Matthew 6:31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
v. 32(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
v. 33But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Sermon:
Society today is full of the knowledge of economic downfall. This economic consiousness has produced both negative and positive mindsets in the world that we live in. For some, the essence of job and financial security is a bit of a worry. On the other hand, people are more concerned about how life can be lived in harmony.
Yet, the question remains: "How should Christians live during a recession." Well Christians are the model for the world. Currently, we are seeing the world come to the church because ever since the dawn of the Churches existence in the 1st Century, you can see the world watching the actions of the body of Christ. Furthermore, in tough times, the church has more authority it seems to speak against the current disposition of tormoil and mayhem because the church is supposed to be rooted and grounded in hope as well as gworing in the fruits of the Spirit. The question is though: "How do we decipher the true Christians from the worldly Christians?" The worldly Christians are those who come to church as spectators; who receive the Word but simply rely on the stronger Christians to do the work.
The true Christians are those who know their assignment and administer grace under their calling. Likewise, the True Christians need to stand and make themselves known above all else. Not in a non humble stance but in a way that shows Christlikeness. For instance, the true Christian Church will have compassion on its followers. Therefore, the True Church will understand the economic calamity of the city or environment they are in. The True Church will focus on objective means of dicipleship and promote life training that is Christ centered until every family on the earth is Blessed (Gen 12:1-3).
The True Church will mobilize itself in order to reach a greater amount of unchurched demographics.The True Church will Seek Ye First the Kingdom. Why is that important? Well because when the Church seek's the Kingdom then there is an agreement not to have other things that we seek and be a church divided amongst good wills. Everyone has a good will to survive and thrive but does it include their brother or sister man? You see the church is set up so the all can benefit- and not just one man or one woman. Every contact we make with someone is God-ordained and therefore we must make the most of every opportunity having Faith that what we are doing is working toward Christ's gain and not our own.
Our own gain can satisfy for a time but our time is short on earth- so how much greater would it be to have an all-the-time "Faith" that is reproductable in the lives of others. As a result of the economy people have become financially insecure and in some cases the only thing people can talk or worry about. When in reality, these same people are robbing themselves of the opportunity to share their faith with someone.
Your faith is the Greatest investment you can make in someone's life. Therefore, the goal of the church is to 1st Be and produce honest Christians 2nd Accomodate new beleivers, and 3rd have Compassion on the unchurched. This is one way the church can be a True Church and Seek First the Kingdom of God.
