Breaking the Cycle

CONSECRATION Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.  Jesus, I belong to you. I lift up my heart to you. I set my mind on you. I fix my eyes on you. I offer my body to you as a living sacrifice. Jesus, we belong to you.  Praying in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.  SCRIPTURE Matthew 6:25–34 NIV “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. CONSIDER THIS When was the last time you worried about something? What did you do about it? How did you handle it? We live in a culture of worry. The entire system we live in often feels like it is built on our worry and fear, feeding our insecurities and convincing us to try and control things we cannot control. When we worry, our impulse is often to respond in ways that actually feed that worry—causing it to grow and produce more. For example, if we worry about financial security, we may obsessively check our bank accounts in hope of reassurance. Instead of resolving our concern, our stress increases and we are kept in a cycle of fear. In this teaching, Jesus mentions three areas where we are prone to worry: 1. Food: Worrying about where our next meal will come from or if we’re eating the right things. 2. Clothes: Concerned about keeping up appearances or maintaining a certain lifestyle. 3. Tomorrow: Stressing about the future. Jesus doesn’t mince words. He plainly states that our worry is unproductive and unhelpful: “Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” (v. 27). There is no benefit to worry. If anything, worry takes away an hour of your life. Worry is like running on a hamster wheel—frantically moving, working hard, and yet not actually going anywhere. Stressing about these things is not for the children of God; it’s what the pagans do. Our Father knows what we need, and we can rest in His provision. Instead of worrying, Jesus invites us to redirect our effort, energy, and thoughts toward something better—to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. This sounds great. But what does that actually mean? What does it look like? What is the kingdom of God? The last question wasn’t rhetorical. We talk much about the kingdom in our churches and read about it in our Bibles. How would you explain it? Take a few minutes and answer the question to the best of your ability. To give us a more robust understanding, Scot McKnight outlines five qualities of the kingdom:1 1. The kingdom of God has a king, and this king is Jesus. 2. The kingdom of God has a king who rules [by redeeming and governing His people]. 3. The kingdom of God has a distinct people, [those who have been redeemed by the King and find themselves under the lordship of the King]. 4. The kingdom of God has a law, [which is followed by the people of the kingdom]. 5. The kingdom of God has a land, [sacred space where the people of the kingdom embody the will of God for this world in Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit]. Simply put: the kingdom of God is where God is King. So what does it mean to seek first the kingdom of God? It means to live as people of the kingdom, redeemed and governed by the King. As people of the kingdom, we live under a different ethic and ethos than the cultural norm. Our text today comes in the middle of Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount, teachings which define what it means to live in the kingdom. The sermon is packed with a call to live in a way radically different than the wider culture. If you have time today, consider reading through the whole sermon (Matthew 5–7) and writing down any insights about living as a citizen of the kingdom. You’ll realize that the way of living Jesus presents addresses the three areas we are prone to worry about—food, clothes, and tomorrow—and challenges us to reimagine life through the lens of the kingdom of God. Jesus concludes the sermon with these words: “Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock” (Matt. 7:24). Instead of worrying about the things the pagans (those outside the kingdom) worry about, we’re invited to step off the hamster wheel and begin building on the Rock. There, we find stability, purpose, and the freedom to live as God’s redeemed and beloved people. Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (6:33) RESPONSE PROMPTS How would you define the kingdom of God? What does it mean for you to seek first the kingdom of God today? Read through Matthew 5–7 with this question in mind. Pay attention to anything the Spirit highlights as you read. PRAYER God, thank You that because of Your redemption in my life I live as a citizen of Your kingdom! Even now, I declare out loud: “Jesus, you are King over my life.” I belong to You. Holy Spirit, help me to release my tendency to worry and to, instead, seek first the kingdom of God. Lord, let Your kingdom come and Your will be done in me, in my church, my house, my neighborhood, my workplace, and my city. Amen.