Trickle Down Spirituality – The Remake
TCF Sermon
February 8, 2009
I was a little bit embarrassed and a more than a little bit ashamed last week, when Jim Garrett pointed out how weak my anointing to preach was, and the fact that I use powerpoint to cover up this hideous secret.
Of course, he didn’t mention me by name, but it’s not hard to figure out when he talks about who uses powerpoint the most. Add to that Jim Grinnell’s shaming me the week before the last time I preached, and I have a confession to make. It’s been a deep matter of repentance and prayer in my life, and I feel led of the Lord to share with you the prayer that I believe God’s given me to pray each day during the week before I preach.
Lord anoint my powerpoint
Let it speak for you
May I be more like the Jims
With Jesus shining through
Lord anoint my powerpoint
And with each sermon preached
Break through my weak anointing
And use me Lord, to teach
Lord anoint my powerpoint
And borrow Jim’s anointing
Because he’s older and full of it,
So he can spare some, can’t he?
When Chris Place spoke a few weeks ago at our missions conference, and I’d like you to note that he’s using powerpoint, one of his four points, in his acronym IDLE, was distractions. His point was how distractions in life can keep us from remaining visionary and passionate about missions.
This starts by distracting us from our relationship with the Lord. And how when our relationship with the Lord begins to wander or wane, how much we care about missions, how much we care about the great commission, and discipling the nations, naturally diminishes, too.
How true, how true, I thought. I began to think about my role, as a shepherd here at TCF, and what my part is in the great commission, and TCF’s missions vision. What’s more, I began thinking about the regular distractions I must deal with, from just plain busyness, to things like Chris mentioned such as our entertainment culture.
As I thought about this, I realized, my primary role is to help keep the relationships with the Lord, of the flock here at TCF, strong and vital and growing. To be effective in doing that, I must keep my relationship with the Lord strong, vital and ever-growing.
I thought about one of the things I’ve always appreciated about TCF – the reason I began coming to this church 29 years ago next month, and the reason I’ve stayed, long before I was in leadership.
That’s because, even when we recognize the good things about what God’s doing in us and through us, we’re constantly challenged from the pulpit here at TCF. We’re challenged to not rest on our laurels. We’re challenged to keep on keeping on – to persevere in our faith and in our spiritual growth.
And we’re challenged to do better in our spiritual lives, in our growth in Christ, in our personal holiness, in our passion for what God’s doing in us and through us. And I appreciate that Chris did that a few weeks ago. Even complimenting us as a body for what we’re doing and have done, he challenged us to keep doing it, and to do better. Not to take for granted the good things God’s done, and continues to do in us, and through us, as a body of believers.
Chris talked about keeping 1st things first. About the priorities of our lives – keeping the Lord first in our lives. As Chris preached, I thought of Matthew 6:33. I thought of a theme we looked at several years ago based on that passage, and I want to look at some of those ideas again this morning.
Stuart Briscoe, in his little book Time Bandits, wrote about the old westerns, where a group of bandits would rob a stagecoach passing through the plains, and they always seemed to say something like this, as they spoke from behind bandana masks.
“Your money or your life.”
Briscoe wrote:
"Your money or your life? Not a tough choice, is it? You can’t take your money with you. But time bandits (or distractions) want your money and your life."
He pointed out how goals are met, and ambitions are achieved, when we are intentional about deciding which things we will allow to be secondary, and which things will be our top priorities. He wrote about how if you
"Put your finger on an ambition – you’ve got hold of a priority. Leaving aside legitimate activities, I think most people agree that we all have varying amounts of discretionary time. The time left over when we can do what we want rather than what we must. Anxieties, activities and ambitions are (all) pointers to existing priorities. The kingdom of God is the standard, and everything else should be measured by it." Stuart Briscoe
I think that’s really true, isn’t it? What we are anxious about says something about our priorities. What we spend time doing – our activities, tells us about our priorities. What we are ambitious to do, point to our priorities. There are other things we could add, such as what we spend our money on, but you get the idea.
Sometimes it’s good to ponder: What do we really do that counts for eternity? I think nearly everything we do can truly count for eternity, if we do one thing:
"Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness."
Now, this idea doesn’t just apply to being organized, but have you noticed this? Organization is a hot topic in our world. From Palm Pilots to Daytimers, to cool online and PC software, there are new and better ways to get organized at work and at home. I’ve got my little PDA and my laptop, without which I would get very little done.
