Positioning Your Priorities

Pre-service Reading

Matthew 10:38–39 ESV

And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Introduction

The woodworker’s priorities were misaligned and mixed up — positioned improperly. In his drive to make more money, he tossed aside loyalty and morality. He chose not to think about what those crosses were used for. He excused his mixed up priorities by thinking he was helping his family by making more money. But the real problem was greed and pride, and rationalization.

He sold out and used his skills for personal profit despite knowing his work would be used to execute his own people, the Jews, who were cruelly persecuted by the Roman Empire.

For a Jew to betray fellow Jews for money truly reveals how misaligned his priorities were.

The woodworker finally realized that his priorities were so misaligned that he actually had blood on his hands in the cruel murder of the Messiah on a Cross. His fingerprints were all over the crucifixion of Jesus.

How do you think the woodworker ended up with priorities so out of alignment?

Of course, there is no mention of an actual woodworker who refurbished crosses to be used multiple times. But his character represents a reality — plenty of people, both then and now, face challenges that force them to consider whether or not their priorities in life are positioned properly.

The woodworker used his skills for his own profit rather than doing what Jesus taught about crosses...

Matthew 10:38–39 ESV

And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Here’s how The Message puts it:

Matthew 10:38–39 The Message

“If you don’t go all the way with me, through thick and thin, you don’t deserve me. If your first concern is to look after yourself, you’ll never find yourself. But if you forget about yourself and look to me, you’ll find both yourself and me.

PRAYER

Jesus chose to face the persecution and suffering of the Cross in order to blaze the trail for people to be reconciled with God.

Jesus’s priority was to lay His life down, as the sinless sacrifice…because of His love for humanity.

Jesus’s priority was humanity’s salvation — yours and mine…and all who call upon Him.

Transitional: We know what Jesus’s priorities are…what are yours and mine?

WRONGLY POSITIONED PRIORITIES REVEAL AN UNHEALTHY HEART (Mt. 6:16-24)

Exposition:

Before the Passion Week Jesus was quite popular because of His teaching and miracles throughout Israel.

One day, He went up to a hillside to speak to the crowd…the Sermon on the Mount

The people were lost, desperate, poor, sinful, and hurting people. He spoke to them boldly but with a compassionate and loving heart. They were used to the fake holiness of the religious leaders…they were looking for something more.

He targeted the human heart. He artfully took on the concept of priorities…misaligned versus properly position priorities.

He called out outward “obedience to the Law” — that outward obedience is not enough…it is not how one comes to know God in a personal way.

The people didn’t have a religious problem, they had a spiritual problems and spiritual problems always lead to heart problems.

Jesus’s main message points to priorities that reveal what’s in a person’s inner man

Matthew 6:16–24 ESV

“And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! “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.

Priorities Pinpoint the Position of Your Heart

It’s not what is seen on the outside that should be prioritized

No…it is about what God sees on the inside of your heart — He can see it even if nobody else can

“When you fast” — it was expected that God’s people take time and effort to fast in one way or another

Whatever you do that is supposed to be spiritual…what is your motive? Why are you doing it? Who are you trying to impress?

Pursue Spiritual Practices that Remind You of Your Number One Priority

Fasting, prayer, solitude, serving, worship, sharing your faith, etc., are all actions that we should take because of our love and commitment to the Lord

If He is your number one priority…these actions simply reveal the position of your heart with God

Pursue Spiritual Practices for the Right Reasons

The Pharisees had misplaced priorities . If everybody didn’t see them fasting, then why do it?

It’s like posting pictures while you are on vacation. If you don’t post pictures so everybody else can see you living your best life on vacation, did you really even go on vacation?

For the Pharisees, it was about frowning and letting their hair look uncombed and unkempt and making their outward appearance look tough, sad, hard, and difficult.

They, in our social media language, were trying to get thousands of “likes”

The only “like” that matters in this life comes from God

Transitional: A right heart leads to right living and a right attitude. Jesus is talking about making our heart a priority before God because of this profound truth...

SPIRITUAL PROBLEMS ARE ALWAYS HEART PROBLEMS

Misaligned priorities represent a misaligned spirit and a misaligned relationship with God

Exposition

Jesus’s sermon on that hillside spoke to the priority of our heart and making sure our heart is focused on God

Matthew 6:19–24 ESV

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! “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.

The point of these versus…what Jesus is pointing to…is spiritual problems; spiritual problems are always heart problems

Spiritual Problems Trace Back to the Issue of Priorities in Our Lives

In this passage Jesus talks about priorities between finding ultimate value in the treasure we try to get our hands on that will perish versus those we store up in heaven, which will endure

Jesus talks about priorities between the stinginess which leaves one in darkness, versus the generosity which gives one light...the priority of worshiping money versus worshiping God.

It all points to the inside issues that Jesus identifies as heart problems; and spiritual problems always are heart problems.

Jesus is not prohibiting making sensible provisions for the future. No…He is calling out a misplaced priority that leads to greed.

Beware because the stuff that you are trying so hard to get your hands on will be destroyed by moths and rust if your priority is what is on this earth.

The word for “rust” (19-20) in the Greek and can be translated as “eating.” …like mice eating away at stored clothing or food.

What’s eating away at you at this season of life?

What’s eating away at your peace?

What’s eating away at your joy?

What’s eating away at your hope?

Could it be that what’s eating away at you stems back to a misplaced priority?

Might Jesus diagnose what is eating away at you as a spiritual problem rather than a money problem?

Spiritual problems always are heart problems

CHALLENGE

Spiritual problems are heart problems that stem from how we position our priorities

Do you like the direction of your life?

If the current direction of your life determines where you ultimately end up, are you on a track that is moving you closer to God and who He wants you to be or farther away from that priority?

Are there areas of your life that need to be reprioritized…today is the day to bring it all before the Lord

If you don’t do it today, your misplaced priorities will continue to eat away at you as you keep drifting in the wrong direction.

Jesus says in Matthew 6:21

Matthew 6:21 ESV

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

In verse 24, He declares that no one can serve two masters

Whatever it is; money, time, habits, people, etc. you cannot serve two Masters

What is your priority?

Who is your priority?

Where are your eyes focused?

If your heart is prioritized rightly, everything else comes into proper alignment

Where is the one area of life that you need to reprioritize today?