Most of tend
to worry at least some of the time. In
fact, I think in our day worry has hit epidemic proportions.
We worry
about what people think of us.
We worry over the future.
We worry about what we said or
didn’t say.
We worry about image.
We worry about our friends.
We worry about our parents, our
children, and other family members.
There seems to be no end to
worry. And worry has a twin sister. Her
name is fear. Fear and worry go
together.
And yet God does not want us to
worry, to fear, to be anxious, or to be uptight.
Instead of us being “uptight”,
God wants us to be “up close”.
God wants us to walk closely to
Him. The closer we walk with God, the less we will worry. When we don’t walk closely to God, chances
are we will worry.
WORRY IS CAUSED BY HAVING THE
WRONG MASTER – Vs. 24
No man can serve
two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he
will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
Jesus is telling us that you can
not serve two masters at the same time.
·
If you love one master, you will
hate the other.
·
If you are loyal to one master,
you will despise the other.
·
If you serve money, the pursuit
of money and the things which money can buy will demand all that you have.
·
If you serve any other master,
such as sex, or alcohol, or yourself, or another person, that master will
demand all that you have.
·
If you serve the Lord Jesus as
your master, He will demand all that you have.
What right has Jesus to be your
master?
If you have trusted Him as your
Savior, as the one who died for you, as the one who has given you eternal life,
then He is the one who has redeemed you from eternal punishment.
Because Jesus has redeemed you,
paid for your sins, He has every right to be your master.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Out of appreciation for what
Jesus has done for you, Jesus should be your Master. John 13:13
Jesus’ standards are high for
Christians. Luke 14:26-27
Jesus is telling us that our
love for Him is to be so great that our love for anyone else by comparison is
hatred.
If it’s a choice between Jesus’
will for my life, and anybody else’s I am to bow to the Lord Jesus and to do
His will.
If the Lord Jesus is your
Master, He will give you victory over worry and fear. Psalm 27:1, John
14:27
If Jesus is truly your master He
will give you victory over worry.
·
But if money is your master, you
will worry about losing money, having enough money, and getting more money. You
will be concerned over your possessions.
·
And if you are your own master,
you will worry about what people think of you. You will worry about your own
comforts. You will worry about the well
being of your own little world.
·
And if sex, alcohol, sports,
hunting, or even fame are your master, that is, if they rule your life, you
will find plenty to worry about.
If you have any other master you
will worry!
So we need to ask the question,
“Who is my master.”
If I am a perpetual worrier, it
is someone or something other than the Lord Jesus.
WORRY CHANGES NOTHING – Vss. 25,
27
Matthew 6:25 - Therefore I say unto you, Take
no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet
for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the
body than raiment?
Jesus is very clear here. He
says “Don’t be anxious about the details of life:
What you are going to
eat.
What you are going to
drink.
What you are going to
wear.”
Why does Jesus say this?
Our lives and our bodies are
more important than food and clothing. Genesis 2:7
When the body goes, man still
lives. He continues on as a living soul. Therefore, life is more than food or
clothes.
We are instructed in Proverbs
Man is to keep his heart because
the issues, the real important things in life, proceed from the inside, not
what we put in our bodies.
Who you are is more important
than what you eat or wear.
What you are is more important
that what you eat or wear.
Therefore, Jesus tells us that
worrying over what we eat, drink or wear changes nothing.
Matthew
Here is another way worry changes
nothing.
In other words, all the worry in
the world is not going to change the length of your life. You can fret, fuss,
and be anxious, but that won’t make your life any longer.
GOD CARES FOR EVERYTHING
God takes care of providing for
the needs of everyone.
The rain and the sunshine come
on the just and the unjust.
In this passage God gives three
examples of God’s care.
Vs. 26 – The birds do not sow or reap, or store food, but their needs are
provided for. They must work to find the food, but God provides for them.
And Jesus reminds us that we are
much better than they are.
Why are we better than they?
Genesis
Next, Jesus talks about the
lilies of the field. Vss. 28-30
These flowers are the work of God!
If God takes care of the lilies,
how much more is He going to take care of you and I who are far more important
than the lilies of the field!
Vs. 32 – The Gentiles, who would
be the equivalent of non-Christians, seek after food and clothing.
Those of us who know Christ as
Savior need to remember something.
We, in a very special way, are
the children of God. Because we are His
children, we can be assured that God will take care of us. Just as earthly parents know who to provide
for their children, how much more does our Heavenly Father care for His
children!
FAITH IS REQUIRED
God has given us two tools in
the battle against worry.
These two tools are faith and
prayer.
The two go hand in hand, for when
I am exercising faith in my heavenly Father, I will be praying. Philippians
4:6-7, Mark
Vs. 30 – Jesus tells those who would worry that they have little faith. How
often do we become anxious instead of praying the prayer of faith?
DEVOTION LEADS TO PROVISION
Matthew 6:33 - But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his
righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Most Christians have their
priorities mixed up.
They seek their careers and
fortunes.
They seek their families.
They seek their pleasures.
Then, if there is any time or
energy left, they seek the
The secret to seeking first the
Other things must be neglected
or put on hold so that you will:
Study the Bible
Pray
Memorize and meditate on the
Scriptures
Witness
Serve in church.
But seek ye first
the
God is telling us to take care
of his business, and He will take care of ours.
When serving God righteously is
our priority God will provide for our needs.
TROUBLE COMES PROPORTIONED
Matthew
There is no question that each
day will present its share of problems, cares, and sorrow. But please bear in mind that God is in
charge.
He does not allow in one day
more than you can handle with His help. There’s enough evil in one day,
sufficient for that day.
God has proportioned your
trials. But God says “Don’t worry about the next day or about what happened yesterday.
Just handle today’s problems and leave tomorrow for tomorrow.”
Otherwise, you are taking on
more responsibility that God intended you to have.
And remember, 90% or what we
worry about never happens.