My New Year s Revolution First Things First" If you missed the sermon, you'll find the podcast at http:// www.longhollow.com/messages Bottom line - Resolutions are about doing. Revolutions are about the heart. Scriptures - Martha and Mary Now as they went on their way, Jesus[a] entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me. But the Lord answered her, Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her. Luke 10:38-42 Icebreaker
What area of your home do you hope nobody will see because it s such a mess? It s okay this is a safe place. :-) Questions: 1. Read Colossians 3:1-2 together as a group. If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. It may be obvious, but what does it mean to put God first in everything? What are some areas where people tend to not put God first? 2. Have you ever forgotten something really important? Maybe a significant date/anniversary/holiday? Maybe you forgot to do something? Forgot to get something? Do you ever forget about God? What causes you to forget?
3. Sometimes we get distracted by bad, sinful things. But sometimes we get distracted by things that aren s bad. Read Hebrews 12:1, together as a small group. Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Have someone from the group put this verse in their own words. What kinds of things could be meant by everything that hinders? (note: this is different from and the sin ) 4. We must choose to keep first things first. - David Landrith Brother David gave 4 practical steps to accomplish this: 1. Seek God in the first part of your day. 2. Seek God in the first part of your week. 3. Seek God in the first part of your giftedness. 4. Seek God in the first part of your check. (finances) For each of these, write down what YOU could do, personally, to begin accomplishing this starting tomorrow. 1.
2. 3. 4. 5. When we start with Jesus, we have His guidance, His wisdom, & His insight which gives a spiritual focus in deciding what is important. What part can your small group play in this being a part of your reality? CLOSER: Spend some time praying for one another. Share your new year s resolution with one other person, and pray for each other, to have courage to start 2014 strong.
FOR THE LEADER: Sermon outline First Things First (My New Year s Revolution, pt 2) Luke 10:38-42; Matt 6:25-33 Introduction Have you ever had such a mess you didn t know where to start? My garage Our Lives Two reactions: Paralysis (Lion Tamer) or Mach 5 Review On Marker Board: Attitudes and feelings follow our thoughts. Change the way you think and you can change the way you act. We must embrace and develop the mind of Christ. Today I want to talk with you about First Things First. A key principle of Christian discipleship is to put God first in everything. (Col 3:1-3) Colossians 3:1-2 (NASB) Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. The pursuit of spiritual things; the things that are above is priority one for a Christian. It is the key to: - Marriage, Career, Parenting, Character dev. (Jn 15:5) Read Scripture
I. We Have A Tendency To Forget What s Really Important (Luke 10:40). III. Illus. A friend of mine forgot Valentines Day one year Wow A. We mean well, but we get distracted. 40 But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me. 1. Not necessarily by bad things. Sometimes good is the enemy of best. Illus. Martha & The Church at Ephesus Revelation 2:2-4 (NASB) 2 I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; 3 and you have perseverance and have endured for My name s sake, and have not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 2. Sometimes it s bad or sinful things that distract us. The voices are all around us. Illus. Shooting free throws A. These distractions cause us to forget what s most important to forget what is best, to forget our first priority, to forget our first love. What We Forget We Forsake A. Forsake means to abandon, desert, etc. B. Why have you abandoned a deep and passionate walk with God?
C.Because you have forgotten what s important You have forgotten how much God has done for you. You are taking for granted God s grace. As a result you have forsaken the things of God. You seek first the kingdom of you and your interests and are missing out all that God has for you all that He wants to add to your life. All that He wants to give you. Illus. Kids sometimes forget all their parents do for them. Fast-forward them to when they are parents and it would change their perspective. D.We make it not about the kingdom of God but about the Kingdom of us our cares, our concerns, our pursuits. E. Did you get distracted 2013? You started with great optimism. You wanted to read through the Bible, grow closer to God and others but you find yourself today less spiritual than you had hoped? F. You got distracted and you forgot and you replaced your walk with Jesus with other things. Illus. Mary and Martha: value wrong things and devalue right things G.What is the most important thing? What is our number 1 priority? It s the kingdom of God and His righteousness. (Matt 6:33) Matthew 6:33 (NASB) 33 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 1. It s all about Him It s all about knowing Him (Lk 10:42) Luke 10:42 (NASB) 42 but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
2. It s all about knowing Him, His agenda, His plans and purposes. 3. Everything else is secondary (Lk 10:42). Luke 10:42 (NASB) 42 but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her. IV. We Must Choose To Keep First Things First (Matt 6:33). But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Practical steps: A. First part of your day. Daily devotion is the key to yearly resolutions David Nasser B. First part of your week. C.First part of your giftedness. D.First part of your check. V. Starting With Jesus Is The Key To Ordering Your World (6:33). 33 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. A. The key to prioritizing is to start with Jesus. B. When we start with Jesus, we have His guidance, His wisdom, & His insight which gives a spiritual focus in deciding what is important. Conclusion The Biscuit
