The Attention We Need

Where in the gospel of Matthew and incidentally this teaching I've tried all the attention we need this is the attention we need Gospel of Matthew chapter 6. Make sure you have your Bible with you. Go ahead and open up there. There's a bunch of things were going to see here in the scripture. So you have your Bible or Bible app on your phone open up to Matthew 6. We're going to get into it now. We're studying Jesus's Sermon on the Mount. What I'm calling his kingdom Essex a new way to be human. This is what Jesus is revealing to us last week that looked at a few really challenging statements of Jesus makes one about murder and hatred about adultery and less about divorce and victimizing your spouse Oaths and being a man or woman of your word and finally allowing Injustice has to happen to you in order to win your enemies by love. Wow, that's pretty radical stuff that he's getting into heavy stuff. And if you felt like we buzzed through that too quickly. I was just want to say don't worry. I was still have twenty two more chapters and Matthew to go. Okay a Jesus is going to fulfill all this and he's going to do all these things. I'm going to read about in chapters to come and he does that because it's Brett said he's a king and a ruler and a lawmaker who actually sticks to his Becoming an atonement also for our failure the things were we to fail Jesus steps in so there's that and then secondly, we're going to revisit a lot of these topics later and we're going to spend some more time with them. As I said a second ago. And the point is that we would actually learn how to do the same things Jesus. Did I hear you? Say that all the time this is what discipleship is its yes spending time with Jesus, but it's also learning for him take him. Seriously that he is our teacher and then intending to go do the things that Jesus taught us, so I'm not going to put that list back up here, but that's some heavy stuff that's going to take some deep Soul work and all of us to let it soak in Now again, this is not a question of our Salvation. Right? If you've chosen to follow Jesus you are saved but are sanctification as Paul would advocate in the Epistles. We are being Sanctified that is becoming like Christ and doing the things Jesus did bringing Heaven as we just sang ago bringing Heaven to Earth. Okay. So now Today Chapter 6 verses 1 through 18. Now, there's a few ways to look at this chapter some choose to look at it as tighty that is like our spiritual actions are good deeds. Others would call the section The Secret Life. What I'm calling it, as I said before is the attention you and I need the attention. We need to make sense in a second before we worked in text. I think it's really important that you guys are taking notes. Now. I say this not just simply for a transfer of knowledge, right? There's no there's no test at the end of our teaching right? So it's not so much that you get all the answers correct through rather that you can Journal 3 what the Holy Spirit might be speaking to you. What the Holy Spirit might be saying to you this morning through scripture might be through song might be a word for somebody else but that you're recording that cuz there's no way you're going to remember a week from now, right? We just don't we just don't have that sort of memory. So it's really important. If you're taking notes. We have journals in the back. You can grab them they're free and there's pins you can take notes on the connect cards in the seat in front of you. I love to just do it on my phone, you know, cuz I'm usually on my phone the next morning I can see those notes and yeah Jesus or the Holy Spirit spoke this I need to work through that I need to deal with that. So please make sure you're taking notes is an outline for this morning. I liked outlines. I'm super organized like this one the attention we need verses 1 through 7 + 16 + 18 through 18 to get into is The Lord's Prayer was just put in the middle of this section. And then lastly if we have time we're going to talk about belonging and behavior. Let's start you guys ready? Let's pray. Let's play one more time with me.

Holy spirit that you do the things that are impossible for men that's impossible for Maine. Impossible for a technology. So to speak that you would connect the dots in our souls. Lord, you know where we're at.

And therefore you also know where you need to take us. It's over the next 20 minutes now. We just Commit This Time Again to you. Would you speak would you move? amen We live in attention crave world. Don't we? Yeah, before the internet we found our identity being shaped by how we dressed right? I know you guys are thinking while we put on another Stellar outfit this morning. I know amazing what you can find in your closet when you don't care.

We find our identity through car or in Redmond through the truck. Right and it means a lot here in resin. I've noticed that like it's not good enough to have a truck with the number one in it as to have like three in a V Ride the extended cab the extended bad that I don't want to talk about but you get what I'm saying, right?

