Give your mind back to God

Psalm 118

“Mother, are you there?”

-Charles Spurgeon

Matthew 6:19-34

What is on our heart and mind?

Do not lay up your treasures on earth

nothing on earth is permanent

Moth and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal.

for where your treasure is there your heart is also.

The eye is the lamp of the body.

This focusses the reader on the treasures of the heart through the minds eye. What is seen and perceived affect the whole body.

Charles L. Quarles

In Jewish writing , a good eye represented a generous attitude. the good eye was sincere and focussed. The bad eye (an improper perspective on wealth) results in a deep internal darkness, a moral blindness that diminishes the ability to pursue what is good.

-Charles L. Quarles

3. No one can serve two masters,

a. either he will love one and hate the other,

b. be devoted to one and despise the other.

c. you can not serve God and money.

All of these point to what we worry about. What we focus our eyes on, and what the enemy (which includes the flesh) uses to lure us away from God.

Therefore I tell you, be anxious for nothing

Jesus’ has 6 points of Argument against anxiousness and worry

do not be anxious about life, what you eat or what you drink, nor about your body.

Is not life more than food, and the body and more than clothing?

These things affect our lives in VERY real ways, and are very easy to get lost in our worry and fear about these things

The birds of the air

the birds do not sow or reap or gather in barns and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.

not one sparrow falls to the ground without the Fathers knowledge, and are you not more valuable than they?

Jesus urges us to use common sense when he asks

Which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?

Greek “helikian aoutos pechun hena” literally “one cubit to his stature” or figuratively “one hour to his life” this is why there are differences in the translation.

Anyone who has any sense knows that they can not add to their life by worrying. Quite the opposite is true, worry and anxiety is very detrimental to ones life.

Why are you anxious about your clothes?

Jesus points out the lilies of the field, and their beauty, “They neither toil nor spin” pertaining to work of spinning wool, which is another form of work. Jesus points out that the lilies do not do anything to make themselves beautiful.

He then shifts the peoples minds toward Solomon, saying “even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.”

but if God clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, (short lived and almost meaningless life of something beautiful)

Will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? (pointing out that we still have our doubts)

Therefore do not be anxious , saying “what shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” for the Gentiles seek after these things.

Shall we be like the unbeliever whom dwells in worry about all the things in this life?

Shall our lives mimic that of the unbeliever?

The final point of argument starts off with the final “therefore” in this passage. Jesus instructs “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

Each day has enough trouble of its own without you adding to it

tomorrow is out of your grasp and control

it is futile to be anxious about tomorrow.

Jesus is not suggesting that you lack in diligent planning.

What does Jesus teach us in regard to anxiety from this passage?

I will go back through the passage and will point out the things we are instructed to do (that I purposely left out, leaving the good stuff for the end)

Jesus instructs

Lay up treasures in Heaven where no moth nor rust can destroy and where no thief can break in and steal.

How do we store up treasures in heaven?

we are greatly rewarded when we are persecuted for Jesus (Matthew 10:41)

we are rewarded when we treasure our Lord Jesus and commit our resources- i.e. time, money and talents to his work. (1 Corinthians 10:31)

God has an eternal reward for those who are motivated to serve Christ. (Colossians 3:23-24)

When we live sacrificially for Jesus’ sake or serve Him by serving the body of Christ, we store up treasures in heaven. (Matthew 10:42)

The Lord will be faithful to reward us for the service we give him. (Hebrews 6:10)

If you have a heathy eye your body will be full of light.

Read the word of God, hiding his word in your heart and allowing the word of the Lord to do a mighty work in your heart, showing you the wickedness hiding in your heart.

Repent of your wicked ways

abide in Christ and He will abide in you filling you with the light.

Serve only the one true God, The most High, Jesus Christ, our triune and infinite God. Lay aside all of your idols and worry. For Worry is serving the god of self.

Anxiety = sin

God frees His people from the bondage of anxiety. If we are giving our mind over to anxiety or worry or fear we are giving our mind over to sin, thus we are giving our mind over to the enemy.

Honor God by faith, for the birds can not honor God by faith.

God tells us we are valuable

we ought let God decide our value, not choose our own worth.

we might be tempted to overvalue ourselves

or we might undervalue ourselves

We ought worry about our inner adornment and not our outer raiment. We ought not worry about our clothing for God clothes us

physically, providing clothing for us

spiritually, he clothes us in white robes and he calls us “much more clothed” or much more beautiful that of the lilies of the field or more beautiful than glory of Solomon as a king.

Again let God decide the magnitude of your beauty.

Finally, Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness

our heavenly Father knows all that you need. Put Jesus first in your life, seek first his kingdom and His righteousness and all the things you need will be added to you.

Jesus will free you of your worry and fear. He will trade your anxiety for hope, joy and peace. “Come to me who labor and heavy laden, I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.