How often do you consider your life? It’s very easy to just tend to the details, take care of business, and try to make it to the weekend. If we want anything different in life we have to engage a strategy – a gameplan – one that addresses the basic spiritual needs in our lives.
In February we will continue our way through Matthew’s Gospel and will focus on the idea that you should CONSIDER YOUR LIFE. The Scriptures are filled with passages that tell us that life is short, it’s a vapor, it’s like grass in the field … are we considering our lives each day? In this Sermon on the Mount (Chapters 5-7) Jesus speaks to the hurting, beaten up, diseased, depressed and hopeless. He’s calling them and us to Consider our Lives. It seems to me Matthew 6 is mostly about today. Disciples of Jesus are called to pay attention to today. Formulate a plan/strategy/ for daily life in the kingdom. In what ways does Jesus turn our attention to today? What is your gameplan for today – every day?
1. PRAY TODAY
Matthew 6:9-13 “This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one
When you pray, Don’t…. Don’t do it to be seen by others (5-6) and Don’t think God is impressed w/your words (7-8). Do Pray like this.
-Express your heart to your Father.
-Submit your life to the Father.
-Thank God for your daily blessings.
-Ask God for forgiveness.
-Appeal to God for deliverance.
Prayer is an awesome privilege that every person here can do….on your own … in your prayer closet.
2. FORGIVE TODAY
Matthew 6:14-15 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Jesus makes a clear connection between our willingness to forgive others, and receiving forgiveness from Him. Forgiving is hard work, but we should remember:
-Forgiveness does not mean approval
-Forgiveness does not mean living in danger
-Forgiveness does not mean we fail to learn from being hurt by others.
-Forgiveness is letting the other person off the hook in your own heart, allowing God to heal your hurt and handle the rest.
-Forgiveness sets us free.
There is enough hurt in the world that I expect we all need to learn to forgive daily…and sometimes we have to forgive the same offense over and over until it takes place in our hearts.
3. FAST TODAY
Matthew 6:17-18 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Do not do it to be seen by others (16). Do it as a way to connect with God (17-18). Similar instructions as to prayer…fasting and prayer go together. Fasting demonstrates our dependence upon God. We need him more than we need even our Daily Bread. When our own bodies tell us how much we need God, we realize the value of fasting and praying. We can’t fast from food every day. Maybe there are activities in your life you can abstain from for a period of time as a fast. We can practice giving up on God.
4. DEVOTE TODAY
Matthew 6:24 No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
Verse 24 tells us not to be devoted to another master. To be devoted is to belong to someone, to be focused on showing love to another. When we are devoted to God, we must eliminate every contender for our hearts. The Enemy works hard to earn our devotion.
We are choosing every day who will rule our lives. Self – only what makes us happy in the moment. God – choosing only what pleases him.
5. SEEK TODAY
Matthew 6:33-34 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
In this long section about worry, we are encouraged to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. What are you seeking most in life today? Are we consumed with worry about tomorrow?
I’ve developed a new philosophy – I only dread one day at a time. – Charlie Brown
When you consider your life … consider your day.
Conclusion
None of us will do these things perfectly.
“The best game plan in the world never blocked or tackled anybody.” -Vince Lombardi
More than knowing the game plan, we have to live it.
James 1:13-14 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
This has been mostly about the inner Christian life – next week we will talk about loving our neighbors.
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LifeGroup Questions
1. What coach or leader had an impact in your life? Tell us about them and something about why they influenced you.
2. Is Jesus teaching us a prayer to repeat or is he simply giving us a pattern by which we can learn to pray? Some recovery groups end their meeting by saying the Lord’s Prayer. What value can you see in repeating the Lord’s Prayer.
3. Forgiveness can be a complicated subject. For example, does forgiveness remove the need for justice? What role does forgiveness play in the marital relationship? What role does forgiveness play in the parental relationship?
4. Talk about your experience with fasting – or why you may resist it? What do you think about fasting from other items besides food (such as Facebook or even the Internet?)
5. How would you describe being devoted to God?
6. The conclusion to this chapter is the oft-quoted ‘seek first the kingdom of God’. This is in a long section on worry. Contrast seeking God’s Kingdom vs Worrying about Tomorrow. Why are they not compatible?
7. Three times in this text there is a focus on “today”. In the Lord’s prayer (daily bread), in considering the grass of the field (vs 30), and just being focused on today (vs 34). Which one of these practices we talked about today is something you think you could make more of a daily practice than you have in the past?