We find our identity in the size of our house or how many acres you own or if you can hunt on those Acres. If you know I'm saying right now about the amount of kids you have. Sometimes we find our identity and how successful they can think like, oh, my child is an honor student student at you know, whatever Elementary and it's need for attention stems right from our childhood. For example, my oldest brother, you know felt the pressure that an older brother would that is to do well he needed to perform well and so growing up he had to get good grades. Of course, you know, you're the first child healthy family. I'm pretty sure it makes way more money than I do. He's doing what my middle brother is a clown he had to fight for attention all the time. He was entertaining as he's making jokes and go figure now, he's 40 years old. He's still a clown, you know myself. You know, how do I can pee to my identity is basically shaped in this I would just go hide in my room and play Legos and when I was ready, I would bring out my masterful Lego creation to get attention to this thing go figure like right now in my life. I'm a musician. I do the exact same thing. I write songs and then they prison. Give me attention parents. What we do in our childhood shapes our identity. In school, you can think of that just like the different groups. You might have been a part of our one apart of right at the jocks or The Gamers the skaters the band kids the honor students a smart kids the Christians the bad and like the 2 Fast and Furious crew. I know there's a lot of those around here and read them into Kelis to hear them, you know where you buy like the super entry-level Honda or Toyota and then just soup it up like crazy. So it makes loud noises right around.

But now I'm at the center of our cultural moment is social media, isn't it? It's accepted as a new social media and for for everything we do before covid-19 hit that was our primary influence. We can find ourselves mindlessly scrolling through social media fee such as Twitter Facebook Instagram Snapchat Tumblr. They keep coming. I know Tik Tok as the instant gratification and likes and comments and favorites. Keep us awake. And when you detach from your phone just for that brief moment. It's only a matter of time right before you get back to your phone. Check it out the instincts hoping for another like another tag another comment. We love Facebook. We love Instagram not just for others content, but for the instant gratification that it gives us it speaks into our identity the things we post the content we own receiving praise for them. It's really funny to me is like if you did Instagram or Facebook, you're kind of like made it excuse like close friends from high school that as an excuse to be on either of those platforms nowadays. The kids have ticked off tick tocks all about None of that. It's all about pure views. Look what amazing or stupid thing. I just did and watch it as many times as possible. Yes. This is what feeds the Next Generation identity.

So all this is happening. And what does Jesus have to say about our need for attention? What does Jesus have to speak into this cultural moment were in right now? Let's read our texts. Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do you will have no reward from your father in Heaven. So when you give to the needy Do not announce it with trumpets as the Hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets to be honored by others. Truly. I tell you they have received their reward in full, but when you give to the needy do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing so that by giving or sorry so that you're giving may be in secret then your father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. Goes on to talk about prayer when you pray do not be like the Hypocrites for they love to pray standing and synagogues in the street corners to be seen by others. Truly. I tell you they have received their reward in full, but when you pray go into your room close the door and pray to your father who is on the same then your father who sees what is done in secret will reward you and when you pray do not keep on babbling like the pagans or they think they will be heard because of their many words not skip Down 2 verse 16 fasting when you fast do not look sombras and hypocrites do for they disfigure their faces to show others. They are fasting. Truly I tell you they have received their reward in full but when you fast. Put oil on your head and wash your face like clean up so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting. But only to your father who is unseen and your father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. Okay, first let's talk about what this passage is not as a lot going on here, but it is not a step-by-step outline of how to practice spiritual disciplines or good works. If it was way too many details missing within each one of those things praying fasting getting not to mention a host of other spiritual disciplines such as silence and Solitude studying the scriptures is not there. Did you notice that or memorizing the scriptures are meditating all these good healthy things, but this is not a step-by-step outline of spiritual. Disciplines instead Jesus teaches on these three things particularly because they were pillars in Judaism during that day notice. Jesus says when you give if you get right when you that when you pray as and everybody's doing these things Now you understand that a little bit. Like what's this whole horn thing about what when you go to the synagogue there was the place that you would give your money or your tired. Whatever was his horn type thing and it would make a loud noise when you put money in like a

