LOC 057 Right Priorities
In our study of the Life of the Lord Jesus Christ we come to a
pointed application made by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. In Verse 25 of Matt Chapter 6, he uses a
therefore--at least that is how its translated into English. The presence of a
therefore shows us a transition in the presentation. It is short hand for saying, because of what
has gone before, this is to be true of you.
Because they had been taught the way to spiritual prosperity in
the beatitudes, because they were to be salt and light in society, because they
were to live by God’s standards and teach others to do the same, because they
would be the ones rightly doing charitable deeds, praying in an informed manner
and fasting for the right reasons, because they would learn to be
heavenly-minded and store up treasures with God the Father in heaven, what
follows is of great importance. Because
all the preceding is true, live in this way:
1. Don’t be Anxious about
Earthly things
Matt. 6:25 “ ¶ 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?
2. The First Illustration
God’s Provision
Matt. 6:26 “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?
3. The Folly of Worry
Matt. 6:27 “Which of you by worrying can add one cubit
to his stature?
4. The Second Illustration of
God’s Provision
Matt. 6:28 “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?
5. Don’t Worry
Matt. 6:31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we
drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’
6. Don't be like the Outsiders
32 “For after all these things the Gentiles
seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
7. First Things First
Matt. 6:33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and His
righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
8. Final Summary
34 “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for
tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own
trouble.
Let’s look a little deeper. But to do so, I want to take things
out of order. I would like to look at
the principle stated in v. 33 first, then go back to the earlier verses some
other week, in order to finish this
section with a retro look at vs, 33’s immediate context with the final
conclusion drawn by the Lord Jesus in verse 34.
Out of order:
7. First Things First
Matt. 6:33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and His
righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
This is another one of those great memory verses that has been so
sentimentalized and the memorizers so desensitized that it has been stripped of
its real meaning.
It is often used as a promise for people to get the stuff they
want. It is like this: if someone give themselves to a regiment of
daily devotion, that is the seeking part, God will give them what they
want. As long as they are seeking (as
seeking is commonly defined) God will give them what they long for. This isn’t exactly what the verse and context
are teaching. This is a principle that
summarizes all that has come before in the sermon on the Mount. All that Jesus
has said up to this point is included in this summary idea of seeking. Especially this is true of the last section
we handled last week about storing up treasures in heaven.
The sentence in the original Greek starts with the word for
“seek”. It introduces the subject to the
expected action immediately, and then the speaker goes on to explain the
action. It is in the second person
plural present active imperative.
Let me explain:
Second person plural: A Plural you. Jesus is addressing all of the disciples as I am
addressing YOU.
Present: Jesus is telling the Disciples what he is saying has reference for
their lives now in a way that should affect them in an ongoing basis. From this point onward, SEEK!
Active: The Disciples he is addressing will be doing this action, rather
than having the action done to them.
Imperative: It is a command, not an option, for the Disciples to SEEK.
All of that is on one word, the word for Seek. It is an important concept for Christ’s
disciples to grasp. What Jesus expects
of them because of all he has taught them in the last few minutes in summarized
in the word Seek. So, it is an important
concept for us to grasp as well. At
least if we want to know what Jesus expects of his present-day followers. For
Jesus desires for his own have not changed.
The Greek word is used in many different ways in the New Testament
and in the LXX. It is found well over
300 times.
The basic definitions in a lexicon run the spectrum of meanings
like these: to seek, to inquire, to worship (God or gods), to plot, to execute
a plan, to pursue, to go about doing, to desire, to endeavor, to enquire, to
require, and so on. It is the context
and the use of the word that must drive how this word is to be understood. Since it is active, expecting the disciples
to engage themselves in this activity, it must be something they can do, or at
least be held accountable for not doing.
Since the word is used to give introduction to the principle to be
taught, it must be used in an independent manner. That is, an action that can stand on its own.
