Session 1 A Centered Life
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Intro
Intro
Greed for material wealth can become so strong that it grows into a controlling influence in our lives. As believers, we can also be too concerned about daily necessities. Anxiety over daily needs is natural but not productive.
Greed for material wealth can become so strong that it grows into a controlling influence in our lives. As believers, we can also be too concerned about daily necessities. Anxiety over daily needs is natural but not productive. The more we make God’s kingdom the priority of our lives, the less we will worry about “things.”
The more we make God’s kingdom the priority of our lives, the less we will worry about “things.”
The ‘worldliness’ which Christians are to avoid can take either a religious or a secular shape. So we are to differ from non-Christians not only in our devotions, but also in our ambitions.
In particular, Christ changes our attitude to material wealth and possessions. It is impossible to worship both God and money; we have to choose between them.
Secular people are preoccupied with the quest for food, drink and clothing. Christians are to be free of these self-centered material anxieties and instead to give themselves to the spread of God’s rule and God’s righteousness.
That is to say, our supreme ambition is to be the glory of God, and neither our own glory nor even our own material well-being. It is a question of what we ‘seek first’.
Start with
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
25.Beware of worldly cares; for these are as inconsistent with the true service of God as worldly desires.
What should you do any time you run across the word “Therefore” in studying Scripture?
Look at previous verse(s)
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.
How does Jesus’ teaching on worry relate to the accumulation of earthly treasures?
So is Jesus saying we should not plan ahead and be diligent about matters? Look at Proverbs 10:4-5
Jesus does not say we should neglect planning ahead or being diligent in our work (compare ). Instead, He says we should not be anxious or worry about these matters.
4 A slack hand causes poverty,
but the hand of the diligent makes rich.
5 He who gathers in summer is a prudent son,
but he who sleeps in harvest is a son who brings shame.
Jesus was not advocating waiting lazily for God’s provision, but avoiding anxiety as we take responsibility for obtaining it.
33 He spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the wall. He spoke also of beasts, and of birds, and of reptiles, and of fish.
Jesus was not advocating waiting lazily for God’s provision, but avoiding anxiety as we take responsibility for obtaining it.
6:27. Jesus was saying, “If you try to take your basic provision into your own hands, you will find you do not have the power over life and death. Only God has this power, and he will sustain you as long as his plan intends.”
30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
26 And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.
31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
If Then Statement in verse 30 is about trust and worth. Do you think He is rebuking those about weak faith? Compare this with ; ; ; ;
26 And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.
31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
8 But Jesus, aware of this, said, “O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread?
20 He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”
28 But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!
If God cares so much for something of little value, he will certainly care even more for us who are of much greater value to him.
This passage is not only an exhortation to trust the Father, but it is also an affirmation of our great worth in his eyes.
While it can be a confrontational term, it may also be endearing. In this context, Jesus’ tone was not scolding, but coaxing and reasoning. He was asking, “Do you trust your Father or not?”—not with a slap in our face, but with an arm around our shoulder. Jesus was not belittling his disciples; he was encouraging them upward.
30. The grass of the field—Is a general expression, including both herbs and flowers. Into the still—This is the natural sense of the passage. For it can hardly be supposed that grass or flowers should be thrown into the oven the day after they were cut down. Neither is it the custom in the hottest countries, where they dry fastest, to heat ovens with them. If God so clothe—The word properly implies the putting on a complete dress, that surrounds the body on all sides: and beautifully expresses that external membrane, which (like the skin in a human body) at once adorns the tender fabric of the vegetable, and guards it from the injuries of the weather. Every microscope in which a flower is viewed, gives a lively comment on this text.
Jesus does not say we should neglect planning ahead or being diligent in our work (compare Proverbs 10:4–5). Instead, He says we should not be anxious or worry about these matters.
In Matthew 6:27 Jesus says worry cannot accomplish anything. What is the relationship between worry and faith (see Matthew 6:30; 8:26; 14:31)?
Move to
31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
Reminder of who is Matthew’s primary audience here. Compare this to how Luke covers this same thing in
30 For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them.
Both still say that worry is downright pagan; anxiety was the attitude of those who were not a part of God’s kingdom.
In verse 32, he made two more points about anxiety. First, it was downright pagan; anxiety was the attitude of those who were not a part of God’s kingdom. Second, it was totally unnecessary to worry about what to eat or drink or wear, because your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
If our life is not to be preoccupied with fretting over basic needs, what is our concern to be?