Fart machine thank you. That's good and loud. Noises are happening right now to that point more at the synagogue like all of life and this time was centered around the synagogue. You would go there for temple to pray 3 times a day. If you are just a normal to you. This was a normal Rhythm every day to go to the synagogue and pray not only that you go there to hit keychains you go there to hear the scriptures, right? You didn't have your own personal Bible. That wouldn't come for a 1500 later years later, right? So you need to go to the synagogue to hear teaching. Not only that but the synagogue was also like the center of the town as relates to like schooling. So you take your kids to the synagogue as a means for schooling. Does that make sense to say you bump into people all the time at the synagogue when it's you I mean is no different than come in at like Westside tacos or Westside local or Wild Ride, you know. Like if you're going to go to one of those places, you probably going to see somebody know right likewise was a synagogue. Now that Jesus is point is simply here's a religious stuff. You typically do if your Christian fasting praying for us youth clothing. It might be something like coming to church on a Sunday or how about reading your Bible like your daily devotions. It was just normal Rhythm set Christians to or about posting CS Lewis quote on social media anybody normal Christian routines, you know, but again, this is not a list overview spiritual disciplines a second thing is this is not Jesus is not speaking against good works. Okay, we have to hold this whole list in contacts. Remember the beginning of sermon amount month ago. I taught on this you are the light of the world. You're the city on a hill a bunch of Lights coming together when we worship and he goes to make the point you like Lytle Lamprey turn on a bright light you and cover it with a basket right now. We are the lights we need to do good works. That's okay. What Jesus is getting at is what is our motivation behind those good works. What is our motivation behind that we're going to a few minutes now in a few minutes later. I want to look at this verse the section verse by verse and we're going to start pulling the pieces together figuring out what it is actually saying so look down at your scriptures at your Bible. First one be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. So the first line outlines the entire section for us this whole first line be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by then. It's an outline for the whole section to come if you do you will have no reward from your father in Heaven. What's the reward? Now it'd be easy. If you're like me growing up you think like all this is just something God is going to give you when you get to heaven, you know something you really wanted on Earth, but then you had to wait, right? No, that's not what the reward is. In fact that he's going to tell us exactly what the reward is in a second. He said so when you give Do not announce it with trumpets as the Hypocrites do no stop for a second that were Hypocrites in Jesus's time simply meant performers or actors or actresses. It did not have the connotations that has today as a bad word like a negative thing incidentally because Jesus said it here, you know two thousand years later. It's a bad word. Isn't it? Don't be like the Hypocrites. That's how we think of it. But in Jesus day is just simply performers and actors. So I have to hit progressive reformers do in the synagogues and on the streets to be honored by others. Truly. I tell you they have received their reward in full. Okay, so what's the reward?

To be honored by others, that's the reward. But when you give to the needy do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing so that you're getting may be done in secret then your father who sees in secret will reward you. What does he reward you with? Honor, right the father honors what you've done? Now this goes on I'm just going to skip down the end of verse 6th in your father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. This is the invitation to the secret life to the father again. And when you pray do not keep babbling like the pagans, they think they will be heard because they're many words so culturally the pagans in that day would exert a ton of energy to make God hear that that's what they thought would get the attention of God right now. I just need to pray the same thing over and over and over in the Old Testament. There's examples of the Pagan prophets doing this to try to get God to act but Jesus know you guys are different. In fact, I do want you to pray with persistence more on that in chapter 7, we don't have time today and then again skipping the first 16 to 18. It's more of the same the father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. Okay. So now we understand the section this teaching from Jesus isn't a short list of spiritual disciplines. It's also not necessarily about hypocrisy know instead. It focuses on our personal motivation to do spiritual things are personal motivation to do spiritual things. I ask you is hypocrisy an issue in the church today. Yeah, big time we can camp there for a while just the last few months another big leader from a big influential Church took a fall again, and he's going through the restoration process but it just is another thing the media wants to talk about. Right? Look at this great big amazing Christian who is a hypocrite underneath the surface. They were living a different life. It would be easy really easy to talk about the pockets for you right now. The media loves to talk about it. Jesus confronts. It constantly will see that throw the Book of Matthew, but guess what Jesus goes somewhere else with his teaching because right in the middle of these three things is The Lord's Prayer. I just to keep us from Simply making a section of a hypocrisy or good works alone. So now here's the obvious question. What does our need for attention have to do with the Lord's Prayer?

What does our need for attention have to do with the Lord's Prayer? The Lord's Prayer is wrapped up in the idea. This isn't this is new for me. By the way. I just saw this last few weeks that heinous The Lord's Prayer is wrapped up in the idea that the father knows what you need. So we're going to read it that way to go line-by-line and I'll break it up a little bit here and there but let's start at verse 8. Do not be like them the performers who want attention of others for you or sorry for your father knows what you need before you ask him. This then is how you should pray Our Father in Heaven stop. His first statement is our belonging. This is our citizenship. We belong to the family of God, we are adopted and so we approach God and we could say father. That's how I would do your name. God is Holy. He's good. He's complete. He's full of life. Are we know we need his Holiness don't lie. It shows us the need for Holiness your kingdom come your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven. How badly do we need his kingdom to come right now? Yes so much his rule his love his Mercy to save and heal the sickness to save it and heal and restore destruction. And then verse 11 give us today our daily bread. I love as he knows that we have physical needs to not all spiritual. He knows that we have physical needs to he wants us to be comfortable asking for those things heal our sickness. Feed us help me find a job Lord. Would you help keep a roof over a heads? First 12 and forgive us our debts as we also forgive our debtors. So God knows that we need to be forgiven. This is important. We need grace and mercy every single day. But that we also need to forgive others in order that we too can be made secure in our belonging. First 13 and lead us not into temptation, but Deliver Us from the evil one. God knows that we need Deliverance. He knows that we need to be led step-by-step. We need his help NASA manuscripts later man skips with and with for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.