If you want to meet with me, or me to do something for you, be sure you don’t tell me and expect me to remember. If it gets onto my computer calendar or to do list or my handheld PC, it’s much more likely to happen than if you just say, “hey Bill, let’s get together tomorrow,” and I never jot it down.
But as believers, the issue is even more important than simple organizational habits. As followers of Jesus, being organized is only part of it. Our goal is not just to remember to do something, but it’s separating the urgent from the important things to do in our lives. It’s separating the distractions from those things God’s giving us as divine appointments, or maybe even those things God’s giving us as means of grace and rest.
The idea that we focus on what’s truly important is really wise, too - but I believe the Word has a different idea about what’s truly important from what the world thinks.
It’s a big club: The too-busy - the “need a 30-hour day” club. If I’ve heard anything from people consistently in recent months, it’s that they’re busy and tired. Not just occupied - but really busy. Because of my own life, I’m always giving that a lot of thought. I don’t want to get into a “top this testimony” - but I’ve been busy, too. I could list the ways I spend my time, and though I’m sure some of you here could match my schedule or top it in terms of the investment of time in tasks, many of you couldn’t.
I’m a busy guy, but I’m guessing most of you are, too. Ever notice that some of God’s most important words to us are from things we’ve heard before? That’s because familiarity breeds contempt, and if not contempt, then at least complacency. We hear something often enough and we tend to think we’ve got it figured out, or that we don’t need to hear it anymore.
Yet the Bible talks about stirring us up by way of reminder. So even though this passage is a familiar verse, it can help us with this problem of being overwhelmed because we’re too busy, and also help us with the D in Chris’s sermon a few weeks ago – distractions.
Matthew 6:33: Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (NIV)
Let’s look at Matt 6:33 for a few minutes. The immediate context of the passage is clearly material provision, but a careful read, as well as an understanding of the whole of scripture, will tell you that seek first the kingdom applies to more than simply material provision. This passage in verse 33 is framed by
verse 25, which says don’t worry about your life,
verse 34, which says don’t worry about tomorrow,
verse 27, which says don’t worry about time.
This passage also points out that by worrying about these things, we’re just like the rest of the world (verse 32 calls them pagans), who “run after all these things,” but adds that our Heavenly Father knows just what we need.
Also, we must recognize what comes before this part of Jesus words. In verse 24 we read you can’t serve both God and money. That is followed by the word “therefore.” Most of us have learned that when we see the word therefore in scripture, we need to find out what the word therefore is there for. As always, in this case too, it indicates a transition to the next thoughts.
The prior passage shows we can’t have a “both...and” attitude about who or what we’re going to serve.
Some of you may remember the 1970s Bob Dylan song: Gotta Serve Somebody.
The lyrics tell us, “it may be the devil, or it may be the Lord, but you’re gonna have to serve somebody.” So when we see this transitional word “therefore” it’s as if Jesus says,
“Since this is true....since you cannot serve two masters, the implication is apparent: we must serve the Lord...and if we truly seek and serve the King of Kings and Lord of Lords...don’t worry about your life...worrying won’t add any time to your day...it won’t provide your food and clothing...etc...”
That’s the immediate context of where we end up in Matthew 6:33, so let’s take a closer look. It starts with the word seek. This word has the sense of coveting earnestly, striving after. Scripture is clear that God does not hide from us, and we know that if we seek Him we will find Him.
Proverbs 8:17 reminds us: “those who seek me find me.”
The word seek is followed immediately by the word first. This refers to time, in the first place, before, earlier, to begin with. It’s a word speaking clearly about priorities. We can have absolutely no doubt about our priorities when we say “seek first” – nothing else comes before first.
Then there’s this word kingdom. It’s an interesting word because it seems to imply so many nuances in the Word. For the purposes of our look at this passage today, let’s remember these things:
1. kingdom here is not to be confused with an actual earthly kingdom, but rather the right or authority to rule over a kingdom
2. this word is primarily denoting sovereignty, royal power, or dominion (we might say, in the strongest terms possible, “in charge”)
3. Luke 17:21: says “the kingdom of God is within you,” or “is in your midst” - the idea being here that where the King is, there is the kingdom
Vines Expository Dictionary notes:
"Thus, at the present time and so far as this earth is concerned, where the king is, and where his rule is acknowledged, is, first in the heart of the individual believer."
Remember the Lord’s prayer? “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” In light of Matthew 6:33 we might say “may your will be done in me, and every area of my life as it is done in your heavenly kingdom.”
