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PRAY Lord you know all who are struggling, worried, discouraged, & distracted today. Please use YOUR words to minister to their hearts today.

Remember that we are jumping right in the middle of Jesus teaching.

CONTEXT: Jesus has just talked about giving and praying with right motives (Matt. 6:1-8, 16-18). Then He taught the disciples how to pray, as we saw last week (Matt. 6:9-15).

Now Jesus moves on to show how our prosperity & our poverty can keep us distracted from what matters most.

Did you know that most poor people think that being rich would solve all their problems? But did you know that rich people have bills too? Matter of fact, their bills are a lot BIGGER than others. Some who are rich think they need to be richer…that will solve the problem. Of course it doesn’t, which is why so many rich folks are SO DISCOURAGED when they can’t find fulfilling peace through their stuff. Some even wish to go back to the simple times when they were poor and found their hope in what matters most. Obviously, some poor people would LOVE to try their hand at being rich.

While the rich are tempted to trust in their possessions, the poor are tempted to doubt God’s provision.

Either way, rich or poor, EVERY PERSON IN THIS ROOM, is in danger of being distracted from what matters most.

Trusting Our Possessions

Ma29648691831428: DRIVEN BY DISTRACTION (Matthew 6:19-34)Where can we find peace in our fast-paced culture full of schedules, deadlines, bills, & worries? Today we discover how Jesus answers those who have been distracted from what matters most.8: DRIVEN BY DISTRACTION (Matthew 6:19-34)Where can we find peace in our fast-paced culture full of schedules, deadlines, bills, & worries? Today we discover how Jesus answers those who have been distracted from what matters most.8: DRIVEN BY DISTRACTION (Matthew 6:19-34)Where can we find peace in our fast-paced culture full of schedules, deadlines, bills, & worries? Today we discover how Jesus answers those who have been distracted from what matters most.8: DRIVEN BY DISTRACTION (Matthew 6:19-34)Where can we find peace in our fast-paced culture full of schedules, deadlines, bills, & worries? Today we discover how Jesus answers those who have been distracted from what matters most.tthew 6:19 (NET) 19 “Do not accumulate for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.

8: DRIVEN BY DISTRACTION (Matthew 6:19-34)

Where can we find peace in our fast-paced culture full of schedules, deadlines, bills,

& worries? Today we discover how Jesus answers those who have been distracted from what matters most.

8: DRIVEN BY DISTRACTION (Matthew 6:19-34)

Where can we find peace in our fast-paced culture full of schedules, deadlines, bills,

& worries? Today we discover how Jesus answers those who have been distracted from what matters most.

The contrast is between focusing on earthly treasures versus eternal treasures. Those who live to accumulate treasures on earth should recognize that the stuff we own won’t be ours forever. The stuff we have will either be destroyed or taken by another.

MOTH In Jesus’ day, a person’s clothing often demonstrated wealth. (see 1 Tim. 2:9 - Paul warns against dressing to show off wealth) But it didn’t matter how expensive the clothing was, a moth could deposit eggs and the larvae could quickly chew through it.

RUST While most translate the term rust, this Greek word refers to anything that consumes and destroys - oxidation that eats metals or insects & rodents that eat food.

THIEVES Treasures in the ancient world were often buried under house floors (as archeologists have discovered). Problem is, thieves could burrow through the clay walls of homes of carry off the family savings.

So it is that people who accumulate lots of nice clothes, plenty of food, & precious metals will one day have to face the reality that these earthly treasures will fade away. The luxuries that people live for are all temporary.

Instead, Jesus points to His disciples to…

LIVE for what will LAST.

Matthew 6:20-21 (NET) 20 But accumulate for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

16 of the 38 parables Jesus told talk about how to handle money and possessions.

Why IS that? It’s because your money reveals something about your heart - whether money is a TOOL or the GOAL.

Jesus doesn’t discount treasures as a TOOL, but he deplores treasures as a GOAL.

Followers of Jesus should be more interested in being CONTRIBUTORS than CONSUMERS. To tweak the quote from John Kennedy, “Ask NOT what can the Kingdom do for you, ask what you can do for the Kingdom.”

QUESTION: What am I doing to contribute to the kingdom? Are you using your time, talents, & treasure to invest in people for eternity? Who are you serving? How are you giving?

OR…are you just a CONSUMER, expecting everyone else to do the hard work?

Next Jesus says something on a totally different subject…or so it seems.

Matthew 6:22-23 (NET) 22 The eye is the lamp of the body. If then your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is diseased, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

Did Jesus just shift gears to talk about being careful about what we watch with our eyes? I don’t think so.

We all understand that if your eye is healthy it results in light; you can clearly see what is in front of you - life in HD; but if your eye is diseased (e.g. cataracts) it results in darkness; you see life in a blurry, distorted way.

This language (healthy vs. diseased eyes) is Hebrew imagery, not to denote WHAT a person sees, but HOW a person sees, through the lenses of generosity or greed. A healthy/good eye represents generosity in the Old Testament, whereas a diseased/evil eye represents greed. This is seen in the NAS word-for-word translation of this phrase where most translations take thought-for-thought rendering as "greedy" (CSB) or "stingy" (NET, ESV, NIV).

Proverbs 28:22 (NASB95) A man with an evil eye hastens after wealth and does not know that want will come upon him.

Proverbs 28:22 (ESV) A stingy man hastens after wealth and does not know that poverty will come upon him.