Amen, yes. We made the first 14 there's a condition that needs. There's a condition to needs and belonging. This is fascinating verse 14 kind of like I'm shocks you when you get there for if you forgive other people when they sinned against you your heavenly father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins your father will not forgive your sins.

Wow, that's heavy tension. But God knows as we saw earlier. That if we're going to be secure in our belonging if we're going to receive forgiveness, we also need to not carry unforgiveness with us will never experience a freedom the belonging that we have in his family. We haven't forgiven others. So they have it the things we need most are met by Our Father in Heaven. What a relief right? What a relief we want and we think we need so many things Jesus just says right here in plain sight the Father Knows go to him talk to him this rock this last week. This totally rocked me. I was really stoked about teaching on spiritual discipline and I are in the back office and he's like Michael. I'm so good. You're so good at all this stuff. Can you read so many books? Like let's do it. Let's talk about all the spirit of this one with ya really excited. Then Jesus wanted me to work on the longing like belonging really Lord my identity. Yes belonging to the Father the one whose attention I truly need so I had to divert all study had to go to Total different direction what you and I need most is to recover our sense of belonging. We need to hear it. We need to soak it in the words of Our Father in heaven like Jesus at his baptism member Jesus at his baptism clouds part in the father speaks. This is my child and whom I'm well pleased.

We said that the Jesus not us. Oh, no, because now if you follow Jesus as Paul says you are in Christ and therefore the same words of the father spoke of Jesus. He can speak to you. That's why I'll this is my son. This is my daughter in whom I am well pleased.

The words app off or he chose us in love. He predestined us predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ in accordance with his pleasure and will to the praise of his glorious Grace, which is freely given us in the one. He loved Jesus makes our Behavior about belonging that's what ultimately shapes our identity my father-in-law. Most of you guys know, what are a awesome godly man. And when he was raising my wife Monica, they would often like go to coffee shops together and and people were pretty struck by the beauty of my wife Valentine's Day. I'm scoring points here. And so there is no my gosh. This is your daughter all she is beautiful and Perry would always say yes. Yes. She is beautiful. She's also beautiful on the inside. And I know that sounds a little bit cheesy Hallmark action and you know, but is that the thing that he said they're over and over again as Monica was getting compliments but she's beautiful on the inside. You think he was saying that for the people that were saying it to the notice about Monica wasn't saying it for them was he he was saying it for Monica so that she would continue to grow secure and identity but it's also important to be beautiful on the inside. I'm so fluffy right now. So if you're like a hardcore guy and you like what is this whole teaching about the longing? Hang with me? Okay. Hang with me here. belonging in Behavior belonging and behavior now getting there's a lot going on in this teaching under the surface. I think you guys are seeing it. We're going to take some Liberty with this passage though. instead of getting attention from others We need to pay attention to the father. In other words what motivates our behavior is the attention of the Father Joseph Gordon-Levitt. You guys know that actor he was in Inception. He's like a secondary role in Inception or like 500 Days of Summer Joseph jgl. In a recent Ted Talk on distraction versus attention. He laid out the central dilemma and he argues that don't put up on the screen seeking attention will yes get you noticed but not optimally not in service of the art the science or the work at hand for us God the father in our case know you have to pay attention. Not seek attention, but pay attention in this article is included in short letting go of our desire for attention can have a benefit that can transcend the rewards receiving attention because in a world where are tension at monetized that's what happens on social media. Your attention is monetized finding ourselves able to focus for the sake of focusing without Desiring anything else can set us apart evolve Masters in our own right? The attention we need is paying attention to the Father which feeds our identity and a firm's are belonging. So what is belonging matter you ask Well might help to think about mazzolini like Maslow's hierarchy of needs about psychologists just basic. He actually said that the need for belonging helped people to experience and acceptance through family friends and other relationships that is belonging comes right after I basic need for food and shelter. I need food. I need shelter. I need to belong I need to have a sense of belonging. That's what the world says about belonging. That same article of concluded belonging motivates our behavior. And so the conclusion for us a simple. Our sense of belonging is tied for is tied with our behavior. I'm going to put a slide up here that shows this when we give attention to the father we find belonging we behave differently. Belonging and behavior and I made this little thing so the graph to kind of show us how this works you think of the arrows like attention. If our Behavior with direct us to the father. We don't have a sense of our belonging. We're secure and who we are and then when we go out to the World School place or to work or hang with our friends. We then have a behavior both spiritual and emotional that portrays the father's character. Because we spend time with him, right and this just keeps going in a circle. Then ones are out in the world are hanging out. We realized I need to go spend time with the father again. I need to go be made secure again in my identity. And this is this is really the Christian Life right here. This is what the face is for all of us. It's making time to be with the father getting a sense of our belonging then adopts or behavior as Richard Foster. Put it in prayer real prayer. We begin to think God's thoughts after him to desire the things he desires and to love the things he loves and leave that on the screen for now. I want you guys keep looking at that.

