Title: Seek First / Matthew 6:31-34
Contents
Bible: Matthew 6:31-34
Title: First things first
We have received the promise of receiving God's miracles and blessings from the Lord as we pray for anything. If it is the representative verse,
Matthew 7:7-8 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you; for everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”
The problem is that we have to look again at what we should ask for first, and of course we should know the conclusion that we do not have to pray haphazardly.
For example, you can find in the Bible that even if you ask for and get what you want, if you are satisfied only with the result, it can be a big mistake.
Matthew 7:21-23 Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many said to me, “Lord, Lord, we will prophesy in your name. and cast out demons in your name, and did many mighty works in your name?” Then I will say to them clearly, “I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.”
Therefore, the conclusion is that we must pray so that we will not regret it. We can learn a lesson from Matthew 6, where we see what we should seek first and what we should seek.
1. Who is the master of life?
Text, Matthew 6:24 “No man 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, for you cannot serve both God and riches.”
The word to serve here (douleuvw) means to obey as a servant to the master.
Christians have a different way of looking at the world. Just as the Apostle Paul seized the worldly and proudly those who believe in Jesus and met the Lord on the road to Damascus, the scales that covered his eyes were removed and he came to understand Jesus differently, so believers in Jesus have a different outlook on life.
Text, Matthew 6:22 'The eye is the lamp of the body. Therefore, if your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light; if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.
The reason he said this means that the purpose of a person's purpose differs depending on how bright the eyes of the person's heart are. My heart goes where I value it.
That's why verse 21 says, 'Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also'.
Even if you become a Christian, there will be times when you will be tested by accepting or handing out illegal money while staying clean with material things. Before thinking about such social, economic and ethical issues, he taught us that we cannot share our hearts as if we were to serve Jill and God in our lives.
At the end of verse 24, it says, 'You cannot serve both God and money.'
The question of who is the owner of life is very important, and it is where to put Riddle's mind in the series of lives that we choose, discard, and demand as we live our lives every day.
The world pays attention to material things (wealth) as the text says here. The world knows that having a lot of wealth is all blessings.
It's not that you don't need these things if you become a Christian, it's that you shouldn't serve the world's material things like the masters of your life.
For example, Matthew 20:20-22 'At that time the mother of the son of Zebedee (between the Virgin Mary and the sisters?) brought them to Jesus and worshiped him, asking what they asked. In your kingdom, command me to sit at your right hand, and I at your left. Jesus answered and said, You do not know what you are asking...'
In Mark 10:35-38, it is written, 'James and John the sons of Zebedee came to the Lord and said, ... It seems that she and her mother prayed together without any difficulties.
In this way, the disciples also did something wrong. Therefore, we must learn to pray according to the Bible.
2. Don't worry about worldly things
Text, Matthew 6:31 'Therefore, do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall I eat or what shall I drink or what shall
The more difficult the reality is, the more we can become distracted by anxiety. The more money we have, the more we feel at ease, and the less we feel anxious, because money dominates the mind.
If you have the heart to be grateful for what you have in the world first, and have faith, your environmental awareness can change a lot. You cannot tolerate reality, but you can overcome it and deal with it more lightly.
A rich young man came to Jesus and asked, How can I get eternal life? The Lord encouraged him to keep the commandments and give some of his possessions to his poor neighbor, but he said that he wanted to live forever with his possessions, but he said that he had lost his heart because of riches.
Matthew 19:22 'When the young man heard these words, because he had great wealth, he went away sorrowful'. The young man lost his way to live forever because of money. There are a lot of broken lives in the world because there is a lot of money.
Even if we think we can be responsible for what we are concerned about, it is human beings who do not know what will happen tomorrow.
Text, Matthew 6:27 He said, 'Who of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his stature?'
There is no one else who will enjoy the glory like Solomon just because we work hard and work hard. However, the life of the movie is nothing compared to the wild grass and flowers that God grows.
Even if it is a work of art made by man and mobilizing science, it cannot be compared with the fragrance and shape of the flower God has given and the mystery and wonder of the beautiful nature.
Believe in God, the Creator of those incomparable flowers, wild grasses, and birds that feed, clothe, and make them grow.
Birds will basically do the job of finding food by flying through the air, but how foolish it is to pursue the world with such anxiety and suffering like us humans.
That's why the Lord taught us to seek our daily bread, not our monthly bread. Don't worry about worrying ahead of time, worry about tomorrow for tomorrow, and worry about today is enough for today.
3. The first thing you should seek is the kingdom of God, and he tells you to seek righteousness.
Text, Matthew 6:33 'Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you'
This short passage teaches Christian thought and, above all, the prayer center of the believer.
If you fast and pray to die for the things of the world without thinking about the kingdom of God, it is a foolish thought. If you do not intend to ask for God's will, but only seek the wealth and world that the world desires, even if you want to receive an answer, it is questionable how much it will be for the soul.
There is an order of things in everything. If I lose the purpose of my work, it is meaningless.
You must first listen to the emphasis of these words. First, it means the kingdom of God, heaven, and eternal life. It is not the will of a Christian to care without regard to the reward of the eternal kingdom.
2 Corinthians 4:18 “We do not look at the things seen, but on the things unseen, for these are temporary, but the things not seen are eternal.”
That is why this chapter, Matthew 6:19, says, 'Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break through and steal.'
To seek his righteousness means to seek and live according to God's right biblical will. It is to live like a member of the church, not just by the name of the church member.
To live like that, you have to worry. In order to live a proper life as a member of the church, damage may follow, and sometimes even martyrdom must be prepared to the extreme. We must do business according to God's righteous will, be faithful to our profession, and do well in our family life.
The large-scale biblical life of the church's worship life must first be rectified, and God's righteous will in family and social life must be done according to God's righteous will. These things are more important than concerns about food, clothing, and shelter.
The problem is that when we live our life of faith with this kind of interest, amazingly, God knows all our concerns (Matthew 6:32) and provides for us according to our needs!
I hope you believe this. This is true. For the right life of faith in the history of the church. For example, you can see that the descendants of the Puritans were blessed, and today's blessings came from martyrdom and the bloody and sweaty activities of the early church in Korea.
When his father, King David, passed away, and his son Solomon took over the kingdom, he offered a thousand burnt offerings to God and prayed to God.
Kings 3:9-13 “Who can judge this great people of yours? Give your servant a wise heart to judge your people, to discern between good and evil. Solomon asked for this, and his words met your heart.” Then God He said to this one, "You are asking for these things for yourself, not asking for money, not asking for riches, not asking for the life of your enemies, but hearing a case and asking for wisdom to discern. same
There was no one, and after you there will be no one like you. And I also give you the wealth and glory you did not ask for, and there will be no one like you among kings in your lifetime.”
It is not necessarily obtained by praying specifically for material things like the prayer of Jabez. It is the fact that God has provided the necessary things like this by looking at the heart.
The time for the Israelites to offer sacrifices and listen to the word of God was about 171 days a year.
Romans 8:32 “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not with him also gift us all things?”
While holding these words in faith, I pray that no matter what economic airports or circumstances that challenge us come, if it is the will of the Lord, we will be able to win by relying on the Word.