The Lord’s Prayer perhaps comes closest to a workable definition of the kingdom, when it equates the coming of God’s kingdom, with the doing of His will. Where God’s will is done with perfect submission, there, according to the New Testament, His kingdom is revealed.
So what does this mean in a practical sense as related to Matthew 6:33? We might say, in light of this understanding of what these words mean, that “seek first the Kingdom of God” means this:
“before you put effort and energy and heart into anything else, strive after and seek earnestly to let God rule and reign, let Him be in charge of your heart and mind and your attitude and everything that concerns your life.”
How many of you remember this term from the 1980s “trickle down economics?” Now, this was originally a derogatory term and it was used by the opposition to Ronald Reagan’s economic ideas. Trickle down economics, boiled down to its basics, is the idea that if those at the top of the economic structure create wealth, it creates jobs, and the entire economy benefits from the “trickle down” effect.
It starts at the top, and everything else falls into place. In keeping with this theory of economics, economic policies were developed to support and encourage the top part of the economy, believing that the whole economy would benefit.
Regardless of your political persuasion, regardless of what you think, or you thought, of what also came to be called Reaganomics, I think we can take this idea and apply it to Matthew 6:33.
Matthew 6:33 is about trickle-down spirituality. If you start at the top, with the Maker of the universe, and you make Him, His Kingdom, His righteousness, your priority, everything else in your life takes care of itself. It doesn’t mean life is trouble free. It does mean God takes care of every part of our life. If you truly do seek first God’s Kingdom, it will have an impact on everything else in your life.
Those of you who remember these economic debates from the early 1980s may also remember what those who supported Reagan’s economic plan called it. It was called - “supply side” economics.
With Matthew 6:33 as our guide, that phrase might help us remember our source of supply in all things. As I’ve studied this and thought about it and lived through it, what does it all seem to come down to?
Priorities.
Clay Sterrett said,
“We all find time to do what we really want to do...a lot of time usage simply comes down to right priorities.”
Priority is not a word found in any translation of the Bible that I could find, but the Word has a lot to say about priorities. It means prior, preceding in order or importance, preeminence, preference. As related to Matt 6:33, sometimes we forget the most important thing – the priority that helps everything else fall into place.
Here’s a story to illustrate:
A woman bought a parrot to keep her company but returned it the next day. "This bird doesn’t talk," she told the owner. "Does he have a mirror in his cage?" he asked. "Parrots love mirrors. They see their reflection and start a conversation." The woman bought a mirror and left. The next day she returned; the bird still wasn’t talking. "How about a ladder? Parrots love ladders. A happy parrot is a talkative parrot." The woman bought a ladder and left.
But the next day, she was back. "Does your parrot have a swing? No? Well, that’s the problem. Once he starts swinging, he’ll talk up a storm." The woman reluctantly bought a swing and left. Then she walked into the store the next day, her countenance had changed. "The parrot died," she said. The pet store owner was shocked.
"I’m so sorry. Tell me, did he ever say a word?" he asked. "Yes, right before he died," the woman replied. "In a weak voice, he asked me, ’Don’t they sell any food at that pet store?’" Sometimes people forget the main thing.
In this case, the main thing was food! Seeking God brings us the spiritual food, the sustenance we need. I can’t help but wonder how that might relate to our busy lives, as well as the distractions we all contend with. I can’t help but wonder how we set our priorities, how do we decide on what we will spend the most valuable hours of our day? How do we determine, as we go about our daily schedules, what are divine interruptions, and what are devilish diversions?
First, we must ask ourselves why we are so busy? There are a couple of possible answers, if we’re honest with ourselves.
1. we are truly committed to God and want to do His work
2. we believe that if we don’t do all we do, we’ll lose something: we’ll lose income, respect, perhaps people will think less of us, think us less important, or we’ll lose social status.
The amazing truth is that we can be involved in good things, Godly things, and still not practice what Jesus commands in Matthew 6:33...and still not grasp the importance of what Jesus says earlier: do not worry about your life.
We can even be a devoted student of scripture and still miss God. In John 5:39, 40: Jesus says “You diligently study the scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.
Oswald Chambers says:
"Beware of anything that competes with loyalty to Jesus Christ. The greatest competitor of devotion to Jesus is service for Him."
That’s a difficult idea, because if we are devoted to Jesus, we will serve Him. But, we must ask ourselves, are we more devoted to service than to Jesus? Are we more devoted to work, TV, sports, ministry, activities?
