Let Go of The World - Ready

Scripture

Matthew 6:19-34

Psalm 39:4-5

Psalm 103:13-17

Job 1:21

Opening

This morning I would like you to think about the things you're holding onto in life. If you were out on Watauga Lake sinking, you wouldn’t cling to an anchor, you'd let it go. This morning, I want to look at Scripture and talk about something I struggle with myself: letting go of this world.

Read

Job 1:22 – …Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD . '

Psalm 103:13-17 – As for man, his days are as grass:As a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; And the place thereof shall know it no more.But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him,And his righteousness unto children's children;

Psalm 39:4-5 – LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; That I may know how frail I am.Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth;And mine age is as nothing before thee: Verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity.

Note: A handbreadth is an ancient, informal unit of length based on the width of a human hand, typically around 3 to 4 inches (7.5 to 10 cm)

Central Idea of These Passages

Everything we have comes from the Lord, He can give it and take it away.

Even the best moments of our lives are brief “a handbreadth.”

Life is temporary; we are frail; and what we hold tightly can be gone quickly.

Context for Matthew 6

This passage comes from the same section that includes the Lord’s Prayer. Leading into our reading, Jesus has been teaching how to live the Christian life and that we should serve God humbly not for show or for praise. Beginning in verse 19, He continues giving direction on living out our faith.

Read: Matthew 6:19–24

Matthew 6:19–24 KJV 1900

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! 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.

Thoughts on the Passage

So Jesus is telling us in simple terms that were not to store up treasures here on earth because if we do that's where our hearts going to be, not in Him and we see this idea of not being able to serve two masters we of course know when he says Mammon here he's talking about money and we know that if your primary focus is on money you can't serve God and so you can not serve two's Masters.

I think Jesus goes even deeper in the first part of this little passage where he says do not store up treasures here on Earth because they won't last. Jesus gives the example of a moth destroying the treasure and an example of somebody coming and taking it and I think if we take this in light of the scriptures we read before we realize like David said even when a man is at his best it still vanity.

Personal Application

Personally I have walked through some seasons in my life where everything has been uprooted. Seasons where I've had to move, where I've had to get a new job, where I've had a completely different change in my life, and things that once were are gone forever, that door is shut.

I'm sure we've all experienced that in some way or another, I'd say probably the most common one is a Grandparent Dies and the house gets sold and then that chapter of your life is gone forever, you can no longer talk to that person. That's hard and that can bring us to our knees, but it's an example of what Jesus is telling us here, “do not store up treasures on this earth” Because they will fade, but instead store up your Treasures in something that will last for eternity store up your treasures in Jesus.

Now, there's nothing wrong with being blessed, there's nothing wrong with having things, but I think what we often do as Christians is we hold out our hands and we say God please bless us please give me x, y, or z and God is good, and God gives us that thing. So what do we do we close our hands so tightly around it that our Knuckles are white. We can become consumed by this good thing. I think what we're called to do as Christians is when we're holding that hand out and God puts something in it we're not to take and hold it, and close our hand, but we're just supposed to leave our hand out. We leave it open so that if God wants to take it away He can take it away. And maybe God doesn't take it away, maybe life takes it away, maybe sin takes it away, but because our foundation is not in that thing we can weather that storm we can make it through that storm.

So by now you may be thinking Chris are you telling me that it's wrong for me to grieve over my grandparent, or it's wrong to be sad that we lost the Family Farm. No that's not wrong that's that's something that God understands and we just read that He understands that we are human beings and there's nothing wrong and He encourages us to love our family so that is not what I'm saying. What I'm saying, is (don’t let that be your treasure is) are you letting that thing at the very least control you so much that you can’t enjoy your life, So much that you can’t enjoy what's right in front of you because you're afraid that you're going to lose it, or Worse are you making it an idol. Has this thing become something that's coming between you and God. Maybe it's like this God you can touch all this other stuff in my life but don't you dare touch this. Now that's hard, that's real, and man it feels like ripping your heart out sometimes, just to say God this is yours do what you want with it, and mean it. It is very difficult and can be very scary but we don’t do this alone. Walk with me through the rest of this chapter and we will see Jesus says about this.

Read: Matthew 6:25–34

Matthew 6:25–34 KJV 1900

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? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Thoughts on What We Read

So like we read in the Psalm, God understands our needs, God knows what we need food to eat, clothes on our backs, and God knows whatever it is you're holding on to. God knows that you want thing and you may even need it.

But He says don't worry about that. He says which of you by worrying can add a cubit to you your height. Another understanding of this passage says “Which of you can add an hour to your life by worrying. For example if you are worried it is going to rain tomorrow what is worrying going to do it's either going to rain or it's not going to rain you can't do anything by worrying and that worry is taking your eyes off of what your treasure is supposed to be put in. I love what it says here in verse 31 (Matthew 6:31-32) “therefore take no thought saying what shall we eat or what shall we drink or wear with shall we be clothed”, and then notice what he says here He's talking to the Jews at the time and He says for after all these things do the Gentiles seek think about that for a second we are gentiles, but put it in the context of us as Christians. There's the church, which is the people who are saved, and there's the world the world is looking for all the same things we're looking for.

Matthew 6:31–32 KJV 1900

Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

The world is saying, we need to have clothes, we need to have food, we need to have this and it's so distracted.

I mean look at Christmas we're so worried about getting that right gift that will stay up, and we'll go, and we'll do all these things just to get a gift.

The world is worried about such things and they seek after such things but that's not what's your called to do.

We are you called to seek first the kingdom of heaven and his righteousness and all these things will be ahead added unto you, don't worry about tomorrow, don't worry about what might happen, don't worry about what's going to happen

Don't try to cling to this world don't try to hold on, sure ask God for help, ask God for healing for that love one, ask God to deliver that thing, but don't hold on to it, don't cling to it, cling to him because everything you cling to in this world will fade away it will disappear.

Matthew 7:24–25 KJV 1900

Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

seek ye first the kingdom of heaven and the rest will be added unto you.