What’s the point? It’s the same point Jesus already been making, He wants His followers to accumulate eternal treasure rather than earthly treasure. Material possessions are good TOOLS, but not the GOAL.

Jewish people knew that God blessed some men with wealth - Abraham, David, & Solomon. And these men were generous with their wealth - using it to bless others AND bless God.

They understood something that Warren Wiersbe noted: “Wealth can be enjoyed and employed at the same time if our purpose is to honor God.”

May our material blessings NEVER DISTRACT us from doing good and choosing to…

LIVE for what will LAST.

Which Master are YOU Serving?

Matthew 6:24 (NET) 24 No one can serve two masters, for 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 God and money.

Although unusual, some servants in Jesus’ day were attempting to serve two masters at the same time. Just as a player might have several coaches but appreciate and play harder for one, so too one of these two masters will sit on the throne of our hearts.

Sadly, it seems that God is often the one who gets the short end of the stick if things get tight.

A farmer who one day went happily and with great joy in his heart to report to his wife and family that their best cow had given birth to twin calves, one red and one white. And he said, “You know, I have suddenly had a feeling and impulse that we must dedicate one of these calves to the Lord. We will bring them up together, and when the time comes we will sell one and keep the proceeds, and we will sell the other and give the proceeds to the Lord’s work.” His wife asked him which he was going to dedicate to the Lord. “There is no need to bother about that now,” he replied, “we will treat them both in the same way, and when the time comes we will do as I say.” And off he went.

In a few months the man entered his kitchen looking very miserable and unhappy. When his wife asked him what was troubling him, he answered, “I have bad news to give you. The Lord’s calf is dead.” “But,” she said, “you had not decided which was to be the Lord’s calf.” “Oh yes,” he said; “I had always decided it was to be the white one, and it is the white one that has died. The Lord’s calf is dead.”

We may laugh at that story, but God forbid that we should be laughing at ourselves. It seems that it is always the Lord’s calf that dies. What do YOU stop giving to when things get tight?

So far Jesus had focused on the luxuries of life that distract people to not seek God first. Now Jesus crosses over the tracks to show how those less fortunate can be distracted by being focused, not on the luxuries of life, but on the necessities of life.

The poor don’t have barns that are filled, a closet full of clothes, nor a need to bury their precious possessions. Jesus gives visual reminders how your heavenly Father provides to those who are doubting His provision.

Doubting God’s Provision

Matthew 6:25-26 (NET) 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. Isn’t there more to life than food and more to the body than clothing? 26 Look at the birds in the sky: They do not sow, or reap, or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you more valuable than they are?

As mentioned last week, most of us have much more than the average person in the audience listening to Jesus. How many sets of clothing do you have? How much food is in your refrigerator or sitting on shelves in your home? Much more than them, most likely. But what if TODAY was the day you were working to buy tonight’s meal at the open-air market?

First, God provides for animals on a daily basis. These birds don't have - to use current day language - a refrigerator or freezer to store lots of food for later. God provides for them DAILY. It is also important to note that they don't sit in a nest waiting for God to drop worms into their beaks, but the do the work and God provides for them each day. This might cause the onlooker to be more appreciative for how God provides for him. Maybe the next time you see a bird feeding you’ll be reminded…how God provides everyday for YOU!!!

Second, God values people more more than animals. So, if He brings daily provision for animals...He will certainly provide for His crowning creation - those created in His image!

Remember God's Provision

Matthew 6:27-30 (NET) 27 And which of you by worrying can add even one hour to his life? 28 Why do you worry about clothing? Think about how the flowers of the field grow; they do not work or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these! 30 And if this is how God clothes the wild grass, which is here today and tomorrow is tossed into the fire to heat the oven, won’t he clothe you even more, you people of little faith?

Are you getting the PICTURE? When you look at the beauty of flowers and wild grass that God has created…remember…YOU are His crowning creation! YOU are created in His image! The next time you you see the growing plants or feeding birds…remember that God provides for them…and cares more about providing for you!

Seek the Kingdom & Trust Father’s Provision

Matthew 6:31-34 (NET) 31 So then, don’t worry saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32 For the unconverted pursue these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But above all pursue his kingdom and righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 So then, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own.

Worrying about the necessities of life is a WASTE of time & energy. That’s something the unconverted (i.e. unbelievers) are worried about - those who don’t understand that our Father is the KING OF CREATION. He knows that you need them - and He will provide!

Your children probably don't worry about whether they will have enough food, drink, or clothes, because YOU...the good parent takes care of all that.

So too…Instead of worrying, do YOUR part and trust God to do His. - You study, prepare yourself, seek that job, then WORK HARD!

Don’t get distracted by all that other stuff - Keep your EYES on the KING and His KINGDOM.

LIVE for what will LAST and trust your Father to provide for the necessities of life.

Feet2Faith Challenges:

Thank your Father for daily provision. Really thank your Father before your meal. Fill up that glass of water and THANK HIM for this most important yet least appreciated provision. Instead of struggling over which clothes to wear from your closet, THANK HIM that you have some!!!

Be generous (not greedy) with your time, talents, & treasure. Are you giving your time & talents to serve others & further the Kingdom? How about your treasure? How are you using your home, vehicle, & funds to serve others & further the Kingdom?

May this week be the week that we wake up & go to bed praying…Lord Jesus help me to

LIVE for what will LAST!