The Allure Of "All These Things"

The Allure of “All These Things”

Matthew 6:24-34

* Over the last 38 years, as we have attempted to serve the Lord, we have lived in many different cities. In every location we had to learn the new home, new city, new roads, and new community. Learning a new community has always been fun, exciting, and (for the most part) fairly easy.

* The system I use for learning the roads of a new location is to learn how the main arteries run and then see how the smaller, connecting roads feed the main arteries. What I have discovered is that, in most communities this is done in a very logical way. That is – UNTIL I came here. The road system around this metropolis is very confusing. At first I thought the people who designed road may have been – well – inebriated because roads rarely lead to where your sense of direction tells you. However, it’s the terrain and it serves as a blockade. All in all it can be confusing.

* The confusion caused by the roadways pales in comparison to the confusion which life offers. The world pulls us in one direction while our Lord and His Kingdom pull us in the opposite direction. And the ‘rub’ is that, much of the time the world’s way seems logical.

* Our text today reveals Jesus in the heart of the Sermon on the Mount attempting to get His listeners to understand proper priority. (READ TEXT)

* Some read this text as an excuse to be lazy. The emphasis is not on work but worry.

* The word “Worry” appears, in some form, at least 5 times in this text. Jesus says, “Don’t’ worry” or “Why worry?” Most of our worrying is wasted on things which will not matter 100 years from now. You say, “I worry about my kids.” That’s good except it begs the question, “What do you worry about for or with your kids?” “I want them to have food, clothes, and shelter.” And so we focus on ‘these things.’

* When Jesus speaks of ‘all these things’ He is using what we know to be human needs as a symbol of this world. No one can serve two masters so we cannot focus on the world and on God at the same time!

* The world’s has so permeated our mind set that, unwittingly, we have bought into its philosophy of “He who dies with the most toys wins” so we focus on this world, it has great attraction to us. Jesus tells us to “beware of ‘all these things.’”

* Two times in our text we read the phrase, “ALL THESE THINGS” and two times this phrase reminds me that Jesus has just said, “No one can be a slave of two masters.” This truth needs to burn deeply within our hearts.

* The world of ‘all these things’ is seeking to attack you, to attract you, and to allure you. The word, allure means, “To exert a very powerful & often deadly attraction.” When I see the word ‘allure’ I see it as a four-letter word (lure) which from a fishing standpoint speaks of ‘getting their hooks in you.’

* If the fish see the hook – they avoid it. I believe if we see this world’s hooks we’ll avoid them. Here are three ways to see the ‘hooks’ (allure) of all these things.

1. See Your Life – Jesus says, “Don’t worry about the things of this life because isn’t your life more than ‘these things?’ To focus on these things is to sell your life short.

a) All these things can become a distraction in your life. God created us & called us as eternal souls. When we focus on ‘these things’ our focus becomes the here & now, the temporary and we lose our focus on God’s design and desire. Let me repeat this several times, “You cannot serve two Masters – you will love one and the other.” Jesus was focused on one thing, “seeking and saving the lost.” Even when his earthly family came to the place where he was speaking – Jesus did not allow their presence to distract Him from Kingdom work. Had it been one of us, we would have probably dismissed the class to spend the rest of the day with the fam, and many would have never had the opportunity to hear the good news. When we focus on the things of this world, then the things of God’s Kingdom grow strangely dim. By the way, many things in this life can become a distraction (I.E. family, friends, struggles, money, possessions, etc) These distraction can become;

b) All these things can become the direction for your life. – The things in this world which distract you from following Christ can forge a direction for your life. When you are distracted for a long period of time, you lose your way. How many times have I been hunting & become distracted by tracks, signs, or sounds, and lose my way & my place. (I.E. deer running through stand). When this happens, you begin to follow the wrong things as a course of life; you lose your direction. This causes;