Through the Bible - Genesis 15-17, Matthew 6
Good morning,
If you've been following along in the read through the Bible plan above, you are now reading Matthew's account of the Sermon on the Mount, the greatest sermon ever told.
In preparation for today's verse I read a sermon from John Piper on Matt. 6:24-34. The sermon was from September 1984 and Piper obviously could not have known about the situation of our country today, but I was sobered by the introduction to the sermon.
"There are some kings who find it very effective to keep their subjects in constant anxiety. If the people are anxious about their life, and worry about where their next meal is coming from, then perhaps they will be more willing to do the king's bidding in order to get the food they need from the king's storehouse. Anxiety keeps them in their place. Fear makes the monarchy firm. "
For today's verse we'll go to verse 24 which starts the passage.
Matt 6:24 "No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. NLT
Notice the first two words, "no one". Through the ages people, including religious leaders (see Luke 16:13-14 where is says that the pharisees were lovers of money), have thought that they could have it all and juggle both. When we try to do so we'll find that at some point we will drop the ball. When the ball is dropped, where do most people turn for help in today's society?
You can look back over the past couple of years to see how this has played out, where they have turned. The Bernie Madoff scheme, the stock market crash and the following bail outs show that people have depended on the government to "fix" the problem.
How do we not get caught up in this and avoid the anxiety?
Piper continues, "But one of the greatest things about Jesus is that he does not want his people to be anxious. The main point of today's text is that God does not secure his kingship by cultivating anxiety. On the contrary, the aim of God's kingship is to free us from anxiety. God doesn't need to keep us anxious in order to establish his power and superiority. Instead he exalts his power and superiority by working to take away our anxiety. "
If we are filled with anxiety over finances, here are a few verses that should encourage us and challenge us.
Isa 26:3 You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You. NKJV
Read the rest of the passage below. May it encourage you to trust, to serve, to follow Jesus, trust and trust in God for His provision, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You. NKJV
Read the rest of the passage below. May it encourage you to trust, to serve, to follow Jesus, trust and trust in God for His provision, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
What other verses come to mind that can reinforce these thoughts?
May His perfect love cast out fear in your life.
Blessings,Mike
mikevw@bellsouth.net
mikesvotd.blogspot.com
mikesvotd.blogspot.com
Matt 6:24-7:1
You Cannot Serve God and Riches
24 "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
Do Not Worry(Luke 12:22-31)
25 "Therefore I say to you, do not worry 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, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
28 "So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
31 "Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. NKJV
24 "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
Do Not Worry(Luke 12:22-31)
25 "Therefore I say to you, do not worry 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, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
28 "So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
31 "Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. NKJV
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