Seek must be some substantive defining action of life as a disciple from this
point forward in an active manner as a command.
That limits the range of meaning considerably. We need to ask, what is
the disciple to seek?
Jesus tells them. They are
to seek two things simultaneously: the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness.
They cannot plan actively to bring about the place where God’s rule is known
and felt. It is not about worship. It is not about plotting for the Kingdom of
God is seeking the kingdom and God’s righteousness. It is not merely a desire
for the Kingdom, and so forth. The only
uses of seek that make sense in the context are to enquirer to know a thing and
to pursue to gain understanding and mastery of a thing.
In seeking the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness, the disciples
would have to learn about God and his ways and then live in accord with the
ethical demands upon them. They are to be actively engaged in the process as
obeying the command of their Lord. They
were to seek these things until they became masters of them.
To this we need to add what we find in the third word of the
verse--the word first. Hmmm. Disciples, everything else must be brought
into the service of this one thing of primary importance. This is the first thing you are to always do
as my disciple, everything you do must be done in order for you to seek first
the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness.
Again, there are a number of possible meanings of this word for
first:
1. pertaining to a point of time earlier in a sequence--You first
did this, now do that.
2. first in a series involving time, space, or set — ‘first.’ One
is the first number.
3. pertaining to being superior in value to all other items of the
same class--first prize cattle
4. pertaining to being of high rank, with the implication of
special prominence and status--first citizens of a nation.
5. pertaining to exceeding everything else in importance--My first
and only choice would be....
It can’t be #1. pertaining to a point of time earlier in a
sequence--You first did this, now do that. It is not something they have done,
it is something they are to do.
It can’t be #2. first in a series involving time, space, or set —
‘first.’ One is the first number. It is not a one time event they are to do.
It can’t be #3. pertaining to being superior in value to all other
items of the same class--first prize cattle. Certainly this Kingdom and
righteousness are to be valued by them.
But it is not a statement about the value of the Kingdom, it is a
command for the disciples, a call to action, not a call to merely consider
something as special.
It can’t be #4. pertaining to being of high rank, with the
implication of special prominence and status--first citizens of a nation. This
kingdom is at hand, but driven by the principles of another realm. This definition is inconsistent with other
principles of life in God’s kingdom that we have seen and have not yet heard
about.
We are left with #5. pertaining to exceeding everything else in
importance--My first and only choice as a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ is
to actively inquire and pursue this present reality of the Kingdom of God and
His righteousness. It must become my lifelong passion.
That is what Jesus told his disciples then and it is what we need
to hear now. Following the Lord Jesus
Christ in a committed manner is not an option for some future point in time
when we decide to consecrate ourselves, or when we make Jesus Lord of our
Life. He is Lord NOW we are to be given
over to learn of him and to follow his path of righteousness now in an
ever-growing manner. If we do not, it is
not a matter of disobedience, it is a matter of whether we are a disciple or
not. Disciples are know by this activity
of seeking first and foremost as a priority of life the Kingdom of God and His
righteousness. Do you see how
fundamentally important this is? One
cannot be a disciple and consistently live, think and act like the world. A disciple lives like a disciple.
Churches today have low expectations of her people and it shows in
how they live. Seekers are
disciples. No man naturally seeks after
God. We have the clear statement of
Scripture on that--Rom. 3:11 There is none who understands; There is
none who seeks after God. The Greek word in this occurrence
is even stronger than we find in Matthew 6:33.
Natural man does not search out God and his ways, but that is the
calling of the believers alone.
We are a seeker-sensitive Church, rightly understood. We do not seek to cater to unbelievers who
enter our doors, they are like the multitudes, we have compassion on them and
minister to them, especially with the Gospel. We are glad when they come. However, they are not we exist.