Biblical background Do Not Value Possessions Enough to Worry About Them (6:25-34) Jesus' message here picks up his earlier discussion of secret charity (6:1-4). If many prosperity preachers err in urging Christians to seek material gain (see vv. 19-24), many of us err by doubting God's power to provide. Yet in this passage while Jesus emphasizes God's power, he also stresses that God guarantees only what we need. If God sustains life and protects our bodies, will we complain if he does it differently from the ways our culture values (v. 25)? If he feeds us like the birds (v. 26; compare 1 Kings 17:6) or clothes us like the flowers (v. 28), he will have provided us more than what our culture values, not less (v. 29). Yet if God provides for birds and flowers, he will also provide for us (v. 30). God promises the basics. This theme is important to the passage (vv. 25-26, 28-30). Jesus twice uses a standard type of Jewish argument traditionally called qal wahomer-"how much more?" (vv. 26, 30). If God cares for birds and for perishable flowers, how much more for his own beloved children (compare vv. 8, 32) We generally expect biologists today to examine and classify data without making many ethical or theological pronouncements. But ancient naturalists were sometimes also sages who regarded all God's creation as a legitimate field for inquiry. Wisdom sayings often addressed nature (for example, 1 Kings 4:33; Ahiqar column 6; Sirach 43:33). Jesus draws a lesson from God's care for birds and flowers (Mt 6:26, 30). Some other Jewish teachers also recognized that God provides for creatures (compare Ps 104:24-27) and that people are worth much more than birds (compare m. Qiddusin 4:14). Jesus, who regards God's original creation purpose as still valid (Mt 19:4-6), believes that the God who cares for unemployed animals will care still more for his children, regardless of their economic situation. People in Jesus' day considered their cloaks essential, and the law in fact took this for granted (Ex 22:26-27; Guelich 1982:339). Paul (less given to hyperbole than his Palestinian Master) declares that Christians need nothing more than food and clothing (1 Tim 6:8). But Jesus declares that God can provide for us adequately even if we lack clothing (Mt 6:25) He then goes on to assure us that God will supply covering for our bodies,
pointing to the splendor of the fields, whose vegetation is nevertheless used as fuel for baking bread. Solomon's splendor had become proverbial (for example, CIJ 2:83, 837; m. Baba Mesi`a 7:1), but it remained minuscule compared to the splendor of God's creation (compare Ps 8:1-9). In the end, wealth does not matter, but God will supply what we genuinely need. Jesus again shames his hearers by reminding them that even Gentiles seek material things. Pagans seek (NIV run after) their own needs (Mt 6:31-32; compare Ep. Arist. 140-41); God's children should seek instead God's agendas, assured that God will also care for them in the process (6:33). Even in Jesus' model prayer, disciples seek God's kingdom first (vv. 9-10). Faith is not an intricate ritual to get what we want for ourselves; faith is obeying God's will with the assurance that he will ultimately fulfill for us what is in our best interests. That kind of faith grows only in the context of an intimate relationship of love between the heavenly Father and his children. Some people today associate faith with being able to obtain possessions from God, but Jesus did not even associate it with seeking basic needs from God. Pagans seek those things, he warned (v. 32; compare 5:47; 6:7); we should seek instead God's kingdom and his righteous will (6:33). It is when his people care for others in need among them that God supplies the needs of his people as a whole, perhaps because then he can best trust them to use his gifts righteously (Deut 15:1-11; Blomberg 1992:126). In our lifelong plans and each day as we decide what to do with our life and resources, we have fresh opportunities to prove to God our love for him-or our lack of it. Anxiety does no good. Jesus highlights this theme in Matthew 6:26, 34. Anxiety will not add even the smallest unit of time to one's life. Not only is it true that we cannot extend our life by worrying, but daily experience in our comparatively fast-paced culture confirms the wisdom of an earlier Jewish sage, who observed that worry and a troubled heart actually shorten life (Sirach 30:19-24). If much study is wearying to the flesh (Eccl 12:12- undoubtedly many a scholar's favorite verse), worry about wealth also banishes sleep and destroys the flesh (Sirach 34:1). Unlike some ancient philosophers, Jesus never condemns people for recognizing their basic needs; their Father knows they need food and
clothing. Yet he calls them to depend on God for their daily sustenance. Those who can trust their heavenly Father to care for them (as most firstcentury Jewish children could depend on their earthly fathers) need not be anxious concerning clothes or food. Jesus paints his point in graphic word pictures. Like a typical sage, he finally notes that one has enough to worry about for the day without adding tomorrow's worries (Mt 6:34; compare Prov 27:1). Employing the typical rhetorical technique of personification (Kennedy 1984:60), Jesus further admonishes his hearers to let tomorrow worry about itself. Yet when Jesus forbids us to worry about tomorrow, this does not mean that concerns will never press upon us. It means instead that we should express dependence on God in each of these concerns. We should pray for our genuine needs (v. 11), provided we pray for God's kingdom most of all (vv. 9-10; most of Paul's "concerns" fit this category: 2 Cor 11:28; 1 Thess 3:1-5). The part of the future we must concern ourselves with and work toward is what he has revealed to us and called us to do (compare Mt 10:5-25). IVP New Testament Commentaries are made available by the generosity of InterVarsity Press.