Friday, September 20, 2013
Don't Worry! Part 25 of 31
TEXT: "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? 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; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 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? Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles seek. 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" (Matthew 6:25-34).
IDEA: We trust the Father in heaven to provide the "righteousness" we seek.
PURPOSE: To help listeners appreciate what "God's righteousness" involves.
What do you think Jesus means when He tells us to seek His kingdom and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33)?
I. Righteousness has at least two possibilities.
There is a righteousness that belongs to God alone. He will display that righteousness in judgment when His kingdom is established upon the earth.
His disciples will be persecuted (5:10) and they look to the King to vindicate them.
The persecuted church around the world cries for justice, "His righteousness."
There is a righteousness that comes from God alone.
To seek His righteousness is to ask God to do for us what we cannot do on our own. "Command us as thou wilt, O God, and then do for us what you have commanded."
II. The Sermon on the Mount spells out the characteristics of men and women who are "salt and light" because of the way we live.
Jesus says that others will see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven (5:16).
How is that possible?
In either case, it is not simply "righteousness" but "HIS righteousness" we are to seek.
What might this "seeking" involve in our lives?