The Lord's Prayer is a gift to alter our Behavior. Prayer does not stop with the amen. Arises to it feet to its feet and it walks off. He walks off with a built-up yearning turn into a type of behavior. Not for years. I thought that the Lord's Prayer is a commitment of the sprayer right the person saying the prayer the values of the Lord prayers what matter but it's not so simple as that. Nobody said it better than Frank lubach will put this quote on the slide as well it the Lord's Prayer is prayer most used and least understood people think they are asking God for something. They're not they're offering God something The Lord's Prayer is not a prayer to God to do something. We want done. It is more nearly God's prayer to us to help him do what he wants done. He wanted that entire prayer answered before we prayed it. The Lord's Prayer is not intercession. It's in the list mint. That's a little more manly right listen is going to Warrior.

3D image of a tension God is fighting for your attention.

We need to lean into these moments with them. Personal yes daily and devotion don't give that up everyday lean into it spend time with our father also on Sundays when we're here. Don't make this simply performance. Don't make Brett and I do cartwheels up here to try to keep you entertained instead devote this time to Our Father in heaven. I'm going to land the plane here. I love this quote. The guy had the privilege of interviewing. She wrote a book about adoption, like holistically all that entails and adoption. But then she also talked about scriptures talk about it and a conclusion was simply what is necessary for belonging is the habit of showing up for one another as steadfast presents that Enders on good days and bad. That's so good. What is necessary for belonging is a habit of showing up for one another the steadfast presents that Enders on good days and bad. So then we're going to end right here. A second here. I'm going to put on my guitar and while I'm doing that I would love if you guys with your Bible or Bible app go ahead and turn over to Luke chapter 10. Luke chapter 10 verse 38

Britain I'm going to play a little pad in the background.

Oh, yeah, holy spirit is here.

I have no idea how this is going to work some point. I'm going to be over there with a guitar.

lieutenant The home of Martha and Mary Jesus and his disciples were on their way. He came to a village where women named Martha opened her home then. She had a sister called Mary sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. The Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be done. And she came to him and asked Lord don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself. Tell her to help me.

Martha Martha the Lord answered you are worried and upset about many things but few things are needed or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better and will not be taken away from her.

No coincidence fear to keep reading. The next thing that Luke decides right about is The Lord's Prayer.

sitting

you know that passage about Mary Martha. I talked about it often. What different service to different people that I'm leading in the church? Cuz I found out that there is a deep identity crisis even within the church as we serve as volunteers for years for years. I spent time tell him I volunteered. Hey, you're a servant first before you're cool electric guitar player or cool drum or whatever. You are. You're a servant first and that's what Jesus was he chose to serve his disciples and that was really good again for years. I was taught that and I taught that for others and kept things like in line, you know. And I remember when it happened but at some point.

I discovered that that was a false sense of identity that instead our first identity as a son and daughter of God. Our first identity is as a child of God and the that would affect the rest perfectly then after that. Once we are sending child then yes, we follow the ways of Jesus we serve others and then after that we do whatever it is a God has gifted us with but without that first thing in the place, he nabina Rec you have worn out you get tired you're stressed and you're anxious about many things like Martha when one thing is needed. Spend time with God.

So we're going to transition to do now. I want you guys to go ahead and stand to your feet.

Free to commit the next 10 minutes to spending time with her father your song and Mom and here I'm going to open the tables do not rush to the tables yet. I know it's been a little chaotic last two months, which is way we're going to spend a whole song to spending time with her father. You can Journal you can pray you can pray the Lord's Prayer you find yourself being like I don't know what to do in this moment just read scripture. That's always a great go to Presumido been in church longer you can ask Holy Spirit. What do you want to say to me right now? I'm listening. A lot of spirit to say whatever he wants might put somebody in your mind somebody that you need to pray for maybe it's somebody that you need to forget. That's certainly what happened to me this last week. I got to that section about not be forgiven unless you forgive us like we need some people that I need to forgive.