As a Church we have been called to teach the disciples, everything
Jesus taught. Our ministry is focused
principally towards those who follow Christ and seek the Kingdom of God. This
is where his special rule is felt and known. This is where those who have been
born-again by the Spirit of God will come to learn and be challenged. Remember, what did Jesus say about being
regenerated by God’s Spirit and one’s ability to see, know, or even perceive
the Kingdom of God? I’ll remind you, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one
is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3. Unbelievers come
among us and watch us and listen in on the things of the gospel that have been
prepared for you. You are like the
disciples Jesus taught. You ought to be seeking the Kingdom and We ought to be
teaching you about the kingdom and God’s righteousness. In that the Gospel is
found to call others to Christ. Some will hear and obey, others will not. Those
who obey will start to seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness.
It is wonderful to be around new believers and see this come into
fruition. You don't have to force them
to think about God, to read the Word, to pray.
They have a zeal by virtue of a work of God on their souls, they live in
harmony with the work of God. It is
contagious. It is after years of
desensitized living that sin creeps in so powerfully. We need to recapture a sense of our need to
always pursue the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness. And to eschew our own
tendency to create our own kingdoms and our self-justified standards of what is
right.
This one concept is so important. It is so lost in modern-day
Gospel preaching. When you ask me if I
think your child is a believer. As you seek to comfort your own soul about the
state of your spouse, as you ask me about your relatives and the state of their
souls who belong to other denominations,
and sects, it all comes down to this: do they live the life of a
disciple in an uncoerced manner? Do they
seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness?
You know them better than me. I
don’t know their hearts.I can;t make an infallible pronouncement. I don't even see their lives as much as you
do as parents, spouses and friends. My question is this: Do they follow the
Lord Jesus Christ as the pattern of their life to any extent? If they do there is some hope.
The way of discipleship in Christ’s adopted family is not the way
of convenience for any. As Lord he has
the absolute right to command his people.
His most basic and fundamental command is for his disciples to seek
first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness.
There are no “buts” or “exceptions”. That is the what the life of
a disciple is all about--disciples follow their Lord and learn of him. Do you?
We are going to see in ever-growing measure the difference between
how Jesus treats the multitudes that
follow him and listen to him, the Pharisees
who are plotting to kill him, and his blessed disciples. I believe we need
to treat those who are similar to these three groups in our day and age in ways
similar to what Jesus did. And, that would be unpopular in many circles. But did not Jesus give instruction in this
matter? Listen to these words from
Chapter Seven. Words you may have never
seen nor read in this context of Jesus’s real life ministry to his
disciples. I can’t wait to get here:
Matt. 7:13 “ ¶ Enter by the narrow gate;
for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there
are many who go in by it. 14 “Because narrow is the gate and difficult is
the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
Who is Jesus talking to?
The disciples further on in the sermon on the Mount. Actually, he is
this comes after further instruction on asking, SEEKING, and knocking. But, to get back to our main point, Jesus is
teaching the disciples.
What is he teaching them about?
We usually turn this into an abstraction about the way that leads to
death and the way that leads to life. But what is Jesus teaching the disciples
in the context? He is commanding them to
enter in by the narrow gate. They are
the ones who alone will be on the way that leads to life. It is another summary of his expectations
consistent with the calling in 6:33 to seek first and foremost the Kingdom of
God and His righteousness. There are few
that find the way that leads to life.
Brethren, not everyone is going to jump on the bandwagon of discipleship
through following Christ in his ways.
Natural men will hate it and what we have to say. But some will come through the preaching or
from other places to hear the preaching.
To follow through with the metaphor used in Matthew 7:13-14, where
it says, “ for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction,
and there are many who go in by it,” How would the disciples have understood
Jesus words? You know enough about the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ up to
this point to answer this question. It
might make you uncomfortable in our post-modern world where worldly expectations
are for us to be as inclusivist as possible.
Those of you who have been here for the last year should know to whom
Jesus is referring. If he is commanding
the disciples to get on the narrow way through the narrow gate, there are only
two choices from the threefold distinction I have been making. Either it is the Pharisees, or the
multitudes. The Pharisees were not many,
but few with a great deal of power.