Have you ever noticed that the most active chicken is the one with its head cut off? Where do you think we get the phrase that someone’s running around like a chicken with its head cut off? Our lives are like that when we don’t seek God first, day by day, even moment by moment - our head’s cut off and our activity is frantic and meaningless.
Again quoting Chambers:
“The teaching of the sermon on the mount is, in effect, narrow all your interests until the attitude of mind and heart and body is concentration on Jesus Christ.”
Then service flows from that. Passion for the lost flows from that. Passion for missions flows from that. Service is the overflow of truly seeking God first. God gets us into a relationship with Himself and then we understand His call, then we do things out of sheer love for Him. But again – we cannot forget where this starts – where it must start:
Seek – first - God.
God is our priority. The first commandment tells us: Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. I don’t believe anything in scripture is there by accident. Neither is this. It’s no accident that it’s first among all the commandments.
C.S. Lewis said: “Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you will get neither.”
Can we see that everything is a by-product of our relationship with God? That’s why Jesus says Seek God first. That’s why the first commandment is Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. Yet, we get so involved, so wrapped up in things, so distracted, basically because we worry about these things. So, we worry about it, and get busier still!
Or, sometimes we choose diversions and distractions before we seek God first. Now, there is such a thing as a cycle of work and rest, but I believe when we seek God first, we can truly rest – we can truly enjoy the things God has blessed us with that help us rest.
Eerdmans Bible Handbook commented on this passage of scripture in Matt 6:
“Men can choose what to set their hearts on. They can go all out for money and material things, or for God and spiritual things. But not for both. Everyone must decide his or her own priorities. Those who put God first can rest assured He knows all their needs and will not fail to supply them. They can be free from worry.”
Here’s a true life church bulletin notice: Don’t let worry kill you. Let the church help.
Here’s a time management technique you won’t hear from Steven Covey:
Martin Luther, the great reformer, said, “I have so much business I cannot get along without spending three hours daily in prayer.”
That’s seeking God first. And honestly, our flesh rebels against an idea like that. Our minds rebel, saying: I don’t have three hours to pray. We say “I can’t afford to take three hours in prayer.” Luther says: I can’t afford not to take three hours in prayer.
When I hear things like Luther’s quote, I just feel guilty, because I feel that for me, that’s unattainable. But let me say also that I don’t think God counts the hours we pray. Seek first is a heart attitude. Yes, it will in many ways be reflected in what we do. And perhaps with Martin Luther, that was how his life demonstrated his seek God first heart attitude.
But God’s not looking for performance. He’s looking for our heart’s attitude. The idea is that without God’s guidance, which we get by seeking Him first, His direction day by day, there’s no way we can possibly accomplish all He sets before us.
Helmut Thielicke, the German theologian, noted,
“The propaganda of men, even when it masquerades as a kind of evangelism and becomes an enterprise of the church, is always based on the accursed notion that success and failure, fruit and harvest, are dependent upon our human activity, upon our imagination, energy, and intelligence.”
Why was it that Jesus spoke with authority, when the religious leaders of his day, the scribes and Pharisees, did not? Is it because He was rhetorically gifted, because he was dynamic? No – Jesus spoke with such power because he had first spoken with the Father.
Thielecke wrote:
"Jesus’ powerful speech derives from the power of his prayer life, and the very reason why he can afford to pray so diligently and give the best hours of the day to this communion with the Father is that he knows that while he rests in eternity, it is not that nothing is happening, but that in doing this he is rather giving place to God’s Spirit, that then God is working and the seed is growing. Woe to the nervous activity of those of little faith! Woe to the anxiousness and busyness of those who do not pray!"
Yes, even Jesus sought first the Kingdom of God. Our best efforts don’t come from frantic activity, but from concentrated attention on what’s most important. Matthew 6:33 tells us what the foundation is for all the work we do. Of course, we can’t know what’s most important for us to do, without prioritizing our own lives according to Matt 6:33.
What this dependence on God brings is independence for us, freedom, peace. Isaiah 26:3 says that God will keep in perfect peace the one whose mind is stayed on Him. Here the word “stayed” means to lay, lean or rest upon, support, uphold, sustain - him whose mind is steadfast. In our lives, we live in constant danger of letting the urgent things crowd out the important. We look at Jesus’ life, and he was able to accomplish everything God set before Him.
He made an amazing statement in John 17:4: “I have finished the work you gave me to do.”
Some of us need to repent today. We need to repent because we haven’t been seeking God first. We need to remember Matthew 6:33, and we need to apply it to every area of our lives. Let’s pray, and consider how God might be speaking to you today about seeking first His kingdom.
