SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD - 11 OCT 2015

DO NOT WORRY                                  
11 October 2015

TEXT: MATT 6:25 - 34 

        

                               

Matt 6:25-34 "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, 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? 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? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow, they neither toil nor spin, yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like of these. Now if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is and tomorrow is thrown into the over, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not worry saying “What shall we eat?”, “What shall we drink?”, “What shall we wear?” For after all these things the Gentiles seek.  For your heavenly Father knows you need all these things.  BUT SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS AND ALL THESE THINGS SHALL BE ADDED TO YOU.  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble"

                                       

      

BIBLICAL RESPONSE TO WORRYING ABOUT THE FUTURE

In the light of prophecies of a coming world economic collapse, what should be a proper biblical response?

God wants us “not to worry” about the uncertainties of the future. Neither does He want us to worry about the 5 things that tend to occupy our mind:

1.       Our life

2.       What we will drink

3.       What we will put on

4.       What we will eat

5.       Tomorrow

In the NKJV the word “worry” appears 6 times out of 8 but in the KJV the word “worry” does not appear at all. In the KJV, the words used are “take no thought”. 

If we allow our thoughts to dwell too much on the things of this life, on our material, physical and material needs, sooner or later those worrisome thoughts will become like our ‘idol’ and we will suffer stress or even experience a mental breakdown.

A classic “worrier” in the Bible is Martha. When Jesus visited the family, Martha worried so much about serving Him that she complained to Jesus about Mary, her sister, who chose to sit at the feet of the Lord. The Lord identified her problem when He said to her “Martha, Martha you are worried and troubled over many things. But ONE THING is needed and Mary has chosen that good part, which will NOT be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:41-42)

THE ONE THING WHICH IS NEEDED OF US BY THE LORD – SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD

Jer 29:13 “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart”

SEEK: Seeking, searching, finding – all of these take time. It takes time for us to worship, read the Word of God and to pray. Time has to be taken to empty ourselves when coming to the Lord. We need to empty ourselves of hurts, anger, hatred, bitterness, fear, sorrow, pride etc. 

Like accumulated dust and dirt, we need to take time to cleanse ourselves of these things. 

SEARCH: Only in total surrender of our hearts will we find the KINGDOM OF GOD. We need time to allow worship to soften our hearts before God so that we can be yielded and ready to obedient to His will, His Word and His calling upon our lives.

FIRST THING: Literally in the day before we eat our breakfast, switch on the computer, read the newspapers – FIRSTLY, open up our mouth to worship the Lord.

FIRST THING:  Open up the Word of God to ‘chew’ on it. 

FIRST THING: Open up our mouths to pray in the Spirit and to offer thanksgiving and prayers to JESUS! 

FIRST THING: SEEK THE INFILLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT TO SUSTAIN US THROUGH OUR DAY

THE NEED OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

Rom 14:17 “For the kingdom of God is not in eating and drinking, but in righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit”

We need the Holy Spirit to show us what the kingdom of God is like. We need to Holy Spirit to take us into the kingdom of God. Praying in the Spirit and allowing the Holy Spirit to pray through us is the start of the journey that will take us into the very heart of the kingdom of God.

DISCUSSION

1.       Of all the 5 things that worry us, which one worries you the most?

2.       Do you agree that we need to take time to seek God? Share how you are seeking God daily now

3.       Share which aspect of the message spoke to you the most