Jesus is talking about the multitudes.
Listen again: “for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to
destruction, and there are many who go
in by it.” There is something about this that is a present reality. We
should not expect all or even many people to get on the narrow way. That is an unrealistic expectation. However, we know God is active in the nations
of the World through his Word and his own experience. We know in the great commission what we are
to do: it is to make disciples, not simply to evangelize. We are attempting to
find the few who need to commit themselves to the narrow way of discipleship as
they seek first and foremost the kingdom of God and his righteousness.
That entails a radically different philosophy of ministry than you
typically find in the evangelical Church today.
But we must conform our methods to the means we have without
ever-compromising the message of the Gospel.
God saves sinners by the Lord Jesus Christ through the preaching of the
glorious gospel of Grace. That any of us
have received these blessings should amaze us.
God did not owe us anything when we served ourselves as one of the many
on the way to destruction. That God
worked in us by His Spirit to change us and our desires is all of undeserved
grace.
The Churches of our age are obsessed with growth in numbers rather
than growth in godliness. A friend of
mine pastored a large and seeming prosperous Church in the Northeast. A church-planter whose ministry had been
struggling for two years called him for an appointment. I just happen to know the church-planter,
too. They set up a time. When the planter came to the pastor, he
asked, “What is your target group?” My friend, the Pastor, paused. You see, in
modern day Church Growth theory says you have to use the principle of
homogeneity in order to grow a Church.
That is, you have to have a specific target audience that has many
similarities in their backgrounds so they will feel at home with others in the
group. It is taken more from the
Disciples of Carl Jung that it is from Christ’s followers. Jung identified the dynamics of small group
interaction and how to make people “feel” accepted. The planter, with this sort of baggage
trailing behind, asked again, “What is your target audience?” My friend looked
at him and said, “The Elect.” The Church planter relied, “Isn’t that a bit
narrow.” To that the pastor answered, “That’s right.” They turned to Paul’s
great purpose statement at the beginning of his letter to Titus:
Titus 1:1 ¶ Paul, a bondservant of God
and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect and the
acknowledgment of the truth which accords with godliness, 2 in hope of
eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began, 3 but has in due time manifested His
word through preaching, which was committed to me according to the commandment
of God our Savior.
Then they went to 2 Tim. 2:10 to read: Therefore I endure all
things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the
salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.
The Church left in dismay.
He wanted a Church that would accommodate itself to the many on the way
to destruction rather than the few on the way to life.
The Christian Life and by extension the Church is not about
getting what we want out of God, but about doing for God what he requires of
his son’s disciples. To follow Christ as
the priority of our life. In doing that
we have the precious promise annexed to the covenantal command:
...[A}nd all these things shall be added to you.” God pledges
himself to take care of those who follow his son as they seek His Kingdom and
His Righteousness.
What a blessing for those who are Christ’s and follow in his
ways. The only way to have these
benefits is to have him put you on that narrow way through that narrow gait of
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. May God
provoke those on the broad way to jealousy by what he has given only to his
son’s disciples. Do you seek the Kingdom
of God and His Righteousness. Or are you
on a more dangerous path to ruin? There
are no other options available to us as we live in the world.
1. Don’t be Anxious about
Earthly things
Matt. 6:25 “ ¶ 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?
2. The First Illustration
God’s Provision
Matt. 6:26 “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?
3. The Folly of Worry
Matt. 6:27 “Which of you by worrying can add one cubit
to his stature?
4. The Second Illustration of
God’s Provision
Matt. 6:28 “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?
5. Don’t Worry
Matt. 6:31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we
drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’
6. Don't be like the Outsiders
32 “For after all these things the Gentiles
seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
7. First Things First
Matt. 6:33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and His
righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
8. Final Summary
34 “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for
tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own
trouble.
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