The answer is, his kingdom and his righteousness. Those two terms are almost synonymous. God’s kingdom means his sovereign rule in heaven and on earth, most particularly in and through the life of the individual believer. To seek his kingdom is to seek to ensure that his righteousness is done in heaven, on earth, and, most particularly, in and through our lives.
We are to seek first God’s kingdom and righteousness. Everything starts here. This is to be our consuming priority. So it is important to remind ourselves of some basic kingdom realities. How does a person find God’s righteousness that characterizes his kingdom?
Jesus started his sermon by pointing out our utter spiritual bankruptcy.
1 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.
We have no righteousness of our own. Even our best attitudes and actions do not procure it. Righteousness comes as a merciful gift, grace through faith (Eph. 2:4–10).
We have no righteousness of our own.
10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.
21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—
22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
The first reference to righteousness that we find in Scripture is Genesis 15:6. Abraham knew how a person received grace, and the apostle Paul confirmed it (Rom. 4:2–25). The New Testament makes it clear that the righteousness of God comes through faith in Jesus Christ (Rom. 3:22–24). That is the only way we may enter into God’s kingdom. Jesus clarified this issue for Nicodemus (John 3:3). We cannot see the kingdom of God unless we are “born again.”
So everything begins with our seeking his kingdom and righteousness.
We are to look for every opportunity to expand more fully his already established rule in our lives and in our world.
What does Jesus say we should do instead of worrying ()?
Three times in verses 32 and 33, we find the phrase all these things. We might imagine Jesus using it somewhat disparagingly. This was not to belittle the importance of basic necessities, but to place them at the back of the mind of his disciples, far behind his kingdom and righteousness in importance. “All these things” are what pagans (and the Pharisees) scrambled after. “All these things” are thoroughly known by the Father. “All these things” will fall into place when we put God’s kingdom and righteousness in its proper place and serve the kingdom’s interests.
6:32 your heavenly Father knows. Most people in the ancient world were poor, dependent on harvests for food. Naturally, they sought basic necessities; Jesus here invites them to trust their heavenly Father enough to seek first his kingdom.
31. Therefore take not thought—How kind are these precepts! The substance of which is only this, Do thyself no harm! Let us not be so ungrateful to him, nor so injurious to ourselves, as to harass and oppress our minds with that burden of anxiety, which he has so graciously taken off. Every verse speaks at once to the understanding, and to the heart. We will not therefore indulge these unnecessary, these useless, these mischievous cares. We will not borrow the anxieties and distresses of the morrow, to aggravate those of the present day. Rather we will cheerfully repose ourselves on that heavenly Father, who knows we have need of these things: who has given us the life, which is more than meat, and the body, which is more than raiment. And thus instructed in the philosophy of our heavenly Master, we will learn a lesson of faith and cheerfulness, from every bird of the air, and every flower of the field.
6:32 your heavenly Father knows. Most people in the ancient world were poor, dependent on harvests for food. Naturally, they sought basic necessities; Jesus here invites them to trust their heavenly Father enough to seek first his kingdom.
Finish with
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
33. Seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness—Singly aim at this, that God reigning in your heart, mar fill it with the righteousness above described. And indeed whosoever seeks this first, will soon come to seek this only.
34. The morrow shall take thought for itself—That is, be careful for the morrow when it comes. The evil thereof—Speaking after the manner of men: but all trouble is, upon the whole, a real good. It is good physic which God dispenses daily to his children, according to the need and the strength of each.
6:34. Jesus restated for the third time his command, Do not worry! This time he broadened it to include any possible anxieties we may have for tomorrow. As an expression of trust in his heavenly Father, the kingdom servant is to live in the present, trusting the Father for the grace to cover the needs of the present. “When tomorrow comes, the Father will provide the grace to cover its needs also,” is the implied assurance.
How do we go about seeking the kingdom (compare Matthew 5:3–12, 19–20)? Pray about how you can seek what is important to God’s kingdom and not worry about your own safety or security.
What does it mean in practical terms for a person to “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness”?
Worry smothers trust.
How do the things you worry about affect your relationship with the Lord?
What practical actions are you taking that demonstrate you are focused on seeking the things of God above all else?